May 24th, 2009
In an organization, there are basically two ways of communication namely:
- Formal and
- Informal communication
Below explain their differences and characteristics:
- Communication takes place through the formal channels of the organization structure along the lines of authority established by the management.
- Such communications are generally in writing and may take any of the forms; policy; manuals: procedures and rule books; memoranda; official meetings; reports, etc.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Formal Communication:
The advantages of formal communication are:
- They help in the fixation of responsibility and
- Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization.
The disadvantages of formal communication are:
- Generally time consuming, cumbersome and
- Leads to a good deal of distortion at times.
- Communication arising out of al those channels of communication that fall outside the formal channels is known as informal communication.
- Built around the social relationships of members of the organization.
- Informal communication does not flow lines of authority as is the case of formal communication.
- It arises due to the personal needs of the members of n organization.
- At times, in informal communication, it is difficult to fix responsibility about accuracy of information. Such communication is usually oral and may be covered even by simple glance, gesture or smile or silence.
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