Foundations of Business Communication: Vocabulary and Technology Impact

– Effective communication occurs at a minimum resource cost but may result in misunderstandings. – Different communication channels are suitable for varying types of messages. – Written channels (emails, memos) are efficient for simple and quick dissemination and formal communication. – Oral channels (team meetings, voicemail) are effective for complex messages and situations requiring immediate feedback. – Misunderstandings in communication can be caused by encoding errors (sender's fault) or decoding errors (receiver's fault). – Technology has significantly changed workplace communication, with tools like email, memos, videoconferencing, and cloud-based collaboration. – Memos are traditionally used for reminding staff of events, clarifying policy, and making requests, while emails are used for more informal communication and query responses. – Effective email etiquette includes careful recipient selection, indicating confidentiality, avoiding humor, sensitive topics, and "urgent" flags. – Perception plays a significant role in communication, as people can interpret the same information differently due to biases and perceptual tendencies. – Six fundamental forms of perceptual bias include the fundamental attribution error, self-serving bias, stereotyping, halo effect, and selectivity. – The fundamental attribution error leads to blaming others for their failures based on internal factors. – Self-serving bias causes individuals to blame external factors for their failures and attribute successes to internal factors. – Stereotypes involve oversimplifying individuals based on their group or category. – Halo effects occur when one positive attribute influences overall perception. – Selectivity is the tendency to focus on aspects of a situation that reinforce existing beliefs, values, or needs.