The role of effective communication in successful strategy implementation

Abstract: Communication is regarded as an important tool that is necessary for organisations to achieve their goals and strategies. For strategies to be implemented well in an organisation, every aspect of the strategy needs to be communicated effectively throughout the entire workforce of the organisation. Effective communication at all levels of the organisation helps in transferring the correct and useful information relating to the strategies which have been created. For communication to be effective, it is advised that the organisation should be structured in a way that allows information to be communicated quickly, freely, and in a flexible manner. With the rapid changes in ICT and the manner in which personnel within organisations are communicating, there is a growing need to understand how the changes have affected communication and strategy implementation. This research aims to investigate the role of effective communication in successfully implementing organisational strategies in organisations that operate in the services industry in Malawi. As this is a case study, data was collected from two organisations which operate in Malawi, that provide financial and advisory services in the country. This study is relevant because previous studies focused on communication as a whole and its influence on strategy implementation. No research has been conducted exploring the influence of the specific communication factors on the organisations’ ability to implement strategies in this particular area of the Malawian services sector, particularly in the current age of modern technology. The study utilizes a quantitative research methodology. Data was obtained using an online questionnaire which was distributed to a sample of 160 employees across the two organisations. A combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods were also utilized. When the data was collected, the hypotheses were tested using various statistical techniques for data analysis. The following hypothesized relationships were empirically tested, assessing whether the independent factors (Speed of Communication, Flexibility of Communication, Provision of Feedback in Communication, Credibility of Communication, Formal Channels of Communication and Informal Channels of Communication) exert a significant influence on the dependent factor (Strategy Implementation). The T-test was also used to determine if there are any statistical differences between the results obtained from the large organisation compared to the small organisation...M.Com. (Strategic Management