An Assessment of Communication and Its Effect on Employee Performance in Selected Businesses in Buea Municipality

ABSTRACT

This study examined the influence of communication on employee performance in selected businesses in Buea. This study was conducted using three objectives, namely: to establish the influence of upward communication on employee performance, to determine the influence of downward communication on employee performance and to examine the influence of horizontal communication on employee performance of selected businesses in Buea, The target population for this study was the employees of the selected businesses in Buea. For the quantitative aspects of this study, 40 employees were selected using purpose sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. The collected quantitative data was analyzed using both the descriptive (frequency tables, percentages, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistical analysis (regression and ANOVA) methods. The study findings show that there is statistically significant relationship between upward communication and employee performance, downward communication structure and employee performance, as well as horizontal communication structure and employee performance. Therefore, the study concluded that communication structure have direct influence on employee performance in the selected businesses in Buea. The overall finding of the study also shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between organizational communication and employee performance in the selected businesses in Buea with a correlation coefficient of (r= 0.735) . Hence, the research finding is able to provide insights and important information to the property development firms to better understand the importance of communication among employees in enhancing employee performance. For this to happen, management may focus on the development of soft skills to increase the ability to express and communicate among the employees. Management should also organize more activities such as inter-departmental meetings to create quality bonding among superiors and subordinates. Proper training and development plan should be established to realize effective communication in the organization.

KEYWORDS: Upward Communication, Downward Communication, Horizontal Communication and Employees Performance