ns, effective organization communicators should be able to stimulate positive responses from a group by understanding human behavior.
For leaders to be able to motivate however, they have to remain open to learn the specific needs and wants of the organization. This means keeping the channels of information flow unimpeded. Further, "Communication stimulates positive or negative reactions, depending on the quality of the message transmitted" (Seigle, 1984, p. 6). Thus, communication is dictated by the conscious or unconscious behavior that motivates all people.
An understanding of these human factors and their importance to an organization's survival was first realized as a valuable asset in the 1960s as businesses grew and society began to recognize the impact of television. But the need for communication skills as necessary tools for success was driven home in the 1970s as more sophisticated technology appeared on the scene: computers for writing reports and letters as well as storing information; telecommunications linking people thousands of miles apart electronically; and, the growth of the media and its ever increasing pressure on businesses for information. All of this required a new emphasis on the written word by communicators, especially as business interests expanded overseas. But, in reality, did it increase the role of communicators within the organizational structure?
According to Roy T. Cottier, a former manager in corporate communications, organizations still consider communications far down the ladder in importance. The people responsible for communications within the company report to executives several layers under the top managers, most of whom act as filters and depressants, instead of expediting channels and motivators (Cottier, 1987, 557). Then there are the companies which, according to Cottier, do not recognize communications as a single function and thus diffuse it throughout the structure, ...