Effect of communication on employee performance at Ghana Revenue Authority, Kumasi

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Date
NOVEMBER, 2015
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Abstract
Communication is bound to happen in any organization where information is passed on from one person to the other; through the use of both verbal and non-verbal means. Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), like every other organization uses communication in their daily activities; in interactions between superiors and subordinates, as well as among colleagues, both formally and informally amidst some challenges. This was compounded when the three (3) Revenue Agencies – Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Custom Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and Value Added Tax Service (VAT) that form GRA came together as one Authority. Role clarity has become an issue as employees had to move and share offices with colleagues in different units. This study investigated the role of effective communication on organizational performance using GRA as a case study. Specifically, the study examined the communication systems available in GRA and measured the employees’ performance. In addition, it determined the relationship between effective organizational communication and employee performance. It also identified the channels of communication considered by employees to be the most useful. Finally, barriers and breakdowns in the communication systems of GRA were also identified. Primary data was adopted. Simple random sampling was used for the selection of 200 respondents. Mean, correlation and regression results were adopted in the analysis. From the results, the communication systems frequently used include face-to-face, telephone, written memos, email/internet and grapevines, with the most useful channel of communication being face-to-face. GRA employees also largely perform well. Selective listening, distraction, time pressure, communication overload, information distortion, rationalization, and prejudice are identified as barriers and breakdowns in communication systems. Finally, various employees’ performance indicators are found to correlate with varying measures of effective organizational communication. Employee performance can be further enhanced if bottlenecks in the communication systems are either removed or kept at their least. Particularly, information distortions caused by omissions and exaggerations must be addressed both by management and employees to improve clarity in communication.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Marketing and Corporate Strategy of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management).
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