Question

Define downward communication. What is the most frequent complaint about downward communication? Identify several functions of downward communication and illustrate these functions with an example.

Answer 1

Downward communication is the flow of information from top management to the lower levels in an organisation. One of the most frequent complaints about downward communication is that the higher level managers are not able to properly communicate with the lower level employees. Ineffective downward communication causes message distortion, confusion, un-clarity and final low morale among employees.

Several functions of downward communication are as follows:

• To communicate the rules and regulations to employees - example in case of any change in rule of the organisation, the employees should be informed in time and given proper explanation for the change in order to avoid confusion and cross-talk.
• To convey the goal, mission and vision statement of the organisation. This will help the employees to know where their efforts are to be concentrated and what are the short-term and long-terms targets of the organisation. Example - If the company aims to grow market share  20%, then the employees must be informed so and to channelize their efforts to improve the market share by providing better service to customer, improving products manufactured, increasing sales, etc and all the supporting functions to drive the company to achieve it's main goal.
• Proper delegation of work - this is a very sensitive matter and has to be done very carefully. Any mistake can lead to misunderstandings and cause employee dissatisfaction. Example, when a new employee has been recruited his introduction to the team should be done by the manager in a way which will help him receive positive help and support from his co-employees.