Internal Communication Strategies in the Construction Industry: A Case Study of African Concrete Products (ACP) Limited

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2012-02-13
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Abstract
This study examined how employees of a small to medium construction company communicate and exchange information internally. The challenges faced, the exact strategies employed to achieve effective internal communication as well as the role it plays in accomplishing goals and objectives the organisation were particularly focused on. The Cultural Approach to Organisation theory by Geertz and Pacanowsky (1973) provided a guide to examining the various components that form the basis of this research. Open-ended interviews with 10 employees mainly at the management level permitted respondents to answer in depth, and allowed the researcher to probe for useful insights. Findings indicate that the practice of internal communication is not effective enough as there is not a documented communication strategy, and consequently employees are not very conversant with the vision and mission of the organisation. Effective Internal Communication contributes to the achievement of an organisation’s goals and objectives by way of better coordination and so on, but the Grapevine is a major challenge to the flow and exchange of information and needs to be monitored and perhaps capitalised upon. While email is preferred for information exchange among managers, the preferred communication channel among all other groups of employees is still face-to-face interaction. Interpersonal, dialogic communication remains important to employees at every level of the organization. Durbars, despite being acknowledged as time-consuming, were surprisingly valued as one of the best channels due to the ability to provide immediate feedback. Efficient communication strategies targeted at the internal audience give employees at all levels of the organization an understanding of the brand image and hence project this externally.
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A Thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Commonwealth Executive Masters of Business Administration, September-2012
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