3. Learning outcomes
• Define the following terms:
➢ Communication
➢ Communication channel
• Explain the importance of communication in an
organisation
• Draw the communication process diagram
• Explain the elements of the communication process
• Outline benefits of effective communication
• Discuss the causes of poor communication at the
workplace
4. COMMUNICATION
Communication: is the process of exchanging
messages or information between two or more
parties through a common channel.
Communication channel: is the medium
through which you send a message to another
person
5. Factors/variables to consider before and during every
communication
• Is the message spoken, written or non-verbal
• Is the message formal or informal
• Is the message being sent to(or received by) an individual,
small group or many people
• If the message is for many people, are they similar to each
other, or is’t a diverse audience?
• How much time is available for the transmission or
reception of the message?
• At what time of the day is the message being transmitted?
• Where are the participants? (e.g. at the same table, same
building, in different companies, different country etc.)
6. Factors/ variables cont…
• Is this the first time we have communicated
with this person/ these people
• What is their status relative to us (e.g.
superior, subordinates)
• What is their level of language skills?
• Why is the communication taking place?
• gender, age, nationality, cultural background/
ethnicity etc.
7. OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION
The form of a communication depends on its
purpose. That is, before you begin to
communicate, you should ask yourself, “What
do I want to achieve? What result do I want
from this?” Then, once you know the answer,
you should ask, “What will be the best way to
achieve this result?” (Purpose, Audience and
Tone = Content)
9. Objectives of Business Communication
• Warning and Notice: Warning and notice are given in special
circumstances. If employees do not abide by the norms of the
organization, or violate the rules and regulations, it may become
necessary to warn and notice them. Warning a notice can be given
orally or written.
• Counselling: Counselling is an organized and specialized form of
advice. Counselling is objective, impersonal and professional. Service
of specialists is engaged for this purpose and employees receive free
medical advice, legal advice and vocational guidance etc.
• Directing the subordinates: The subordinates of an organization need
necessary directions and orders from their superiors for better job
performance. So, Business Communication is required for directing
the subordinates. Orders or directions dominate the downward flow
of information.
10. Objectives of Business Communication cont..
• Soliciting Suggestion: Soliciting suggestions from employees regarding
certain aspects is another important objective of Business Communication.
Now-a-days progressive organizations make a provision for suggestion boxes
that are placed at some convenient places in the office or the factory.
• Persuading: Persuasion means an effort to influence the attitudes, feelings or
beliefs of others. It is an important objective of Business Communication.
Organizations persuade buyers to buy their products and services.
• Motivating Employees: Motivation energizes and activates a person and
directs his behavior toward the attainment of desired goals. Managers must
constantly try to improve performance in the workplace by motivating the
staff. Business Communication has been considered as the critical element in
motivating employees. Managers use Communication to improve
employees’ sense of self-worth by showing recognition. Appreciating good
work a providing several other incentives or benefits.
11. Objectives of Business Communication cont..
• Meaning Coordination and Cooperation: Every organization is to maintain
coordination among its various departments and co-operation must come
from every person working in the organization for the smooth functioning
of its activities. Business Communication helps the maintenance of co-
ordination and cooperation by supplying information on time.
• Advising: Another important objective of communication is giving advice
to respective person. By its very nature, advice flows horizontally or
downwards or sometimes upwards. Advice may be given on matters
related to work or on personal matters if the relationship permits.
• Exchange of Information: Exchange of information (passing or receiving)
about a particular fact or circumstance is one of the most important
objectives of communication. It can be done either through spoken or
written language or by using any other system of signs or signals. An
organization is to exchange information among the people inside and
outside it
12. The Communication Cycle/Process
In any communication process there are three basic elements, though, as we
shall see, there are many other components within this which go to make up the
whole of the process. The three fundamental ones are:
l the message itself
l the receiver's understanding of it
l the receiver's response to it, known as “feedback”.
All communications contain these elements.
However, this is rather a simple view of the process and there are a number of
further components within this basic cycle, which are crucial to its success or
failure. The following diagram outlines these additional components. Look at it
carefully before going any further.
14. Elements of Communication
Sender: The sender or the communicator is the
person who initiates the conversation and has
conceptualized the idea that he intends to convey it to
others.
Encoding: The sender begins with the encoding
process wherein he uses certain words or non-verbal
methods such as symbols, signs, body gestures, etc.
to translate the information into a message. The
sender’s knowledge, skills, perception, background,
competencies, etc. has a great impact on the success
of the message.
15. Elements of Communication cont…
Message: Once the encoding is finished, the sender gets the
message that he intends to convey. The message can be written, oral,
symbolic or non-verbal such as body gestures, silence, sighs, sounds,
etc. or any other signal that triggers the response of a receiver.
Communication Channel: The Sender chooses the medium through
which he wants to convey his message to the recipient. It must be
selected carefully in order to make the message effective and correctly
interpreted by the recipient. The choice of medium depends on the
interpersonal relationships between the sender and the receiver and
also on the urgency of the message being sent. Oral, virtual, written,
sound, gesture, etc. are some of the commonly used communication
mediums.
16. Elements of Communication cont…
Receiver: The receiver is the person for whom the
message is intended or targeted. He tries to comprehend it
in the best possible manner such that the communication
objective is attained. The degree to which the receiver
decodes the message depends on his knowledge of the
subject matter, experience, trust and relationship with the
sender.
Decoding: Here, the receiver interprets the sender’s
message and tries to understand it in the best possible
manner. An effective communication occurs only if the
receiver understands the message in exactly the same
way as it was intended by the sender.
17. Elements of Communication cont…
Feedback: The Feedback is the final step of the
process that ensures the receiver has received the
message and interpreted it correctly as it was intended
by the sender. It increases the effectiveness of the
communication as it permits the sender to know the
efficacy of his message. The response of the receiver
can be verbal or non-verbal.
Note: The Noise shows the barriers in
communications. There are chances when the
message sent by the sender is not received by the
recipient
18. How to achieve effective
communication:
âť‘ Communicate for a purpose
âť‘ Compose message with care
âť‘ Study the receiver
âť‘ Select appropriate medium
âť‘ Provide feedback
âť‘ Act promptly on receiving feedback.
19. Benefits of effective communication
âť‘ Healthy relations
âť‘ Better performance
âť‘ High morale
âť‘ Good image unity
âť‘ Reaching final goals
âť‘ Smooth functioning
âť‘ Greater efficiency
âť‘ Higher productivity
âť‘ Effective decision-making
âť‘ Co-operation & Co-ordination.
20. When poor communication occurs, it is not
enough to simply point out particular issues and
challenges. In order to truly be able to counter
the effects of poor communication, it is
important to look into its causes. By realizing
and learning these cases, companies may be
able to solve issues at the root so as to stifle the
further progression of the disintegration of
communication lines in the workplace
Poor Communication in businesses
21. Objectives are not clear
âť‘ A job description given along with a job offer is
certainly not enough for employees. Manager
should have a face-to-face discussion with
employees in order to go through their
responsibilities and the expectations that goes along
with the job. If an organization fails to do this, it
leads to confusion and frustration, staff members
may end up underperforming.
âť‘ Employees need to be made aware of the purpose
and goals of the whole company. This helps staff
members to align themselves with the objectives of
the company so they can be contributors to its
progress and success.
Causes of Poor Communication in
businesses
22. Cultural diversity in the workplace
âť‘ The world is getting smaller, and work environments
are getting more and more diverse. It is not unusual
to find individuals from different cultures, races,
religious beliefs, genders and others working in the
same workspace, for the same company. While
diversity is certainly a good development, it does
present a few challenges – including the potential
for poor communications in the workplace.
âť‘ Different people from different backgrounds will
relay messages in different ways, with varied
nonverbal cues. Interpretations of messages will be
different as well. For example, “crossing your
fingers” may mean “hoping for good luck” in
America; however, it is an obscene gesture in
Causes of Poor Communication in
businesses cont….
23. Demoralized employees
When staff members lose interest in their work
and the organization, they are considered to be
demoralized. An employee who is demoralized
feels unvalued, unappreciated, and even
disrespected and disregarded despite their
capacities and talents. He or she tends to be
unproductive and irritable, and are more likely
to look for opportunities elsewhere instead of
helping the company move forward.
Causes of Poor Communication in
businesses cont….
24. Poor leadership
Staff members look to business owners and their
managers for direction. However, if people given
managerial roles are poor leaders, communication
in the workplace will deteriorate. Poor and
incompetent leaders are indecisive and are unable
to inspire their teams. They may also be so bad at
communication that they are unable to answer
questions and clarify points so much so that their
subordinates are left even more confused and
frustrated than when they started.
Causes of Poor Communication in
businesses cont….
25. Personal issues and challenges of employees
While employees should only be concentrating on
work while at the workplace, some may be distracted
by their own personal issues and challenges, such
as a death in the family or divorce. Due to
distractions and personal issues, a staff member
may communicate the wrong way, and react in a
negative fashion. When you notice this occurrence,
make sure to give your employees time off so they
can deal with their personal issues.
Causes of Poor Communication in
businesses
26. Stress in the Workplace
High-stress levels in the workplace are a huge sign
that there are communication problems. Poor
communication can create a feeling that everything on
your to-do list is urgent, causing you and others to
hurry, feel tense, overworked and have little-to-no
sense of humour. Good communication causes a
sense of stability and predictability, but lack of
communication or unhealthy communication
introduces a sense of fear that causes tension, which
is counterproductive to efficiency. Employees may
begin to feel guilty or even to experience conflict at
home because of their tension and stress level. This
stress stays with them as they start the next workday
and it can be hard, if not impossible, to get ahead.
Effects of Poor Communication
27. Unmet Needs and Expectations
Lack of communication causes unmet
expectations. Teams miss deadlines, clients miss
appointments, and people on a project do not
seem to know what their roles are. When
employees have trouble figuring out what their
priorities should be, they often choose the wrong
thing and end up disappointing their superiors.
Without clearly communicated expectations and
priorities, it is impossible to know where to start
and how to complete a project efficiently.
Effects of Poor Communication cont.
28. Arguments and Other Relational Breakdowns
If you have ever opened your work email inbox, only to
find an accusatory message from a colleague,
employee or boss, you have probably experienced the
sense of frustration, anger, hurt, fear and helplessness
that can come with unhealthy workplace
communication. Your previously positive relationship
might feel strained, so when you pass your co-
worker's or boss's cubicle, you are likely to want to
hide, rather than sit down and have a friendly solution-
finding conversation. It is also common to feel a sense
of insecurity or lack of fulfillment in completing your
daily tasks, and all of these emotions slow down
productivity in the workplace.
Effects of Poor Communication cont.
29. Low Morale and High Turnover
When people are dealing with intense emotions, they
spend more time than normal on emotional
management. Productivity goes down, and morale is
replaced by a sense of relief of making it through the
day. Workplace survival mode can be a real problem.
When business relationships are wounded and there
is no repair, trust goes out the window, making it
difficult to work together to meet deadlines. When
people miss deadlines, they tend to feel poorly about
performance. This vicious cycle prevents teams and
businesses from reaching their true potential.
Effects of Poor Communication cont.
30. Physical and Mental Health Issues
Mental health concerns and chronic health
problems are more likely to develop during
stressful times, especially when an
employee has no outlet for stress relief, is
out of energy for self-care, or lacks
emotional management skills. When these
problems pop up, encourage proper
professional care and use it as an
opportunity to turn around the situation.
Effects of Poor Communication cont.
