Lecture 10/11: Internal communication

Question 1

Internal communication: definition

Answer 1

All communication practices that take place within an organization
Concerns internal stakeholders

Question 2

Several advantages are connected with internal communication

Answer 2

• Employee morale
• Building employee community
• Commitment
• Job performance
• Satisfaction and loyalty
• Organizational citizenship (going above and beyond what is formally required by the job description)

Question 3

What is Organizational identification ?

Answer 3

the establishment of organizational identification, i.e. “is a specific form of social identification in which individuals define themselves in terms of their association with the organization”
- Ashforth et al. 2008

Question 4

Function of internal communication

Answer 4

“(…) respondents describe internal communication as (…) an interdisciplinary function integrating elements of human resources management, communication and marketing. On the other hand, they see it in charge of information dissemination and of management and production of internal media.”
- Verčič et al., 2012
- Inform
- Identify responsibilities
- Promote adherence to rules and regulations
- Coordinate work groups
- Resolve conflicts
- Increase the quality of decisions
- Create culture, identify and group image
- Motivate, support, create a sense of belonging
- Help change management

Question 5

Two factors influence the perception of organizational identification

Answer 5

• Perceived external prestige
  An organization that has a good reputation is easier to identify with than one who is not well received
• Overlap of identities
  Identification is easier when the values of the employee overlap with those of the organization

Question 6

Typologies of internal communication: informal vs formal

Answer 6

Informal
Uses channels that are intended to complement official information; emerges from natural social interaction
- In the form of social groups, of cultural, identity, associative, family, geographic origin
- Characteristics
o Fast
o High coverage
o Redundancy

Formal
Uses channels that address the organization’s structural planning.
- By institutionalizing organizational levels, divisions and departments, specifying responsibilities, employment positions and job descriptions

Question 7

Typologies of internal communication: vertical vs horizontal

Answer 7

Vertical
When the flow of messages concerns different layers of the organization

Horizontal
When the flow of messages is among the same layer within an organization
- Contents: information, suggestions, opinions
- Channels: meetings, reports, informal meetings

Question 8

Typologies of internal communication: upward vs downward

Answer 8

Upward communication
Send feedback, ease social tensions, encourage participation
- Contents: suggestions, complaints, opinions, information
- Channels: reports, memos, opinions, meetings

Downward communication
It aims to internalize the organization’s goals
- Contents: regulations, manuals, work orders, dispatches
- Channels: official letters, circulars, newspapers/magazines, meetings

Question 9

Typologies of internal communication: grapevine

Answer 9

The informal communication network – or grapevine – is supported by the formal structure of the organization

Example: “Employee X tells three or four others. Only one or two of these recipients will pass along the information and those that do will generally tell more than one person. Then, as the information “ages” and the proportion of those who learn about it increases, it gradually dies, because not everyone who receives it repeats it. This type of network is known as a cluster chain [or grapevine] because each of the links in the chain tends to inform a set of people, instead of telling a single person.”
- Newstrom & Davis, 1997

Question 10

How to intervene in communication to deal with rumours?

Answer 10

1. Getting to know informal communication networks
2. Leaving the correct information to “pour” through these networks, in order to control errors or deviations
3. Meet as “key people” or network leaders
4. Observe and evaluate the network regularly
5. Clarify the network though formal channels
6. Prevent unconfirmed information
7. Practice “open door management”

Question 11

Internal communication and workplace discrimination | Lee et al. 2021: What is Employee-organization relationship (EOR)?

Answer 11

The degree to which an organization and its employees trust one another, agree on who has the rightful power to influence, experience satisfaction with each other, and commit oneself to the other

Question 12

Internal communication and workplace discrimination | Lee et al. 2021: How is EOR measured?

Answer 12

Trust: level of confidence in and willingness to open oneself to the other party

Control mutuality: the degree to which parties agree on who has the rightful power to influence one another

Commitment: the extent to which one party believes and feels that the relationship is worth spending energy to maintain and promote

Satisfaction: the extent to which one party feels favorably toward the other because positive expectations about the relationship are reinforced

Question 13

Internal communication and workplace discrimination | Lee et al. 2021: Results

Answer 13

H1: no direct effect of workplace discrimination on EOR

H2: Supported; transparent internal communication significantly increased EOR

H3: Supported; transparent internal communication reduces perceptions of workplace discrimination against racial minority employees

H4: Partially supported; experienced workplace discrimination is negatively associated with procedural and distributive justice but the relationship is not significant for interactional justice

H5: Partially supported; observed workplace discrimination is negatively associated with procedural justice but the relationship is not significant for distributive and interactional justice

H6: Supported; Employees’ perceived procedural, distributive, and interactional organizational justice will increase the quality of relationship with their organizations

H7: Supported; transparent internal communication had a significant and positive relationship with the three types of organizational justice

Question 14

Internal communication and workplace discrimination | Lee et al. 2021: Main takeaways

Answer 14

Establishing transparent internal communication can be effective in addressing and reducing workplace discrimination

When the company’s internal communication is deemed as participative, substantial, and accountable, racial minority employees believe that their company treats them equally and justly in terms of resource allocation, organizational policies, and information distribution

Question 15

Internal communication and workplace discrimination | Lee et al. 2021: Results in practice

Answer 15

When designing daily communication activities, organizations and leaders should invite various employee groups, including minority employees, to participate in determining the key information they need to achieve communication clarity for information transparency

Question 16

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021: What is Emotional culture?

Answer 16

‘Shared affective values, norms, artifacts, and assumptions that govern which emotions people have and express at work and which ones they are better of suppressing’

-Nonverbal emotional expressions: tone, facial expressions, body language
- Cultural artefacts: physical space, decorations, stories, group rituals ceremonies
- Underlying values: collective importance placed on certain emotions such as an understanding what emotions should be expressed or suppressed
- Underlying assumptions: the implicit, take-for-granted meaning of expressing or suppressing a certain emotion

Question 17

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021: Positive Emotional culture is known for 4 kinds of culture, which 4?

Answer 17

Culture of joy: characterized by good humor, conviviality, pleasantness, and delight, guides everyday employee interaction

Culture of companionate love: is manifested in the pervasiveness of support, caring, compassion, and affection among different levels of organizational member

Culture of pride: arises from team success and group cohesiveness and captures employees feeling important, valuable, and admired about their jobs and organizations

Culture of gratitude: is synonymous with thankfulness and appreciation

Question 18

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021:
What is Leaders’ Motivating Language (ML)?

Answer 18

It connects employees’ personal goals with higher organizational purposes

Meaning-making language
Paint a clear picture of the organizational value, mission, vision and identity and be able to communicate these to employees; link employees’ individual goals, with the overarching organizational purpose

Empathetic language
Applauding employees’ work success, congratulating employees on a personal matter, as well as providing comfort and reassurance in times of personal setbacks

Direction-giving language
Communicate transparently, articulating what needs to be done to achieve organizational goals, clarifying role and task ambiguity, and providing performance feedback

Question 19

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021: What is Symmetrical internal communication?

Answer 19

Values and amplifies employees’ voice, feedback and power to negotiate

It has to do with the purpose of internal communication: symmetrical communications denote an balance between communication from sender to receiver and vice-versa. features listening and feedback processes

Question 20

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021: Results

Answer 20

H1 (Leader motivating language -> postive emotional culture) = supported

H2 (symmetrical internal communication -> positive emotional culture) = supported

H3 (leader motivating language -> organizational identification) = not supported

H4(symmetrical internal communication -> organizational identification) = not supported

H5 (positive emotional culture -> organizational identification) = supported

H6/H7: the effects of leader ML and symmetrical internal communication on organizational identification were fully mediated via a positive emotional culture

Question 21

Internal communication and emotional culture | Yue et al. 2021: Main takeaways

Answer 21

Effective internal communications (symmetrical and with motivating language) indirectly strengthen employee organizational identification by first and foremost fostering a positive emotional culture in which employees embrace and share. It is essentially how employees feel about the organization that produces the degree of identification