Lateral communication refers to messages conversed between people on the same hierarchical level. For example, in terms of the workplace, if two supervisors have a discussion or two board members raise an issue this is known as lateral communication.
The opposite of this is diagonal communication which refers to messages conversed between all levels of hierarchy. For example, if a manager has a discussion with one of their employees then this would be known as diagonal communication. There are a number of various forms of communication in relation to business environments. Internal communication is one particular example as it is the main term used to describe any form of communication within a business. In addition, this is not specified to speaking face to face, this can mean through email, telephone and so on. If a member of one company converses with someone from another company, it is known as external communication. So this can refer to activities such as dealing with customers or contacting a supplier about a product etc.
Formal and informal communication is very straight forward in the sense that formal conversations refer to the discussion of workplace issue whereas informal communication is in relation to discussions about activities outside of work. Informal conversations are only usually acceptable during breaks and they shouldn't be used to spread rumours about colleagues. Moreover, in businesses upward communication is the questions and queries that colleagues aim at their bosses whereas downward communication is the guidance and orders expressed by the management team to their colleagues. In addition to that, there is always the possibility of small group communication which is the term used to describe discussions held in meetings with a number of colleagues.
The opposite of this is diagonal communication which refers to messages conversed between all levels of hierarchy. For example, if a manager has a discussion with one of their employees then this would be known as diagonal communication. There are a number of various forms of communication in relation to business environments. Internal communication is one particular example as it is the main term used to describe any form of communication within a business. In addition, this is not specified to speaking face to face, this can mean through email, telephone and so on. If a member of one company converses with someone from another company, it is known as external communication. So this can refer to activities such as dealing with customers or contacting a supplier about a product etc.
Formal and informal communication is very straight forward in the sense that formal conversations refer to the discussion of workplace issue whereas informal communication is in relation to discussions about activities outside of work. Informal conversations are only usually acceptable during breaks and they shouldn't be used to spread rumours about colleagues. Moreover, in businesses upward communication is the questions and queries that colleagues aim at their bosses whereas downward communication is the guidance and orders expressed by the management team to their colleagues. In addition to that, there is always the possibility of small group communication which is the term used to describe discussions held in meetings with a number of colleagues.