COMMUNICATION FOR
ORGANISATIONAL AGILITY
BY
TANKO AHMED, fwc
CEO, Tsangaya Human Resources
08037031744 – ta_mamuda@yahoo.com

Presentation at a Two-Day Workshop on Strategic
Management and Organisational Performance Organised by
the Alumni Association of the Kaduna Polytechnic in
Association with the Tsangaya Human Resource
March 17-18, 2020

AGILITY
*Quick, *Lively, *Alert, *Swift, and *Responsive with
*Dexterity

Citations on Leadership
“The art of communication is the Language of
Leadership”
(James Humes)
“It is not the distance that keeps people apart, but
lack of communication”
(Anderson, 2012)

Citations on Communication
“Communication works for those who
work on it”
(John Powell)
“Communication must be HOT –
Honest, Open and Two-ways”
(Dan Oswald)

Citations on Organisations
“Organizations that develop effective communication
processes are more likely to both have positive work
environments and be more effective in achieving their
objectives”.
(Morley, et al. 2002:69)
“Effective communications facilitates the free flow of
information among employees and reduces
misunderstandings and confusions”
(https://www.managementstudyguide.com/can-a-robot-think-critically-and-muse-philosophically.htm)

INTRODUCTION

Background
• Organisations are living systems sustained by
communication processes in circulatory lifeline
configuration.
• This paper describes, explains and stresses the
importance of organisational communication.
• General literature on the subject points to need for
using communication to raise performance for
organisational agility.

Theorem
• Theories driving this approach tend to construct
organisations as living systems heightened activities for
healthy and robust work environments.
• The KPAA ExCo routinely operates on a well-
established mandate, clear vision, and specific mission
in providing much needed human resource asset.
• The paper treats communication as a critical
component in the management and execution of
service delivery in a given work environment.

KEY TERMS

Communication
• Communication is the process of
transmitting information from one person to
another.
• It is the act of sharing of ideas, facts,
opinions, thoughts, messages or emotions to
other people, in and out the organisation,
with the use of the channel to create mutual
understanding and confidence
https://businessjargons.com/communication.html

Role of Communication
• Communication takes place between at least two
persons or more, involving messages delivered,
received and reacted to among participants. It is
one of the most significant tools in social life
and management of organisations.
• Communication plays a crucial role in
organizations by generating and interpreting
messages between employees (Barret, 2002)

Process of Communication

Organisational Agility
• Organisational agility applies to organizations that
are active, quick and smart in responding to signs,
changes and events within their internal and
external environments.
• Organisations need to be in good shape through a
smart and sustained process of interactions among
their internal components and with others in their
external environments by use of communication
(Lee, 1988; Mao and Quan, 2015).

Organisations as Living Systems
• The Communication Scholar, Lee Thayer
describes organisations as living systems and
explains that:
• Organisations “… establish and maintain
themselves through communication with their
environments and among their parts …” (Thayer,
1988:2)

COMMUNICATION
FOR
ORGANISATIONAL
AGILITY

Meaning and Practice of
Organisational Communication
• The ideal meaning and practice to look for in deploying
communication for organisational agility go beyond the
technical enhancement of performance through improved
efficiency and effectiveness.
• The internal actors, practitioners, participants or
stakeholders of an organisation, as well as, the external
forces or influences need to be considered in the equation.
• Certain principles, like the 7Cs of organisational
communication, exhibit the desired or ideal meaning and
practice in achieving, sustaining and advancing.

The 7Cs of Organisational
Communication
1) Clarity - Simple and organise
2) Conciseness - Straight to the point
3) Concreteness - Specific not generalized
4) Completeness - Without missing part
5) Correctness - Fact checked
6) Courtesy - Be civil and gracious
7) Consideration - Show respect

The 7Cs and Organisational
Agility
• The 7Cs of organisational communication also stand
for means of achieving organisational agility through
routine activities.
• The 7Cs of organisational communication are
interconnected into simple, straight, specific,
wholesome, accurate, polite and empathic framework
opened to individuals, teams, sections, units or
directorates.

The 7Cs of Effective Communication
Source: https://www.seyens.com/7cs-effective-communication-
science/

Rising Questions
• Is the KPAA ExCo characterised by networks of
individuals, teams, units and sections operating
in functional cycles?
• Does KPAA ExCo possess and instill common
purposes with it pursues with dexterity?
• Is the KPAA ExCo quick, responsive and capable
enough handle sudden changes in the internal or
external environment?

CONCLUSION

Summary
• The paper sets out to describe and explain
communication for organisational agility with
particular reference to the KPAA ExCo.
• It cites the conceptual and theoretical direction of
defining and constructing organisations as living
systems requiring regenerative efforts in efficient and
effective communication for improved performance.

Conclusion
• The paper itemizes the 7Cs of
communication as principles or
guidelines for the ideal communication
for organisational agility
• It concludes with basic questions for the
KPAA to determine if the Association
treads on the right path.

THANK YOU
FOR YOUR RAPT
ATTENTION

References:
Ahmed, T. (2012) ‘Thinking for policy and strategy: The emergence of knowledge workers’. A Lecture
Delivered to the NIPSS-PSLC Participants on June 28 in Kuru-Jos
Anderson (2012) It’s not the distance that keeps people apart, it’s the lack of communication.
AmyReesAnderson Blog. Retrieved from http://www.amyreesanderson.com/blog/its-not-distance-that-
keeps-people-apart-its-a-lack-of-communication 8/2/2020
Barret, D. J. (2002) Change communication: Using strategic employee communication to facilitate major
change. Communication: An International Journal, 7(4), 219 - 231.
Momoh, T. (1990) ‘Communication as a management and development tool’. A Lecture Delivered to the
NIPSS-SEC 12-1990 Participants on Thursday, February 15, 1990 in NIPSS, Kuru-Jos
Morley, D., Shockley-Zalabak, P. and Cesaria, R. (2002) Organizational influence processes: perceptions
of values, communication and effectiveness, Studies in Communication Sciences, 2, 69–104.
Pettus, A. (2008) What makes the human mind? In The Harvard Magazine, Nov-Dec. Retrieved from
http://havardmagazine.com/2008/11 10/4/12
Thayer, L. (1988) Organization-communication: Emerging perspectives, Vol 2. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/can-a-robot-think-critically-and-muse-philosophically.htm
https://businessjargons.com/communication.html
https://www.seyens.com/7cs-effective-communication-science/