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Steps in the Communication Process; Communication Channels; Oral versus Written Communication; Verbal versus non-verbal Communication; upward, downward and lateral communication; Barriers to Communication, Role of Information Technology.

Table of Contents:

Definitions

Communication is the sum of all things, a person does when he wants to create an understanding in the mind of another. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding. – Louis Allen

“It is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. It is essentially a bridge of meaning between people. By using this bridge of meaning, a person can safely cross the river of misunderstanding that separates all people”.
Keith Davis

If the message does not reach a receiver, communication cannot be said to have taken place.

Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell estimate that about 30% of the information is lost in each transmission.

Written communications too are subject to loss in transmission.

A boss who is not punctual cannot succeed in enforcing the timing-rules on the subordinates.

Delegation of authority without responsibility breaks down the spirit of communication.

Communication facilitates authority- Chester Barnard

Communication also helps in motivating the subordinates by knowing from their superior where they stand and what future may hold for them.

Communication Process

(Circuit Communication Model- only 2 persons are involved)

Ideation

Generation of the message

Encoding

translating the message into words (written or spoken), symbols or gestures.

Transmission

selecting the medium or channel of communication

Receiving

Decoding

Feedback

Unless the receiver responds to the message, communication process is incomplete.
increases efficiency and applicability of communication.

Component of communication process:

message
context
sender
medium
decoder
feedback system

Skill is not component of communication process.

Effective communication can also have barriers.

Forms of Communication

Oral
Written
Non-Verbal

Oral Communication

Greater flexibility

Written Communication

Greater chance of being misunderstood
Suffers from lack of flexibility

Nonverbal Communication

3 important forms of nonverbal communication:

Body language (facial expression, posture, gestures etc.)
Time (being late or early)
Space (Closeness between parties involved in communication)

Types of non-verbal communication

Paralanguage:

focuses on variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses to convey meaning.
Tone of voice, laughing and yawning, enviromental contexts etc.

Kinesics is related to the study of gestures, body movements and facial expressions;

Oculesics is part of kinesics and is related to eye movement;

Proxemics relates to amount of space between people that is necessary. It includes four spaces mainly personal, intimate, social and public.

Chronemics – Time aspect of communication i.e., the study of use of time in non-verbal communication.

Artifactics – a form of non-verbal communication that emerges out of personal accessories, dressing, fashion etc.

Haptics – Process of recognising things with touch

Communication Channels

Formal

Informal

Multimedia

Horizontal communication

flows amongst people at the same level.
It does not follow the official chain of command.
Ex- manager of marketing department discusses issues related to production and sale of goods, with the manager of production department

Diagonal communication

takes place amongst people of different departments at different levels who have no direct reporting relationships.
It is used to speed up information flow, to improve understanding, and to coordinate efforts for the achievement of organizational objectives.
Example: Communication between the marketing manager and training supervisor, regarding the Training of the selected employees of the Marketing Department, is Diagonal Communication.

Formal Communication

Task oriented
Slow
Authentic and accurate
Rigid

Formal Communication flows in 4 directions:

Downwards
Upwards
Laterally
External

Downwards Communication

Upward Communication

Acts as feedback (Ex- Exit Interview)

Lateral Communication

Ex- Monthly meeting of departmental heads
Avoids the much slower procedure of directing through a common superior
Ex- Production foreman and maintenance foreman communicating directly without going through their managers

External

Proactive and ongoing communication with external agencies
with customers, suppliers, investors, shareholders, and society at large.

Formal Networks

When more than 2 persons are involved.

Wheel

represents an administrator and four subordinates with whom he interacts.
There is no interaction among the subordinates. ?? Picture!!
Autocratic

Circle

three-level hierarchy in which there is communication between superiors and subordinates, with cross communication at the operative level.
Example- Round table Meetings

two subordinates report to the superior.
It may be regarded as a four-level hierarchy.

Chain

Five-level hierarchy, in which communication can take place upward and downward, and across organisational lines.

‘Y’ and ‘wheel’ networks are highly centralised.

The ‘circle’ and ‘chain’ networks are decentralised.

Wheel and Y networks are faster and more accurate for simple task.

For complex tasks, circle and Chain networks are quicker and more accurate

Group members are more satisfied in decentralised network. Highest in Chain , Lowest in Star.

Inverted Y Network

Two employees report to a boss, who is at two levels above them
It is slightly less centralized type of communication.

All channel or ‘Star’ Network

Limitations of formal communication:

Information distortion because of many levels
Time Consuming
Expensive
Lack of personal touch

Informal Communication

arises out of socio-psychological needs of people to interact with each other
People oriented
Fast
Flexible

Grapevine Communication

structureless network of informal communication

the most common form of informal communication
transmits information in every direction: vertical, horizontal and diagonal
Carries 2 types of information : work related and people related
Supplements formal organizational relationship
emanates from rigidity of formal channels
Mostly oral
Follows a cluster chain: one person tells 3-4 people and out of these 1-2 person pass on the information to another cluster.
Persons who keep the grapevine active are called liaison individuals.
A grapevine has remarkable speed
The Grapevine is inevitable and valuable, because all forms of informal organisation serve essential human communication needs.
very effective for quick communication
Espionage network is also a grapevine.

Rumour

Is a product of interest and ambiguity in a situation
More participation by members in matters affecting them reduces rumour

Filtering

biased choice of what is communicated, either by sender or receiver
Restricting communication

Gripe Box

anonymous complaint box

Clique

Is an Informal Group
It consists of those people who have frequent interactions and observe certain norms and standards.

Meta Communication:

It is a secondary communication about how a piece of information is meant to be interpreted.
Most of the times, the speaker’s choice of words unintentionally communicates something more than what the actual words state.
It is actually the combination of verbal and non-verbal communication.
For example: If I say “Glad to see you” and roll my eyes at the same time, you will not feel that I am actually glad to see you.

Barriers to communication

Barriers to Communications ( Find examples for each)

semantic (language) barriers,
organisational barriers,
transmission barriers,
psychological barriers
personal (Individual) barriers
Cultural barriers

Barriers to communication

Differing word connotations,
jargons,
insufficient exchange of Information and
the noise in communication channel

Semantic Barriers

Also called language barrier
same word or symbol means different things to different individuals
This barrier occurs when words and symbols are interpreted differently by the sender and the receiver. This includes:
- Technical Jargons
- Unclarified Assumptions
- Words with different meanings
- Faulty Translations

Psychological barriers

This barrier is the influence of the psychological state of the communicators (sender and receiver) which creates an obstacle for effective communication.
The meaning that is ascribed to a message depends upon the emotional or psychological status of both the parties concerned
This includes:
- Lack of Attention
- Poor Retention
- Distrust and Defensiveness
- Perception, Viewpoint, Attitudes and Opinions
- Emotions
- Premature Evaluation

Organisational Barriers

These are the barriers that generate from within the organization. These barriers include:

Negative organizational climate

An absence of communication policy

Willful distortion of information (Filtering)

Excessive authority layers

Individual Barriers

Or, Personal barriers

These are the barriers created by the sender and receiver because of their diverse personalities. These barriers include:

Differences in personality

Perceptual differences

Stereotyping

Halo Effect

Inattention

Physical Barriers

These are the environmental and natural conditions that act as a barrier in communication in sending the message from sender to receiver. This includes:

Environment – weather conditions

Distance – working in different offices

Ignorance of Medium

Cultural Barriers

Cultural diversity creates hindrances in communication as the mindset of people belonging to different cultures are different, the language, signs and symbols are also different. These barriers include:

Language

Signs and Symbols (Semantics)

Stereotypes and Prejudices

Behavior and Beliefs

Effect of filtering

This effect is produced when the communication passes through a large number of persons.
Each individual through whom the information is passed interprets facts differently,

judges from his own point of view what is important or relevant, and passes it on

with his own interpretations, with the result that the original communication gets altered in the process.

Role of Information Technology

Information technology plays a crucial role in communication by facilitating the exchange of information between individuals or groups. It acts as a medium between the sender and receiver, allowing for one-to-one (Messenger apps) or one-to-many communication (social media accounts). Information technology includes computer hardware, software, operating systems, and the internet, all of which enhance the communication capabilities of people.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is used in various fields, including e-commerce, e-governance, banking, agriculture, education, medicine, defense, and transport. Examples of ICT include software applications, web-based information and applications, telephones, video equipment, multimedia products, office products, calculators, and computer hardware. ICT has drastically changed how people work, communicate, learn, and live. Communication methods that use ICT include faxes, emails, mobile phones, video chat rooms, social media channels, texting services, and video conferences.

Theories

Propinquity Theory Individuals affiliate with one another because of spatial or geographical proximity.

Homan Theory

George C. Homans, “The more activities persons share, the more numerous will be their interactions and the stronger will be their shared activities and sentiments

Balance Theory

Once a relationship is formed, it strives to maintain a symmetrical balance between the attraction and the common attitudes. If the balance cannot be restored, the relationship dissolves

Dr. Albert Mehrabian combined the statistical results of the two studies and came up with the now famous rule that communication is only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal. The non-verbal component was made up of body language (55 percent) and tone of voice (38 percent).

Communication is 7% Verbal; 93% non-verbal (55% body language + 38% voice-tone etc)

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder
There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by NLP advocates

Communication Models

Linear Models:

Lasswell’s Model
Aristotle’s Model
Shannon Weaver Model
Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model

Transactional Models:

Barnlund’s Transactional Model
Helical Model
Becker’s Mosaic Model

Interactive Models:

Schramm’s Interactive Model

Other Communication Models

Dance’s Helical Spiral of Communication

explains how a child learns to communicate and the child grows up and continues to communicate.
Communication depends on previous experiences and activities of the speaker according to this model.

Westley and MacLean’s Conceptual Model

explains the difference between interpersonal and mass communication as feedback.
Feedback can be direct in interpersonal communication whereas indirect in mass communication.
According to this model, communication starts from the environment and not when the message is spoken or shown.

Shannon Weaver model of communication:

It is called the mother of all models of communication.

Communication Viewpoints

Communication Theory proposes that to survive, every living entity, needs to communicate with others and also among themselves. Communication is a dire need of survival.

Mechanistic – The mechanistic view point says that communication is simply the transmission of information from the first party to the second party. The first party being the sender and the second party being the receiver.

Psychological – According to the psychological view point, communication is simply not the flow of information from the sender to the receiver but actually the thoughts, feelings of the sender which he tries to share with the recepients. It also includes the reactions, feelings of the receiver after he decodes the information.

Social – The social view point considers communication as a result of interaction between the sender and the receiver. It simply says that communication is directly dependent on the content of the speech. “How one communicates” is the basis of the social view point.

Systemic – The systemic view point says that communication is actually a new and a different message which is created when various individuals interpret it in their own way and then reinterpret it and draw their own conclusion.

Critical – The critical view point says that communication is simply a way with the help of which an individual expresses his power and authority among other individuals.

Q. Which communication view states “communication is the result of interaction between the sender and the receiver” ?

A. Critical view

B. Social view

C. Psychological view

D. Systemic view

E. Mechanistic view