Nor do these problems seem restricted to industry alone. The following comments from a study of American

would agree that this ideal state seldom occurs. Some refer to the lack of common awareness of goals, others see the head of an organization nes!ling on a pyramid of communication barriers, many of which are intended to insulate one level from another, while sociologist Dalton refers to a 'fog of uncertainty' which characterizes executive work.

Nor do these problems seem restricted to industry alone. The following comments from a study of American
nurses resemble those of many industrial writers:
A prime factor in any organizational scheme is ease and accuracy of communication both vertically and horizontally. Nursing service, traditionally rigidly disciplined and authoritarian, appears in the observed situation to provide little opportunity or communication except for strictly specified types of information in strictly specified channels and in strictly specified fashion. Not only are such channels cumbersome but they are often insufficient. Nurses apparently find it difficult to secure full information about drugs or medications that may be prescribed. Information placed on the charts is often reduced to a minimum set of hieroglyphics, often illegible, standardized for routine custodial care. The development of personalized nursing plans individual patients would seem to demand that nurses have adequate and pertinent information from appropriate sources. In the situation observed, there appeared to be little communication between units, except via a 'grape-vine' route. It was felt that certain aspects of such communication problems may be related to morale level and job satisfaction.

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In the broadest sense, every difficulty encountered within an organization contains some ingredient of distorted, insufficient, or poorly timed information exchange. Communication problem~ can be the cause and effect of