EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION: A CASE STUDY OF NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS KENYA
Claire Katunge Mutuku - Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Dr. Petronilla Mathooko - Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Organizational communication, in today’s organizations has not only become far more complex and varied but has become an important factor for overall organizational functioning and success. The way the organization communicates with its employees is reflected in morale, motivation and performance of the employees. Research indicates that up to 70 per cent of change programmes fail and poor internal communication is seen as the principal reason for such failure. Communication as an integral element of management is ignored in many organizations which lead to practices of use of poor communication techniques, untimely communication, and misunderstanding of information and at times total lack of communication. While many organizations believe that positive employee communication promotes employee motivation, this belief can still be considered as a complex issue because of the changing nature of organizations and the differences of their structure. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of communication on employee motivation in Nokia Siemens Networks Kenya. The research design employed in this study was descriptive survey method. The population of study was 287 respondents comprising of senior managers, middle level managers and support staff at Nokia Siemens Networks Kenya with its regional office in Nairobi. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample population of 123 respondents. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using the semi-structured questionnaire. The data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics (mean score and percentages) and inferential statistics multiple regression. The information was displayed by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts and in prose-form. The study found that information sharing had the greatest effect on the employee motivation, followed by the employee involvement in decision making, then communication channels while the 7 C’s of communication had the least effect to the employee motivation. The study recommends that the company managers should involve the employees of all cadres to enable them have experience on the intricate of running the business. The management should ensure there is clarity, courtesy, correctness and completeness of any information shared. Communication should always take into consideration timing and the media and the organization’s structure has a significant impact on the communication.
