A communications profile of a large sugar factory in Northern Natal
type: CreativeWork
description: A critical study of the communication problems at Mill F originated with the concern expressed by top management of the T-H company. These problems could be viewed against the rapid changes in the socio-political environment. The continual socio-political/ economic and technological changes result in a continual change in expectations and aspirations at certain levels of the work force. The lack of open sharing of the respective perceptions of Management and the workforce create a wide cleavage between the two groups leading to strained interpersonal and inter-group communications relationships in the workplace. The realisation of organisational goals and objectives becomes difficult to achieve in an environment characterised by diverse perceptions and attitudes. As the management/ worker relations become weaker, the union/worker relations become stronger. This situation is by no means unique in South Africa. A comparative study of the South African and Australian industrial relations systems had a remarkable thing in common - socio-political issues cannot be "divorced" from the workplace. The industrial relations systems and practices need to be understood within the framework of respective histories/ as well as economic, socio-political and legal systems of different countries. The Australian multiracial/ multilinguistic and multicultural society had one noticeable exception from its South African counterpart. The human relations climate on the shopfloor is relatively tension-free. The research findings are based on a stratified sample of 387 respondents from managerial/ supervisory and non-supervisory levels who participated in the research interviews out of a total of 526 employees. The communication structures/ processes and relationships were perceived by all levels of employees to be ineffective/ albeit for different reasons. Other non-communication related issues were raised which indicated that communication cannot be looked at in isolation. It was conclude…
abstract: A critical study of the communication problems at Mill F originated with the concern expressed by top management of the T-H company. These problems could be viewed against the rapid changes in the socio-political environment. The continual socio-political/ economic and technological changes result in a continual change in expectations and aspirations at certain levels of the work force. The lack of open sharing of the respective perceptions of Management and the workforce create a wide cleavage between the two groups leading to strained interpersonal and inter-group communications relationships in the workplace. The realisation of organisational goals and objectives becomes difficult to achieve in an environment characterised by diverse perceptions and attitudes. As the management/ worker relations become weaker, the union/worker relations become stronger. This situation is by no means unique in South Africa. A comparative study of the South African and Australian industrial relations systems had a remarkable thing in common - socio-political issues cannot be "divorced" from the workplace. The industrial relations systems and practices need to be understood within the framework of respective histories/ as well as economic, socio-political and legal systems of different countries. The Australian multiracial/ multilinguistic and multicultural society had one noticeable exception from its South African counterpart. The human relations climate on the shopfloor is relatively tension-free. The research findings are based on a stratified sample of 387 respondents from managerial/ supervisory and non-supervisory levels who participated in the research interviews out of a total of 526 employees. The communication structures/ processes and relationships were perceived by all levels of employees to be ineffective/ albeit for different reasons. Other non-communication related issues were raised which indicated that communication cannot be looked at in isolation. It was conclude…
author: Gasa, Nhlanhla A.
keywords: Communication in personnel management, Business communication
license: https://devspace.unizulu.ac.za/bitstreams/3056adca-9339-4806-b579-269c1ba3b8b2/download
date published: 1988
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:17:15Z
provider: University of Zululand
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Zululand