Understanding Communication: Definition, Features, Functions, and Importance, Study notes of Communication

Download Understanding Communication: Definition, Features, Functions, and Importance and more Study notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! UNIT-I INTRODUCTION The term “Communication” is easy to understand because it is a natural phenomenon, but it is difficult to define as a concept due to multifarious interpretations made by several authors. For a common man, “communication” is an exchange of information or ideas. Technically it is a process of transmitting ideas, information and feeling through a channel to another person or a group of person and receiving feedback from the transferee. The word “Communication” originated from a Latin root “communicare” which implies to share. It is also closely associated with the English term “common” which means sharing by two or more. In this context it is suitable to define communication as sharing ideas or information between two or more people. Definition of Communication:
“Communication is transfer of information and understanding from one person to another person” Keith Davis.
“Communication is essentially the ability of one person to more contact with another and to make her or himself understand”. John Adair. Features of communication:
Communication is a natural phenomenon. In a broader sense it is a natural instinct between two living beings, particularly among human beings.
Communication is an exchange of thoughts, ideas, impressions and reaction among individuals
Communication is inherently a social process. We could not survive in isolation detaching ourselves from fellow human beings.
Communication is a science, multi disciplinary in nature, which maintains close relation with language, psychology and technology.
Communication is an assembly of different elements and unrelated factors structured in a systematic framework. Functions & Role of Communication: General functions Functions of communication Individual functions Business communication functions a. General functions: • To build a strong social environment. • Economic development. • To build a global village. • Technological progress. • Interdependence of nations. • Development of tourism. b. Individual functions:
For a man communication begins with his birth. Man being a ‘social animal’ continues to interact with his fellow human beings, other living organisms, and environment and with himself.
Unless he communicates or shares with his fellow human beings all his ideas, his emotional urge with not be satisfied.
Man ability to think progressively is the foundation for scientific and technological development.
Communication is the fabric of life. If you were to ask yourself how you have become what you are mentally, psychologically, socially, culturally, emotionally and spiritually you will realize it is only through communication with other human beings. c. Business functions:
Business organizations work in an open system of external environment to which it has to get adjusted and get approval for its establishment, survival and development from the external environment.
Individual industrial organizations depend on suppliers for inputs, with whom continuous communication is essential.
Business organization ions have to maintain regular communication with customers in different ways. They have to be in touch with the tastes, habits, demands, changing behaviors, needs and purchasing power of the customers to expand and diversify business.
The success of any business enterprise directly depends on the efficiency and talent of the employee that it recruits. To attract the cream of the society, communication is the best method. To Motivate: 1) People in any business organization should be motivated to pursue goals and achieve higher levels of performance. 2) High levels of morale and motivation are a must to ensure high levels of productivity and efficiency. To Integrate: 1) Large business organizations have different business units, departments and territorial divisions. 2) Communication providers a means for an intergraded approach in pursing organization goals. 3) Communication binds together People working for common objectives and help in team-building. To Relate: 1) God business relationships are a must for the continued success of any business organization 2) It is communication that provides the means for building and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships. To Promote: 1) Promotional efforts are a must for any organization to fully achieve its objectives. 2) Promotion relates to various activities such as advertising publicity, public relations which aim at customer information, customer education and customer retention. 3) Communication communicates the basic plan on which Promotional strategies are built. To Entertain: 1) Communication facilitates entertainment. It facilitates social bonding and brings in lighter moments that help releasing tension and to get rid of negative feelings. To Facilitate Decision Making: 1) Decision making constitutes an important function for any business organization. Well thought-out decision, quickly taken, lead to better results. 2) Communication both oral and written facilitates decision making in any business organization. Process of Communication: Berlo (1960) has developed a model for the communication process. The essential elements in Berlo’s communication process are presented in the diagram Communication is said to be a continuous process of exchange of views and ideas. Communication being a process requires at least two persons a sender and a receiver irrespective of the mode of communication. The sender source conceives the idea, gives it a shape, decides the mode of communication which may be used to convey the idea and conveys it. The receiver receives it, tries to understand it and finally takes an action. Communication Source: 1) The source is the originator of idea of message, it may also be known as the sender who may be individual or a group. 2) The source conceives the idea, prepares the messages selects the channel and decides about the receiver. Encoding: 1) In this step messages are composed of symbols having a certain meaning for sender and receiver. 2) Encoding is thus translation of already conceived idea by the sender into a message appropriate for transmission. 3) Encoding includes selection of mode of communication and the wording of the message. Message: 1) It refers to the stimulus that the source transmits to the receiver. 2) Messages are composed of symbols having a certain meaning to the source and the receiver. Channel: 1) The channel is the means through which the message travels from the source to the receiver. 2) The channel may be mass media such as news papers, radio, tv etc or interpersonal such as telephone, correspondence etc. 3) Selection of the channel depends upon the message to be conveyed, availability of the channel, cost of the channel, effectiveness of the channel etc. Decoding: 1) Decoding is the reverse of encoding. It means translation of symbols etc, encoded by the sender into an idea for understanding. Source Encoding Message Channel Decoding Receiver 2) The receiver decodes the message by changing the symbols into a meaning. Understanding the message sent by the sender is the key to the decoding process. 3) If the receiver could not decode the message to make it understandable, or misunderstands it, or pretends to misunderstand it where as he understands it well, the communication is rendered ineffective. 4) This happens because of perceptual difference between sender and receiver. Communication Receiver: 1) The next step is the receiving of the message by the receiver. The receiver must Pay due attention to the message he receives. 2) Any negligence on the part of the receiver may make the communication ineffective and the message is lost. 3) Thus the receiver should be a good listener in the case of an oral message, however listening alone is not sufficient, he should also be willing to understanding the message. HUMAN COMMUNICATION PROCESS “Human communication is the establishment of relationship such that action, thoughts feelings and intentions of a person evoke a response in another”. Semantic Sender Noise: 1) Semantics can be described as a science which deals with meanings of words. Noise is any unintended message that follows a meaningful message. 2) Semantic sender noise can originate from the sender and can disrupt the entire communication process. Selection of Meaning: 1) The meaning of the symbols and words should be understood by the sender clearly. 2) Hence by exchanging mutually understandable symbols and words we can achieve success in communication. 3) Hence while selecting meanings of words and symbols the sender and receiver should take care that the words used are mutually understandable or else there may be a chance of getting multiple message or meanings by the receiver. Encoding: 1. In this step messages are composed of symbols having a certain meaning for sender and receiver. 2. Encoding is thus translations of already conceived idea by the sender into a message appropriate for transmission During the process of communication development man is able to design and develop different types of media suitable to the context of communication. There are numerous varieties of communication media in practice. There is no standard classification to describe the types of media. Broadly media can be three types, interpersonal, group and mass media.
Interpersonal communication: Interpersonal communication is between two persons or among a small group in the form of conservation. The important media are conventional media and electronic media. a) Conventional media are: Messenger system: Messenger will transmit the message by hand delivery. This system is followed when postal department was not developed. At present messenger system is practiced for inter office transmissions of communication. Mail: An organized postal service is responsible for transmission of written communication, usually letters. Postal department is the second largest departmental undertaking of the government of India, after railways. Courier: Postal service is in public sector, Parallel to postal service, private sector development the courier system for quicker transfer and delivery of mail. Telegraph: Telegraph is the earliest method of telecommunication. It came into usage around 1830’s with the invention of code consisting of series of short and long pulses representing letters by Samual F.B. Morse. In the mode of transmission a signal is typed into a transmitter which changes it into an electronic current carried by a wire to the receiver. Electro magnets in the receiver change the electric signals into visual. Telegram is widely used for sending short and urgent messages. Telex: Telex is a teleprinter exchange, the instrument consists of printer, keyboard, and receiving printer. A message to be transmitted is typed on the teleprinter, which generates coded electronic symbols and passes through the lines. The receiving teleprinter decoded the incoming code and prints the message on paper tape. In this the sender and receiver must know about the coding system. b) Electronic Media: Telephone: Telephone is an instrument which contains a micro phone that changes vibrations of sounds into electrical signals and is transmitted through a wire to the receiver. These signals are converted in receiving phone as sounds or words. The telecom policy of government expanded the usage of telephones to remote villages of the country. Paging services: Pager is a wireless telecommunication instrument, which is also known as beeper or beep. It is small instrument handled and carried by individuals. It works on radio transmission technology, which contain receiver and transmission technology. Each pager is identified with a subscriber’s number. Cellular Phones: it is also the technology of radio and telephone. Cellular phones operating in organization identify the service areas and divide them into cells or sub areas. All base stations are connected to the cellular servicing center. Cellular user can contact others through STD, ISD numbers, of the telephone and can receive calls from telephones.
They are cheaper compared to telephone
It records calls not answered
It has a storage facility in inbox, numbers, and addresses books and email id’s. Fax: Fax is a facsimile machine devised to communicate printed material data, image etc. to communicate through fax, the receiver and the sender should posses a fax machine. The machine scans the information and transmits to the receiver’s machine. The printer in receiving machine produces the exact format i.e the photocopy of the sender’s message. E-mail: we call this as electronic mail. Email is the transmission of textual material from one computer to another electronically. To use the email services, one should have an email account. Once it is created, the user gets email box. Any person with email account can send messages and receive messages.
Group Communication Media: Group communication is a process where one or a small team of speakers address a group of listeners. They depend usually on loud speakers, tape recorders, overhead projectors and slide projectors. A loud speaker is a device consisting of a microphone, amplifier and loud speaker. It converts the sound signals into electrical signals and back into sound signals with more decibels of sound to reach large group. Overhead projectors and slide projectors are visual based devises, which magnify the images or words and can be shown to a large group to support the speaker’s message. Tape recorders can be used for group communication.
Mass Media: Mass media is communicating with large, size of population with different strata. Media applied to mass communication is mass media. It is a fact that socio-economic-development of today is primary due to the mass media. Freedom to talk and write is responsible for significant progress in mass media. Mass media is a powerful instrument to convince, motivate and change people, who are basically reluctant to change both for good and bad. a) Hoarding and notice board: Hoardings or notice boards are erected in public places, busy centers and shopping centers where they can attract the attention of large number of people. b) Cinema: It is used to communicate specific values and particular message. Cinema reaches directly into the hearts and minds of the people and remains in the memory for a long period, c) Public announcement: It is most traditional method. A person with a specific “drumbeat” announces the information to general public. Today instead of drum they are using loud speakers in a van or an auto rickshaw or a jeep. d) Print media: Print media is any printed and circulated material such as books, journals and newspapers. News papers came very close to the social life of educated section of population. They can be published in different languages. e) Broad cast media: Radio is the broadcast media. It transmits the news programmes for children, women, farmers etc, programmes are transmitted from Impact of Culture on Communication “Culture can be defined as shared system of symbols,beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations and norms of behavior”.
The very nature of culture being automatic coherent and complete can lead the members of one culture to form negative attitudes about other cultures.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s standards, behaviors and customs. This should be avoided while communicating with other culture people.
Xenophobia a fear of strangers and foreigners. Clearly, business people who take these views cannot interpret or convey messages successfully.
Stereotyping, assigning a wide range of generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of membership in a particular culture or social group, without considering individuals unique characteristics. This should be avoided while communication with people of other cultures.
Cultural Pluralism is the practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms.
Contextual Differences Every attempt at communication occurs within a cultural context, the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that convey meaning between two members of the same culture. High Context Culture
In a high context culture such as South Korea or Taiwan, people rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of non verbal actions and environmental setting to convey meaning.
In high context cultures the rules of everyday life are not clear, instead as individuals grow up, they learn how to recognize situational cues and how to respond to them accordingly.
In High Context cultures the primary role of communication is building relationships, not exchanging relationships. Low Context Culture
In a low context culture such as United States or Germany, People rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and cues to convey meaning.
An English speaker feels responsible for transmitting the meaning of the message and often places sentences I chronological order to establish a cause-and-effect pattern.
Exchanging information is the primary task of communication in low context cultures. Overcoming Cultural differences or Improving Intercultural communication
Studying Other Cultures: Learning a particular culture will help us to send and receive intercultural messages effectively.
Studying other languages: By studying other languages we can minimize differences in intercultural communication.
Writing clearly and speaking clearly will also reduce intercultural communication differences as majority of the differences will occur due to differences in written and spoken communication.
Using of interpreters, Translators and translation software will help to reduce intercultural differences and promote intercultural relationships. Importance of Communication: Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of management, i.e, Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps mangers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals. Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication. Managers devote a great part of their time in communication. They generally devote approximately 6 hours per day in communication. They spend great time on face to face or telephonic communication with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Managers also use Written Communication in form of letters, reports or memos wherever oral communication is not feasible. Thus we can say that “effective communication is a building block for successful organizations”. In other words, communication acts as organizational blood. The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows:  Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark.  Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions.  Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes. i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in molding employee’s attitudes.  Communication also helps in socializing. In today’s life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication.  As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling organizational member’s behavior in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling functions of management.  An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving message. A manager must discover various barriers to communication analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the organization. 7C’s in Communication: There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows: Completeness- the communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly.  A complete communication has following features.  Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.  Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.  A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.  Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/ receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial information.  It persuades the audience. • Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and many issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them over. • Oral communication is essential for teamwork and group energy. • Oral communication promotes a receptive and encouraging morale among organizational employees. • Oral communication can be best used to transfer private and confidential information/matter. Disadvantages/Limitations of Oral Communication • Relying only on oral communication may not be sufficient as business communication is formal and very organized. • Oral communication is less authentic than written communication as they are informal and not as organized as written communication. • Oral communication is time-saving as far as daily interactions are concerned, but in case of meetings, long speeches consume lot of time and are unproductive at times. • Oral communications are not easy to maintain and thus they are unsteady. • There may be misunderstandings as the information is not complete and may lack essentials. • It requires attentiveness and great receptivity on part of the receivers/audience. • Oral communication (such as speeches) is not frequently used as legal records except in investigation work. Written Communication: Written communication has great significance in today’s business world. It is an innovative activity of the mind. Effective written communication is essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for business development. Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than speech. Effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition of sentences. Also, writing is more valid and reliable than speech. But while speech is spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not immediate. UNIT-2 MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION Management is an art and science of getting things done through people, organization is a facilitator to the managers to get things done conveniently and effectively through people. • The top level in a managerial hierarchy defines the institutional goal and accordingly formulates the work to be performed to achieve the determined target. • The next level executive assumes the responsibility of transforming the work into jobs with concise definitions. • The jobs in turn are split into minute tasks which are convenient to business handled by the individuals. • Once these tasks are defined and identified the managers create a framework of relations between these tasks to conceive and co-ordinate conveniently towards institutional goals. • Now people are appointed and given tools and technology and authority to make tasks operative. • These tasks, people, tools and technology constitutes a framework called “Organization” the core part of the business management. Organization and its structure from the basic framework for managerial process. Different authors on the basis of relations between people and the tasks defined organization in the following way. • Specific pattern of relationships those managers create in the process of organizing managerial functions. It is a framework that managers device for dividing and coordinating the activities of members of an organizations. • “Organization is formalized intentional structure of roles or position.” • An organization is defined as a deliberately established social unit composed of people who coordinate their activities to achieve common objectives”. Management functions in communication process Functions like control; direction, planning, and motivation are called “management functions” and are essentially the functions of the communication process. Planning Futurity of things thought at present is termed as planning. It is a thinking and creative process. It is deciding in advance what is to be achieved. It is not a task of individual but a group composed of functional heads and other concerned people. Planning involves interviews, discussions, exchange of ideas to finalize a plan. Organization Organizing things like Men, Material and Machines involves communication. It consists of formal communication, grapevine, downward and upward communication; horizontal communication has its origin from top management by way of orders, instructions, rules, objectives etc. upward communication flows from lower levels by way of complaints, suggestions, advice, feedback etc. Controlling Controlling function of the management is to see things that are going on as per schedule. Measuring actual performance against set standards, analyzing deviations and remedial action etc…. involved in written and oral communication. Direction Directing involves and imports instructions, issuing orders to the support staff, communicating rules, objectives, and procedures, guidelines, motivation and supervising them. A successful manager always develops an effective system of communication so that he may issue instructions, receive the reactions of the receiver of the information, guide and motive them. Directing functions helps the manager to guide and influence the work to subordinates. Co-ordination In a business enterprise there are a large number of people working in different departments or sections with different types of authorities and levels. In this everyone has to contribute towards a particular objective. Through co-ordination only it is possible achieve organizational goals and effective communication helps in better co-ordination. Formal Communication Formal communication is closely associated with a formal organizational structure. The communication flows through formal channels, i.e., officially recognized positions along the line in the organization. It is the path of the line of authority linking two positions in the organization. It is also known as the chain/line of command. All downward, upward and horizontal communications flow through this chain. Advantages of Formal Communication
It helps in maintaining the authority of line executives over their subordinates.
An immediate superior has direct contacts with the subordinates; source, a better understanding is developed between them.
Since an executive is better informed about the organization and its problems than the subordinates. its behavior, introduce motivational and other plans in the organization, and improve is controlling function. • It crates confidence and trust in the superiors. • It develops confidence among subordinates that they can convey their feelings, grievances, complaints, suggestions, opinions, etc….. to the top and can contribute more to the achievement of organizational ojectives. Weaknesses: • The top management is quite unwilling to listen to the juniors in the hierarchy. It may contain negative points which adversely affect the person at the intermediate level. • The subordinates are afraid of action being taken against them if they express views which are not to the linking of their superiors. • There is a general feeling among subordinates that the management is not interested in the problems of the employees. • Most subordinates lack social and verbal skills. HORIZONTAL OR LATERAL COMMUNICATION: This type of communication refers to communication between various departments or units representing the same level, or people within the same or different departments, without having a superior-subordinate relationship. If flows between persons at the same hierarchical level. The main object of this type of communication is to conceives-ordinate the efforts of different department’s performing different but related activities. Strengths: • It helps in coordinating the activities of different departments at the same level. • Different departmental heads may sit together and thrash out problems of wastage of time, money, labour, and materials. Weaknesses: The main problem in lateral communication, which very often arises, is the difference in approach and vision of different functionaries who advocate things from their own angles; this affects the productivity and efficiency of the organization adversely. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: • Interpersonal communication skills are an important facet of the process of communication and as such are extremely relevant for achieving personal as well as professional success. • Interpersonal communication refers to face-face or person-to-person communication it is often direct and interactive. • The message is orderly communicated with the help of words as well as through non-verbal communication, encompassing body language, spacing, facial expressions, tone, gestures, and action. • Interpersonal communication involves the effective use of verbal message plus body language. • Interpersonal communication has come to acquire particular significance in all people oriented situations, large organizations which employ people at various levels lay particular emphasis on building interpersonal or people related communication skills. • Effective interpersonal communication calls good insight into human behavior and a clear understanding of how people are likely to react to under different situations. • Interpersonal skills have also come to acquire relevance as part of the HRD efforts of large and small organizations. • People with god interpersonal communication skills are considered an asset to any organization. • Good leaders consciously develop all these verbal and non-verbal skills and use them successfully in dealing with a variety of people and situations. • They use their interpersonal communication skills to create the desired impression, both positive and negative as the case may be. • The words they choose, the way in which they express them, the tone, the gestures, and the action in totality are all impact creating, in any relationship building exercise, consciously or otherwise. • Some other essential sills relevant for effective interpersonal communication are the ability to win trust, build rapport, ask the right questions, and elicit full details. • Effective interpersonal communication involves creating the right impression and communicating the intended message convincingly. • This calls for sincerity in approach and bringing in transparency in communication. It means asking the appropriate questions in an appropriate manner, and making the other person confide to you. • It means breaking a person’s reluctance. When we think of counseling negotiation, hearing of appeals, personal interviews etc., and extra communication skills would be involved. They have to be developed with conscious efforts. INTRA PERSONAL COMMUNICATION: • The word ‘intra’ means inside or within. In contrast to interpersonal communication. Which implies communication with the other person, intra personal communication implies with the self. • It refers to communication within the self involving the process of thinking and feeling. Intra-personal communication is a method of communication that helps every person to communicate with himself or herself. • It helps in clarifying what is known as the self-concept. It is basically an inward looking exercise. • Intrapersonal communication can also be understood as self-talk. Self-talk is recognized as the verbal side of thinking. • There is indeed a positive side of self –talk. Self-talk, also recognized as self-dialogue or inner speech is what you say to yourself during your working hours. • It is necessary to create self-awareness about self talk. Such awareness helps analyze self concepts, and overcome negative feelings. • Self-talk, properly used, can help in overcoming emotional distress. Effective intrapersonal communication relates to the art of the thinking, planning, and interpreting ideas and messages in a positive manner. • Interpersonal communication would also relate to the voice of conscience. This voice can play a significant role in the lives of individuals. • It emphasizes the values and the ethical dimension in organizations. It brings therefore the rational or the logical side of the business transaction, and helps exercise the much needed restraint in communication. • Through conscious efforts, one learns to talk to one self so as to bring out positive response. • One cannot really communicate effectively with the outside world, unless one masters the art of communicating effectively with one self. • In that sense, intrapersonal communication is a necessary precondition for effective interpersonal communication. • Good communication depends upon positive outlook. Self-talk prepares the ground for this. Those who talk to themselves are not necessarily crazy or mad. • They are those who make effective use of yet another dimension of communication. • Before making an important speech or attending a crucial meeting or responding to a provocative situation, you may take time to talk to yourself strengthen you to exercise restraint and eschew anger or sarcasm. • To quote Abraham Lincoln, “when I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two- thirds about him and what he is going to say”. Ego states Ego state refers to an individual’s behavioral makeup. It is consistent pattern of feelings, thinking and behavior. There are three types of ego states. Parent Ego State • The values and behavior of parents are recorded in the mind of the child and these become the parental ego state of the personality. • A person acting with parent ego tends to be over proactive, authoritative, impatient and upright. He refers to laws and rules, raises finger to show displeasure. Adult Ego State: • The adult ego state is reflected in behavior which is rational, analytical and logically weighing the pros and cons of a decision making situation. • It is balanced maturity involving comparisons and analysis of facts and figures. Child ego state: • To child ego state is characterized by emotion, impulsiveness, anxiety, fear and conformity, it reflects early childhood conditions and experiences of an individual. • It is open to change, seeks guidance and does not mind monitoring. Life Positions Life positions or psychological positions refer to the dominant philosophy of an individual. I am OK You are Ok • This is the ideal life position as it is rational based on adult ego state. It may be developed due to large number of ok experiences in the family and the society. • People with this life position show confidence and competence and feel that life is worth living. They can control their feelings and emotions of others. I am Ok you are not Ok • This position is found among people who feel victimized. They have been victims of very rude behavior of parents during childhood and look up the whole world as their enemy. • They blame others for their miseries and do not trust others. Mangers of this life position are too much task oriented and they do not care for the feelings, emotions of others. I am not Ok You are Ok • This position is found among persons who feel powerless in comparison to others. Managers with this position tend to be too much relations oriented. Their feelings and emotions guide their actions. • They often use their bad feeling as an excuse to act out against other. They are unpredictable and erratic. I am not Ok You are not Ok • This is desperate life position found is persons who are seriously neglected by their parents and are brought up by servants. They are indifferent towards people and objects and feel that life is not worth living at all. • In extreme cases they commit suicide or homicide. They are neither task oriented nor relations oriented. Attitude towards self Attitude towards others I am Ok You are Ok I am Ok you are not Ok I am Not Ok You re Ok I am not Ok You are not Ok UNIT-3 Managing Motivation in Interpersonal communication Shutz (1976) has suggested that there are three basic interpersonal needs or motives which underlie all interpersonal behavior. These three basic needs are Need for inclusion, Need for affection, Need for control. Interpersonal motivation can be discussed in terms of these three basic needs. The Need for Inclusion
The need for inclusion is concerned with having people to interact with who pay attention to you and what you have to say.
This need is noticeable each time you enter a new group of people.
People learn to deal with their need for inclusion in one of three basic ways.
The people who deny their need for inclusion by remaining detached from other. These are the Under Social Type.
They maintain distance between themselves and other and tend to be social isolates rarely initiating or even accepting interpersonal interactions with others in the organization.
A manager who maintains such aloofness is likely to experience poor interpersonal communication even when he or she does interact with others.
The Over Social Typeof person learns to deal with inclusion needs by constantly interacting with others.
Such persons attempt to focus attention on them by exhibitionist-type behavior or by acquiring some special status.
Over social managers are likely to spend so much time demanding attention that they neglect other things.
Subordinates may attempt to gain favor with such mangers through paying attention to them rather than through completing tasks.
Thus, the need for inclusion is expressed unclearly, resulting in low task orientation.
The third type of manger is the Adaptable-Social Type. This type can be a high participator or low participator in a group depending on the situation.
Such managers are comfortable being with people and are also comfortable being alone.
They have resolved the need for inclusion in a constructive way so that they can maintain identity and individuality. Fear in Interpersonal Communication Fear is an anticipation of future pain. If one is paying attention to what might happen rather than to what is presently happening one’s ability to respond to the situation is impaired. It is unproductive element. It does not help to an individual. The individual should fight against fear and frightened things again and again to reduce the fear. The best solution is repetition. The only way of reducing the fear is by speaking to a group and performing well. In that event the manager will be reinforce for this action and will be less likely to avoid the situation. By speaking on numerous occasions the manager’s ability as a speaker should improve. Yielding additional reinforcement and thus strengthening his or her positive feelings about speaking to a group and decreasing fear. Anger in Interpersonal Communication The norm in our culture and certainly in the culture of business is to avoid the expression of anger or control one’s anger. This may be determined in many ways even in business. If the person cannot directly express anger, it is likely to the expressed indirectly. The anger shows different influences on interpersonal communication. Different styles are followed in anger by the individuals in the organizations. COMMUNICATION STYLES “Style is a specialized set of behavior unique to a certain situation”. Controlling Style Equalitarian Style Structuring Style Communication Styles Dynamic Style Relinquish Style With draw Style For certain situation the individuals reacts in a certain specialized manner then it is known as style which is unique. An individual shows different types of styles for different types of situations. As said every individual may not divided for a single style. They exhibit certain styles according to the situation. The Controlling Style: It is always only a one way communication, the superior wishes to put his subordinates under his control. He rarely trusts the others. He always tries to be very dominant in nature. He never tries to take feedback. All the decisions will be taken by the individual. He will never delegate the decision making to the other. Every time he will do what he wants to do. This kind of styles is known as controlling style.
In the controlling style the communication is usually one way.
In the controlling style the communicators are directive, demanding and controlling.
In this style the communicators insist that their ideas be tried first.
In this style the communicators persuade others to follow their course of action.
In controlling style the communicators use power and authority in gaining compliance.
In this particular style the communicators may use manipulation. The Equalitarian Style: This style is which we can call as a two way communication. Communication will occur equally between two people. A manager following this style gives equal importance to the ideas of subordinates. It is called as equalitarian style. It is good to follow. Here disputes are less sand the importance is given to decision making. Everyone has to accept decision in order to implement it, but it is not useful in emergency situations.
In the equalitarian style the communication is two way.
In this style the communicators stimulate and draw out the thoughts and intents of others.
In this style the communication is free and fluid.
In this style atmosphere is one of mutual understanding and personal interest.
The communication is friendly and warm. The Structuring Style: The superior always asks about rules and regulations and the role of every individuals work. He will always talk about policies, procedures and goals of the organizations. It can be used in production and manufacturing areas in an organization.
In this style the communication is oriented towards systematizing the environment.
The communicators influence others by citing the standards, procedures, or rules which apply to a situation.
Communication is directed towards clarification of the structure or establishing structure for a problem. The Dynamic Style: The person who is adjusting according to the changes is known as dynamic. It is always followed by young and aggressive individuals. They have the ability to handle and kind of situation. They are willing to change any emergency situation.
The communicators are brief and to the point.
The communicators are frank and direct.
The communication content is pragmatic and action oriented. The Relinquish style Relinquish means giving away ones work. They did not do any work in routine manner. They use or thing in clever way rather than others. They are well experts in to getting work from others.
The communicators submit to the desires of others.
The communicators comply with the other person’s point of view.
The communicators are receptive to other people’s ideas and contributions
The communicators shift responsibility to the other person.
The communicators assume a supporting role. The Withdrawal Style It is a style of communication in which an individual stops communicating to another person. If a person feels that he may not handle any work or project they withdraw from that particular work. This sometimes arises due to emotional imbalance. We call this style as a with drawl style.
Communication process is avoided in this style.
No influence is sought or desired.
An independent rather than interactive approach to decision making is used.
The communicators avoid the subject under discussion by talking about something else or by shifting a verbal attack of the other person rather than responding. COMMNUCATION BARRIERS/BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION The word “barriers” means hindrances or hurdles or difficulties or problems. There are several categories of barriers causing breakdown in the communication. b) To maintain authority: Managers often underrate the understanding and intelligence of the subordinates. They try to hold the information and wholly coming down the downward communication or down line. c) Self-Satisfaction: Superiors write the message with their self-satisfaction and their ideas. They did not see for problems. It causes barriers. d) Yes Superiors: Subordinates agrees to superiors in so many areas. Subordinates did not require clarification and not express any expressions. They simply says yes boss. e) Lack of time: No time or lack of time will act as barrier for communication. They did not spare considerable time to talk to subordinates. If causes for breakup in communication. f) Principle of proper channel: In formal way the communication passes through proper channels. Superiors are generally known for direct communication. Because channel of communication causes for delay. It is one of the barriers of communication. g) Message overload: The effect of overload may be omission of message, errors, delay, filtering and approximation. They are barriers to communication. 4. Psychological Barriers: The Psychology of the employees in the organization relating to the security of job, dignity, peace of mind etc. a) Distrust of communication: The superior have less trust on their subordinates. According to that only subordinate makes delay in decision making etc. b) In attention: At the time of passing any message the superiors do not listen properly, the subordinates also did not show attention. If both are attentive then barriers did not occur. c) Premature evaluation: Premature evaluation of the message results in barriers of communication. The communication should be understood by listening completely. d) Failure of communication: There are many reasons to failure of communication such as “laziness”, “everybody knows”. Inform later”. It causes to breakup in communication. e) Emphasis on written message: Undue reliance on written message is equally serious in effective communication. So management should not insist on company’s view points and policies through sleek, easy to read, well-illustrated publications. 5. Other Barriers: a) Resistance to change: if a person listens to new idea, he may filter-in- rejecting new ideas or interprets them according to his own convenience. Resistance to change is an important obstacle. b) Perception: every one interprets, evaluates the information received from his own point to view. Lack of uniformity in perception or understanding is a great problem in communication and acts as a barrier. c) Closed Minds:The expression “closed minds” refers to thinking tendency of the people that they know everything about the issues and inhibits communication. They did not come with new ideas. d) Fear: Subordinates fear their superiors who have in turn to depend on subordinates for information. e) Lack of ability to communicate: All communicators do not have the same skills to communicate. Oral communication needs special skills compared to written communication. The lack of communication creates barriers in communication. The above mentioned points are all causes to the barriers in the communication process in the organization and human life. GATE WAYS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION The gateways for effective communication are as follows: Interpersonal Trust: It is one of the key elements for effective communication. Lack of interpersonal trust leads to defensiveness. a) Developing Trust: this trust is a kind of element. It will develop basing on different kinds of situations. To develop the trust the following will influence. • Intrapersonal factors: These are nothing but childhood experiences that will be developed along with the time period. Intra personal factors affect interpersonal factors. • Interpersonal factors: If the two persons are communicating, if one feels that the other is not trustable. It will affect the further communication. • Organizational factors: the working environment within an organization should help at improving trust between the members in the organizations. b) Establishing Trust: Any kind of trust cannot develop in a couple of days. Establishing trust requires repetition of the same situation which helps in building a trust relationship. c) Constructive and Destructive Trust Cycle: If we have a high trust on an individual then it causes to effective performance or communication with that person. He feels that he wants to prove himself. It is called as constructive cycle. If we have low trust means than it causes ineffective communication. So that he do not want to do anything in effective way. We call as destructive trust cycle. Intra personal factors Developing trust Inter personal Interpersonal trust Establishing trust factors Constructive & Organizational Destructive trust factors Listening Postures Muscular tension Intra Personal Feed back Emotions Interpersonal Sleeping Eye contact Facial Expressions Non-Verbal Nodding head Communication Touching behavior Physical appearance 2. Listening: Refer the 1st unit listening skills topic. 3. Feedback: Feed back is the information that the sender gets to evaluate the effects of his or her own communication. management depends on letter. “Quality reports, purchase order, proceedings for permitted task, leave letters, permission letters etc. are written communication styles used in organization. Parts of a Letter The components of a letter in a usual order of appearance in a message are given below. 1. Head Address:The address is usually printed at the top centre. This part is called as “letter head” or simply “heading”. This indicates the particular senders name, full address including Pin code, STD, Emblem, mobile number, fax, telex, branch location etc. 2. Data line: Generally the date is written at the right hand corner of letter sheet placed two-to-five spaces below the address. There are several methods in dateline. They are 1-12-1996 or 1st December, 1996 or December 1st, 1996. 3. Reference: It is generally located in the same line as the date line below the head address at left-hand corner. This part of reference covers with file number, number of the letter, year, references numbers of parties etc. 4. Inside address: Inside address contains the name, address of the recipient of a letter. It is nothing but the address of the addressee. It is written to give the receivers name, job, department, designation, address, code etc. it is written left hand corner above the salutation, generally 2 to 5 spaces below the date time. 5. Attention line: Attention line is a special part of a letter which is used when the letter is intended to receive the attention of a particular individual. It runs: “For the attention of Mr.N.Sudharkar” This line is placed between the inside address and salutation part. 6. Salutation: It is a greeting to the receiver and also implies courtesy, politeness or affection. It is a practice and custom to use permissible words to respect the receiver of a letter. Salutation is to used whether the receiver is an individual, firm, company, co-operative society or any other institutions. Exp: Sir, Dear Sir, Dear Madam, My Dear Sir, Dear Sir’s Dear Mr.Sudhakar. 1. HEAD ADRESS -------------------- --------------------- 2. DATELINE 3. REFERENCE 4. INSIDE ADRESS --------------------- --------------------- --------------------- 5. ATTENTION LINE 6. SALUTATION LINE 7. SUBJECT LINE 8. REFERENCE LINE 9. BODY OF THE LETTER---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ 10. COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE 11. SIGNATURE (NAME) 12. REFERENCE INITIAL 13. ENCLOSERS ----------------- ----------------- 14. COPY NOTATION 15. POST SCRIPT 7. Subject Line: Below the salutation line is written the subject line, placed at the centre of the letter sheet. It indicates the message theme, core-though of the subject. It may be written as “subject” or simply “sub”. The reader of the letter understands the central idea of the letter. 8. Reference line:Reference line is placed below the subject line. It is written to indicate any previous reference to the subject matter of the letter. It indicates identifies the purpose, earlier communication to sort out easily, inward letters, file tracing etc. Exp: Ref: your letter no.786/3/a-2, dated 10-12-1996. 9. Body of a letter: Body of the letter is an important part of the letter sheet. Located between the salutation line and the complimentary close. The body of letter is divided into three parts. a) The opening paragraph usually deals with reference to earlier correspondence. b) Main part comes with proper message. c) Closing paragraph is a sort of formality, concludes the message in summary. 10. Complimentary close: it is a polite way to conclude or closing a letter. The letter commenced with a respectable salutation, must end with respectable compliments. The commonly used complimentary closing expressions are as follows. Exp: Yours Faithfully, Yours Sincerely, Your Respectfully, Yours Ever, Truly, Yours, Cordially Yours, Yours very Truly, Yours Coolly. 11. Signature: it comes under the complimentary close. It is a signed name of the letter-written. The signature should be written in hand by the writer. The signatory name should be in block letters and after that the signatory put the signature. 12. Reference initials: This line indicates giving the initials letters of the typists or transcriber’s name. 13. Enclosures: The special parts indicate any other relevant matter in support of the message of a letter which accompanies the letter. Enclosures part is located below the signature at right side of a letter sheet. Exp: Enclosures: Price list, DD, Order form, Vouchers, Application form, share warrant. 14. Copy Notation: This line is written at the left hand corner of a letter sheet below the word enclosures. It indicates the same message, copies, sent to the various persons. It is mentioned against “C.C” which stands for “Carbon Copy” or “Carbon Copies”. starts with left hand side? But this form gives an imbalance look but it is easier for the typist to type. Because it requires no change of margin and adjustements. 3. Block form: In this form date line, complimentary close, signature and designation are written at the right hand side of the letter sheet. The block form is most popular and is widely used by many concerns. The special features of that every line of inside name and address, each paragraph commences from the left hand corner of a letter sheet. Intended form Head address …………………. Date Reference Inside address ……………………. ……………………. Salutation Body…….………………………………… ………………………………………………. ………………………………………………. ………………………… ………………………………………. ………………………………………………. ………………………………………………. ………………… Complementary close 4. Semi-block form: in this type of writing a letter, the address is written in block form. Indented form is used for the first lie of the every paragraph, usually indented five space. MEETINGS Meeting are gatherings which are groups of persons belonging to a particular interest to whom, as groups, some common matters or issues are entrusted. At the place, information is communicated orally, discussed, deliberated and decision making. In corporate management, we frequently come across company meetings. The usual company meetings are statutory meetings, municipal corporation meetings, annual general meetings, broad of directors meetings etc. The word “meeting” denotes an arrangement to come face to face with advance plan for a purpose. A meeting is a gathering, assembling or coming together of two or more person for the purpose of transacting some objectives of business. Meeting is a group. A group tends to have a meeting. A group interaction may be called by many other names such as conference, seminars, conventions, discussions, teams, boards etc. Kinds of meetings Public Meetings Private Meetings Public Meetings: Public meetings are open to all. There will be a open invitation to the public at large. Any member of the public who is interested in the subject matter for which such meeting is called can participate and contribute his own matter. Private Meetings: A private meeting is one convened by individuals or bodies to which there is no open invitation in general. The invitation for only who are concerned in the subject matter. Corporate Meeting: Corporate meetings Shareholders meetings Statutory meetings Annual meetings Extraordinary meetings Class meetings Board meeting Board of directors Committee of the board Passing resolution by Circulation Miscellaneous meetings Debenture holders Creditors 1. Shareholders Meetings: The company laws provides for the holding of shareholders meeting. This enables the members to meet and discuss the affairs of the company. a) Statutory Meeting: The first general meeting of the shareholders is called the statutory meeting. It is held once in the life time of a public company. The main purpose of it is to provide members a general idea about the progress made by the company since its formation. b) Annual General Meetings: Every company, private or public must hold on annual general meeting of the shareholders each year. In this meeting the performance of the company during the past one year is reviewed. c) Extraordinary General Meetings: Each general meeting of a company other than the statutory meeting and the annual general is an extraordinary general meeting. This type of meeting is convened for transacting some special or urgent business which cannot be postponed till next annual general meeting. d) Class Meetings: It is a meeting of particular group or a particular class of shareholders. Only shareholders belonging to a particular class are entitled to attend such meetings. This meeting divides the shares into different classes. 2. Board Meetings: a) Board of directors: Directors are the agents of the shareholder who are responsible for the management of the affairs of the company. Meetings of directors are called “board meeting”. A meeting of board of directors must be held at least once in every three months and at least four such meetings shall be held in every year. b) Committees of directors: The board usually appoints small committees with a membership of a few directors which carry on such activities and report to the board. Such committees are share transfer committee, finance committee. Thus committees got powers form board. c) Resolution by circulation: “Resolution by circulation” refers to the board f directors meetings. All decisions are taken by the board which takes the shape of passing resolutions at the board meetings. The law permits the directors may transact business without meeting also. In today competitive world organizations both large and small, need to be able to respond quickly to opportunities, threats and needs of the consumer. So that the email is the best way to face or overcome from these. (VSNL) The Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited has in 1991 started operating their GEMS 400 service to act as a gateway for international mail from India. In addition to its services, in India, today, there are ten company’s offering. So many companies like Yahoo, Google, and Rediff and so on are offering services in this area. USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Technological tools can enhance the uniquely human ability to communicate. By using your mind both to create message and to focus the technology appropriately, you can improve the quality of your communication. Usage of technology in modern life
Illustration of a web based project management tool for planning a long report.
Project management programs assist in identifying tasks and allocating resources.
Personal information management programs assist with the time management. (exp: Calendar, Alarm sounds, attendance checking)
While technology makes constructing documents with graphics easily. TO CC BCC SUB Asnmba@rediffmail.com Carbon copy Blind Carbon Copy Project permission letter ATTATCH SALUTATION BODY COMPLEMETARY ATTATCH SEND
Database tools provide a convenient way to collect information.
Specialty tools help you collect facts.
Computer programs help you analyze and interpret data with statistics and graphics.
Basic-math-calculates, columns and sorting arranges information in an order.
The tables features helps you to better understand.
Spelling checkers come out with errors.
Writers can control the look of their messages through effective layout.
Give spaces as per requirement before and after layout.
Mobile technology expands the physical environment of the message sender.
Voice message systems are gaining business use.
Video conferences combine oral and video media.
Facsimile, email, text messaging and instant messaging are widely used for transmitting written message.
Using wireless technology to transmit message allows you and your receiver to communicate anywhere and anytime, but courtesy in taking and placing calls should be exercised.
Smaller, smarter technology may enable future business people to wear their computers.
Through broadcasting devices we deliver and collect the information. So that in modern life the usage of technology is more from day to day. ORAL PRESENTATIONS Presentation is a relatively recently developed form of interactive communication. Presentations are made in classrooms, seminars, conferences and to groups of persons on certain scheduled topics. Presentation is emerging as a popular means of communication various concepts and ideas, features of gadgets, technology based products, analytical status reports and other variable items. The person making the presentation has to necessarily develop various types of interactive skills. Essentially, one should be a good communicator and should learn to express oneself clearly and forcefully. A good presentation requires a good mix of subject knowledge, confidence, communicative ability and interpersonal skills. It calls for advanced planning and preparedness. The person should do rehearsal. The rehearsal should specially take note of style; time taken, voice modulation, the audience reaction etc. Determine the purpose of speech: The speech may be happened because to motive, to inform, and to persuade. Out of all the presentations persuading is difficult. Because it makes the others to attract and resultant should be made. To motive: Here it is no point of much interaction by reinforcing the efficiency of others. To Inform:This is like a blind speech explaining the rules and regulations etc. the presentation levels are in medium. To persuade: The level of interaction should be high because the feedback will be their. To create strong feeling in others. 1. Selection of the topic: Yours first step in formal speech making is to determine the topic of your presentation. At the time of selecting a topic we must to see three things like the first is background of your knowledge, the second is the audience interest, and the third is occasion of meet. 2. Preparation of the presentation: After you have decided what to talk about, you should gather the information you need for your speech. You gather information from library, company files, from interest, fast experiences of speeches etc. how to great in starting the meeting we have to prepare all those in before speech. 3. Introduction: The introduction of a speech has much the same goal as the introduction of a written report to prepare the listeners to receive the message. Unless you can arouse the interest at the beginning. Your presentation is likely to fail.