Formal and Informal in Communication

In order for there to be good effective communication in the workplace there have to be a good balance of formal and informal communication in the business. The two have their advantage and disadvantage but I am about to discuss and make you understand why the workplace can’t function without either one of them.

What are the most commonly used information channels in your workplace?
The channels that can be found in the workplace are

- having a face to face meeting
- Video conferencing people from other parts of the world.
- Telephoning
- Writing a form for other to see it.
In my place of work the head office is in New York meeting would be by video conferencing or telephone.

2. In the work place there are basically two ways of communication, there are the formal and the informal communication.

- Formal communications are structure along the lines of authority established by management. Things like writing, rule books and official meeting. In the place of work it is very important doing things like these writing a letter for an employee to a bank, having a rule book so the employee knows what they can do and can’t do. And with an official meeting on a regular will help the organization flow well.

- Informal communication is sometimes called the gossip and might be observed occurring in conversations, electronic mails, text messages and phone calls between socializing employees. It helps to build around the social relationship of the workplace. Sending an email is one of the best ways to communicate with people it is not only easier but is cost nothing to do so, along with texting.

3. The advantages and the disadvantages of formal and informal communication are.
Written- The advantage of written communication allows the sender to carefully consider the message before releasing it. But the disadvantage of this is depending on the mode of travel, it can take a while before it reach the recipient.

Phone- the advantage of the phone calls allow the personal aspect of hearing an individual’s voice, and concerns can be answered faster than by email or fax. The advantage of this is going over a great deal of written information would be better with the information in front of both caller and the receiver.

Email- the advantage of the email it is quick, convenient, and these days, universal in industrialized nation. The disadvantage it can be easy send to the wrong party or regret messages sent when emotions were running high.

Fax- fax is a fast way to send written communication, but it can be inappropriate for lengthy documents. Faxes can also become easily lost. In person- Communication in person offers the recipients undivided attention and let them know they are important. Disadvantage it usually takes more time and effort than an email or phone call.

Formal communication takes place through the formal channels of the workplace structure along the lines of authority establishment by the management. Such communications are generally in writing and may take any of the forms; policy, manual: procedures and rule books.

The advantages of formal communication are-
1. they help in the fixation of responsibility and
2. Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization.

The Disadvantages are-
3. Generally times consuming, cumbersome and
4. Leads to a good deal of distortion at time.
5. Having meeting it can be hard to prove the communication took place if there was no recording.

Informal communication arising out of all those channels of communication that fall outside the formal channels is known as informal communication. It builds around the social relationships of members of the organization. At times, in informal communication, it is difficult to fix responsibility about accuracy of information. Such commination is usually oral and may be covered even by simple glance, gesture or smile or silence.