Advantages and Disadvantages of Vertical Communication

Vertical communication is omnipresent as far as the corporate world is concerned because without vertical communication it will be very difficult to run a company smoothly. Vertical communication is the process where the flow of orders is from top to bottom and flow of information is from both top to bottom and bottom to top. In order to understand more about vertical communication let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of vertical communication –

Advantages of Vertical Communication

1. The first and foremost advantage of vertical communication is that there is no scope of ambiguity as each person in a company knows how the communication process works and he or she has to take orders from his or her superior and do the task accordingly and it is called downward vertical channel of communication, if the individual has any problem then he or can tell it to his or her superior which is called upward vertical channel of communication.
2. Another benefit is that it helps in maintenance of good relations between the employees of the company because the line of communication is clear and everybody knows from whom they have to take orders and to whom they have to present their grievances which in turn reduces conflicts among employees as there is no scope of confusion with regards to channel and pattern of communication and in majority of companies it is the communication gap which creates rift between the employees of the company.
3. It helps in finding out whether everything is going according to plan or not because it is not one-way communication and the fact that it is two way communication it ensures that any loophole in implementation of top management policies can be communicated to top management by lower management which in turn will ensure proper and timely execution of top management plans.

Disadvantages of Vertical Communication

1. The biggest disadvantage of vertical communication is that since the flow of orders is from top to bottom the lower level employees may feel neglected and may not be motivated to work hard which in turn will result in inefficiency creeping in their work resulting in the loss for the company.
2. Another limitation is that there is no scope of informal communication as communication is strictly according to the chain which is from top to down and due to this there is no affection and attachment of employees towards each other as they all work and communicate according to the system. Though too much affection between employees is not desirable but if there is no attachment between employees at all then also it is not good for the internal environment of the company.
3. It is a time-consuming process as communication is according to the chain of communication and if any decision has to be taken quickly than this mode of communication may not work and also it is less flexible which makes it less ideal or desirable for those works where quickness and flexibility of action are required.

As one can see from the above that vertical communication has benefits as well as limitations and company should carefully analyze above points before implementation of the vertical communication system in the company.