After completing this chapter, students should be able to:

Describe the communication process Differentiate between formal & informal

organization communication Explain the barriers to effective communication

and how to overcome them Identify how effective communication could be

achieved Discuss the categories of interpersonal

communication

“The process by which people seek to share meaning via the transmission of symbolic messages” (Stoner & Gilber, 1986)

“The exchange of messages between people for the purpose of achieving common meanings” (Bartol & Martin)

Communication is simply means the process of exchanging information which involves the process of sending & receiving information.

Another kind of communication occur in organization communication is “interpersonal communication”

Interpersonal communication- involves the process of sending & receiving messages among individuals & groups when people talk, write & use body language in exchanging information.

Face-to-face Telephone Group meetings Formal presentations Memos Traditional Mail Fax machines Employee publications Bulletin boards Audio- and videotapes

Hotlines E-mail Computer conferencing Voice mail Teleconferences Videoconferences

Managers communicate for various purposes: Providing information to conduct &

perform tasks Giving instruction or commanding

action Assist managers in coordinating the

work so that the organization goals can be achieved

Source: Adapted from Stoner

Sender: Anyone who wants to convey or seek information, idea or concept to another person. In an organization, the sender can be the manager, subordinates, customers, suppliers.

Receiver: The person to whom the sender directs or sends the message. The number o receiver to the message can be one, two or many people.

Message: An idea, concept or information formulated by the sender to be sent to a receiver. Example: a message may be in spoken words, written.

Channel/Medium: The medium carrier which a message travels. For example, telephone & paper can be use as a channel to send information.

Encoding: Selecting the symbols to compose a message. It involves the sender translating the information into a symbol or series of symbols before transmitting them to the receiver.

Decoding: Translating the symbols used in a message with the aim of interpreting its meaning.

Feedback: It is the receiver’s response or reaction to the sender’s message. This means upon receiving a message, the receiver will have to response by giving some action.

Noise: Disturbances that interferes or become a barrier to the message reaching the receiver.

Forms or types of communication

2 types of communication:

Verbal communication

Non-Verbal communication

• Is a way of transmitting message by means of spoken words, writing letters, memo, newsletter, bulletin board, etc

• In organization, verbal communication is the normal and formal form of communicating

• Managers send information either by letters, memo, newsletter, phone calls, fax or email

• They do this to make sure the message is received and understood by the receiver, by setting feedback from the receiver

1. It is forms a record and evidence.

2. If the messages need to be referred to in the future, the information that is well kept can easily be retrieved (recover).

3. Verbal communication through a face to face meeting does not only speed up the exchanges of ideas and information but it also fast in getting direct feedback.

Non-verbal Communication

• It is the exchange of information or transmission of message by means of gestures and to express feeling and emotion of individual.

• All messages that are non-language responses.

Non-verbal communications category:

1. Facial expression and movementThe movement of the person’s head and a particular look on the individuals face.

2. Voice ToneThe volume, pitch, quality and speech rate of an individual may transmit nervousness, confidence, enthusiasm and excitement.

3. PostureThe positioning of the body line standing, straight and opening of the arm can indicate confidence or in confidence.

Cont’d…

4. Hand gestureIt includes movement of the hand.

5. Body PlacementIt refers to an individual’s placement of one’s body relative to another individual.

6. Clothing, dress and appearanceThe way a person dresses and sets her appearance may convey a message as to how she feels.

There are 2 main channels of communication:

Vertical communication- A communication system in which messages or information move upward & downward. Upward communication-Information move

from lower level to higher level members. Downward communication- Managers pass

the information down to all employees.

Lateral/ Horizontal communication- Movement or flow of information between individuals at the same level.

Informal communication- also known as “grapevines”. The messages passed among the members are likely to

be inaccurate (tidak tepat) & also distorted (putar belit). There are 4 types of grapevines chains which managers

should know: Single Strand – Information passes along a chain from

one person to another (least used) Gossip Chain – One person telling all the others Probability Chain – Passing information on a random

basis Cluster Chain – One person passing the information to a

group of people (most used)

Single Strand This grapevine, Mr. (A) tells Mr. (B) something about

the organization. Mr. (B) then tells it to (C), (D), (E) and everyone else in the line.

As the information reaches (J), the news is already inaccurate/incorrect.

In fact, this chain of command is the least accurate in channeling information because information that move from one another, are added, filtered and passed in the way the sender would find it interesting and ‘juicy’ to convey.

Single strand – Straight Line Travel

Gossips

This chain is often using to convey information that is interesting and is non-job-related.

The news must be interesting to hear. As such when Mr. A hears it, he quickly

conveys it to be as many people, to friends, relatives and even to the boss.

One person tells many.

Gossip – originates at single source

Probability

Individuals may have some information that may not be interesting but useful to some people.

He will not only relate the information to individual/groups that need to know and will benefit from the news.

The other people who gets the news may tell others at random or may not convey it to other people.

Information is mildly interesting but significant.

Probability – Random Passing

Cluster A person may convey information to a few

chosen individuals. These individual then pass on the

information to a few more selected individuals whom they trust or from specially chosen individual who they are trying to obtain some favor.

The information that is conveyed is usually interesting, job-related and most up to date.

The dominant grapevine pattern.

Cluster – selective - most common

Barrier to Effective Communication

1. Poor listening• People spend a lot of time communicating with one

another and yet many individuals are poor listeners. • This includes the manager himself and employees.

2. Semantic problems• The usage of words can be a barrier to effective

communication. • Semantic is the various meaning people attach to

words. • Certain words maybe interpreted differently by different

people because of individuals past experiences, educational background, attitudes and perception.

3. Filtering• it refer to an alteration of information to make it

interesting, positive and acceptable to the receiver.

4. Credibility of the sender• This means how trustworthy the sender, the source

of the message. • If the sender is known to be trustworthy, the

information will get to the receiver clearly. • Where else if the sender has low credibility, the

receiver may ignore the information conveyed to them.

5.Emotionality• Emotionality is associated with a person’s feeling of

love, anger, hate, jealousy and fear. • Ex: A person, who is in an angry mood because of

a family problem, may still look and sound angry when he is conveying information.

• The receiver who receives the message may also get upset because he may feel the sender is angry with him.

6. Noise• Noise relates to any factor that interferes, confuse

and disturb the message from reaching the receiver in the way it is intended.

7. Inconsistent verbal and non-verbal communication• A person conveying information is always said to be

effective when he speaks.• But the message conveyed are strangely influenced

by his non-verbal actions such body movement and gesture.

8. Cross-cultural diversity• Ethnocentrism, the tendency to consider one’s own

culture and it values as being superior to others.• Cultural cliff may arise between people from different

geographical/ethic groups within one country as well as between people from different national cultures.

9. Trust and credibility• Without trust the communicating process

concentrate their energies on defensive tactics, rather than on conveying and understanding meaning.

10. Information overload• Individuals can experience information overload

when they are asked to handle too much information at one time.

11. Language characteristics• Many words/phrases are imprecise. Individuals

often use different meanings or interpretations of the same word and do not realize it.

12. Gender differences• Since males and females are often treated

differently from childhood they tend to develop different perspectives, attitude about life and communication style.

13.Other factors• Time pressures, physical distractions,

differing perceptions and noise can all interfere with good communication.

Obtain feedback- Managers or individual could encourage receiver by asking them to ask questions, repeat the message or express action.

Use simple language- It will be good for managers to use simple language & words that are common & can easily be understood by all.

Recognized emotions- Managers must be able to pin-point the feelings of employees behind words & statement they said.

Do not make own conclusion- Manager or individual need to listen to the full story before making any conclusion.

Avoid noise- To avoid noise, one must identify its cause or sources. Example, a phone should not be placed in a crowded, noisy area.

Understand verbal &non-verbal communication- Managers should understand individuals’ facial expression, clothes, postures & gesture.

Create openness, rational & trust- Subordinates always have fear & a feeling of insecurity to share their problems. So, managers should create an openness atmosphere, rational & trust so that employees could talk freely about themselves, their work & other problems.

Achieving Effective Communication

Individual Skill Organization Skill Develop good listening skills Follow Up Encourage two way communication

Regulate information flow

Be aware of language and Meaning

Understand the richness of media

Maintain credibility Be sensitive to receivers perspective

Be sensitive to sender perspective

Achieving Effective Communication

More Effective Listening Less Effective Listening Active and Focused Passive and Laid back Pay attention Easily Distracted Ask Questions Ask No Questions Keep Open Mind Keep Close Mind Assimilates Information Disregards Information

Griffin

THE END