Communication is crucial to any organization as it provides the basis through which people share information, understand each other, and build effective working relations. Most organizations, including the military, have a clear-cut chain of command, such that communication therein is vertical. Vertical communication can be bottom-up or top-down, with the former being the flow of information from management to employees (APACOE, 2014). It provides the framework through which employees can make known to the management their opinions, perceptions, values, needs, expectations, to name but a few. Top-down communication, on the other hand, enables management to make employees aware of organizational projects, plans, visions and missions (APACOE, 2014). The effective combination of these ensures a conducive working environment, builds trust, boosts employee morale and participation, and ultimately leads to organizational success. Importance of Organizational Communication

As has already been mentioned earlier, communication is vital for the success of any organization. The military is one organization whereby bottom-up communication is severely hampered, and at times even made impossible by unnecessary technicalities (Joint Doctrine, 2001). This text will reveal the reasons why it is vital for an organization, especially the military, to formulate and implement strategies that would ensure increased...

Planning involves formulating an organization's mission, vision, goals and the objectives it seeks to achieve. If these are formulated, and not acted upon, then the planning process loses meaning. They can only be acted upon if they are effectively communicated to and understood by all stakeholders. In the military, plans and visions represent culture, and culture, in turn shapes realities and events. The Marine Corps 'esprit de corps' for instance is a reflection of the shared realities; communication enables members to connect with it and shape their events towards winning wars and maintaining gear (Joint Doctrine, 2001)
Communication provides the framework for employee evaluation (Joint Doctrine, 2001). An employee's work organization, relevance, etc. enables a manager to evaluate and reward or punish them on a fair basis (Joint Doctrine, 2001). The observation, evaluation, and reward procedures are all based on communication. In the military, for instance, a member is evaluated on the basis of conformance to rules or work performance (conduct ratings and proficiency) (Joint Doctrine, 2001). Both top-down and bottom-up communication modes are used in this case, and the effectiveness with which a member communicates…