Organisation Goals Policies Culture And Ethics

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Section 1: Introduction pg. 1

Terms of Reference pg. 1

Scope and Methodology pg. 1

Executive Summary pg. 2

Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics pg. 2

Organisation structure and communication channel pg. 2

Current and emerging communication technologies and tools pg. 3

Section 2: Report Findings pg. 5

2.1 Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics pg. 5

2.1.1 Organisational goals and policies pg. 5

2.1.2 Organisational culture and ethics pg. 6

2.2 Organisation structure and communication channels pg. 7

Organisation Structure pg. 7

Communication Channels pg. 7

Downward flow of communication: pg. 7

Upward flow of communication pg. 8

Lateral communication pg. 8

External Communication pg. 9

Grapevine pg. 9

Communication Model pg. 9

Confidentiality of information pg. 10

2.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools pg. 10

2.3.1 Current communication technologies pg. 10

2.3.2 Emerging Technology pg. 11

2.3.3 Administrative Rights pg. 12

2.3.4 Staff recruitment and training pg. 12

2.3.5 Security policy pg. 13

2.3.6 Employee promotion and reward pg. 13

2.3.7 Guidelines in sending internal and external communication pg. 13

SECTION 3: CONCLUSIONS pg. 14

3.1 Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics pg. 14

3.1.1 Organisational goals and policies pg. 14

3.1.2 Organisational culture and ethics pg. 14

3.2 Organisation structure and communication channels pg. 16

3.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools pg. 16

SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS pg. 16

4.1 Organisational goals, policies, culture and ethics pg. 16

4.2 Organisational structure and communication channels pg. 17

4.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools pg. 17

SECTION 5: REFERENCES pg. 18

APPENDICES:

APPENDIX A: Organisational Chart

APPENDIX B: Interview Questions

APPENDIX C: Pre-Interview Agreement

APPENDIX D: Post-Interview Attestation

APPENDIX E: Brochure

APPENDIX F: Communication Process Sample

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

Terms of Reference

This report was written at the request of Mr. Jogi George, Business Communication tutor, to investigate a range of communication issues and practices in an organisation and comment on the effectiveness of that communication in terms of interaction between communication practice and organisation performance, with recommendations.

Scope and Methodology

The report considers a number of communication issues, researching key aspects of communication practice within the organisation period. Communication practice within the organisation is analysed and evaluated in terms of its influence on organisation performance, and appropriate recommendations are made.

The following sources were consulted:

Acknowledgement

A considerable amount of effort has been put into this Business Report Project. However, this would not have been possible without the invaluable information and insight provided by Mr. Antonio Antig, the Quality Manager of ANZSIIS. For this, we are sincerely grateful.

We would also like to express our special gratitude to Mr. Jogi George, our Business Communication tutor for his guidance and supervision regarding the project.

Executive Summary

The following aspects of organisation communication were considered, both in relation to accepted communication theory and to actual practice within the organisation.

Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics

The ANZSIIS International School Ltd (AISL) is a Private Training Establishments (PTE) in Auckland, New Zealand providing an international quality education and professional development and training for international and local student. It is under the framework of New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and follows the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. It was established and registered in 2009. It is an international educational provider that bridges multicultural orientations with professional preparation, knowledge, skills and qualifications for a responsive global involvement and socio-economic contribution to both local and foreign communities. The organisation’s vision, mission and goals are practiced through acquiring office staff and New Zealand qualified tutors from different nationalities. As the top management head the organisation, they practice the use of open communication within the organisation to prevent any issues and complication in a multicultural workforce. They communicate through English language only to sustain a fair understanding among the staffs. It also helps to maintain transparency of ideas, relation and responsibility of each employee in the organisation.

The organisation has successfully communicated its goals, policies, culture and ethics to every level in the organisation using their own processes.

Organisation structure and communication channel

ANZSIIS International School is an organisation that has a tall or vertical organisational structure. The school uses verbal and written information as forms of communication. Formal and informal way of communication are used and proven as effective as well. There is an upward, downward and lateral flow of communication in this organisation.

All of the above are proven to be effective ways of communicating in the organisation. There is an open communication between all staff. Although it has a vertical structure communication from the lower level including students to the top level is encouraged as the school has an open door policy. There are gatekeepers in the organisation but only sensitive information is filtered such as financial information.

As in every tall organisation where there are several layers of management and there can be barriers in effective communication. Information that is passed down from the CEO/Director may be changed, distorted and filtered. It is important therefore to keep the lines of communication open. One way is to maintain a good professional relationship with one another. The upward flow of communication should not be overlooked. The effective way of selecting which form of communication should also be taken into consideration. The right technique should be used to convey information. An occasion may call for an informal way of communicating whilst another occasion may call for information to be sent formally.

Current and emerging communication technologies and tools

Communication technology has revolutionised the workplace. In the case of ANZSIIS, the effect is swift transfer of information both internal and external. This fast communication process has a big impact on the school’s daily operations. It has cope with the changing technology. It has to invest on protection of data and security. It also has to invest on the right employees to do the job. The school has to follow strict policies and procedures in order to maintain its database and security of information because it has the responsibility to protect employee data and other pertinent information.

The flow of information follows the school’s tall structure. The CEO also uses technology in order to send messages quickly to her subordinates such as email or text messages. When email is used in the transmission of a message, the email thread can be viewed by all participating staff. Therefore, the recipients of the message are known and who takes action on the message. Having an open communication channel, all of the recipients can participate in the discussion or feedback. The important aspect of this technology is that the flow of information is fast and can easily be stored and accessed.

Summary

In light of these findings and conclusions, the following recommendations were made:

Performance assessment and evaluation within the organisation as a whole should be continue to provide insight into the current perceptions, ideals, and beliefs of workforces within the organisation that can contribute to attain organisation’s goal and objectives. However, the organisation must also be aware of individual goals of each member in order to determine sense of responsibility and relevance of it.

Maintaining organisation internal regular re-assessment and starting to engage in external benchmarking must also be done. Systematic re-assessment and benchmarking allows an organisation to recognise new issues and areas of susceptibility. Benchmarking against other businesses will give framework to the findings and more meaning to the data. Moreover, it will help in distinguishing new trends and determining whether the established plans and objectives achieves their goals.

The organisation has been successfully conducting its business using different clause and forms of communication. This flow of communication should be maintained at all times. Open communication maximises the benefits of communication process. Good communication practice that is upheld by the CEO/Director of this organisation is important because managers are able to perform their functions effectively and efficiently. Communication plays a crucial role in the attitude of every individual in this organisation therefore the right communication channel should be selected. Well informed students have better attitudes than less informed students. It also promotes security and high morale to all staffs starting from the managers themselves down to the tutors to the students.

Applying modern technology in any business operation these days is important to keep up with the competitors. ANZSIIS makes sure that it is up to date when it comes to using technology in its daily operations.

SECTION 2: REPORT FINDINGS

2.1 Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics

2.1.1 Organisational goals and policies

The ANZSIIS International School Ltd (AISL) is one of the Private Training Establishments (PTE) in Auckland, New Zealand which provides quality education for international and local student. It is under the framework of New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and follows the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. It was established and registered in 2009.

The organisation philosophy:

"To commit in providing international standards of academic instruction and learning through a genuine passion for total human actualization and professional development and practice as members of progressively growing multi-cultural societies."

It is implemented by quality instruction and facilitation, pastoral care, co-curricular and extracurricular programs, work placement, immigration advice, I.T. services and education consultancy services for their stakeholders.

AISL vision:

"To be the international educational provider that bridges multicultural orientations with professional training, knowledge, skills and qualifications for a responsive global involvement and socio-economic contribution to both local and foreign communities. AISL will be the international entry point for NZ registration, employment and immigration of eligible professionals and skilled migrants as well as a pre-requisite to further training and education."

The vision is practiced through acquiring office staff and tutors from different nationalities. Open communication in the organisation is one of the methods used in preventing any difficulties and complication from having a multicultural workforce. Use of English as a language of communication in their office also contributes on equal understanding among the staff. It also helps to maintain transparency of ideas, professional relationships and responsibility of each employee in the organisation.

Additionally, AISL guaranteed to deliver an excellent international education by employing NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) and NZTC (New Zealand Teachers Council) qualified tutors, as it was guided by their mission

AISL Mission

"To be committed in offering international and quality education and training in Business, IT, Technical and English programmes to professionals, migrants, and international students for productive social and economic contribution, professional involvement and personal satisfaction."

2.1.2 Organisational culture and ethics

The top management of the organisation which is headed by the School Manager takes responsibility in overall administrative function of the organisation including formulating strategies and action plans and revising them regularly to attain the company’s goal. Every employee is aware of their legal responsibility in the workplace as it is all visible on the walls of the offices and classroom.

The Treaty of Waitangi (Tiriti o Waitangi) which protects the interests of the Maori people; provides settlement for the British Crown (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); and supports the government by maintaining harmony and stability among its inhabitants. It is applied in the organisation through policies that are incorporated in the induction of every staff and it’s even included during lectures in the classroom. Practising respect for others also proves that the workforce understands this treaty. ANZSIIS is an organisation that appreciates and respects diversity in the workforce as it employs staff from diverse cultural background.

In handling suggestion and questions from the workforce, every employee is given an opportunity and the right to voice what they need to express to the management by having a weekly staff meeting. Each recommendations and queries are analysed and answered in a reasonable and timely manner. If there are required changes in policies or if there’s a need to create a new one, this are all done by following the organisation’s procedure. In regards to complaints, it is also managed by following the established procedures and process.

2.2 Organisation structure and communication channels

Organisation Structure

ANZIIS has a tall or vertical organisation structure. It is governed by the CEO/Director who set the strategic direction of the organisation which is to deliver quality education of internationally recognized standards.

In its simplest form a tall organisation has many levels of management and supervision. There is a "long chain of command" running from the top of the organisation for example from the Chief Executive down to the bottom of the organisation (Tall Structure Organisation, 2013).

Based on the above definition, ANZSIIS having the tall organisation structure has multiple layers of management between the CEO/Director and the tutors. The chain of command runs from the top down to the tutors. It has a hierarchical structure of educational administrators responsible for its academic success. This structure ensures that all educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the organisation as each layer of function is clear and distinct.

The school’s organisational structure is attached (Appendix A).

Communication Channels

Downward flow of communication:

Downward communication involves the passing of commands from higher levels in a hierarchy to lower levels. This is sometimes referred to as top-down communication (The Times 100 Business Case Studies, 2013).

The information and communication within the organisation also flow the same way. The CEO/Director in this hierarchical system is the initiator in the communication chain. It is this hierarchical system that gives direction to and restricts the flow of communication. Managerial or executive decisions flow from the top level down to the lower levels. This downward communication flow is used to transmit information from the CEO to the Manager, Quality Assurance Manager, Deans, IT Administrator and its Support Staff, tutors and lastly to the students if they are to be informed. The transfer of information transmitted here can be formal and face to face such as meetings. Others ways of communication are emails, electronic notice boards, physical notice boards newsletter, phone and fax. The information transmitted is used by the staff to perform their jobs and to meet expectations. This downward flow of communication can be both verbal such as during the Director’s meeting. It can be in writing to make the communication process formal. In some instances information may be transmitted informally within the organisation such as text messaging. The following are some of the downward flow of communication:

Replying to the feedbacks received from the students and lower level staff

Other instructions given to staff regarding job duties

Communication of the organisation’s mission, vision and goals

Other areas of concern such as safety of employees and students, legal matters, government regulations, etc.

Reminders on organisational policies and other school activities

Publications, letters to staff, reminder letters/warning letters to students

Upward flow of communication:

Upward flow of communication is information flow from the lower levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels ("Upward Communication", 2013).

Communication that flows from the students, tutors and the other layers of the organisation to the CEO/Director is an upward flow of communication. Responses, reports and feedbacks flow from the lower level managers up to the higher level management. It is used to share their views and it shows how well the communication was received and understood.

This upward flow of communication is used to gather information or feedback from the students. The information may be collected by the tutors themselves or the General Support and Counselling Services. Information is collected formally through a suggestion box and informally by visual observation and direct questioning. Other examples of upward communication are formal letters sent by the students to the Administration or Manager relating to complaints, grievances and other discussions. Students can openly discuss with a Tutor regarding any of the examples given above which implies that there is an open communication between students and tutors up to the respective managers.

Lateral communication

According to Pal and Korlahalli, "Communication between department or people on the same level in the managerial hierarchy of an organization may be termed as horizontal or lateral communication" (as cited in Bappi, 2011).

The deans who are also tutors themselves communicate with each other most of the time therefore communication flow in this organisation is also lateral. This form of communication is advantageous as it helps in relaying and exchanging information between deans or among tutors or staff in the administration. This also facilitates coordination between staff and may provide assistance to another staff in the same level. This form of communication is often times informal and verbal but it is an effective way of sharing information quickly.

External Communication

External business communication is defined by BNET as "the exchange of information and messages between an organisation and other organisations, groups, or individuals outside its formal structure." (as cited in Papa, 2013)

ANZSIIS not only communicates internally, but as an organisation it also has to communicate externally. For instance, a written and formal communication is sent via email or postal mail to government departments, suppliers, bank managers, the building owner, etc.

The school’s external communication also comes in the form of brochures, newsletters, posters, advertisement and the school’s website to attract prospective students.

Grapevine

Grapevine is an informal channel of business communication. It is so called because it stretches throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Man as we know is a social animal. Despite existence of formal channels in an organization, the informal channels tend to develop when he interacts with other people in organization. It exists more at lower levels of organization (Grapevine Communication, 2013).

Grapevine is being encountered in this school just like any other organisation. For the management of this school, it is considered an alarm bell that should be acted on immediately and confidentially before it goes out of hand. Sometimes grapevine may become advantageous only because the feedback is quick compared to a formal way of communication therefore any issue can be resolved immediately.

Communication Model

Kincaid’s Model of Communication

In the convergence model, "communication" is defined as a process in which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding (Nikhil, 2007).

The model of communication in this school is Kincaid’s model. Information is shared between the CEO, Managers, Deans, Tutors, Administrators and students to reach a mutual understanding. Communication travels from the top to every level down to the students who are ultimately the recipient of the message. The students can also communicate directly to their tutors about any concern. This can be taken up to the highest level of management when necessary and as in Kincaid’s model there is participation from different groups or individuals. This therefore promotes mutual understanding among all parties concerned. Communication within the organisation is both verbal and written.

Communication problems are resolved by directly asking for clarification from the person concerned for clear explanation. The tutor may also ask the students if the information provided was clearly understood. The school uses both formal and informal way of communication and this has been found effective as the school has open door policy. Effective communication within the organisation is appreciated through verbal acknowledgement during meetings.

Confidentiality of information

The school abides by the New Zealand’s Code of Practice and the Government’s Privacy Act.

Information and any form of communication from students are gathered either formally and informally, verbally and in writing. Any printed information gathered is kept confidential by being locked in the filing cabinet and restricted to authorized staff only. Digital information is restricted to authorised staff only by the use passwords.

2.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools

"There are three types of communication technology. The most commonly used type is the media, represented by radio and television which produces messages to be received. Two way communication technology, such as telephones and telegraphs, allow users to both transmit and receive messages. The internet offers mixed communication that could go either way." (Frenz, 2013)

2.3.1 Current Communication Technologies

Advances in communication and information technology have changed the face and pace of business. ANZSIIS International School is a modern company that uses most if not all of the current technology there is in the market to conduct its business. The use technology in the school has large implications for the way business is conducted. For instance, files are now stored in the computer rather than drawers. Using email (intranet and internet) has allowed internal communication and external communication quicker which means feedback or response is also quicker.

There are different types of technology. The most commonly used type is the media. ANZSIIS uses the social media like Twitter and Facebook to inform, promote, and disseminate information. There is also the two way communication technology, such as the telephones and mobile phones. The internet offers mixed communication that could send and receive information quickly. For software, ANZSIIS is using Windows Server 2008. The current technology the school uses include the use of desktop computers, laptops and all its accessories (such as printers, projectors, USB) and mobile phones to name a few hardware.

These technologies are updated only as the need arises. The school uses Windows Server 2008 as this is the latest version. The organisation uses the up to date technology as it needs to keep up with the trend to be competitive as an education provider.

Emerging Technology

One of the emerging technology that the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council has identified is 3D printing. This style of printing has the potential to revolutionise manufacturing by allowing virtual models to be turned into hardcopies made from metal alloys, plastics and more. (Benzinga, 2013)

This new technology can be applied in schools to make the discussions more interesting. Other emerging technologies that can be applied in the school’s operation in the future are:

4G cellular communication (broadband) – its potential application is pervasive computing

Emerging memory technologies T-RAM, Z-RAM, TTRAM, CBRAM, SONOS, BRAM, Racetrack memory, NRAM, Millipede memory (currently in development)

Fourth generation optical discs (3D optical data storage, holographic data storage – these can be used in research and prototyping) – its application is storing and archiving data previously erased from economic reasons.

Machine augmented cognition, exocortices – its potential application are libraries, schools, training and pocket calculators.

Virtual reality (diffusion) – its potential application is entertainment and education.

Administrative Rights

The Director have all rights and powers to take all kinds of decisions whether an administrative level such as recruitment of new staff, salary increase or selecting technology.

The System Administrator is given the rights to select the technology as she has the technical skill to select the most suitable application of hardware. This has to be agreed upon in the Director’s meeting.

Staff recruitment and training

Technical employees are selected and general in terms of technology. Only skilled and experienced staff can operate the higher level of technology like server and website as this need a field of specialisation. For their routine work like Outlook Express and social media, general staff are allowed to perform such tasks. All newly hired employees are given proper training for updating the website, training for outlook express and how to work on the social media by the more senior and experienced staff.

Appreciation is what an employee expects from their senior and top level management on their work. This is the main policy of ANZSIIS to reward and motivate their staff. Incentive and career developments are another way of rewarding their staff. Experienced and skilled employees are assets in the organisation and taking care of them is very important. For this purpose, they also provide support to their staff like financial and by supporting visa or residency to the right employee.

Based on the above definition, ANZSIIS policies on selecting, hiring and training their employees are favourable and suitable to achieving their goal and getting the best out from their employees. Reward policies also provide an edge to the organisation to fulfil their goals. This organisation also provides job security to their employees.

Both in house and external training methods are in use. The major benefits of training and development programs are that the employees who are trained need lesser supervision than those who are not. A trainee acquires new knowledge, skills and attitudes and applies them in the job situations. Training is a way to create the confidence among the employees so that they can operate the tasks without any obstructions.

Security Policy

Data and technology needs security. ANZSIIS have policies on privacy and information security such as the signing of confidential and privacy clause during the employment and induction process. There is also a Code of Conduct for the data and information and everyone is aware of this.

This organisation is also using permission and restriction through passwords on the network and individual computers. Antivirus MacAfee is used to safeguard data from viruses, hackers, spam’s and worms.

The following are the steps undertaken to protect data and security:

Conduct a security audit.

Make staff aware of the important role they play in security

Use strong and multiple passwords

Encrypt your data

Back up the files

Have security policies

Protect mobile workforce.

Implement a multiple – security technology solution

Employee promotion and reward

Promotion is based on seniority and skill. Seniority base job is secure but on the other side career growth is very low. Merit denotes mostly the past achievement, efficiency but not the future success. Hence, the purpose of promotion may not be served if merit is taken as the sole criteria for promotion.

On the other hand, there is no favouritism in skill based process. It helps to boost the motivation of employees if promotion is merit based. Competent employees are motivated to exert all their resources and contribute them to the organisational efficiency and effectiveness.

Guidelines in sending internal and external communication

The following are the basic guidelines in sending information:

It should be open – it should provide opportunity to participate in discussion

It should be up to date – they are applicable now and are updated

It should be correct – true and impartial

It should be suitable – in terms of content, target group (receiver) and scope

SECTION 3: CONCLUSIONS

Organisation goals, policies, culture and ethics

3.1.1 Organisational goals and policies

Strategy refers to determination of where organisation is currently in, where it is headed to and lastly how to get to that point (Bridges, 2010). Every company needs to develop a winning strategy to withstand competition in the business world and it is done by setting up organisational goals and objectives that will guide them to achieve success. It is called a strategic planning and every actions of the organisation will need to meet their generated criteria. It is one of the important aspects in business since it indicates the creation of the organisation’s mission and vision that become the foundation towards the successful operations of the organisation. The overall AISL strategic plan is to deliver an international quality of education and professional training and development for international and local students in Auckland, New Zealand. Thereby, the organisation follows guidelines and procedure that will reflect and contribute to the achievement of the organisation’s strategic plan. This includes handling of suggestions, queries and complaints which follow a sequence of process that are analysed and evaluated thoroughly to correspond to the organisation’s goals and objectives. Generating strategies also ensures that the threats from the external environment are minimized while it may strengthen or reduce the effects of internal weaknesses.

3.1.2 Organisational culture and ethics

According to Ravasi and Schultz (2006), organisational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that guides interpretation and action in the organisations through defining appropriate behaviour for various situations. The AISL organisational culture focuses in providing international quality education and professional trainings and progress which the entire member embraces. It also acts as a guideline in formulating their individual goal to contribute in accomplishing the organisation’s objective. Denison, Haaland, and Goelzer (2004) found that culture contributes to the success of the organization, but not all dimensions contribute the same. It was found that the impacts of these dimensions differ by global regions, which suggests that organizational culture is impacted by different culture. However, the AISL Quality Assurance Manager pointed that there are no issues arise regarding this, so far, and they are all doing their best to prevent such kind of conflicts and shortcoming between their multicultural workforces. It is done by maintaining an open communication which means liberally exchanging of ideas and objections within the team. The use of English as a language of communication is the main protocol in their office that contributes and sustains transparency of concepts and philosophies within the organisation. The way every employee performs tasks with honesty according to the established procedures, set objectives that reflects the organisation’s goal, and administer the necessary resources to achieve objectives and benefit the whole workforce are all demonstrating the organisational culture. It affects the way each staff makes decisions, feel, and act in response to the opportunities and threats affecting the organization.

The organization ethically responds to an internal or external stimulus through established procedures and guidelines. Complaints are handled by following a set of process. The top management evaluates and apply a necessary action to it ethically. Ethical decision-making is practised and it involves the process by evaluating and choosing among the available alternatives in a manner consistent with the organisations core ethical values or principles. Thus, the organisation perceives and eliminates unethical options and selects the best from several competing ethical alternatives. According to Karve (2011), ethical decision-making requires more than a belief in the importance of ethics. It also requires sensitivity to perceive the ethical implications of your decisions; the ability to evaluate complex ambiguous and incomplete facts and the skill to implement ethical decision making without jeopardizing your career.

The activities, words, and choices of the top management set the tone in the AISL organization. They are the mainly responsible for organisational goals and objectives. However, decisions are made through reviewing of suggestions and recommendation from the workforce. They encouraged participation of every employee by expressing their ideas, comments and suggestion through conducting weekly staff meeting. Thus, it supports the workforce to enhance their critical thinking, to express their ideas honestly and develop their problem-solving skills. It also aids the top management to identify potential leaders in the workforces.

The Treaty of Waitangi is a broad statement of principles on which the British and Māori made a political compact to discover a nation state and build a government in New Zealand. The document has three articles (The Treaty in brief, 2013). It is applied in the organisation through policies that are incorporated in the induction of every staff and it is even included during lectures in the classroom. Practising respect for others despite their differences in beliefs and views in life also proves that the workforce understands this treaty.

3.2 Organisation structure and communication channels

As a conclusion, ANZSIIS International School utilises all forms of communication techniques that they can apply to make communication effective.

In my opinion, the communication model used in this organisation is Kincaid’s model. In this model there is a process in which the participants create information and share information (CEO/Director and Managers) with one another to reach a mutual understanding. This information is passed down to the lower level management (school staff) down to the students who will all take part in the communication process. The information is expected to be understood, interpreted and perceived by everyone concerned. When all the individuals concerned take part in the communication process they are ultimately working towards a mutual agreement or understanding.

3.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools

Communication technology has made an impact in the workplace such as ANZSIIS. These days to be effective in communication, an organisation must have technology in the workplace. Technology has made communication faster and more reliable. This way the response is also faster. This has made employees more productive in the workplace as well.

SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to have effective and error-free communication, managers must:

4.1 Organisational goals, policies, culture and ethics

The Quality Assurance Manager never mentioned any problems regarding the organisation’s goals, policies, culture and ethics. He submitted an exceptional performance review regarding his organisation but as a business management student, we foresee that this will not always remain stable that’s why we are providing some suggestions for improvements for the AISL organisation.

Performance assessment and evaluations for individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole should be maintained in a regular reviews at all levels. Baseline assessment of the ethical climate and culture of the organization provides insight into the current perceptions, ideals, and beliefs of workforces within the organisation that can contribute to attain organisation’s goal and objectives.

Identifying each employee goals reflect accountabilities and timeliness.

Employing an internal system to routinely review the status of every employee’s key objectives. Awareness of individual’s goal could contribute in determining each employee’s sense of responsibility and relevance of their intention. Analysis and evaluation should be done also by using formal written communication not just through staff meeting.

Maintaining organisation internal regular re-assessment and starting to engage in external benchmarking. Systematic re-assessment and benchmarking allows an organisation to recognise new issues and areas of susceptibility. Benchmarking against other businesses will give framework to the findings and more meaning to the data. Moreover, it will help in distinguishing new trends and determining whether the established plans and objectives achieves their goals.

4.2 Organisational structure and communication channels

So far, there are no major communication issues within the organisation. However to keep any issues from arising in the future the following are recommended to be applied at all times.

Specify communication objective.

Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous.

Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the receiver in right form

Do not overload the receivers with too much information

Constantly communicate with the staff in the organisation to give them a sense of security and good leadership.

4.3 Current and emerging communication technologies and tools

The organisation has so far not encountered major problems in the application of technology in terms of hacking, loss of data or information as it has taken all the necessary steps in protecting information. However, the following steps should taken to maintain and protect the database.

Work with a professional to audit the entire IT infrastructure – computers, network and mobile devices

Staff should not use simple passwords that are easy for hackers or unauthorized people to guess easily.

Have clear and simple security policies in place to follow

Ensure that data is properly backed up and test the back to ensure that data can be recovered when needed

SECTION 5: REFERENCES

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Ravasi, D., Schultz, M. (2006). Responding to organizational identity threats: exploring the role of organizational culture, Academy of Management Journal, Vol.49, No.3, pp. 433–458.

Denison, Daniel R., Haaland, S. and Goelzer, P. (2004) Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness: Is Asia Different from the Rest of the World?, Organizational Dynamics, pp. 98–1 09

Ministry for Culture and Heritage. (2013). The Treaty in brief. Retrieved from 2013, March 11from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief, updated 12-Jan-2013.

Leadership Styles: Democratic Leadership Style. (2008). Retrieved 2013, March 11 from http://www.leadership-toolbox.com/democratic-leadership-style.html

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The Times 100 Business Case Studies. (2013). Retrieved on 2013, March 11 from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/people/communication.html#ixzz2NB1FGEdH

Upward Communication. (2013). In Business Dictionary. Retrieved 2013, March 11 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/upward-communication.html]

Bappi, O.C. (2011). Definition of Horizontal Communication, Retrieved 2013, March 10 from http://businesscommunicationnew.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/what-is-horizontal-communicationmerits.html

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Signed:

Ana Mallari

Janna Solidum

Kunaal Thanik

Amit Sharma

11 March 2013