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Communicating

 

 

Definition (Herbert A. Simon)
Classification (James G. March & Herbert A. Simon)
Features (Daniel Katz & Robert L. Kahn)
Related concept: coordination (A.C. Brown)
Related concept: coordination (James G. March & Herbert A. Simon)
Related concept: coordination (Herbert A. Simon)

 

 

Definition

[1965, Second Edition] Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behaviour, The Free Press, New York
“Communication may be formally defined as any process whereby decisional premises are transmitted from one member of an organization to another. It is obvious that without communication there can be no organization, for there is no possibility then of the group influencing the behaviour of the individual.”
(Chapter VIII, p. 154)

 

Classification

[1966, First published 1958] James G. March & Herbert A. Simon, Organizations, Wiley & Sons, New York
"... we may classify the occasions for communication as follows:
1. Communication for nonprogrammed activity.
2. Communication to initiate and establish programs, including day-to-day adjustment or ‘coordination’ of programs.
3. Communication to provide data for application of strategies (i.e. required for the execution of programs).
4. Communication to evoke programs (i.e. communications that serve as ‘stimuli’).
5. Communication to provide information on the results of activities."
"The distinction between the first two categories and the last three is the familiar distinction between communication relating to procedural matters and communication relating to substantive content."
(Chapter 6, p. 161)

 

Features

[1978, Second Edition] Daniel Katz & Robert L. Kahn, The Social Psychology of Organizations, John Wiley & Sons, New York
“Five dimensions are proposed for characterizing communications circuits in organizations:
1. The size of the loop (amount of organizational space encompassed by the communication circuit);
2. The nature of the circuit;
3. The openness of the circuit (the extent to which messages can be modified once the communication process has been initiated);
4. The efficiency of the circuit for task completion (the speed and accuracy with which the circuit permits the completion of specific tasks);
5. The goodness of fit between the circuit and its systemic function.”
(Chapter 14, p. 472)

 

Related Concept : Coordination

[1954] J. A. C. Brown, The Social Psychology of Industry, Penguin, Harmondsworth
“The problem of co-ordination is largely one of communication, for without efficient communication no co-ordinated effort is possible.
The word ‘communication’ may be defined as ‘the capacity of an individual (or group) to pass on his feelings and ideas to another individual (or group).”
(Chapter 4, p. 110)

[1966, First published 1958] James G. March & Herbert A. Simon, Organizations, Wiley & Sons, New York
“The capacity of an organization to maintain a complex, highly interdependent pattern of activity is limited in part by its capacity to handle the communication required for coordination. The greater the efficiency of communication within the organization, the greater the tolerance for interdependence.”
"... it is possible under some conditions to reduce the volume of communication required from day to day by substituting coordination by plan for coordination by feedback. By virtue of this substitution, organizations can tolerate very complex interrelations among their component parts in the performance of repetitive activities. The coordination of parts is incorporated in the program when it is established, and the need for continuing communication is correspondingly reduced. Each specific situation, as it arises, is largely covered by the standard operating procedure." (Chapter 6, p. 162)

[1965, Second Edition] Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behaviour, The Free Press, New York
“Communication, [then], is essential to the more complex forms of cooperative behaviour. The process of coordination in these more complicated situations consists of at least three steps:
(1) the development of a plan of behaviour for all the members of the group (not a set of individual plans for each member);
(2) the communication of the relevant portions of this plan to each member and
(3) a willingness on the part of the individual members to permit their behaviour to be guided by the plan.”
(pp. 106-107)
“No step in administrative process is more generally ignored or more poorly performed, than the task of communicating decisions.” (p. 108)

 

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