Published Article / Many large organisations tend to focus on their external communication in order to project a positive image to potential clients. However the role of internal communication with employees has often been overlooked, although it remains one of the most important areas of organisational communication. This article focuses on specific findings of the Master's dissertation, Supervisory Communication and its Effect on Employee Satisfaction at the Central University of Technology, Welkom Campus. The research results that employees' views about their own organisation impact on how external clients view that particular organisation. The research found that in order for employees to become advocates of their own organisation, supervisors of different operational units should develop and manage their internal communication activities in a way that motivates and stimulates employee enthusiasm for meeting organisational goals. Once employees are satisfied with the state of supervisory communication in their respective units, they should be able to identify with their organisation and endeavour to attain organisational goals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the communication competence of supervisors upon an employee's job satisfaction. Results obtained supported the 5 hypotheses proposed. Findings indicated the importance of supervisory communication responsiveness in areas of listening, sensitivity, and expression of interest in subordinate's ideas and concerns in ensuring satisfaction with supervision received. Support was also generated for the value of an "open" communication climate where continual feedback and idea exchange interact to produce organizational identification. Significant relationships were found to exist between communication climate and dimensions of the JDI: satisfaction with supervisor, work satisfaction, pay satisfaction, satisfaction with promotion opportunities, satisfaction with coworkers. Finally, communication skills training for supervisors was recommended to animate organizational growth and development.

The purpose of this study was to investigate effective change communication in the workplace by utilizing goal setting theory. Due to potential validity issues with previous organizational communication audit research, a multi-methods study was devised to investigate and construct a new measure for effective change communication in the workplace. Preliminary interviews along with previous research were utilized to construct a survey questionnaire gauging effective change communication in the workplace. Over 1,000 employees at a large, health-services companies participated in the study. The results from the study yield a framework for evaluating effective change communication on individual (i.e. behavior, trait, and knowledge) and organizational (i.e. accuracy, clarity, and availability) levels. Also, the data was divided between males and females, communication sources, and the perceptions of effective supervisory communication. The study’s practical implications, addition to goal setting theory, limitations, and future research are noted.