What is down-ward communication? Explain the importance and drawbacks of it in a retail organisation.
Answers
Answer:
Downward communication occurs when information and messages flow down through an organization's formal chain of command or hierarchical structure. In other words, messages and orders start at the upper levels of the organizational hierarchy and move down toward the bottom levels. Responses to downward communications move up along the same path.
Advantages
Organizational discipline
Downward communication follows the organization's hierarchy, meaning that organizational discipline and member compliance is much easier to maintain.
Efficiency
Downward communication offers efficiencies because instructions and information come from the sources in power that are able to coordinate activities from the top of the organization. Employees receive feedback from the supervisors who manage them.
Effective communication of goals
Upper management can easily communicate goals and assign responsibilities regarding achieving those goals.
Ease of delegation
Delegation is much easier if the delegation comes directly from the vertical communication structure representing the chain of command.
Disadvantages
Distortion
Ever played the grapevine game? Downward communications can become distorted as it proceeds through multiple levels of the organization.
Slow feedback
It takes time for messages to go down the organization and then up the organization and then back down again. This means that feedback can be slow, resulting in problems, especially in a dynamic environment.