CHAPTER FOUR

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Introduction

Every business organization has certain pre-determined goals. In the process of achieving these
goals many people are working in the organization at various levels of management. For instance
the top level management who frame policies, guidelines rules, regulations etc., and
communicate them to middle level management. In turn these are passed on to operational level
of management and therefore to the employees of the organization. The performance of workers
and their accomplishments have to be reported back to operational management, there from to
middle and top levels of management. Sometimes a manager at the middle .level may have to
interact/communicate with a same or middle level manager.

4.1 Communication in Organizations

Communication is the process of transfer of information from one person to the other person.
The basic objective of communication is to create understanding among the people. Since the
management deals with the people and the information/message has to be passed on to others
without any ambiguity in the modem management communication has become one of the
important functions of management. The following are some of the definitions of
communication. Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to
create understanding in the minds of other. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and
continuous process of telling, listening and understanding".

Communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one person to

another. “Communication is an exchange of facts ideas.' opinions or emotions by two or more
persons"

-W.H.Newman \& CF Gummer Jr.

"Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and/or

organizations so that an understanding response results"

-Peter Liltte

4.2. Process of Communication

It is clear from the above discussion that there are two or more parties involved in theprocess of
communication. One communicates/sends information and the other one listens/receives it.
Communication is said to be complete when the sender sends the Message.

As we have already discussed communication in an organization, is a dynamic and interactive

process. It begins in a person's needs and intentions for expression. It could be, ideas, views,

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feelings etc. where he chooses either verbal form (language) .or non-verbal expressions and these
eventually get transmitted to another person whose needs and intentions also affect his level of
comprehension.

Source Encoder Message Channel Decoder Receiver

IdeasMotor skills Code Medium Motor Ideas needs

Needs muscle symbolscarrier/ skills intentions

Intentions system Action channel muscle

system system

Information Sensory Sensory Purpose information

purpose skills skills

Communication is not only talking to other persons or group of persons but also listening. A
good manager is one who communicates effectively. An effective manager is one who, listens to
others carefully and gives an opportunity to them to express their feelings, views, etc. As
discussed earlier, we can say communication is effective only when the subordinates in an,
organization receive information correctly and swiftly and react in the manner desired by the
superior.

4.3 Kinds of Communication

There are various kinds of communications.

1) Intra-communication - when the communication takes place within the sender i.e. what is to
be, communicated when is to be communicated and how is to be communicated. The sender has
to select the appropriate medium of communication, so as to reach the receiver. The, sender has
to be clear about with that to whom he is going to communicate. What is the level of the
receiver? What is his educational background? Keeping in view the above factors he' can choose
any medium such as letters, circular, pictures, signals etc.

2) Inter-communication. When the sender is very sure about what he would like to
communicate and the purpose of communication then selects the appropriate medium to pass
on the information/message to the other persons.

3) Group communication. This kind of communication is intended, to address a groupof people

in large numbers. The channels such as speech, public address system etc. may be used.

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4) Organizational communication. The communication that takes place in the organizations to
realize the corporate goals is known as organizational communication. The communication may
be downward, upward and horizontal.

5) Mass communication. This kind of communication is used to address gatherings or masses

and mostly used by politicians or other moss attractors.

4.4 Objectives of Communication

The prime aim of any management communication is to pass on the information. It may be
regarding the goals of an organization, policies, strategies, rules, regulations etc. In any
organization, people spend most of their time in communication with each other. The
management needs communication to get their work done-. Communication is, a very pervasive
activity and. we interact for many reasons. Communication serves many objectives and takes
various forms. In' each of these ways of, communication, the exchange of ideas, views, opinions,
feelings, invariably takes place. The management communication has .two main objectives viz. i)
to Inform and (ii) to display.

Information; The information about the product, project, marketing strategies and competition
is of crucial importance. It is vital for any manager to take" decisions: A manager may
communicate with his superiors, fellow managers and subordinate staff. A manager who is well
informed about the corporate goals is better equipped to convince the team or group of persons.

Persuasion; Persuasion is nothing but making efforts to change or influence the behavior and
attitude of others. A great deal of communication in a work place is persuasive. For instance,
take any activity of management i.e. planning, marketing, finance etc.

When a superior communicates to his subordinate officer the major objectives could be to inform
policies, procedures, to exercise control, to motivate, to instruct or order and to advice and
counsel. Similarly the subordinate may also react his superior i.e., the upward communication
the following could be the reasons namely to report periodically about the performance, to
forward requests, appeals, representations etc.

4.5 Essentials of Effective Communication

The communication is said to be effective when the receiver understands the information in the
same sense at the same time as desired by the sender. In effective communication, the meaning
generated by one person gets smoothly transmitted to the other person with a minimum
distortion/interference.

The following factors may be kept in mind while communicating effectively.

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1. Self-awareness.

While communicating the sender has to make sure about what he is intending to communicate,
whom he is going to communicate, what is the level of receiver? What is his educational
background? The sender most ascertain /understand his own weaknesses and strengths, likes and
dislikes, biases and preferences etc., which helps one to keep one's 'thinking clear, sharp and free
of distortions. The communication process begins in the mind of the person concerned. An aware
person is therefore, in a better position to communicate effectively, with clear understanding of
his own thoughts and feelings.

2. Effective writing and Speaking;

For effective communication whether it is written or oral one has to follow the seven
commandments of communication. They are credibility, capability, content, context, channel,
consistence, and clarity.

3. Participative Reading;

The receiver must be a good reader. He may receive a message through the written medium. He
does not only receive the communication also gets benefits out of writer's experience, expertise
and wisdom. In this sense, the reader is performing a passive role. But reading can be and should
be an active, participative activity.

4. Receiver - Orientation

The central focus of communication must always be on the receiver. The sender initiates the
interaction to seek contact with the other person, to establish a relationship and to transmit the
intended meaning. The sender of the' message has to create an environment where the receiver
can express his feelings freely or interact without any reservation.

5. Receiver - Orientation

This refers to the sender's frame' of mind. The receiver occupies the central stage during the
transmission of the message.

a) The sender is expected to do proper homework keeping in view the target. Only then he will
be able to establish links with other personal the very beginning when just a few words have
been spoken. An aware person who knows, his own psychological processes quite well would
find it easier to linkup with other person.

b) The basic purpose of communication is to reach out to the receiver. Hence, the sender has to
exhibit a certain amount of openness i.e., he must not impose his views, thoughts and feelings on
the receiver.

c) The sender must have time and a proper mind-set to understand the other person.

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d) Both the sender and receiver are willing to give and' receive feedback freely about the
intended message. Both should have the common objective of ensuring distortion ¬free

6. Effective Listening

Communication is not perfect unless the receiver listens carefully to the sender. It is equally
important for the smooth transmissions of information from one to the other.

The following precautions are to be noted

1. Stop talking

Allow the receiver to talk freely.

2. Put the other person at ease

Create an environment where the receiver feels free and expresses his views, feelings etc.

3. Show that you are interested

Inform the speaker that you are interested in him and be patient '.

4. Empathies with the speaker appreciate the receiver and try to understand things from his point
of view.

5. be supportive

Be on arguments and criticism

7. Provide free flow of feedback:

The communication should take place in a free environment. There must be a sort of openness
from both ends i.e. the sender and the receiver. Effective use of feed-back is nothing but making
sure that there is no gap between the message received and the message, intended to
be .conveyed. When both are willing to give; and receive feed-back, distortion is reduced.

8. Empathy:

The sender has to step into the shoes of the receiver and. understand the feelings from his point
of view. It is one of the methods to become close to the receiver and communicate effectively. It
is important the sender to listen to and observe the emotions for underlying the spoken message
so as to understand the receivers views.

4.6 Communication in Management

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Communication has become one of the important functions of management. The whole
management process involves communication. It may be downward; upward and horizontal.
Communication is connecting the people in an organization. It is the process of communicating
the goals of an organization, rules and regulations, working conditions, exchange of ideas
sharing of experiences etc.

CHAPTER FIVE

THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

Introduction

Communication is a social act, and any attempt to understand the process at only the individual
level is bound to be limited. As a social act, therefore, communication can be approached
through the field of social psychology.' Using social psychological approaches, the first half of
this unit examines the concepts of attitudes, attitude change, and persuasion. A fundamental
essence of social psychology is that people often act and think as members of groups rather than
as individuals. This impact of groups on individuals applies to the reception of messages, and to
other aspects of communication.

5.1 Theories of Cognition/thinking/

A number of theories have been proposed around the idea that individuals in their everyday
interaction strive for consistency between their' attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors. This
striving has a social dimension because individuals feel pressured to be consistent by other
people's perception. Further, much of our inconsistency arises in interaction with others. Various
theorists have suggested that humans strive for consistency in a number of ways - between
attitudes, between behaviors, between attitudes and behaviors, in our perception of the world,
and even in the development of personality.

Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance is a more general consistency theory and has
generated a great amount of empirical data in social psychology as well as in communication.

Dissonance theory asserts that two elements of knowledge "are in dissonant relation if,
considering these two alone, the obverse of one element would follow from the others.

It holds that dissonance, "being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try
to reduce dissonance and achieve consonance" and "in addition to trying to reduce it the person
will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance.

In cognitive dissonance the elements in question may be a) irrelevant to one another,

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b) Consonant with one another, or c) dissonant with one another. Relations need not, be logically
related for consonance or dissonance. For example, a relationship may be logically inconsistent
to an observer while psychologically consists to an individual who holds these beliefs.

5.2 Theories of Persuasion

Persuasion is one of the predominant modes of communication as well as a strong motive for
communication. Advertisers selling products, public relations specialists creating a positive
image of a corporation, and the political candidate on the campaign trail are all engaging in
persuasive communication: Persuasion seems to be an integral part of human life.

Concept of Attitude

Attitude is primarily a way of being 'set' toward or against certain things. An enduring learned
predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects. It is an enduring
system of positive or negative evaluations, emotional feelings and pro or con action tendencies
with respect to a social object. Scholars, such as Rosenberg and Hovland have suggested that an
attitude has three components: an affective component (evaluation of something or feeling
toward something), a cognitive component (perceptual, responses or verbal statements of belief),
and a behavioral/ component (overt actions).

The Functional Approach

Daniel Katz and his associates attempted to reconcile two divergent models of human behavior -
the irrational and the rational - that have been the bias, for earlier theories of attitude change. In
the irrational model, human beings are conceived as non-thinking beings whose beliefs are easily
influenced by other and whose perceptions of reality can be influenced by their own desires. In
contrast, the rational model accords greater intelligence and critical thinking ability to
individuals and asserts that they are capable of making wise decisions when given adequate
information.

Katz identifies four major functions that attitudes can serve for the personality:

1. The instrumental, adjective, or utilitarian function: People hold some attitudes because
they are trying to gain the rewards offered by their environment and reduce the losses. For
example, voters who think prices of essential commodities are too high might favor a particular
political candidate because that person prognoses to bring down the prices.

2. The ego-defensive function: People hold some attitudes because they are seeking to protect
their egos from their own unexcitable impulses or from knowledge of threatening forces
externally. For instance, feelings of inferiority are often projected onto a minority community as
a means of "strengthening the ego. In this case, an attitude of prejudice serves the ego-defensive
function case; an attitude of prejudice serves the ego-defensive function.

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3. The value-expressive function: People hold some attitudes because they permit them to
articulate central values and to give positive expression to their self-image. For example,
individuals who take a rebellious attitude to certain social issues might be doing so because they
think of themselves as being non-Conformist.

4. The knowledge function: People hold some 'beliefs because they fulfill a desire for
knowledge or provide some structure, and meaning in what, would otherwise be a chaotic world.
For instance, many religious beliefs serve this function.

5.3Groups and Communication

We live as members of groups and our attitudes, behavior, and perceptions are influenced by our
interaction with other people. These groups could be large or small, formal or informal.These
groups could be large or small, formal or informal.

Social scientists have delineated different types of groups. A primary group is a small collection
of individuals who share an intimate, face-to-face, and long-standing relationship with each
other. Examples of a primary group are family, a work group, a fraternity, etc. A secondary
group, on the other hand, is a relatively larger collectivity whose individual members do not
necessarily maintain face-to-face contact, but, instead, share more formalities. For instance, one
is a member of a secondary group if one belongs to a group of shareholders or holds
memberships in large organizations. A reference group is a group that people identify with and
use as a standard of reference, but may not necessarily belong to.For example, a student wishing
to belong to a particular campus group might begin to dress like its members and adopt their
attitudes even though he is not member.

Group Pressures and Conformity

Members of groups often share certain standards or rules of behavior that can be referred to as
norms. Physical appearance, tastes in popular culture, behavior with' the opposite sex, styles of
greeting, etc. are a few examples of the norms shared by a particular group or by an entire
society. It is through process sociologists call 'socialization' that individuals in society learn the
norms of that society. Socialization takes place right from our childhood and continues through
the adult years and the process is aided by social institutions Such as the family, school religious
organizations, and mass media.

Groups as tools of change

The power of groups to exert social influence is such that they sometimes are used as agents or
instruments of change. Group dynamics and group structure are key to the work of organizations
such as the Alcoholics Anonymous or some groups that help people to stop smoking, Principles
of group norms and group pressure can be seen at work in these efforts.

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Groups and Mass Communication

Groups influence the process of mass communication in a number of ways:

I. Groups function to crystallize attitudes' and make them resilient/strong to change.

2. It helps communicators to predict a person's behavior more accurately if they understand the
group affiliations' or identities of that person. For example, knowledge of a potential voter's
class, gender, caste, etc., can give a clue to the person's political preferences and increases the
accuracy of voting predictions.

3. Effective communication programs often involve a combination of mass communication and

interpersonal communication Peer group pressures have been known to influence attitude and
behavioral changes in adoption of new innovations by individuals.

4. The advantages of interpersonal communication can sometimes be secured through

communication.

5.4 Cultural Theories of Communication

Communication research focused a great deal on the effects of mass communication on

individuals. One of the problems with that approach is that it evades the question of influence at
a social structural level and also does not address long-term effects of mass communication on
cultural institutions and socio-cultural contexts of behavior.

Culture and Cultivation Analysis

George. Gerbner and his associates at the Annenberg School of Communications at the
University .of Pennsylvania are known for their Cultural Indicators Project, which is an
extensive program of research on the influence of television. His 'cultivation analysis' is
concerned with determining conceptions of social reality that television 'programming may foster
in viewers.

Ideology and the British Cultural Studies

Stuart Hall's ideas symbolize what has come to be known as 'cultural studies' in Britain,
specifically the theoretical, orientations of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the
University of Birmingham. Hall and his associates avoid identifying culture with the products of
the mass media alone, but expand cultural expression to include such ritual forms of everyday
life as education, religion, conversation, and sports.

The German Ideology:

The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch/era the ruling ideas: i.e. the class which is
theruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class

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which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the
means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the
means of mental production are subject to it.

Cultural Process and Meaning

In James Carey's opinion, most conventional communication studies are grounded in a

'transmission or transportation' view, which primarily sees communication as a process of
transmitting messages at a distance for the purpose of control. The typical communication, then,
is persuasion, attitude change, behavior modification, socialization, and influence or
conditioning.

The Mass-Mediated Culture

Michael Real has brought together the ideas of Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams, James Carey,
and others in the cultural studies tradition, and has developed a more comprehensive, systematic
theoretical framework for understanding the role of mass media within the broader socio-cultural
development of a society. .

Real has developed operational methods of cultural analysis for empirical research on mass-
mediated culture. In Reels view, a mass-mediated culture emerges from the interaction between
three dimensions of a social system:

a)The political-economic institutions that establish the parameters for individual choice and for
the development of a unified cultural philosophy;

b)The symbolic forms of human consciousness that organize raw sense data and define
themeaning of situations;

c) Communication, either mass or interpersonal, that provides the two-way linkage between the
institutional base and the sphere of symbolic superstructure.

American capitalist worldview

Real also sees a medium such as television as an instrument for ideological hegemony. But he
goes on to add that the manipulations of the media and the exploitative political-economic
system are also generating alienation .and counter-cultural movements that contribute to changes
in the social system. These movements create an alternative pattern of communication, and this
new pattern of communication transforms the meaning of mass media.

In sum, the cultural approach to mass communication, especially the cultural studies branch,
locates the mass media and media practices "within a society conceived of as a complex
expressive totality. Many scholars in this emerging field hold that in twentieth¬ century
advanced capitalism the mass media have established a dominant role in the cultural sphere.

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