Organisational structures - AQAImpacts of communication

Businesses use organisational structures to illustrate job roles and responsibilities. Organisational structures show who each employee reports to in their job.

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The impact of communication on efficiency and motivation

Effective communication is important in any business. The type of and the management approach a business chooses each have a significant impact on the type and amount of communication the business uses. As a business grows, maintaining an effective level of communication becomes increasingly difficult.

Communication in a business can be done in a number of ways. The most common methods are emails, text messages, online shared spaces, communication apps, letters, reports, phone calls, video-conferencing, and face-to-face meetings.

When communication is not done well, there can be negative effects on business performance. Ineffective communication falls into two categories: insufficient and excessive.

Business staff showing insufficient communication and excessive communication via emails, social media messages and face-to-face.

Insufficient communication

Insufficient communication means not enough communication or poor-quality communication. Insufficient communication can negatively impact efficiency and motivation, as employees may not fully understand what is required of them or what is happening across the business as a whole. This may have a negative impact on overall business performance and decrease the of employees.

Excessive communication

Excessive communication means too much communication. For example, employees may receive too much communication in general, or they may receive the same message via multiple channels. This can often cause employees to become confused or feel stressed or overloaded. Ultimately, excessive communication can have a similar impact on efficiency and motivation to insufficient communication.