ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Theme paper on
TYPES OF
COMMUNICATION

Submitted to: Submitted By:

Dr.Pampari Venkataswamy Nidhi Gupta
Enrol.No.-08BSHYD0486
Section-J

Index
CONTENT Page No.

1. Executive summary 3

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2. Scope of the study 4

3. Introduction 5

4. Case studies 13

5. Conclusions 17

6. References 18

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 1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.-
Moshe Dayan

According to Koontz and O’Donnell, ”Communication is an intercourse by words, letters

symbols or messages and is a way that the organization members share meaning &
understanding another”.
The objectives of this theme paper were to:

1. Study the direction of communication.

2. Study of types of communication
• Interpersonal communication
• Organizational communication
1. Role of effective communication in an organization
2. Effect of poor communication on the performance of an organization.
A comprehensive study on communication has been attempted by collecting data based on
the theory as well as practical implications in life. An attempt has also been made to
understand the current scenario prevailing in the Indian corporate setup by the studies of
Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm.

Towards the end of our study, I have also tried to list , analyze & find ways to overcome the
hurdles in the existing process of communication in an organization.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

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The purpose of this study is to consider typical communication in the workplace and to
highlight problem areas and approaches to rectify these. As communications is the
cornerstone of business and, indeed, of relationships between various cultures, groups and
even nations, it is the most important dynamic in the human context. Yes it is often largely
overlooked. This composition will attempt to reinforce that communication is the single most
important factor in ensuring overall management success in an organization. Various types of
communication and information flows will be examined, as well as triggers for
communications failure and the impact of same.

INTRODUCTION
“Any act by which one person gives to or receives from person information about that
person’s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be
intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take
linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes.”
Communication plays a key role in the success of any workplace program or policy. Because
an individual spent nearly 70% of their working hours communicating-writing, reading,
speaking, listening.

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DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATION
Communication can flow vertically or laterally. The vertical dimensions consist of:
Downward communication
Communication that flows from one level of organization to a lower level is a downward
communication .It is used by group leaders or managers to:
• assign goals,
• provide job instructions,
• inform employees of policies & procedures,
• Offer feedback about performance.

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Upward communication
This involves flow of communication from lower level to higher level in a group or
organization. Without upward communication, management works in a vacuum, not
knowing if messages have been received properly, or if other problems exist in the
organization. It is a means to:
• Provide feedbacks to higher ups,
• Inform them of progress towards goals &
• Relay current problems.

Lateral /Horizontal communication

When communication takes place among the members of the same work group,among
managers at the same level or among any horizontally equivalent personnel,we define it as
lateral communication. Horizontal Communication is essential for:
• Solving problems
• Accomplishing tasks
• Improving teamwork
• Building goodwill
• Boosting efficiency

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INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
People in any organization rely on oral , written & nonverbal communication.
Oral communication
The chief means of conveying messages is oral communication. This includes speeches,
formal one to one & group discussion and the informal rumor mill or grapevine. The
advantage of oral communication is speed & feedback. The major disadvantage is faced
whenever the message has to be passed through number of people. The more the people
involve, greater is the distortion of message.

Written communication

It includes memos, letters, fax transmission, electronic mail, notices placed on bulletin board
or any other device that is transmitted via written words of symbol. The need for written
communication arises when the message has to be stored for infinite period. People are more
careful with the written words than oral words. The Major disadvantage of this is that it is a
time consuming process.

Nonverbal Communication
Communication by means of elements & behaviors that are not coded into words is the
nonverbal communication. A glance, a stare, a smile, a frown, a proactive body movement-
they all convey meaning.

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Nonverbal communication speaks louder than words.
Good home and work relationships require the ability to communicate emotions without
saying a word. Wordless communication conveyed through facial expressions, body
language, pace, intensity and tone of voice captures and holds the attention of others and
gives you a powerful means for self expression. A snarling face says something different
from a smile.

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. Paralanguage - The vocal cues that accompany spoken language: The way we say words
Albert Mehrabian, researcher, estimates that 39% of meaning is affected by vocal cues-not
the words but the way they are said.
It depends on many factors:
• Rate-speed
• Pitch
• Volume
• Vocal Fillers
• Quality

2.Kinesics – Study of Body Movements

Ekman and Freisen divide Kinesics into 5 categories
Emblems-body movements that have direct translation to words: OK
Illustator-Accent, emphasizes, or reinforces words: Fish was this big!
Regulators- Control the back and forth flow of speaking and listening.
Display of feelings- Feelings are shown through face and body motions
Adaptor-Way of adjusting to communication situation: Twist hair, tap pen

3. Occulesics -Eye behavior

When people sit in a circle, they are more likely to talk to those across the room from them
than those side to side. Eye behavior plays very important role in nonverbal communication
as it determines the attention of listener.

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4. Appearance/Artifacts
Aspects of personal appearance such as clothing, hairstyle, jewellery & make up
communicate people’s value & social group. In the workplace, the norms for appropriate
physical appearance depend on the industry, job & organizational culture.
Max Luscher says when people look at red for long periods of time, their blood pressure,
respiration; their blood pressure, respiration, and heartbeat all speed up.
This highlights the importance of color in nonverbal communication.
5. Proxemics
The nonverbal study of individual’s perception & use of space including territorial space is
known as proxemics. Terrotorial space varies greatly across cultures. This distance also
determines the interest between sender & receiver.
.6.Facial Expressions
In our body there are 80 muscles in our face that can create more than 7,000 facial
expressions.There six main types of facial expressions found in all cultures
Happiness- round eyes, smiles, raised cheeks
Disgust-wrinkled nose, lowered eyelids and eyebrow, raised upper lip
Fear- around eyes, open mouth

Angry- lower eyebrow and stare intensely.

Surprise-raised eyebrow, wide open eyes, opens mouth
Sadness- Area around mouth and eyes.

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ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Good communication is essential to any group’s or organization effectiveness.
Lifeblood of an organization:-
Communication is the lifeblood of an organization: if we could somehow remove
communication flows from an organization, we would not have an organization.
It is needed for:
• Exchanging information
• Exchanging options
• Making plans and proposals
• Reaching agreement
• Executing decisions
• Sending and fulfilling orders
• Conducting sales
Formal Small-Groups Network
Formal networks follow the authority chain & are limited to task related communication.The
basic types of communication network are:
Chain network: Communication travels up & down through the hierarchy. It rigidly follows
the formal chain of commands.
Y network: In this case information flows upward & downward through the hierarchy.
Wheel network: This network is a faster means of getting information to employees, since
the person at the hub of the wheel can do so directly & efficiently.
All Channels: This network permits all group members to actively communicate with each
other. It is characterized in practice by self managed teams, in which all group members are
free to contribute & no person takes on a leadership role.
Informal communication
Communication outside the organization’s formally authorized channels,is known as
informal communication. The nature of this type of communication is different from formal
communication, but the organization could not survive without it.
The Grapevine
The formal system is not the only communication network in a group or organization. There
is also informal i.e. Grapevine. A survey found that 75% of employees hear about matters
first through rumors on the grapevine. The three main characteristics of grapevine are:

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 • It is not controlled by the management
• It is perceived as the most believable & reliable than formal communication issued by
management.
• It is largely used to serve the interest of the people within it.
Despite the fact that grapevines sometimes create difficulties when they carry gossip & false
rumors, they are a fact of life in organizations.
Study:
Investigation was done on 67 managerial personnel in a small manufacturing firm. The basic
aim was to learn from the each communication recipient how he or she first perceived a
given piece of information & then trace back it back to its source. The result of the study
showed that, while the grapevine was an important source of information, only 10% of
executive acted as liaison individuals i.e. pass the information on to more than one other
person. For example if there is a decision of an employee leaving the organization, 81% of
the executives knew it, but only 11% transmitted this information to others. These results
were in consistent with other investigation survey on state government office employees.

CASE STUDIES: Role of Communication

Problem in Communication: Aviation disaster
Can the misunderstanding of a few words literally mean the difference between life & death?
This can happen with aviation business. Aviation disaster occurred in 1977 at foggy Tenerif
in the canary islands was the worst in history records. The captain of a KLM flight thought
that air traffic controller had cleared him to take off. But the controller intended only to give
departure instructions. Although the language spoken between the Dutch KLM captain & the
Spanish controller was English, confusion was created by heavy accent & improper
terminology. The KLM Boeing 747 hit a Pan am 747 at full throttle on the run way, killing
583 people.
Bad weather & poor communications paired up again to create another disaster in October
2001, this time at Milano-Linae Airport in Italy. Visibility was poor & tower controllers were
not able to establish visual or radar contact with planes. Miscommunications between the
controller & the pilots of an SAS commercial jet & a small citation business jet, combined
with poor visibility, led to the two planes colliding on the runway. One hundred & ten people
died.
How can Organizations outperform other Organizations?

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The 2003/2004 Watson Wyatt Communication ROI study examines the relationship between
an organization strategy & practices &its shareholder returns. The survey results are
compelling. Organizations that communicate effectively outperform other organization
financially. A significant improvement in communication effectiveness is associated with a
29.5% increase in market value of an organization.
Effective communication here is implied when it is linked with:
• Helping employees understand the business
• Exhibiting strong leadership by management during organizational change.
• Aligning employees’ actions with customer needs
• Providing information to employee regarding the value of rewards program.
• There are a number of potential measures for communication effectiveness. But
organization that communicate effectively know which measure will give them the
crucial information that can help their bottom lines.

Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance - 2005/2006

Communication ROI Study™
Communication is an important part of the business landscape.It strengthens the
organization’s vision, connects employees to the business lead to the progress of employee &
brings prosperity for the organization. The 2003/2004 Watson Wyatt Communication ROI
Study proves that there is correlation between communication effectiveness, organizational
turnover and financial performance.
Further research in 2005-06, included 355 U.S. & Canadian companies that had median
annual revenue of $1.8 billion & on average 13000 employees. Based on the research the
following results are obtained:
Results:
• Companies that communicate effectively have a 19.4 percent higher market premium
than companies that do not.

• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective communication were
over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-2004) than were returns for
firms with less effective communication.

• The 2005/2006 study found evidence that communication effectiveness is a leading

indicator of financial performance.

Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of
employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively

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Is two way communications effective?
The study is based on the survey conducted on 11 undertakings (four government & seven
private) in Kolkata, Durgapur, Jamshedpur & Delhi whose number of employees ranging
from 300 to 19000.All the organizations in both the sector were following written
communications emanating from top management & addressed to heads at the departmental
level. However, from the heads at the departmental downward to the worker level, verbal
communication was in practice.

Results:
Actions in an organization Government undertaking Private undertaking
Information about future One half i.e. two companies Two-fifths of 7
plans of company (1/2) companies(2/5)
Verbal communication all Fourth-fifths(4/5)
between worker & heads
Program for improving two One-Fourth(1/4) >fourth-fifths(4/5)
way communication
Suggestion boxes in office Three fourths(3/4) <three –fifths(3/5)
Utility of suggestion box One-third(1/3) One-fourth(1/4)
Awareness about informal all Five undertaking
communication

The researcher concluded the study with the following pessimistic remark:
“Effective communications from the worker to top management in large industrial
undertakings does not exist, & communication from management to worker is poor. The
existing downward communication is only connected with job and employment policies like
wages, working hours, reporting time, charge sheets & so on. Upward communication is
centered on the legal issues of employee grievances. But this is not all in communication.
Informing the employee about the company’s future expansion program, telling him where
he stands, his roles in company’s production picture, & so forth play an important role in
productivity.”
Lost in Translation...
After 1991 of globalization, when the barrier between the countries were eliminated by
trading across the globe then the barriers of communication comes into the picture. Many

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U.S. companies have overseas patent, including DaimlerChrysler AG, Diageo PLC, Anglo-
Dutch Unilever PLC. Similarly U.S. Companies have an overseas presence. To avoid
communication problems, many companies require their managers to learn the local
language. U.S. managers sometimes rely solely on the body language & facial expressions to
communicate. The problem arises when there is a cultural difference even in the nonverbal
means of communication that may result in serious misunderstandings. To avoid all these
problems, there is only one solution left for the managers that is they should equip
themselves with their host country’s culture.

In House Journal – A source of canny communications in Indian organizations

Indian organizations use colorful people-friendly house journals as a part of their strategy to
help manage & motivate employees. Specifically, house journal help them in:
• Building images
• Building a team spirit
• Educating employees
• Keeping employees informed
These sources of communication help them in correcting & improving their images as
projected by media. For example: In East West Airlines, when there was attracting flak it was
its journal to reach out to staffers & & boost employee morale. In an organization, efforts
have also been made to use such journal in building team spirits. They are also used to
educate their workforce about use of various resources in an organization. For example in
National Thermal Power Corporation, employees learn use & abuse of electricity through
comics. This also provides a mean to keep the employees informed about their various
activities.

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For effective communication, not only should the journal be & colorful, concerted efforts
also needed more on visual content & drastically reduce the editorial content. Pepsi, for
instance, has aptly named its journal Aha to highlight the fact that it is light, frothy &
refreshing reading-in fact ,as cool as its soft drinks. The idea is to evoke team spirit &
involve everyone.

CONCLUSION

The various cases used in the study highlighted the fact that companies must prioritize
the many best practices in terms of communication improvement programs and lessons
learned & fit the critical best practices into an operating strategy. They companies should
promote effective communication by helping employees understand the business,
Exhibiting strong leadership by management during organizational change, Aligning
employees’ actions with customer needs, Providing information to employee regarding
the value of rewards program. Employees in organizations should be equipped with the
host’s country culture so that they can manage their business in every place of the world.

REFERENCES

Books Organizational Behavior By:Stephan P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge,

Seema Sanghi
Organizational Behavior By:Fred Luthans

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 Organizational Behavior By:K.Aswathappa
ICMR

Websites used www.hr.com

www.simply-communicate.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?
id=623&d=136&h=60&f=75
www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender.asp?id=w-868&page=1
1000venture.com
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rizwanashraf.com

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