Many managers recognize these factors although it may be argued that few apply them

.

In one survey of 100 company presidents, 98 thought the spoken word at least as

important as the written word and 40 felt that it was more important. On the other hand,

Higgin and Jessop, in a study of the British building industry, pointed out some of the

difficulties which resulted from the use of informal spoken communication. They found

that many vital pieces of information were committed to memory or the backs of

cigarette packets, and that sometimes detail became blurred. These snippets of

research, taken in isolation, may seem to contradict each other. Company presidents

favour

speech as opposed to writing, while the building industry apparently suffers from the use

of the same media. Common sense indicates that there is, in fact, no conflict It is quite

obvious that top-grade executives ensure that important information is committed to

paper but still use speech more often than memos, etc.

Apparently conflicting research results are not always so easy to reconcile, and a

general criticism which can be levelled at earlier work of research is that the approach to

communication problems has been too narrow.

Often studies have involved only two or three factors in assumed isolation, and the

conclusions reached have been used to provide ‘simple’ solutions with ‘universal’

applications. These ‘formulae’ for effective communication

have stimulated the current interest in lucid writing’ techniques, courses in public

speaking, visual aids, etc., each advertised as the answer to communication

breakdowns.

With this in mind, some of the major drawbacks to written instructions can be given: