IMPROVING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND MORALE THROUGH EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

            Improving employee performance and morale through effective communication which make a effective in his job. Managers in general and industrial psychologist have been sticking to improve worker effectiveness in his job. As noted by from (164:191) a substantial proportions of the research in this  field has  been concerned ,with explaining individual difference in job performance. Also many of the methods used by professional industrial psychologists are directed towards increasing the level of performance of workers. Certain factors have been widely recognized as having reasonable influence on the morals and performance of employee in industrial firms. Vom (1964:91)  for instance  stressed the importance of motivation.

            Middle West and Hill (1988:3160  viewed communication between two or more people to achieve a common understanding  about an  object or  a situation. The process of communication starts with the formation of ideas by the sender (know as ideation which is the content of the message the sender want to transmit. In the next step, encoding, the ideas are organized into a series of symbols designed to the intended receiver(s) suitable  words or phrases that must  be understood by the receiver(s) and the appropriate medium or media to be used memorandum, conference, etc were selected.

            Next transmission of the message takes place  as encoded through selected channels in the organization structure. In transmission the message is then received and then decoded, or changed in to the form to be understood by the receiver.

            In the next step, the receiver takes  action or responds by filling the information, asking for more information etc. Communication has not taken place unless there is some type of feedback to the sender in the message received.

            Possible barriers exist to the communication process, and such barriers could exist in any stage of the communication process. These include poor reception poor listening semantics, Cultural difference and

Organizational climate etc.

            (Sherman et al, 1998:322). These barriers sometimes referred to as noise, could be removed or reduced through adequate knowledge of then and concerted efforts at taking certain steps such as training for improved perceptual ability, proper non evaluative  listening use of simple words, conciseness and specificity other include improving the organizational climate encouraging openness) sincerity on the part of management encouraging the needs of employees, proper timing and use of appropriate channels and media (Sherman et al;  1988:328) within and outside the organization programmes.

            Effective communication requires mutual understanding and achieving effective communication is a challenge. As middlemost and hitt (1988:317) pointed out, poor communication, is cited as the basis of conflict with in organizational problems. Good communication is also the basis of effective leadership. The motivation of subordinated and he exercise of powder and influence. The authors noted further that improving communication is not an easy task communication has also been show that an integral part of corporate strategy.              

           As subordinate may feel insulted because of a manager’s wrong choice of words in communication or that a manager has degraded him self or herself because of such wrong choice of words. Thus communication may have an important bearing on the morals of workers

        The overall performance of an organization depends on the extent to which the organization accomplishes its set down goals, which is determined largely by individual workers performance. The research meant that mangers In general and industrial psychologists in particular have lung been interested in the conditions which make a worker effective in his job. As noted by Vom (1964-191) a substantial proportions of  the research in his field has been concerned with explaining individual differences in job performance.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATION WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER

In the ideal situation without  an organization communication is supposed to be basically a two way process from suppr ordinates to subordinates and vice versa and lateral between the vice verse level. In such a situation, the organizational climate is supposed to be open, and the nature of communication would permit the coordination of tasks. Giving of instruction shaping of ideals. Digestion of information, the solution of personnel problems and difficulties associated with the performance of tasks, with the result that works morale and performance would be enhanced and organizational goals met.

However in many organizations such as Enugu State water corporations (ENSWC) this is not the case in real life. Effective communication is very difficult to achieve. Breakdown in communication process is occasionally witnessed due to several reasons such as poor choice and quality of communication media, and other barrier to communication such as poor perceptual ability.

Poor listing ability

Poor understanding skills

Poor quality of written and oral communication wrong timing and poor frequency of such communications.

Thus while one occasionally hears /observes the poor quality of downward communication, no media of upward communication appear to be operative moreover, poor jobs attitudes are easily observed, together with occasional lapses in individual task performance.

These have sometimes culminates in the poor attainment of the overall goals for which such organization   have been established.

It occasionally suggested that the poor morale and lapses is job performance exhibited by workers are general phenomena, peculiar to workers in ENSWC, and are attributable to poor communication within the organization.

PROBLEMS THE STUDY WILL BE CONNECTED WITH

1.         To identify the major communication channels media that are frequently utilized in ENSWC.

2.         To access the nature of communication channels media in terms of quality and adequacy and make appropriate recommendations for improvement.

3.         To identify major barriers of effective communication, in ENSWC and suggest remedies to such barriers.

4.         To determine if works satisfaction with the nature of communication in terms of quality, adequacy and openness has an effect on the morale of employees. 

5.         To determine if workers satisfaction with the organizational communication with in ENSWC, is significantly related with worker 

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THAT AREA

                        This study is significant for several reasons. The study would create more evidence regarding the influence of communication on the performance and morale of workers within business organizations knowledge in the area would thus have been increase and more researches in the area would be stimulated. It would also lead to the validation/refinement of existing theories regarding communication, performance and morale, and the better conceptualization of their interrelationship.

                        The findings of the study and recommendation would be useful to business organization. In that it would be possible for them to carry out appropriate adjustment of existing communication strategies or level for adequate influencing the workers moral and performance.

                        By so doing greater productivity of not only the particular organization studied here but similar ones and other, can be achieved ministries, and extra ministerial departments could utilize the finding of the study and  influence workers performance and thus improve the services rendered by such establishment.

DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS   

            Communication and employed performance, productivity, effectiveness and organization success.

            The relevance of communication to employee performance and consequent organizational success could be seen in Nwachukwu (1988:164) observations, that the effect of organizational communication can be measured in terms of attitude and performance for it affects towards organizational leadership and consequently as middlemost and Hitt (1988:317) have pointed out, managers. Must be communicate with their subordinate or order that jobs be effectively performed, organizational goals must be communicated to employees who are expected to achieved them.

            May jobs requires coordination and coordination requires communication. Sherman et al (1988:326) have indicated that effective communication yields the levels of understanding necessary for efficient.