In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions- 1. Downward 2. Upward 3. Lateral 4. Diagonal 5. External 6. Laissez-faire 1. Downward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows from a higher level in an organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words, communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward communication. This communication flow is used by the managers to transmit work-related information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their managers. Downward communication is used by the managers for the following purposes - | Providing feedback on employees performance | | | Giving job instructions | | | Providing a complete understanding of the employees job as well as to communicate them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization. | | | Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees. | | | Highlighting the areas of attention. | | Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc are all examples of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free downward communication, managers must: * Specify communication objective * Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous. * Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the receiver in right form | | 2. Upward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows to a higher level in an organization is called upward communication. It provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors.
The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood the downward communication. It can also be used by the