| dc.description.abstract | The study sought to determine internal communication channels used
by senior managers at the Ministry of Planning and National
Development to communicate to the junior staff.
Specifically, the study objectives included determining the internal
channels of communication used by senior managers to communicate
to junior staff, establishing the internal communication channels
considered most effective and to identify the barriers to internal
communication and feedback.
The Ministry of Planning and National Development plays a key and
strategic role in the overall structure of government and administration
in Kenya. Its mandate is to facilitate and coordinate the national
development planning process and to provide leadership in national
economic policy management. The Ministry plays an indispensable role
in wealth creation, employment generation, reduction of levels of
poverty and general improvement of living standards of Kenyans.
Employees' commitment and productivity are influenced by internal
working conditions in addition to individual as well as other external
factors. Internal communication forms part of internal working conditions
and the efficacy of channels of communication used influences the
attainment of the Ministry's objectives and contribution to economic
growth and development.
Internal communication and its tenets are largely ignored in the
equation resulting to poor delivery of service and attainment of set
objectives within the specified budget and time period. The most
frequently cited source of interpersonal conflict is poor communication.
Assessing the efficacy of the channels of communication, identifying
better channels and adopting their predominant use in the Ministry of
Planning could be significant in re - orienting the quality of services
offered by the Ministry through improved employee output. While
studies have been done in the field of communication, little attention has
been given to internal communication with specific reference to
channels.
This study is significant to reduce complex issues about effective
internal communication channels to manageable observation that are
theoretically sound, testable through research and built around
variables that truly make a difference.
The study was premised on the hypothesis that; different channels of
internal communication used by managers at the Ministry vary in
effectiveness at passing information and generating feedback.
The study found that both written and non written means of
communication are used at the Ministry by both junior and senior
managers. Verbal communication was widely used to convey
information at the Ministry of Planning and National Development.
Memos and telephone communications were found to be dominantly
used by senior managers when communicating with their juniors while
notice boards, memos and telephone were used by junior managers
when communicating with their junior employees. It was reported that
fax and emails are preferred when communicating externally. It was
found that the channels most used on daily basis by both junior and
senior managers when communicating with junior staff, were memos
and telephone respectively.
No channel disparities were observed among senior managers when
communicating with their peers. It emerged that telephone was the most
used channels by senior managers when communicating with their
peers. However, it was revealed that junior managers use memos and
telephone when communicating with their peers. The notice board was
discarded when junior managers communicate with their peer
managers. It was also observed that those channels are no mutually
exclusive, but are utilized complementarily.
Memos and telephone are considered superior in handling internal
communication. Different channels of communication have both
strengths and weaknesses. A combination of various channels including
written and verbal communications can improve internal communication
at the Ministry.
Following the study findings, the following recommendations were
made. The Ministry should encourage staff interactions through team
building sessions to reduce barriers to communication since it provides
an opportunity for members of staff to understand each other. | en |
