Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation

Effective communication complements managerial effectiveness in organizations and is also a means of achieving organizational objectives. The settings in large organizations often makes effective communication difficult. One source of this lies in the characteristics of organizational structure. Th...

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Main Author: Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: 1994
Subjects:
Online Access:http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/1/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf
http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/2/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf
http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/
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id my.uum.etd.646
record_format eprints
institution Universiti Utara Malaysia
building UUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Utara Malaysia
content_source UUM Electronic Theses
url_provider http://etd.uum.edu.my/
language English
English
topic HD28-70 Management. Industrial Management
spellingShingle HD28-70 Management. Industrial Management
Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam
Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
description Effective communication complements managerial effectiveness in organizations and is also a means of achieving organizational objectives. The settings in large organizations often makes effective communication difficult. One source of this lies in the characteristics of organizational structure. This study confines to the impact of organizational structural variables on effective communication in organizations. The communication channels created by the organizational structure serve specific functions through downward, upward and lateral communication. Thus an organization’s structure must facilitate this effective flow of communication. This study examined the relationship of selected variables of organizational structure and the informal structure to effective communication flow among the managerial ranks at Sharp-Roxy Corp. (M) Sdn. Bhd. in Sungei Petani, Kedah. The organizational structural variables examined were specialization, departmentalization, hierarchical level, span of control, spatial dispersion, formalization and centralization, and the informal structure. Additionally, the demographic factors of gender, age, race, position, years of company experience, and emplacement were investigated to determine their impact on communication effectiveness as well as the differences among the various groups classified by the demographic factors. The study thus sought answers to the following research questions: 1. Did selected demographic factors influence the effective communication flow? 2 . Did the organizational structural variables and informal structure contribute significantly to the effective communication flow among the managerial ranks? This study was conducted on a sample of 68 respondents from various managerial ranks and departments of Sharp-Roxy Corporation (SRC), who completed the Communication Opinion Questionnaire. This instrument recorded the respondents’ perception of communication effectiveness along the dimensions of organizational structural variables. The major finding of the study was the impact of the organizational structural variables on communication effectiveness. The seven independent variables of organizational structure, explained 67.2 percent of the dependent variable of communication effectiveness. Of the variables examined, formalization and specialization, emerged as most significant in explaining the variance in effectiveness. It was concluded that the existing levels of the organizational structural variables facilitated effective communication flow in the organization. There was no significance found for effectiveness by demographic factors of gender, race, position, or years of company experience. However, significance was found for age groups, where respondents between 40-49 years old perceived the most effectiveness in communication flow. Significance was also found for the variable of emplacement where respondents among selected departments of SRC perceived differences in communication effectiveness. Opinions on communication climate and channels of communication were also sought. The responses conveyed that conflicts were handled through proper communication channels, trust with senior management and among co-workers was fairly high, and that not enough training programs in communication were conducted by the organization. The channels of communication most used and most preferred were face-to-face and the telephone.The study also made some suggestions and recommendations for further research in this field of inquiry. Of note are the need to study other intrapersonal and interpersonal factors affecting communication effectiveness. Also, research on a longitudinal scale in various organizational settings is needed.
format Thesis
author Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam
author_facet Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam
author_sort Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam
title Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
title_short Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
title_full Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
title_fullStr Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation
title_sort impact of organizational structure on effective communication flow : the case of sharp-roxy corporation
publishDate 1994
url http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/1/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf
http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/2/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf
http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/
_version_ 1644276225422655488
spelling my.uum.etd.6462013-07-24T12:08:18Z http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/ Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam HD28-70 Management. Industrial Management Effective communication complements managerial effectiveness in organizations and is also a means of achieving organizational objectives. The settings in large organizations often makes effective communication difficult. One source of this lies in the characteristics of organizational structure. This study confines to the impact of organizational structural variables on effective communication in organizations. The communication channels created by the organizational structure serve specific functions through downward, upward and lateral communication. Thus an organization’s structure must facilitate this effective flow of communication. This study examined the relationship of selected variables of organizational structure and the informal structure to effective communication flow among the managerial ranks at Sharp-Roxy Corp. (M) Sdn. Bhd. in Sungei Petani, Kedah. The organizational structural variables examined were specialization, departmentalization, hierarchical level, span of control, spatial dispersion, formalization and centralization, and the informal structure. Additionally, the demographic factors of gender, age, race, position, years of company experience, and emplacement were investigated to determine their impact on communication effectiveness as well as the differences among the various groups classified by the demographic factors. The study thus sought answers to the following research questions: 1. Did selected demographic factors influence the effective communication flow? 2 . Did the organizational structural variables and informal structure contribute significantly to the effective communication flow among the managerial ranks? This study was conducted on a sample of 68 respondents from various managerial ranks and departments of Sharp-Roxy Corporation (SRC), who completed the Communication Opinion Questionnaire. This instrument recorded the respondents’ perception of communication effectiveness along the dimensions of organizational structural variables. The major finding of the study was the impact of the organizational structural variables on communication effectiveness. The seven independent variables of organizational structure, explained 67.2 percent of the dependent variable of communication effectiveness. Of the variables examined, formalization and specialization, emerged as most significant in explaining the variance in effectiveness. It was concluded that the existing levels of the organizational structural variables facilitated effective communication flow in the organization. There was no significance found for effectiveness by demographic factors of gender, race, position, or years of company experience. However, significance was found for age groups, where respondents between 40-49 years old perceived the most effectiveness in communication flow. Significance was also found for the variable of emplacement where respondents among selected departments of SRC perceived differences in communication effectiveness. Opinions on communication climate and channels of communication were also sought. The responses conveyed that conflicts were handled through proper communication channels, trust with senior management and among co-workers was fairly high, and that not enough training programs in communication were conducted by the organization. The channels of communication most used and most preferred were face-to-face and the telephone.The study also made some suggestions and recommendations for further research in this field of inquiry. Of note are the need to study other intrapersonal and interpersonal factors affecting communication effectiveness. Also, research on a longitudinal scale in various organizational settings is needed. 1994-05 Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/1/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf application/pdf en http://etd.uum.edu.my/646/2/Vemala_Devi_Venkatachalam.pdf Vemala Devi, d/o Venkatachalam (1994) Impact of Organizational Structure on Effective Communication Flow : The Case of Sharp-Roxy Corporation. Masters thesis, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
score 13.211869