Outline Template BUSN 733
Winter 2021
Date: February 7, 2021
Name of Presenter/s:
Title of Presentation: Impact of COVID 19 on communication in organizations
Audience: Dr. Kirti Khanzode (Professor), Business Culture & Craft Class (Students)
Purpose: The purpose of our chosen topic, which is `The impact of Covid-19 on communication in organizations’, includes but is not limited to enlighten and educate our audience as this is a new area of research based on its global impact. We found the topic interesting as the subject matter in the case is a current situation that the world is facing, and it makes headlines every day. As a team, we thought the topic would be interesting as the pandemic has impacted us and continues to every day. Finally, it is practical for everyone to relate to the discussions, including our Professor and class.
Introduction: Covid-19 is a new strain of the virus caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Covid-19’s first case was discovered and diagnosed in December 2019 in Wuhan, China (Canada, 2021). The virus quickly spread to many countries globally, and by March 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Based on the WHO report, on February 5, 2021, there have been 104,370,550 confirmed cases of Covid-19; 2,271,180 deaths worldwide (WHO, 2021). Comment by Dr.Kirti Khanzode: A brief introduction of the topic at this stage will suffice. Comment by crystal mason:
This pandemic caused by Covid-19 has severely impacted communications within organizations. Companies and individuals classify the impacts as either positive or negative, and the decision is strongly determined by how resilient organizations have been to the new norms of communicating. These organizations include:
· Hospitals and other medical facilities
· Schools and Training Centers (all ages)
· Place of Worship
· Workplaces
· Customer-facing businesses such as banks
· Entertainment Industry
· Food and other retail organizations
Our team will take the time to highlight some of the positives and negatives various groups have experienced with communications since the evolution of Covid-19.
First Major Point: The positive impact of Covid-19 on communications within organizations.
1. Supporting Point One: Embracing Technology. Organizations have recognized and embraced the digital and electronic resources available to them to remain relevant. More investment is being made into educating human resources on the digital world and more interestingly, some traditional organizations have now established themselves virtually. Example: Doctors
2. Supporting Point Two: Scheduling and Structure. Time Management has been a positive result of more groups operating from home. It drives work-life balance as more people accept that less physical contact is better to limit the virus’s spread.
3. Supporting Point Three: Efficiency. More flexibility for groups to deliver on objectives from anywhere physically requires less time and financial resources to travel to and from the organization’s base.
Second Major Point: The negative impact of Covid-19 on communications within organizations.
1. Supporting Point One: Loss of Physical & Social Connection. Some groups have started operating from home because of the pandemic. On the other hand, some groups continue to meet with social distancing and limited hours physically. Physical distancing has limited the ability to meet to deliver on objectives and build relationships physically. There is also a significant challenge with delayed response to communications due to the distancing and reliance on electronic and digital devices to reach individuals. Example: A doctor trying to reach his administrator working from home to contact patients regarding their appointment. He cannot get through because she does not have the phone on her while being charged. Example 2: Teams at school cannot meet to discuss projects and build on their relationships as they are working from home.
2. Supporting Point Two: Barriers to Communications (Mistrust & Miscommunication). COVID-19 altered organizational communication from physical to mostly online utilizing digital & electronic technologies. These communication types lead to misunderstanding and a significant loss of verbal cues that give meaning to our messages. A lack of facial signs due to masks and expressions play a very significant role and often imply grammatical elements. Physically, communication does have room for misinterpretation, especially with body language; however, now, the room for error has increased significantly, leading to more conflicts amongst groups, lowering productivity. Example: Sending a message in WhatsApp to your group colleague is misinterpreted and leads to a conflict that unnecessarily delays a task to be done.
3. Supporting Point Three: Environmental Challenges. Individuals are operating out of different communities, cities, countries and time zones. This issue has led to individuals being subject to environmental elements that cannot be controlled. This affects communications and, in turn, productivity. Whereas, if all group members were operating out of the same physical space, then the challenges being faced would be similar and more understandable. Groups with different time zones are challenged to meet, and there has t be compromises made that are greater than what they would have been if all were in the same physical space. For example, a bad snowstorm in New York has caused a loss of electricity, and students who need to submit their assignments cannot meet the deadline. On the other hand, the Professor and school are based in another country, Trinidad & Tobago who does not have snow and cannot relate to what the NY student is experiencing.
Third Major Point: Adapting to the New Ways of Communicating
1. Supporting Point One: Invest in Edu-Communication. Organizations should start investing in the resources that will get their businesses through the pandemic. Normal will never be what it used to be; therefore, even when the pandemic passes, normal communication flow has been disturbed with limited expectations that some organizations will ever go back to the way things were before Covid-19. The opportunities to grow and expand virtually cause teething pains; however, opportunities exist once organizations invest and look to the future instead of hanging on to the past.
2. Supporting Point Two: The “New Normal.” When it comes to how we communicate ourselves to others, now is the time to be versatile and adaptable. As we maneuver through these changes, we must show compassion and kindness to each other. Most importantly, be able to fight for individual needs, whether for yourself or anyone else.
3. Supporting Point Three: Best Practises
Strong and clear Internal Communication- Before any announcements are made, it is necessary to settle internally about what will be shared to ensure that messaging will be consistent across multiple audiences. Timely updates- As appropriate, be prepared to provide timely updates and notify stakeholders where they can go for more information or queries. Monitor communication- It is essential to keep in mind that fake news travels faster than the actual news hence consistently monitoring the communication throughout the audience channels.
Conclusion:
Covid-19 and its impact are translated differently, depending on each organization’s views of how they have been affected.
Regardless of how an organization reports Covid-19 impacts on its operations, what is clear is the need to adapt and keep effective communication. Adjusting will determine companies’ ability to survive in this new digitally competitive environment. Companies must focus on communicating with employees, customers, suppliers, patients, and clients more than before, considering the vulnerability of this new norm.
Organizations will take a while to recover from the impact of Covid-19, but whether through a verbal means of communication or non-verbal means of communication, turning their weaknesses into strength now might be the key. The more groups accept and adapt, the more their teams will be motivated to overcome all the challenges and build resilience.
References : Comment by Dr.Kirti Khanzode: Many not be a complete list, a working list may suffice at this stage. It is important to use your text book as one of your sources.
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