Communication Management in Dynamic Change Management

This chapter deals with the formal and informal levels of communication in organizations. The formal level is influenced by the prevailing hierarchical structures as well as by the habits of the organization’s industrial sector. The anchoring of communication in organizational theory is discussed and placed in the context of organizational change management. The mechanism of action of formal communication in the age of social media in change projects is concretized. Many channels offer a platform for both formal and informal messages, whereby the controllability of content and targeted addressing are fraught with risk. An analysis of the informal level provides insight into how knowledge and information can be exchanged without official guidelines from the communications department. A brief excursion into the intuitive level expands the further conceptual orientation on the topic of communication.