Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 14/e

Direction of Communication

Communication can flow vertically or laterally, through formal small-group networks or the informal grapevine. We subdivide the vertical dimension into downward and upward directions.5

Downward Communication

Communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level is downward communication. Group leaders and managers use it to assign goals, provide job instructions, explain policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention, and offer feedback.

In downward communication, the delivery mode and the context of the information are of high importance. We will talk more about communication methods later, but consider the ultimate downward communication: the performance review. Alan ...