IMPROVING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR CEOS THROUGH JOB MODELS

Phuoc D. Nguyen

CEO is the soul of every activity within the company/organization. To improve and change organizational communication, it is very important for the CEO who improve and change his/her organizational communication style first.

No need to argue we all know that organizational communication plays a very important role in creating leadership effectiveness, business management efficiency, and management systems performance. Organizational communication issues/problems occur at most types of companies and organizations in over the world from large-size to medium-sized, small-size, and micro-size companies. Organizational communication consists of internal communication and external communication. Any CEO at any company who has minor or major issues/problems in organizational communication.

One of the CEO’s most popular organizational communication problems is the CEO’s communication on vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policy, and business policy to the whole company which is not timely and continual.

When the CEO communicates timely and continual vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policy, and business policy to the whole company; these push the company to implement corporate policy and business policy to powerfully support to business plan and strategic plan implementation to achieve corporate goals and business objectives aim to reach the vision.

We should apply Langdon’s (2016) Job Model to improve organizational communication for CEOs. One of the CEO’s primary tasks is to create a corporate vision; plan corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, and business plan; establish corporate policies and business policies; organize, check, assess, and improve corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies implementation. CEO’s organizational communication and feedback are implemented throughout his/her process of corporate vision creation; corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planning, organizing, checking, assessing, and improving.

CEO’s organizational communication and feedback are implemented throughout his/her process of corporate vision creation; corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planning, organizing, checking, assessing, and improving.

Job models operationally represent an individual’s work, now or in the future. The anchor of a job model consists of the six systemic elements of the work formula for work. A job is supposed to achieve certainly desired consequences (value added) by producing outputs (product or service deliverables), though using inputs (resources and triggers), under certain conditions (internal or external), by following process steps and aided by feedback (during and after). According to the Language of Work, work is behaviorally composed of six interrelated or systemic elements. These are 1. Work consequences; 2. Work outputs; 3. Work inputs; 4. Work conditions; 5. Work process steps; 6. Work feedback. Several work-related elements are suggested to complete a full and useful definition of a job model. These work-related elements add a highly useful level of communication for workers and managers alike as well as for human resources personnel who often have the role of helping maximize job performance through training and the like. The principal work support elements to include with a job model include • Specification of skills and knowledge required of the job; • Job attributes; • Competencies, responsibilities or accountabilities, and statements of outcomes; • Entry-level skills; • Other requirements as may be deemed necessary for personnel in human resources27 a job model of your role as a manager will enhance communication by letting your workforce know exactly what you will be doing with and for them.[1]

[1] Danny G. Langdon, “Improving Management Communication Through Job Models,” Performance Improvement 55 (7) (2016), 25-28.

Work Inputs

Work inputs for CEO position included the board of directors (BOD), industrial standards, market needs, clients, customers, relevant government agencies, professional associations, business problems to address; business analysis, market analysis, SWOT, PEST, five forces analysis results; benchmarking results; balanced scorecard and KPIs; CSFs (Critical Success Factors); scenario planning; strategy maps; growth share matrix; responsive evaluation; risk analysis, financial planning result, business analysis result; strategic goals; business objectives; core competencies; core values; management systems; and business processes.

Process Steps

Process steps of business planning for the CEO included the executive summary, mission statement, company background description, product description, marketing plan, competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, operations, financial planning, and timeline.

Process steps of strategic management for the CEO included identifying strategic issues, SWOT analysis, customer satisfaction survey analysis result, identifying future demand; determining the company’s core purpose, identifying core values and beliefs, creating a corporate vision within 5 years next, enhancing company’s competitive advantages, establish SMART strategic goals and business objectives, develop 5-year financial projection, sales forecast, establish appropriate KPIs, establish business objectives, plan a budget for strategic plan; communicate vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies to the whole company; follow up, check, assess, and improve strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies implementation.

Work Outputs

Work outputs for the CEO position are documentation and communication describing the company’s vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies and how it should be implemented; corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planned, implemented, checked, assessed, improved, developed; corporate goals, business objectives, KPIs measured.

Work Conditions

Work conditions for the CEO position included federal/state laws and regulations, code of conduct, stakeholders, stockholders, rules, policies, regulations, corporate governance criteria, human capital, budget, best business/service practices, technology, expertise in leadership and business management, multi-cultural values, industry, and demographic workforce.

Work Consequences

Work consequences for the CEO position included vision reached, corporate goals, business objectives, KPIs achieved, organizational communication improved, customers satisfied, cost-effectiveness, problems solved, decision-making effectiveness, and market share increase achieved.

Feedback

1. During (as-is): Setting a corporate vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies, corporate culture, core values, lead cultural change and management team, executive management, stakeholders, stockholders, clients, and customers.
2. After (to-be): effective organizational communication, executive management; corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planned, implemented, checked, assessed, improved, developed; corporate goals and business objectives measured and achieved.

Job Model Skills and Knowledge

1. Process: Job Model skills and knowledge of the process for outputs: skills – problem-solving, analytic skills, conflict resolution, strategic planning, business planning; leadership, organizational, management communication. Knowledge – leadership, leadership communication, corporate governance, general management, strategic management, marketing management, change management, sales management, financial management, business analysis, financial management, financial analysis, financial accounting, management accounting, sales forecast, production and operations management, supply chain management, and human resource management.
2. 2. Inputs: skills – problem-solving, business analysis, market analysis, strategic planning, scenario planning, risk analysis, marketing planning, financial planning, operations planning, business analysis. Knowledge – SWOT, PEST, and five forces analysis; strategic management, corporate governance; balanced scorecard; risk management, and management systems.
3. Feedback: skills – develop a vision, public relations. Knowledge – strategic management, organizational communication, corporate culture, change management, and management information systems.
4. Conditions: skills – corporate governance, budget planning, social compliance. Knowledge – human resource management, leadership, and general management.

Baldoni (2003) leadership communication is communication that flows from the leadership perspective. It is grounded in the character of the leader as well as the values of the organization. It is an expression of culture as well as an indicator of the climate. [2]

^[2] John Baldoni, Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders (New York: The McGraw Hill Companies, 2003), 5.

Hackman & Johnson (2013) Communication is based on the transfer of symbols, which allows individuals to create meaning. The goal of communication is to create a shared reality between message sources and receivers. Leadership shares all of the features of human communication just described. First, leaders use symbols to create reality. Leaders use language, stories, and rituals to create distinctive group cultures. Second, leaders communicate about the past, present, and future. They engage in evaluation, analysis, and goal setting. Effective leaders create a desirable vision outlining what the group should be like in the future. Third, leaders make conscious use of symbols to reach their goals. [3]

^[3] Michael Z. Hackman & Craig E. Johnson, Leadership: A Communication Perspective (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 2013), 5-6.

CEO should use many appropriate ways to communicate to stakeholders, shareholder committee, BOD, management team (MT), and employees. He/she uses vertical communication, downward communication, and open and transparent communication with openness to communicate to MT and all his/her subordinates based on the organizational chart, and uses upward communication to communicate to stakeholders, shareholder committee, and BOD. CEOs of subsidiaries should use horizontal communication to communicate informally to other CEOs who are peers to him/her within a corporation.

CEO attributes included adaptability, great communication, humility, vision, team player, good listener, leadership intelligence, confidence, clarity, thinking strategically, problem solver, and negotiator.

Shareholders and employees receive organizational communication on vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planning, and implementation from the CEO to participate in the process of vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planning, implementation, improvement. Thereby they learn further about how to do organizational communication improvement and change; all of them look in the same direction to contribute to the vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, business plan, corporate policies, business policies planning, implementation, and improvement aims to achieve corporate goals, business objectives and reach the vision.

Langdon’s (2016) job model that applies to a CEO who has worked for and with the board of directors (BOD) and his/her subordinates will greatly enhance the BOD’s role in communicating with the CEO, the BOD evaluates CEO performance and improving in the work of the management team, the BOD uses in many ways to communicate with the CEO. The job Model of the CEO’s role will enhance communication by letting the MT and employees know exactly what the CEO will be communicating with corporate vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policies, business policies, and for MT and employees. The BOD is to do the CEO’s performance review and appraisal based on his/her job model and work formula. The BOD discusses with the CEO and MT members how well the CEO has achieved his/her outputs which is connected to his/her consequences. The BOD indicates what is missing to supplement necessary skills, knowledge, and attributes, and what needs to be improved by the CEO. An evaluator who are non-executive directors, and members of BOD contribute CEO’s performance improvement including organizational communication. The BOD compares the feedback of ‘during as-is’ with the ‘after to-be’ state of the CEO’s job performance, the BOD can help the CEO and MT through open discussion between the BOD and CEO and MT; the CEO and MT can see how much will remain the same in their jobs as well as what portion will change. This process of open discussion allows the BOD to identify missing elements of the change and to provide service to all parties in the company. The CEO should own systems thinking to enhance, combine, and improve his/her job model and work formula throughout from support elements of work inputs, process steps, work outputs, work conditions, work consequences, and feedback, respectively. The foundation of the job model is skills, knowledge, and attributes to all of the support elements. Users of the job model use the job formula to gradually supplement appropriate skills, knowledge, and attributes to their work formula aiming to enhance their organizational communication skills. The result of organizational communication is the feedback of as-is and to-be states to find out organizational communication gaps to fill out these gaps. When the CEO’s organizational communication is improved, this should apply the job model and work formula to all leadership and management levels within the company.

CEO’s communication on vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policy, and business policy to the whole company has not been timely and continual it would be improved and changed to enhance the CEO’s organizational communication through the application of the job model and work formula that based on CEO’s appropriate skills, knowledge, attributes to implement support elements. The CEO should use appropriate communication ways to communicate throughout the process of vision, corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic plan, business plan, corporate policy, business policy planning, implementation, checking, and improvement. The job model and work formula should be researched further to combine and integrate them into human resource management systems, performance management systems, and corporate social responsibility systems with appropriate KPIs to measure job model holders’ performance and aim to enhance their organizational communication skills continually.