Assessment of Communication and Information flow between Trondheim Municipality and international employees

Abstract

This study is an examination of communication channels that are most relevant and appropriate for communication and information flow between Trondheim Municipality as a local authority and international employees who benefit the municipal services as part of its residents. The study seeks to assess the effectiveness of the existing communication channels and suggest possible ways of improving the communication and information flow between the source and the recipient.

The theoretical framework applies two bodies of theories in social science, predominantly emphasizing on globalization and communication theories. These two theories are chosen to illustrate the way in which Trondheim Municipality seeks to provide a reliable means of communication to integrate the foreign employees who stay and work in the community; therefore, the two theories would form the basis of the study.

The study was carried out in Trondheim, Mid-Norway. The eight respondents were selected from five organisations/ companies located in Trondheim which are NTNU, Statoil, SINTEF, ACUSTO and ATMEL Norway. The respondents were professionals from the scientific disciplines of engineering, geology, hydrology, researcher, and geophysicist. They were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Thus, the current study examines the communication channels which are used by Trondheim Municipality that include internet, electronic mail, face-to-face communication, telephone, postal mails, brochures and booklets. The findings of the study indicated that most of information needed by the respondents was obtained from the internet.

Subsequently, in order to improve communication between Trondheim Municipality and international employees, it was suggested that, the information regarding municipal services should be publicized at the strategic contact points such as police and tax office. The study concludes that generally the communication and information flow between Trondheim Municipality and international employees can be better enhanced using various modern information and communication technologies such as internet and conveyed through major world languages at various points of entry and contact offices providing the essential services that cater for an international workforce at the onset of their arrival in the area.