LATERAL COMMUNICATION
Organizational communication
In organizations and organisms,
lateral communication works in contrast to traditional top-down, bottom-up or
hierarchic communication and involves the spreading of messages from
individuals across the base of a pyramid.
Examples of lateral communication in
organisms
Examples of lateral communication in
organisms include:
- A coordinated flock of birds or a shoal of fish all maintain their relative positions, or alter direction simultaneously due to lateral communication amongst members; this is achieved due to tiny pressure variations.
- Ants, termites, bees nest is not coordinated by messages sent by the queen ant / bee / termite but by the lateral communication, mediated by scent trails of the ants. Its physical structure is an emergent property of the individual entities.
- Bacterial colonies communicate with each other, coordinating for example an attack, or the product in of slime using lateral communication based on chemical messengers so that as a group they can detect how many colleagues there are, and if they are likely to overwhelm a target.
- The pacemaker cells in the heart, Cardiac pacemaker is a very small group of cells, where lateral communications sweeps through the cells, much like a Mexican wave as a three dimensional circulating wave, which relays contraction signals to the whole heart.
- With Slime mold millions of individual amoeba like creatures can spread out and graze the surface of a leaf. When conditions change, the amoeba all concentrate and form a slug like creature which can actually move off somewhere else before forming a spore body and releasing millions of individual spores.
- The positions of human cells, and which type of cell is mediated by lateral communication.
Lateral Communication in organizations
and communities
It is argued that communities
communicate and store collective knowledge through lateral communication, and
that it is an essential ingredient to make hierarchies work, by compensating
for errors in hierarchies' information flows.
Lateral communication is communication between different individuals and , departments, or organisms
on the same organizational level.
Lateral/Horizontal Communication
The term lateral communication can be used interchangeably
as horizontal communication. In his text entitled “Organizational
Communication,”
Horizontal communication means “the flow of messages across
functional areas at a given level of an organization”
With this system people at the same level are permitted “to
communicate directly without going through several levels of organization”
Given this elasticity, members
within an organization have an easier time with “problem solving, information
sharing across different work groups, and task coordination between departments
or project teams”
The use of lateral or horizontal
communication in the workplace “can also enhance morale and afford a means for
resolving conflicts.
“lateral
communication involves not only the movement of information from the upper
levels to the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy but also is defined
primarily as the quality of information sharing among peers at similar levels .
Specifically, lateral communication occurs among coworkers,
during staff meetings and informational presentations, throughout shift
changes, and among employees regardless of peer types. In short, lateral
communication’s purpose is to keep organizational personnel informed of all
current practices, policies, and procedures”
“Communicating effectively laterally involves
the exchange of information between and among all organizational members. While
we may perceive that organizational information flows vertically or from top to
bottom, in reality, information moves laterally. In other words, as information
directives are communicated from an upper to a lower position on the hierarchy,
peers at each hierarchical level should quickly interpret and communicate these
directives between and among peers at similar hierarchical levels. Thus, it is
critical for an organization to understand its structure and culture, which are
the two major determinants of the quality of lateral communication”
Quality of Lateral Communication: Structure and
Culture
1. Mechanistic
Structure “A mechanistic or hierarchical
organizational structure emphasizes specialization in position. Examples
include healthcare and governmental organizations where information is
communicated based on chain of command. This organizational structure type is
not conducive to lateral communication and, in fact, discourages it. Since
direction and coordination is achieved through upper hierarchical levels, peer
information sharing is limited. Overall, a mechanistic structure promotes
vertical communication or top down communication with strict alignment and
unity of command within the organization” ( Spillman and Mino 101).
2. Organic Organizational Structure “An organic organizational structure is built upon an entrepreneurial
concept. Here, the decisions made are decentralized and coordinated by mutual
adjustment rather than command and control. Examples include a small business
or a manufacturing facility where communication is promoted at all levels of
the organization.
This organizational structure allows
for
greater autonomy,
promotes individual initiative, and
allows employees to be involved in the decision-making
process
thus enabling employee decision-making to contribute to or
detract from organizational goals.
In short, an organic organizational
structure can encourage and facilitate lateral communication”
Organizational Culture/Climate
“Organizational culture refers to
the organization's shared visions, values, beliefs, goals, and practices
(Gilsdorf, 1998). Deals and Kennedy (1982) have connected culture with
effective communication. Strong cultures and effective communication result in
employees who are more productive because they know exactly what is expected of
them in organizational settings. Gilsdorf (1998) has implied that the more
employees perceive a positive or strong organizational culture, the more productive
they will be. Poole (1985) has contended that an organization's quality of
communication is summed-up in its culture. In many cases, a strong positive
organizational culture or climate can encourage employees to communicate
effectively laterally when sharing achievements and disappointments. Thus, as
Comer (1991) has asserted, managers should actively encourage employees to
communicate effectively laterally with their peers. In sum, lateral
communication allows for a spirit of collaboration and teamwork by empowering
employees at every level of the organizational hierarchy to work effectively
together (see, for example, Thamara, 2000)” (Spillman and Mino 102).
Problems with Horizontal Communication
Although this system of
communication can be effective, problems can often ensue within organizations.
According to Papa’s book “Organizational Communication,” “horizontal
communication problems occur because of territoriality, rivalry,
specialization, and simple lack of motivation.” In addition to these problems
and in general, “organizations that traditionally have functioned under rigid
authority structures with fixed lines of communication may find that the values
and expectations that members have acquired under such systems inhibit attempts
at horizontal communication.” (Papa and Daniels 56). Other problems with this
form of communication can happen between multinational corporations.
“Horizontal communication between subsidiaries of the same multinational
corporation (MNC) is a problem faced by staff as the demands for communicating
across borders are pushed downwards in the organizational hierarchy.”
Territoriality
Territoriality often occurs when
members of an organization “control task-related activity within a defined and
fixed jurisdictional area” and as a result “regard others’ involvement in that
area as territorial encroachment.” “Departments value their turf and strive to
protect it. This problem may be compounded through interdepartmental rivalries
that arise from win/lose competition for rewards and resources” (Papa and
Daniels 56).
Rivalry
Rivalry within organizations occurs
for example when the different levels of an organization fail “to cooperate with
one another”(Papa and Daniels 56). For example, Papa gives an example of
“corporate executives in a national department store chain” who “encountered
territorial rivalry when they discovered that local stores within each of the
company’s major sales districts refused to cooperate with one another on sales
promotions”(Papa and Daniels 56). “Stores within the same sales region
literally were in competition with one another as well as with other department
store chains” (Papa and Daniels 57). Rivalries such as the example stated in
this paragraph inhibit the effectiveness of horizontal communication.
Specialization
Specialization is a problem that
often happens when organizations do not have uniformity within departments,
causing communication difficulties. Specialization can occur with procedures or
vocabulary used by different departments. For example when “different
specialties use the same terms in different ways,” this can create confusion
and miscommunication. When this occurs organizations have trouble functioning
properly and do not run smoothly (Papa and Daniels 57).
Lack of Motivation
“Horizontal communication often
fails simply because organization members are unwilling to expend the
additional effort that it requires.” “Horizontal communication may require
contact with people in units that are well removed from our own. The channels
and rules of interaction may be unclear. We do not really know these people.
The need to communicate with them makes us uneasy or takes too much time, so we
avoid or ignore it”(Papa and Daniels 57).[3][3][4][5]
Lateral
diffusion
Lateral diffusion is the process whereby information can be spread from one
node in a social network to another, often in a selective way, and can rapidly
traverse an entire population, but preferentially to those nodes likely to be
interested, or needing to know. Messages or information are also subject to
query and modification en route. This is in contrast to central media where one message or perspective is broadcast to a large
number of people simultaneously. Thus lateral diffusion can be said to occur in
lateral
media.
This is similar to how rumours, gossip and jokes rapidly
spread. But note that each sender can be selective: a sender wouldn't
necessarily tell a superior a joke he might not approve of. Senders also tend
to pass on information to those who they know from personal experience would be
interested or need to know.
In this way it has been shown that
typically no more than 6 intermediaries are likely to link the most extreme
chain of lateral diffusion - see six
degrees of separation even worldwide.
This notion was one of the key ideas
in "Communication and Integration within the Agriculture, Water, Waste and
Energy Industries", 1980 and The IRG
Solution - hierarchical incompetence and how to overcome it, in 1984, which advocated the usage of personal computers
linked by the telephone network, to allow the lateral diffusion of messages and
information in a selective way to those who would be interested - this is of
course what occurs now in the Internet, by a Social
network service.
The below diagrams are taken from
In "The IRG Solution" it was envisaged that each
person would be at the centre of an IRG - Information Routing Group, of
relatively well known and trusted persons. He might exchange information with a
contact in his first group.
<lateral diffusion may also refer
to diffusion which can occur in a semi-permeable membrane in biology.>
Lateral media
Lateral media
can be seen as any specific technology to promote lateral
communication. A grapevine
is in effect lateral communication but is not necessarily a lateral media if
there is no technology. We then can consider informal help networks, email
circulation lists, Information Routing Groups, even the Internet as a lateral media. Lateral media assists lateral
communication and the transmission of tacit knowledge in contrast to Central media which cannot.
Various of the great Enlightenment
figures could be seen as lateral mediarists in that they wrote and copied ideas
amongst the great thinkers of that era, a bit like the Internet but slower and
on parchment. The Lunar Men or Lunar
Society were a classic Lateral Media of the
19th century, bringing together scientists, engineers, chemists, and
manufacturers leading to many technical and social innovations.
The Internet is largely a lateral
media, and likewise Information Routing Groups (IRGs) which are specifically designed to promote lateral
communication
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