A Critic on the Article: Successful Communication by: Mark Anthony, President of Training for Success

In any businesses or social relationships, communication is very important. The transfer of information and understanding from one person to another person is what communication is. It always involves at least two (2) people a sender and a receiver. An organization cannot exist without communication. In the world of work, there are two kinds of communication. First is communication in managerial relations. This kind of communication helps accomplish all the basic management functions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Aside from communication in managerial relations, the second form is communication in employee relations. It encourages better performance and job satisfaction of the employee. In communication, there are said to be barriers, these poses limitations that would lead to miscommunications. Based on studies, there are three essential communication barriers (1) Personal barrier which means communication interference that arises from human emotions, values, and poor listening habits. Example are conflicts arising from dissimilar values among 2 persons communications. (2) Physical barrier that means communication interference that arises in the environment in which the communication takes place. It talks about the physical limitations such as the place where two or more persons are communicating happens to be too noisy and loud or near a construction site. This kind of environment creates physical barrier for communication. (3) Semantic barrier, this arise from limitations in the symbols while we communicate. It is barrier in giving meanings to the thing/ idea being communicated.

On the work setting, aside from managerial relations and employee relations in terms of communication, there are also frameworks being adopted by businesses in order to have proper communication. First, is the more structured form of communication the lateral communication. Lateral communication is the communication across chains of command. It is the communication between different individuals, departments, or organisms on the same organizational level. The flow of messages across functional areas at a given level of organization, with this system, people at the same level are permitted to communicate directly without going through several levels of organization. Furthermore, it can be used to interchangeably as horizontal/ cross communication. This form of communication has major movers. The employees who play a major role in lateral communication are the boundary spanners. They have strong communication links within their department, with people in other units and often with the external community. A network, on the other hand, is a group of people who develop and maintain contact to exchange information formally, usually about a shared interest. Lastly, the ombudsperson, this position is created to receive and respond to inquiries, complaints, requests for policies clarifications, or allegations of wrongdoing from employees who do not feel comfortable going through normal channels. The ombudsperson investigates the matter and intervenes where necessary to correct the system. In addition, lateral communication has a feature of being more face-to-face communication. This type follows the chain of command. It involves more people on this type of communication. However, the disadvantage of this type of communication is it lacks speed and convenience.

With the coming of new age, and advance technology, so thus a new form of communication emerges and has taken a higher level on which the article is all about. According to the article, many businesses today are using technology such as the internet, fax machines, email, and voicemail to enhance their productivity and efficiency. All these are what we call electronic communication. One form is the electronic mail or email which is the method of exchanging digital messages. It is a computer-based communication system that allows a person to send a message to someone or to a hundred people almost instantaneously. Meanwhile, telecommuting is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and houses. The primary advantage of this type is the dramatic speed and convenience; however, it loses the face-to-face contact. However, based on the article, the use of technology has affected the lines of communication between managers and particularly their sales teams. The use of technology produced less personal way to communicate and could lead to feelings of alienation. Hence, it is quite challenging to develop a bond with colleagues because emotions, ideas, feedback and information are not expressed well. The author then, suggested ways to improve the communication between managers and sales teams to produce a more productive and efficient employees. Therefore, it is still to maintain a high level of personal contact to help keep track of the sales team performance by talking to the employees face-to-face and giving them group pep talks. This way, the employees will feel reassured that there is someone they can count on to support them.