When Communication Should Be Formal

Informality has become ubiquitous in modern organizations: The use of first names for everyone, including executives, is the norm, as are casual dress, flattened hierarchies, and self-organization. Business communication has grown more informal as well. We keep things casual so we can be fast and fl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MIT Sloan management review 2018-10, Vol.60 (1), p.1-6
Main Authors: Tenhiälä, Antti, Salvador, Fabrizio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Business communications
Business models
Communication
Continuity of care
Customers
Design
Flexibility
Informal organization
Machinery
Manufacturers
Medical errors
Meetings
Salespeople
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Summary:Informality has become ubiquitous in modern organizations: The use of first names for everyone, including executives, is the norm, as are casual dress, flattened hierarchies, and self-organization. Business communication has grown more informal as well. We keep things casual so we can be fast and flexible and get things done. We email, Skype, Slack, and Yammer. Formal, protocol-guided communication -- such as face-to- face meetings or teleconferences, where leaders from different business units use standard agendas to review concerns and coordinate responses -- is increasingly seen as an old-fashioned bureaucratic time sink. Informality helps an organization's daily operations run more smoothly, to be sure. And unnecessary meetings that serve no real business purpose can plague a workplace. But no one would argue against the value of formal, reliable communication in, say, aviation or the military. Prompted by those models, we decided to study companies that manufacture high-tech machinery -- businesses that need precise, cross-functional communication to get the job done.
ISSN:1532-9194