[c]

Dawson (1992) lists eight issues that affect communication flow in organisations.

They are:

1. Quantification. Information varies in the extent to which it is quantifiable and quantifiable information is often given precedence over non-quantifiable information in decision-making.
   
2. Verification. Information varies in the extent to which it can be subject to external verification.
   
3. Neutrality. Information is rarely used in a completely neutral way.
   
4. Scarcity. Information is a costly and scarce resource.
   
5. Formal and informal communication networks. Hierarchies often emerge even if they are not imposed on communication networks.
   
6. Gatekeepers. Gatekeepers control access and interpretation of information across physical, social and technical barriers.
   
7. Partiality. Information held and transmitted by people is often partial and reflects their interests and resources.
   
8. Suppression. Some information may be consciously or subconsciously excluded from consideration if it questions the dominant view.
   

Communications can break down due to many misunderstandings – cultural differences, procedural differences, assuming things have been agreed before everyone has contributed, inaccuracies in records, unintentionally missing off intended recipients’ addresses from emails, unintentionally adding unintended recipients’ addresses to emails. In large projects, and/or where people have many competing commitments, these failures in communication are highly likely and become exaggerated if the a priori assumption is that these communication failures are a deliberate attempt to misrepresent or exclude.

It helps to always apply Hanlon’s Razor (1980) first, that is:

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

or

Never attribute to conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.

 

Back to Communication Strategies and Tools - Overview