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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1

1.1 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………1

1.2 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………… 2

1.3 Brief background of the Organisation………………………………………………2

1.4 Background of the study………………………………………………………………..2

1.5 Definition of terms and concept………………………………………………………..4

1.6 Statement of the problem……………………………………………………………….6

1.7 The purpose of the study………………………………………………………………..6

1.8 Research objectives……………………………………………………………………..7

1.9 Research questions……………………………………………………………………..7

1.10 Significance of the study………………………………………………………………8

1.11 Limitation of the study…………………………………………………………………8

1.12 Summary ………………………………………………………………………………8

Chapter 2

Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………….9

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….31

CHAPTER 3

3.1 Research methodology………………………………………………………………..32

3.2 Research design………………………………………………………………………..32

3.3. Research Instruments………………………………………………………………..33

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 3.4 Reliability and Validity of the Instruments………………………………………….33

3.4 Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………36

3.5 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………36

 3.6 Limitations of the study………………………………………………………………36

3.7. Research Ethics……………………………………………………………………….37

Summary……………………………………………………………………………………38

References…………………………………………………………………………………40

CHAPTER 1

1.1 Abstract

Over the last decade, organisational communication has attracted growing academic
interest. Focuses on organizational communication within multi-unit organisations in
order to understand better the strategy implementation process from a communication
perspective. Anyone tired of disciplinary fragmentation, sick of partisan bickering, and
exhausted by an endless eclecticism probably desires a more comprehensive
framework, a more integral vision. To integrate means “to bring together, to join, to link,
to embrace. Not in the sense of uniformity, and not in the sense of ironing out all the
wonderful differences, colors, zigs and zags of a rainbow-hued humanity, but in the
sense of unity in-diversity, shared commonalties along with our wonderful differences”
(Wilber, 2000,p. 2). An integral vision would orient the cornucopia of theories and
methods, would inform purposeful action, would facilitate dialogue among academic
disciplines, and would offer insight into the very consciousness holding the vision.
Articulating such a vision is the integral project. Applying it to communication is integral
communication. Communication might be thought of as mutual understanding with in a

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shared inters subjective space. Or, perhaps communication is a transmission of
information bits from a source to a receiver. What theoretical map embraces them both?
The inside of communication could be studied qualitatively. Or, the outside of
communication could be studied quantitatively. What paradigm includes them both? The
integral project offers some clues to these enigmas.

1.2 Introduction

This research focuses on the role of employee communication in the implementation of

the Government Institution Pension Fund (GIPF) strategic initiatives.

According to Kottler (2004), communication entails the exchange of information

between people. Many companies dramatically transform and implement their strategic
initiatives by paying attention to communication to ensure long term success. To
maintain effectiveness in an organisation for a radical change, many organisations
devise programmes that facilitate communication between various divisions for
example, marketing, financial and sales as well as between management levels
throughout the organisation.

This has been done by establishing permanent interfaces between subsidiaries and
divisions, with managers meeting regularly to share ideas, customer information, and
discuss other issues. This type of open communication fosters a spirit of ownership
because people are involved in determining the strategic direction of the business. This
approach also fosters a feeling of participation in the affairs of the company. Some
organisations enjoy vertical communication and some enjoy lateral communication while
most of the organisations inculcate both types of communication. To further facilitate
open communication, the business is structured to eradicate competition between
divisions, thus removing the reluctance to share information while enforcing the
strategic plan.

The focus on communication to implement company strategic initiatives extends further

than just employees to customers as well. Many companies open call centre as solution
as well as customer relationship management system, as a mechanism for

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communicating business products and services in order to ensure implementation of
company strategic initiatives.

Although formulating a consistent strategy is a difficult task for any management team,
making that strategy work – implementing it throughout the organization – is even more
difficult (Hrebiniak, 2006). A myriad of factors can potentially affect the process by
which strategic plans are turned into organizational action. Unlike strategy formulation,
strategy implementation is often seen as something of a craft, rather than a science,
and its research history has previously been described as fragmented and eclectic
(Noble, 1999b). It is thus not surprising that, after a comprehensive strategy or single
strategic decision has been formulated, significant difficulties usually arise during the
subsequent implementation process. The best-formulated strategies may fail to produce
superior performance for the firm if they are not successfully implemented, as Noble (1
notes.

1.5 DEFINATION OF TERMS

1.5.1Strategy

Strategy refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military

usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an
engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked.
How a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms and conditions that it is fought on
and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy, which is part of the four
levels of warfare: political goals or grand strategy, strategy, operations, and tactics.
Building on the work of many thinkers on the subject, one can define strategy as "a
comprehensive way to try to pursue political ends, including the threat or actual use of
force, in a dialectic of wills – there have to be at least two sides to a conflict. These
sides interact, and thus a Strategy will rarely be successful if it shows no adaptability.

1.5.5 COMMUNICATION

Communication is the activity of conveying information. Communication requires a

sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be
present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication;

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thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication
requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality.
The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the sender

1.5.6 Organization

An organization is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, controls its

own performance, and has a boundary separating it from its environment. The word
itself is derived from the Greek word organ on, itself derived from the better-known word
organ. There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including: corporations,
governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, armed
forces, charities, not-for-profit corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and universities.
A hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private
sector, simultaneously fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market
activities. As a result the hybrid organization becomes a mixture of a government and a
corporate organization.

1.4 Brief background of the Organisation

The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) was established on the 10 th October
1989 to provide retirement and auxiliary benefits to employees in the service of the
Namibian Government as well as institutions established by Acts of Parliament. GIPF is
subject to the provisions of the Pension Funds Act of 1956.

1.3 Background of the study

The communication climate of GIPF is very porous and characterized by the fact that
none of the department in the organization have a regular monthly management
meeting in order to discuss pertinent issues or projects. The absence of these
meetings hinders effective flow of information with the organization , as a result
employees are denied of vital information which are necessary in the execution of
various projects in the organization.

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During the formulation of the business strategy the organisation does not
consult operational staff, who might contribute in the strategy formulation. This
exclusion leads to omission of critical projects in strategic plan. Some of those
projects are quite pertinent to the organization, as they are challenged by
threats from the external environment and they can jeopardize the effectiveness
performance of the pension fund.

Communication problem has been the major setback that hinders the organization
optimal performance. These can be classified into six dimensions.

1. The five years strategic plan

The current strategic plan has not been socialized and communicated to all the
employees , as a result the majority of employees does not understand the strategy
expectation and the acceptable performance standard required for their level of
operations in order to achieve the implementation of the strategic plan.

The majority of employees continue working on their projects without receiving

directive from management board where their projects are discussed. Employees also
uphold the current level of performance despite issues of poor performance
discussed at the executive level.

These derail the quality of productivity from various projects and make the
organization loose its focus on strategic initiatives. The organisation lose substantial
resources as problems on the project will only be identified later , while the project
incur excessive expenses.

2. Mechanism on cascading information to all employees

The organisation does not have a formal procedure for filtering information to all
employees. Critical information discussed at the executive management does
not reach all employees. Major delays on the implementation of projects are
experienced across the organization because of ineffective communication from the
top management to the non-management staff.

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The lack of an internal communication strategy contributes to poor dissemination
of information within the organization. As a result communication is ineffective thereby
inhibiting the implementation of strategic plans. The grape vine becomes a source of
information and critical information is first made available in the external media.

3. Communication between Departments

The organisation does not have a formal procedure of how different departments in
the organisation must provide feedback to each other , despite various processing of
services that are interlinked across various department in the organisation. These
contribute to major delays in the processing of claims across the process flow of the
value chain.

4. Lack of mechanism for providing feedback to the external customers

The organisation does not have a formal proactive procedures of providing

feedback to the external customers with regard to the status of various services
offered . These contribute significantly to number of queries launched daily on
issues where customers were supposed to be provided with feedback. The
organisation performance over the last three years on customers- services
feedback were not encouraging.

5. Organisation climate survey

The organisation conducts an employee satisfaction survey on various

dimensions, such as training effectiveness, remuneration competitiveness, leadership
effectiveness, etc. The OD department compiles the result from the survey and
disseminates the outcome to all heads of departments, however the general staff
does not receive any feedback.

The result of which make employees not to value the importance of the organisation
climate survey and they develop ill feeling toward surveys that are conducted in
the organisation. The employee participation in recent surveys shows a significant
decline of 35 %.

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6. Performance Management

All departments have signed performance metrics standards on which they are to
be assessed quarterly. Although the organisation department finalized the
performance reviews timely, the outcome is might be communicated very later to
the organisation and some time not. Hence departmental performance is hindered.

Employees also develop a negative attitude toward performance management citing

ineffectiveness in performance management systems.

The research work on the role of communication in the implementation of strategy will
assist various departments in the organisation by exploring the recommendations on
good communication practices as a catalyst for the implementation of the
business strategy.

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1.6 Statement of the problem

Government Institution pension Fund is facing big challenge as it addresses employees

in the strategic implementation initiatives. There is no single department that is not
affected by this scourge. Recent analysis of the score card for performance rating
indicates that Human resources department had 2.5, Marketing department 2.6,
Finance department and investment 3 internal audits 2.1, information system had 2.5,
operations 2.9. These results indicated that only Finance and Investment managed to
reach a target of 3.00 rating due to effective communication among employees in that
department. The problem of ineffective communication gives rise to dysfunctional
strategic initiatives. The workforce is suffering, the intellectual capacity that is utilized in
performing administrative functions, implementation of strategic initiatives and high
profile social services are totally absent because of ineffective employee
communication. Moreover, ineffective employees’ communication at GIPF has resulted
into a negative attitude to service delivery and ineffective implementation of strategic
initiatives. These effects are impacting negatively on the GIPF progress and efficiency.
The corporate communication department has a responsibility of ensuring that, an
effective communication strategy is implemented as a drive for strategy implementation
because the department is the bedrock of communication at GIPF.

Even though the General Managers and Supervisors are provided with continuous
training on strategic implementation, this has nonetheless failed to achieve the desired
objectives. As seen above, the various departments have failed to reach the desired
targets a clear indication to the fact that the training program could ineffective.

1.8 Research objectives

The objectives of this study are:

 To identify the role of communication in the implementation of the company’s

strategic initiatives. Strengthen current practices so as to achieve better

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  To assess the impact of employee communication in the company’s
implementation of strategic initiatives. Improve on the shortcomings on poor
communication. To give communication the importance that it deserves- budget
allocation, training, and other resources.
 To assess the possible consequences of ineffective communication in strategy
implementation. See how the negative consequences can be avoided and how
the positive one can be achieved through communication.
 To determine if employee communication contributes to effective or ineffective
service delivery and efficiency. See how effective communication can improve
employee and organisational performance.
 To determine if effective communication integrates employees in the decision
making process. How effective communication can facilitate consultation of
employees before critical decisions are made. This would enable the employess
to personalize or own the decision.
 To explore and describe the communication factors which influence strategic
implementation at GIPF. This is vital because unless you know these factors you
cannot know how communication drives strategy implementation.
 To come up with recommendations to improve communication on strategic
initiatives. This is important because without recommendations, the entire study
would be meaningless and the problems cannot be addressed.

1.9 Thesis

In view of the above, the thesis of the research is that effective communication is
a condition without which an organisation cannot fully implement its strategic
initiatives. In other words for an organisation to fully implement its strategic
initiatives, its employees have to communicate effectively with each other. Poor
communication lead to misunderstanding and conflict and this derail the
implementation of strategic initiatives.

Investigate the role of communication in the implementation strategic initiatives.

This will enable us to come recommendations on how to improve communication
and ultimately improve implementation of strategic initiaives.

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 Delineations and limitations

The study focus on the internal communication , which is communication within the
organisation. The study does not focus on how the organisation communicates with the external
world, as various strategic iniatives are internally managed and implemented within the
organisation. Secondly, due to financial constrains, the study only focuses only at GiPF Head
office. However, given that 77% of all the employees of the GIPF are located at the head office,
the results are representative of the total population of the GIPF.

Research questions

 How does employees’ communication influence the efficiency and effective

service delivery?
 How does communication integrate employees in decision making?
 How does employees’ communication lead to failure in strategic
implementation?
 How does effective employees’ communication enhance productivity and profit?
 To what extent does effective employees’ communication impact the strategy
implementation

Assumptions.

Other than communication, there are other factors that have an impact on the
implementation of strategic initiaives. Most employees are not aware of the various
facets of communication and hence they may not appreciate the value of
communication or give fair responses to questionnaire.

That most people at the work place are willing to interact freely with each other and that
they may confuse interacting with communication. However, communicating is broader
than interacting and hence employees may take it for granted that there is effective
communication in the organisation. This is left, as an assumption because the
questionnaire outlined the facets of communication.

1.10 Significance of the study

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 This is the first study of its kind in as far as the GIPF is concerned. As a
consequence, the study pioneers the way for other studies in this particular area. By
specifically focusing its attention on the GIPF, the study differs from other studies in
the field of communication. As a result, the findings of this study will be of
indispensible value to the GIPF’s communication strategies.

The study will also generate information on how GIPF will be able to identify the
various factors that impact on the implementation of its strategic initiatives and
possible measures on how to facilitate employees’ communication.

The study will further identify various strategies that can be used in communicating
the business strategies to GIPF employees.

The results of the finding will provide recommendations on various platforms that
can be explored to discuss strategic initiatives.

The results of this study will also used to identify and analyze different
communication tools which are appropriate in communicating different strategic
initiatives.

Chapter Overview.

Chapter One provides an introduction to the subject matter and outlines the problem
statement, objectives, research questions, thesis, limitations and the significance of the
study.

Chapter Two goes into detail and offers the literature review of the research.

Chapter Three: is a presentation of the data, analysis and findings. It covers the
method that will be used in collecting and analyzing the data.

Chapter Four provides a detailed outcome of the research.

Chapter Five provides the summary of: findings, conclusion, contributions and
suggestions for further research and recommendation for implementation.

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 Chapter 2

Literature Review

This study first reviews communication and management control literatures that identify
attributes of effective communication in implementation of strategy.

Walker (2001) emphasized that communication become a strategic advantage in

implementation of organization. Public and private organizations make use of different
communications networks that helps create and maintain strategic advantages. A
communication strategy should be placed on equal footing with all of the business
frameworks, fundamentals, and revolutionary strategies that have been espoused
throughout the academic and professional worlds. This makes the strategy to be well
coordinated and communicated with all the parties involved.

Noble (2001) emphasized that internal communications channel are intended to

communicate with the internal target group and professional public for the
implementation of strategic plans. It is clear that the existence of good internal
communication is essential to put in function and efficient external communication.
The key personnel in the organization have to be well informed and if necessary trained
on how to communicate clear message for the smooth running of an organisation.

Homburg (2001) contends that good communication has a positive influence on the
better understanding of the process of change which catalyzes the effective
implementation of strategic plans.

Harrington (2006) explained that external communication channels which is also

referred to as mass media. This is to promote effective implementation of strategic
initiatives in an organization. External communication channel are intended for
communication with the third target group which is the general public.
Mass media channels (e.g., radio, network and cable television, magazines, direct
mail, billboards, newspapers) offer many opportunities for message dissemination.

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A variety of formats and media channels will be used in spreading
Information related to an organization reform implementation strategy

Dooley et al (2000) stated that interactive digital media channels (e.g., Internet Web
sites, newsgroups, CDROMs) enhances and promote the implementation of strategic
initiatives. These media allow communicators to deliver highly tailored messages and
receive feedback from the intended audience. These channels are capable of producing
both mass communication and interpersonal interaction. This invariably leads to job
satisfaction of the employees. Therefore, this can create a conducive environment for
efficiency and effectiveness of employees thereby promoting the implementation of
strategy. These channels are capable of producing both mass communication and
interpersonal interaction for effective implementation of strategy.
These are the different modes multimedia channels of communicating strategy.
CD-ROMs—Computer disks that can contain an enormous amount of
information, including sound and video clips and interactive devices could contain
company strategy which could be disseminated electronically.

Electronic mail (e-mail)—A technology that allows users to send and receive
messages to one or more individuals on a computer via the Internet, can also
catalyze the dissemination of strategic implementation among employees.

Intranets—Electronic information sources with limited access (e.g., Web sites

available only to members of an organization or employees of a company).
Intranets can be used to send an online newsletter with instant distribution or
provide instant messages or links to sources of information within an
organization. This invariable facilitate the implementation of strategy.

According to Slater (2001), communication planning is one of the most neglected areas
of corporate planning. Communication with customers and the media and with

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employees is essential for long term success. Therefore generating feedback constantly
from clients is the best strategy for the success of a business.

Wernham (2005) state that, "by articulating the outcomes the organization desires as
well as the drivers of those outcomes, senior executives can channel the energies, the
abilities, and the specific knowledge held by people throughout the organization towards
achieving the business's long-term goals." Thus, Wernham (2005) assert that not only
does the communication help create organizational strategy and knowledge, but also
the communication itself effectively communicates strategy and knowledge.

Rapert (2004) argues that communication failure is an important cause of poor

organizational performance. Because no organization's knowledge or strategy exists
apart from or succeeds without its key human actors, the ability to effectively
communicate may be itself a source of competitive advantage.

Piercy (2006) emphasized that if communication does articulate organizational

knowledge and strategy in a superior manner, then it t may be a source of competitive
advantage, at least until all competitors use it equally well. The organizational
communication, however, identifies a complex set of characteristics that affect the
quality or effectiveness of communication in organizations.

Schmidt (2006) stressed that, individuals use and rely on communication if its
processes and messages are perceived as understandable and trustworthy. He further
stated that other characteristics of effective organizational communication processes
are routineness, predictability, reliability, and completeness. Communication also is
more effective if it uses concise messages and clearly defined terms (Schmidt:2006).
Furthermore, an effective communication system precludes suppression of truth or
misstatement of performance. There should be no ambiguity regarding the differences
between truthfulness and "looking good" or integrity with winning. The effective
communication system and its users will be intolerant of "spin, deniability, and truth by

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assertion" (Schmidt:2006). Therefore, organizational communication will be effective if
processes and messages are valid representations of performance.

Olson et al (2005) explained that the traditional view of effective organizational

communication is that it supports organizational culture and individual interest by
reinforcing desired patterns of behavior, shared values, and beliefs. They further
explained that effective communication demonstrates that the organization does what it
says and that individual or group rewards are predicated on their actions.
Communication by leaders that consistently articulates shared goals, values, and beliefs
(Olson et al: 2005) is also effective in reinforcing culture and directing behavior.
Furthermore, effective communication must encourage behavior consistent with
organizational goals, values, and beliefs are also effective in reinforcing culture and
directing behavior (Olson et al: 2005). Furthermore, effective communication must
encourage behavior consistent with organizational goals, values, and beliefs (Olson et
al: 2005).

Sashittal (2005) argue that communication also can be an instrument of cultural and
strategic change. Consistent with his observations of change processes, many
organisations may facilitate change by effectively creating and communicating a
credible vision of and method for achieving change.

Brenes et al (2007 suggests an effective communication system supports an

organization's strategy by nurturing both objective and tactical knowledge. The effective
communication system exchanges objective and tactical knowledge among key
individuals so that all are aware of the organization's current status. Organizations
create objective knowledge from the development and integration of new knowledge by
individual specialists. Objective knowledge usually derives from the refining and sharing
of individuals' tactical knowledge, which is understood but not yet articulated or usable
by the organization. Therefore, an effective communication system encourages and
enables the sharing of individuals' experiences and collects those shared experiences.
This may be best accomplished by intense and frequent sharing, and by dialogue rather
than one-directional reporting.

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Akan eta al (2006) argue that communication and performance measures should
motivate behavior leading to continuous improvement in key areas of competition, such
as customer satisfaction, flexibility, and productivity. That is, they should reflect cause
and effect between operational behavior and strategic outcomes (Akan et al:2006)
Furthermore, as an organization identifies new strategic objectives, it also may realize a
need for new communication measures that encourage and monitor new actions (Beer
et al. 2000). Thus, organizations sensibly and perhaps optimally may use a diverse set
of communication measures to reflect the diversity of management decisions and efforts
(Akan et al: 2006 )

Hrebiniak (2006) have arranged multiple communication measures into the Balanced
Scorecard, which is a logical expression of most models of Western business
management. Indeed, some organisations may have spread widely throughout the
world on the strength of its intuition and internal logic communication system. Hrebiniak
(2006) claim that organizations may offer two significant improvements in
communication over traditional financial or even nonfinancial measures of performance.

First, Hrebiniak et at (2006) identifies four related areas of activity that may be critical to
nearly all organizations and all levels within organizations in relationship to
communication:

Investing in learning and growth capabilities

Improving efficiency of internal processes
customer value
Increasing financial success

Following the logic of successful organizations and ignoring cost-benefit considerations,

most organizations could use communication measures in all four areas to encourage
and monitor actions appropriate to organizational strategy. In its most basic use, a
properly configure organisation could provide a comprehensive picture of the state of
the organization. Thus, organisation might promote positive organizational outcomes

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such as improvements in all four areas of organizational activity, which include
administrative activities and methods of communication.

Nilson et al (2004) stress its alignment of critical communication measures with strategy
and links of the communication measures to valued outcomes. In addition, the
management control identifies other characteristics of control systems that may be
critical to the successful implementation of strategy and should apply to many
organizations. To be effective, mode of communication should be accurate, objective,
and verifiable. Otherwise, communication measures will not reflect performance and
may be manipulated, or managers could in good faith achieve good measured
performance but cause the organization harm. If managers can achieve good measured
performance by cheating, then the system quickly will lose credibility and desired
motivational effect.

Noble (2005) reviews that positive communication impact induces managers to exert
effort to achieve organizational goals. While informative but not controllable
performance measures may be important, positive communication requires that at least
some of the organization corporate cultures should reflect managers' actions. For
example, relative performance evaluation, which can identify "influenceable" but not
completely controllable outcomes, may be an important component of an organization
(Noble:2005), but it may not be sufficient by itself Extensive goal-setting confirms that
performance should be keyed to challenging but attainable targets through effective
communication (Noble :2005). Without such explicit organisation targets, performance
likely would be lower than could be reasonably achieved. Finally to build goal
commitment, the organisation should be linked with prompt and well-understood
feedback of information. Feedback that are delayed, uncertain, or ambiguous may be
ineffective in implementation of strategic plans

Waldersee (2006) emphasized that assigning the best communications professionals to

the restructuring initiative enhance the implementation of strategic plans. He further

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explained that organizations should insist that they segment the diverse and often
multilingual and multicultural audiences in planning the communications campaign. The
communications professionals will then be properly prepared to begin to tailor your
messages, and the medium, to the unique needs of each of your many internal and
external audiences.
He stated that organizations should design their messages thoughtfully, then employ
every affordable medium early, daily, tenaciously, and tirelessly. Include town meetings,
videos, interactive Web sites and CDs, letters, small and large group briefings,
discussion groups, one-on-one meals, and off-hour get-togethers.
initially communicated.
.

According to Viseras (2005) words alone are not sufficient to effectively communicate
complex strategic and organization changes to diverse sets of stakeholders. People will
interpret words and create subjective visions about what they mean. Inevitably, different
people will have different ideas of what the future holds. Whether a picture, storyboard,
or physical model, the visual representation of the current state and end result is a tool
that can be used to communicate progress and value. Through a tool we call Concept
Visualization, changes are depicted in a context of time and budget, linking the present
state with the future state.
It will be important for all stakeholders to be able to see where they are depicted in
the visualization and to understand their role in implementing change.

White (2006) elaborated that the choice of our communications “basket” (medium)
depends squarely on the type and content of message to deliver, our available
resources, and also most crucially on how the audience likes to receive information.
What newspaper do they read? What radio station do they listen to? Where do they
gather? How can we marry scientific content with the right dissemination channel?
A communications “basket,” however, can go well beyond policy briefs, take-home
messages and peer-reviewed papers. Especially when targeting decision-makers, we

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cannot discount the tremendous value of face-to-face meetings. There is no substitute
for them. As we know, such meetings can take the form of phone calls, seminars,
workshops, focus groups, conferences, and so on.
According to Schaap (2006) all strategies must start with an understanding of
objectives. Communications can be expensive in resources and time, so the
more precisely we can state our reasons for communicating, the better we’ll be able to
spend those precious resources. Many organizations might state their principal
communications goal as:

According to Mitchel (2000) communication serves three major functions in strategy

implementation within an organisation; these are control, motivation, emotional
expression and information.

Communication acts to control member behaviour in several ways. Organisations have

authority hierarchies and formal guidelines that employees are required to follow, for
instance, employees are required to first communicate any job related grievance to their
immediate boss, follow their job description, or to comply with company policies,
communication is performing a control function. But informal communication also
controls behaviour. For instance, when work groups tease or harass a member who
produces too much (and make the rest of the group look bad), they are informally
communicating with, and controlling, the member’s behaviour. This practically have an
impact in implementation of strategic initiatives. However communication controls the
behaviour and attitude of staff.

According to Jake 2001 communication play a significant role in driving the

business strategy, as it provide opportunity to the management in the organisation to
have some resemblance of consensus before communicating the strategy to the rest
of work force. Without consensus , strong dissonance will likely to develop and
ultimately leading to the undermining of the strategy as a whole. Jake elaborated

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that; this situation can be avoided if new strategies are clearly and concisely
broadcasted to the work force.

Consensus on strategic initiatives among the leaders is required to drive the

implementation of the strategy. This can only be achieved through conducting regular
management meetings preferable facilitated by an external service provider with
objective and independent opinion on the organisation strategy . If consensus has
been achieved all the management team will work together in the team to ensure
the implementation of the business strategy.

Jake (2001) strengthen the importance of communication by indicating that, a

communication strategy should be placed on equal footing with all the business
framework , fundamentals , and revolutionary strategies that have been espoused
through academic and professional work. Jake provides a suggestion for such
approach as follow.

Development of a big picture communication strategic goal pertaining to the vision

statement. Cleary define communication objectives and change them as required over
time and identify critical tactics which in turn can provide a good metric for
feedback and evaluation program.

Communicating vision and the mission of the organisation play a pivotal role in
driving the strategic initiatives indirectly, due the fact that all the strategic
initiatives are crafted from the vision and the mission of the organisation. By
communicating the vision and the mission of the organisation, communication drives
the implementation of strategic initiatives simultaneously.

A clear definition of communication objectives will assist the organisation to draft a clear
communication strategy tailored to communicate a specific strategic initiative. E.g. a
communication program aimed on creating a positive organisation culture.

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Changes on the strategy must be communicated timely and accurate so that the
team members can get this critical information and align their functions in
accordance with the changes that are done on the strategic initiatives by the
executives. Providing Feedback and evaluation of what has been achieved on
strategic initiatives is a critical element of communication in the implementation of
strategic initiatives. If there is no feedback the organisation will not be able to
monitor their progress on various strategic initiatives band remedial actions on
improving short coming cannot be undertaken. The aspect of feedback loop in
the communication practices signifies the importance of communication in the
implementation of the strategic initiatives in any organisation.

Jake and Green 2001 further elaborated that organisations need to understand
communication channels chosen to communicate a strategic initiative in the
organisation. According to jack and green the channel must mach to the desired
level of interactions and feedback needed in the implementation of the specific
strategic initiatives.

By understanding the communication channels available e.g. mail , share point,

video, television, road shows and etc , one can be able to select a communication
channels that is appropriate in driving a specific strategic initiative. A five years
strategic plan of the organisation cannot be simply communicated through e mails ,
as this channel cannot communicate the strategy effectively due to various
limitations. A five years strategic planning can be communicated through careful
selected channels such as workshops in various town were the company have
branches, this will provide a desired level of interactions as employees will have the
opportunity to interact with the executives and ask the necessary questions where
they need clarifications on how various projects in the strategy will be implemented.

Jake and Green concluded the approach of a winning communication strategy by

adding that organisation need to apply appropriate packaging technique through
the use of the language of the target group with the intention of assisting the target
group to understand strategic initiatives and execute them. They elaborated that
organisations must use well constructed communication strategy, to disseminate and

22
reinforce corporate culture required, to support the implementation of strategic
initiatives and avoid pandering to the lowest common denominator and instead
challenging laggards to catch up with high performers.

Very often organisations use complex sophisticated languages to communicate

strategy to low level operational workers, Jack and green encourages organisation to
use simple languages to communicate strategic initiatives ,as this will enable all
employees to relate and internalize strategic initiatives and implement them at their
operational level.

According to Gaylo (2011) Hodges communication drive the implementation of

strategic initiatives by ensuring that, initiatives plan are extremely visible through at
all levels in the organisation. The Plan must show what does the initiatives look
like ? if the company has a strategic initiative for people development , It is
necessary to put together a team to define what that they look like.

Crafting visibility plan for all strategic initiatives is crucially in the implementation of
strategic initiatives as the visibility plan will make it clear how various strategic
initiatives will look like and how they will be implemented. Employees will also be
enthused and exert considerable effort in implementing strategic initiatives as they are
clearly displayed on notice boards in respective departments.

Gayla (2011) elaborated that every corporate communication vehicle – newsletter ,

departments updates , etc should be tracking the progress of the strategic teams to
report and know what progress has been achieved . Progress report should be
regular and comprehensive. Expectations must be clearly and constantly
communicated. Clarifications on when the result are expected is important. .It is
critically important that everyone in the organisation knows exactly what the goals are
and what progress have being made toward the achievements of various strategic
initiatives.

23
Gaylo (2011) continue explain that communicating progress in the achievement of
strategic objectives encourages high performers to work very hard as their
achievements are communicated to the rest of the organisation, at the same time
discourage poor performers to improve as they will not tolerate poor performance
reports to be send across the organisation.

Due to that communication serve as a greatest motivators for all employees in the
organisation. Regular and comprehensive progress report will assist the organisations
to obtain a clear picture of progress on the implementation of strategic initiatives and
intervene urgently to overcome various huddles’ that are impeding the implementation
of various strategic initiatives in organisations. Communicating expectations standard
to be achieved on strategic initiatives encourages project owners to modify their
projects during the execution in line with the expectations standard, this will enable
them to achieve what has been expected within a certain time frame. I f the
organisation is communicating progress in the implementation of strategic initiatives to
all employees , this encourages a sense of ownership for strategic initiatives among
the work force band encourage a excellent relationships between various departments
in the execution of various projects.

Gaylo (2011) continue expanding the role of communication, by explaining that

teams need to know what is being done by other teams . Very often an individual
or a team will go away to start working on some kind of strategic initiative, but they
don’t let other team or individuals to know what is happening. In this situation some
of the impact of strategic initiative is being lost because people do not see it in
action. Just as it is important to have the greatest possible employee involvement in
the planning of strategic initiatives, it’s critical to ensure the greatest possible
employee involvement in implementing every part of the plan.

Failure to informs other teams on what is being done on the strategic initiatives
significantly derail the impacts of various strategic initiatives as some projects will
be successfully implemented however due to the fact that , this has never been

24
communicated to the rest of the organisation, the interventions will not be viewed by
other departments as a success. Due to this kind of behavior, employees develop
negative perception towards departments and this affect how employees interact
and relate with one another.

As a result strategic synergy between various departments in the organisation are

compromised. Employee involvement as augmented by Gaylo (2002) is very
important because individuals will bring different experience , intelligence, ingenuity
and personality to the strategic initiatives implementation team and as a result
specific strategic initiatives will be successfully implemented.

Gaylo (2011) also clarified that, it’s important to communicate the detail of the plan
and get people involved and buy in the strategic initiatives. He further explained
that, buy in is the recognition that your strategic initiatives make sense and
stakeholders have important role in the implementation of the strategic initiatives.

A strategic initiative is more likely to succeed if all various stakeholders buy in the
project and understand that their role is very important and their contributions are
valued for the successful implementation of specific strategic initiatives.

Gaylo (2011) opinion on the role of communication in implementation of strategic

initiatives has been strengthen by Johson 1992 by explaining that employees are
more likely to be motivated if questions regarding what is in for them in the strategic
initiatives has been clearly addressed and communicated .

This most popular category of Motivation and Personal Ownership contains responses
focused on the question, "What's in it for me?" This is not to imply that we're all selfish,
greedy, self-serving individuals, although recent headlines could certainly make that
case successfully it's really that people are looking for the meaning in what they do. In

25
other words, they want to show up for more than just a paycheck. People want to build
something, make a difference. "Don't understand the purpose, goal is minimized, vision
disappears. No enthusiasm to make it happen. The bottom line, how will it affect ME?"

Extra effort is needed to help people understand how getting behind the company's
goals can support their personal goals. "The I/me mentality is so prevalent today. If it
works for me -- it works for me! Let everyone else deal with it." If employees understand
what is in for them they will have the desire or necessary will to implement the plan. If
there is no buyer for specific initiative normally it fails because the people responsible
for implementing it are not convinced of its value."

If employees are not motivated and held accountable for personal ownership on
initiative, the hurdles on implementation of strategic initiatives are more likely to be
"Employee resistance." "Lack or no sense of urgency." "Inability of individuals to
view strategic projects an important and exciting part of their job." "Lack of
employees' support." Lack of better sales efforts. "Lack of initiative at the lower levels
of implementation, the 'front lines'." "Lack of ability to arouse enthusiasm." In summary
is this prediction: "The project will never succeed if there is no emotion or passion
involved."

Gaylo (2011) addresses communication in respect of ownership and accountability for

the implementation of strategic initiatives. He explained that as soon as people
begin to buy in, they start looking for ways to become involved . They will look
for a piece of strategic initiative they can own.

Gaylo (2011) emphasis that , there should be one primary owner for each strategic
initiatives , who will follow through , keep it alive and keep things going . Enlisting
and engaging other is a part of their leadership role as the primary owner of the
initiative. There should be responsibility and accountability relationship.

This means that organisations need to communicate clearly who is responsible for
the implementation of strategic initiatives and ensure that the owners accept their

26
responsibility. There must be adequate feedback on progress achieved on
strategic initiative and they must work hard overcome challenges’ in implementing
specific strategic initiatives. The primary owner of the project must be communicated
to all the stakeholders and serve as project leader for specific initiatives.

According to Jonson (2002) poor communications seems to take many forms.

Apparently, some groups like to develop strategic plans, and then hide them under a
rock. But they don't do it on purpose. "The failure to communicate the vision and
strategic objectives to stakeholders" may mean that the developers of the strategy
aren't getting enough information for folks to understand what they're supposed to do
with it. "New initiatives or objectives are outlined but not communicated throughout the
organization as to how the new objectives should look and feel, what steps to take,
time-frame, etc." "Poor communications among team members responsible for weak
decisions implementation. Expectations and opinions are not shared openly,
thoroughly, and effectively."

Johnson provided a solution to the above communication impediment by explaining

that, "Every tactical action supporting the strategic initiatives needs to be included in
an overall communication plan so that the strategy is reinforced." There's an interesting
idea: on overall communication plan.

Johson (2002) explained that lack of communications routinely allows plans to die out
after their launch and this can be addressed through. "regular internal press, better
marketing efforts." This will create momentum, keep the fire burning and avoid the
quietness that goes like a mausoleum after the entertainment goes home. These
assist organisations to become introverted in their communication strategies, whether
the group is a large company or a small team." This kind of communication culture is a
heath culture in which in which creative initiatives will be nurtured and blossomed.

Communication is also much more than words and pictures. Communication is also
delivered through demonstration. "The management team does not follow the strategy
themselves." We all know about the hypocritical "do as I say, not as I do" admonition.

27
What does that scream about the value of the strategy? That behavior will raise
eyebrows faster than a cook who won't eat his own cooking!

Johson (2002) further explained that organisations can learn that, its very important for
leaders to demonstrate and walk the talk on strategic initiatives they are
communicating, employees can only be influenced by leaders that demonstrate, what
they communicate for the purpose of implementation of various strategic initiatives.

Bacal (2005) explained that organizations use their common culture as a strategic
advantage, create a culture through the use of strategic, coordinated communication
strategies. They use multiple methods and consistent. Their training supports their
cultural goals and written communication (eg. newsletters, billboards, slogans, etc). The
management communicates consistently in common messages to a number of forums
(eg. performance management, department or sub-organization meetings, award and
recognition programs, etc). And perhaps most importantly, management behaviour is
consistent with the messages echoed via other communication methodologies. 

According to Bacal(2005) organisations that want to create a workplace that is

populated by people who are working towards the same goals, and by the same rules,
internal communication, in it's broadest sense, is the key to bring that about. It won't
happen unless we are proactive in our communication and coordinate our efforts hence
they convey consistent and compatible messages. 

This can be summarized that communications must be entrenched across various

spectrums of strategic sessions in the organisations and various strategic
communication tools must carry consistent message of excellence in alignment to
various strategic initiatives simultaneously

Bacal (2005) provide the following procedures in ensuring that communication

succefully drive the implementation of various strategic initiatives.

28
Identify the common culture needed/wanted and make the distinction between what
is needed and what is wanted because the culture we seek to create should somehow
enable the organization to better achieve the goals, role and mission it has designated
for itself. The parallel here is to the visioning process that occurs in strategic initiatives,
except it answers the question: "What values, principles, procedures and behaviours
must we create so that we can achieve our mission?" In practical terms, this step can
result in a set of goals. 

Since we consider internal communication in a broad perspectives, there is need to

identify the means by which we can affect corporate culture in different directions.
Below are some examples of communication tools to consider, but there may be
others.  Eg Paper-based,   Electronic,   Management Behaviour,   Staff To
Management Forums and  Training:  Bacal (2005) explained that its imperative to
identify the appropriate communication tool that provide the necessary engagement
required to communicate a specific strategic initiatives .

Bacal added that after the identification you need to match the tools at your
disposal with the goals that we identified in Step 1. Some tools are best suited to certain
types of goals and not to others. In general, though we want to aim all of the available
communication tools at the achievement of strategic initiative.  

Develop a description of how each tool will be used. People "in charge" of the
communication tools need to know the generally and specifically tool and how they fits
into larger context. For example, managers need to understand the tone and approach
to writing internal memos that will be consistent with the "internal communication" goals
matched to the tool. Or more obviously, a corporate newsletter editor must be aware of
the primary values, and information that needs to be conveyed to staff so the newsletter
supports the creation of the desired culture. 

Plan for remediation on the internal communication process must be comprehensive,

we may end up asking people in the organization to behave and communicate

29
differently. That may mean we will need to help people develop the skills needed to
fulfill these new expectations. For example, a manager might need to learn how to
rephrase memos, or conduct cooperative performance appraisals so as to be consistent
with the desired culture.  

Plan for implementation, at this point we should know what we need to communicate,
how we are going to do it, etc. We may want to flesh this out a bit by determining who
will do what, and when it will be done. Let's remember that this is not a project, but an
ongoing process, we want to change communication approaches over the long term. 

Continuously monitor and revise the communication plan over time, new

communication tools may become more obvious, or we may find that some tools are
ineffective. So consistent with a continuous improvement approach we need to assess
the effects of what we are doing, and "re-steer" as needed. Some organizations use
annual surveys to assess whether progress is being made, and solicit additional ideas.

Mitchel (2000) further emphasised that communication fosters motivation by clarifying to

employees what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what can be done to
improve performance and strategic initiatives. This could be related to formation of
specific goals, feedback on progress towards the goals, and reinforcement of desired
behaviour all stimulate and require communication. Staff is motivated by the
communication among the staff, either by communicating to the staff by his/her
performance.

He further stressed that for many employees, their work group is a primary source for
interaction. The communication that takes place within the group is a fundamental
mechanism by which members show their frustrations and feelings of job satisfaction.
Communication therefore provides a release for the emotional expression of feelings
and for fulfilment of social needs. Therefore communication facilitates decision making
which enhances strategic initiatives. This is done through information needed

30
individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data to identify and
evaluate alternative choice.

Schmidt (2000) suggests that strategic implementation effectiveness is affected

positively by communication and interpersonal, not written. The cross-unit working
relationships by senior management support have a key role to play in the successful
implementation of marketing decisions. New initiatives or strategies are outlined but not
communicated throughout the organization as to how the new strategies should be
implemented which might include, the steps to follow, time-frame, mode of
communication, decision making, action and feedback. Poor communications among
employees is responsible for the decisions in implementation of strategy. If expectations
and opinions are not shared openly, thoroughly, and effectively among employees
definitely the implementation of strategy initiatives will be inhibited

No one of these functions should be seen as been important than the others. For
groups to perform effectively in organisation, they need to maintain some form of control
over members, stimulate members to perform, provide a means for emotional
expression, and make decision choices. Therefore, it can be assumed that almost every
communication interaction that takes place in an organisation performs one or more of
these functions.

Simpson (2002) elaborated that communication can flow vertically or laterally. He

further stated that vertical dimension can be divided into downward and upward
direction. These three types of communication are utilised in many corporate
organisation.

Downward communication flows from one level of a group or organisation to a lower

level is downward communication. For instance, the middle management staff
communicates with the non-management staff by downward communication. The
responsibilities of management staff assigns duty, goals and provide job description
inform and enforce policies, point out problems that need attention and also

31
 feedback about performance. Though, in some organisation the downward
communication does not necessarily need to be oral or face-to-face contact. The
means of communication could either be by dispatch of letters, memo or via e-mail
from the team leader. This method can provide a good metric for feedback and
evaluation of strategy

Upward: Upward communication flows to a higher level in the in the organisation. It’s
used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals and relay
current problem. This system is used by the lower management staff to communicate
with the middle management staff and the senior management staff in an organisation.
The lower management staff updates the middle management staff and the senior
management staff about the flow of their subordinate staff jobs, and the organisation in
general. Through this process the senior management rely on the middle management
level for ideas on how things can be improved in an organisation. Example of upward
communication in an organisation are where performance reports being prepared by the
lower management staff and reviewed by the middle management and senior
management staff, suggestion boxes, employees attitude surveys, grievance
procedures, superior-subordinate discussions, and informal “gripe’ sessions in which
employees have the opportunity to discuss with their boss or representative (team
leader) at management meeting. This is appropriate for higher levels of strategic
development.

Lateral: This is a type of communication that takes place among members of the
same work group, management level or among any horizontally equivalent
personnel. The effectiveness for lateral or horizontal communications is that it
saves time and facilitates coordination among staff. Most of the time, this type of
communication short-circuit action and expedite action this invariably catalyses the
implementation of strategy
.

32
According to Sutton (2003), effective communication enhances organisational core
competencies required for a business to compete successfully. This can only take
place, if a purpose, expressed as a message to be conveyed, is needed. It passes
between a sender and a receiver. Leadership in today's marketplace requires
communication (Sutton:2003). By communication, we mean talk that is honest, clear,
and sensitive to the moment in implementing the strategic plans of the organisation. In
addition, today's realities require an organizational environment in which straight talk is
not only encouraged but valued.. According to Berlo (2001), the result is transference of
meaning from one person to another. The process below depicts the communication
process:

the sender→encoding→the message→the channel→decoding→the receiver→

noise→feedback

In this process (channel), the sender initiates a message by encoding a thought which
helps to elevate the growth and strategy of the organisation. . The message is the
actual physical product from the sender’s encoding. When we speak, the speech is the
message. When we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the movement
of our arms and the expression on our faces are the message. The channel is the
medium through which the message travels. All these It is selected by the sender, who
must determine whether to use a formal or informal channel of relaying a message to
the employees. Formal channels are established by the organisation and transmit
messages that are related to the professional activities of members. They traditionally
follow the authority chain within the organisation. The final link in the communication
process is a feedback loop. Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in
transferring our initiatives as originally intended. It determines whether understanding
has been achieved for the way forward of the company.

McCrosky stated that there are three basic methods of how group members transfer
meaning between and among each other for the implementation of strategy plan. These
are: oral, written and non-verbal communication.

33
Oral communication: The chief means of conveying messages among employees is
oral communication. Speeches could be formal or informal. Formal is one-on-one
and group discussions, while informal is rumour or grapevine. These are forms of
oral communication which enhances the implementation of strategy initiatives. One
of the advantages of oral communication is speed and feedback. A verbal message
can be conveyed and a response received in a minimal amount of time. If the
employer is unsure of the message, rapid feedback allows for early detection by the
management and, hence, allows for early correction before the implementation of
the strategy. This system of communication is popular in corporate organisation.
Messages for strategy are communicated to different hierarchy in an organisation
very fast telephonically and the response is always immediate. Though there could
be error in the feedback but this could be detected and corrected very early before
implementation.

Written Communication: It include memos, letters fax transmissions, electronic mail,

instant messaging, notices placed on bulletin boards, or any other device that is
transmitted via written words or symbols. Strategic initiatives are always written
communication which is always tangible and verified before circulated. When printed
both the management and the non-management have a record of the
communication; and the record can be stored for an indefinite period. This system of
communication is mostly utilised at high profile organisation when message is to be
communicated via memos, letters, fax transmission and also on bulletin. For
instance, the strategy of handling and compensating accident victims and their
families is likely to contain a number of tasks spread out over several months. By
putting it in writing, those who have to initiate the plan can readily refer to it over the
life of the plan. Written word is more carefully studied than oral word. Thus written
communications are more likely to be well thought out, logical, and clear.

Nonverbal Communication: According to Rashotte (2001) emphasised that when

any management staff verbally give a message to a staff, he also impart a non
verbal message. In some cases, the nonverbal component may stand alone. For

34
 instance, a stare, a smile, a frown, and a provocative body movement all convey
meaning. This may influence job performance which may also invariably affect
strategic initiative of an organisation. As such no discussion of communication would
be complete without consideration of non verbal communication which include body
movements, the intonations or emphasis we give to words, facial expressions and
the physical distance between the sender and the receiver. Body language adds to,
and often complicates, verbal communication. A body position or movement does
not by itself have a precise or universal meaning, but when it is linked with spoken
language. It gives a better meaning to a sender’s message. Though this is not a
formal form of communication at high profile organisation, but it is basically used by
individual that like to gesture especially when reading verbatim minutes of a
meeting.
Mittner (2004) elaborated that companies with good internal communication are
likely to have happier and more loyal staff. Mitner (2004) further stressed that
internal morale is at an all-time low in many organisations. He says that ‘yet few
companies have managed the current climate of fear with clear vision of where the
company’s strategy is headed and how each individual can continue to play a
significant role in its ongoing achievements’. Mittner (2004) further stressed that
internal communication campaigns include staff morale, employee turnover and
absenteeism, mans hours or days gained activity, increased productivity, and a
decline in accidents in the workplace along with the savings this gives. All these
enhance the strategic plan of an organisation. Though, communication function is
usually allocated to a company Public relation, marketing, or human resources
division, but Mittner (2004) insists the onus for creating a motivated and productive
workforce lies squarely on the shoulder sof the CE. Not only does the CE need to be
seen as the chief communicator within the organisation, but he also needs to ensure
the management team replicates his example and maintains an open line of
communication between the head and the body of the company at all times for the
effective implementation of the strategy initiatives

Conclusion

35
In summary, effective organizational communication devices should possess the
observable attributes of:

Valid messages reliable, understandable, and trustworthy

Support of organizational culture, existing or changing
Knowledge sharing, including dialogue and participation.
The scholars have indicated all the various factors that influence the
implementation of the strategic initiatives that can foster the success and growth
of organisation

CHAPTER 3

36
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter clarifies the methods used to analyse the questionnaires filled by the
respondents

The purpose of the research is to obtain a better understanding on the role of

employee communication in the implementation of the Government Institution
Pension Fund strategic initiatives. Structured interviews and questionnaires will be
administered by GIPF for the purpose of getting a conclusive responses on how
employees’ communication influences the implementation strategic initiatives

3.2 Research design

The study will use quantitative and qualitative methods through the use of
questionnaires. Oyedele (2000) has defined the qualitative method as a loosely
defined category of research design which is field focused and deals with subjective
data in descriptive form like note, recording or other descriptions. Though, it is also
referred to as interpretative, naturalistic and descriptive research, involving small
groups of data. Quantitative research according to Oyedele (2000) is hypothetical,
particularistic, impersonal, experimental and stable. It is the outsider’s perspective
view of the problem and it is unbiased. Usually, quantitative data is collected under
controlled or rather monitored situations in order to manipulate the variables. The
researcher supposes that these methods are effective because he will be able to
collect the best results, if he manipulates the data them efficiently and effectively.
Quantitative method will be used to show similarities and differences on the
response provided by the participants. Qualitative data will be gathered through the
use of closed-ended questions which will make provision for the collection of
quantifiable information. Questionnaires will be distributed among GIPF employees.
Respondents will answer the questionnaires and will share more light on the nature
and state of employees communication at GIPF.

37
Population  

A target population is a group of people in which the researcher has interest in. Such a
group should share a given set of characteristics, about which the researcher wishes to
draw conclusions (Cardwel:2004). The focus population in this research will be the total
employees working at GIPF which is about 100 .

Sample

Usually, the population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its
members. A small, but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent the
population. The sample reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is
drawn (StatPac: 2009).

Sampling 

Sampling is the process of selecting units from a population of interest so that by

studying the sample, one may fairly generalize the results back to the population from
which they were chosen (William) 2006

Convenience sampling will be used in this study. This is a non-probability sampling

method, which is more convenient and economical as the sample is selected from the
population in some non-random manner .In this study 50 employees from the
management and management will be considered. These people will be chosen based
on the shared characteristic.

38
3.3.Research Instruments 

. The researcher will make use of a questionnaire. The choice of using questionnaire is
mainly because large number of respondents will be used and to get a quantitative data
from the sample. Information will be solicited through the structured interviews.
Observations also will be used to get information and quantitative data.

Questionnaire: The structured questionnaire for GIPF employees will be designed and
it will be divided into two main sections. Section A will relate to the respondents'
demographic data and it will consist mainly of closed-ended questions about the
respondents' demography and the subject under study. This section will enable the
researcher to gather quantitative data.

Section B elicit respondents' views on the roles and impact of employee communication
in implementation of strategic initiatives. This section consists mainly of the closed-
ended questions that will allow respondents to provide their personal views, opinions,
perceptions and experiences on the issue under study. This part will enable the
researcher to collect reliable qualitative data (Patton: 2000)

3.4 Reliability and Validity of the Instruments 

According to Maree (2007) reliability of an instrument means that if the same instrument
is used at different times or administered to different subjects from the same population,
the findings should be the same. In other words, reliability is the extent to which a
measuring instrument is repeatable and consistent. Therefore the questionnaires that
will be administered for the role of employees in implementation in strategic initiative will
be checked by the supervisor for validity and reliability

In this research an internal reliability will be used, where as the researcher will see to it
that the questions prepared for the respondents correlates with each other. This type of
reliability is also called internal consistency. When a number of items are formulated to

39
measure a certain construct, there should be a high degree of similarity among them
since they are supposed to measure one common construct. A measure of this degree
of similarity is an indication of the internal consistency of the instrument (Maree:2007) 

Validity of an instrument refers to the extent to which it measures what is supposed to

measure (Maree:2007) The researcher will submit draft questions to experts in the field
and to the supervisor for comments before finalizing the questions. This kind of validity
is referred to as content validity. This refers to the extent to which the instrument covers
complete content of the particular construct that it is set to measure.   

3.4 Data Collection 

The researcher will administer the questionnaire with the help of two assistants and
permission will be sort from relevant authorities before conducting this study. The
researcher will be solely responsible to conduct structured interviews.

3.5 Data Analysis 

The responses will be manually transcribed and the qualitative content analysis will be
used to analyze the quantitative methods. Descriptive statistics will be used whereby
data will be displayed using frequency tables and percentages. Qualitative data will be
coded first and then analyzed using identified themes.

Tables will be used to illustrate how many respondents support or do not support a
particular view on the role of communication. This will be used to compare whether
there is any significant differences or similarities between the views held by values
such as age, gender and departments.

3.6 Limitations of the study.

Time constraints and lack of financial resources to obtain responses from significant
numbers of GIPF staff will present a limitation.

It will be problematic to elicit the desired information from key informants at Government
Institution Pension Fund due to the sensitive nature of the information.

40
Lastly, due to confidentiality some information and data will be difficult to access and
caution will be taken not to generalise information, because this is a study applicable to
only one organisation.

3.7.Research Ethics 

It is important to highlight the ethical considerations in regard to the research. An

essential ethical aspect is the issue of the confidentiality of the results and findings of
the study and the protection of the participants’ identities. This could include obtaining
permission to be interviewed, undertaking to destroy audiotapes and note books. It is
also important for one to familiarize themselves with the ethics policy of the relevant
institutions (Maree 2007:41 & 42). 

The following research ethics will be observed during the study: 

  Informed consent

The researcher will obtain consent from prospective participants as to whether they are
willing to participate in the discussions. This will mean, informing them about what the
study is all about in order for them to be able to make a rational decision whether they
want to be part of the study or not. 

 Permission from authorities

Permission will be obtained from the relevant authorities before conducting the study. 

 Confidentiality

Information which will be obtained from the participants during the study will remain
confidential and can only be shared with others if prior agreement was made with
respondents. According to Bless & Higson-Smith (1995:103) the researcher must
assure the participants that data will only be used for the stated purpose of the research

41
 and that no other person will have access to the information. It is of importance that the
researcher must accept responsibility of protecting the participants. 

3.8.Summary

This chapter explained the general method of collating the data and how the responses
of the participants determines the role of communication in strategic implementation at
GIPF. The research design, methods and questionnaires were discussed.

Budget Plan

Draft budget*
Item Details Approximate cost (N$)
Production of research material, 1 000.00
stationery, administration and
procurement of literature material
Data coding, entry, analysis and 200.00
report writing
5% contingency for inflation 60.00
Total expenses 1 260.00

*This is a draft budget. It is subject to revision

Timeline

Timeframe and Activity Schedule for the Proposed Study:

Month Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

>>>>

Action Actors

42
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVV
V VVV

1. Planning of research * Israel and

Supervisor

2. Submission of * Israel and

Proposal Supervisor

3.Literature Review **** **** Israel

4.Development of * Israel
interview guide

8.Data collection ** Israel

9.Data entry and ** Israel

analysis

11.Write up project **** **** Israel

12.Submission of Draft ** Israel and

Supervisor

15. Submission of Final ** Israel and

Draft Supervisor

NB. * - represents the week in which the activity is performed

43
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