Organisational Communication - The epitome of multi-dimensional interactions

First and formost, an organisation in this context should be defined as such:

"A system consisting of a large number of people working together in a structured way to accomplish multiple goals" - Trenholm, 2005

Now that we are all on common ground as to what a formal organisation is, I feel that the picture below perhaps gives a good perspective of how Organisational Communication flows:

*picture taken from http://www.pureshare.com/images/360degree.jpg

Basically, in an Organisation we see a multi-layered hierachy where different people assuming different roles are intertwined and related through channels of communication. The structure resembles a beehive, where by many individual cells are connected with each other.

This clearly depicts the largely Interdependent nature inside most oraganizations, in which we see individual departments committed to accomplishing certain tasks while at the broader level, we see all these tasks coming together to achieve the common goals of the organization. As such, it is safe to say that the channels of communication that exists between the departments of an organization are extremely vital. Furthermore, the diagram above also depicts the way communication flows in organizations. We can indentify that in most stratas, there is a distinct way that Information flows both Upwards, Downwards, and most certainly also Laterally.

Therefore, for effective communication to take place, the Leadership and Managerial stratas should understand that for efficient processes to take place within formal organizations such as Government bodies or Mega-corporations, it is essential to keep the communication channles open and transparent. This ensures that there is feedback and that reports can be attained so that better decisions can be made at the upper levels. Only when this can be achieved that we see members within the organization being able to work hand in hand to attain common goals.

Should there be a lack of transparency within the communication channels, it is not uncommon to see miscommunications arise. For example, workplace politics will be strife among colleagues and bosses will not be able to ascertain a good idea as to the current status of the organization. Moreover, staff at the lower stratas who are denied from relevant information, or from constructive feedback will perhaps feel unappreciated and lose job satisfaction, thus losing efficiency.

Having seen what a typical Organizational Commmunication structure looks like, let us now examine a somewhat different model:

Clearly, this model of communication represents what we see in MLM - Multi-level Marketing firms. In recent economic times, the proliferation of such firms have been clearly evident and many high profile cases involving such firms have plagued our society. But before we impose any preconceptions about the reputation of such firms, let us plainly examine how this model contrasts with the Typical model we have seen above.

Firstly, Communication in MLM firms flow only in a downward manner. Morever, each strata that extends downward becomes larger and encompasses more members. Members also communicate with one representative in their respective stratas, whom then serves as the Management for that specific strata. As such, those at lower rungs in such a communication model will perhaps never be able to directly communicate with the leadership, thus blinding them to the real decisions that are being made at the top levels.

In truth, such firms are largley profit oriented and members of each strata are highly motivated in purely meeting their sales quotas. There is a lack of synergy or perhaps even a common goal. Furthermore, we see a lack of feedback due to non-existent upward flowing communication channels.

As a result to these flaws of the MLM model of communication, we see why it is not difficult for scams or frauds to revolve around it. In most cases of MLM related scams, higher levels of management are able to get away with such fraudulent behavior because the lower rungs in the organization are clearly unaware of their liabilities. Therefore, by the time most people in such scams realized they have been cheated, it is perhaps already too late.

In your opinion, which Organization Communication model do you think is more effective?

Furthermore, why do you think that such scams can still take place in modern society?