Communication

 the process of transmitting information from one person to another using

a shared set of symbols.
 the process that links group members and enables them to coordinate
their activities.
 Communication also functions to build and reinforce interdependence
between various parts of the organization.
 As a linking mechanism among the different organizational subsystems,
communication is a central feature of the structure of groups and
organizations.

Data and Information

 Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be
something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is
organized.
 When data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given
context so as to make it useful, it is called information.
 Example:
Data = quantity of a certain product bought in a transaction
Information = a report showing total sales in the day

In an organization, communication serves four purposes:

 Control - Organizations have rules and processes that employees must

follow, communicated to workers to keep order and equity operating
within the system.
 Motivation - Goals, feedback and reinforcement are among those items
communicated to employees to improve performance and stimulate
motivation.
 Information - Organizations need to keep their employees informed of
their goals, industry information, preferred processes, new developments,
and technology, etc., in order that they can do their jobs correctly and
efficiently.
 Emotional Expression - Communication is how employees express
themselves, air their grievances, and interact socially. For a lot of
employees, their employment is a primary source of social interaction. 
Principles of Communication

Communication is happening between individuals when all parties are engaged

in uncovering and understanding the meaning behind the words. It’s not
something that one person does alone. When professionals makes their
contributions to the uncovering and understanding process, they should strive
to be:

1. Clear. Their messages should be easily understood

2. Concise. Their messages should feature only necessary information
3. Objective. Their messages should be impartial
4. Consistent. Their messages, when communicated more than once,
should always be the same
5. Complete. Their messages should feature all the necessary information
6. Relevant. Their messages should have meaning to its receiver
7. Understanding of Audience Knowledge. Their messages should
consider what the receiver already knows about the situation, and not
assume too much or too little

The Communication Process

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-organizationalbehavior/chapter/the-
process-of-communication/
1. Sender

 the source of the communication, the initiator of the message that need
to be transmitted, a person who has a need or desire to send a message
to others.
2. Encoding
 putting the targeted message into appropriate medium which may be
verbal or non-verbal depending upon the situation, time, space and
nature of the message to be sent.
 The sender puts the message into a series of symbols, pictures or words
which will be communicated to the intended receiver.
3. Message
 referred to as the information conveyed by words as in speech and write-
ups, signs, pictures or symbols depending upon the situation and the
nature and importance of information desired to be sent.
 Message is the heart of communication. It is the content the sender
wants to covey to the receiver.
4. Channel
 the medium through which the message travels. The channel is the
observable carrier of the message.
 The message is transmitted over a channel that links the sender with the
receiver.
 The message may be oral or written and it may be transmitted through a
memorandum, a computer, telephone, cell phone, or televisions.
5. Receiver

 Receiver is the person or group who the message is meant for. He may be
a listener, a reader or a viewer. 
 as significant a factor in communication process as the sender is. It is
the other end of the process.
 The receiver should be in fit condition to receive the message, that is,
he/she should have channel of communication active and should not be
preoccupied with other thoughts that might cause him/her to pay
insufficient attention to the message.

6. Decoding
 Decoding refers to interpreting or converting the sent message into
intelligible language.
  It simply means comprehending the message.
 The receiver after receiving the message interprets it and tries to
understand it in the best possible manner.

7. Feedback
 It refers to the response of the receiver as to the message sent to him/her
by the sender.
 Feedback is necessary to ensure that the message has been effectively
encoded, sent, decoded and comprehended.
8. Noise
 It refers to any obstruction that is caused by the sender, channel or
receiver during the process of communication.
 For example, bad telephone or internet connection, faulty encoding,
faulty decoding, inattentive receiver, poor understanding of message due
to prejudice or inappropriate gestures, etc.

Types of Communication

A. Interpersonal Communication

1. Oral Communication

 takes place in conversations, group discussions, phone calls, and

other situations in which the spoken words are used to express
`meaning.

 The primary advantage of oral communication is speed, as the

sender of the messages encodes it into words, and a receiver
immediately decodes it and offers feedback. 

 Its disadvantage is it may suffer from problems of inaccuracy if

the speaker chooses the wrong words to convey meaning or leaves
 out pertinent details, if noise disrupts the process, or if the receiver
forgets part of the message.

2. Written Communication

 includes newsletters, memos, email, instant messaging and other

circumstances in which written words are used to transmit
meaning.

 An advantage is often quite accurate and provides a permanent

record of the exchange.

 Disadvantages are lack of feedback and time consuming.

3. Nonverbal Communication

 A communication exchange that does not use words to carry more

meaning than the strict definition of the words themselves.

 It often relies on facial expressions, body movements, physical

contact, and gestures.

B. Organizational Communication

 Communication isn’t just a one-on-one event, where an individual

decides to communicate and starts the process.
 Organizational communication can feature other elements, elements that
involve more than one person.

1. Formal Small-Group Networks

 follows official reporting relationships or prescribed channels.

 three common networks are the chain, wheel and all channel.
 These diagrams represent communication in a three-level organization,
with the dot at the top being the leader, the second tier being mid-level
supervisors, and the third tier being subordinates to the mid-level
supervisors.

 Chain Group - rigidly follows a chain of command, message and

communication originates with one person on the chain, and has to
travel up and down the line.

 Wheel Group - less rigid, leaders communicate to both levels of their

organizations and allow communication from both levels back to them.
Communication in a wheel network is fast, because everyone hears the
same message, and it’s high in accuracy.
 All-Channel Group - permits all levels of the group to actively
communicate with each other. Communication in an all-channel network
is fast, and accuracy is moderate. All-channel groups usually experience
no emergence of a leader and member satisfaction is high.

2. Informal Organizational Communication (Grapevine)

 also called Grapevine, may or may not follow official reporting

relationships or prescribed channels and was primarily seen as a
potential hindrance to effective organizational performance.
 It may cross different levels and different departments or work units, and
it may or may not have anything to do with official organizational
business.
 The two most common grapevine chains in organizations are the gossip
chain (in which one person communicates messages to many others)
and the cluster chain (in which many people pass messages to a few
others).
Directions of Communication

A. Vertical Communication

 Communication that flows up and down the organization, usually along

formal reporting lines; takes place between managers and their superiors
and subordinates and may involve several different levels of the
organization

 Vertical communication can be broken down into two categories:

downward communication and upward communication.
1. Downward Communication

o occurs when information flows down the hierarchy from superiors

to subordinates.

o The typical content of these messages is directives on how

something is to be done, the assignment of new responsibilities,
performance feedback, and general information that the higher-
level manager thinks will be of value to the lower-level manager.

2. Upward Communication

 consists of messages from subordinates to superiors.

 This flow is usually from subordinates to their direct superior, then

to that person’s direct superior, and so on up the hierarchy.

 The typical content of upward communication is requests,

information that the lower-level manager thinks is of importance to
the higher-level manager, responses to requests from the higher-
level manager, suggestions, complaints, and financial information.
B. Horizontal Communication

 Communication that flows laterally within the organization; involves

colleagues and peers at the same level of the organization and may
involve individuals from several different organizational units.
 It facilitates coordination among interdependent units.
 For example, an operations manager might communicate to a marketing
manager that inventory levels are running low and that projected delivery
dates should be extended by two weeks.

Barriers to Effective Communication

 factors that block or significantly distort successful communication.

 Can be classified into three:

1. Personal Barriers
 Are hindrances to effective communication arising from a
communicator’s characteristics as a person, such as emotions, values,
poor listening, habits, sex, age, race, socioeconomic status, religion,
education, etc.
Examples:

 Emotions cloud the communicator’s ability to judge correctly the

real meaning of messages received.
 People with different values may find it hard to understand each
other.
 Poor listening habits of receiver frustrate the communication effort
of a sender.
2. Physical barriers
 Refer to interferences to effective communication occurring due to the
nature of environment where communication is undertaken.
Examples:
  Distractions like background noise, poor lighting, too hot or too
cold environment can affect concentration and interfere with
effective communication.
 Other example is the distance between employees, a natural
barrier which exists if employees are located in different buildings
or different sites.
3. Semantic barriers

 Semantics is the study of meaning as expressed in symbols. Words,

pictures, or actions are symbols that suggest certain meanings.
 When wrong meaning has been chosen by the receiver,
misunderstanding occurs.
 Semantic barrier may be defined as an “interference with the reception of
a message that occurs when the message is misunderstood even though
it is received exactly as transmitted.”
 For example, the word ‘profit’, has different interpretations. It can mean
pre-tax profits, fixed amount of profit, post-tax profits or a rate of
return. 
Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication
When communication barriers threaten effective performance, certain measure
must be instituted to eliminate them. Some of these measures are:

1. Use feedback to facilitate understanding and increase potential for

appropriate action.
2. Repeat messages in order to provide assurance that they properly
received.
3. Use multiple channels so that the accuracy of the information may be
enhanced.
4. Use of simplified language that is easily understandable and which
eliminates the possibility of people getting mixed- up with meanings.

Channels of Communication

 A communication channel is the medium, mean, manner or method

through which a message is sent to its intended receiver.
 The basic channels are written (hard copy print or digital formats), oral
or spoken, and electronic and multimedia.
  Within those channels, communications can be formal or informal.

Richness of different communication channels

 Channel richness refers to the amount and immediacy of information

that can be transmitted.