A paper on the impact of effective communincation and customer relationship on organisational growth and development i

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THE IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

ON ORGANISATIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTIONCommunication as a concept is synonymous with all human activities in that, it can be equated with life. The process of creation itself is marked by communication. It is said that God told other heavenly beings of His intention to create man in His own image. God is the creator of heaven and earth with awesome power, but still saw the need to communicate His intentions to His subordinates in order to carry them along in His plan. In essence, the creation of man can be safely said to be a product of communication. Coming back to the present, suffice to say that all our activities are guided by communication in whatever form. The relationship existing between people are fostered and maintained with communication without which politics and

commerce, the fulcrum of human existence would have been impossible1. Dance (1970)2 defined communication as the process by which people seek to share meaning via the transmission of symbolic messages. However, according to Ewulo, M.O. (2013)3 Communication is the exchange of information by the sender to the receiver with the purpose of receiving a feedback.Communication is a major tool of diplomacy. War plaguing the world itself is a product of misunderstanding resulting from lack of communication; effective communication is therefore a veritable tool for maintenance of peace.This school of thought is of the opinion that the information at the disposal of man through effective communication is used as a basis for taking certain personal decisions affecting his survival and existence. This is largely responsible for the peaceful co-existence of man.

1 Olufemi A.A & Babalola O. (2004), Fundamentals of Business communication. Zanny Bee and Ashbury Publisher, Lagos.2 FEX Dance, “The ‘Concept of Communication’ Journal of Communication”20, No.2 (1970) 201-103 Ewulo, M.O. (2013), Effective Business Communication Skills I. Godspeed Publishers. Lagos.

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However, lack of communication and/or misunderstanding can spice the inhibition of growth and development of any organization.

Keyword: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)Elements in the Communication ProcessThe following are the elements involved in the process of communication:Sender: This is the person(s) who has an information, idea, feeling or thought to share with another person(s). The information is thereafter translated into a series of symbols because this is the only means by which it could be transmitted. Message: This is the information, idea, opinion, or feeling which the sender wishes to convey to the receiver. The message is a very important element because it is what actually links the parties in the communication process. As such, the sender must ensure the message is clearly scripted to carry the intended meaning to the receiver.Channel: This is the method of transmission adopted in sending the information (message). This could be in form of paper for the letters and air for the spoken words.

Receiver: This is the decoder; he interprets the message and translates it into meaningful information. The more his decoding matches the encoder’s (sender) intended meaning, the more effective the communication is.Noise: This is any factor that disturbs, confuses or interferes with communication. Noise may be internal when the receiver is not paying due attention or external when the message is distorted by other sounds in the environment of communication. Feedback: This is the means by which the success of failure of communication process is measured. Feedback is the response elicited from the receiver by a message. There are times when the feedback is not in agreement with the message transmitted. This may be as a result of misunderstanding arising from the symbol used in encoding or some other environmental factors. This is referred to as communication breakdown.Fundamentals of CommunicationWhether it is written or spoken communication, certain factors needed to be taken into consideration if communication must be effective, having agreed that the effectiveness of communication is dependent on the elements



making up the communication process and how the potentials possessed by each are maximized. Clarity: This has to do with the accuracy of words used in communication. To communicate effectively, words must be used such that expressions would depict exactly the intention of the encoder. Completeness: This means that the idea or feeling the encoder wishes to transmit must be transmitted in its entirety such that the encoder includes only words and sentences that fulfill his desire in totality.Correctness: The importance of accuracy in the information being transmitted need not be over-emphasized. A communicator should ensure that the information he desires to transmit is free of errors. The language should be free of grammatical errors capable of distorting information received by the decoder.Conciseness: The world is presently faced with information glut. The amount of information available for reading is enormous. There is, therefore, a sort of competition for attention by information from diverse sources. It is important that this is taken into consideration by every communicator.

Concreteness: Any piece of information that must be transmitted should be specific in terms of purpose. There should be no doubt as to the goal of the piece of information is supposed to achieve. Candid: There is an obvious need for sincerity between communicators. Honesty goes a long way towards building trust between an encoder and a decoder without which effective communication may be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Courteousness: In all human eadeavours, there is need for a certain degree of politeness. During the process of communication, due attention should be paid to civility. This can be well achieved in the choice of words as well as the tone with which the words are used. This is about one way to sustain relationships, which is the primary aim of communication. Barriers in CommunicationThe people involved in communication desire nothing but effective communication. That is, the sender intends that the receiver’s decoding matches his intended message. However, many factors militate against this desire and make communication difficult or altogether impossible.



The following are some factors that cause barriers in communication:Noise: This refers to anything that inhibits the free flow of information from an encoder to a decoder. Noise in this instance applies to anything that disturbs, confuses, diminishes or interferes with communication. The various manifestations of noise in communication are discussed below:a. External Noise: This is used to describe all forms of interferences or disturbances in the physical environment capable of distorting, diminishing, interfering or erasing communication. b. Psychological Noise: This refers to hindrances to communication resulting from the emotional state of the encoder and decoder during communication. Emotional reactions such as anger, love, defensiveness, hate, jealousy, fear, embarrassment and the likes influence our understanding of others’ message and how we influence others with our own messages. c. Linguistic Noise: This is used to depict confusion in communication arising from the use of language. This implies that, there must be a mutuality of meaning of the chosen symbols between the two people involved in

communication. Linguistic noise can manifest in three levels: Phonology, Syntax and SemanticsDistrust: The credibility of communicating parties go a long way in influencing the effectiveness or otherwise of communication. A receiver’s trust or distrust of a message is, to a large extent, dependent on the reliability of the sender in the mind of the receiver. If a receiver has repeatedly experienced disdain or unmet promises from the sender, the effectiveness of the sender’s communication can be eroded.Status and Power: Status and power differences help determine who will communicate comfortably with whom. The content and accuracy of the communication will also be affected by authority differences. This affects communication within organizations more as junior level workers may be constrained to be overtly polite and formal when discussing with superiors which could affect communication’s effectiveness. Choice of Channel: The adequacy of channel for a particular kind of communication is an important factor impacting on the effectiveness of communication. The responsibility of deciding on the channel rests with the encoder but he must consider the decoder, the content of the



message, time factor, in deciding the appropriate channel. Improving Effective CommunicationThe difference between effective and ineffective communication can be traced to how well the communicating parties deal with the above listed barriers of communication. The following are therefore recommended: With respect to noise, researchers are of the opinion that is may be difficult to eliminate it altogether. They have therefore suggested that those involved in communication should attempt to reduce it to a level that permits effective communication. Communicating parties can also strive to simplify the content of the message they transmit in their choice of words which should take into consideration the need for mutuality of meaning. Communicators with speech inadequacies should endeavour to practice in order to be conversant with the sounds of their language of communication. To overcome psychological noise, messages should be explained in such a manner that it can be understood by receivers with different views and experiences. If possible, we should learn

about the background of those with whom we will be communicating to overcome dissonance in communication. Seeing the situation from the other person’s perspective and delaying reactions until the relevant information is weighed will help to reduce ambiguity. It is also worthwhile for communicators to accept emotional reactions as part of the communication process and to seek to understand them when they cause problems. The key to eliminating inconsistencies in communication are being aware of them and guarding against sending false messages. Gestures, clothes, posture, facial expression, and other non-verbal communication should all synchronise with the verbal. Credibility is the result of a long-term process in which a person’s honesty, fair-mindedness, and good intentions are recognized by others. A good rapport with the people one communicates with can only be developed through consistent performance. Code Switching is often practiced in verbal communication. It happens when a speaker shifts from a particular language to another or from one dialect to another either as a result of the prevailing circumstances or deficiency in the



usage of the first language or dialect to enhanced effective communication. It may result when the speaker observes the deficiency of the listener in the particular language of communication. Code Mixing refers to the practice of blending the mother tongue with a second language during communication. Language researchers have contended that this is done instinctively and usually when the conversation is heated and emphasis is needed.

Roles of Effective CommunicationCommunication is the lifeblood of human existence. Effective communication is therefore important for three cogent reasons: In interpersonal roles, man uses communication to interact with friends, neighbours, family member and people from other cultures. Excellent communication skills take on added meaning when the challenges of globalization are given due consideration. Communication provides people with relevant information about their needs, desires, plans, environment and all they need for survival. The information at the disposal of man through communication is used as a basis for taking certain personal decisions affecting his

survival and existence. This is largely responsible for the peaceful co-existence of man. Communication is a major tool of diplomacy. Wars plaguing the world, itself, are a product of misunderstanding resulting from lack of communication. Effective communication is therefore a veritable tool for maintenance of peace.

COMMUNICATION IN ORGANISATIONSCommunication is primarily concerned with the sending and receiving accurate messages to and from other people. To this end, all the factors discussed in relation to interpersonal communication are applicable to communication in organizations, except that the message may be meant for a large number of people. In addition to the foregoing, it is important to note that effective organisational communication depends on organisational structure, pattern of authority and job design and specification. Whatever may be the goal of the organisation, effective communication is central to the attainment. In fact, it is central to the survival of any organization and the lack of it may not be too different from cardiac arrest in human beings.



Roles of Communication in OrganisationsAchievement of Cohesion among members of the Organisation – Henry Mintzberg (1975)4 while defining the role of the manager in organisation was of the view that managers, as leaders of their organisational units interact with employees, customers, suppliers and colleagues in the organisation with a view to fostering good interpersonal relationship. This way, communication is used to achieve cohesiveness amongst members of the organisation. Assistance to Organisational Goal – through effective communication, managers seek information from peers, employees and other personal contacts about anything that may affect their job and responsibilities. They also disseminate interesting and important information in return.Decision Implementation – as decision makers, managers implement new projects, handle disturbances and allocate resources to their unit members and departments. Some of these decisions that managers make are reached in private, but they are based on information that

4 Henry Mintzberg ‘The Manager’s Job; Folklore and Facts’ in Harvard Business Review 53, No 4 (July – August 1975).

has been communicated to them. Managers, in turn, have to communicate those decisions to others.Factors Influencing Effective Organisational Communication Raymond V. Lesikar5 isolated four factors that influence the effectiveness of organisational communication as: 1. Formal Channels of Communication – This is the means of communication that is approved and controlled by managers in an organisation. Examples of formal channels of communication include newsletters, organisational manual, memos and reports and staff meetings. Moreover, where information flows through the formal channels, follow the chain of command, certain restrictions are placed on some categories of officers to communicate directly with higher level officers. 2. Structure of Authority – An organisation’s structure in terms of authority distribution will also influence communication effectiveness. Differences in terms of power and status 5 Raymond V. Lesikar, “A General Semantic Approach to Communication Barriers in Organisation” in Keith Davis Ed, Organisation Behaviours: A Book of readings, 5 th ed, (New York: McGraw Hill, 1977) pp. 336-337.



determine who communicates with who and comfortably too. These could also affect the content and accuracy of the information. 3. Job Specialisation – People who belong to the same work group are likely to share the same jargon, goals, tasks and personal styles. In this instance, communication has been enhanced by job specialisation.4. Ownership of Information – This is supposed to mean that individuals possess unique information and knowledge about their jobs. Such information becomes a form of power for the individual possessing them but they are, most times, unwilling to share this information with others.

COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIPLeadership is a human skill that concerns itself with all efforts at keeping other members of the organisation focused on the goals of the organisations. In order to do this, leaders are expected to encourage and support their subordinates so that they (leaders) can cause and

sustain their commitment even to long term organisational goals. However, people and groups differ widely especially in their response to different types of treatment. What is capable of inducing one person or group to put forth enthusiastic efforts to do a good job may make others to apathetic or arouse their hostility. This situation creates a problem for all managers since it is difficult if not altogether impossible for managers to study subordinates individually with a view to determining the type of treatment that will work best in each case. One possible approach to the problem is the provision of inspiring leadership. No doubt, a leader can have tremendous impact on the performance of those under him which is the reason why most organisations are on the lookout for some ways of selecting better leaders and/or training their managers in effective leadership techniques. Organisations are at a loss what good leadership consists of. Some are of the view that nature bestows leadership qualities while others are of the view that leadership is a human skill that can be learnt formally or through experience. Towards finding answers to this problem, so many researchers especially psychologist have



developed many theories to address the issue. The following are leadership theories that can help:Traits Theory: This attempted to identify the personal characteristics of leaders. The theory assumed that leaders share certain inborn personality traits. In measuring these traits, researches took two approaches (i) comparing the traits of those who have emerged leaders with the traits of those who have not; and (ii) comparing the trait of effective leaders with those of ineffective ones. Studies have revealed that, leaders are brighter, more extroverted, more self-confident and taller. However, there are many with these traits will never attain leadership position while there are indisputable leaders who do not have these traits. There is a possibility for individuals to become more confident and assertive the moment they occupy leadership position. Behavioural Theory: This was developed from the failure of the Traits Theory. When it became evident that effective leaders do not have a particular set of distinguishing traits, researchers began to look for behavioural characteristics of effective leaders. In other words, and unlike the traits theory, the behavioural theory centered on

what effective leaders do and not who they are. The behavioural theory concerns itself with how effective leaders do their jobs – how they communicate with subordinates, delegate duties and manner of motivating their staff.Situational/Contingency Theory: Based on the observation that no trait was common to all effective leaders and that no one style was effective in all situation, the contingency approach to leadership was developed. The contingency approach is based on the view that the management technique that best contribute to the attainment of organisational goals might vary in different types of situation or circumstances. The approach believes that the circumstances which influences leadership effectiveness is determined by factors such as task requirements, peers’ expectations and behaviours, and organisational culture and policies. Developed by Hersey and Blanchard the situation theory describes how leaders should adjust their leadership style in response to their subordinates’ evolving desire for achievement, experience, ability and willingness to accept responsibility.6

6 Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard, Management of Organisational Behaviour, 4th

Ed (Englewood cliffs, N.J; Prentice Hall, 1982)9

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Path-Goal Model: This theory was formulated by Martins G Evans7 and Robert J House8. This theory relies heavily on the expectancy model of motivation which states that an individual is motivated by his or her expectation of reward and the attractiveness of the reward. Although there are many ways of influencing employees but the most important is their ability to provide rewards and what employees must do to earn them. Thus, managers determine the availability of “goals” (rewards) and the “path” that will earn them.

LEADERSHIP QUALITIESIn a research carried out by James Kouzes and Barry Posner9, a new line of enquiry was made into the issue of leadership. In the research which was based on interviews and questionnaires. The research was important because it was a revisit of the trait theory. But it differs in its approach by appealing directly on leadership. Fundamentally, the research identified five fundamental practices and ten behaviours that leaders use to get

7 Martin G. Evans, ‘Leaderships and Motivation: A Core Concept’, Academy of Management Journal 13, No. 1 (March 1970) 91-1028 Robert J. House “A Path-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness”, Administration Science Quarterly 16, No 5 (September, 1971); 321-28, 9 James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenges: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organisation (San Francisco, Josses – Bass, 1987).

“extraordinary things done”. These fundamental practices and behaviours are discussed below:Challenging the Process - A leader should be able to dare established process of getting things done in an organisation with a view to providing a better option that would get goals achieved. Towards this end, the behaviours necessary for the leader are:

Searching for opportunities Experimenting and taking risks

Inspiring a Shared Vision – A leader is expected, through his personal vision and energy, to inspire followers and through the process motivate them more than they were originally expected to do by raising their sense of the importance and value of their tasks. To do this successfully a leader needs to:

Enlist others’ support Envision the future

Enabling others to Act – The leader is expected to provide an enabling environment for his followers to act with a view to bringing to bear their creative potential on their tasks. This, the leader will achieve if he puts forth the following behaviours:

Foster collaboration Strengthen others



Modeling the way – An effective is expected to provide the necessary leadership which his subordinates must recognize as emulating. Towards this end, the leader must:

Set the examples Plan small wins

Encourage the Heart – In line with the path goal model, an effective leader is expected to provide rewards and also specify what employees must do to earn them. A manager’s leadership style influences the rewards available to employees as well as means of earning them. Towards this end, the effective leader is not expected to offer only pay and promotion but also support, encouragement, security, and respect. In essence, a good leader is expected to be employee centered. This can be done effectively by:

Recognizing individual contribution Celebrating accomplishment.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTIONAs Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is increasingly perceived not as a sub-function of marketing or IT but as an integrated business infrastructure that supports or coordinates various functional departments, the perspective of CRM as a business process seems to have come into prevalence recently. The goal of CRM is to promote organisational growth thereby enhancing customer relationship via effective communication. What is Customer Relationship Management? Customer Relationship Management is the relationship between the organization and its customers. Customers are the lifeblood of any organization be it a global corporation with thousands of employees and a multi-billion turnover, or a sole trader with a handful of regular customers.CRM focuses on the RelationshipSuccessful organizations use three steps to build customer relationships: determine mutually satisfying goals between

organization and customers establish and maintain customer rapport



produce positive feelings in the organization and the customers

CRM Conditions The organization and the customers both have sets of conditions to consider when building the relationship, such as wants and needs of both parties; organizations need to make a profit to

survive and grow customers want good service, a quality

product and an acceptable price Good CRM can influence both sets of conditions. Why does the Organization need CRM? The ultimate purpose of CRM, like any organizational initiative, is to increase profit. In the case of CRM this is achieved mainly by providing a better service to your customers than your competitors. CRM not only improves the service to

customers though; a good CRM capability will also reduce costs, wastage, and complaints (although you may see some increase initially, simply because you hear about things that without CRM would have stayed hidden).

Effective CRM also reduces staff stress, because attrition - a major cause of stress -

reduces as services and relationships improve.

CRM enables instant market research as well: opening the lines of communications with your customers gives you direct constant market reaction to your products, services and performance, far better than any market survey.

Good CRM also helps you grow your business: customers stay with you longer; customer churn rates reduce; referrals to new customers increase from increasing numbers of satisfied customers; demand reduces on fire-fighting and trouble-shooting staff, and overall the organization's service flows and teams work more efficiently and more happily.

What do Customers want? Most obviously, customers want cost-effective products or services that deliver required benefits to them. Note that any single product or service can deliver different benefits to different customers. It's important to look at things from the customer's perspective even at this level.More significantly however, customers want to have their needs satisfied. Customers' needs are distinctly different to and far broader than a



product or service, and the features and benefits encompassed. Customers' needs generally extend to issues far beyond the suppliers' proposition, and will often include the buying-selling process (prior to providing anything), the way that communications are handled, and the nature of the customer-supplier relationship.Modern CRM theory refers to the idea of 'integrating the customer'. This new way of looking at the business involves integrating the customer (more precisely the customer's relevant people and processes) into all aspects of the supplier's business, and vice versa. This implies a relationship that is deeper and wider than the traditional 'arms-length' supplier-customer relationship.Customers' Expectations If an organization cannot at least meet its customers' expectations it will struggle. Ideally a business organization should exceed its customers' expectations, thereby maximising the satisfaction of its customers, and also the credibility of its goods and services in the eyes of its customers.Customers normally become delighted when a supplier under-promises and over-delivers. To

over-promise and under-deliver is a recipe for customers to become very dissatisfied.Rule No 1 - You cannot assume that you know what a customer's expectations are ... You must ask. Rule No 2 - Customer expectations will constantly change so they must be determined on an on-going basis.The expectations of different customers for the same product or service will vary according to:

social and demographic factors economic situation educational standards competitor products experience

Therefore, given all these variable factors, it is no surprise that one size certainly does not fit all.Ask your customers what is important to them. Find out why your customers do business with you. There are a wide variety of relationship drivers. For example:

Quality Price Product Location Customer Service



When you ask you might discover some factors that you'd perhaps never even considered, for example:

health and safety support systems compatibility contract structure distribution flexibility technical support troubleshooting and problem-solving, to

name just a few Customer SatisfactionSatisfaction is a general customer attitude by a consumer towards a service provider and an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive in terms of service and or product. When customers are satisfied, they are more likely to return, while dissatisfied customers are more likely to go elsewhere (Levesque and McDougall, 1996, Zineldin, 2000). Customer satisfaction is an important constituent of a successful and thriving organization and can be directly associated to increased profit margins and greater employee satisfaction, customer retention, and repeat purchases to organisations that consider customer satisfaction a key factor in its marketing strategy. An organizations social

setting-whether it is called ''culture'' or ''climate''-is an important driver of customer satisfaction. As stated by, (Ferris et al., 1998) organizational climate can facilitate a positive relationship between human resource practices and customer satisfaction, supporting a social context model for predicting customer satisfaction.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONCommunication is central to any successful relationship. In terms of Customer Relationship Management, communication needs to be effective; as determined by:

on time focused relevant reliable coherent

Importantly also, for effective communications, it's the message and meaning that is received that counts, irrespective of what the communicator thinks they've said, or written. Communications must be judged most vitally by the reaction of the receiver. If the reaction is not good then the communication is poor. The information contained in a good CRM allows communication to be directed at the correct audience, in the correct way.



The communication system must also encourage and facilitate honest and actionable feedback.Feedback from customers - especially complaints are essential for good organizational performance and ongoing development. Most organizations avoid, discourage and hide from complaints. Complaints are free guidance for improving your quality, and free opportunities to increase customer loyalty.However, the overriding conclusion is that bridging the gaps between Effective Communication and good Customer Relationship will enhance the growth and development of any organisation.

Business Quote: A happy customer who suggests your work to many others is the biggest business advertisement. Try pleasing him to get more business! - 53344

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Leadership & Management

A paper on the impact of effective communincation and customer relationship on organisational growth and development i