CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Communication has been a very important factor of organization since the “dark age”. Without effective communication an organization 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” Gitel 2001. Most African organizations accept the reality that communication is a vital component of organizational 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 organizations understand the truth that effective communication is essential for arrival and growth at any organization. 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, signs or behaviors, (Birungi, 2005). Effective communication is a vital tool of management because without it all attempts to carry on the activities of an organization 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 organizations 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 habe a competent personnel department for the recruitment of the best employees that are capable to do the job. For the company to optimize their performance from their employees there is need for effectively communicating. From a paper presented by Kashyap (2019) marketing manager of Proof Hub.

Looking at this in our own Organizations in Cameroon it is the same thing with microfinance institutions. Therefore, successful work performance can arise from a number of factors. For 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 (Backham, King, 1992). These are the challenges management face on daily bases in organization communication process to be able to meet 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 being 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 typer of communication to better performance in these institutions.

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

1.2 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 product to be produce workers need to be given a criterion to follow and the value created is sold to visit the help of commination making it inevitable in Organizations.

Some organizations 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 and external stakeholders.

1.3 Research Questions.

The main and specific questions of this study are as follows;

1.3.1 Main research question.

What is the influence of communication on the performance of MFIs in Bamenda?

1.3.2 Specific research questions.

1. What is the influence of verbal communication on the performance of MFIs in Bamenda?
2. What is the influence of nonverbal communication on the performance of MFIs in Bamenda?
3. What is the influence of visual communication on the performance of MFIs in Bamenda?

1.4 Objectives of the Study.

1.4.1 Main Objective

To analyze the influence of communication on the performance of MFIs Bamenda.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives.

1. To investigate the extent to which verbal communication influences the performance of MFIs Bamenda.
2. To analyze the extent to which nonverbal communication influences the performance of MFIs in Bamenda.
3. To evaluate the influence of visual communication on the performance of MFIs Bamenda.