Communication

The worldwide system of communication is experiencing fundamental structural change characterized by the increasing globalization of production and distribution, increased interdependence and the emergence of a knowledge-based global information economy as well as technology. The fundamental nature of these changes makes it particularly difficult to understand the impact they may have on the prevailing nation state model. Globalization and the Information Revolution are presently increasing difficulties for nation states as they attempt to make choices about public policy or allocate their scarce resources to confront challenges.

Today, the process of communication is ultra dynamic and surpassed the expectations of some of its deliberate functions. There are major changes in the communication strategies, methods or procedures that are used in several industries worldwide. In the world of business and academics, the communication process became a sophisticated and revolutionary. Industries that operate in their respective area of operations tried to focus on the applications of the communication as an essential instrument in group performance. Technological change is both the cause and a consequence of economic and social development. Technology change creates new products and services, sustains demand for existing services by reducing costs of production, thereby lowering the price to consumers (Samarajiva and Shields, 1990). At the same time, economical and social development creates a requirement for constant technological change because of the need to develop new markets and pressure to compete in the provision of services and products to those markets. Similarly, the aviation industry is among the affected areas of the current changes in the communication process as well as strategies, methods or procedures.

This paper discusses the major changes in communication strategies, methods or procedures that have occurred in a specific aviation specialization recently. By using a relevant communication theory and related studies, this report aims to provide a comprehensive description of the observed changes in the communication process particularly on the strategies, methods or procedures.

COMMUNICATION

Communication may be defined as the transmission of meaning and information from one person to another (Donatelle and Davis, 1998). While the transmission itself may appear to be a simple task, the interpretation of the message being relayed through communication poses a challenge, particularly on the establishment of human relations. In general, communication becomes effective when both parties involved are honest and open to share information and have the ability to decipher the meaning of their messages. Effective communication must always be practiced as it is significant to individual health as well as for the creation of positive relationships. Specifically, the ability to communicate directly affects an individual’s stress levels, self-esteem and relationship quality (Donatelle and Davis, 1998; Fetro, 1992).

The process of communication can be done through a number of styles. However, regardless on whether the style applied is verbal or nonverbal, the communication process always involves a sender and a receiver. This process involves five steps: idea struck the sender, the sender then encodes the message, the message is carried through a channel, the receiver will have the message decoded, and a feedback will be given by the receiver (Donatelle and Davis, 1998).

As people exchange ideas, a lot of barriers may affect their communication process such as ineffective listening skills, inconsistent verbal or nonverbal messages, resistance to change, individual bias, time limitations, distractions, personal assumptions as well as differences in race, culture, age, and religion. Regardless of such identified barriers in the communication process, communication still plays a great role in good group performance (Brown, 2001) especially to the operational functions present in the organization like the aviation industry.

INFORMATION and DATA TRANSMISSION

In aviation, a great deal of effort was put forth in the gathering of data about the capabilities and limitations of humans and the development of guidelines for the design of displays and controls, environmental systems, equipment, and communication systems (Garland, Hopkin and Wise 1999). The traditional communication in terms of the flow of information is now obsolete. As a result of the recent technological advancements and innovations, there are several potent and more effective ways in transmitting bulk of information. In the aviation, the simple telephone conversation as a means of confirming something to a certain organization before is superseded by a faster and convenient way – through the clicking a button or computer mouse.

A communications revolution possessing new scales of values and appropriate economic, technical and legal structures is coming into being. This new situation is affecting the various regions of the world in different ways, depending on their levels of development and their perception of the future (Schmandt, Strove, Williams and Wilson, 1991). The advent of highly automated aircraft with "glass cockpits" has extended the capabilities of the aircraft but also changed the nature and type of tasks that have to be performed by the crew (Amalberti and Sarter, 2000; Sarter and Woods, 1994; Sarter and Woods, 1992). As has been duly noted that flight control assistance and flight management systems (FMS) have altered the pilot's role from that of a manual controller and navigator to a systems monitor and information manager. The basic processes in information and resource management, task scheduling, and programming skills of onboard computers now complement the psychomotor skills of the pilot. The continuing expansion of air travel necessitates the use of even more advanced technologies in order to accommodate the expected levels of traffic while at the same time maintaining safety. Technologies like the digital datalink play a key role in realizing such advancement (Amalberti and Sarter, 2000).

In the aviation, Amalberti and Sarter (2000) observed that the development of the digital datalink allows potential benefits for the future by creating a more efficient air-ground information exchange. In terms of technology, many opportunities and options now exist for a radical change in aviation operations. Datalink can provide direct access to aircraft systems like the FMS, allowing in principle fully ground-controlled air traffic management (ATM). Crews, in that case, would monitor the progress and economics of the flight, evaluate ATC proposals, and provide their consent to the uplinked clearances. Additionally, they added that such an integration of datalink with aircraft avionics is potentially able to reduce typing errors, but can also introduce new errors. Human factors in the mode error and awareness in supervisory control are relevant (Sarter and Wood, 1995). With these, it is expected that there will be a constant change directed to development.

Utilizing the said advances in technology, the aviation industry becomes more effective in its expected functions. Thus, it results to easier tasks among the members of the workforce. Communication plays as the bridge of the upper management to the subordinate members of the organization. The presence of organizational changes also influenced the emerging changes in the communication strategies of the management.

COMMUNICATION and the ORGANIZATION

Effective communication is a necessity in the workplace (Sims, 2002). Researchers and practitioners have long recognized communication skills are critical to job performance, career advancement, and organizational success (Aranoff, 1989; Eckert and Allen, 1986; Harper, 1987). Aside from the skills, the communication process as a whole defines the future of the organization. Based on McNamara’s (1999) study on organizational communication, he said that professionals on organizations, management and leadership, stress that effective communications is the key ingredient for effectiveness in any type of organization. They emphasize that there can never be too much of communication. Organizational leaders have or get the wrong impression about communications to be the equal to paperwork or bureaucracy and so they are reluctant and unenthusiastic to a high degree of communications (Bryant and Heath, 2000). As company leaders and managers mature, they become conscious to the need of effectively conveying and receiving information, and efforts at communications (internal and external) increase significantly.

Eckhouse (1994) suggested that communication serves four major functions within a group or organization: control, motivation, emotional expression, and information. Now, the communication line among the members of the workforce is very much open. Comparing it to the past decades, the bureaucratic management is not a motivating and friendly in nature. The traditional stiff, autocratic and biased communication process is transformed into a more liberal and accommodating. Today, a significant number of human resource department especially in the aviation industry maintain an open feedback system in the problems and concerns of the employees with regards to their individual or even communal tasks (Gergen and Joseph, 1996; Petit, Goris and Vaught, 1997). This serves as the avenue of every worker to air their concerns and opinions and from the feedbacks collected, the management might be able to devise improvements for the whole development of the labor group.

Using the most basic theory of communication or the SMCRE model, the changes in the communication strategies, methods or procedures and the process as whole is a result of the emerging transformation in the global marketplace. Social cognition constitutes processes by which people seek information, receive what is available to them, and interpret it with varying degrees of mindfulness (Bryant and Heath, 2000). Thus, there is a need for every organization like the aviation to go with the flow of change paying particular attention to the advantages that it will bring to the whole system. These changes must always be directed to the successful implementation of organizational goals and overall organizational success. “People cannot not communicate”. Because communication ranks first in organization (Harris, 1993), consciously or unconsciously people send messages by way of our verbal or nonverbal manners. This is particularly true in the workplace where the coordinated achievement of goals depends upon effective communication – verbal or non-verbal.

Apparently, it shows that communication is a factor which is both crucial and feasible management instrument to affect these underlying motives for the processes involved in the whole aviation industry. Thus, important questions in like how and what to communicate to organization are necessary. Communication is not only important to organization’s management but also to all the members of a certain organization – aviation in particular.

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