The Role of Communication Channels and Communication Strategies in Malaysian Organizations

Most organizations seek to present and represent their climate and culture through organizational communication to ensure all stakeholders can comprehend and practice mutual values and attitudes towards common goals. The relevance of this study rests on the insights it provides in exploring the dynamics of communication channels, specifically in the workplace, through the lens of the media richness theory. This study aims to investigate the effects of communication channels and the role of communication strategies in improving communication effectiveness in organizational communication. The qualitative approach was employed using semi-structured interviews as the primary source of data. The interviews were conducted in person. The data obtained from the interviews was analyzed using NVivo to conduct thematic analysis. The findings revealed multiple interpretations of how communication channels affect organizational communication from the respondents’ perspectives, which included employee morale, information delivery, organizational productivity, positive communication, and timeliness. The results also demonstrated that communication strategies were functional for effective communication by promoting personal growth, promoting organizational success, facilitating problem solving, and promoting diversity and inclusivity. It can be concluded that organizational communication entails various communication channels through which information exchange can take place. The impacts of both physical and virtual communication channels on organizational communication are associated with organizational and employee performance.