Communication: Introduction
Communication is an indispensable tool in all areas of human interaction. But it is a process that is complex. The extent of its complexity can be seen in the variety of ways in which it can be defined.
Thus, communication is any behaviour, verbal, nonverbal or graphic that is perceived by another. It involves a web of activities that differ in different situations. In the workplace, for example, you would probably communicate differently when talking formally to customers as compared to informally with a peer. How you perceive the situation will often determine your communication behavior.
Forms and Types of Communication
People communicate with each other in a variety of ways that depend on the message they want to send and the context in which it is to be sent. As a result there are a variety of forms and types of communication such as e-mail, face-to-face, telephone, meetings, corridor conversations and seminars. Dwyer categorises these into
three forms of communication - verbal, nonverbal and graphic
four types of communication - intrapersonal, interpersonal, public and mass.
Communication Models and Theories
Communication is a dynamic and interactive process'. Just as there are many definitions of communication, so there are many models of communication, each providing different views of how people transfer and interpret information. Like a jigsaw puzzle, each model provides a part of the picture, but no one model seems to cover all aspects.
Berlo's Model
Berlo's focus remained on the transmission model of communication. However, he introduced more of the human elements, such as the relationship between the message channel and the five senses
Effective communication involves both the sender and the receiver. The sender must be as clear as possible and the receiver must signal understanding or clarification. It involves both content and relationship elements
content = message, idea
relationship = emotions, power, status
personal Encoding and decoding are based on a person's perception of the world.
The Transmission Model
The transmission model is concerned with the transfer of meaning from the sender to the receiver . Communication is a one way process.
The Process Model
The transmission model was subsequently adapted to form the process models in which people transmit, receive, interpret and respond to messages with feedback. The process models have seven main elements:
Sender
Message
Receiver
Feedback
Channel
Context or setting (environment)
Noise or interference
In the process models, a message is encoded by the sender through a communication channel, such as voice or body language, and then decoded by the receiver. The receiver then provides feedback. The process is influenced by the context of the situation and any noise or interference.
Communication Barriers
Ineffective communication can lead to errors, misunderstanding, poor performance, lower motivation and morale, negative feelings in the workplace and many other issues that may detract from achieving organisational goals. It is, therefore, important to try to minimise barriers to effective and efficient communication: communication barriers distort or interrupt the message and its meaning
Organizational Communication
Communication in an organisation may be used to influence, inform, control or inspire. Organisational communication can be divided into two broad categories - formal or structured (within the 'systems' established by management) and informal (as when co-workers chat about company matters). Both areas are significant and both need to be 'healthy' for the organisation to be healthy.
Formal Communication Channels and Networks
Formal communication channels follow the organisational structure or hierarchy and flow in four directions:
These four directions in which communication can travel are: downward; upward; lateral or horizontal; and diagonal.
Downward (1) communication involves communication from higher to lower levels so that leadership can communicate goals, strategies or role expectations.
Upward (2) communication flows from lower levels to higher levels of the organisation, for example, when there is a need to communicate problems, results or suggestions.
Horizontal (3) communication occurs across the same level and involves for example, coordination of activities with peers (teams, committees), dissemination of useful information from one department to another (for example sales forecasts from the sales department to production, and problems such as a problem with product design from the production department to research and development). Horizontal communication facilitates the l inking of different areas of expertise and this may encourage innovation.
Diagonal (4) channels may potentially cause conflict as they involve communication between the lower level of one department to a higher level in another. In the diagram above, this may cause friction between the employee in accounting department C and the Vice-President (VP) of Accounting as the employee has gone around his or her own superior. Nevertheless this type of communication may be useful as it may simply be information relevant to the Marketing Department and the VP Accounting does not need to be involved.
Formal communication networks also occur within the hierarchy of the organisation and reflect how groups of employees, for example those in a department, work together. Networking or mapping the flow of communication in an organisation can be a useful device. This can identify who is communicating with whom and whether the lines of communication are effective and efficient, or whether there is potential for destructive conflict or tension arising from the communication channels (for example, inappropriate diagonal communication).
Formal Communication: Problems and Solutions
Many communication problems arise from the structure of the organisation. Dwyer mentions three related organisational factors: centralisation; the creation of too many organisational layers; and the structure of the organisation. Other factors may include downsizing which leads to ambiguous reporting structure and poor leadership. Many of these problems may be overcome by:
analysing the organisation structure and communication networks for barriers to effectiveness and efficiency
ensuring downsizing is well planned and the 'survivors' (those left in the organisation) understand the impact of the process on communication networks and procedures
recruiting for competent communication, particularly when recruiting for leadership roles.
Informal Communication
Informal organisational communication exists outside the formal lines of the organisational structure. An example of this is friendship groups. The informal communication channel serves two main purposes: it permits employees to satisfy their need for social interaction in the workplace and it can improve an organisation's performance by creating alternative, and frequently faster and more efficient, channels of communication (Robbins et al. 2000).
One of the most common forms of informal communication is 'the grapevine'. According to Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) the term grapevine originated from the American Civil War practice of stringing battlefield telegraph lines between trees as a means of efficient communication. Now it supplements the formal channels of communication.
UGC Paper Information Communication
1. Informal communication network within the organization is known as
(a) Interpersonal communication
(b) Intrapersonal communication
(c) Mass communication
(d) Grapevine communication
2. TV Channel launched for covering only Engineering and Technology subjects is known as
(a) Gyan Darshan
(b) Vyas
(c) Eklavya
(d) Kisan
3. In which state the maximum number of periodicals are brought out for public information:
(a) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Tamil Nadu
(c) Kerala
(d) Punjab
4. The main objective of public broadcasting system i.e. Prasar Bharti is
(a) Inform, Entertainment & Education
(b) Entertain, Information & Interaction
(c) Educate, Interact & Entertain
(d) Entertainment only
5. The competency of an effective communicator can be judged on the basis of:
(a) Personality of communicator
(b) Experience in the field
(c) Interactivity with target audience
(d) Meeting the needs of target audience
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