Information flow in the Eastern university, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Organizational communication can aid in determining how communication system, flow and practices are contributing to the organizational performances. One should assess the information flows and their needs in order to facilitate managing the organizational process. In this regard, a study was designed to investigate the information flow in the Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Thirty academic and thirty nonacademic staff were randomly selected for this study. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The study reveals that majority of the staff members (36.7%) perceived that internal telephone call act as the main source of information to carry out their daily activities within the University, followed by discussions (30%) with other staff members. 80% of respondent gained and shared information in both written and oral forms. 65% of staff used circulars as the information source to get work related information. 63.5% of staff reported telephone calls as more suitable information source for getting quick information. According to the respondents, the overall efficiency of information flow in the Eastern University is needed to be improved and nearly half of them (51.7%) rated it as fair. Therefore, actions need to be taken to regularize the information flow especially regarding efficient information flow within the University system.