According to Thill and Bovee (1998)ninth edition,’’ Communication is a process of transferring information between senders and receivers using one or more written, oral or visual or electronic channels’’. Also according to Krizan, Merrier and Jones (2005),’’ Business communication is the process of establishing a common understanding between or amongst people in an organisation’’. Michael fielding (1997) says,’’ an organisation is made up of groups people who work together to reach specific goals’’. Communication can be formal or informal. Formal communication is defined by the relationships between various jobs. Informal communication also known as grapevine encompasses all communication that takes place outside the formal channel.

Communication can be external communication. This is whereby the firm reaches out to external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, investors and the government. It enables the organisation to be able to overweigh competition. A good example is Telecel Zimbabwe which reaches out to its customers by planting brand representatives in different sections of every city. They give out information about their brand through promotional campaigns, giving out fliers and enquiring from their customers what they think is necessary to improve the services offered to them. They also have radio broadcasts on Star fm where people communicate what they know about services offered to them. This gives Telecel a competitive advantage, thus attracting more customers away from their rivals (Netone and Econet)
Patrick and Fosett (2010) bring up that external communication creates good relations. Communication with customers and stakeholders is essential to the success of an organisation.It helps to maintain customer loyalty wich inturn increases profits for an organisation. A good example is Econet Zimbabwe, through its effective communication with its exisiting and also potential customers , customers have managed to know of the different services that are offered to them and were they can access them and how to use them. The availability and existence of Eco-cash, Eco-farming, lap tops and different types of cellphones available.Econet has communicated to its customers on the ways its to upgrade ecocash and on how the service is to be available for Zimbabweans who are in other countries( News Day,September 2013).

External communication builds stronger business relationships between organisations regardless of the industries they are operating in.Traffic safety council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) has managed to create good relations with ZRP Traffic Branch, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and Mimosa mining company.TSCZ and ZRP have had campaign roadblocks, joined bus to bus aware campaings,radio programmes and newspaper columns. This enabled TSCZ to accomplish its objective of reducing road accidents( The Herald ,16 August 2013). Because of these relations mimosa is able to examine the competence of its driving team and the condition of its vehicles through the assistance and recommendation from the traffic council. This helps minimise casualties at their workplace resulting in an increase in productivity and reduction in the costs of mistakes.

Through communicating to investors, managers of OK supermarket create a good rapport and positive response from stakeholders. OK supermarket publishes their yearbooks which include their yearly cash flows, issues pertaining to its financial position, donations and projects. Investors analyse these records and get motivated with their involvement while potential investors are attracted to take part in the company. [online] www.okziminvestor.com. OK also communicates with its customers by leaving books on shelves so that the customers can write their views, complements and what they expect to be done by the organisation.

An organisation can use external communication as a way to reach out for help to the general public if it lacks financial and other important resources. Jairos Jiri association is an example of an organisation that appeals to the humanitarian obligation of the public so as to be able to cater for the needs of the disabled people they take care of.

International companies depend heavily on communicating effectively with people of different cultures. Culture explained by Bovee and Thill(1998) is ‘a shared system of symbols beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations and norms for behaviour” . Coca-Cola has spread its products worldwide and advertises in a manner that is not offensive to any culture and also convinces people to buy their products. This has increased its market share and boosted its sales. It has also managed to create brand loyalty where people prefer to buy the Coca-Cola products just because it cares for their various needs such as the diet cokes, caned soft drinks and drinks in plastic bottles .

Good communication between an organisation and its suppliers, according to Chand (2013), can turn to be vital in periods of crisis where the organisation is facing financial problems and they cannot be able to pay for their supplies on time. A practical example is where OK supermarket negotiates with Hippo Sugar Production Company for a future payment plan outside the agreed payment period. In the periods where they currently face a shortage of stock for sugar they will liaise with Hippo Valley for a credit supply. Communication between the organisation and its suppliers is relevant to the success of a business as they can seek assistance in periods when they are struggling.

Through effective communication a company may set an agreement with its rivals through negotiating in a positive way for example Delta Beverages merge with Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd. Delta Beverages was the dominant player whilst Schweppes faced a lot of difficulties as its products were not selling well. Through effective communication Delta managed to negotiate with Schweppes so that they could merge and it would manage to be the sole provider of beverages in Zimbabwe. This helped delta to gain a larger market share and also have more investors who previously invested in Schweppes(Zimbabwe Independent,12 November 2009)

A manager cannot do without communication as it is the lifeblood of an organisation and it helps him to carry out his functions of planning, leading, controlling and organising. This is essential to the business in order to avoid chaos and coordinate the different departments under his control inevitably leading to the success of the business. A good example is the vice chancellor of Midlands State University who leads the institute such that it’s able to achieve its objectives and goals. This is through effectively communicating to the lecturers and students.

If the corporate image of an organisation has been tarnished the firm can communicate to the public using the media so as to redeem their professional image and goodwill. Premier Service Medical Aid Society (P.S.M.A.S) gained a bad reputation when Cuthbert Dube, the chief executive officer of P.S.M.A.S, was dismissed for misgovernence of association’s resources so that his top management could benefit at the expense of members. This caused the investors to pull out of the organisation and tarnished the image of the company as a service provider. After this, the society’s spokesperson spoke at the press conference so as to rectify the damage done by Mr Dube. [online] www.herald.co.zw (23 January 2014)

Internal communication enables stronger decision making which is based on timely and reliable information. Midlands State University has a student’s board council which represents the students and pass on their concerns and grievances such that the administrations are aware of the student’s expectations. This boosts the quality of services offered by the institution.

The productivity and output of an organisation can be significantly improved through effective communication. Bata Shoe Company’s top management communicates with the shop floor worker thereby exchanging different views and ideas. This instils a sense of belonging or affiliation as a result workers are motivated and satisfied. This in turn intrinsically motivates them resulting in them producing quality shoes and increase the productivity level. The sales and revenue increase.

As a result of good communication channels there is earlier warning of potential problems from rising costs and critical safety issues. Taking for example Bata Shoe Company where the production department and the financial department communicate. The financial department will be notifying the production department on the high costs of production they are likely to incur because of the high quality materials they are intending to use. This helps the firm to use less quality materials so as to cut on the costs. As a result this contributes to the success of the business as it enhances coordination between departments which help each other to view the business as a whole.

However, communication has certain limitations which can hinder the success of an organisation. To organisations with long channels or bureaucratic system of communication, the information might reach the top authorities distorted and with little impact. For example the communication channels at Midlands State University. A student’s complaint would pass through the formal channels which takes long. Hence, some of the problems students are affected with are not addressed whilst resources are allocated to areas where they are not needed anymore.

Informal communication can hinder to the success of an organisation as it reduces productivity levels of an organisation in the sense that employees spend a lot of time gossiping instead of doing the actual work. This is typical of hair and beauty salons where the women and men who work in these places have a tendency of engaging most of their time in gossiping resulting in customers spending a lot of time getting their hair done.

One of the forms of communication that might negatively contribute to the success of an organisation is one way communication. This is when communication flows from top management to subordinates and does not give room for feedback. In organisations like Regina Mundi High School where they only exercise the one way communication the employees are demotivated as they do not give room for feedback. Employees are demotivated as they do not take part in the organisation’s decision making and thereby not feel as if they belong. This lowers their morale and innovativeness and as result causes high labour turnover.

More so, language differences might be a cause of communication breakdown. This might be so in the sense that since Coca-Cola is a multinational company they might employ other workers from different countries for example most people from China cannot speak English and this causes wrong interpretation of information therefore there is communication breakdown if a manager delegates a task to a Chinese subordinate using their mother language or English. Therefore to overcome the barrier of language differences the company should make use of interpreters in their meetings or other alternatives to make everyone understand.

Complexity of an organisational structure which results in a long channel of communication can also cause communication breakdown. Taking for example the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (R.B.Z) in this firm information passes through a long channel in order to get to the required recipient sometimes it might reach its destination incomplete or even with more added unnecessary things and in the end being wrongly interpreted. This can be avoided by using few levels of hierarchy and also delayering if they are many already.

Furthermore wrong choice of media can also cause communication breakdown. Taking Coca-Cola as an example, it is a multinational company therefore it requires the use of internet in order to pass information from one country to another within less time to achieve better production but if they choose to use other sources of media like letters it will just take a very long time for information to travel from one country to another. Therefore to avoid such barriers use technology effectively with the use of computers and phones.

Overloading of information is harmful to an organisation. This is whereby a department receives more information than they can handle at any one time. When this occurs at Bata shoe company messages pile up and mistakes are made in sending messages. Managers and subordinates as a result give inadequate answers. This shows that communication can be bad for a company in the way stated above. To avoid this problem, Bata Shoe Company has to teach its staff on how to put messages in the order of priority and also to communicate less.

In conclusion, communication is of great relevance to the success of a business for it enables the organisation to create good relations with its stake holders, to increase its worker’s morale and increase sales and profits. Despite the disadvantages of communication the advantages ride the disadvantages out so that the company can prosper. So for any firm to succeed it should make sure it has effective communication and to get everyone involved in the communication process.