Understanding Communication: An Overview

Introduction to Communication

• 'Communication' comes from the Latin word 'communicare,' which means to share or impart
• Communication establishes a common ground of understanding
• It involves exchanging facts, ideas, and opinions
• It's a way for individuals/orgs to share meaning and understanding
• Can be defined as the transmission and interaction of facts, ideas, feelings, or attitudes

Communication as an Interdisciplinary Concept

• Communication is approached theoretically from many disciplines
• These disciplines include: mathematics, accounting, psychology, ecology, linguistics, systems analysis, etymology, cybernetics, and auditing
• Enables growth, learning, self-awareness, and environmental adjustment

Meaning of Communication

• Communication is a process involving organizing, selecting, and transmitting symbols
• The goal is listener perception and recreation of the communicator's intended meaning
• Initiates meaning in the listener, transmitting information and stimuli
• Humans possess a compulsive urge to communicate
• Mutual understanding relies on communication and forms the core of human relations

Communication and Human Existence

• Communication is fundamental, like birth and death
• Humans are communicating animals with the power of words
• Sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste serve as modes of message exchange
• The progress of civilization/culture reflects its communication process
• Communication is a two-fold process between sender and receiver
• It includes the exchange/progression of thoughts, ideas, knowledge, and information towards a shared goal
• Communication happens when thoughts, feelings and ideas are exchanged between people in a commonly understandable ways

Effective Communication and Professional Success

• Communication is effective when it achieves the desired responses or impacts the receiver
• Successful communicators reduce misunderstandings

Expert Definitions of Communication

• American Society of Training Directors: Interchange of thought/information for mutual understanding/confidence
• Behind Brown: Transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feelings, or actions
• Alien Louis A.: Creating understanding in another's mind, systematic process
• Ordway Tead: Composite of given/received information, learning experience, examination of issues for shared understanding
• Theo Haiemann: Passing information and understanding between people
• M.T. & G.E. Myers: A special kind of patterning expressed in symbolic form
• Shared symbolic system and shared associations between symbols/referents are needed for communication

Business Communication

• It is the flow of information, perception, understanding, and imagination among various parties
• Business involves organizations engaged in profit-driven production/distribution of goods/services
• Business communication includes the flow of information and perception within or outside a business organization

Significance of Communication in Business

• Business communication is for official messages
• This includes running a business, managing an organization, or conducting formal affairs
• Business communication is marked by formality
• Communication is the lifeblood of an organization
• Organizations require effective communication to earn profits
• Absence of communication leads to organizational failure

Communication in Career and Personal Life

• Jobs, promotions, and reputation rely on communication
• Success depends on effective communication of knowledge and ideas
• Communication skills are emphasized in public relations, customer relations, labor relations, sales, and teaching

Communication and Job Acquisition

• Getting a desired job requires communication abilities
• Key communication abilities are reading, writing, speaking, listening, and observing
• Being well read helps develop confidence in interviews
• Writing skills are needed for preparing appropriately

Communication and Relationships

• Listening helps when interviewers make comment/ask questions
• Possessing a collection of communication skill improves selection odds during interviews
• Communication maintains social relationships
• Good communication maintains near relationships

Communication for Advancement

• Promotion requires extra skills, especially communication
• Speaking well during presentations and reporting properly helps with promotions

Communication to Help Others

• People who are both good listeners and encouraging communicators solve others' problems

Importance of Communication in Management

• The present era is the 'Age of Communication and Information'
• Management experts emphasize importance
• Communication is a part of individual and organizational life
• Miscommunication is a leading management problem
• Group activities require communication for accomplishing common goals
• Organization control, coordination, and motivation rely on communication

Communication Skills for Managers

• Communication involves human, conceptual, and technical skills
• Managerial roles require effective communication
• All roles, functions, and skills require effective communication abilities

Organizational Communication

• Organizations must communicate their vision, mission, and goals to stakeholders
• Management spends 60-90% of work communicating
• The industrial scenario relies on communication for growth
• Communication is the "lubricant" for smooth management operations (per George R. Terry)

Reasons for the growing significance of communication

• Modern organizations consist of numerous employees working towards common goals which requires communication
• Organizational structure illustrates levels of hierarchies both horizontally and vertically
• Proper communication encourages better coordination
• Communication is a necessity for groups, and organizational channels benefit the organization as a whole
• Smooth operations rely on a good network

Decisions on Efficiency

• Accurate decision-making and organizational efficiency rely on information supply
• Obstacles to message flow impede smooth function
• Herbert G. Micks: Communication is basic to an organization's existence
• Effective decision-making requires past and present data
• Communication is the primary base of informational support in making decisions
• Problem-defining, alternative actions, and option selection rely on relevant information

Managerial Efficiency

• Communication improves managerial efficiency, according to George Terry
• Efficiency is achieved when individuals/groups have assigned targets
• Managerial functions require communication
• Personnel are educated about desires of management through comms

Communication and Cooperation

• Cooperation requires information exchange
• This promotes peace and production
• Two-way communication improves cooperation
• Flow should be smooth vertically, horizontally, and across the organization
• Communication generally promotes cooperation

Leadership

• Effective leadership utilizes communication
• Followers must be in constant communication with the leader
• Transmission and reception creates a two-way traffic for effective leadership

Role Model Example

• Narayana Murthy founded Infosys in 1981
• Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999
• It is acknowledged by customers, employees and investors
• The Ecomomist ranked Narayana Murthy among te most admired global business leaders in 2005

Communication and Satisfaction

• Communication is essential for job satisfaction
• Management conveys messages that promote understanding
• Reception and recognition make people feel appreciated
• Two-way communication builds confidence
• Openness is necessary

Communication and Productivity

• It helps management maximize productivity with minimum cost
• The very illusion of communication is a hindrance
• This illusion can be avoided with an effective network
• Information allows workers to be well informed on processes, which increases productivity

Building Morale

• Good relations make for higher morale in any organization
• Effective systems of communication create human relations
• Communication is best for morale and motivation
• Most conflict stems from facts and misunderstanding

Conflict

• Proper communication reduces friction
• Henry Mintzberg assigned three roles to a manager: interpersonal, informational, and decisional
• Managers need to interact with subordinates

Purpose of business communications

• Collect and supply info both inside and outside the organization
• Managers must discharge interpersonal, informational, and decisional duties

Instructing

• Instructive functionality relates to a commanding nature
• Communicators transmit directives/guidance, flowing from top to lower levels

Integrating

• Integration function consolidates activities
• It mainly brings about inter-company relationships and unifies function

Providing Information

• Informs individuals/groups about tasks or company policies
• Top management informs lower levels through middle management, with information then flowing up

Evaluating Tasks

• Examination is done to evaluate ideas or tasks
• Communication appraises individuals and teams
• Effective communication evaluates outputs/ideologies

For Direction

• This is for management to provide directions
• Employee performance improves when directed by seniors

Teaching

• Personal safety is important
• A process is required to teach and educate workers about personal safety on the job
• It helps workers avoid cost and accidents

Infuencing

• Influence others using effective communcation
• Communicate in a way to easly persuade others
• This uses implied feedback that tells if the communication was truly effective

Image Building

• Businesses cannot isolate from society
• Relationship between society/business is essential
• Confidence must be built among the public
• Enterprises must use external comms to inform the public

Elements and Processes

• Communication involves the exchange of ideas verbally or non-verbally.
• A message must be conveyed through a medium for recipient understanding.
• The recipient needs to respond.
• Sender responses are feedback.
• It is a two way process, which is incomplete without feedback.

Message Components

• Senders use words or graphics and skills.
• Their background and attitude greatly impact the message.
• Verbal and non-verbal cues determine the message interpretation.
• The message is influenced by personal frame.
• It is the content of communication, including organized ideas, thoughts, feelings, or emotions.
• Symbols representing the message are codes categorized into Nonverbal, Language, and Paralanguage.
• Nonverbal codes express intentional or unintentional messages through expressions, gestures, and clothing.
• Language codes use written words for communicating.
• Paralanguage codes involve vocal qualities of tone, pitch, rate, volume, and emphasis.

Channels

• Channels is the physical transmission from sender to receiver in the communication
• Common communications channels include: face-to-face discussions, letters, memos, phone, email, radio, magazines
• Choosing an appropriate channel depends on the importance, type, number, location, urgency, and cost, and requirement

Channels Checklist

• Does it Need a Permanent Record?
• Is Formality Desired?
• What Size Is the Message?
• Is the Receiver Inside/Outside the Organization?

Oral vs Written

• Oral: Immediate feedback, more conversation, short. sentences, less detailed, persona; pronouns, interpersonal relations, spontaneity
• Written: Delayed feedback, longer sentences, focus on content, linguistic emphasis, permanent recording, possibility of review , less spontaneous

Recipients

• Receivers refers to the listener, reader, or viewer of the sender
• The receiver is also called audience
• They need to also decode the message before recieving
• Decoding is the process of transferring the message in a way that the receiver understands

Decoding Accurately

• Needs no physical interruption of the message
• Also needs processing the message as the sender intends with similar references including Motivation and effort.

Feedback

• Verbal and visual responses to a written message
• Is how the sender knows whether their message was interpreted as intended
• Also indicates failure/success of the delivery

Advantages and Disadvantages of Feedback

• Advantages: boost in understanding and performance, minimizes mistakes, and increases employee satisfaction.
• Disadvantages: It is difficult to elicit, time-consuming, and negatively defensive
• Improve by encourageing, and rewarding

Factors

• Tell people what you want and is necessary
• Use silence; ask questions; watch responses, and use statements.
• Reward participants with compliments and gratitude.
• Sender choices depend on the environment.
• Distorting elements can be noise.
• Noise is external/ internal.
• External noise are distractions.
• Internal noise are mental problems

Communication Barriers

• Communication disturbance, obstacles, and roadblocks can impede effective message delivery from sender to receiver.
• There are communication barriers grouped into semantics, motivation/ interest, and attention.

Perfunctory Attention

• Arises from a difference between the communication
• An attention span of communicating parties
• The receiver may not grasp all messages if the communication is too fast
• Or may get bored if too slow

Trust

• The message's source determines the information's credibility.
• If the source is not very credible it can creates a barrier

Filtering

• Selecting and identifying information depending on the nature of communication parties.
• Filtering can lead to missing important messages.
• Content loss happens serially from transfer leading to loss of context
• Hidden agendas express non verbal messages

Implying

• Tactful or Diplomat for messages may not express sender's intent.
• Hoarding limits the right amount and quality to needed parties.
• Information overloads distort and omit
• Organizations is for little or no free information.
• Culture affects movement
• Different terminology not understood which leads to barriers

Poor Communication

• Disorganization of ideas leads to confusion.
• Perception differences are from ideas, so misunderstanding happens
• Noise, time pressure, distance, lack of feedback, and also causes free-flow blockage
• Interaction is internal of a team an can be both informal
• Informational communication travels through vertical, diagonal, and horizontal of a company
• Too many employees limits interactions.
• Companies adopt strategic communication tools
• Informal communication is more prevalent for preliminary work