Busi

nessCommunicat
ions(
5002)
Semester
:Aut
umn2020

ASSI
GNMENTNo.1

Q.1Descr
ibeCommuni
cat
ionPr
ocessModelwi
thappr
opr
iat
eexampl
es.

Communi cationi sacompl expr ocess,andi ti

sdi f
fi
culttodet erminewher eorwi t
hwhom a
communi cationencount erstar t
sandends.Model sofcommuni cat i
onsi mpl i
fytheprocessby
providingav i
sualrepresentat i
onoft hevari
ousaspectsofacommuni cationencounter .Some
model sexpl aincommuni cationi nmor edet ai
lthanothers,butev ent hemostcompl exmodel
stil
ldoesn’tr ecreatewhatweexper i
enceinev enamomentofacommuni cati
onencount er.
Model sst i
l
lser v
eav aluablepur posef orstudentsofcommuni cationbecauset heyallowust o
seespeci fi
cconcept sandst epswi thintheprocessofcommuni cati
on,def i
necommuni cati
on,
andappl ycommuni cationconcept s.Wheny oubecomeawar eofhowcommuni cati
onfunct i
ons,
youcant hinkmor edeliberatelyt hr
oughy ourcommuni cat
ionencount er s,whichcanhel pyou
better,prepar eforfuturecommuni cat
ionandl earnfrom y ourpr evi
ouscommuni cation.The
three model s ofcommuni cation we wi lldiscuss aret he transmi ssion,i nt
eracti
on,and
transacti
onmodel s.

Althought hesemodel sofcommuni cati

ondiff
er,theycont ai
nsomecommonel ements.The
fi
rsttwomodel swewi lldi
scuss,thet r
ansmissi
onmodelandt heinter
act
ionmodel,
incl
udethe
foll
owi ngparts:part
ici
pants,messages,encoding,decoding,andchannels.Incommunicati
on
model s,thepar t
ici
pantsaret hesender sand/orr ecei
ver
sofmessagesi nacommuni cati
on
encount er
.Themessagei sthev erbalornonv erbalcontentbeingconveyedfr
om senderto
receiver.Forexampl e,wheny ousay“ Hell
o!”toy ourfri
end,y ouaresendingamessageof
greeti
ngt hatwill
bereceivedbyy ourfri
end.

The inter
nalcogni ti
ve pr ocess thatal l
ows par t
icipantst o send,r ecei ve,and under stand
messagesi st heencodinganddecodi ngpr ocess.Encodi ngist hepr ocessoft urningt hought s
i
ntocommuni cat
ion.Aswewi lllearnl ater ,thel ev elofconsci oust houghtt hatgoesi nto
encodingmessagesv ari
es.Decodi ngi st hepr ocessoft urni
ngcommuni cati
oni ntot hought s.
Forexampl e,youmayr ealizeyou’r
ehungr yandencodet hefol
lowi ngmessaget osendt oy our
roommat e:“I’
m hungr y.Doy ouwantt ogetpi zzat onight?”Asy ourr oommat er eceivest he
message,hedecodesy ourcommuni cationandt urnsi tbacki ntot hought sinor dert omake
meaningoutofi t
.Ofcour se,wedon’ tjustcommuni cateverbally
—wehav ev ariousopt i
ons,or
channelsforcommuni cati
on.Encodedmessagesar esentt hroughachannel ,orasensor yroute
onwhi chamessaget ravels,tother eceiverf ordecodi ng.Whil
ecommuni cat i
oncanbesentand
recei
vedusi nganysensor yr oute( si
ght ,smel l
,touch,t aste,orsound) ,mostcommuni cat i
on
occurst hrough visual( sight)and/ oraudi tory( sound)channel s.Ify ourr oommat e has
headphonesonandi sengr ossedinav ideogame,y oumayneedt ogethi sat tentionbywav i
ng
yourhandsbef oreyoucanaskhi m aboutdi nner.

Tr
ansmi
ssi
onModelofCommuni
cat
ion

Thet ransmissionmodelofcommuni cati

ondescr i
bescommuni cat
ionasal inear ,one-
way
processi nwhichasenderi nt
ent
ional
lytr
ansmi t
samessaget oar ecei
ver(Ell
is&McCl int
ock,
1990).Thi smodelf ocusesonthesenderandmessagewi thi
nacommuni cati
onencount er
.
Althought herecei
verisincl
udedinthemodel ,thi
srol
eisvi
ewedasmor eofat argetorend
pointratherthanpartofanongoi ngprocess.Wear el
eftt
opr esumet hatther eceiverei
ther
successf ull
yr eceivesandunder standst hemessageordoesnot .Theschol arswhodesi gned
thismodelext endedonal inearmodelpr oposedbyAr i
stotl
ecent uriesbef orethati ncl
udeda
speaker ,message,andhear er.Theywer ealsoinf l
uencedbyt headv entandspr eadofnew
communi cationt echnologiesoft het i
mesuchast el
egraphyandr adio,andy oucanpr obabl y
seet heset echnical i
nfl
uenceswi thinthemodel (
Shannon&Weav er ,1949) .Thinkofhowar adio
messagei ssentf rom aper soninther adiostudi
ot oy ouli
steni
ngi ny ourcar .Thesenderi st he
radioannouncerwhoencodesav erbalmessaget hatistransmi t
t edbyar adiot owerthrough
electromagnet icwav es(thechannel )andev ent
uallyreachesy our( ther eceiver
’s)earsv i
aan
antennaandspeaker sinor dertobedecoded.Ther adi
oannouncerdoesn’ treallyknowi fyou
receivehi sorhermessageornot ,buti ftheequipmenti swor kingandt hechanneli sfr
eeof
stati
c, t
hent her eisagoodchancet hatthemessagewassuccessf ullyreceived.

Sincet hismodeli ssenderandmessagef ocused,responsi bil

ityisputont hesendert ohelp
ensur ethemessagei ssuccessf ul
l
yconv eyed.Thismodel emphasi zesclari
tyandef f
ect i
veness,
buti talsoacknowl edgesthatt herearebar ri
erstoeffectivecommuni cati
on.Noi sei sany thi
ng
thatinterfereswithamessagebei ngsentbet weenpar ti
cipantsi nacommuni cati
onencount er.
Ev enifaspeakersendsacl earmessage,noi semayi nterferewi thamessagebei ngaccur ately
receivedanddecoded.Thet ransmi ssi
onmodelofcommuni cationaccount sf orenv i
ronment al
andsemant icnoise.Envir
onment alnoiseisanyphy sicalnoi sepr esentinacommuni cati
on
encount er.Otherpeopletalkinginacr owdeddi nercouldi nterf
er ewithyourabi li
tytot ransmita
messageandhav eitsuccessf ul
lydecoded.Whi leenv i
ronment alnoisei nt er
fereswi ththe
transmi ssionofthemessage,semant icnoiser ef
erst onoi set hatoccur sint heencodi ngand
decodi ngpr ocesswhenpar t
ici
pant sdonotunder standasy mbol .Touseat echni calexampl e,
FM ant ennaecan’tdecodeAM r adiosignal
sandv i
cev ersa.Likewi se,most

Frenchspeakerscan’tdecodeSwedi shandvicever
sa.Semanti
cnoi secanalsoi
nter
ferei
n
communi cat
ion between peopl
e speaki
ng t
he same l
anguage because manywords hav
e
multipl
eorunfamil
iarmeanings.

Althought het ransmi ssionmodelmayseem si mpleorev enunder dev el

opedt oust oday ,t he
creat i
onoft hismodelal l
owedschol arst oexami net hecommuni cat i
onpr ocessi nnew way s,
whi chev ent uallyl edt omor ecompl exmodel sandt heoriesofcommuni cationt hatwewi ll
discussmor el atel y.Thi smodeli snotqui terichenought ocapt uredy nami cf ace-t of ace
i
nt eract i
ons,butt herear ei nstancesi nwhi chcommuni cati
oni sone- wayandl inear ,especi all
y
comput er-medi atedcommuni cati
on( CMC) .Ast hef ollowing“ Get t
ingPl uggedI n”boxexpl ai ns,
CMC i si ntegratedi ntomanyaspect sofourl i
vesnow andhasopenedupnew way sof
communi catingandbr oughtsomenew chal l
enges.Thi nkoft extmessagi ngf orexampl e.The
transmi ssionmodelofcommuni cati
oni swel lsuit
edf ordescr ibingt heactoft extmessagi ng
sincet hesenderi sn’tsur ethatthemeani ngwasef fectivel
yconv ey edort hatt hemessagewas
receiv ed atal l
.Noi se can al so interfere witht he t ransmi ssion ofa t ext .I fy ou use an
abbr ev i
ationt her eceiverdoesn’ tknow ort hephoneaut ocorrect st osomet hingcompl et el
y
differentt hany oumeant ,thensemant i
cnoi sehasi nterfer
edwi tht hemessaget r
ansmi ssion.I
enjoybar gainhunt i
ngatt hrif
tst or
es,soIj ustrecent l
ysentat extt oaf ri
endaski ngi fshe
want edt ogot hriftingov ertheweekend.Af tersher epliedwi th“What ?!?
”Ir eviewedmyt extand
sawt hatmy“ smar t”phonehadaut ocorrectedt hri
fti
ngt othrusting!Youhav elikel yexper i
enced
simi l
arpr oblems wi tht extmessagi ng,and a qui ck Googl e sear ch f orexampl es oft ext
messagesmadef unnyorembar r
assingbyt heaut ocor rectfeaturepr ov esthatmanyot hersdo,
too.

I
nter
act
ionModelofCommuni
cat
ion
Thei nteractionmodelofcommuni cat i
ondescr ibescommuni cationasapr ocessi nwhi ch
parti
cipantsal ter
nateposi t
ionsassenderand r eceiverand gener atemeani ng bysendi ng
messagesandr eceiv
ingf eedbackwi thinphy sicalandpsy chol
ogical context s(Schr amm, 1997) .
Rathert hani l
lustr
atingcommuni cationasal inear ,one-waypr ocess,t hei nteractionmodel
i
ncor poratesf eedback,whi chmakescommuni cationamor ei nter act
ive,t wo- waypr ocess.
Feedbacki ncludesmessagessenti nr esponset oot hermessages.Forexampl e,youri nstructor
mayr espondt oapoi ntyour ai
sedur ingclassdi scussionory oumaypoi ntt ot hesof awhen
yourr oommat easksy ouwher et her emot econt rolis.Theinclusionofaf eedbackl oopal so
l
eadst o amor ecompl exunder standing oft her olesofpar ti
cipant sin acommuni cati
on
encount er.Rat herthanhav ingonesender ,onemessage,andoner ecei v
er,t hismodelhast wo
sender -
receiver swhoexchangemessages.Eachpar t
ici
pantalternat esr olesassenderand
receiverin or dert o keep a communi cati
on encount ergoing.Al though t his seemsl i
ke a
perceptibl
eanddel i
ber at
epr ocess,weal ternatebet weent herolesofsenderandr eceiverv ery
quicklyandof tenwithoutconsci oust hought .

Thei nteracti
onmodeli sal
sofewermessagesf ocusedandmor einter
acti
onfocused.Whilethe
transmi ssi
onmodelf ocusedonhow amessagewast ransmit
tedandwhet herornoti twas
received,thei nt
eractionmodeli smor econcernedwi t
ht hecommuni cat
ionprocessitsel
f.In
fact,thismodelacknowl edgesthatt her
earesomanymessagesbei ngsentatonet i
met hat
manyoft hem maynotev en ber ecei
ved.Somemessagesar ealso uni
ntent
ional
lysent.
Ther ef
or e,communi cati
onisn’
tjudgedeffect
iveorinef
fecti
veinthi
smodel basedonwhet heror
notasi nglemessagewassuccessf ul
lytr
ansmittedandreceiv
ed.

Q.2Whyeff
ect
ivecommuni
cat
ioni
simpor
tantf
oror
gani
zat
ionalper
for
mancedi
scusswi
th
ar
gument
s.

Thei
mpor
tanceofcommuni
cat
ioni
nanor
gani
zat
ioncanbesummar
izedasf
oll
ows:

1.Communi cat
ionpromotesmoti
vat
ionbyinf
ormingandclari
fyi
ngtheempl
oyeesaboutt
he
tasktobedone,themannert
heyar
eperfor
mingthetask,
andhowt oi
mprov
ethei
rper
for
mance
i
fitisnotuptothemark.

2.Communi
cati
onisasourceofi nf
ormat
iontotheorgani
zati
onalmember sfordeci
sion-
maki
ngpr
ocessasi
thel
psi
denti
fyi
ngandassessi
ngal
ter
nati
vecourseofact
ions.

3.Communi cati
onalsoplaysacruci
alrol
einalteringi
ndi
vi
dual’
satt
it
udes,i.e.
,awell
-i
nfor
med
i
ndivi
dualwillhavebett
erat t
it
udethanal ess-
informedi
ndivi
dual
.Organizati
onalmagazines,
j
ournal
s,meet i
ngsandv ari
ousotherfor
msofor alandwri
tt
encommuni cati
onhelpinmolding
employee’
satti
tudes.

4.Communicat
ion al
so helps i
n soci
ali
zi
ng.I
nt oday
’sli
fet he onl
ypresence ofanot
her
i
ndi
vi
dual
foster
scommuni cati
on.Iti
sal
sosaidt
hatonecannotsurv
ivewit
houtcommunicat
ion.

5.Asdiscussedear li
er,communi cati
onal soassi
stsincontroll
i
ngpr ocess.Ithel
pscont r
oll
i
ng
organi
zat
ionalmember ’sbehav i
ori nv ari
ousway s.Therear evar
iousl evel
sofhi er
archyand
cert
ainpri
ncipl
esandgui deli
nest hatempl oyeesmustf oll
ow inanor gani
zati
on.Theymust
complywithorganizati
onal poli
cies,perfor
mt hei
rjobrol
eef f
ici
entl
yandcommuni cateanywor k
probl
em andgr i
evancet ot hei
rsuper i
ors.Thus,communi cati
onhelpsi ncontrol
li
ngfuncti
onof
management .

Aneffect
iveandeff
ici
entcommunicat
ionsystem r
equir
esmanager i
alprof
ici
encyindeliver
ing
andrecei
vingmessages.Amanagermustdiscovervari
ousbarr
ier
stocommuni cati
onanalyze
ther
easonsf ort
heiroccur
renceandtakeprevent
ivestepst
oav oi
dt hosebarr
iers.Thus,the
pr
imaryresponsi
bil
i
t yofamanageri
stodev
elopandmai
ntai
nanef
fect
ivecommuni
cat
ion
sy
stem i
ntheorganizat
ion.

Communicat
ionFl
owsi
nanOr
gani
zat
ionI
nanor
gani
zat
ion,communi
cat
ionf
lowsi
n5mai
n
di
rect
ions

1.Downwar
d

2.Upwar
d

3.Lat
eral

4.Di
agonal

5.Ext
ernal

1.Downwar
dFl
owofCommuni
cat
ion:

Communi cati
ont hatf lowsf r
om ahi gherlevelinanorgani
zati
ont oalowerl
evelisadownwar d
communi cati
on.Inot herwor ds,communi cat
ionfrom superi
orstosubordi
natesinachainof
commandi sadownwar dcommuni cati
on.Thiscommuni cati
onflowisusedbyt hemanager
st o
transmitwork-r
elatedi nfor
mat i
ont ot heempl oyeesatlowerl evel
s.Employeesrequi
rethis
i
nf ormat
ionforper for mingt hei
rjobsandf ormeet i
ngt heexpectati
onsoft hei
rmanager s.
Downwar dcommuni cat i
onisusedbyt hemanager sf orthef ol
lowi
ngpurposes-Pr ovi
ding
feedbackonempl oy eesper formance

2.Upwar
dFl
owofCommuni
cat
ion:

Communi cati
ont hatf lowst oahi gherlev eli nanor gani zationiscall
edupwar dcommuni cation.
Itpr
ov i
desfeedbackonhowwel ltheor gani zationisf unct i
oning.Thesubor di
natesuseupwar d
communi cati
on t o conv ey t heir probl ems and per formances t o t heir superiors. The
subordi
natesal so useupwar d communi cat i
on t ot ellhow wel ltheyhav eunder stood t he
downwar dcommuni cati
on.Itcanal sobeusedbyt heempl oy eestoshar ethei
rv iewsandi deas
andtopar ti
cipatei nt hedeci sion-maki ngpr ocess.Upwar dcommuni cati
onl eadstoamor e
commi tt
edandl oy alwor kfor
cei nanor gani zationbecauset heempl oyeesar egi v
enachancet o
rai
seandspeakdi ssat i
sfacti
oni ssuest ot hehi gherlev els.Themanager sgett oknowaboutt he
employeesfeelingst owar dstheirjobs, peer s, super v
isorandor gani
zati
oni ngener al
.Manager s
canthusaccor dinglytakeact i
onsf ori mpr ov i
ngt hings.Gr ievanceRedr essalSyst em,Compl aint
andSuggest i
onBox,JobSat i
sfacti
onsur v ey set callhel pinimpr ovi
ngupwar dcommuni cation.
Otherexampl es ofUpwar d Communi cat i
on ar e- performance r epor t
s made byl ow l ev el
managementf orr eviewingbyhi gherlevelmanagement ,empl oyeeatti
tudesur veys,l
ettersf rom
employees,empl oyee-managerdi scussionset c.

3.Lat
eral/Hor
izont
alCommuni
cat
ion:

Communi cat
ionthattakesplaceatsamel ev elsofhi er
archyi nanor gani
zationiscall
edl at
eral
communi cati
on,i.e.,communi cati
onbet ween peer s,bet ween manager satsamel evelsor
betweenanyhor izontal
l
yequi val
entor ganizationalmember s.Theadv antagesofhor i
zontal
communi cati
onar easf ol
lows:Iti stimesav i
ng.I tfacil
it
at esco-ordi
nati
onoft het ask.It
faci
li
tatesco-operati
onamongt eam member s.Itprovi
desemot i
onalandsoci alassi
stancet o
theorganizat
ionalmember s.Ithel
psinsol v
ingv ari
ousor ganizati
onalprobl
ems.I tisameansof
i
nformat i
onshar i
ngI tcanal sobeusedf orr esolvingconf lict
sofadepar t
mentwi thot her
departmentorconf l
ict
swi t
hinadepar t
ment .
4.Di
agonalCommuni
cat
ion:

Communi cat
iont
hattakesplacebetweenamanagerandempl oy
eesofotherworkgr
oupsis
cal
led di
agonalcommunicati
on.Itgeneral
lydoesnotappearon or
gani
zati
onalchart
.For
i
nstance-Todesignatraini
ngmoduleatraini
ngmanageri
nter
act
swit
hOperati
onspersonnel
toenquir
eaboutthewaytheyper
for
mt hei
rtask.

5.Ext
ernalCommuni
cat
ion:

Communi cat
iont
hattakesplacebetweenamanagerandext
ernalgr
oupssuchas-suppli
ers,
vendor
s,banks,f
inanci
alinst
it
utesetc.Fori
nst
ance-Torai
secapit
altheManagi
ngdirect
or
wouldi
nteractwi
ththeBankManager.

Q.3Chal
lengesofbusi
nesscommuni
cat
ioni
nthe21stcent
ury
,di
scusswi
thar
gument
s.

Althoughi tbeganwi ththef ai

lureofsubpr imel oansandmor tgage-backedsecur it
ies,themost
recentfinancialcri
sishastouchedev eryaspectofoursoci etyandcal ledintoquest i
onmanyof
thebasi cassumpt i
onsbywhi chwehav el i
vedf orthelastf i
ft
yy ears.Ithasbeent heul t
imate
i
nterdiscipli
narydilemma,impl icatingtechnol ogicali
nnov ationasmuchasf i
nancialinnov ati
on,
scholarlytheoryasmuchasgl obalr ealpoli
ti
k.Theessay scol l
ectedi nthisv ol
umer eflectthe
rangeofcausesandexami nemanyoft heconsequences.Butt hisv ol
umedoesnotmer ely
rehearset hewel l
-document eder rors,fai
lures,andmi sfortunet hatr esult
edi nthepani cofFal l
2008.Inst ead,i
tseeksawayf or war d.I
nDecember2009, withguidancef r
om JayW.Lor schand
RakeshKhur ana,theAmer icanAcademyofAr tsandSci encesandNewYor kUniversitySchool
ofLawconv enedagr oupofdi stinguishedschol ar
sandbusi nessl eaderstohel pconsi derwhat
wehav elearnedfrom therecenteconomi ccrisi
s.

Thedi scussi onsandessay sr esultingf r

om t hi
smeet ingar epresentedher e.Sincei t
sf ounding,
theAcademyhasst udi edt heAmer icanbusi nessent er
prise.Atameet ingi n1781,Academy
Fellowsr esol vedt o“ attendt ot hesubj ectoft heCommer ceofAmer i
ca,t oenqui r
ei ntothe
principlesonwhi chithasbeenher etoforeconduct edandt heef f
ectofthosepr i
nciplesast he
balanceoft rade,toi nvestigatet hemostadv antageoussour cesoff uturet radebot hina
commer cialandpol i
ticalv i
ewandpar ti
cularl
ytoconsi derthesubj ectofmoneyt hemedi um of
trade. ”Recentexami nat i
ons i nclude t he 1988 st udy“ The U. S.Business Cor porati
on:An
Instituti
oni nTr ansi
tion”andapr ojecton“ CorporateResponsi bil
it
y,”l
edbyMar ti
nLi pton,Jay
Lor sch,andLar r
ySonsi ni.Thel at terbr oughttoget herleadingschol arsandpr acti
tionersto
reflectont hecor poratescandal soft heear l
y2000s.

Thef irstpubli
cationoft hepr oject
,Rest ori
ngTr usti nAmer i
canBusi ness( MITPress,2005),
featuredessay sbyei ghteenpr omi nentschol ar
sandbusi nessleaders,includi
ngJohnReed,
Feli
xRohat yn,andJohnBi ggs,whoexami net hef ail
ureof“ gatekeepers”tostandbet ween
corporatemi sconductandt hepubl i
cinterest.Inthatv ol
ume, MarkRoepr edict
edthatthefai
lure
ofEnr on,Wor l
dCom, ArthurAnder son,andot hergi antsintheear l
y2000swoul dnotbet helast
ofthemaj orcorporatecascades.“ I
fwe’relucky ,
”Roecomment ed, “
someonewi l
lanti
cipat
et he
problem andf ixitupbef orehand.Ifnot ,we’llmuddl ethroughonceagai n.”Thearti
clesinthis
presentv olumeof fermor ethanonewayoutoft hemostr ecentmuddl e.

The abil
i
t y ofa busi ness to communi cateis cruci
alt oits success.From effecti
vely
communicatingpolici
est ostafftoreachi
ngoutt ocli
ent
sandcust omers,communicati
oni sa
hugefactorinbusinessoper at
ions.Therearechall
engesinher
enttobusinesscommuni cat
ion,
however,
notl eastt
hatev er
ymet hodofcommuni cati
onrequir
esaslight
lydif
fer
entappr
oach.
Li
steni
ngt
oLear
n,NotJustToRespond

Possiblythemosti mpor t
antaspectofcommuni cationi sl i
steni
ng.However
,itmaybev ery
dif
ficul
tforpeopletodevelopthi
sskil
l.Becauseoft hei nnatepressur
esofmaintaini
ngsuccess
i
nt hebusiness,theremaynotbet imet osi tandli
stent ot heneedsoftheempl oyeesandthe
customers.Withouttrul
ytakingt
het i
met olist
enandf indingawayt ounderst
andot herspoint
ofv iew,manager i
alstaffmaynev erf ull
yunder stand orbe awar e ofthe needs,want s,
fr
ust r
ati
onsandhar dshi
psofcompanyst af fandcustomer s.

Hi
dingBehi
ndTechnol
ogy

Iti
seasyf orbusinessestorelytooheavil
yupontechnologyforcommuni cationpurposes.Emai l
,
texting,v
oicemai landinstantmessagingcanbequi teeffect
ivef orthequi cktransferoff actual
,
directinformati
on.Howev er,therel
i
anceupont hist echnologyt ocommuni cateemot i
oncan
l
eadt odramaanddi ssentinthewor kpl
ace.Busi
nessesmayf indt hatcommuni cati
ont hrough
technologysav est i
me,ener gy,andmoney ,butface-to-f
acecommuni cat i
on,especi all
ywhen
emot i
on isi nv
olved,is a much bet terchannelofcommuni cat i
on.Tone,post ure,f aci
al
expressionandey econtactcannotbeexpressedeffecti
velyusingt echnology

Meet
ings:Essent
ialoraWast
eofTi
me?

Manybusinessesaremov ingawayf rom meetingsast ool

sofcommuni cationi nordertosav e
ti
meandt opromoteef fi
ciency.Empl oyeesoftenseemeet i
ngsast ime-
wast ers.Nomat t
erhow
chal
lengi
ngitistousemeet ingsef f
ecti
v el
y,meetingsareanimportantpartofdoi ngbusiness.
Meetingscan buil
dt eamwor k,maki ng employeesf eelapar tofsomet hi ng – ideall
y,the
company.Meet i
ngsar eav enuesf orwor kerscanpr ovi
deinputandshar et heiropini
ons.The
si
mpl echal
l
engeofusi ngmeet i
ngsiny ourbusinesscommuni cat
ioniscreat i
ngmeet ingsthat
areconci
se,i
nformati
ve,par t
icipator
yandposi ti
ve.

Sy
mpt
omsofCommuni
cat
ionI
ssues

I
fabusi nessi
shavingchal l
engeswithcommuni cati
on,warni
ngsignsappearthatshoul
dt r
igger
actionbythemanager i
alst af
f.Someindicat
orsarelackofcooperati
on,unreachedgoals,high
l
ev elofmi st
akes,casting blame,low mot i
vati
on,low producti
vi
ty,unsati
sfi
ed cust
omer s,
arguments,hi
ghemploy eet ur
noverandlossofcli
ents.Al
lofthesecanbesy mptomsofpooror
problemati
ccommuni cation.

Sol
vi
ngt
hePr
obl
ems

Itispossibletotakestepstoi mprovecommuni cati

ontoov ercomet hechall
engest hatabound
i
nbusi nesscommuni cat
ion.Asment i
oned,listeningishighont hisli
st.Usetoolsli
kesurvey s
andcommentboxest oencour agehealthyandconf ident
ialfeedback.Av oi
dpoi nt
ingthefi
nger
atoneper son;i
nsteadwor konani ssuewi thanent i
regroupofpeopl ebyusi ngappropriate
trai
ningorcounsel i
ng.Thosei nleadershipr olesshoul dhav egr eatcommuni cati
onskill
s,be
empat het
icandnat ur
alproblem solvers.Iftroublesper si
st,abusi nessmi ghtoutsourcet he
problem t
oaneut r
alnegoti
atortoresolvethesituat i
oninanunbi asedmanner
Q.4Di scussbarrierstoeff
ectivecommuni cati
oni norganizationswithexampl es.

Bar
ri
erst
oEf
fect
iveCommuni
cat
ion

Communi
cat
ingcanbemor
eofachal
l
enget
hany
out
hinkwheny
our
eal
i
zet
hemanyt
hings
thatcan stand int he wayofef f
ecti
ve communi cati
on.These i
nclude f
il
ter
ing,select
ive
percepti
on;i
nformationov erload,emoti
onaldisconnectslackofsour
cef ami
li
ari
tyorcredibi
l
ity
,
workplacegossip,semant ics,genderdiff
erences,di
ffer
encesinmeaningbetweenSenderand
Receiver,
andbiasedl anguage.Let ’
sexamineeachoft hesebarr
ier
s.

Fi
lt
eri
ng

Fil
ter
ingisthedistorti
onorwi t
hholdi
ngofi nf
ormati
ontomanageaper son’sreacti
ons.Some
examplesoffil
teringincludeamanagerwhokeepsherdi visi
on’spoorsal esfigur
esfrom her
boss,thevi
cepr esident,fear
ingthatthebadnewswi llmakehi m angry
.Theol dsay i
ng,“Don’
t
shootthemessenger !”il
lustr
atesthetendencyofReceiv
ers( i
nthiscase,thevicepresident
)to
ventthei
rnegativer esponset ounwant edMessagesont heSender .A gatekeeper(thev i
ce
presi
dent’
sassi
st ant,perhaps)whodoesn’tpassalongacompl et
e

Messagei salsof i
l
teri
ng.Thev icepresidentmaydel etethee-mai lannounci
ngt hequar t
er’
s
salesfigur
esbeforereadingi t
,bl
ockingtheMessagebef oreitar
ri
v es.Asy oucansee,f il
teri
ng
preventsmember sofanor gani
zationfr
om get t
ingacompl et
epictureoft hewayt hingsar e.To
maxi mizeyourchancesofsendi ngandr ecei
v ingeffecti
vecommuni cati
ons,it’shel pfulto
deliv
eraMessagei nmul tipleway sandtoseeki nfor
mat i
onf r
om mul ti
plesources.Int hisway ,
theef f
ectofanyoneper son’sfilt
eri
ngtheMessagewi l
lbediminished.Sincepeopl etendt o
fi
lt
erbadnewsmor eduringupwar dcommuni cation,

i
tisalsohel
pfult
or ememberthatthosebelowyouinanor gani
zat
ionmaybewar yofshar
ing
badnews.Onewayt odefusethetendencytofi
l
teristorewardemploy
eeswhoclearl
yconvey
i
nformati
onupward,regar
dlessofwhetherthenewsi sgoodandbad.Her earesomeoft he
cri
ter
iat
hati
ndivi
dualsmayusewhendeci di
ngwhethert
of i
l
teraMessageorpassi
ton:

•Pastexper ience:Wast heSenderrewar dedf orpassingal ongnewsoft hiski ndint hepast ,or
wasshecr i
ticized?
•Knowl edge, per cepti
onoft hespeaker:Hast heRecei ver’
sdirectsuperi
ormadei tclearthat“ no
newsisgoodnews? ”
•Emotionalst at e,involv
ementwi t
hthet opic,l
ev elofattenti
on:Doest heSender ’
sfearoff ai
lure
orcri
ti
ci sm prev enthi mf r
om conveyi
ngt heMessage?I sthetopicwithi
nhi sreal
m ofexper t
ise,
i
ncreasinghi sconf i
dencei nhi
sabilit
yt odecodei t,orisheoutofhi scomf ortzonewheni t
comest oeval uat i
ngtheMessage’ ssigni
ficance?Ar eper sonalconcernsimpact i
nghi sabi l
it
yt o
j
udget heMessage’ sval
ue?
Onceagai n,f i
lter i
ngcanl eadtomi scommuni cationsinbusi ness.Eachlistenertranslatest he
Message i nto hi sorherown wor ds,cr eati
ng hi sorherown v ersi
on ofwhatwassai d
(Al
essandr a,1993) .

Sel
ect
ivePer
cept
ion

Select i
vepercepti
onr ef
erstof
il
ter
ingwhatweseeandheartosui tourownneeds.Thispr ocess
i
sof tenunconsci ous.Smallthi
ngscancommandourat t
entionwhenwe’ r
ev i
sit
inganew
place—anewci tyoranewcompany .Overt
ime,howev
er,webegi ntomakeassumpt ionsabout
thewayt hingsar eon thebasisofourpastexper i
ence.Of ten,much oft hi
spr ocessi s
unconsci ous.“Wesi mplyar
ebombar dedwi
thtoomuchstimuliev er
ydaytopayequalat t
ention
toev ery
thi
ngsowepi ckandchooseaccor di
ngt oourownneeds( Pope,2008).
”Sel ecti
ve
per cepti
oni sat ime-saver
,anecessarytoolinacompl excul tur
e.Butitcanal sol eadt o
mi stakes.
Thinkbackt otheearli
erexampleconv ersati
onbetweenBil
l,whowasaskedt oor
dermor etoner
cartr
idges,andhisboss.SinceBillfoundhisboss’sto-
doli
sttobeunr easonabl
ydemandi ng,he
assumedt herequestcouldwait.(Howel secouldhedoev eryt
hingelseont hel
ist?)Theboss,
assumi ngthatBil
lhadheardtheur gencyinherrequest,
assumedt hatBil
lwouldplacetheorder
beforereturni
ngtotheothertasksonherl ist
.

Bot
h member s of thi
s or gani
zat
ion wer
e using selecti
ve percept
ion to eval
uatet he
communicati
on.Bi l
l
’s percepti
on was t
hatthe task ofor der
ing could wai
t.The boss’s
per
cept
ionwast hathertimef r
amewasclear
,thoughunstated.Whentwoselecti
vepercept
ions
col
li
de,
ami sunderst
andingoccurs

I
nfor
mat
ionOv
erl
oad

Infor
mat ionoverl
oadcanbedef i
nedas“ occurr
ingwhent heinfor mationpr
ocessingdemands
onani ndiv
idual
’st i
met oper f
orminteracti
onsandi nter
nalcalculati
onsexceedthesuppl yor
capacityoft i
meav ail
ableforsuchpr ocessi
ng( Schi
ck,et.al
.,1990) .”Messagesreachusi n
countlessway sev eryday .Somearesoci et
al—adverti
sementsthatwemayhearorseei nthe
courseofourday .Ot hersareprof
essi
onal —e-mail
s,andmemos, voicemail
s,andconversat
ions
from ourcol l
eagues.Ot hersareper
sonal— messagesandconv ersati
onsfr
om ourlovedones
andf r
iends.

Addt hesetogetherandit’
seasyt oseehowwemayber eceiv
ingmor ei nformationt hanwecan
takein.Thisstateofimbalanceisknownasi nformati
onov erl
oad.Exper tsnot ethatinformat i
on
overl
oadi s“ Asy mptom ofthehi gh-t
echage,whi chistoomuchi nfor mationf oronehuman
beingt oabsorbi nanexpandi ngwor ldofpeopl eandt echnology.Itcomesf rom al lsources
i
ncludingTV,newspaper s,andmagazi nesaswel laswant edandunwant edregularmai l,e-mail
andf axes.Ithasbeenexacer batedenor mousl ybecauseoft heformi dablenumberofr esult
s
obtai
nedf rom Websear chengines( PCMagazi ne,2008).
”Otherresearchshowst hatwor kingin
suchf ragmentedf ashi
onhasasi gnif
icantnegativ
eef f
ectonef fi
ciency ,creati
vity
,andment al
acuit
y( Overhol
t,2001).

Goingbackt oourexampl eofBi ll.Let’

ssayhe’ sinhi scubi cleont hephonewi t
hasuppl i
er.
Whilehe’st al
king,hehear sthechi meofe- mailalertinghimt oani mpor t
antmessagef rom hi
s
boss.He’ sscanni ngthroughi tqui ckly
,whilestil
lont hephone, whenacowor kerpokeshishead
aroundt hecubi clecor nertor emi ndBi l
lthathe’slatef orast affmeet i
ng.Thesuppl i
eronthe
otherendoft hephonel inehasj ustgivenBillachoi ceamongt heproductsanddel i
verydat
es
her equested.Billreal
izeshemi ssedhear ingthef i
rsttwoopt i
ons,buthedoesn’ thavet i
meto
askt hesuppliert orepeatt hem al lort otryreconnect i
ngtopl acet heorderatal at
ertime.He
choosest hethirdopt ion—atl easthehear dthatone,her easons,andi tseemedf air
.Howgood
wasBi ll
’
sdeci si
onami dal l
thei nfor mati
onhewaspr ocessingatt hesamet i
me?

Emot
ionaldi
sconnect
s

Emotionaldisconnect
shappenwhent heSenderort heReceiveri
supset ,whetheraboutthe
subj
ectathandoraboutsomeunr el
atedincidentt
hatmayhav ehappenedear l
i
er.Anef f
ecti
ve
communi cati
onrequir
esaSenderandaRecei v
erwhoar eopentospeaki
ngandl i
steningt
oone
anot
her ,
despitepossibledi
ff
erencesi
nopi nionorpersonal
it
y.Oneorbothparti
esmayhav eto
puttheiremot i
onsasi detoachievet hegoalofcommuni cati
ngclear
ly.A Receiverwhoi s
emotionall
yupsett endst oignoreordi stortwhattheSenderi ssaying.A Senderwho i s
emotionall
yupsetmaybeunabl etopresentideasorfeeli
ngseff
ecti
vel
y.
LackofSour ceCr edi
bili
tyLackofsour cef amili
ari
tyorcr edi
bi l
itycander ai
lcommuni cat i
ons,
especi
allywhenhumori sinvolved.Hav ey ouev ertol
daj okethatf ellf
lat
?Youandt heRecei ver
l
ackedt hecommoncont extthatcoul dhav emadei tfunny.(Ory es,i tcouldhavej ustbeena
l
ousyjoke.)Sar casm andi ronyar esubt l
e,andpot entiall
yhurtful,commodi ti
esinbusi ness.I t
’s
besttokeept hesetypesofcommuni cat i
onsoutoft hewor kplaceast heirbenefi
tsarel imited,
and theirpot enti
aldanger s are great .Lack off amili
ari
ty wi tht he Sendercan l ead t o
misint
erpret
inghumor ,especial
lyinless- r
ichinformationchannel sl i
kee-mai l
.Forexampl e,ane
-mailf
rom Jillthatendswi th,“Men,likehens, shouldboilinvatsofoi l
,”couldbeinterpret edas
anti
-maleiftheRecei verdi dn’
tknow t hatJillhasapenchantf orr hymeandl i
kestoent er
tain
coworkersbymaki ngupamusi ngsay ings.

Si
mi l
arl
y,i
ftheSenderlackscredi
bili
tyorisuntr
ustworthy,t
heMessagewil
lnotgett hrough.
Recei
versmaybesuspiciousoftheSender’
smot i
vat
ions( “
Whyam Ibei
ngt
oldthi
s?”)
.Likewise,
i
ft heSenderhascommuni cated er
roneousinfor
mation inthepast
,orhascr eated false
emergenci
es,hi
scurr
entMessagemaybef i
l
ter
ed.

Workpl
acegossip,alsoknownast hegr apevi
ne,isal i
fel
inef ormanyemploy
eesseeking
i
nfor
mationaboutthei
rcompany( Kurland&Pel l
ed,2000).Researcher
sagr
eethatt
hegrapevi
ne
i
s an i
nevit
able par
tofor ganizat
ionalli
f e.Research fi
nds that70% ofallorgani
zat
ional
communicati
onoccursatt
hegr apevinelev
el (Cr
ampt on,
1998) .

Employeestr
usttheirpeersasasour ceofMessages,butt
hegrapev
ine’
sinf
ormalst
ruct
urecan
beabar ri
ert oeffectiv
ecommuni cationfrom t
hemanageri
alpointofview.I
tsgrassroots
str
uctur
egivesi tgr eatercredi
bil
i
tyi nthemi ndsofemployeesthaninf
ormati
ondelivered
thr
oughoffi
cialchannels,evenwhent hati
nformati
oni
sfal
se.

Somedownsidesoft heoffi
cegr apev
inearethatgossipoffer
spoli
ti
call
ymi ndedi
nsi
dersa
powerf
ultoolfordisseminati
ng communi cat
ion (
and self
-pr
omoti
ng mi scommuni
cat
ions)
wit
hinanorgani
zati
on.Inaddit
ion,thegrapevi
nelacksaspecifi
cSender,whichcancr
eatea
senseofdi
str
ustamongempl oyees—whoisattherootofthegossi
pnetwork?

Whent henewsi sv ol
ati
le,suspici
onsmayar i
seast othepersonorpersonsbehindt he
Message.Managerswhounder standthegr apevi
ne’
spowercanusei ttosendandr ecei
ve
Messagesoft
heirown.Theyal sodecreasethegrapevi
ne’
spowerbysendi
ngoffi
cialMessages
qui
ckl
yandaccuratel
y,shouldbignewsar i
se.

Q.5Di
scusscomponent
sofcommuni
cat
ionwi
thexampl
esf
rom v
ari
ousor
gani
zat
ions.

Busi
nessCommuni
cat
ion&I
tsComponent
s

Ef
fect
ivecommuni
cat
ionpr
oducesameet
ingoft
hemi
ndswher
eev
ery
onei
nvol
vedshar
est
he
samei nformation.Inbusi ness,thi
sser v
esapr acti
calpur
pose.Communi cat
ionestabli
shes
orderanduni ty
,enablespeopl etoactandpr omoteswisedeci
sions.Ef
fect
ivecommuni cation
powersasuccessf ulbusiness,asit
’stheonl
ywayt oshareacompany ’
sgoalsandcoor dinate
theworkt hatachievesthosegoals.Allcommunicat
ionhasthesamecomponent s,
andknowi ng
howt hesecomponent sapplyt oabusinesscanhelpanownerenhancecommuni cat
ionwi t
hin
theorganizati
on.

Sender

Sendersini
ti
atetheprocessofcommuni cat
ion.Toensureasuccessfulcommunicat
ion,t
he
sendermustconsiderthecontextofthemessage,whowi l
lrecei
vei
tandwhatthemessage
shouldaccompli
sh.Thi
senablesthesendertoproper
lyshapeanddeli
vert
hemessage.

Recei
ver

Therecei
verofabusinessmessagemaybeasuper vi
sor,subordinat
e,peer ,
group,customeror
suppl
ier
.Additi
onal
l
y,moret hanoneaudi
encemi ghtreceivethecommuni cati
on.Forinstance,
a
subor
dinat
ecansendapr oposalt
oasuper vi
sor--thepri
mar yrecipi
ent--whocanf orwarditt
o
hi
sownmanager- -thesecondaryreci
pient--t
osol ici
tfeedback.Consi deri
ngthemessage’ s
audi
enceaffect
schoicessuchaslanguageandt one.

Cont
ext

Everycommuni cat
ionoccurswi thinacont ext,whichhelpsshapet hemessage.Business
contexti
ncludesurgency
,ti
mi ng,companycul tureandthesett
inginwhi
chthemessagewi l
lbe
recei
ved.Apr esent
ati
ontoagr oupt hatwil
lusetheinfor
mationforabr
ainst
ormi
ngsessionina
creati
veenvir
onmentcall
sf oradifferentapproachthandel
iver
ingnewstoasuperv
isorabouta
dropinsales.

Message

Themessagecomponentcont ainstheact ualinformationasenderneedst osupply.Ef

fecti
ve
messageskeept hepoi ntoft hecommuni cati
onatt hef or
efr
ont
.Thesenderal soshoul d
considertheresultsoft hemessage- -whatt hecommuni cati
onneedst oaccompl
ishorwhat
acti
on i tshould spur.Wr i
tten communi cations requir
e givi
ng thoughttov i
sualappeal.
Messagesshoul dbeeasyt or eadandnav igate;fonts,whit
espaceandheadi ngscanhelpor
hi
ndert hecommuni cat
ionprocess.Includi
ngav isualel
ementsuchasachar tmightgetacross
di
ffi
cultinf
ormationmor eeffecti
velythanwor ds.

Medi
um

Themedi um isthemeansbywhi chasendert r

ansmit
samessage.Atawor kplace,messages
can be oralorwr i
tten.Asi
de f rom spoken wor ds,or
alcommuni cati
ons carrynon-ver
bal
messages.Tone,f acialex
pressionandar el
axedoragit
ateddemeanorpr ovi
desupplement al
i
nfor
mat i
ont othereceiver
.Writt
enmessagesi ncludeemail
,faxes,r
eportsandmemos.Asmal l
busi
nessownermi ghtwantcer t
ai ntypesofcommuni cat
ions- -ori
nstance,r
esour cer
equests
oreval
uations--t
oal waysbeinwr itt
enf or
m.

Feedback

Recei
ver
ssuppl
yfeedbackwhent
heyr
espondt
omessages.Feedbackl
etst
hesenderknow
whetherther ecei
v ercor
rect
lyint
erpret
edthemessageandencour agesfur
therint
eracti
on.For
anownerf iel
dingempl oyeerequestsorcomplai
nts,ahandyappr
oacht oprovi
dingfeedbackis
to summar i
ze the message.As t he aut
hors of“Management :Meeting and Exceeding
Expectat
ions”poi ntout,ifareceivercan’
trest
ateamessage,it’sasur esignthemessage
wasn’tunderstood.