Evaluation Of Internal Communication Channels Used To Communicate To Employees During Unrest In Public Universities In Western Kenya

Abstract

Communication experts have echoed the need for effective communication as a major factor leading to organizational success. Despite vast research on organizational internal communication, literature on how public universities in Kenya communicate to their employees during employee unrest is lacking. Public universities in Kenya have experienced recurrent employees unrest which could be as a result of ineffective internal communication between the university and its employees. This study evaluated internal communication channels used management of Kenyan public universities to communicate to their employee during unrest. It focused on quality of information, and communication models. During crisis, effective internal communication is vital as it is the only way the organization and employees can dialogue and stop the crisis. Statistics from 2013-2018 shows that most affected universities are in Western Kenya with 29.76% of unrest. The study was guided by Grunig’s theory of Excellence (1985) and Media Richness theory by Lengel and Dafts (1988). 374 employees, 114 Union Officials and 6 PR Officers constituted the sample of the study. Data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and FGDs. The findings of the study established that the management of public universities in western Kenya uses noticeboard and internal memo to communicate to their employees during unrest.