Organisational communication

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION

Organizational Communication can be defined as a
process through which organizations are created and in turn
create and shape events. The process can be understood as
a combination of process, people, message, meaning and
purpose.

Functions of Organizational Communication:

It is the means by which a manager ensures
co-operation of subordinates.
It is the exchange of meanings among members of an
organization.
It is the “glue” which binds the elements of an
organization together.
It builds the very structure of an organization i.e. who
communicates with whom about what.

Can misunderstanding of a few words literally mean
the difference between life and death? They can in airlines
business. A number of aviation disasters have been largely
attributed to problems in communication. There are other
fields also in which there are examples to illustrate how
miscommunication can have deadly consequences. Good
communication is essential to any group’s or organization’s
effectiveness.

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Research indicates that poor communication is
probably the most frequently cited source of interpersonal
conflict. Because individuals spend nearly 70 percent of their
working hours communicating-writing, reading, speaking,
listening-it seems reasonable to conclude that one of the
most inhibiting forces to successful group performance is a
lack of effective communication.

No group can exist without communication: the
transference of meaning among its members. It is only
through transmitting meaning from one person to another
that information and ideas can be conveyed. Communication,
however, is more than merely imparting meaning. It must
also be understood. In a group in which one member speaks
only German and the others do not know German, the
individual speaking German will not be fully understood.
Therefore, communication must include both the
transference and the understanding of meaning.

An idea, no matter how great, is useless until it is
transmitted and understood by others. Perfect
communication, if there were such a thing, would exist when

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a thought or an idea was transmitted so that the mental
picture perceived by the receiver was exactly the same as
that envisioned by the sender. Although elementary in
theory, perfect communication is never achieved in practice,
due to unavoidable reasons.

2.1 What is Communication?

The term “communication” has been derived from
the Latin word “communis” which means common. It
was Aristotle who, for the first time, brought about a
systematic study of the communication process.
According to him, there are three essential elements in a
communication system, namely, the speaker, the speech,
and the audience. Communication strictly stands for
sharing of ideas in common. The word “communication”,
however, has many and varied meanings. Popularly
speaking, it refers to the various means of transmitting
information from individual to individual, individual to a
group of individuals or from one place to another. It is a
transmission of messages, ideas, methods, skills, and
thoughts between two or more persons. It is a mutual

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exchange of facts, thoughts, opinions or emotions by
the use of symbols, words, pictures, figures, graphs and
so on.

Communication is the chain of understanding
which permeates an organization from top to bottom,
from bottom to top, and from side to side, and which
moves the organization ahead towards its stated
objectives. It is the cohesive force which holds the group
together.

Vardaman and Halterman opine: “Communication
is the flow of material, information, perception and
understanding between various parts and members of
an organization.”

In the words of Allen, “Communication is the
transfer of meaning from one person to another.”
Mitchell goes a step further and observes,
“Communication involves more than just having the
right information — the information should be believed,
weighed correctly, reach the right decision-makers and
result in the appropriate action.” Rogers and Rogers
have reiterated this point of view. They opine
“Communication is a process by which an idea is
transferred from a source to the receiver with the
intention of changing behaviour.. ..Communication is

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made with the intention of achieving results/change in
knowledge, attitude and overt behaviour.”

Communication is a process in which senders and
receivers of messages interact in a given social context.
Interpersonal communication refers to the exchange of
information and transmission of meaning between two
people. Organizational communication is the subject
that deals with the exchange of information and
transmission of meaning throughout the organizational
hierarchy.

Since the leader or the manager accomplishes
organizational objectives through people, it is essential
to communicate what the leader or the manager wants
people to accomplish, how to accomplish, where to
accomplish and more important, why to accomplish. To
communicate the organizational philosophy, objectives,
procedures, and practices to all employees is not easy,
because communication is a very complex phenomenon.

In communication, the people must understand
what they are trying to communicate; they must be
willing and able to understand them; they must accept
their communication or message or information or goals.
Thus, all social phenomena are a function of
communication.

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2.2 FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION:

Communication serves four major functions within a
group or organization: Control, motivation, emotional
expression and information.

Communication acts to control member behaviour in
several ways. Organizations have authority hierarchies and
formal guidelines that employees are required to follow.
When employees, for instance are required to first
communicate any job related grievance to their immediate
boss, to follow their job description, or to comply with
company policies, communication is performing a control
function. But informal communication also controls
behaviour. When work groups tease or harass a member
who produces too much (and makes the rest of the group
look bad), they are informally communicating with, and
controlling, the member’s behaviour

Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to
employees what is to be done, how well they are doing, and

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what can be done to improve performance if it’s supbar. The
formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the
goals, and reinforcement of desired behaviour all stimulate
motivation and require communication.

For many employees, their work group is a primary
source for social interaction. The communication that takes
place within the group is a fundamental mechanism by
which members show their frustrations and feelings of
satisfaction. Communication, therefore, provides a release
for the emotional expression of feelings and for fulfillment
of social needs.

The final function that communication performs relates
to its role in facilitating decision making. It provides the
information that individuals and groups need to make
decisions by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate
alternative choices.

No one of these functions should be seen as being
more important than the others. For groups to perform
effectively, they need to maintain some form of control over
members, stimulate members to perform, provide a means
for emotional expression, and make decision choices.
Almost every communication interaction that takes place in
a group or organization performs one or more of these four
functions.

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2.3 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS:

Before communication can take place, a purpose,
expressed as a message to be conveyed, is needed. It passes
between a source (sender) and a receiver. The message is
encoded (converted to a symbolic form) and passed by way
of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates
(decodes) the message initiated by the sender. The result is
a transference of meaning from one person to another.

The exhibit above depicts this communication process.
This model is made up of seven parts: (1) the
communication source, (2) encoding, (3) the message, (4)
the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the receiver, and (7) feedback.

The source initiates a message by encoding a thought.
The message is the actual physical product from the source
encoding. When we speak, the speech is the message. When
we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the
movements of our arms and the expression on our face are
the message. The channel is the medium through which the
message travels. It is selected by the source, who must
determine whether to use a formal or informal channel.

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Formal channels are established by the organization and
transmit message that are related to the professional
activities of the members. They traditionally follow the
authority chain within the organization. Other forms of
messages, such as personal or social, follow the informal
channels in the organization. The receiver is the object to
whom the message is directed.

But before the message can be received, the symbols in
it must be translated into a form that can be understood by
the receiver. This step is the decoding of the message. The
final link in the communication process is a feedback loop.
Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in
transferring our messages as originally intended. It
determines whether understanding has achieved.

2.4 DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATION:

Communication can flow vertically and laterally. The
vertical dimension can be further divided into downward and
upward directions.

Downward
Communication that flows from one level of a group or
organization to a lower level is a downward communication.
When we think of managers communicating with employees,

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the downward pattern is the one we are usually thinking of.
It’s used by group leaders and managers to assign goals,
provide job instructions, inform employees of policies and
procedures, point out problems that need attention, and
offer feedback about performance. But downward
communication doesn’t have to be oral or face-to-face
contact. When management sends letters to the employees’
homes to advise them of the organization’s new sick leave
policy, it is using downward communication. So is an e-mail
from a team leader to the members of her team, reminding
them of an upcoming deadline.

Upward
Upward communication flows to a higher level in the
group or organization. It’s used to provide feedback to
higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay
current problems. Upward communication keeps managers
aware of how employees feel about their jobs, co-workers,
and the organization in general. Managers also rely on
upward communication for ideas on how things can be
improved.

Some organizational examples of upward
communication are performance reports prepared by lower
management for review by middle and top management,
suggestion boxes, employee attitude surveys, grievance

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procedures, superior-subordinate discussions, and informal
“gripe” sessions in which employees have the opportunity to
identify and discuss problems with their boss or
representatives of higher management. For example, FedEx
prides itself on its computerized upward communication
program. All its employees annually complete climate
surveys and reviews of management. This program was cited
as a key human resources strength by the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award examiners when FedEx won the
honor.

Lateral
When communication takes place among members of
the same work group, among members of work groups at
the same level, among managers at the same level, or
among any horizontally equivalent personnel, we describe it
as lateral communications.

Why would there be a need for horizontal
communications if a group or organization’s vertical
communications are effective? The answer is that horizontal
communications are often necessary to save time and
facilitate co-ordination. In some cases, these lateral
relationships are formally sanctioned. More often, they are
informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and

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expedite action. So lateral communications can, from
management’s viewpoint, be good or bad. Since strict
adherence to the formal vertical structure for all
communications can impede the efficient and accurate
transfer of information, lateral communications can be
beneficial. In such cases, they occur with the knowledge and
support of superiors.

But they can create dysfunctional conflicts when the
formal vertical channels are breached, when members go
above or around their superiors to get things done, or when
bosses find out that actions have been taken or decisions
made without their knowledge.

Diagonal Communication
This occurs when communication occurs between
workers in a different section of the organisation and where
one of the workers involved is on a higher level in the
organisation. For example in a bank diagonal
communication will occur when a department manager in
head office converses with a cashier in a branch of the bank
based on the high street.

2.5 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:

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How do group members transfer meaning between
and among each other? There are three basic methods.
People basically rely on oral, written and non-verbal
communication.

Oral Communication

The chief means of conveying messages is oral
communication. Speeches, formal one-on-one and group
discussions, and the informal mill or grapevine are popular
forms of oral communication.

The advantages of oral communication are speed and
feedback. A verbal message can be conveyed and a response
received in a minimal amount of time. If the receiver is
unsure of the message, rapid feedback allows for early
detection by the sender and, hence, allows for early
correction.

The major disadvantage of oral communication
surfaces in organizations or whenever the message has to
be passed through a number of people. The more people a
message must pass through, the greater the potential
distortion. For example, if you ever played the game
“telephone” at a party, you know the problem. Each person
interprets the message in his or her own way. The message’s
content, when it reaches its destination, is very often
different from that of the original. In an organization, where

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decisions and other communiqués are verbally passed up
and down the authority hierarchy, there are considerable
opportunities for messages to become distorted.

Written Communication.

Written communications include memos, letters,
electronic mail, fax transmissions, organizational periodicals,
notices placed on bulletin boards, or any other device that is
transmitted via written words or symbols.

Why would a sender choose to use written
communications? They are tangible and verifiable. Typically,
both the sender and the receiver have a record of the
communication. The message can be stored for a indefinite
period. If there are questions concerning the content of the
message, it is physically available for later reference. This
feature is particularly important for complex and lengthy
communications. The marketing plan for a new product, for
instance, is likely to contain a number of tasks spread out
over several months. By putting it in writing, those who have
to initiate the plan can readily refer to it over the life of the
plan. A final benefit of written communication comes from
the process itself. You are usually more careful with the
written word than the oral word. You are forced to think
more thoroughly about what you want to convey in a written
message than in a spoken one. Thus, written

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communications are more likely to be well thought out,
logical and clear.

Of course, written messages have their drawbacks. They
are time consuming. You could convey far more information
to a college instructor in a one-hour oral exam than in a
one-hour written exam. In fact, you could probably say the
same thing in 10 to 15 minutes that it would take you an
hour to write. So, although writing may be more precise, it
also consumes a great deal of time.

The other major disadvantage is feedback, or lack of it.
Oral communication allows the receiver to respond rapidly
to what he thinks he hears. Written communication, however,
does not have a built-in feedback mechanism. The result is
that the mailing of a memo is no assurance it has been
received, there is no guarantee the recipient will interpret it
as the sender intended. The latter point is also relevant in
oral communiqués, except it is easy in such cases merely to
ask the receiver to summarize what you have said. An
accurate summary presents feedback evidence that the
message has been received and understood.

Employees’ Handbook: As business grows in size,
management often turns to the use of an employee
handbook as a communication tool to inform employees on
issues such as company history and products, human
resource policies, employee compensation and benefits,

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training assistance, health services, safety, security,
employee responsibilities, and work standards. Handbooks
are also useful to supervisors and administrators for
ensuring consistent implementation and enforcement of
company policies.

These are intended to help in the induction of
newcomers and to provide all the employees with a clear-cut
understanding not only of the general policies of the
management but also of the nature of the business, its
sources of supplies, its customers, its products and the
range of benefits and services available to its employees.
Many organizations publish illustrated handbooks, depicting
cartoons, charts and photographs.

House Magazines and Newspapers: Some organizations
maintain one or more employee magazines or journals.
These are meant to keep employees well informed of the
development in the business and to acquaint them with the
personalities and activities of the organisation. It can explain
the policies of the management in easily understood terms.
House magazines contain news, and personal and social
items. There may be references to parties, marriages, births,
retirements, honours and awards.

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Financial Reports: Such reports describe the essential facts
concerning the conduct of business, its expenses and profits,
its income and distribution of financial standing. of the
organisation and create understanding between the
management and its employees.

Bulletin Boards: Usually, big organizations keep a bulletin
board for 50 to 100 employees in attractive colours, types
and formats. These boards contain a wide range of material
such as someone’s choice of cartoons from newspapers and
magazines, pin-up photographs, events in the lives of
present or former employees and other items of common
interest.

Audio-Visual Aids: Sound films, movies, slides, tapes may
be played back to the workers. Such audio-visual aids have
an obvious advantage of describing a company’s range of
operations and products, in illustrating how financial and
other decisions are made, or in explaining work rules.

Notice Boards: Notices are often pasted o the factory walls
or gates or placed in glass covered notice boards, and these
are hung at appropriate places in the premises of an
organisation, near the canteens or factory gates. These

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notices usually depict abstracts as desired under the various
statutes as well as notices of the various institutions in the
establishment such as the sports club.

Suggestion System: The suggestion system is designed to
enlist the co-operation of subordinates in effecting
improvements and in eliminating waste and to provide an
avenue for a working communication with the management.
Rewards are offered for suggestions which results in greater
productive efficiency. In some organizations, “suggestion
boxes” are located at convenient places throughout the plant.

Communication with Public and Government:
Organisations educate the public about their various
activities through advertising, campaigns, meetings and
conferences. Organisations also establish and organize
special groups to communicate with the important segments
of government.

Proper communication plays an important role in a
large organization, and there has to be a proper balance
between the oral and written forms of communication. It
need hardly be said that the choice of any method depends
upon the purpose to be accomplished and the likelihood of
its success. Quite often, it is better to use more than one
method to convey the same information so that one can
reinforce the other.

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Nonverbal Communication

Every time we verbally give a message to someone, we
also impart a nonverbal message. In some instances, the
nonverbal component may stand alone. For example, in a
singles bar, a glance, a stare, a frown, and a provocative
body movement all convey meaning. As such, no discussion
of communication would be complete without consideration
of nonverbal communication-which includes body
movements, the intonations or emphasis we give to words,
facial expressions, and the physical distance between the
sender and receiver.

It can be argued that every body movement has a
meaning and no movement is accidental. For example,
through body language we say, “Help me, I’m lonely”; “Take
me, I’m available”; “Leave me alone, I’m depressed.” And
rarely do we send our messages consciously. We act out our
state of being with nonverbal body language. We lift one
eyebrow for disbelief. We rub our nose for puzzlement. We
clasp our arms to isolate ourselves or to protect ourselves.
We shrug our shoulders for indifference, wink one eye for
intimacy, tap our fingers for impatience and slap our
forehead for forgetfulness.

The two most important messages that body language
conveys are (1) The extent to which an individual likes
another and is interested in his or her views and

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(2) The relative perceived status between a sender and
receiver. For instance, we are more likely to position
ourselves closer to people we like and touch them more
often.

Similarly, if you feel that you’re higher status than
another, you’re more likely to display body movements-such
as crossed legs or a slouched seating position-that reflect a
casual and relaxed manner.

Body language adds to, and often complicates, verbal
communication. A body position or movement does not by
itself have a precise or universal meaning, but when it is
linked with spoken language, it gives fuller meaning to a
sender’s message.

If you read the verbatim minutes of a meeting, you
wouldn’t grasp the impact of what was said in the same way
you would if you had been there or saw the meeting on
video. Why? There are no records of nonverbal
communication. The emphasis given to words or phrases is
missing.

Facial expressions also convey meaning. A snarling
face says something different from a smile. Facial
expressions, along with intonations, can show arrogance,
aggressiveness, fear, shyness, and other characteristics that

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would never be communicated if you read a transcript of
what had been said.

The way individuals space themselves in terms of
physical distance also has meaning. What is considered
proper spacing is largely dependent on cultural norms. For
example, what is considered a businesslike distance in some
European countries would be viewed as intimate in many
parts of North America. If someone stands closer to you
than is considered appropriate, it may indicate
aggressiveness or sexual interest; if farther away than usual,
it may mean disinterest or displeasure with what is being
said.

It’s important for the receiver to be alert to these
nonverbal aspects of communication. You should look for
nonverbal cues as well as listen to the literal meaning of
sender’s words. You should particularly be aware of
contradictions between the messages. Your boss may say
she is free to talk to you about a pressing budget problem,
but you may see nonverbal signals suggesting that the is not
the time to discuss the subject regardless of what is being
said, an individual who frequently glances at her wristwatch
is giving the massage that she would prefer to terminate the
conversation. We misinform others when we express one
message verbally, such as trust, but nonverbally
communicate a contradictory message that reads, “I don’t
have confidence in you.”

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3.1 COMMUNICATION TYPES:

Internal/Organizational Communication

This is communication that takes place within (or
across) an organization. In addition to the usual face to face,
telephone, fax or mail; modern organizations may use
technology to communicate internally. Technology may be
used for e-mails or a linked internal communication system

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such as the intranet which is an internet system designed
solely for use by those working for the organization.

External communications

Conversely external communication is communication
between the organization and those outside the
organization. Modern organizations may design
technological systems so that they can communicate with
customers and undertake e-Commerce. Alternatively they
communicate with other businesses through the internet or
similar systems and undertake e-Business.

Functions of Internal and External Communications;

Technology has rapidly expanded the types of internal
and external communication available to organizations. The
diagram illustrates the vast array of internal and external
communication available. Combined together internal and
external types of communications allow various sectors of
the local, national and international community to interact,
liaise and conduct business.

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3.2 OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is not an end in itself. There is no use
of communicating just for the sake of communicating. It is
a means and a very effective means for the solution of
managerial problems and for attainment of managerial
objectives. Since managers work through others, all their
acts, policies, rules, orders and procedures must pass
through some sort of communication channel. The
purposes of communication are:

1. To develop information and understanding which are
necessary for group effort?

2. To provide an attitude which is necessary for
motivation, co-operation and job satisfaction?

3. To discourage the spread of misinformation,
rumours, gossip, ‘and to release the emotional
tensions of workers

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4. To prepare workers for a change by giving them the
necessary information in advance.

5. To encourage ideas, suggestions from subordinates
for an improvement in the product and work
conditions, for a reduction in time or cost involved
and for the avoidance of the waste of raw material.

6. To improve labour-management relations by keeping
both in contact with each other.

7. To satisfy the basic human needs like recognition,
self-importance and sense of participation.

8. To serve auxiliary functions such as entertainment
and the maintenance of social relations among
human beings.

The purpose of communication is to establish asocial
environment that supports effective interaction and to
ensure that the workforce has the skills to share
information and co-ordinate their achievements efficiently

3.3 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Organizations cannot exist without communication.
If there is no communication, employees cannot know
what their respective associates are doing, management
cannot receive information on inputs, and management
cannot give instructions. Co-ordination of work is

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impossible, and the organisation will collapse for lack of it.
Co-operation also becomes impossible, because people
cannot communicate their needs and feelings to others.
Every act of communication influences the organisation in
some way or the other.

As such effective communication tends to encourage
better performance, improves job satisfaction, creates
proper understanding, and develops feeling of
involvement among the people.

Chester Bernard (1938) has considered
communication to be the “very first function” of a
manager and has viewed it as the shaping force which
links people and purposes together in any co-operative
system. In the practice of management, Peter Drucker
(1954) has observed that the manager’s main instrument
for operating his affairs is information. The management
process has widely been discussed as one which embraces
the functions of planning, organizing, leading and
controlling, which are intimately involved with and
dependant on, communication. Organisational structure is
definitely tied to the communication systems.
Communication is the key to effective teamwork, for both
are based on the common fundamentals of information,
understanding, consultation and participation.
Communication is an essential skill at every level of
organisational functioning and for organisations of all
types, whether social, governmental, or commercial.

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According to Miner and Miner’ there Ware four basic
types of communication network: (a) the regulative
network ensures security, conformity to plans and the
achievement of productivity through the communication
of policy statements, procedures, and rules; (b) the
innovative network is concerned with problem-solving
and change through such techniques as suggestion
systems and meetings; (c) the integrative network is
directly related to consideration of employee morale and
organisational maintenance; and (d) the informative
network relates to employee’s effectiveness and
productivity through a direct dissemination of information
and training programmes.

3.4 RULES FOR COMMUNICATION:

A few basic rules should be followed in planning for
and carrying out communications of all kinds, written and
oral, regardless of form or format.

Clarity: To be effective, communications must be
understood, and to be understood, they must be
clear.

Brevity: It makes both written and oral
communications easier to understand. Only one idea
should be used in a sentence.

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Simplicity: Short, simple words, phrases, and
sentences should be used. Every word should count.
Extra words only serve to confuse.

Precision: Precise words should be used.

Integrity: Communication should always be used as
a means, never as an end.

During any major change programme, internal
communication in an organisation is extremely. Important.
It must be borne in mind in this context that
communication is more than a dialogue. It builds on trust
and openness among colleagues, and results in common
understanding of the organisational issues that have a
long-term bearing on the future of the organisation.

3.5 FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

Basically, the two most important media of
communication in an organisation are formal and informal
communications. Formal communications are those that
are “official”, that are a part of the recognized
communication system of the organisation. A formal
communication can be from a superior to a subordinate,
from a subordinate to a superior, intra-administrative, or
external. These communications may be oral or written.

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Informal communication is those that are “outside” the
formal, recognized communication system. Informal
communication originates spontaneously outside the
formal channels and is the natural responses to the need
for social interaction.

Within the organisation, whatever its style or form,
cohesive informal groups develop. Extensive research has
shown that these informal work groups have tremendous
power in shaping attitudes, behaviour, and consequently,
production. They share a set of beliefs, values, and
socially acceptable behaviours. In other words, group
members come to think and act in similar ways, and this
encourages feelings of closeness among them.

In industry, at every level of organisational life,
employees are bound together in informal groups and
develop a common set of norms. It is important to
remember that these groups are not established by the
management. They are generally beyond the control of the
management, and they do not appear on the organisation
charts. The influence of informal work groups is pervasive,
and they are vital parts of the total organisational
environment. They can work for or against the
management, by encouraging cooperation and increasing
production or by sabotaging management and slowing
production. A major finding of Hawthorne studies was the
revelation of the ways in which these groups operate.

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One of the characteristics of informal work groups is
leadership. There are many opportunities for conflict
between the needs and goals of the informal work group
and the needs and goals of the organisation. If
management is to deal effectively with the informal
groups, it must recognize their existence and try to
understand them. The informal group serves many needs
of the workers. It can serve the needs of the organisation
as well, or it can defeat them. Often, the ideals and
standards of these groups conflict with those of the
formal organisation. New employees who do not conform
to the group norms may be ostracized.

The information actually transmitted through the
informal channels may be inaccurate, distorted, a
half-truth, a rumour, a gossip, or a private interpretation.
It spreads with an amazing speed like a wild fire. Davis
observes: “It (grapevine) cannot e abolished, rubbed out,
hidden under the basket, chopped down, tied up, or
stopped.

If we suppress it at one place, it will pop up in
another If we cut off one of its sources, it merely moves to
another one — quite similar to the way we change from
one channel to another on a television set....In a sense,
the grapevine is man’s birthright, because wherever men
congregate into groups, the grapevine is sure to develop.
It may use smoke signals, jungle toms, taps on the prison
wall, or ordinary conversation, or some other method, but

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it will always be there.” No management can ‘fire’ it
because it does not hire it. It is simply there.

Though the grapevine thrives on rumours, it does
serve some useful purpose. A manager can utilize the
grapevine as a positive aid, for a grapevine may turn out
to be a barometer for the management as to what is ailing
the employees and what ought to be done about it. It may
be utilized to clarify and spread messages which the
management wishes to convey to its employees and to
counter rumours and half- truths by feeding them the real
facts. Though they serve many useful functions, at times,
they become detrimental to the organisation.

3.6 FORMAL SMALL GROUP NETWORKS:

Formal organization networks can be very complicated.
They can, for instance, include hundreds of people and
half-dozen or more hierarchical levels. To simplify our
discussion, we’ve condensed these networks into three
common small groups of five people each (as shown in the
exhibit below). These three networks are the chain, wheel
and all-channel. Although these three networks have been
extremely simplified, they do not allow us to describe the
unique qualities of each.

The chain rigidly follows the formal chain of command.
This network approximates the communication channels you
might find in a rigid three-level organization. The wheel
relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for the entire

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group’s communication. It stimulates the communication
network you would find on a team with a strong leader. The
all-channel network permits all group members to actively
communicate with each other. The all channel network is
most often characterized in practice by self-managed teams,
in which all group members are free to contribute and no
one person takes on a leadership role.

As the exhibit below demonstrates, the effectiveness of
each network depends on the dependent variable you’re
concerned about. For instance, the structure of the wheel
facilitates the emergence of a leader, the all-channel
network is best if you are concerned with having high
member satisfaction, and the chain is best if accuracy is
most important. The exhibit below leads us to the
conclusion that no single network will be best for all
occasions.

3.7 GRAPEVINE:

The grapevine is used by nearly everyone in an
organisation at one time or another. It can convey
accurate messages with amazing speed. It can also distort
and filter messages beyond recognition. Rumours as well
as facts are carried by the grapevine. Good managers pay
attention to grapevine. Even though the grapevine’s
reliability can never be determined with complete certainty,
it does serve some useful functions:

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1. It satisfies a need — employees have to enjoy
friendly relations with their fellow employees.

2. It helps workers to make sense out of their work
environment especially in interpreting unclear orders from
supervisors.

3. It acts as a safety valve. When people are confused
and unclear about what is going to happen to them, they
use grapevine to let out their anxieties. Passing a rumour
along the grapevine is a way of expressing and releasing
negative energy.

4. When people gossip about someone who is not
present, they often pass judgments. Some people pass
judgment on others to find out where they stand. It is a
way of dealing with self-doubt and insecurity.

Grapevine thrives on information, not openly or
generally available to an employee, either because of its
confidential or secret nature or because of the defective or
inadequate formal communication lines. Grapevine is
inevitable but at the same time, valuable and an intelligent
manager uses this form of communication by feeding
accurate information at the right places and thus gains
very quick communication around the establishment.
Grapevine properly used is a great help. Neglecting

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grapevine is likely to lead to serious consequences in an
establishment.

The best way to dispel grapevine is to give people
the facts. If there is no truth to a rumour or no
information concerning it that should be said? Above all
workers should be asked to never repeat a rumour.
Supervisors must show their people that they intend to do
everything possible to keep them fully informed.

3.8 STYLES OF COMMUNICATION

A communication style may be defined as a
specialized set of interpersonal behaviours which are used
in a given situation. Since communication is at the heart
of effective managerial functioning, it is imperative to
identify and to analyze the styles of communication which
are used in an organisation. Four basic communication
styles may be characterized in the organisational situation
in terms of the communicator’s concern for self and
concern for others.

1. The Controller Style of Communication: In this style,
the manager has a high concern for himself and a low
concern for the person with whom he communicates; he,
therefore, represents an unbalanced exchange
relationship. In business organisations, the existence of
an unbalanced exchange, as in the controller style of
communication, causes strains in inter-personal
relationships. The production- oriented manager often

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expects loyalty from workers in exchange for money. In
this case, there is usually a transaction from the critical
parent-ego state to the child-ego state with the life
position. “I am O.K., You are not O.K.” The controller
communication thus jeopardizes the interpersonal trust
which is essential for effective communication.

2. The Withdrawn Communicator: In withdrawn
communication, there is the least amount of actual
communication, for it involves the avoidance of
interaction. The communicator prefers to withdraw
because he neither wishes to influence others nor wishes
to be influenced.

The withdrawn communicator has the least concern, both
for him and for others, and feel that other people in the
organisation are not interested in them. They, therefore,
have a life position of “I am not O.K., You are not O.K.”
The withdrawn style is rarely effective in communication,
because it blocks interaction.

3. The Relinquisher Communicator: Here the
communicator takes up a receptive rather than a directive
position and evinces interest in others. Here, too, there is
an unbalanced exchange, for the relinquishing

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communicator tends to be passive in an interchange. It is
possible that, for a relinquishing manager, his
subordinates take the lead in decision-making and
discussion. The relinquishing manager has the life
position of “I am not O.K., You are O.K.”, which is
characteristic of the child. Being humble and unsure, the
relinquisher believes it has nothing worthwhile to
contribute.

4. The Developmentor Communicator: The ideal type of
communication is, of course, that of the developmentor,
which involves a high concern for both himself and for
others. The Developmentor is an adaptable social type
who can be a high or low participator in a group,
depending upon the situation. Since they have the life
position of “I am O.K., You are O.K.”, they neither feel it
necessary to constantly assert their competence, nor do
they refrain from leadership positions when the need
arises. The developmentor-communicator understands
the need for a two way communication by not assuming
that he is always right. He is the one who, unlike the
controller, allows the subordinate to make some mistakes
in the process of learning, and builds in him
self-confidence and esteem.

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3.9 SUPERVISORY COMMUNICATION:

Supervisory Communication is an important
dimension of management communication for proper
functioning of an organisation. It is mainly the supervisor
who is constantly in touch with the workers and, therefore,
it is necessary for him to acquaint himself with the
importance of communication and the principles to be
followed for effective communication. “Talking it over” is
very important to an employee. Employees have asserted
that where communication is lacking, frustration and
misunderstanding exist, and that this condition not only
reduces their productivity, but also has an adverse effect
on the total working of the establishment. Supervisors,
therefore, should always: (a) discuss problems
immediately with the subordinates; (b) keep the
discussion frank and open; (c) choose a proper place; (d)
be fair and impartial; and (e) develop good attitudes and
maintain good relations.

Four aspects of interpersonal relationships influence
communication in organisations:
(1) The sender’s and receiver’s trust of each other;

(2) The sender’s and receiver’s influence over each
other;

(3) The sender’s mobility aspirations; and

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(4) The norms and sanctions of the groups(s) to
which the sender and receiver belong. When people
trust each other, their communication tends to be
more accurate and open; when they distrust each
other, they are more likely to be secretive or hesitant
to talk openly.

3.10 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The key to effective communication is reception of
messages. It then implies that the transmission of
message sent and received does not presuppose that
communication has occurred. Only on receiving the
intended message that one can conclude that
communication has occurred. The touchstone of effective
communication is hearing of the meaning “intended” and
to carry out the message. It then appears that
communication to be effective not only needs the skill of
self-expression but also the skill of effective listening.
Listening is more intricate and complicated than the
physical process of hearing. Effective listening habits
prevent misunderstanding and rumours. –

There are four factors affecting reception of
messages:

(1) Attention

(2) Perception

(3) Comprehension

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(4) Acceptance

Attention refers to situations when individuals
become voluntarily interested in the message. Once
attention has been drawn to the message, the perception
of the same begins. It means that the messages must be
recognised in an unbiased manner. Comprehension is to
understand the message received. Acceptance of message
results in effective communication.

An effective communication serves several purposes,
and benefits an organisation in many ways. First, it acts as
a basic foundation for management. Since communication
provides the key to facilitate the exchange of ideas,
information as well as meeting of minds, it can aptly be
described as the “ears and eyes” of the management.

Second, it plays a vital role in planning. The making
of a plan requires facts and figures which can only be
made available through effective communication. Third, it
integrates the formal organisation structure and is
responsible for holding together the members of a
primary social group. Fourth, it also plays a pivotal role in
national decision-making, organisational control, as well
as building and maintaining employee morale.

The transformation of an organisation is conditional
on the employees’ involvement with commitment,

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common goals and shared purpose and vision.
Communication as a continuous process ensures this. The
climate of communication in an organisation, therefore,
needs constant nurturing by a well- meaning and
transparent management that has the manifest image that
it cares for its stakeholders.

In many organizations, communication occupies a
central place because the structure, extensiveness, and
scope of the organisation are almost entirely determined
by communication techniques. It is said that
communication gives life-blood to an organisation. If
organisation fail to provide careful attention to
communication, a defensive climate prevails.

Experts have laid down several guidelines to improve
communication. They are:

Seek to clarify your ideas before communicating.

Be sure your actions support your instructions.

Consider the total physical and human situations whenever
you give instructions.

Do not over communicate but just enough for the purpose
in view.

Listen attentively and develop the skill of listening, be a
good listener.

Use simple language as understood by the receiver.

Follow-up on your communication: get feedback.

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Concentrate on the problem rather than the people
involved.

When people are being emotional, other people should try
to be rational.

When people are misunderstanding and getting confused,
others should try to be sympathetic and understanding.

Consult everyone affected, even though they are not
concentrating at present (because they will resent not
being consulted afterwards).

When people are being manipulative or deceptive, this
can be openly acknowledged, but others should be
honest and open rather than trying to pay them back in
their own coin.

There are four fundamental rules of communicating
which can help anyone to get across messages more
accurately:

1. Choose your words carefully and do not include
unnecessary words.

2. Do not leave out important information. An incomplete
message is sometimes more dangerous than no
message at all.

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3. Be concise in your message. The message has to be
received accurately.

4. Be correct in your message. If the information conveyed
is false or misleading, even the best technique cannot
save the message.

Other techniques for improving communication
include transaction analysis and active listening.
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a technique aimed at
helping interpersonal transactions or communication
between superior and subordinate. It assumes that there
are three ego states — adult, parent, and child - and that
the way a person communicates depends on the state he
or she is in. TA helps to identify one’s own state and the
state of the person with whom he or she is talking to and
helps to improve communication between the two. Active
listening is another technique that can help to improve
interpersonal communication.

Communicating Better at Work:

Experience shows there are many ways managers
can improve internal communication. Here are some tips
for them:

Understand that communication is a two-way street. It
involves giving information and getting feedback from
employees. It is not complete simply when information
is given.

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Put more emphasis on face-to-face communication
with employees. Don’t rely mainly on bulletin boards,
memos and other written communication.

Ask each time when an instruction is given whether the
message is clear. Most vagueness is caused by failing
to be specific.

View information as “service to” employees and not
“power over” them.

Listen to employees; show respect for them when they
speak. They will feel part of the team and will tend to
be more dedicated and productive.

Don’t just talk open-door policy. Practice it by walking
around and talking to employees. Allow people to
disagree and to come up with new ideas.

Conduct one-on-one meetings, ask employees how
management can help them to do a better job, and
emphasize current issues that employees care about.

Concentrate on building credibility with employees.
Managers who lack credibility and fail to create a
climate of trust and openness are not believed - no
matter how hard they try to communicate.

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3.11 LISTENING
Listening can be described as a combination of:
(i) Hearing — the physical reception of sound;
(ii) Comprehending — the interpretation and
understanding of the message; and
(iii) Remembering — the ability to retain what has been
heard.

Hearing is with ears, but listening is with the mind.
Effective listening helps receiver to take the exact
intended message. Good listeners save time because they
learn more within a given period of time and they learn
about the person talking, as well as what the person is
saying. Good listening is also good manners; people think
more of us when we listen to them attentively.

Nature has given people two ears but only
one tongue, which is
Gentle hint that they should listen more than
they talk.
Listening requires two ears, one for meaning
and one for feeling.
Decision-makers who do not listen have less
information for making sound decisions.

The Bureau of National Affairs has developed a
“laundry list” of the important concepts related to
effective listening:

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1. Everyone likes to feel important.

2. people perform better when they know that their
opinions and suggestions are heeded

3. Supervisors must use their expertise and experience
of employees and be able to get them to exercise
this expertise.

4. Attention paid to gripes often prevents their
blossoming into big grievances.

5. Supervisors who jump to conclusions lose the
respect of their subordinates.

6. To do a good job of listening, supervisors must plan
time for it in their busy schedules.

7. Listening requires full attention to the speaker; it is
impossible to listen intelligently while the mind is
preoccupied with something else.

8. Listening habits are deeply embedded in the
personality and are related to other personality
traits, such as obstinacy, empathy, and so on.

9. The correction of bad habits is a slow process and
must be self-motivated.

10. Supervisors who don’t get all the facts often make
poor decisions.

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The following guidelines are suggested in respect of
listening:

Put the talker at ease. Help a person feel free to talk.

Show a talker that you want to listen. Look and
Remove distractions. Don’t doodle, tap, or shuffle
papers. Will it not be quieter if you shut the door?

Empathize with the talker. Try to help yourself see the
other person’s point of view.

Be patient. Allow plenty of time. Do not interrupt a
talker. Don’t start for the door or walk away.

Hold your temper. An angry person takes the wrong
meaning from words.

Go easy on arguments and criticisms. These put
people on the defensive, and they may calm up or
become angry. Do not argue.
Even if you win, you lose.

Ask questions. This encourages a talker and shows
that you are listening. It helps to develop points
further.

Stop talking. This is first and the last, because all
other guides depend upon it. You cannot do effective
listening job while you are talking.

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One must develop the art of listening. The higher
you go up in the organisational set-up, the more
successful you are likely to be if you listen to others.
Some of the listening gains are:

You get information that may help you.

You get ideas that you might never have thought.
(Ideas have no pride. They are willing to be born to
anyone willing to have them).

You develop understanding of people who are
different from you in many ways.

You get co-operation from people who know that
you value their thinking and ideas.

You motivate action from people who have a part in
your success.

You get good listening on the part of others to what
you have to say.

Listening Tips:

1. Listen for ideas, not just for facts.
2. Control your emotional reactions.
3. Overcome personal prejudgments and distractions.
4. Keep an open mind.
5. Listen more than you talk.
6. Hear the other person out; don’t interrupt.

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7. Learn to practice active listening.
8. Keep your mouth shut (literally, keep your lips closed).
9. Paraphrase frequently in your mind, and aloud to the
speaker.
10. Focus on the person speaking.

3.12 HR ROLE IN COMMUNICATION.

Strengthening formal communication through
departmental/cross functional meetings along the
suggested lines.

Providing linkages with annual appraisals as a mode of
facilitating meetings.

Ensuring proper dissemination of information, other
than through departmental meetings.

Conducting training programmes on

(a) effective listening skills, and

(b) conducting meetings.

Developing a system of open communication policy to
facilitate more openness and trust.

Involving line personnel in conducting training classes
to improve understanding of each other, and for
creating healthy interaction at shop floor level.

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Organizing informal gatherings such as annual day,
sports meets, and the like to promote free interaction
and exchange of views.

Advising departments to maintain circulars and flies
relating to their working for general consumption.

Exploring avenues for establishing a library which
would act as a central point of information.

Facilitating greater clarity of job role and relationships
through job descriptions.

Facilitating upward communication through personal
contacts, fact finding surveys, and soon.

Issuing manuals/guidelines detailing policies,
procedures, rules, and other personnel related matters
to ensure clarity.

Frequent interaction with employees tells them they’
re important. The way you communicate with your
employees demonstrates you care about them as people
— not just as employees. Sometimes you have to go out
of your way to interact with your employees, but they
always will notice how much effort you put forth to
communicate with them.

Self-check — Communication

Are you making the most of your opportunities to
communicate with your employees? Answer the questions

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below in YES or NO to see how well you’re doing.
1. Do you try to greet your employees every day?
2. Do you go out of your way to interact with your
employees at least once each day?
3. Do you speak to your employees before they speak to
you?
4. Do you go to your employees’ work areas to talk to
them?
5. Do you talk to your employees about non-work
activities?
6. Are your employees welcome at your office at any time?
7. Do you have lunch with your employees from time to
time?
8. Do you know what your employees like to do when they
aren’t at work?
9. Do you understand your employees’ needs, wants,
goals and aspirations?
10. Do you give frequent positive reinforcement?
11. Do you frequently review goals and expectations?
12. Do you ask your employees’ personal goals and
aspirations?
13. Do you ask about your employees’ problems, fears
and concerns?

14. Do you ask yourself what you can do to help improve
your employees’ performance?
For any questions that you answered “no,” list below
things you can do to increase your interaction with your
employees.

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3.13 COMPUTER-AIDED COMMUNICATION

Communication in today’s organizations is enhanced
and enriched by computer-aided technologies. These
include electronic mail, for instance, has dramatically
reduced the number of memos, letters, and phone calls that
employees historically used to communicate among
themselves and with suppliers, customers, or other outside
stakeholders.

E-Mail:

Electronic mail (or e-mail) uses the Internet to transmit
and receive computer-generated text and documents. Its
growth has been spectacular. Most white-collar employees
now regularly use e-mail. In fact, a recent study found that
the average U.S. employee receives 31 e-mail messages a
day. And organizations are recognizing the value of e-mail
for all workers. Ford Motor Company, for instance, recently
made a computer, modem, printer and email account
available for $5 a month to all of its more than 3,00,000
employees worldwide.

As a communication tool, e-mail ahs a long list of
benefits. E-mail messages can be quickly written, edited and
stored. They can be distributed to one person or thousands
with a click of a mouse. They can be read, in their entirety,
at the convenience of the recipient. And the cost of sending
formal e-mail to employees is a fraction of what it would

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cost to print, duplicate and distribute comparable letter or
brochure.

E-mail, of course, is not without its drawbacks. At the
top of the list is information overload .Its not unusual for
employees to get a hundred or more e-mails a day. Reading,
absorbing and responding to such an inflow can literally
consume an employee’s entire day.

In essence e-mail’s is of use has become its biggest
negative. Employees are finding it increasingly difficult to
distinguish important e-mails from junk mails and irrelevant
messages. Another drawback of e-mail is that the lack
emotional content. The nonverbal quest in a face to face
message or the tone of voice from a phone call convey
important information that come across an e-mail, although
efforts have been made to create emotional icons. Finally
e-mails tend to be cold and impersonal. As such it’s the
ideal means to convey information like lay-offs, plant
closings or other messages that might evoke emotional
responses or social support.

Intranet and extranet links:

Intranets are private. Organization worldwide
information networks that look and act like a web-site, but
to which only people in an organization have access.

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Intranets are rapidly becoming the proffered means for
employees within the companies to communicate with each
other. IBM recently bought together 52 thousand of its
employees online for what it called Worldjam.Using
companies intranet IBMers must everywhere swapped ideas
on everything from how to retain employees to how to work
faster without undermining quality.

In addition organisations are creating extra net links
that connect internal employees with selected suppliers,
customers and strategic partners. For instance an extranet
allows GM employees to send electronic messages and
documents to its steel and rubber supplier as well as to
communicate with its dealers. Similarly all Wall Mart vendors
are linked into its extranet system, allowing Wall Mart buyers
to easily communicate with its suppliers and for suppliers to
monitor the inventory status of its product at Wall Mart
stores.

Videoconferencing:

Videoconferencing is an extension of intranet or
extranet system. It permits employees in an organization to
have meetings with people at different locations. Live audio
and video images of members allow them to see, hear and
talk with each other. Videoconferencing in effect allows

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employees to conduct interactive meetings without the
necessity of all physically being in the same location.

In the late 1990s videoconferencing was basically
conducted from special rooms equipped with television
cameras located at company facilities. More recently
cameras and microphones are being attached to individual
computers allowing people to participate in
videoconferences without leaving their desks. As the cost of
this technology drops in price videoconferencing is likely to
be increasingly seen as an alternative to expensive and time
consuming travel.

3.14 CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

Neal .L. Patterson, CEO at medical software maker
Cerner Corporation likes e-mails. May be too much so.
Upset with his staff’s work ethics he recently sent an e-mail
to his firm’s 400 managers. Here are some of those e-mails
highlight:

“Hell with freeze over before this CEO implements
ANOTHER EMPLOYEE benefit in this culture….. We are
getting less those 40 hours of work from a large number of
our Kansa City based employees. The parking is sparsely
used at 8am likewise at 5pm. As managers-you either do

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not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing or YOU do not
CARE ….we has a problem and we will fix it or will replace
you. ..What are you doing as managers with this companies
makes me sick.

Patterson’s e-mail additionally suggested that
managers schedule meetings at 7 Am., 6pm., and Saturday
mornings promised a staff reduction of 5% an institution of a
time clock system and Patterson’s intention to charge
unapproved absences to employees vacation time.

Within hours of this e-mail, copies of it had made its
way on to a Yahoo website. And within three days Corners’
stock price has plummeted 22%. Although one can argue
about whether such harsh criticism should be communicated
at all, one thing is certainly clear Patterson erred selecting
the wrong channel for his message. Such an emotional and
sensitive would have been better received in a face to face
meeting.
Why do people choose one channel of communication
over another-for instance a phone call instead of face you
face talk? Is there any general insight we might be able to
provide regarding choice of communication channel? The
answer to the later question is a qualified ‘Yes’. A model of
media richness has been developed to explain channel
selection among managers.

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Research has found that channels differ in their
capacity to convey information some are rich in that they
have ability to:
(1) handle multiple quest simultaneously
(2) Facilitate rapid feed back.
(3) be very personal .Others are lean in that they score
low on these three factors.

Generally, face-to-face conversation scores highest in
terms of channel richness because it provides for the
maximum amount of information to be transmitted during a
communication episode. That is, it offers multiple
information cues , immediate feedback, and the personal
touch of “being there “ Impersonal written media such as
formal reports and bulletins rate lowest in richness.

The choice of one channel over another depends on
whether the message is routine or non-routine. The former
types of messages tend to be straight forward and have a
minimum of ambiguity. The latter are likely to be
complicated and have the potential for misunderstanding.
Managers can communicate routine messages efficiently
through channels that are3 lower in richness.

However, they can communicate non routine messages
effectively only by selecting rich channels. Referring back to
our opening example at Cerner Corp, it appears that Neal
patter sons problem was using a channel relatively low in

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richness to convey a message that, because of its no routine
nature and complexity, should have been conveyed using a
rich communication medium.

Evidence indicates that high-performing managers
tend to be more media sensitive than low-performing
managers. That is, they’re better able to match appropriate
media richness with ambiguity involved in the
communication.

The media richness model is consistent with
organizational trends and practice during the past decade. It
is not just coincidence that more and more senior managers
have been using meetings t5o facilitate communication and
regularly leaving the sanctuary of their executive’s offices to
manage by walking around. These executives are relying on
rich channels of communication to transmit the more
ambiguous messages they need to convey. The past decade
has been characterized by organisations closing facilities,
merging, consolidating and introducing new products and
services at an accelerated pace-all no routine messages in
high ambiguity and requiring the use of channels that
convey a large amount of information .It is not surprising,
therefore to see the most effective managers expanding
their use of rich channels .

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4.1 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

A number of barriers can retard or distort effective
communication. In this section, we highlight the more
important of these barriers.

Filtering
Filtering refers to a sender’s purposely manipulating
information so it will be seen mare favorably by the receiver.
For example, when a manager tells his boss what he feels
his boss wants to hear, he is filtering information.

The major determinant of filtering is no. of levels in the
organization structure .The more vertical levels in the
organizations hierarchy, the more opportunities there are
for filtering. But you can expect some filtering to occur
whenever there are status differences. Factors such as fear
of conveying bad news and the desire to please one’s boss
often lead employees to tell their superiors what they think
those superiors want to hear, thus distorting upward
communications.

Selective Perception
We have mentioned it earlier. It appears again here
because the receivers in the communication process see and
hear based on their needs, motivations, experience,
background and other personal characteristics. Receivers

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also project their interests and expectations into
communications as they decode them. The employment
interviewer who expects a women job applicant to put her
family ahead if her career is likely to see that female
applicants, regardless of whether the applicants feel that
way or not

Information Overload
Individuals have a fine capacity for processing data. As
noted in our previous discussion of e-mail, when the
information we have to work with exceeds our processing
capacity, the result is information overload .And with
e-mails, phone calls, faxes, meetings and the need to keep
current in one’s field, more and more managers and
professionals are complaining that they’re suffering
overload.

What happens when individuals have more information
than they can sort out and use? They tend to select out,
ignore, pass over or forget information. Or they may put off
further processing until the overload situation is over.
Regardless, the result is lost information and less effective
communication

Emotions
How the receiver feels at the time of receipt of a
communication will influence how he or she interprets it.
The same message received when you are angry is often

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interpreted differently from when you’re happy. Extreme
emotions such as jubilation or depression are most likely to
hinder effective communication.

In such instances, we are most prone to disregard our
national and objective thinking processes and substitute
emotional judgments.

Language
Words mean different thing to different people. Age,
education and cultural background are three of the more
obvious variables that influence the language a person uses
and the definitions he or she gives to words.

In an organization, employees usually come from
diverse backgrounds. The grouping of the employees into
departments creates specialists who develop their own
“buzzwords” or technical jargon. In large organizations,
members are also frequently widely dispersed
geographically-even operating in different countries. The
existence of vertical levels can also cause language
problems.

There point is that although you and I probably speak a
common language-English –our use of that language is far
from uniform. If we knew how each of us modified the
language, communication difficulties could be minimized.
There problem is that the members in an organization

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usually don’t know how those the words and terms they use
mean the same to the receiver as they do to them This
assumption is often incorrect.

Communication Apprehension
Another major barrier to effective communication is
that some people- an estimated 5-20% of the
population-suffer from debilitating. Although lots of people
speaking in front of a group, communication techniques.

People who suffer from it experience undue tension
and anxiety in oral apprehensive may find it extremely
difficult to talk with others face to face or become extremely
anxious when they have to use the telephone. As a result,
they may rely on memos or faxes to convey messages when
a phone call would be not only faster but more appropriate.

Studies demonstrate that oral-communication
apprehensive avoid situations that require them to engage in
oral communication. We should expect to find some
self-selection in jobs so that such individuals don’t take
positions such as teacher. But almost all jobs require some
oral communication is a dominant requirement. And of
greater concern is the evidence that high oral
communication apprehensive distort the communication
demands of their jobs in order to minimize the need for
communication. So we need to be aware that there is a set of
people in the organization who severely limit their oral

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communication and rationalize this practice by telling that
more communication isn’t necessary for them to do their job
effectively.

Poor structure to the communication

The structure of a communication is an essential factor
in how well a business communication is received by an
audience.

It doesn't matter whether that audience is an audience
of one or one million, good structure is essential if a
communication is to be 'heard' amongst the advertising and
marketing 'noise' of today's business environment.

So a poor structure to your message or delivery is
therefore a major barrier to effective communication.

Weak delivery

It doesn't matter how important or impressive the
subject of your communication is, if you deliver it without
any 'punch' you will not get as many people to take your
desired action as you would like.

A weak delivery is like the very funny joke with the
badly-told punch line --- it is not as funny or as memorable
as you remember the original to be. It's all in the delivery. It
is important to not get confused between delivery and
presenter.

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Several businessmen are extremely confident in the
public's gaze, very happy to be in front of an audience. But
because their presentations and communications lack a
suitable structure, they 'lose' their audience within minutes,
the audience becomes increasingly confused and eventually
frustrated by not being able to understand clearly and easily
what on earth these businessmen are on about.

The use of the wrong medium

You have to announce a temporary hold on
non-essential stationery spending in your department. How
do you communicate this?

An advertising campaign on local radio would be a
highly ineffective way of reaching the desired audience if the
message was complex and really intended for a narrow
niche audience.

Similarly, a public presentation, with 'obligatory'
PowerPoint TM slideshow full of complex charts and data,
would be the wrong medium if the message you were trying
to communicate would be better served by a white paper, or
some similar print-based format that allowed the audience
to digest the complexities at their own pace.

suggested

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When considering which medium to use for which type
of message you wish to communicate, it is wise to analyze
the following:

What is the fixed cost of production? Are there ad
agency fees, broadcast or print fees that must be paid,
irrespective of the number or volume of items
produced?
What are the variable costs -- such as CDs, DVDs,
audio cassettes and printing costs?
How long will it take to write, edit and produce your
communication in your chosen medium?
What percentage of your target audience is likely to
have access to your chosen medium at the time you
choose to publish/play/present it?
What percentage of your target audience will be likely
to pay attention to your chosen medium?
Is your message a complex one? Would your message
be more easily and readily comprehended through
auditory, tactile or visual (e.g. reading or images)
modalities?
How quickly do you need your audience to comprehend
and take action on your message?

A mixed message

It is very hard for an audience -- whether an audience
of 1 or 1 million to understand your communication if you
unnecessarily confuse the audience.

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If you deliberately, or otherwise, confuse them. A HUGE
barrier to business communication is the ability of
'business-speak' to confuse and alienate its audience.

It does this in two ways:

1. By using terms and phrases that are 'jargon', the meaning
of which are possibly recognized but probably not fully
understood

2. By trying to 'save time/paper' by rolling several different
communication messages into one.

Another barrier arising from mixed messages is when a
previously-held stance is lightly overturned to meet some
political or business expediency, then upheld again. An
example of this would be where the acceptance of corporate
gifts is not allowed, but then allowed if it a brand new client
who has contracted a large amount of money to your
business, then not allowed again after the gift-giving and
receiving season is over.

Or a company-wide budget cut that stops all
business-class travel, but the very senior management is
found to be traveling first class.

Be very careful of mixing your messages, as mixed
messages are a very real barrier to effective business
communication.

The wrong audience

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Presenting your message to the wrong audience for
your business communication is a complete waste of your
time and money. Don't do it -- pick your audience then pick
the medium that will best find them.

A distracting environment

There's nothing worse than trying to communicate your
message to a group of people who cannot 'hear' you.

Whether their inability to 'hear' you is because of:

Your voice not being strong enough
Too many others talking in the room at the same time
Police and ambulance sirens outside the venue
Too many phone calls coming in to their office while
they're trying to read your memo
Interruptions while they try to read your report
Incoming emails keep popping up while they are
reading your web-based communication
Their minds are full of other pressing matters
They are supposed to be somewhere else at that
moment
Their mobile phone keeps ringing, or vibrating if
they've set it to 'silent' instead of switching it off
Their internet connection is slow
Their internet connection keeps dropping out

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There are too many interesting people to look at while
they are on the bus trying, in vain, to concentrate on
your report
The room's air-conditioning is not working and the
room is hot and stuffy
The room's heating is not working and the room is cold
and clammy

Well, there are of course a thousand possible
distracting reasons why they cannot or will not attend to
your business communication.

The point is to do whatever you can, whilst
acknowledging that this might be next to nothing, to reduce
the number of distractions your chosen audience might be
subjected to.

4.2 CURRENT ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION

In this section we discuss four current issues relating
to communication in organization. Why do men and women
often have difficulty communicating with each other? What
role does silence play in communication? What are
implications of the “politically correct” movement on
communications in organizations? And how individuals can
improve their cross culture communication?
Communication Barriers between Women and Men

Research by experts provides us with some important
insights into the differences between men and women in

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terms of their conversational styles. The essence of the
research is that men use talk to emphasize status, whereas
women use it to create connection. The conclusion, of
course, doesn’t apply to every woman. Thus it , means “a
larger % of women or men as a group talk in a particular
way, or individual women and men are more likely to talk
one way or the other.

Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling
the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence.
Independence emphasis separateness and differences. But
here’s the kick Women speak and hear a language of
connection and intimacy men speak and hear a language of
status power and independence. So for many men
conversations are primarily a means to preserve
independence ands maintain status in a hierarchical social
order’s few examples will illustrate this:

Men frequently complain that women talk on and on
about their problem. Women criticize men for not listening.
What’s happening is that when men hear a problem, they
frequently assert their for independence and control by
offering solutions .Many women, on other hand view telling
a problem as a means to promote closeness’s e women
present the problem to gain support and connection ,not to
get the man’s advise. Mutual understanding is symmetrical.
But giving advise is asymmetrical it sets up the advise giver
as more knowledge, more reasonable, and more in control.

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This contributes to distancing men and women in their
efforts to communicate

Men are often more direct than women in conversation.
A man might say “I think you are wrong at that point”.
Women might say” Have you looked at the marketing
research report on that point?” Men frequently see female
indirections as “covert “or “sneaky” but women are not vas
concerned as men with the status and one-upmanship that
directness often creates.

Women tend to be less boastful than men. They often
downplay their authority or accomplishments to avoid
appearing as braggarts and to take the other’s person
feelings into account Men can interpret this and incorrectly
conclude that a woman is less confident and competent than
she really is.

Finally men often critise women for seeming to
apologize all the time .Men tend to see the phrase “I m
sorry” as a weakness because they interpret the phrase to
mean the woman is accepting blame, when he knows she’s
not to blame. The problem is that the women use often “I m
sorry” to express to regret and restore balance to
conversations. For many women “I m sorry “is an expression
of understanding and caring about the other person’s
feelings rather than an apology.

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4.3 SILENCE AS COMMUNICATION:

Sherlock Holmes once solved a murder mystery based
on what didn’t happen. Holmes remarked to his assistant Dr .
Watson, about “the curious incident of the dog in night time.
“Watson surprised responds” But the dog did nothing in the
night time.

“Holmes concluded thwart crime had to be committed
by someone with whom the dog was familiar because the
dog didn’t bark. The dog that didn’t bark in the night is
often used to metaphor for an event that is significant by
reason of its absence. That story is also an excellent
illustration of the importance of silence in communication.”

Silence—defined here as an absence of speech or
noise-has been generally ignored as a form of
communication in OB because inaction or no behavior .But
it’s not necessarily in action .Nor is silence as, many believe
a failure to communicate. It can be a powerful form of
communication. It can mean someone is thinking a response
to question. It can mean a person is anxious and fearful of
speaking. It can signal agreement, dissent, and anger.

In terms of Organizational Behaviour we can see
several links between and work related behaviour. For
instance, silence is a critical element of group thinks, in
which it implies agreement with majority. It can be a way of
employees to express dissatisfaction, as when they “suffer in

1


silence”. It can be sign that someone is upset, as when a
typically talking person says nothing

Failing to pay close attention to silent portion of a
conversation can result in missing a vital part of the
message. Astute communications watch for gaps, pauses,
hesitations. They hear and interpret silence. They treat
pauses; they pay attention to what comes next. Is the person
suffering from communication apprehension? Sometimes the
real message in a communication is buried in silence.

4.4 “POLITICALLY CORRECT” COMMUNICATION:

What words do you use to describe a colleague who is
wheel-chair bound? What terms do you use to address a
female customer? How do you communicate with a brand
new client who is not like you? Your answers can mean
between losing a client, an employee, a lawsuit, a
harassment claim or a job.

Most of us are aware of how our vocabulary has been
modified to reflect political correctness. For instance, most
of us have cleansed the words handicapped, blind, and
elderly from our vocabulary – and replaced them with
physically challenged, visually impaired, senior. The Los
Angeles Times, for instance, allows its journalists to use the
word old age but cautious that it varies from “person to
person”.

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We must be sensitive to others feelings. Certain words
can and do stereotype and insult individuals. We must be
sensitive to know how words might offend others. There is a
downside to political correctness. To illustrate, you probably
know what these 4 terms mean: death, garbage, quotas
women. But each of these words also has been found to
offend one or more groups. They’ve been replaced by
negative patient outcome, post consumer waste materials,
educational equity, and people of gender. You know what
death means; I know what death means; but can you be sure
that “negative patient outcome” will be consistently defined
as synonymous of death?

Some critics for humor’s sake enjoy carrying political
correctness to the extreme. Even those of us with thinning
scalp, who aren’t thrilled at labeled “bald” have to smirk
when we’re referred to as “follicle challenged”. But our
concern here is with how politically correct language is
contributing a barrier to effective communication.

Words are primary means with which people
communicate. When we eliminate words from use because
they are politically incorrect, we reduce our options for
conveying messages in accurate form. For the most part, the
larger the vocabulary used by sender, the greater

1


opportunity to transmit messages. By removing certain
words from our vocabulary we find it hard to communicate.

We must sensitive to how our choice of words offends
others. But we also have to be careful not to sanitize our
language to the point at which it clearly restricts clarity of
communication. However you should be aware of the
trade-offs and the need to find a proper balance.

4.5 CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION:

Effective communication is difficult under the best of
conditions. Cross – cultural factors clearly the potential for
increased communication problems. A gesture that is well
understood and acceptable in one culture can be
meaningless or lewd in another.

Cultural barriers:
One author has identified 4 specific problems related
to large difficulties in cross-cultural communications.

First, there are barriers caused by semantics. As we’ve
noted, words mean different to different people. This is true
for people from different cultures. Some words. Don’t
translate between cultures. Understanding sisu will help you

1


to communicate in Finland but this is non transferable to
English.

Second there are barriers caused by word connotations.
Words imply different things in different languages.
Negotiations between Americans and Japanese executives
are made more difficult because Japanese hai translates as
yes but its connotation will be “yes I m listening” rather than
“yes I agree”

Third are barriers caused by tone differences in some
cultures, language is formal, in others it’s informal. In some,
tone changes depending upon the context: people speak
differently at home. Using a personal, informal style in
situation in which a more formal style is expected can be
embarrassing and off-putting

Fourth, there are barriers caused by differences caused
by perceptions. People who speak different languages
actually view the world in different ways. Thais perceive no
differently than Americans because the former have no such
word in the vocabulary.

Cultural Context:
A better understanding of these barriers for
communicating across cultural can be achieved by
considering the concepts of high and low context cultures.

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Cultures tend to differ in importance to which context
influences meaning that individuals take from what is
actually said or written in light of who the other person is.
Countries like china, Korea, Japan and Vietnam are high
context cultures they rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle
situations cues when communicating with others. A person’s
official status in society and reputation carry considerably
weight in communications. People from Europe and North
America reflect their low context cultures.

What do these contextual differences mean in terms of
communication? Actually quite a lot. Communication in high
context cultures implies considerably more trust by both
parties. What may appear to outsider as casual and
insignificant is important because it reflects a desire to build
a relationship and create trust. Oral agreements imply
strong commitments in high context cultures. Low context
cultures value directness. Managers are directed to be
explicit and precise in conveying intended meaning.

A Cultural Guide:
When communicating with people from a different
culture what can you do to reduce misperceptions and
misevaluations? You can begin by trying to assess context
culture. The 4 rules are helpful:

(1)Assume differences until similarity is proven. Most of
us assume that others are more similar to us than they

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actually are. But people from different countries often
are different.
(2)Emphasis description rather than interpretation or
evaluation. Interpreting or evaluating what someone
has said or done is based on observer’s culture and
background than on observed situation.
(3)Practice empathy. Before sending a message put
yourself in the recipient’s shoes what don you know
about his or her education, upbringing or background?
Try to see other person as she or he really is.
(4) Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis.
Once you’ve developed an explanation for a new
situation think your empathize with some foreign
culture. Carefully assess the feedback by recipients to
see if it confirms your hypothesis. For important
decisions or communiqués, your can also check with
other foreign and home country colleagues to make
sure that your interpretations are on target.

CONCLUSION

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Organisational communication

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