Communication and Miscommunication in Corporate America: Evidence from Fortune 200 Firms (Case Study‪)‬

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of vice presidents of Fortune 200 companies concerning selected communication practices and miscommunication in their companies. To accunulate relevant data, an appropriate questionnaire consisting of open-ended as well as check-indicator types of questions was mailed to two vice presidents at each of the Fortune 200 companies. A total of 81 completed surveys were returned for a response rate of 20 percent. The results showed that miscommunication can be very costly. As a result, a majority of the vice presidents surveyed indicated that their companies provide communication training for employees. Paperwork appears to increase for companies that did not provide communication training. Communication effectiveness was given significant consideration in the performance evaluation of employees. Oral/spoken communication was the prevailing source of communication errors, and e-mail was identified as the media form most involved in communication miscues. The vice presidents reported more miscommunication involving internal stakeholders, compared to external constituents. Specifically, interaction among business functions contributed to communication mistakes. Increased coverage of the importance of cross functional interactions in organizations, especially at the undergraduate level, by schools of business appears to be warranted by the findings of this study.