Vertical and horizontal communications in management. See pages where the term horizontal communications is mentioned. The main scientific approaches to the problem of communications in the organization

Vertical communication

Here everything is basically clear enough. Communication goes from top to bottom. That is, the administrative apparatus issues instructions or some other form of communication and sends it down to the departments. From top to bottom CEO to lower level employees

Horizontal communication

Communications in this case occur both in the control apparatus and at the levels located below, under the control apparatus. Typically, interpersonal relationships at lower levels are conducted independently of the CEO. For example, you can take the Training Center, where relationships occur only between employees.

If you take vertical form of communication, this primarily applies to regulatory documents, orders, oral form. In addition, information from the control apparatus is sent, as in writing, and by e-mail, to telephone nodes. Approving forms, regulations and documents are usually sent in writing. Moreover, to collect information from the bottom up, i.e. from telephone exchanges, and other departments, there is, as a rule, a unit that collects statistical data in electronic form, and ready-made data is sent to the control apparatus.

AT horizontal form, everything is much simpler. There are no barriers and units collecting information. Communication here takes place according to long-known schemes. That is, this is a telephone by which employees can communicate with each other without leaving their workplace, and if we consider the management apparatus, then in each office each employee has his own telephone. That is, there is a certain office automatic telephone exchange, with a number binding to each employee.

Next comes e-mail (e-mail), which in our time is not an innovation, as it is also one of the most convenient means of communication. And email They are used both in the control apparatus and at telephone nodes, communicating with each other.

Another means of transmitting / receiving information is a fax, it is used to send documents necessary for doing business, balance, accounting, etc.

Another type of communication of Style LLC is the Ring Post. Those. there is a stationery department that deals with the timely provision of stationery (pens, paper, etc.) So, in addition to its main duty, the clerical department maintains the Ring Post. Those. Every employee in the organization has their own mailbox. Correspondence is sent to these boxes, as well as various documents, private mail, etc. This type of communication can be distinguished by the fact that documents can be transmitted by internal mail, while maintaining the importance of the document without wasting time looking for the person to whom this document is intended. This view can be attributed to a plus, since I think that this is a very convenient way to transfer information, documents, etc.

Of the informal methods of communication, it is worth mentioning the local computer network, in which "chat" exists. Employees in their free time, and even during work, communicate via chat. This type of communication can also be attributed to a plus, since it excludes trips, for example, to your friend, who is in the other wing of the building.

Communication in organizations is not only directed up and down. Horizontal or lateral communication is a constant and important facet of the life of an organization. The vertical axis has been the focus of most analyzes of communication, mainly because the classics have mostly explored this area (Simpson, 1969). The horizontal component has received less attention, although most communication in an organization is of this type. Simpson's study of a textile factory shows that the lower the level in the hierarchy, the greater the proportion of horizontal communication. And this is not surprising: in most organizations, the lower the level, the more people on it. This fact, together with the already noted tendency of the influence of hierarchical difference on communication, makes it natural for people to communicate with those who are at the same level in the organization. And people of the same level are closer to each other in terms of their characteristics, which facilitates horizontal communication.

Communication inside organizational unit quite different than communication between departments. Communication within the unit is "essential for the effective functioning of the system" (Katz and Kahn, 1978: p. 444). Designing in advance every conceivable facet of every task that passes through the organization is, in most cases, impossible. At some points, coordination and discussion of the work performed among peers should be carried out. In the process of coordination, interaction between individuals is vital, since an organization cannot foresee all possible contingencies. Communication within the unit is much richer in content than the materials of the organizational coordination of the task.

Mutual understanding of colleagues is one of the reasons for the power of a group of equals. Experimental results clearly and convincingly show the importance of support interpersonal relationships for people in organized and unorganized groups. Psychologically, people are always drawn to fellowship with equals: people in the same boat have the same problems.

Consequently, if coordination problems are not left to the peer group, the content of their communication may take on forms that are irrelevant to the functioning of the organization or destructive (Kate and Kahn, 1978: p. 445; italics original).

The meaning here is clear. It is better to allow task-oriented communications to work groups at all levels of the organization so that the resulting gaps are not filled with communications that could potentially reduce productivity. But, returning to general model, which we follow here, this provision should be modified. The behavior of people in organizations is determined by organizational, interpersonal and individual factors. If the organization's design makes horizontal communication almost impossible, then the likelihood of any communication is low. Working in a very noisy environment or in an isolated workplace greatly interferes with communication. (Of course, such situations contain their own problems for the individual and the organization). There is one more "side of the coin": too much responsibility for coordination and communication falls on those who, due to lack of education or abilities, are not able to come to a reasonable joint decision in some matters. It is not difficult to describe in abstract terms the optimal mixture of vertical and horizontal communication, but another element of communication among equals should be noted: they are based on general terms, and continuous communication creates group solidarity, and therefore, in working groups, a collective reaction develops to the world. It is likely that this collective reaction is accompanied by a collective perception of communications coming in or going through the working group. This collective perception can be a collective distortion. It is clear that working groups (as well as other teams) may perceive communication in a very different light. A relatively simple message, such as a memo about a possible reorganization, can be understood as a threat of downsizing. The working groups begin discussions that have nothing to do with what they intended to tell them.

Peer interactions are just one form of horizontal communication. Another form, also important, occurs between members of different parts of the organization. There are few studies on this topic.

The main reason is that such communications are not welcome. In almost every known form of organization, communication should go through the hierarchy to the "proper" office, or the point where the hierarchs of the two units are supposed to meet. This means that communications must pass through the office located above these two departments or units so that the authorities become familiar with the purpose and content of the communications. A simple example: problems between production and trade are supposed to be solved either through the office, or through individuals appointed for this in both divisions.

In fact, such a procedure is a very small part of the lateral communications. Much more face-to-face communications or memos go through positions in concerned departments so as not to overload the communication system, which will be completely clogged if all information regarding the interaction of departments goes first up from one and then down to another. . When the system is clogged, communication becomes painfully slow or non-existent.

So, the parties involved usually communicate directly with each other. This saves time and often leads to a perfectly reasonable solution worked out in close collaboration at the bottom level. But it also means that the higher ups don't know what's going on, and in the long run it can be harmful. The problem is solved as follows: information about what has been done is sent to the top, excluding the one that can be omitted; you can not report on what attention was paid to on the spot.

In this discussion, we are mainly interested in coordination between departments, and here it should be clarified that most communications of this kind are actually based on conflict. good example are professional departments. When the departments of an organization are staffed with professionals or experts, each department in its area of ​​competence comes to completely different conclusions on the same issue (Nade, 1974: pp. 101-124). For example, for oil company it is likely that the geological, construction, legal and public relations departments will have different opinions about the intention to open new wells in different places. Each department will make adjustments in its area of ​​competence, and the final decision will require coordination of the highest ranks. But during the planning or development period, communication between these departments can be unproductive, since each specialist will speak his own language, incomprehensible to those who do not belong to the same specialty. Practice shows that each department insists on its assessment of the situation and believes that other departments do not understand the "true" meaning of the situation.

This type of communication problem is not unique to specialized departments.

Communication between departments inevitably contains elements of conflict. If the units involved in the conflict invest in their understanding of the problems and the concept of their solution, then it will be even greater. Thus, horizontal communication across organizational lines contains both the seeds and the fruits of conflict. Such conflict, by definition, will in one form or another contribute to the distortion of communications. At the same time, pushing each message higher to avoid being corrupted by coordination at the top can dilute the message in an attempt to avoid conflict, or communication can take so long that the message becomes useless. Once again, the inherent complexity of an organization interferes with the rational functioning of the organization as a whole.

Both horizontal and vertical aspects of organizations create difficulties for communication. At the same time, there are situations in which these obstacles are overcome. A brilliant example of this is the analysis of aircraft carrier flight decks (Weick and Roberts, 1993). When the plane lands, a terrible noise fills the runway and the likelihood tragic mistake great. Despite this, the flight decks work very efficiently. Communication works "through" ranks and organizational departments. The authors believe that this is based on "caring relationships" and "collective intelligence" (p. 357). Everyone is extremely focused. Everyone is well trained. Similar situations occur in sports teams and in other areas of life. But an example landing pad makes an impression due to its unusualness. In the more earthly realms of real life, vertical and horizontal factors invade our communication.

From the point of view of the direction of movement, there are vertical (with direction up or down) and horizontal communication.

Vertical communication from top to bottom comes from the highest levels of the hierarchical structure to the lowest: from the boss to the subordinates. This is usually orders, instructions with accompanying explanations of tasks, goals and methods of execution, as well as assessment of the work of subordinates, attempt stimulate their motivation, support and control.

The problems of this type of communication include the following:

Performers and leaders often speak different languages ​​(literally and figuratively). Even if the working language of communication is English, the level of professional training is different, therefore, there is a danger of being misunderstood if one of the interlocutors abuses technical or professional terms. As a rule, it is at the lower levels that representatives of local national cultures work, for which the language of managers is often non-native, so it is necessary to use simple, accessible vocabulary.

It is sometimes difficult for managers to assess what information should be sent to performers: its lack will not allow the employee to perform the task correctly and efficiently, and its excess will cause irritation. Therefore, the information must be correctly dosed.

To vertical communication from bottom to top relate reports, memos, various messages subordinates to the manager about the progress of the work, the problems that have arisen, innovative ideas, rational proposals, as well as requests. This is very important for managers Feedback”, containing information about the state of affairs, the morale of workers and possible reasons discontent.

The problems of this type of organizational communication are numerous:

Performers often do not send negative remarks "upstairs" for fear of being punished or fired;

Often the directed remarks remain unanswered due to the busyness of the manager, and the worker has a feeling of the uselessness of this type of communication;

Sometimes criticism sent from below does not reach its addressee, because it is intercepted by the immediate superior;

For clarification of some problems, subordinates often prefer to turn to co-workers of equal status, and not to managers;

Often there is a purely geographical or territorial reason for the lack of this type of communication: the premises in which subordinates and managers work can be located on different floors of the building, and sometimes in different buildings, cities, and even countries, which prevents structure and effective communication.

There are several ways to resolve these problems:

§ put in the organization special boxes for anonymous suggestions and comments;

§ management can develop a system of rewards for the most proactive employees;

§ management can think over a communication system without intermediate barriers, directly from the lowest level to the highest;

§ enter order compulsory registration all messages with monitoring of the responses taken.

Horizontal communication - this is the exchange of business information between employees occupying an equal position in the organization, both within the same department and between departments. This type communication is necessary to create good relationships between employees of the organization, their full communication, and, consequently, for positive results their joint activities.

Among the problems of this type of communication, we should first of all name:

Production jargon inherent in each department and often incomprehensible to representatives of other departments acting as recipients of information;

Recommended methods to overcome these problems are:

§ in the first case, simplify and explain the reported information;

§ in the second case, develop the ability to present the whole picture of the organization's activities and understand the importance for the common cause of all its departments and subdivisions.

in multinational companies vertical communication takes place between the managers of the headquarters (head office) and divisions of various hierarchical levels. She can take the form financial reporting divisions in front of the head office, business trips from local divisions to headquarters and vice versa, participation of divisions in the planning process, etc. Horizontal communication, on the other hand, occurs between employees of MNCs of equal status, but of different functional and territorial divisions.

There are the following types of communications:

· formal and informal;

interpersonal - intergroup (between levels and departments in organizations; within departments, between an organization and external environment).

Horizontal and vertical

External - internal

Single-channel - multi-channel

Stable - Unsustainable

Situational - permanent

· Socio-psychological

Depending on the communication channels used, all information exchange processes can be divided into formal and informal.

Formal communications are always determined by the structure of the organization and its relations with the external environment, which is understood as the components of the external environment of the organization that have an impact on its activities. These include: current and potential customers organizations with which the organization communicates through advertising and special targeted programs promotion of their products on the market; public relations, through the press, advertising, etc.; bodies state regulation activities of the organization, to which the organization regularly submits financial, statistical and other reports; with the trade union, etc. The response to opportunities or problems created by the external environment are discussions, meetings, telephone conversations, memos, reports, etc., circulating within the organization.

Formal communication of information has limitations:

The formal system does not fully satisfy the needs of the organization, because everything that happens in the organization cannot be formalized;

Formal channels cannot accommodate all the diversity of information exchange needs;

The formal transmission of information does not convey all the semantic subtleties of what is supposed to be communicated;

· Formal exchange often fails to express the real needs and requirements of the organization due to its slowness and inflexibility.

Informal communication links in organizations, these are relationships that are not covered by the rules or guidelines of the organization. Often this is ordinary chatter or discussion of personal affairs, rumors, gossip that may also relate to work.

Informal communications are a rumor-spreading channel that usually conveys information regarding upcoming layoffs, new late penalties, changes in organizational structure, upcoming relocations, disputes between leaders, and so on.

To this day, rumors have been credited with a reputation for inaccurate information. However, research (Davis) shows that in 80 - 99% of cases, rumors regarding the affairs of the organization, more often turn out to be accurate. However, when it comes to personal emotionally charged information, the level of accuracy of rumors decreases. In any case, practice shows that regardless of the accuracy, the influence of rumors is very high, regardless of their impact (positive or negative).

In an organization, information in the form of rumors often circulates faster through formal channels.

Thus, the informal information transfer system includes the following methods:

Intra-institutional conversations

The informal transmission of information builds its channels on the basis of social groups included in the structure of the organization. A powerful mechanism that ensures the effective transfer of information are: frequent communication, identification with the organization and continuous contact with departments. The system of informal transmission of information is inevitable, necessary, and often irritates managers. However, it enables organizations to quickly adapt to changing conditions, on the other hand, it makes it difficult to coordinate the activities of the team, and brings discord. A developed system of informal information transfer gives the organization the opportunity to perform its tasks more quickly, employees reach understanding more easily. But informal information is sometimes incorrect, because not subject to official control. How much you can rely on an informal communication system depends on the size of the organization and the perception of its goals.

Large organizations should rely more on a formal system for communicating information. However, professional managers are very skillful and skillful in using rumors. For example, before the next reorganization, before a decision is made, information is leaked in order to find out the reaction to it through the channels feedback. This gives you the opportunity to change something in your decision or your activity.

Interpersonal communications- this is a communicative interaction in which both the sender and the recipient of the message are separate individuals who come into direct contact. In interpersonal contacts, not only verbal means are used, but also non-verbal ones - facial expressions, gestures. The process of communication is regulated by close feedback. In the practice of interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal barriers may arise. Of all types of communication, interpersonal communication faces the largest number of barriers to the effective perception of information by the recipient. The main barriers are:

· perception;

the semantics

exchange of non-verbal information;

Poor hearing

poor quality feedback.

Semantic barriers mean that various people one and the same word (symbol) or group of words can mean far from the same thing. So, even a simple wish of a leader to a subordinate “to complete the task as soon as a convenient opportunity presents itself” can be interpreted by him as a wish to complete the task as soon as possible or, conversely, when free time appears. Semantic barriers are especially strong in organizations with a multicultural environment. They can be caused by a number of reasons:

· A conflict between the areas of competence or basis of judgment of the sender and recipient of messages. As a result, the ideas encoded in the message by the sender may be distorted or not fully understood, as a result of which the information contained in the message will not bring the desired result.

· Differences in experience. Information that conflicts with human experience or previously learned concepts, which can either be completely rejected. Or be distorted by the recipient in accordance with his experience or previously learned concepts.

Differences in the range of interests, needs, emotional state at the time of receiving and transmitting information, etc.

· Discrepancies in settings. The perception of information is influenced by the prevailing social attitudes and communication climate that affect the perception of people and their behavior. If the information disagrees with the recipient's settings, it can be ignored, evaluated negatively, which will cause appropriate behavior. The inaccuracy of perception and understanding by some people of the words used as symbols in the process of communication. Studies by specialists in the field of personnel management confirm that in an atmosphere of trust, information flows and the accuracy of information grow.

· Non-verbal barriers that can create a look, facial expression. They make it difficult to properly perceive and use the information received. Non-verbal communication uses any symbols other than words. These include gestures, glances, smiles, facial expressions, intonation, voice inflection, fluency of speech, etc. The impact of non-verbal communication is enormous. Studies conducted by Western experts have found that 55% of messages are perceived through facial expressions, postures and gestures, 38% through intonations and voice modulations, and only 7% remain words. Practically non-verbal information suppresses verbal information; "how" is said more important than "what" is said.

All these barriers to interpersonal communication can lead to misperception and acceptance management decisions. Leader and manager interested in effective management activities should know the features of interpersonal communications and be able to overcome them, not allow social and psychological barriers in their communicative interactions.

Direct interpersonal exchange of information interpersonal communications may occur in any listed species communications. But unlike all of the above communications, interpersonal information exchange uses mainly a channel oral speech. The ability to listen is very important when receiving information. Every leader who wants to work effectively must learn to overcome all of the above barriers: to capture the level and ability to perceive information by subordinates; choose simple, clear words that do not allow ambiguous interpretations; consider the use of non-verbal symbols and their impact on subordinates. To a large extent, this skill is an art.

Intergroup communications - this is the interaction between two or more groups both inside and outside organizations in order to implement and coordinate joint activities, or to counteract each other. Intergroup communication can contribute to the convergence of the positions of two or more groups, strengthening intragroup solidarity and unity, or, on the contrary, leads to a delimitation of interests and positions of various groups and organizations.

Communication between the organization and the external environment . Organizations use a variety of means to communicate and exchange information with the external environment:

· With consumers (real and potential), communication with which goes through advertising and other programs to promote goods on the market

· With the public, aimed at creating a certain "image", the image of the organization at the local, national and international levels.

with government agencies. Any enterprise and organization communicates with them through reports (financial, marketing, etc.), various contributions to political parties, using lobbyists, trying to influence the content of future laws, regulations, etc.

Thus, modern organizations are forced to build effective communication links with the external environment. Circulating intraorganizational information (discussions, meetings, conversations, memos, etc.) are a reaction to possible problems from the external environment.

Communication within the organization - this is primarily communication between levels and departments.

Streams of organizational communication links can go in different directions. directions: horizontally and vertically (ascending and descending). Horizontal communication occurs between people at the same level in an organization. The organization is made up of many departments. Horizontal communications is the exchange of information between different departments (divisions). Such communications are necessary for the consistency of actions, reducing the likelihood of their duplication. A positive feature in horizontal communications is the formation of equal relations. It has been proven that such relationships are an important component of the satisfaction of the employees of the organization.

Vertical communication links are carried out in a hierarchy either from a subordinate to a superior, or from a superior to subordinates.

Information moves within the organization from level to level. vertical communications. Information can be transmitted downstream, i.e. from higher levels to lower ones. In this way, subordinate levels of management are informed about current tasks, changing priorities, specific tasks, etc. In addition to top-down exchange, the organization needs to communicate upward, that is, from the bottom up. In this way, management learns about current or emerging problems. The transfer of information from lower levels to higher levels can have a significant impact on performance. Upward exchange of information usually takes the form of reports, proposals and explanatory notes. Vertical communications also include the exchange of information between the leader and subordinates or the leader and the working group. These are the most common forms of communication in any organization, as managers, on average, spend two-thirds of their time sharing information with their subordinates.

Within the organization, the number of communications and their effectiveness are determined by the organizational structure - the logical relationship between management levels and functional sectors that ensure the achievement of the goals set by the organization.

Thus, the types of communications in the organization are diverse, each of them plays a different role in the management of the organization. The manager must rely on various types of communication in different ways in order to achieve the integration of the activities of the members of the organization. Practice shows that the ratio various kinds Communications is highly effective in solving the problems of an organization.

All communication flows existing in the organization form a communication network.

Communication network- this is a connection of individuals participating in the communication process in a certain way with the help of information flows. A communication network includes the flow of messages or signals between two or more individuals. The communication network focuses on the organization's patterns of these flows, not on whether the meaning or meaning of the message was conveyed. However, the communication network may have the effect of narrowing or widening the gap between the value sent and received.

The term "network" is actually used by organizational scientists to mean three different things.

1. A network of a complete system, covering stable communication patterns of all individuals in the system, in particular in the organization. This network can unite thousands of individuals in a large organization.

2. A group defined as a subsystem whose elements interact with each other relatively more often than with other elements of the communication system. Most groups have between five and twenty-five members, and sometimes more. Groups are thus one of the main components of the communication network in an organization (along with specific communication roles individuals).

3. Personal network, defined as a stable scheme of communication flows of a given individual with any other individuals. Each individual has a personal network connecting him with those individuals with whom he constantly contacts on certain issues. Thus, the individual has his own communicative external environment. The personality network partly explains the behavior of the individual.

It is useful to distinguish between two types of personality networks: radial and interconnected. A radial personality network is a network in which an individual interacts with others who are not in contact with each other. An interconnected personality network is a network in which those who are connected to an individual also interact with each other. Interconnected personality networks are more common than radial ones because those who come into contact with a given individual usually also communicate with each other. But most personality networks are partly radial and partly interconnected.

Analysis of communication networks is usually performed to identify the nature of the flow of interpersonal messages, comparison and correlation of formal and informal structures. Communication networks are the threads that hold the parts of the system together. They are important, but difficult to study because of their large number.

Network analysis helps to understand the behavior of individual group members. Information about an individual's friends (those with whom he most often communicates) is important in explaining some aspects of his behavior. This is true not only for organizations, but also in a number of other cases. The effects of the system are the influence of the individuals of the system on the behavior of its individual representative. Of course, networks have in most cases a strong influence on the behavior of their members. In fact, social norms and the climate of the system manifest their influence on individuals through their communication relationships.

Summarizing, we can say that the importance of networks in terms of their impact on the behavior of individuals in an organization is due to systemic effects.

Communicative flows permeate the entire living space of the organization. The task of formal organizational structure is to put the communication flows in the right direction. The size of departments in an organization limits the possibilities of developing a communication network. If the group size increases exponentially, then the number of possible communication relationships increases exponentially. Hence the communication network in a group of 12 is more varied and complex than in a group of three. Depending on how the communication networks are built, the activities of the group may be more or less effective.

There are well-established models of communication networks for groups of the same or different sizes.

In circle networks, group members can communicate only with those who are located next to them. This network is decentralized. In these networks, there is high independence, which contributes to greater satisfaction of individuals.

In wheel networks, there is a formal, centralized hierarchy of power in which subordinates communicate with each other through their boss. The objective basis of such a situation is that the person in the center of the "wheel" has more communication connections than other members of the group. He receives more messages, is more often recognized by other members of the group as a person performing leadership functions, has more social influence on other members of the group, usually bears a greater responsibility for the transfer of information, from him more than from others, the final solution of the problem is expected. In networks of the "wheel" type, tasks are performed much faster than in networks of the "circle" type. However, with the “wheel” structure, more errors are made, since only the participant in the center of the “wheel” is able to decipher the information and correct the error, while in the “circle” it is correct to decipher the information and, therefore, check specific solution all of its individuals could.

A similar picture is observed in networks of type "Y". Such networks are called centralized and can be effective if simple problems are solved.

Another type of power hierarchy is represented by "chain" networks, in which horizontal connections appear - an element of decentralization.

"Omnichannel" networks represent completely decentralized groups. This is usually required when it is necessary to involve everyone in solving complex problems. This approach is called open communications.

Knowing the types of communication networks is especially important for understanding the relationships of power and control between workers in an organization, hiding or centralizing information supports authoritarian power relationships.

Results of solving the same problem different groups can be clearly seen from the following table.

The communication flow can move in a horizontal or vertical direction. The vertical direction, in turn, is divided into downward and upward (Fig. 12.3).

Let's consider these areas by analyzing the subjects of communication, the characteristics of information and organizationally conditioned problems (interferences).

Rice. 12.3.

vertical communication. As is known, in centralized structures, vertical communications, and first of all, descending ones, are considered as the main ones. Recall that centralized structures and the principles of their construction were developed as the most adequate for the most common type of personnel at the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, the basis for building organizations was the principle of division of managerial and executive labor due to the mass prevalence of personnel qualities that do not contribute to the implementation of organizational goals. We are talking about irresponsibility, lack of diligence, unfocused™ on the goals of the organization, low qualification, lack of focus on activity (“unmotivated™”). It should be noted that these features of the staff have not sunk into oblivion - they are quite common in modern organizations. And the task of any organization is to build management principles that are adequate to this type of personnel.

Another characteristic of centralized structures is a high degree of specialization, standardization, and formalization. This provides such features of vertical communications as clarity, accuracy of information, accuracy of the addressee.

Downward direction. Communication flow that moves from one level in a group or organization to another, lower level, is downward. It is used by team leaders to set goals, describe work, inform about procedures in order to highlight problems requiring attention, and offer options for feedback on the results of work.

The main form of descending information is orders, but not only. According to D. Katz and K. Kahn, there are five elements of downward communication, in terms of its content.

• 1. Information about what to do and how to do it (work instruction). Such information may be in the form of orders, instructions, training sessions, job descriptions, etc. The higher the qualification of the personnel, the less specific the instruction should be.
• 2. Substantiation of the task and its connection with organizational activity in general. How complete the justification will be depends both on the policy of the organization and on the characteristics of the personnel. The value of communications in an organization is to make interactions and activities more predictable and defined. Therefore, everything that reduces certainty and violates predictability must be eliminated from the life of organizations. If the qualifications of the personnel do not allow to adequately evaluate the information and use it in the interests of the organization, then the amount of such information should be minimal. If there is too little information, this can be a demotivating factor, since the staff does not see the value of their work for the organization as a whole, which can make the work meaningless.
• 3. Information concerning procedures and traditions. This element is considered fairly simple and consistent, as are simple instructions.
• 4. Feedback from an individual, expressing an assessment of his behavior and characteristics. The consistency of this information is ensured by the availability of criteria for evaluating the performance of personnel. In the absence of deviations from the approved behavior, there may be no feedback, except for routine rewards.
• 5. Information aimed at developing staff confidence in the organization and acceptance of corporate goals (or unit goals^.

What kind of messages are broadcast through the channels of downward communication is shown in Fig. 12.4.

Rice. 12.4.

It should be noted that most of the downward information is presented in the form of orders. The requirements for orders were considered by us when analyzing the problem of "accepted authority" in paragraph 10.1. Interestingly, the form of information may vary depending on the type of structure: centralized and formalized structures assume the form of orders, while organic structures use advice and recommendations.

Ascending direction. Ascending information in organizations moves from lower to higher levels. It is used for feedback from subordinates to management in order to inform about the results of work and current problems. It also serves as a means of bringing the views of employees to the attention of managers. However, it is not just about opinions. Leaders rely on this information when analyzing how to improve the state of affairs in the organization. In some organizations, bottom-up information is used by lower-level managers to inform middle and upper managers (for example, preparing reports), in discussions where employees have the opportunity to consider problems with their manager or with representatives of senior management.

Rice. 12.5. Content of ascending communications (according to R. Hall) 1

Despite the fact that through descending communication the decisions made are brought to subordinates and this information is an impulse for action, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of upward communication. After all, ascending information is one of the most important bases for making decisions, and therefore, when analyzing the problem of the rationality of decisions, it is necessary to understand the specifics of this information. As already noted,

as the level of the hierarchy increases, the type of information changes: if the lower levels are dominated by Technical information(related to the technical and technological aspects of activity), then social information (about relationships) prevails at the highest levels (A. Fayol,

Technical information may be accurate. Social information is information about relationships, so the criterion of accuracy does not work here: social information is hybrid (from very different, poorly comparable sources), emotionally colored. In addition, it is natural for a person to try to show himself in a more favorable light. Therefore, this information often cannot be evaluated according to the criterion of truth and accuracy. The consequences of such upward communication may be different.

There are also problems associated with amount of upstream information. Since this is information about relationships, its volume is large. So any large organization should include filters so that information is sent to the top in the most generalized form. In this case, naturally, part of the information is omitted (a gap appears). But otherwise, the highest hierarchical levels are threatened with communication overload.

The more detailed the downstream information, the more compressed the upstream information can be.

horizontal communication. When communication occurs between members of the same group or working groups of the same level, between managers or executive personnel of the same level, then such a communication process is called horizontal. This process essential as it saves time. For the first time, the problem of using horizontal communications in order to save time resources was considered by A. Fayol ("Fayol's bridge").

Communication between employees of the same group, being horizontal, contributes to the formation of a common idea of ​​organizational reality. But at the same time, communication between departments causes a large number of negative consequences, including the emergence of group stereotypes, as well as such a serious problem as the emergence of group goals that are contrary to corporate ones. Fayol was one of the first to see this problem: his 14 principles include the principle of subordinating individual interests to the common interest. Subsequently, this problem was called the goal divergence problem.

Specialized departments initially treat organizational problems differently.

For example, the sales department and the manufacturing department will explain the low sales of a product in different ways and offer different ways to solve this problem. This leads to an increase in the potential for conflict between units. For the organization, this means diverting resources away from basic organizational activities.

It is known that the effectiveness of communications depends on how accurately the addressee understands its meaning and purpose. And since organization theory considers the communication structure, the initial criterion for effective communication is compliance with organizational goals. Thus, from the point of view of organization theory, which analyzes the communication structure as a means of ensuring goal achievement, the most main question- the question of the rationality of communications. In this sense, information is required to be accurate, relevant, it must give an adequate idea of ​​the situation in order to make a rational decision.

• Katz D., Kahn R. L. The social psychology of organizations. N.Y.: John Wiley, 1978; Hall P. X. Organizations: structures, processes, results. pp. 279-281.
• Katz D.. Kahn R. L. The social psychology of organizations; Hall P. X. Organizations: structures, processes, results. pp. 279-280.
• See: Hall R. X. Organizations: structures, processes, results. S. 281.
• 2 See for more details: Gvishiani D. M. Organization and management. S. 221.
• See: Fayol A. General and industrial management.