Communication
Prepare by:Abhishek Pokhrel
What is Communication?
• The sharing of information between two or more
individuals or groups to reach a common
understanding.
• Communication serve four major function
within a group or organization.
• Control, motivation, emotional expressions,
information.
The Communication Process
Contd..
• Sender – person wishing to share information
with some other person
• Message – what information to communicate
• Encoding – sender translates the message into
symbols or language
• Noise – refers to anything that hampers any
stage of the communication process
Contd..
• Receiver – person or group for which the
message is intended
• Medium – pathway through which an
encoded message is transmitted to a receiver
• Decoding - critical point where the receiver
interprets and tries to make sense of the
message
Contd..
• Feedback phase is initiated by the receiver
• Receiver decides what message to send to the
original sender
• Feedback eliminates misunderstandings,
ensures that messages are correctly
interpreted
Direction of Communication
• Communication can flow vertically or laterally.
We further subdivide the vertical dimension
into downward and upward directions
Downward Communication
• Communication that flows from one level of a
group or organization to a lower level is
downward communication.
• Group leaders and managers use it to assign
goals, provide job instructions, explain policies
and procedures, point out problems that need
attention, and offer feedback about
performance
Thing to be consider
• Managers must explain the reasons why a
decision was made.
• Study found employees were twice as likely to
be committed to changes when the reasons
behind them were fully explained.
• Although this may seem like common sense,
many managers feel they are too busy to
explain things or that explanations will “open
up a big can of worms.
Upward Communication
• Upward communication flows to a higher level
in the group or organization.
• It’s used to provide feedback to higher-ups,
inform them of progress toward goals, and
relay current problems.
• Upward communication keeps managers
aware of how employees feel about their jobs,
co-workers, and the organization in general.
Lateral Communication
• When communication takes place among
members of the same work group, members
of work groups at the same level, managers at
the same level, or any other horizontally
equivalent workers, we describe it as lateral
communication.
• Eg HR and Marketing , Marketing and Finance
Interpersonal Communication
• How do group members transfer meaning
between and among each other?
• They essentially rely on oral, written, and
nonverbal communication.
Oral Communication
• The chief means of conveying messages is oral
communication.
• Speeches, formal one-on-one and group
discussions, and the informal rumor mill or
grapevine are popular forms of oral
communication.
Written Communication
• Written communications include memos,
letters, fax transmissions, e-mail, instant
messaging, notices placed on bulletin boards
• (including electronic ones), and any other
device that transmits via written words or
symbols
Non Verbal Communication
• Every time we deliver a verbal message, we
also impart a nonverbal message.
• Sometimes the nonverbal component may
stand alone.
• In a singles bar, a glance, a stare, a smile, a
frown, and a provocative body movement all
convey meaning
Contd..
• 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, and facial expressions
Organizational Communication
• Distinguish formal networks and the grapevine
Chain
• The chain rigidly follows the formal chain of
command; this network approximates the
communication channels you might find in a
rigid three-level organization
Wheel
• 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
All Channel
• 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
Formal Communication
Grapevine
• Grapevine is an informal channel of business
communication. It is called so because it
stretches throughout the organization in all
directions irrespective of the authority levels.
• Ambiguity situation result into grapevine
Contd…
• It gives managers a feel for the morale of their
organization, identifies issues employees
consider important, and helps tap into
employee anxieties. The grapevine also serves
employees’ needs: small talk creates a sense
of closeness and friendship among those who
share information.
• Rumor and Gossip are example
Negative Consequences
• My neighbour's mother phoned to tell her that her mother's best friend's
sister is going to divorce her husband. She should end up with over three
million dollars and one of two houses."
Mary to Sally: "I was just talking to Martha. She said her house was broken
into."
Sally to Suzy: "Mary just told me that Martha's house was broken into. The
thieves took all her jewellery."
Suzy to Connie: "Did you hear? Martha was robbed at gunpoint. The
burglars broke into her house and held guns her and her husband's head
until they told them where they hid all of the jewellery."
Connie to Patty: "You'll never guess who's in hospital. Martha had a
breakdown when burglars shot a hole in her livingroom ceiling because
she wouldn't tell them where she hid the jewellery."
And so the story grows.
Barrier to Effective Communication
• Filtering
• Selective Perception
• Information Overload
• Emotion language
• Communication Apprehension
Filtering
• Filtering refers to a senders purposely
manipulating information so it will be seen
more favorably by the receiver.
• More vertical nature of hierarchy more
possibility of filtering
Selective Perception
• People in the communication process
selectively see an hear based on their needs,
motivation , experience, background, and
other personal characteristics.
Information Overload
• What happens when individual have more
information they can sort out and use?
• They tend to select out, ignore , pass over or
forget information or they put off further
processing until the overload situation is over.
• Regardless, the result is lost information and
less effective communication.
Language
• Word means different thing to different
people . Age , education and cultural
background are three of the more obvious
variables that influence the language a person
uses and the definition he or she give to
words.
Communication Apprehension
• Another major barrier to effective
communication is that some people –an
estimated 5 to 20 percent of the population –
suffer from communication apprehension or
anxiety.
How Communications Can Be
Improved
• To become better communicators, managers
must:
– Improve their messages
– Improve their own understanding of what other
people are trying to communicate
• Effective listening
– Managers must listen with understanding
• Following up
– Managers should attempt to determine whether their
intended meaning was actually received
How Communications Can Be
Improved (cont.)
• Regulating information flow
– Only significant deviations from policies and
procedures should be brought to the managers
• Utilizing feedback
– Managers should determine whether their messages
have been received and if they have produced the
intended responses
• Empathy
– Managers should put themselves into the other
person’s role and assume the viewpoints and
emotions of that person
How Communications Can Be
Improved (cont.)
• Simplifying language
– Managers must encode messages in words,
appeals, and symbols that are meaningful to the
receiver
• Organizational stories
– Using narrative allows managers to forge
relationships with diverse audiences well beyond
those afforded by a technical argument
Current Issues in Communication
• Communication Barrier between women and
men
• Silence as communication
• Politically correct communication
• Cross Cultural Communication.
Communication Barrier between women and men
• Men talk to:
• Women talk to:
– Emphasize status, power,
and independence.
– Establish connection and
familiarity.
– Complain that women
talk on and on.
– Criticize men for not
listening.
– Offer solutions.
– Speak of problems to
promote closeness.
– To boast about their
accomplishments.
– Express regret and
restore balance to a
conversation.
Politically Correct” Communication
• Certain words stereotype, intimidate, and
insult individuals.
• In an increasingly diverse workforce, we must
be sensitive to how words might offend
others.
– Removed: handicapped, blind, and elderly
– Replaced with: physically challenged, visually
impaired, and senior.
Silence as Communication
• Absence of speech or noise
– Powerful form of communication
– Can indicate
• Thinking
• Anger
• Fear
– Watch for gaps, pauses, & hesitations in
conversations
– Eg
Cross Cultural Communication
Semantics
Word
implication
Barriers to Effective
Cross-Cultural
Semantic
Communication
Tone
Differences
2007 ©‫ ﴀ‬Prentice Hall
Perception
Differences
Semantic
• Some words sisu will help you in communicating
with people from finland but this word is
untranslatable into English. It means something
akin to “guts” or “dogged persistence” .
• Similarly, the new capitalists in Russia may have
difficulty communicate with their British or
Canadian counterpart because english term such
as efficiency , free market are not directly
translatable into russian.
Example
• Hygge (Danish) A feeling of cozy contentment and well-being
through enjoying the simple things in life—like sitting by a fire with
warm tea and close friends.
• Schadenfreude (German) The guilty pleasure of experiencing joy
from someone else’s misfortune. (This one’s made its way into
English, but there’s no perfect native equivalent.)
• Wabi-sabi (Japanese) A worldview centered on accepting transience
and imperfection. It appreciates beauty in the old, worn, and
asymmetrical.
• Ubuntu (Nguni Bantu, Southern Africa) “I am because we are.” It
reflects a deep sense of shared humanity, compassion, and
community.
• Lagom (Swedish) Not too much, not too little—just the right
amount. A cultural ideal of moderation and balance.
• Komorebi (Japanese) The beautiful, dappled light that
filters through trees—evoking peace and calm.
• Gigil (Tagalog, Filipino) The overwhelming feeling when
something is so cute or adorable that you want to
squeeze or pinch it (like a baby’s cheeks).
• Sobremesa (Spanish) The relaxed time after a meal
when you linger at the table, talking and enjoying
company.
• Jayus (Indonesian) A joke so bad or poorly told that
you can’t help but laugh—despite (or because of) how
unfunny it is.
Word Connotations
• Words imply different things in different
language. Negotiation's between American
and Japanese executive for instance, are more
difficult because the Japanese word hai
translate as “yes” but it’s connotations may be
“Yes, I’m listening” rather than “yes, I agree”
Tones difference
• In some culture language is formal, in others
it’s informal. In some culture the tone changes
depending on the context . For eg. British
people are much formal in the work as well as
outside rather Aussies.
Perception
• People who speak different language actually
views the world in different ways. Eskimo
perceive snow differently because they have
many word for it. Thais perceive “no”
differently than do Americans because the
former have no such word in the vocabulary.
Hand Gestures Mean Different
Things in Different Countries
E X H I B I T 11–9
Source: Robins
Hand Gestures Mean Different
Things in Different Countries (cont’d)
E X H I B I T 11–9 (cont’d)
Source : Robins
Communication Barriers and Cultural
Context
High-Context Cultures
Cultures that rely heavily on
nonverbal and subtle
situational cues to
communication.
Low-Context Cultures
Cultures that rely heavily on
words to convey meaning in
communication.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All
rights reserved.
vs.
LowContex
t
Cultur
es
E X H I B I T 11–10
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All
rights reserved.