Internal audiences often find different, more in-depth, incisive, and personal
interpretations of financial information than external audiences do. As a result,
releasing this information in-house can require as extensive levels of planning as go into
releasing it externally. This is especially true if the numbers reveal bad news. Employees
may begin to question their own job security and start to lose faith in their management.
Morale can begin to suffer and employees can start job hunting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1. Targeting Information for
Internal Audiences
Internal audiences often find different, more in-depth, incisive, and personal interpretations of financial information than external audiences do. As a result, releasing this information in-s true if the numbers reveal bad news.
In some cases, it can require even more planning because you are dealing with people who know the organization intimately and very possibly helped assemble the numbers—or regularly carpool, or have coffee or lunch with the people who assembled the numbers—that you are releasing. This planning will sometimes have to take other factors in consideration than it does when dealing with external audiences.
As a rule, financial information has its biggest and most noticeable impact on employees when the news is bad and employees begin to question their own job security and start to lose faith in their management. Morale begins to suffer and employees start job hunting.
Morale problems are quickly broadcast
outside of the organization through employee contact with beneficiaries, vendors, partners, and the
general public in both work- and non-work-related situations. Having significant numbers
of employees all sending out resumes at the same time also sends messages to the world at
large, especially to your competitors.
Lying to employees, however, can do even
more damage since organizational lies are always eventually discovered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2. Secrecy
Some organizations have a organizational culture of secrecy. Everything is
compartmentalized. No one is allowed to know anything that is not directly related to
their specific job.
Other organizations are more open. Their management realizes that employees have a
right to know what is going on at the organization they work for.
As a rule, the more people know the better morale is.
When some organizations start to get into trouble, their management sometimes tends
to become more guarded. They seem to think they can keep the trouble a secret. Information
that once was readily available to employees is no longer there.
The simple truth of the matter is that employees generally know when a organization is
in trouble.
They work there. They probably helped generate the numbers—the sales, profit,
loss, cost, production, or other figures—that have management so worried.
They can see what is going on. They can sense trouble is coming. They can smell the
fear.
Employees can also hear what top management is saying. They can also tell when
their bosses, management, and senior management are all worried, and spending most of
their time locked behind closed doors in secret meetings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3. Secrecy (Continued)
Whenever information is kept on close hold, whenever secrets are being kept,
the potential for misinterpretation increases.
“Total quality improvement,” according to consultants at www.bizmove.com, “is based on the concept that
workers care as much about the success of the small project/programme purpose as the owners do…(When)
true financial information is shared with employees, substantial cost controls are
voluntarily initiated by all members of the work force.”
“Whenever in doubt concerning the amount of information to share with
employees, experience indicates that too much is better than not enough. Never lie to
workers about human relations issues. Institutional memory is long term; any deceit will
be remembered for years. Note that employees talk with each other and inconsistencies will
be quickly be detected and brought to the surface frequently to your embarrassment.”
The bizmove.com consultants suggest the following:
~ ~ ~ ~~
4. Good Morale: Who Has It?
According to consultant William J. Ransom, of Ransom & Associates, in
Where does it come from? Why do some organizations have it and others do not?
“Morale exists when people know their jobs and how their job complements those
of everyone else. They focus on working together to accomplish the mission of the
project/programme purpose. Another indication of high morale is where people in the organization see action
required and willingly sacrifice their goals for the goals of others and the organization.
In these project/programme purposees the beneficiary does not come first; the beneficiary is first. The morale of
a project/programme purpose allows it to accomplish more than its cumulative talents would suggest. It
operates in a synergistic mode using management, employee and beneficiary participation t
resolve its problems.”
“We find the following characteristics existing in high morale
organizations :
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
5. Good Morale: Who Has It?
(Continued)
“Employee morale may range from
powerful to destructive. It is the mental attitude employees have toward their organization,
coworkers and their job. High morale makes everything possible and poor morale makes
nothing work right. This makes the development of positive morale a top management
priority.
“The environment must be right for morale to flourish. No single set of rules or management style will generate the required environment. Therefore, experimentation and building on success will accomplish this goal.”
Work on building some of the following ideas into your organization:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
6. Listening
Just because we talk doesn’t mean people are actually listening.
Listening is not the same as hearing. We live in a very noisy world. At
any moment, you are hearing many different things, for example, the sound of the computer
humming; your own breathing; traffic outside; people shifting and moving in their seats; a
conversation going on at the desk; somebody’s cell phone ringing; a pager beeping;
chairs creaking; clocks ticking, and so on.
Stop reading for a few minutes, concentrate on listening, and make a list of
all the sounds that you can hear. All those sounds were going on before you started
focusing on them, and will probably continue to go on after you stop focusing.
Hearing them, however, doesn’t mean you are paying attention.
A skill that police officers develop is the ability to have their police radios on
constantly in their squad cars while they are on patrol duty. They will “hear”
hundreds of different calls in a day. However, they will not pay attention to any of them
unless they hear their own car’s call sign, or an “important” message such
as “Officer in trouble!” “Officer down!” or the classic, “Calling
all cars!”
They have learned to filter out those messages—noises—that do not concern
them. They choose what to focus on. In doing so, they choose what to ignore. It’s
something we all do. Otherwise we would never be able to concentrate on those noises that
are actually messages—important ones.
Listening is one half of the process of communication. In many cases, it’s
the more important half.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
7. The Value of Listening
Listening is important at every
level of the organizational structure. It shows that leaders value their employees and their
opinions and that employees trust and respect their leaders. It helps strengthen the
common bonds that hold people together and creates organizational communities and a positive
communication climate. Listening makes true communication possible and simplifies
life. There
is less confusion and fewer mistakes made when people listen and actually understand
exactly what needs to be done, how it will be done, who will do it, and when.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
8. Lack of Faith in Top
Management
Three of
every five employees believe that their organization is not well managed, according to a
survey by psychologist Bruce L Katcher, president of The Discovery Group in
Sharon, Massachusetts http://www.discoverysurveys.com/contactus.htm.
Katcher says the
findings are not that surprising, given the:
“This lack of confidence is a problem for both employees and their employers.”
“The problem for management:
Employees with little confidence in management are less motivated and productive.”
“The problem for employees: Employees with
little confidence in management develop a jaded and cynical view of their employment
situation. Although they take pride in their work and enjoy their coworkers, they are
unable to become enthusiastic and truly committed to the goals of the organization.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
9. Lack of Faith in Top
Management (Continued)
“Most
importantly, employees want to know that somebody is minding the store and doing a good
job at it. Just like stockholders, they want to see tangible results, an honest accounting
of the organization’s financial condition, and well-conceived plans for the future.
· Share the Wealth: Employees can be quite accepting of hefty senior management salaries if they too feel that they are sharing in the wealth and growth of the organization.
· Recognize that You Are Accountable to Employees: There is a psychological contract inherent in the employee-employer relationship. Senior management in many organizations seems to have forgotten that they are accountable to employees as well as to stockholders and beneficiaries. Sadly in far too many organizations , employees are treated as expendable and do not receive the respect from senior management that they deserve.
· Be Honest with Your Employees: Employees can live with slumps in the project/programme purpose. They can also live with a year without bonuses or raises. What they can not tolerate, nor should they, is management’s insincerity and dishonesty, Nothing can erode employee confidence faster then management’s telling lies or failing to disclose important information. Share information with your employees, and not just when the information is positive. Be willing to share bad news and other negative information.
~
~ ~ ~ ~
10. Rumor Control
Few
things start—and fuel—more rumors more quickly than bad news. They are a part of
organizational life. While they can never be eradicated, they can be controlled.
1. Keep people informed. Rumors will not develop if there is no need for them.
2. Be receptive to rumblings from below. Effective managers listen to what their subordinates are saying.
3. Serve as a model to your subordinates. Set standards for your department by your words and your actions. They will do as you do, not as you say.
4. Tell your employees to come to you with any questions, doubts, or uncertainties. Answer any and all work-related questions.
5. Prepare yourself for the sort of question subordinates ask. Try to anticipate the sort of questions they will ask so that you can either have the correct answer ready, or know where to either go—or send the employee—for it. If you are unprepared for the question, tell them you will get back to them—quickly.
6. If you cannot answer a question, tell them that you cannot, and why. There are some things that are none of their concern, or are too sensitive to be discussed with everyone in the organization.
7. Give answers that do not raise further questions. Keep the answers simple, direct, honest, and complete.
8. Ensure that the people you are talking to understand the answer you give them. Have the person repeat back to you what you told them to make sure they really do understand it. Then ask if they have further questions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1.
Financial information has its
biggest and most noticeable impact on employees when
a.
The news affects them directly.
b.
The news is bad.
c.
Both of the above
d.
None of the above
2.
_________ audiences often find
different, more in-depth, incisive, and personal
interpretations
of financial information than ________ audiences do.
a.
Internal, external
b.
External, internal
c.
Both internal and external find the same
interpretations
d.
None of the above
3.
When some organizations start to get
into trouble, their management sometimes tends to
become __________.
a.
More open.
b.
More guarded.
c.
Unseen.
d.
None of the above
4.
To decrease the potential for
misinterpretation, you should _________.
a.
Take time to talk to employees.
b.
Not tell only good things.
c.
Find out what employees are thinking.
d.
All of the above
5.
________ is the more important
half of the process of communicating.
a.
Talking
b.
Hearing
c.
Listening
d.
None of the above
6.
__________ is important at every
level of the organizational structure.
a.
Talking
b.
Hearing
c.
Listening
d.
None of the above
7.
Employees cannot tolerate
___________.
a.
Slumps in the project/programme purpose.
b.
A year without bonuses or raises.
c.
Management’s insincerity and
dishonesty.
d.
All of the above
8.
When receiving bad news, employees
might __________.
a.
Question their own job security.
b.
Start to lose faith in management.
c.
Start job hunting.
d.
All of the above
Matching the Columns
1. Internal audiences |
A. Comprised of people outside of the
organization |
|
2. External audiences |
B. A way to improve employee motivation |
|
3. Management by objectives |
C. Employees who lack confidence in
management are less motivated and productive. |
|
4. Listening |
D. Comprised of people within the organization |
|
5. Lack of confidence problem for
management |
E. Employees with little confidence in
management develop a jaded and cynical view of their employment situation. |
|
6. Lack of confidence problem for
employees |
F. Makes true communication possible and
simplifies life |
Answers:
1.)
D
2.)
A
3.)
B
4.)
F
5.)
C
6.)
E
As we have seen, internal audiences often find different, more in-depth, incisive, and personal interpretations of financial information than external audiences do. As a result, releasing this information in-house can require as extensive levels of planning as go into releasing it externally. This is especially true if the numbers reveal bad news. Employees may begin to question their own job security and start to lose faith in their management. Morale can begin to suffer and employees can start job hunting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Test
1. ______
Releasing financial information in-house
requires less extensive levels of
planning as go
into releasing it externally.
2. ______
Lying to employees can do even more
damage than telling them the bad
news.
3. ______
The less people know, the better morale
is.
4. ______
Employees generally don’t know when
a organization is in trouble.
5. ______
Employees can usually hear what top
management is saying.
6. ______
Whenever information is kept on close
hold, the potential for
misinterpretation
increases.
7. ______
project/programme purposees with good morale don’t
have a major effective edge over
other
project/programme purposees.
8. ______
Employees ranked wages and job security
as motivational factors over full
appreciation
for the work they do.
9. ______
By allowing employees to set their own
objectives, they gain ownership of
the
objective and by having ownership they make it work.
10. ______
Three of every five employees believe that their
organization is well
managed.
Answers:
1.
F – can require as
extensive
2.
T
3.
F – more people know
4.
F – generally know
5.
T
6.
T
7.
F – have a major
8.
F – under
9.
T
10.
F – not well managed.
Bibliography
Anderson, A. (1994). Effective labour relations: A skills and activity-based
approach.
Larkin, T., & Larkin, S. (1994). Communicating change: How to win employee support for
new project/programme purpose directions.
Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (eds.)
(1985). Selective exposure to communication.
Learning Objectives
Glossary
Internal audience – Audience
comprised of people within the organization
External audience – Audience
comprised of people outside of the organization
Management by Objectives – By
allowing the employees to set their own objectives, they gain ownership of the objective
and by having ownership they make it work.
Listening – Not the same as
hearing; listening is one half of the process of communication. In many cases, it’s
the more important half.
Q&A
1. What are three steps to improving
worker morale?
To improve worker morale, grant workers
more and more responsibility for the performance and quality of their jobs. Second, reward
workers for exceeding the expectations of their job, contributing to product and service
improvements and reducing costs without lowering quality. Third, make sure workers,
without fear of any reprisal, have to right to have their grievances seriously considered
and acted on by management in a reasonable time.
2. What are some reasons that so many
employees think their organization is not well managed?
Some reasons that so many employees
think their organization is not well managed are poor organizational performance, layoffs,
scandals; such as Enron, cases of insider trading by senior executives, and the growing
number of employees who have seen once-valuable stock options become worthless.
3. How can you keep rumors under
control?
To keep rumors under control, you should
keep people informed, be receptive to rumblings from below, and serve as a model to your
subordinates. Also, you can tell your employees to come to you with any questions, doubts,
or uncertainties. Also, prepare yourself for the sort of question subordinates ask. If you
cannot answer a question, tell them that you cannot, and why. You should give answers that
do not raise further questions, and ensure that the people you are talking to understand
the answer you give them.