Impact of Internal Corporate Communication in IOCL, Guwahati

Corporate communication is the process of managing exchanges of information and knowledge among the internal and key external groups, and with individuals who have a direct relationship with an organisation. The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the internal communication system within various departments at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Guwahati. Based on a sample size of 100 respondents, the study was conducted through the use of a close-ended questionnaire. The research was of descriptive type; stratified random sampling was used; and convenience sampling was adopted. This was because, the respondents were the employees of only IOCL, Guwahati; they were taken from only a few of the IOCL departments; and were divided into mutually exclusive groups of officer's level, staff level and worker's level employees.

It was observed that the internal communication system in the refinery was quiet effective. The electronic as well as computerised media had made the communication system very effective; however, at the same time, many employees at the staff and worker's levels did not have access to personal computers and a lack of proper knowledge on the usage of computers was also observed. The IOCL's written publications are interesting and effective, but they fail to reach certain remote areas of the refinery within the specified time.

A suggestion was put forward that as there is lack of awareness and access to the electronic and computerised media among certain employees of the IOCL, training sessions to these employees should be conducted from time to time for the up-gradation of their knowledge on a regular basis.