Communication
A Vital Issue In Organisation

By Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

COMMUNICATION is the lifeblood of the modern organisation. It blends together skills and understandings, language and logic, and the human attitudes that enable managers, employees, and customers to exchange information and to make decisions. Without communication the primary managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling would be impossible; with communication, the organisation’s goals-and the procedures for implementing them –can be attained.

Binding Element

Communication is critical for all levels of human behaviour. Man’s ability to think and transmit those thoughts through the communication process provides binding element for all social interaction. The relative success or failure of human endeavour depends to a great extent, upon the effectiveness of communication. Communication may be understood as the process of transmitting information. Management experts, Moorhead and Griffin (1980) contend that a manager transmits information for a variety of reasons: (1) to achieve coordinated actions, (2) to express feelings and emotions, and (3) to share information.

In Nepalese context, there is lack of open communication between supervisor and subordinate staffs. In reality, this type of organisational environment hampers in fulfilling targeted objectives. Due to this communication barrier, the relationship between mangers and subordinate staffs seems to be bitter and imbalance.

Communication helps the organisation in arriving at vital decisions. In its absence, it may not be possible to come in the closer contract with each other and discuss the important problems concerning to the organizations. Management scholars refer some essential features of organizational communication like clarity of thoughts, participation, transmission, keep the system alive and coordinal men-boss relations.

The term "communication" denotes the means or media of passing information. It is the act of the inducing others to interpret an idea in the manner intended by the speaker or writer. Generally, communication is very crucial subject to every manager. Managing is getting things done through others, a task that requires the manager to communicate with other people. Management communication is also necessary for managers to make effective decisions. Another reason for emphasizing management communication is that the scope of manegerial influence typically is greater than that of workers. Inadequate information to managers can affect a broad area of performance, because their spans of supervision affect many people and activities.

Nepalese management expert focus that the essence of public relation is the establishment of link between organization and its publics. In fact, interpersonal communication must be effective in developing public image in organization. It seems vital issue for the removal of dissatisfactions among the employees. Organisations cannot live without communication. Basically, lack of communication, employees cannot know what their associates are doing, management cannot receive information inputs, and management cannot give instructions. Coordination of work is impossible, and the organization will collapse for lack of it.

Organisation cannot exist without communication. It is the transfer of information, understanding one person to another person and a sharing of meaning. Generally, the communication process consists various steps viz. develops an idea, encode, transmit, receive, decode, and use.

In the advancement of communication technology, today government agencies are providing macro- information technologies such as fax, wide areas networks, the Internet, and mobile computing. Principally, these technologies can offer a variety of facilities like better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. Management expert stresses that good governance in public administration means provision of quality services to the citizens and stakeholders with diverse interests, and managerial autonomy.

Indian Journal of Psychology (1988) highlights that communication is the backdrop against which all organisational behaviour occur. It is involved in all human relation and transactions in as much as it becomes the nervous system of any organized group, which provides the basic information and understanding necessary for productivity, morale and over-all effectiveness.

Psychologists, Kochar, D.C.and Kochar, I. (1988) remark that hierarchy is an age-old essential attribute of organization. Information is often a resource that symbolizes status, enhances authority, and shapes career, this hierarchy, as is related to information exchange, becomes both a boon as well as bane. In reporting and interacting at every work-level, hierarchy plays an important role. Usually, organizations are structured into levels of authority, affects the nature, course and pattern of communication process.

Organisational psychologists point out that structuring of groups into hierarchies automatically introduces restraints against free-communication especially criticisms and comments by low status members towards those in higher –status positions. Fundamentally, much of the communication in organisation can be expressed in person-to person terms. Management’s concern with communications lies often with the internal inputs of information passing between persons and subunits comprising the organisation. Though, inputs of information from the external environment may also be very important in organisation.

Organisations have authority hierarchies and formal rule that employs are required to pursue. When employees, for instance, are required to first communicate any job–related grievance to their immediate boss, to follow their job description, or to comply with company policies, communication is performing a control function.

President, Management Association of Nepal, Khatiwada, Yubraj (2002) points out that communication is an effective means to impart and share knowledge and experiences to meet this end with variety of electronic and print media. Management researchers, Lal Krishna, K.C.and Sainju, R. (2002) highlight current issue on Management Development Scenario-2001 in the Journal on Nepalese Management. In that issue they remark that the Government is increasingly using information technology (IT) to bring about efficiency in its operations. Many ministries and departments have their own web sites and they rely on e-mail for receiving and sending information. Moreover, some of the ministries and departments have embarked upon e-governance. As for instance, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and National Planning Commission (NPC) have been disseminating information through their web site. Consequently, the government has also decided to connect 1500 VDCs with the Internet and e-mail connections to develop their capacity for accessing to information.

Motivation

Finally, communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what can be done to improve performance. The communication that takes place within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show their frustrations and feelings of satisfaction. Communication therefore, provides a discharge for the emotional expression of feelings and for achievement of social needs.

Glimpses Of Medieval Nepal VI

By Guna Dev Bhattarai

THE royal palaces of Kathmandu , Patan and Bhadgaon served double purposes. Each of the three capital cities of the Valley was not only the residential quarter of the ruling monarch but also the seat of the government.

The palace was surrounded by strong walls and there were beautiful gardens and lawns inside the premises. The palace comprised of many temples and some of which were consecrated to the family deities of the ruling monarchs.

The royal palaces of Patan and Bhadgaon might have been built on the ruins of the old structures whereas the royal palace of Kathmandu seemed to have been built in a new model. Within the premises of the beautifully and artistically built palaces there were many courtyards whose floors were pebbled. Some courtyards were of small size. The smaller courtvards contained water conduit which provided water for the palace as well as bathing facilities for the members of the royal family.

The palaces were of four storeys including the ground floor. The ground floor was used for storage and arsenal. Each palace had a Mulchok where on one side stood the temple of Taleju. The Mohanchok and the Sundarichok were meant for the private use of the royal family members in Patan and Kathmandu. As there was the influence of the Sakta cult there were different male and female deities. There were special sleeping rooms for the members of the royal family.

The outer walls of the palace were manned by soldiers at strategic centres. In front of the main gate some troopers were stationed in the long narrow storey building. There were separate rooms for the administrative offices but the king’s secretariat functioned from inside the palace in one of the ground floors.

The royal palace of Bhadgaon had many chowks like Malatichok, Mulchok, Kumarichok in particular. The gateways of the palace were guarded by stone lions, elephants and the like. The images of Hanuman, Narasimha and Ganesh were supposed to protect the palace from evils.

The Malla rulers by following the policy of their predecessors left an indelible impact on the development of art and architecture.

The Malla rulers were religiously tolerant and that is why they would give attention to the construction of the Buddhist Viharas and the Hindu temples side by side. Of all the Viharas, Swayambhu and Thahabil were most important in all respects. The Viharas were occupied by monks for meditation and study.

We can see the objects of obscene carvings with erotic pictures in some of the temples of the Valley. According to some versions of scholars, that the obscence pictures were meant to attract the Buddhist monks who were detached from sex life. Some scholars have opined that the sexy scenes would protect the temples from lightning. Elaborate and beautiful carvings were common elements for the decoration of temples. On the front wall of the temples we can see all sorts of old swords, shields, pans, spinning, wheels, jars, horns and the like.

The temples of Pashupatinath, Changunarayan, Jaisideval, Taleju in the three cities, Bhimsenthan of Kathmandu and Patan Akash Bhairab, Dattatreya, Brahmayani, Nyatapol of Bhadgaon, Vajrayogini of Sankhu, Harasiddhi of Patan, Bhagwati of Nala, Chandeswori of Banepa and Vajarbarahi of Chapagaon are famous in all respects.

It will not be an exaggeration to support the remark of Kirkpatric that the valley consists of as many temples as there are houses and of as many idols as there are men. Many temples that we can see should be named as the Nepalese style not that of Pagoda one which can be seen in north India.

Sylven Levi describes the style of the temple structure. In the centre the house of the God, a storeyed building raised on a terrace of stone, the sanctiary in the lower story a rectangle of brick and wood sheltered by a slanting roof, covered with tiles or copper with corners beat upwards beams running counter to the slope of the roof and bearing it up. The ensemble is repeated from storey to store, but gradually diminishing each of the upper roofs being drawn back a little more than the lower one with a bell turret of metal crowns on the summit.