Taking Aim at Information Overload.

This article discusses several problem of organizational communication. E-mail, memos, TV news, industry publications, employees are bombarded with messages. But communicators can guide them through the chaos and help them find what is relevant. Nowadays, the typical employee is assaulted by a growing number of messages, information about the company, its products and services, and its strategy, all flooding in from numerous sources, including internal vehicles such as e-mail, the intranet, management memos, internal publications and even the rumor mill, as well as external media such as local newspapers and TV news and national business and industry magazines. An employee trying to work in this environment is a lot like a tourist in the middle of a strange city without a map. The street names mean little or nothing, and particular places have less meaning, though they may appear to hold great significance. Communication is driven ultimately by leadership and management action, not by rhetoric. Internal communication has come a long way, from company picnics and bowling scores to leveraging an organization's people capabilities for greater results. INSETS: Is your organization sending a clear message?;The pulse of the organization.