Reuben Williams, the marketing manager for F&B Industries, is frustrated. He feels that the production division repeatedly lets his division down. When the latest marketing strategy announced that a new product will be available in the market by July, the production division was unable to complete the production of the first batch till August. The production manager claims that manpower is short and the targets placed on the production division are unreasonably high. To resolve this deadlock, they will be meeting soon. This meeting is an example of ________ communication.
A) lateral
B) grapevine
C) diagonal
D) upward
E) downward

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The meeting between the marketing manager and production manager is an example of lateral communication because it involves communication between two individuals who are at the same level of hierarchy within the organization. The issue of production delays is affecting the marketing strategy, and lateral communication between the two divisions can help resolve the issue. The other options, such as grapevine, diagonal, upward, and downward communication, do not apply as the communication is not informal, cross-departmental, directed to a higher authority or subordinate.

Reuben Williams, the Marketing Manager for F&B Industries, Is Frustrated