Abstract
Research has shown that communication is one of the key factors in organizational success and if not dealt with correctly will lead to poor organizational performance. This minor dissertation aims to investigate why modern day organizations still perform poorly in the area of communication. This will be demonstrated by researching the risk areas associated with communication as well as the factors within organizations that influence communication. This qualitative research study makes use of a case study, speed networking survey as well as a questionnaire. The findings of the research conducted identified four factors which influence communication namely, the communication software platform, organizational structure & strategy, communication competency of the employees and communication planning. Furthermore, the results found two main areas of risk associated with communication namely, the use of informal communication platforms (such as WhatsApp) and the communication of company information. The main conclusions drawn from this research were that organizations mainly perform poorly in the area of communication due to the lack of knowledge of the impact communication has on organizational performance. Modern day technologies such as email and instant messaging services have aided in the speed of communication but must not be solely relied on to solve all communication needs. This research calls for organizations to develop communication departments which work to identify the factors that influence their ability to communicate as well as the communication risk areas within the organization. Identifying and providing solutions to mitigate these factors should be their sole purpose.
M.Ing. (Engineering Management)