Organisational Communication

This picture shows the three types of Organisational Communication

Upward Communication

Upward communication is communication from a lower-ranked person to a higher-ranked person, which is also known as subordinate-superior communication.  This kind of communication is used when a worker wants to tell the manager about issues such as questions about a task, feedback about the working environment or to propose a new idea.  This communication is done most of the time as written communication as it is a formal way to speak to the boss.

Downward Communication

Downward communication is used from a higher-ranked person to a lower-ranked person, when a manager wants to communicate a message to a worker.  This form of communication allows the manager to convey a message such as a promotion, complaint, comment or new way of working.  This form of communication is also known as superior-subordinate communication and can be used to motivate workers to do better.

Horizontal Communication

Horizontal communication is used when a worker wants to ask another worker of the same ranking for guidance, solutions or help to fix a problem that he/she does not know how to fix.  This form of communication is known as subordinate-subordinate communication.  This communication is informal as the workers only talk to the other workers of the same class.  This form of communication is fast and is two-way so it can benefit both of the sender and receiver.

Internal Communication

Internal communication is the type of communication that is used in a business, whether it being a letter of resignation or a new idea from a worker and a promotion given by a manager.  This form of communication is used when a business needs to communicate a message from an individual to another.

External Communication

External communication is used when people outside a business wants to communicate with the business and allows for complaints, feedback or compliments to be accepted.  This form of communication allows customers to communicate with workers about any issues that may be affecting the other customers or to improve customer service.