Abstract/Overview
Communication is linked to work commitment because they go hand in hand to form a solid business foundation best for organizational growth. Unlike most organizations that create structures in order to be able to understand their employees and what is important to them in relation to information about their jobs and the organization, CAT has no written communication strategy which could have led to lack of communication, under communication or miscommunication. Without proper communication it‟s possible that the organization could experience increased turnover, absenteeism, or dissatisfied customers. CAT has been in business for over 13years and geographically covers close to 35 counties in Kenya yet little had been done to improve the communication policy in order to curb the possible disadvantages of poor internal communication. The main objective of the study was to investigate the influence of employee communication on employee commitment at CAT. In order to achieve the above objective the study was guided by the following specific objectives: to identify the extent to which employees of CAT engage in communication with each other at the same level and different levels in the organization, to explore the various internal communication practices that influence employee behaviour at CAT and to determine whether internal communication can help predict employee commitment at CAT. Conceptually, this study was based on the systems theory which describes an organization as a set of parts or subsystems that interact within a boundary, and explains communication as the most important factor accounting for total behaviour of an organization, and that the dynamic of an organization can be best understood by understanding its systems of communication. The study adopted a descriptive research design using both primary and secondary data collection methods. The tool that was used is questionnaires. Yamane model was used on a study population of 131 employees from the selected regions of study. Data was obtained by sampling 98 participants from administrative department, security department , sales department and accounts department. Proportional stratified random sampling technique was used. Data was analyzed with the help of data analysis software namely SPSS version 20.0 and the outcomes of the analysis were presented using tables, pie charts and bar charts. Permission was sought from respective authorities in CAT to conduct the research and to objectively analyze data collected. Since employee communication matters in strengthening the existence of an organization, the research findings were expected to be beneficial to both scholars and researchers of communication, media studies, public relations and organization policy makers. According to the researchers findings it was concluded that if the organization highlights each individual‟s capability and contribution, provides opportunities for them to participate in decision making, and encourages them to be more involved in the organizational operations, then the employees will tend to commit at higher levels to the organization because they either want to or ought to do so. The researcher also recommended that CAT should develop a communication strategy.