Effective Communication in Organizations: Sender, Channel, Receiver, Barriers, Study notes of Social Sciences

Download Effective Communication in Organizations: Sender, Channel, Receiver, Barriers and more Study notes Social Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! COMMUNICATION CHAPTER 6 All credits and rights are reserved for REX publishing and is for educational purposes only. Teo THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION Without communication, organizations cannot exist. It is through communication that the individual members of the organization will know important concerns such as: 1. What their organization is 2. What objectives their organization wants to achieve 3. What their roles are in achieving the organization’s objectives 4. How they will achieve those objectives 5. Who the individual members of the organization are • The following list is not exhaustive but only a partial enumeration. It is also through communication that the organization can relate with its external environment which include customers, suppliers, competitors, and the government. • COMMUNICATION is essential for the coordination of business. It must be made effective, if the organization is to be effectively, what products or services the customers want, what products or services the suppliers are providing, and many other. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS • COMMUNICATION is a two-way process in which a sender reaches a receiver with a message. There is a need for people in organizations to have knowledge of the communication process, and it is the first step to make it effective. There are six components of an effective communication. They are the following. 1. A communication source or sender 2. A message 3. A channel 4. A receiver 5. Feedback 6. The environment THE MESSAGE The message is a purpose or an idea to be conveyed in a communication event. The message is the actual physical product as a result of encoding. Thus, when speaking, the speech is the message; when writing, the written document is the message; when making gestures, the movements of the arms and the expressions on faces are the message. How the message is receive is influenced by the following factors: 1. clarity of the message 2. alertness of the receiver 3. complexity and length of the message 4. how the information is organized • A message written or spoken in a language nobody understands will not pass the criteria for clarity. Of course, the message will not be received properly. • When the receiver is busy doing something else like listening to music, he will not be able to understand clearly what the person is relating to him in the story. • To a 12 year old child who has never gone to school, the stock market will be too complex for him and he will not appreciate anything said about it, When the information sent to a receiver is not organized, it will be hard for the receiver to fully appreciate it. The following is an example of information that is not well organized. The company hired 10 people in 2008; 15 employees were fired in 2009; 26 employees were suspended in 2006; and 30 employees were reprimanded in 2008. The message has two components: 1. The thought or conceptual component of the message- this is contained in the words, ideas, symbols, and concepts chosen to relay the message; and 2. The feeling or emotional component of the message – this is contained in the intensity, force, demeanor, and sometimes the gesture of the communicator or sender. This second component enriches and clarifies the message and its effect is to give the message full meaning. THE RECEIVER • The person receiving a message is the receiver. He must interpret and understand the message. In doing so, however, he will be influenced by factors like his age, gender, beliefs, past experiences, cultural influences, and his individuals. THE FEEDBACK • FEEDBACK refers to the process of communicating how one feels about something another person has done or said. When a supervisor call his subordinates over the phone and ask “ how are you getting along with our new recruits?” the answer, which is actually the feedback, could be “ I think we made a mistake in recruiting these people.” • It is difficult to know whether the message was received and understood without feedback. A feedback provides a clue to the sender of information whether the message he sent was received as intended. THE ENVIRONMENT The environment refers to the circumstances in which messages are transmitted and received. In an environment of trust and confidence, messages are easily transmitted even if these messages are controversial. The advantage of this type of environment is that management is provided with the opportunity to address a problem it develops into a full-blown concern. THE VERBAL COMMUNICATION • Verbal communication is a major means sending messages it includes one-on-one meetings, speeches, grapevine, telephone, departmental or interdepartmental meetings, presentation, and the like. • The delivery of verbal communication is quick and it provides the opportunity for a quick feedback. With feedbacks, early correction of errors is made possible. A major disadvantage of verbal is the distortion of the message when it passes to several people. This is because people have their own peculiar way of interpreting messages and this causes distortion of the original message. Verbal Communication 1.) wants to appear informal; 2.) wants to invite suggestions and ideas which are more likely to spark off a discussion; 3.) is explaining something complex and people might need to ask for clarification he goes along; 4.) has important news to impact, such as retrenchment; 5.) needs to be very diplomatic and feels he will be more effective face to face than in writing; and 6.) has something highly confidential to say and putting it in writing is risky. Verbal Communication is not appropriate when the sender 1. Wants to maintain formality or distance from the other person or a group of people; 2. Wants a permanent record of what has been said 3. Needs receiver’s comments to be in writing for legal reasons; and 4. Wants to avoid further discussion of the subject by signaling that the matter is closed. NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION • Communication that takes place through facial expressions, body movements, eye contact, and other physical gesture is referred to as nonverbal communication. This type of communication reveals what the sender really mean or thinking. For example , when we see a person inside a restaurant taking his meal and we noticed that his eyes are gleaming, we can safely presume that he is enjoying what he is eating. TABLE 2 COMMONLY ACCEPTED INTERPRETATIONS OF VARIOUS BODY LANGUAGE BODY LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION FACIAL EXPRESSIONS Frown Displeasure, unhappiness Smile Friendliness, happiness Raised Eyebrows Disbelief, amazement Narrowed eyes, pursed lips Anger EYE CONTACT Glancing Interest Steady Active listening, interest, Seduction GESTURE Pointing finger Authority, displeasure, lecturing Folded arms Not open to change, preparing to speak Arms at side Open to suggestions, relaxed Hands uplifted outward Disbelief, puzzlement, uncertainity TABLE 2 COMMONLY ACCEPTED INTERPRETATIONS OF VARIOUS BODY LANGUAGE BODY POSTURES Meaning Fidgeting, doodling boredom hands on hips anger, defensiveness shrugging shoulders indifference squared stance of shoulders problem solving, concerned, listening biting lips, shifting, jingling money nervousness FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION 3. Control function – communication clarifies duties, authority, and responsibilities, thereby permitting control. If, through effective communication, the worker is informed on what exactly he is expected to do, that information alone is enough for the worker to check if he is performing as expected. This will also make it easy for management to pinpoint deviations from what is expected from the worker. FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION 4. Emotive function- communication permits the expression of feelings and the satisfaction of social needs. Workers are human beings and they have a need to express their feeling one way or another. Communication can help them fulfill this need. For example, a female worker cannot concentrate on her work because a male co-worker is exhibiting aggressive and objectionable behavior. When she informed the erring co-worker that she does not like what he is doing and she will not hesitate to report him, the harassment stopped. Then she stared feeling good enough to perform well in her job. BASIC GOALS OF COMMUNICATION Communication is not just about transferring message from one person to another. In organizations, communications must be made effective. Being effective, however, is not an end but rather a means to an end. Effective communication is really a way to achieve certain goals which consist of the following: 1. To gain goodwill 2. To inquire 3. To inform 4. To persuade It can be expected that when communication goals are achieved, accomplishing the organizational objectives will be a matter of course. SELECTIVE PERCEPTION Receivers selectively see and hear messages based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristic. For instance, a person who has limited exposure to recruitment will find it difficult to actively listen to a lecture on current hiring practices. INFORMATION OVERLOAD • Information overload refers to the condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual’s processing capacity. When this happens, the person is no longer able to understand clearly whatever information is sent to him. EMOTIONS • The receiver’s feelings affect his ability to understand any message sent to him. He cannot receive a message as clearly as when he is not angry, excited, or afraid. For instance, when a person is stricken with grief, it cannot be expected that he will be able to absorb the details of a project presented to him. ABSENCE OF FEEDBACK Feedback is an essential component of effective communication. When feedback is received by the sender, he can make some clarification if he thinks the receiver did not clearly understand what the send means. The absence of feedback does not provide the sender the opportunity to correct misimpressions about the message sent. Also, without feedback, the sender will not know if the message was received at all. PHYSICAL SEPARATION Physical separation refers to interferences to effective communication occurring in the environment where the communication is undertaken. These are actually physical barriers which include the following: 1. Distances between people; 2. Walls; 3. An office that is not conducive to communication 4. An intimidating person posted near the door; or 5. Wrong timing. Telephones, cellphones, and e-mail are useful tools in bridging the physical gap, but face-to-face communication is still more effective. This is so because gadgets cannot provide a complete view of the circumstances surrounding the sender and the receiver. LACK OF CREDIBILITY OF THE SENDER Depending on the credibility of the sender, messages can get through the channel to the receiver. If the sender has low credibility, the message, even if it gets through, will likely be ignored. This is type of barrier that should be overcome by leaders of organizations. UPWARD COMMUNICATION Upward communication refers to messages from persons in lower level positions to persons in higher positions. Its purposes are: 1. To provide feedback to higher-up; 2. To inform higher-ups of progress towards goals; and 3. To relay current problems. The techniques used in upward communication are: 4. Performance reports; 5. Suggestion systems; 6. Informal gripe sessions; 7. Open-door policy; and 8. Exit interviews HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION Horizontal Communication Horizontal communication refers to messages sent to individuals or groups from another of the same organizational level or position. Its purposes are: 1. To coordinate activities between departments; 2. To persuade other at the same level of organization; and 3. To pass on information about activities or feelings. The techniques appropriate for horizontal communication are: 4. memos; 5. Telephones or cellphones; 6. Picnics; and 7. Dinner and other social affairs. DOWNWARD COMMUNICATIO N • Implementati on of goal, strategies, objectives • Job instructions and rationale • Procedures and practices • Indoctrination INFLUENCE COORDINATION HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION• Intradepartmental problem solving • Interdepartmental coordination • Staff advice to the departments UPWARD COMMUNICATION • Problems and exceptions • Suggestions for improvement • Performance Reports • Grievance and disputes • Financial and accounting information INTERP RET FIGURE 23 THE AREAS OF CONCERN IN MESSAGE FLOWS