CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0  Background of the Study

Communication has been a very important factor of organisation since the “dark age”. Without effective communication an organisation can drift without direction like a ship without a source. Kenyan airways have consistently been at or near the top of the list at the 100 best companies in Africa, in recent interview with the president and chief operations officer of this company, he said “you have to talk, and talk to your people all the time” Gitell 2001). Most African organisations accept the reality that communication is a vital component of organisational effectiveness. Due to increasing global market place pressure, to accomplish more with few resources and the need to exceed customer expectations, managers recognize the merits of effective communication. In Cameroon organisations understand the truth that effective communication is essential for arrival and growth at any organisation. The word communication is derived from Latin word communist. Meaning “common”. The communicator seeks to establish “commonness” with a receiver (Ivancevich 1999).

The dictionary defines communication as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, sign or behaviors, (Birungi, 2005). Effective communication is a vital tool of management because without it all attempts to carry on the activities of an organisation can fail; no instructions can be given no order taken no contact made with superiors or subordinates and no information provided or received. Only by communicating effectively can planned activity be organized and carried out. The only exception to this is the individual working entirely alone

with no contact at all with any other person. Further, the communication carried must be understandable and acceptable to both parties (Birungi, 2005)

Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation cuts across all needs, including effective communication to get acceptance and belongingness, ego needs to be heard, recognized and appreciated and so on, (Lehman & Defrene, 2002).

It has been observed in recent times that, Managers within companies or organisations are primarily responsible for ensuring that the tasks or job is done through employees in the right way. To achieve this, managers must ensure that they have a competent personnel department for the recruitment of the best employees that are capable to do the job. For the company to optimizee their performance from their employees there is need for effectively communicating. From a paper presented by Kashyap (2019) marketing manager of ProofHub.

From the statistics it is clear to say there is need to improve Communication in the workplace to enhance management and corporate governance. Therefore, communication in theory and in practice becomes a difficult task for Management to perform. A lot has been written on the topic communication globally but this still remains a difficult one for organisation’s management and more often than not is poorly practiced.

On this note to understand how communication can influence the performance of microfinance institutions, one as a manager must be able to understand human nature. In as much as communication can influence the performance of microfinance institutions, there is need to blend the appropriate communication tools with effective management and leadership to achieve this goal.

Communication has been the major issue in most Organisations across the globe reason being management neglect it and don’t give it its right place.

 Looking at this in our own Organisations in Cameroon it is the same thing with microfinance institutions Therefore, successful work performance can arise from a number of factors. For instance, two employees working in an organisation may not be able to performed a task seemingly because of the fact that the specify task was not clear to the two. One party may understand the job description well while the other doesn’t. It might be due to level of Education and experience or maybe because feedback was absent (Beckham, King, 1992). These are the challenges management face on daily bases in organisation communication process to be able to meet up with better Management. Therefore, this arouses more critical academic thinking within the subject area. In this light a lot of literature from scholars and practicing managers have ensured to resolve this intriguing academic and practical domain on how communication can influence performance in microfinance institutions. This being a social problem human beings as complicated as they are with changing needs and preferences there is always need to look for better ways to satisfy their needs

Key attention is also placed on the type of communication to better performance in this institutions

Organisational communication is a process of information exchange and a process of decision making between the sender and the receiver with the consequence of positive result in raising efficiency of at least one of them Sajfert etal (2006) and that organisational communication is a central binding force that permits coordination among people and thus allows organized behaviour Myers, (1982). In addition to these definitions we must emphasize that behaviour of employees is best understood from a communications point of view Rogers, (1976). The most important role of organisational communication is the relationship building in order to achieve its strategic objectives.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

In a highly competitive global economy, microfinance institutions are constantly under pressure to retain their workforce (Deci, 2013) and keep the image of the institutions fresh to the public. It is evident that highly competitive firms see communication as an integral part of its processes which without the business remain closed or enclave and unproductive. Communication promotes good business. For a product to be produce workers need to be given a criterion to follow and the value created is sold to visit the help of communication making it inevitable in Organisations.

Some Organisations have been known to experience a fall in productivity and turnover of its workers as a result of poor communication. And also a fall in the firm’s sales as a result of poor or inadequate Communication channels. It is important for management to seek for better ways of improving its processes by better Communicating with its internal and external stakeholders.

1.2 Research Questions

1.2.1 Main research Qquestion

What is the influence of communication on organisational performance in microfinance institutions?

1.2.2 Specific Rresearch question

What is the influence of communication on employee productivity in microfinance institutions?

What is the effects of communication on the turnover of MFIs Bamenda municipality?

What is the effect of communication on organisational performance in MFIs in the Bamenda municipality?

1.3. Objectives of the Study

1.3.1. Main Objective

To analyse the effects of communication on organisational performance in microfinance institutions in the Bamenda city municipality

1.3.2. Specific Objective

• To investigate the extent to which communication influences employee’s productivity in MFIs
• To investigate the extent to which communication influences employee’s turnover in MFIs
• To evaluate the impact of communication on organisational performance in MFIs