Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE CARIBBEAN

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION/HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Presented in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the course:
RSH406APPLIED RESEARCH

TOPIC
Lack of timely communication creates Frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

LECTURER
Ms. Marsha Pabarue

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

ABSTRACT
The study examined the factors which led to frustration and loss of productivity due to
lack of timely communication. It looked at the approaches the company utilized to improve these
methods. The study found that poor communication skills lead to lack of enthusiasm resulting
in demoralized employees and inadequate handling of important projects. This crippled the
companys innovation and capacity to make positive contributions to society. It also found that
businesses that suffered from communication problems likely have no defined, company-wide
communication strategies in place.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Lack of timely communication creates Frustration and loss of Productivity in Organizations

Crystal Creary-McDonald, Veronica Wade, Sherene Johnson, Anis Gardner-Motta,
Harold Dawkins and Sandra Dennis

Author Note
Crystal Creary-McDonald - 20083751, Veronica Wade - 20084719, Sherene Johnson 20112254, Annis Gardner-Motta- 20131344 Harold Dawkins 20021234 AND Sandra Dennis 20141297, Department of Business Administration, University College of the Caribbean.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the group members listed,
Department of Business Administration, University College of the Caribbean, 17 Worthington
Avenue, Kingston 5, Jamaica W.I.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
ABSTRACT .. I
PRELIMINARY PAGES II
Title Page ...III
Dedication ..IV
Table of Contents ..V
List of Figures VI
List of Tables .VII
List of Abbreviations VIII
Preface/Acknowledgements . IX
SECTION III
TEXT
Chapter I
Introduction..
1.1 Problem Background ..
1.3 Statement of the Problem ...
1.4 Purpose of the Study
1.5 Research Questions and/Hypotheses .

3-5

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Context of the study
1.8 Definition of Terms
1. 9 Summary (Optional) .

Chapter 2
LITERATUE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical and/or Conceptual Framework ..
2.2 Lack of timely communication
2.3 Benefits of Effective communication ..
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1Research Perspective and Design ..
3.2 Population and Sample .
3.3 Instrument .
3.4 Data Collection procedures ..
3.4 Data Analysis
3.5 Ethical Considerations .
3.6 Limitations .
3.7 Delimitations .
3.8 Summary ..

Chapter 4
RESULTS/FINDINGS ....................................................................................12 - 14

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

4.1 Demographics .
4.2 Factor Analysis/Thematic Analysis
4.3 Research Question 1 or theme
Research Question 1 or theme
Research Question 1 or theme
Research Question 1 or theme
4.4 Summary
Chapter 5
Discussion and Conclusion ...
5.1 Summary of Study
5.2 Summary of Findings/Results ..
5.3 Discussions .
5.4 Recommendations for Future Practice
5.6 Recommendations for Future Study
5.7 Conclusion
Section IV
References Pages
Appendices
Glossary
Reference List

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

INTRODUCTION
Background to Problem
In pursuit of being the best in the business, an organization needs to drive productivity
while exploring inorganic growth opportunities as a fundamental part of its growth strategy. One
of the key areas to that success is through effective communication. It is easily recognizable to
all that the communication is the life blood of any organization. In order to ensure a high
standard of service to the internal and external customers, information needs to be communicated
timely, effectively and accurately.
The argument can clearly be made that a competitive advantage can be sustained by
providing excellent customer service which would greatly be aided by timely communication to
employees. Organizations support the phenomenon that happy customers result in happy
employees who in turn create happier customers.
When feedback was received that complaints were being made by Representatives being
frustrated by the lack of timely communicated information, Management believed that the lack
of timely communication could cost the company money by causing a decline in sales, customer
satisfaction, job satisfaction and corporate image, among other issues. Resulting from these
complaints, Organizations saw it necessary to conduct a research into the situation.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Statement of the Problem

Lack of timely communicated information from creates frustration and loss of productivity in
Organizations.
Purpose of the Study
The nature of this proposed study is to examine the factors which led to the lack of timely
communication to employees, how it impacted productivity and to examine the approaches the
company may utilize to improve this issue. This study gathered information regarding the
employees opinion for the lack of communication that exist, the impact this had on them in
relation to their overall delivery of service, addressed the issue of managers being the key player
to building better communication within the organization, identified the steps to effective
communication, and the necessary measures to be implemented to resolve this problem.
Proposed knowledge from the contribution of study
This study examined all of the aforementioned key elements to the lack of timely
communication faced by employees in the workplace, it offered a larger picture of the external
pressures being exerted, to why such an issue existed in a department and proposed methods to
establish practices that are effective. Contributing literature described ways to combat the lack of
communication in the workplace and service capabilities. Methods to improve the lines of
communication is rather extensive, where employees need to receive adequate amounts of
information in a timely manner in the relevant areas of their operation if they are expected to be

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

good performers. The proposal served to offer validity to the hypothesis aiding to the overall
well-being of the business.

Significance of Study
The significance of the study was improved business concepts of service quality and
customer relationship management and demonstrated the importance of establishing within their
business framework effective user-friendly business tools that provided information for both
employees and customers more efficiently and effectively.
Scope
The study was limited to all current employee as well as trainees who have been with the
company for at least eight months, in addition to Management and customers.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Frame work
The first major model for communication came in 1949 and was conceived by Claude
Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories. Following the basic concept,
communication is the process of sending and receiving messages or transferring information
from one part (sender) to another (receiver).
The purpose of this research was to explore if lack of timely communicated information
to customer service employees, creates frustration and loss of productivity in the organization.
Utilizing questionnaires and by conducting interviews with a few selected employees we were
able to determine the importance of communication between management but all employees and
how it affects business communication in the organization.
Effective communication is the life-blood of any organization and it move employees
within the workplace. Hence same has to be timely, specific and properly executed with room
left for feedback. A lack of clear communication often results in confusion, when communication
is poor between management and staff and not enough time is spent explaining the environment
and context to the employees this can lead to employees guarding their territories. Effective
communication, transparency and free flow of relevant information are the recommended
antidote for turf guarding.(Granin-Nicholson 2011)

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

According to Dr. Kenneth Carter 1987 Workers cited the lack of respect and recognition,
poor communication, lack of involvement in decision-making and general disregard for workers
as human beings as key factors in their general contempt for and lack of confidence in
management. This last factor in particular was a source of much anguish, anger and resentment
among workers, fueled by the perception that "management does not understand workers'
problems, does not understand workers and is not interested in workers as human beings".
(Granin-Nicholson 2011)
Lack of timely communication
Participants stated that a lack of communication in the workplace occurs between
management and employees as well among employees. Employees look to their managers and
supervisors for direction as their leaders, however if the leader displays indecisiveness and
passes on poor communication to their employees, this will adversely affect the organization and
ultimately lead to loss of revenues. If expectations are not communicated to employees
effectively they may get confused and end up underperforming as unclear goals lead to poor
communication and frustration. This also leads to feeling demotivated. Lack of timely
communication leads to demotivated workers.
Benefits of Effective communication
Effective communication is a critical component of customer service for all
organizations. Customer service efforts should be designed to ensure the prompt and efficient
delivery of quality products and services to customers, as well as the effective recovery from any
issue that may arise. Opening the lines of communication is essential when dealing with clients.
When dealing with customers, opening the lines communication is essential, whether it is faceto-face, over the phone, via email or, increasingly, through online channels. (Richards)

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

With effective workplace communication managers and employees work in teams and
learn to trust each other. This results in high productivity and efficiency and a healthy work
environment. Employees are given specific roles to make them feel valued and work together
without unnecessary bickering as everyone knows their role in the organization. Employees can
be corrected by Supervisors without feeling offended or insecure. A manager who encourages
open communication as a leader will also encourage positive relationships that benefit the
company as a whole. Employees appreciate good communication coming from management as
well as their co-workers as workers who are satisfied with their jobs are able to efficiently
perform their duties with a positive attitude.
Effective business communication needs to be sent through a broad variety of channels to
ensure that it is received by employees in different settings. Businesses, fortunately, have a
variety of channels to choose from traditional print, bulletin boards, and meetings to the newtechnology email, blogs, and social media sites. (Richards)
According to Grensing Pophal face-to-face communication is still the most effective, and
should be used whenever possible and practical. Of course, in very large organizations this can
be challenging, but even then, alternatives may include videoconferencing or the use of
webinars.
Benefits of a Two Communication to customer services employees are it increases job
satisfaction, whereas employees are allowed to share their opinions, suggestions, complaints and
grievances with their superiors. It allows unrestricted exchange of information between
subordinate and superior in a more democratic environment. Both the employees and supervisors
and managers get the opportunity to share their opinions. This practice enables the managers take

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

better decisions as they get feedback from their subordinates as they include them in the decision
making process. Which makes them feel important and apart of the organization.
This form of communication is a dynamic process of exchanging message where
information flows from sender to receiver and receiver to sender so that an interactive
relationship is established. The interaction between the parties helps to the take dynamic
decisions. Supervisor and subordinates can come close contact to each other. Good relationships
are established and remove misunderstanding among them. Which creates a healthy relationship
between the Management and employees this will increase efficiency and productivity.
If there is any ambiguity or confusion in the information received, it is necessary to remove the
misunderstanding immediately. This solves problems that may arise and improves the accuracy
and timely communication.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
This research was conducted by using the qualitative approach. The researcher used two
methods for data collection. They were interviews (unstructured) and questionnaires interviews.
Interviews were conducted with the National Commercial Bank Customer Service
Representative (NCB CSR) and questionnaires completed by same as the means of collecting
data.
3.1 Research Perspective and Designs
The perspective of this research was to give credence to the phenomenon, Lack of timely
communicated information from management to customer service employees creates frustration
and loss of productivity in the organization. The researcher further sought to look at the
following:
Examine the factors responsible for the untimely information to CSR by Management.
Identify specific actions/steps required to secure fast and accurate information to CSR
and Customers.
Gather information regarding the quality of service and service efficiency expected by the
internal and external customers.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

According to Mouton (1996), research design serves to, plan, and structure and execute the
research to maximize the validity of the findings. It gives directions from the underlying
philosophical assumptions to research designs, and data collection. In addition, Yin (2003, pg.
19) states that, colloquially a research design is an action plan for getting from here to there,
where here may be defined as the initial set of questions to be answered and there is some set
of (conclusions) answers
The research design that was used was Qualitative Technique. Qualitative research was used
in order to adhere to the nature of the study. Qualitative method is a scientific research which
seeks answers to a phenomenon/question. Qualitative Research focuses on understanding a
social phenomenon from the perspective of those involved as participants in the research. It
involves looking at characteristics, or qualities, that cannot easily be reduced to numerical
values. A qualitative researcher typically aims to examine the many nuances and complexities of
a particular phenomenon. Its main purpose is to give the researcher more in-depth information on
the topic being studied.
There were a number of advantages in using the qualitative approach, namely:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Allows for rich data

Allows face to face contact
Allows the researcher to explore the topic in depth
Allows the researcher to clarify the question

The three most common means of qualitative methods are:

participant observation
interviews
focus groups
3.2 Population and Sample

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

A population describes the target group of persons. The study population consists of fifty
(50) persons, inclusive of members of staff from the National Commercial Bank (NCB). This
targeted group were comprised of Customer Service Representatives (CSR) permanent and
temporary, trainees who have been with the company for at least eight months), Managers,
Supervisors and external customers. Staff of the National Commercial Banks in the corporate
area made up the population.
According to Moulton (1996:110), during the process of sampling, the aim is to get a
sample that is as representative as possible of the target population.. A sample is the process of
selecting a portion (subset) of the population to represent the entire population. Purposive
sampling was used to select the sampling size; this is a very common sampling strategy used
when doing a qualitative research.. Purposive sample sizes are often determined on the basis of
academic saturation (the point in data collection when new data no longer bring additional
insights to the research questions). Purposive sampling is most successful when data review and
analysis are done in combination with data collection.
A total of thirty (30) participants were selected to participate in the research. The sample
included Managers, CRS, trainees and temporary staff and members of the public. They were
willing to participate in the research and had met the criteria. This had given a stretch of
responses and the opportunity to identify interesting differences.
3.3 Instruments(s)
The data collection instruments used were interviews (unstructured) and questionnaires
(closed-ended). Interviews are best for data collection regarding personal histories, perspectives
and experiences. On the other hand, questionnaires are a series of questions designed to elicit
information (feelings, beliefs, experiences, perceptions) of participants in the sample. Questions

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

can be either open-ended or closed-ended. The researchers choice was closed-ended questions.
Questionnaires. Each questionnaire consisted of eighteen (18) items. These instruments are valid
and reliable means of data collection.

3.4 Data Collection Procedures

Interviews were also used as an instrument because these are more convenient to certain
members of the NCB staff. Participants were notified and appointments scheduled for the
interviews to be conducted. Pointed standardize (closed-ended) questions were asked to garner
the required information. The data was collected over a period of six (6) weeks. The researcher
thought it prudent to allot a six week period in order to give the participants enough time to
prepare themselves for the interview and also to answer the questions. The questionnaires were
sent to participants via emails and their responses were returned by the same means. Email
addresses of participants were collected one (1) month prior to sending out the questionnaires.
3.5 Data Analysis
The analysis of the data was carried out by using content analysis and an inductive
approach was used. Content analysis is defined as, a research method for the subjective
interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process of coding
and identifying themes or patterns (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005, p.1278). The content can be
analyze on two levels, namely, descriptive and interpretative. Descriptive answers the question,
what is the data? And interpretative, what was meant by the data?
The researcher looked for patterns and themes as well as gap in the data. The responses
from interviewees were analyzed first. Secondly, the responses from questionnaires were
analyzed. The responses the questionnaires gave rise to a discussion of key findings.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Conclusions were drawn using the key findings that were identified. The responses of
management, CSR and the public were compared and contrast to draw a true picture of the
situation.

3.6 Ethical Considerations

Before interviews could be conducted, the researcher took into consideration ethical
issues. The researched had to formally seek permission to interview participants; date and time of
interviews were scheduled. Interviews were conducted mainly during the less busy periods. The
participants were also given the assurance their responses would be kept confidentiality as they
were not required to give their names. It is also less costly and persons answered the questions in
their own time and space. Participants were given a period of three (3) days to complete the
questionnaires.
3.7 Limitations
Paper based questionnaires were used as well as face to face interviews and both had its
limitations. Some questions were interpreted differently by some individuals, processing the data
collected was a bit time consuming, some questionnaires were not returned and some
questionnaires were incomplete. There were individuals who refused to participate and those
who scheduled interviews then later cancelled. However, those that were interviewed answered
questions freely, honestly and in their own words thereby providing a greater qualification in
their responses.
3.8 Delimitations

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Due to the large number of potential participants in the study population, the population
involved in the current study focused only on participants from the National Commercial Bank in
the corporate area. In order to assure manageability of the collected data, the questionnaire items
and did not include open-ended response items.

3.9 Summary
This chapter look at the research methodologies used in this research. Interviews and
questionnaires were the main methods of data collection used in this research to gather data to
achieve the research objectives. Qualitative method was used, content analysis and inductive
analysis were used in analyzing the data gathered.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

We found that to have a strong business relationship, effective communication practices
must be established. Many opportunities for poor communication take place in any work
environment. The employers may not have received an important email from a subordinate, or an
order might not have been carried out as expected due to the fact that the information was poorly
communicated. No matter how minor or major the lack of communication is, poor
communication strains the productivity of the organization and awareness of such problems in
communication is the first step toward solving them.
Lack of communication led to misunderstanding and oftentimes mistakes. It also led to
missed deadlines and altered project directions. If a staff member felt their work or time had been
wasted or blamed a colleague for not conveying the proper information in a timely manner, it
resulted in frustration. When instructions are not clearly communicated, updates and status
reports are not shared right away or there is no lead person responsible for a project or task
situations get misunderstood.
The findings showed that poor communication in business whether written or oral,
obstructed the efficiency of an organization or a specific department. For instance, vague email
messages that require clarification, documents that need rewriting due to errors, and uninformed
presentations and speeches, can greatly affect the flow of work in the company. It revealed that

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

effective business communication skills was crucial to successfully completing any project, large
and small. When multiple employees or company departments team up to complete a large
project, the value of each department's skills increased exponentially. Without implementing
clear communication practices, however, company projects tend to be slow and inefficient to
complete.
Business communication skills impacted the motivation of employees. A highly
communicative and collaborative work environment promoted employee productivity, creativity
and inspiration. When communication skills are poor, employees lacked enthusiasm in getting
tasks done and questioned the value of same. It also demoralized the employees because they
will be forced to sit through dull and boring presentations where they are provided with unclear
instructions on projects, which led to confusion and monotony.
When poor communication skills resulted in the inadequate handling of important
projects, this crippled the companys innovation and capacity to make positive contributions to
society. The capacity to innovate is proportional to the capacity to communicate directions, and
to communicate new and exciting ideas and improvements.
Businesses that suffer from communication problems likely have no defined, companywide communication strategies in place. Improving workplace communication involved
developing a communication protocol that all employees are expected to follow. This included a
policy on sending group and individual emails, providing regular status reports distributed to
entire work groups and having regular face-to-face project meetings. Creating a system of
communication checks and balances can mitigate problems.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

CONCLUSION
Summary of the study
The study examined the factors leading to lack of timely communication from
Management to the employees and the approaches the company may utilize to improve these
methods. It gathered information regarding the employees opinion for the lack of
communication that existed and how it impacted the overall delivery of service while addressing
the issue of managers being the key player to building better communication within the
organization. It also identifids the steps to effective communication and the necessary measures
to be implemented to resolve this problem.
It offered a picture of the external pressures being exerted, why such an issue existed in a
department and proposed methods to establish practices that are effective. Supporting literature is
presented describing ways to combat the lack of communication in the workplace and service
capabilities along with methods to improve the lines of communication.
The significance of the study was to improve the business concepts of service quality and
customer relationship management and to demonstrate the importance of establishing within
their business framework effective user-friendly business tools that would provide information
for both employees and customers more efficiently.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Summary of the findings/result
Poor communication skills led to employees lack of enthusiasm in completing tasks that
are assigned to him/her which resulted in demoralized employees as they are provided with
unclear instructions. It resulted in the inadequate handling of important projects which can
cripple the companys innovation and capacity to make positive contributions to society.
Businesses that suffer from communication problems likely have no defined, companywide communication strategies in place.
Recommendations for future practice
Improved workplace communication by developing a communication protocol that all
employees are expected to follow. Established policies and procedures and create a system of
communication checks and balances can mitigate problems. Create clearly defined the roles,
responsibilities and expectations for each member of your organization to eliminate the "I
thought you were supposed to do that" syndrome.
Create an education awareness program for employees about the policies and procedures
of the communication protocol incorporated in the training schedule for the organization.
In conclusion timely communicated information plays a significant role in mitigating
frustration and loss of productivity for customer service personnel. Not addressing the issue will
led to lack of enthusiasm, demoralized employee and inadequate handling of projects and
functions. To combat this, the organization policies and procedures need to be created,
employees educated about these policy and procedures and clearly defined roles created to
eliminate confusion as to who was to disseminate the information. Chose a method of
communication where employees are allowed to give feedback where necessary as it is very
important.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

References

Grinam-Nicholson,Y. (2011, May 18). Workplace turf wars. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved
from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/Workplace-turf-wars_8820560

Grinam-Nicholson, Y. (2011, November 30). Negotiating better work relationships. The

Jamaica Observer.Retrieved from:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/business/Negotiating-better workrelationships_10282532

Dunn Smith, Paulette (2011, January) Understanding GenerationY. The Jamaica Gleaner.
Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110102/news/news6.html

Joseph, C. How (n.d.)Does a Lack of Communication Cause Conflict in the Workplace? The
Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/lack-communication-cause
conflict-workplace-10470.html

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Richards, L. (n.d.) Effective Communication in Customer service. The Houston Chronicle.

Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-customer-service
4806.html

Wicks, D.(n.d.) What are the causes of poor workplace communication? The Houston Chronicle.
Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-poor-workplace-communication
20827.html

Johnson, R. (n.d)What Are the Benefits of Effective Business Communication in the Workplace?
The Houston chronicle. Retrieved fromhttp://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-effective
business-communication-2888.html

http://bizcommunicationcoach.com/importance-of-two-way-communication-in-business/

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Appendices
Appendix 1
QUESTIONNAIRE
Disclaimer & Instructions for Questionnaire
I am inviting you to participate in this survey to get a better understanding of how the lack of
timely communication creates frustration and loss of productivity in organizations. Your
participation in this study is completely voluntary as there will be no foreseeable risks associated
with this project. Your survey responses will be strictly confidential as data from this research
will be reported only in the aggregate. Please indicate appropriately to show your response to
these questions. Thank you for your time and participation.

1. What is your gender?

Male

Female

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

2. How long have you been with the company?

Less than a year

11-15 years

1-5 years

16-20 years

5-10 years

Over 20 years

3. Is the leadership style of your organization any of the following?

Laissez-faire

Democratic

Charismatic

Other

Autocratic

4. Are you comfortable with the level and style of communication?

Yes

No

5. In the order of importance, which of these dimensions of leadership style is most

important in your organization? (1-5 highest to lowest)

a. ___ Leadership
b. ___ Communication

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

c. ___ Individual Performance
d. ___ Decision making

6. Are you satisfied with the organization's forms of communication?

Very satisfied

Somewhat dissatisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Very dissatisfied

7. Do you believe that effective communication or the lack thereof have an impact on job
performance?

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Agree

8. Overall how satisfied are you with communication channels in your company?

Very satisfied

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

Very dissatisfied

9. Does communication flow into and throughout the organization adequately (e.g. from
department to department) to enable people to discharge their responsibilities effectively?
Yes

No

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

10. What is the most acceptable form of communication used in your organization?
Internal Memorandum

Meeting

Email

Newsletter

Letter

11. Which best describes your impression of communications within your company?

Keeps us fully informed

Keeps us fairly well informed
Keeps us adequately informed
Gives us only a limited amount of information
Doesn't tell us much at all about what's going on

12. How would you rate your manager's communication skills?

Excellent

Fair

Very good

Poor

Good

13. How do you feel about the information you receive?

I can almost always believe it.

I can believe it about half the time.

I can usually believe it.

I usually can't believe it.

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

I can almost never believe it

14. Does your organization have the resources (time, money, and people,) to deal with
customer complaints and internal Conflicts?

Yes

No

15. From which of the following sources would you prefer to receive most of your
information about what is going on in the company?

The grapevine
Bulletin board
My supervisor

Middle management at my
location
Top management at my
location
Company leadership

16. From which of the following sources do you now receive most of your information re
customer complaints and what is going on in the company? Rank your top three
information sources only.

The grapevine
Bulletin board
My supervisor

Company leadership

Lack of timely communication creates frustration & loss of Productivity in Organizations

Group meetings at our work

Company intranet

location
Local company

Company e-mail

publications

17. Do you know what procedures are available for conflict management?
Yes

No

18. How often do staff members get placed in groups to work together?

Not often

Very often

Often

None of the above