Communication Process

Modes of Communıcatıon
 Communication

Communication is the process of sending

and receiving messages between
parties
Communication Channel
Communication Channel
 The key parts of this model are (1) the sender, (2) encoding,
(3) the message, (4) the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the
receiver, (7) noise, and (8) feedback.
 Communication must include both the transfer and the
understanding of meaning.
 Perfect communication, if it existed, would occur when a
thought or idea was transmitted so the receiver perceived
exactly the same mental picture as the sender.
Though it sounds elementary, perfect communication is
never achieved in practice
 Communication serves four major functions within a
group or organization: control, motivation, emotional
expression, and information
 VERBAL AND NONVERBAL MESSAGES

Basic ways in which people send and receive

messages
 Verbal Messages

Messages sent verbally are messsages expressed in words

Oral Communication
 Speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions,
and the informal rumor mill or grapevine are popular
forms of oral communication.
 The advantages of oral communication are speed and
feedback.
 If the receiver is unsure of the message, rapid feedback allows
the sender to quickly detect and correct it.
 The major disadvantage of oral communication surfaces
whenever a message has to pass through a number of people:
the more people, the greater the potential
distortion.
Written Communication
 Memos, letters, fax transmissions, e-mail, instant
messaging, organizational periodicals, notices placed
on bulletin boards (including electronic ones), and any other
device that transmits via written words or symbols
 It’s often tangible and verifiable.
 Both the sender and receiver have a record of the
communication; and the message can be stored for an
indefinite period.
 Disadvantage: Time consuming, lack of a building
feedback mechanism.
Nonverbal Communication
 Every time we deliver a verbal message, we also
impart a nonverbal message. (“you are saying
‘no,no’ but there is ‘yes,yes’ in your eyes” )
 A glance, a stare, a smile, a frown, and a provocative
body movement.
 No discussion of communication would thus be complete
without consideration of nonverbal communication—which
includes body movements, the intonations or
emphasis we give to words, facial expressions, and
the physical distance between the sender and receiver.
Body Movement
 Through body language, we say, “Help me, I’m lonely”;
“Take me, I’m available”; and “Leave me alone, I’m
depressed.”
 We clasp our arms to isolate ourselves or to protect
ourselves.
 We shrug our shoulders for indifference, wink for
intimacy, tap our fingers for impatience, slap our
forehead for forgetfulness.
 Body language conveys (1) the extent to which we like
another and are interested in his or her views and (2) the
perceived status between a sender and receiver.
 Body language adds to, and often complicates, verbal
communication.
 A body position or movement can communicate
something of the emotion behind a message, but
when it is linked with spoken language, it gives
fuller meaning to a sender’s message.
 Facial expressions: A snarling face says something
different from a smile. Facial expressions, along with
intonations, can show arrogance, aggressiveness,
fear, shyness, and other characteristics.
 Physical distance also has meaning. What is considered
proper spacing between people largely depends on cultural
norms. A business like distance in some European
countries feels intimate in many parts of North
America. If someone stands closer to you than is considered
appropriate, it may indicate aggressiveness or sexual interest;
if farther away, it may signal disinterest or displeasure with
what is being said.
Illustration

 Someone who frequently glances at her wristwatch

is giving the message that she would prefer to terminate the
conversation no matter what she actually says.
 Communication Networks

 Line networks normally involve superior-subordinate

relationships.

 Staff relationships between the members of an

organization are most often advisory in nature.
 Formal Networks
Formal networks are legitimate and often
indicated by an organization chart that CEO

displays who answers to whom.

Formal networks indicate a unity of
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 Information Flow in
Business Organizations
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 Information Flow in Business
Organizations
 Downward communication occurs when a manager or
supervisor sends a message to one or more subordinates.
 Upward communication occurs when messages flow
from subordinates to managers or from supervisors to
executives.
 Horizontal communication occurs between people at
the same level, or between people at corresponding levels in
different divisions.
Organizational Communication:
Formal Small-Group Networks
Formal Small-Group Networks
 The chain rigidly follows the formal chain of command;
this network approximates the communication channels you
might find in a rigid three-level organization.
 The wheel relies on a central figure to act as the conduit
for all the group’s communication; it simulates the
communication network you would find on a team with a
strong leader.
 The all-channel network permits all group members to
actively communicate with each other; it’s most often
characterized in practice by self-managed teams, in which all
group members are free to contribute and no one person
takes on a leadership role.
Small-Group Networks and
Effective Criteria
 Informal Networks
 Informal networks are unofficial channels through which
information passes in an organization.
 Informal networks are faster, richer and communication is
more likely to be face-to-face.
The Grapevine
 The informal communication network in a group or
organization is called the grapevine.
 Although the rumors and gossip transmitted through
the grapevine may be informal, it’s still an important
source of information.
 It’s frequently assumed rumors start because they make
good gossip.
 This is rarely the case. Rumors emerge as a response to
situations that are important to us, when there is
ambiguity, and under conditions that arouse anxiety.
 The secrecy and competition that typically prevail in
large organizations—around the appointment of new
bosses, the relocation of offices, downsizing
decisions, or the realignment of work assignments—
encourage and sustain rumors on the grapevine.
 A rumor will persist until either the wants and
expectations creating the uncertainty are fulfilled
or the anxiety has been reduced.
 Grapevine is an important part of any group or organization
communication network and is well worth understanding.
 It gives managers a feel for the morale of their
organization, identifies issues employees consider
important, and helps tap into employee anxieties.
 Stress Buster
 There is also evidence that gossip is driven largely by
employee social networks that managers can study to learn
more about how positive and negative information is flowing
through their organization.
 Thus, while the grapevine may not be sanctioned or
controlled by the organization, it can be
understood.
Suggestions for Reducing the
Negative Consequences of Rumors
 1. Provide information—in the long run, the best
defense against rumors is a good offense (in other words,
rumors tend to thrive in the absence of formal
communication).
 2. Explain actions and decisions that may appear
inconsistent, unfair, or secretive.
 3. Refrain from shooting the messenger—rumors are
a natural fact of organizational life, so respond to them
calmly, rationally, and respectfully.
 4. Maintain open communication channels—
constantly encourage employees to come to you with
concerns, suggestions, and ideas
Electronic Communications
 An indispensable—and in about 71 percent of cases, the
primary—medium of communication in today’s
organizations is electronic. Electronic communications
include e-mail, text messaging, networking
software, blogs, and video conferencing. Let’s discuss
each.
 E-mail :E-mail messages can be quickly written, edited,
and stored.
 They can be distributed to one person or thousands
with a click of a mouse. And the cost of sending formal e-
mail messages to employees is a fraction of the cost of
printing, duplicating, and distributing a comparable letter or
brochure.
Email drawbacks
1. Risk of misinterpreting the message
2. Drawbacks for communicating negative messages
3. Limited expression of emotions
4. Privacy concerns:
 Gmail, Yahoo!, MSN aren’t as secure as corporate
accounts
 Many employers hire vendors to sift through e-mails,
using software to catch not only obvious key words (“insider
trading”) but also the vague (“that thing we talked about”) or
the guilt-ridden (“regret”). Another survey revealed nearly 40
percent of companies have employees whose only job is to
read other employees’ e-mail.
Social Networking
 In a desire to maintain control over employee use of social
networking for professional purposes, many organizations
have developed their own in-house social
networking applications. The research and advisory firm
Gartner Inc. estimates that social networking will soon
replace e-mail as the primary form of business
communication for 20 percent or more of business users
 Remember that a prospective employer might check
your Facebook entries. Some entrepreneurs have
developed software that mines such Web sites on behalf of
companies (or individuals) that want to check up on a job
applicant . So keep in mind that what you post may be
read by people other than your intended contacts.
 Blogs: A blog (Web log) is a Web site about a single person
or company. Experts estimate that more than 156 million
blogs now exist. Millions of U.S. workers have blogs. And, of
course, many organizations and organizational leaders have
blogs that speak for the organization.
 Twitter is a hybrid social networking service that allows
users to post “microblog” entries to their subscribers about
any topic, including work. Many organizational leaders send
Twitter messages (“tweets”), but they can also come from any
employee about any work topic, leaving organizations with
less control over the communication of important or
sensitive information.
 One legal expert notes, “Employee bloggers
mistakenly believe the First Amendment gives them
the right to say whatever they want on their
personal blogs. Wrong!” Also, beware of posting personal
blog entries from work. More than three-quarters of
employers actively monitor employees’ Web site
connections. In short, if you are going to have a personal
blog, maintain a strict work– personal “firewall.”
Video Conferencing
 Video conferencing permits employees in an organization to
have real-time meetings with people at different locations.
Live audio and video images let participants see, hear, and
talk with each other without being physically in the same
location.
Barrıers to Effectıve Communıcatıon
 Barriers to communication are factors that block or
significantly distort successful communication.
 These barriers leave the communication ineffective.
 A number of situations crop up when the various elements of
different kinds of obstacles begin to dominate.
 These obstacles may occur between any two of the
communication process step or may affect all the steps in the
process.
 Tangible Differences
Gender
Age
National or Cultural
Origin
Socioeconomic Class
Education Level
Urban or Rural
Residence
 GENDER
Major influence on the way we
communicate with others.
When men and women work together in a
group, men tend to be more assertive and
self-confident.
Women are more likely than men to
express their emotions, to reveal how they
feel about a situation.
 AGE

Young people and old people communicate in

different ways.
We do tend to judge a statement by different
standards if we know the speaker’s age.
A person’s age or gender is not important in
judging the truth or wisdom of what that
person says .
 Intangible Differences

Perception
Motivation
Tunnel Vision
Ego
Defensiveness
Negative
Emotions
 PERCEPTION
Our physical limitations are a
screen through which we
perceive things that exist in
our environment.
Our perception is also limited by
psychological screens that we
have developed.
Choosing from among the
many things within our range
of perception those that we
will notice, and block out the
rest is called “Selective
Perception”
 Selective Perception

 Allows us not only to block out things that

are there, but also to see more things than
are there.

 Leads us to make our own reality!

 Most clearly seen in the human tendency

to stereotype others.
MOTIVATION
A Motive is a Reason For Action!

The strongest motivations are those that

are most personal.
We are motivated by money, fame,
power, love, status, security, skill,
ambition...etc
It can be both positive or negative.
 TUNNEL VISION
A closed way of thinking, especially about
abstract topics, such as religion and
politics.
 The person with tunnel vision is one who
has firmly fixed ideas
 The opposite side is open-mindedness
 Person with tunnel vision has attitude seems
to say; “I’ve already made up my mind,
Don’t confuse me with the facts!!!”
 EGO DEFENSIVENESS
A response pattern in which a person who follows this
pattern sees a disagreement as a personal attack

A self-centered communication

More than just being selfish

 NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Almost always obstacles to good communication!

Especially true if the emotion is uncontrolled,
unfocused, or misdirected.
Physical Barriers:
 Noise: This is a physical barrier which hinder the flow of
communication for sometime. It can be referred to poor
telephone connections, incorrect typing etc. It may
be psychological like fatigue, anxiety, ego-hang ups etc.
It may be a visual noise also. The late arrival of an
employee may also act as a barrier in the understanding
level of the other.
 Improper time: Improper time also hinders the process of
communication .e.g, any work at the closing hour may cause
resentment in the worker as he is ready to leave the office.
 Physical distance: This happens where the staff sits at
distant places or there are many divisions of the organization
in various cities. If the receiver is at some distant place then it
gets difficult for the sender to know whether the receiver has
got and understood the message or not. To communicate
effectively one needs proper distance, time and noise free
environment.
Semantic Barriers:
 Variety of meanings: Semantic is related to the meaning
of the word. A single word has different meanings for
different persons. If both the sender and the receiver
choose different meanings for the same word , then
it creates a barrier in the communication. This
problem occurs because of differences in educational
background or situations.
 People use either the same word in different ways or
different words in the same way. A simple word “Run”
in the dictionary has more than 70 meanings
 Cultural Barriers: The world today has become very small
due to reduction in the communication gap. With the
globalization the understanding of communication has
become very critical . It becomes very difficult for the
management to manage the affairs of the organization when
they have to handle different people from different cultures
and different languages. The same words, phrases,
symbols ,actions, mean differently to different
people. The greater the differences, the greater the chances
of misunderstanding and miscommunication.
 Badly expressed message: If the message lacks clarity,
then it creates a bad impression. Choice of wrong ,
incorrect organization , poor sentence structure,
improper vocabulary all result in unclear and poor
expression.
 Jargons: Jargons are the technical words which are used
within a particular group of a special field. Such words,
when used with a layman , are difficult to
understand.
 Unclarified assumptions: When the sender does not
complete the message and doesn’t make anything
clear in the message and leaves everything on the listener
that he will understand the message automatically . While on
the other hand the receiver reads whatever the sender has
written and assumes the message and tries to interpret it as it
is.
Psychological Barriers:
 Selective Listening: In this type of barrier ,the receiver is
not ready to listen to any new thing which conflicts the
existing belief. Thus he listens to only these beliefs or views
which support his own existing beliefs. Thus those new ideas
are avoided.
 Premature Evaluation: In the modern world , people are
lacking patience and they are not ready to listen to others.
They try to frame their own judgments even before
listening to the complete message.
 Emotional Attitude: Sometimes it so happens that the
sender and the receiver are not able to communicate
properly with each other. The reason may be the short
temperedness of one person. In that case the
subordinate will not feel free to express his views.
Personal barriers:
 Resistance to change: Many people resist changes. If there
is any change which interfere with their present routine life
or working conditions, then they don’t accept such changes.
They fear that such changes will effect their
authorities and responsibilities.
 Lack of trust and confidence: The management and the
workers lack trust and confidence in each other if
they are not having cordial relations. The communication
cannot flow effectively. Inattention: Sometimes the listener
is not ready to receive the message or even listen to it. People
generally skip over reports, circulars, bulletins
,notices etc. The other reason is that people are ready to
listen to those things only which are of their interest.
 Fast speed of speaking: If the speaker speaks too fast ,it
gets difficult for the listener to understand him. This gives the
listener enough time to wander to other matters rather than
concentrating on what the speaker says.
 Lack of communication skills: If the speaker is unable
to present the message in an effective way, the
audience will not give attention to the speaker. Lack of
communication skill can break down the communication
process.
 Negative feelings: The emotions and feelings of two
person can contradict with each other. No two person
perceive reality in identical manners.
Organisational Barriers:
 Multiple channels: Various channels make the
communication ineffective. When the information passes
throw several lines of hierarchy, there is a possibility of
message distortion.
 Status differences: The authority or superiority complex
leads to various problems. The differences of higher and
lower rank create doubt and fear.