In the current company I am contracted to I have observed a level of communication that I have never experienced before. Here the communication between upper-level management and the lowest-level employee is, for the most part, an informal affair. Messages flow horizontally throughout the whole plant. Each department shares specific aspects of the business with other departments so the need for open communication has become very important. The office space is set up with open cubicles. Each team, or departmental section, is set in a square of 4 or 8 members with a small meeting table in the center. Having the working environment setup in this way encourages communication and teamwork. There are no doors to shut or blinds to close and even the lowest level of employee has access to his or her manager at any given time. It is not uncommon to walk into the office and hear the common buzz of voices even laughter flowing freely up and over the low-rise cubicles. .
The level of trust within our plant is very high as well. It is not uncommon to walk past a manager's desk and see their company email pulled up into an important message and the manager herself can be found 6 cubes over talking about yesterday's bike race with one of the departments. I think that the open atmosphere generated by the company provides everyone with a great sense of self-worth and importance and these feelings generate trust among teammates.
Our company already has monthly cookouts where co-workers and their families join together and interact together. We have weekly plant-wide meetings where the managers encourage input and take the time to inform every one of their weekly schedules and upcoming deadlines and events.
One major communication barrier our plant faces is the language barrier. We have four Japanese managers within our plant and they do not speak English very well. They tend to keep to themselves as much as possible and only discuss issues with the other managers on a needed basis.