The use of communication in organizations undergoing change : case studies of Minelco and SGT AB

In today’s turbulent environment of organizations, change has become synonymous with standard business practices, as long-term organizational ends have to be reformulated on an ongoing basis. Irrespective of the size or type of firm or organization, the case for considering whether change is necessary has never been stronger: and all the indications are that this factor is going to be of quite crucial importance for the future if an organization is to survive and remain competitive. Doing business and managing change make effective communication a critical success factor needed to create a common understanding of what the organization is trying to achieve in the marketplace. Effective communication is therefore regarded as highly important in the successful implementation of change, because it is used as a tool for announcing, explaining or preparing people for change and preparing people involved for the positive and negative effects of the impending change. Leaders and managers must be prepared to “walk the talk”. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the use of communication in an organization undergoing change. Our research explores, describes and tries to explain how the communication, including the internal- and external communication, is used within organizations undergoing change. We have conducted case studies of Minelco and Svensk Gruvteknik AB, based on one face-to-face interview with each company. Our main findings concerning communication, including internal- and external communication, are that companies use several mediums when communicating to increase people’s memory of the message. Good internal communication does not mean that all in the organization understand the need for the change. The use of a specific communication strategy does not necessarily need to be used, and the use of various types of communication mediums depend on the size of the organizations. Additionally, it is important for a company to match its internal processes with its external environment, and resources put on communication do not necessarily need to be costly in terms of money. Finally, implications for managers, theory, and future research are provided.Validerat; 20101217 (root