ADMAS UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT- I

NAME: MULUGETA BEZA

ID.NO: 0421/18

SECTION-BM2

SUBMITTED TO: INS. LITA DANIEL

SUBMISSION DATE: MAY 03/2012 E.C

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

 1. Briefly discuss the Meaning of Communication via five essential points.

The word ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin word ‘communis’, which means common.
The term communication refers to the sharing of ideas in common. In other words, it is the
transmission and interaction of facts, ideas, opinions, feelings or attitudes.

Communication is the act of transmitting verbal and non-verbal information and understanding
between seller and buyer. It is a process by which information and feelings are shared by people
through an exchange of verbal and non-verbal messages.

Communication is the process of passing ideas, views, facts, information and understanding from
one person to another. This process is necessary for making the subordinates understand what the
management expects from them.

Communication is the sum of all things a person does when he wants to create an understanding
in the mind of another.

It is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. It is
essentially a bridge of meaning between people. By using this bridge of meaning, a person can
safely cross the river of misunderstanding that separates all the people.

Essential points to consider when defining communication:

i. Communication is a process: Communication is a process, which means that it is ongoing

and always-in motion, moving forward and changing continuously.
Communication is a two-way process wherein the message in the form of ideas, thoughts,
feelings, opinions is transmitted between two or more persons with the intent of creating a
shared understanding.
ii. Communication is purposeful: It is what people are trying to accomplish by
communicating. No communication made without purpose. We communicate with purpose
or reason.
iii. Communication is symbolic: It relies symbols, which are abstract, arbitrary, and ambiguous
representations of other things. Human communication involves interaction with and through
symbols.
iv. Communication involves people: Communication is simply the act of transferring
information from one place, person or group to another. Every communication involves (at

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 least) one sender, a message and a recipient. Hence communication is an exchange of
information, thoughts and ideas between two or more people.
v. Communication involves shared meaning: Where people must agree on the definition of
the terms they are using. Only throughsymbols can the mental images of as sender have
meaning for others.
2. Discuss the nature/characteristics of communication.

The characteristics of communication are as follows:

i. At least two persons: Communication involves at least two persons, the sender and the
receiver. The sender sends the message and the receiver receives the message. There is an
exchange of information between two or more persons.
ii. Two-way process: Communication is essentially a two-way process. It does not merely
means sending and receiving messages. It is not complete unless and until the message has
been understood by the receiver in the same sense.
iii. Form of communication: Communication may take several forms, e.g., order, instruction,
report, queries, etc. It may be verbal or written. It may be formal or informal.
iv. Scope: Communication is present in all human relationships. It is essential in all types of
organisations and at all levels of management. It has a very wide scope.
v. Dynamic process: Communication is influenced by the mood and thinking of the sender and
receiver. It keeps on changing depending upon the Level of understanding of the sender and
receiver.
vi. Goal-oriented: Communication is goal-oriented and is effective only when there is a
congruence of goals of the sender and the receiver.
vii. Interdisciplinary: Communication derives knowledge from several sciences like
anthropology (study of body language), sociology (study of human behaviour), psychology
(study of human), etc. The linking between these sciences makes communication effective.
viii. Interpersonal relations: The main purpose of communication is to influence the human
behaviour which creates interpersonal relations.
ix. Circular process: There is circular flow of information in the communication process. After
the feedback, the receiver of the original message is required to transmit another message.
The response indicates the success of the communication.

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3. Show how the role and importance of communication at organization level.

The role and importance of communication in an organization are:

i. The Basis of Co-ordination: The manager explains to the employees the organizational
goals, modes of their achievement and also the interpersonal relationships amongst them.
This provides coordination between various employees and also departments. Thus,
communications act as a basis for coordination in the organization.
ii. Fluent Working: A manager coordinates the human and physical elements of an
organization to run it smoothly and efficiently. Thiscoordination is not possible without
proper communication.
iii. The Basis of Decision Making: Proper communication provides information to the
manager that is useful for decision making. No decisions could be taken in the absence of
information. Thus, communication is the basis for taking the right decision.
iv. Increases Managerial Efficiency: The manager conveys the targets and issues
instructions and allocates jobs to the subordinates. All of these aspects involve
communication. Thus, communication is essential for the quick and effective
performance of the managers and the entire organization.
v. Increases Cooperation and Organizational Peace: The two-way communication
process promotes co-operation and mutual understanding amongst the workers and also
between them and the management. This leads to less friction and thus leads to industrial
peace in the factory and efficient operations.
vi. Boosts Morale of the Employees: Good communication helps the workers to adjust to
the physical and social aspect of work. It also improves good human relations in the
industry. An efficient system of communication enables the management to motivate,
influence and satisfy the subordinates which in turn boosts their morale and keeps them
motivated.
4. What is the Significance of Communication?

Significance of communication is:

 For Transfer of Ideas: To transfer ideas from one person to another, communication plays a
vital role. Every human being has some ideas that are unique to his own mind. Many of these
ideas can be implemented in real life and can turn into major creations too. But to make the

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 transition from just a thought to an implementation, it requires effectual communication.
Hence, the idea should be communicated as a plan, drawing or description so that it can be
created further.
 For Interacting with Society: It is very important that we interact with our surroundings and
people living in the surroundings. Whenever we talk to someone, we, unknowingly or
unknowingly, react to his/her questions, actions or comments. This is communication. While
corresponding to someone in any way, we are actually communicating. Healthy
communication is essential for a healthy society.
 For Education: To educate someone, we need to communicate the ideas in the syllabus or
the study material to the student. Education involves a collection of all kinds of
communication i.e., audio, video, books and lectures. However, herein the deal is not just to
communicate, but to communicate effectively. Inefficient communication can lead to transfer
of ambiguous knowledge.
 To Update Oneself: In the modern world, nothing is more important than staying up-to-date.
Only through proper channels of communication can people be updated with current affairs
and important events across the globe. Communication is the actual transfer of information
through various mediums in such a way that it caters to the needs of people from different
strata of life. News can actually stand for as a collection of information from the 4 directions,
i.e. North, East, West and South, that, in turn, is delivered to us through various
communication channels.
 For Entertainment: Entertainment, today, is mostly based on the channels of mass
communication, like films and television. Moreover, theatre and other arts also communicate
certain ideas to its audience. Internet is another common platform for entertainment, which
again is a mode of communication. In short, we can safely conclude that communication and
entertainment are entwined in today’s world.
 To Understand the World: Unless we communicate with the world, we will never
understand the way things function and how things are piled up and related to one another.
People are just a fragment amongst these things. Did you know that other elements of the
world also communicate to us, but in their own ways? We need to interact with the
environment in order to understand life. People who do not communicate tend to get isolated,
which thereby leads to many problems.

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5. Discuss Communication in Management.

Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the

basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.

Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication

serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the
managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also
requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers
must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals.
Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication.

An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering

and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication analyze the
reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary
responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the
organization.

Communication plays an important role in discharging the various functions of management. No

function of management is possible without the communication process.

Its importance in performing the various functions is as follows:

a) Planning: Planning, the most important among the various functions of management
requires extensive communication among the executives and the other personnel.
Communication is important in executing a planned programme and then controlling the
activities of the personnel with the help of ‘Feed-back’ information. It is essential in
evaluating the performance of the personnel in the light of planned objectives.
b) Organisation: Organisation is the second important function of the management which
decides the various activities of the organisation, divides the various activities of the
organisation into workable units, delegate authority to perform them.
For this purpose, communication is a must because different persons, departments and groups
come to know their powers and jurisdiction only through an effective means of
communication.

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c) Direction and Leadership: Direction and effective leadership requires an efficient system of
communication in the organisation. A good leader can direct or lead his sub-ordinates only
when an efficient system of communication is present. It brings both leader and sub-ordinates
in close contact to each other and remove misunderstanding if any.
It promotes co-operation and helps in getting the work done in the desired direction. A leader
can make his orders and directives more useful by inviting opinions, suggestions, etc., from
his sub-ordinates and it requires communication.
d) Motivation: An efficient system of communication enables management to change the
attitude, to motivate, influence and satisfy the sub-ordinates. Most of the conflicts in business
are not basic but are caused by misunderstood motives and ignorance of facts. Proper and
timely communication between the interested parties, reduce the points of friction and
minimise those that inevitably arise.
Good communication assists the workers in their adjustments with the physical and social
aspect of work. It is the basic of participative and democratic pattern of management.
e) Co-Ordination: In order to achieve the desired objectives, it is very necessary to co-
ordinate the efforts of labour engaged in the various activities of production.
Co-ordination requires mutual understanding about the organisational goals the mode of their
accomplishment and their inter-relationship between the works being performed by various
individuals. This all can be achieved only through effective communication.
f) Control: Communication aids in controlling the activities of the individuals, departments
and groups. The facts, standards and information are communicated to the concerned parties
and they performed their respective obligations according to standards set forth in the plan.
The management evaluates their performance in the light of standards fixed bringing out the
deviations and tries to locate them. It tries to remove such deviations in the next plan. It all
requires proper communication.

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 REFERENCE
 Business Communication Handout, prepared by Ins. Lita Daniel
 Module of Communication Principles, prepared by Rai Technology University
 https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-interpersonal-communication-organization-
18338.html, May 03/2020 @ 07:04 PM
 https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/management/communication/what-is-
communication/32117, May 03/2020 @ 07:38 PM
 https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/management/importance-of
communication/importance-of-communication-business-management/18512
May 04/2020 @ 06:19 AM
 http://routecommunication.com/why-is-communication-important-to-human-life.html
May 04/2020 @ 06:55 AM
 https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-studies/directing/communication ,
May 05/2020 @ 08:43 PM
https://managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-communication.htm,
May 05/2020 @ 11:09 PM
 http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/importance-of-communication-10812.html
May 08/2020 @ 09:29 PM