Question

1.discuss the various levels of managers and indicate the importance of their roles they perform within the organization

2. in the global environment, communication is critical to the success of an organization. compare / contrast high context and how low context methds of communication. provide one example of how hig or low context communicaion is practiced.

Answer 1

Levels of Managers and their roles

In most of the organizations, there are levels of managers. The levels differ in terms of their status, authority, and roles in the organization. The three levels are mentioned below.

1) Top Level - It is also called the administrative level. This level mostly consists of the board of directors, chief executives, and managing directors. This level is mostly involved in planning and coordinating the various functions of the organization. They appoint managers below them. They also lay down organizational policies and strategic plans. They interact with the outside world. They provide direction and guidance for the overall functioning of the organization.

2) Middle Level - It is also called the Executory Level. mostly the functional heads, departmental, or branch managers fall into this category. In some of the organizations, there can be sub-levels under this level. They mostly execute the policies. They also plan the functioning of the division they are responsible for. They employ the below level managers. They understand and explain the policies and procedures formed by the top level of management to the employees of their respective divisions. They also send reports to the top level of managers.

3) Low Level - They are also called the first-line manager level or supervisory level. For example, supervisors, team leaders, foreman etc. fall under this category. Their role includes assigning tasks to the workers. They supervise, motivate and guide their subordinates. They execute the instructions provided by the upper management level. They are in direct contact with the workers and are responsible to provide them with training regarding the work. They also solve grievances of the subordinates. They are the communication link between the upper management levels and the workers.

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2. In a Global work environment, different cultures are involved. They vary from each other in terms of communication methods. It is very important to understand the communication methods of different groups working together. Broadly the world is divided into two categories based on the culture and how they communicate. They are - High Context and Low Context.

The main difference between these two methods are cultures that follow low context method are explicit in their communication. They make sure that there should not be any risk of confusion while communicating. So, they strongly believe in crisp and clear communication and give emphasis to words in order to avoid slowing down the process of communication. They are individualistic in their approach and prefer written communication. Western cultures like UK, Australia, and the United States follow this method.

Whereas, the cultures who follow high context method emphasize on context, meaning, and tone of the message. Unlike the low context culture, they do not emphasize words. They are group oriented in their approach and prefer oral communication. Some of the countries that follow high context communication methods are Japan, India, China, Spain etc.

To understand it better, an easy example can be -

If there is a group communication about an event, the low context individual will want to just get detailed, to the point information and want the basic questions to be answered as mentioned below. Apart from the basics, they will not be interested in a longer form of communication.

- What is happening?

- Where is it happening?

- When it will happen?

- How it will happen?

- What process will be followed?

But, at the same time, a high context individual will focus on longer communications and ot only the basic questions related to the topic.