Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

Communication:
The word Communication has been derived from the Latin Language Communicare that
means to Impart or to share.
Communication is a process of sharing Ideas, Views, Feeling & Emotions from one person to
another.
It requires two parties:1- Sender
2- Receiver
It is a two way process
Business communication:
Business communication is referred to the sharing of views, ideas, facts and findings from one
person to another for business and technical purposes.
Context in Communication

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

Contexts of Communication
Humans communicate with each other across time, space, and contexts. Those contexts are often
thought of as the particular combinations of people comprising a communication situation. For
example, theories of interpersonal communication address the communication between dyads
(two people). Group communicationdeals with groups, organizational communication addresses
organizations, mass communication encompasses messages broadcast, usually electronically, to
mass audiences, intercultural communication looks at communication among people of different
cultures, and gender communication focuses on communication issues of women and between
the sexes. Newer contexts include health communication and computer-mediated
communication.
Contexts of communication are best thought of as a way to focus on certain communication
processes and effects. Communication context boundaries are fluid. Thus, we can see
interpersonal and group communication in organizations. Gender communication occurs
whenever people of different sexes communicate. We can have mass communications to
individuals, group, and organizations.

STRUCTURE OF THE FIELD

1. Interpersonal communication
i n v o l v e s t h e s t u d y o f p e o p l e a n d their inter-action or relationships. Researchers in this
area
studyt h e u s e o f v e r b a l a n d n o n v e r b a l m e s s a g e s i n d e v e l o p i n g a n d maintaining
relationships between people. Some topics they
findinteresting are interpersonal competence, impression formation,s p o u s a l c o n f l i c t , i n t
e r p e r s o n a l a t t r a c t i o n , c o m m u n i c a t i o n apprehension, and relational communication.
2. Small-group communication
covers communication in groups
of t h r e e o f m o r e p e r s o n s . R e s e a r c h e r s o f t e n s t u d y h o w g r o u p s emerge, accom
plish their goals, and solve problems and howgroup leaders function. Topics in smal
l-group communicationinclude small-group effectiveness, cohesion, conflict, group roles
,consensus, productivity, group culture, and family communication.
3. Language and symbolic codes
i n c o n c e r n e d w i t h v e r b a l a n d nonverbal codes of communication. When examining these
codes,researchers focus on how language and nonverbal symbols are transmitted, are
received, and come to have meaning for peopleof the same of different cultures. Topics cover issues such
as
texto r d i s c o u r s e , l a n g u a g e i n t e n s i t y , p r o x e m i c s , l a n g u a g e
development in children, conversational flow, listening, nonverbalimmediacy, and relational power.

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

4. Organizational communication
is concerned with the processingand use of messages between and within organizations. It focuseson the
complexities of communication in formal structures
wherem a n y i n t e r p e r s o n a l a n d g r o u p r e l a t i o n s h i p s a l r e a d y e x i s t . Resea
rchers look at organizational networks systems, conflict,negotiation, superior/subordinate
relationships, and other aspectsof organizational life.
5. Public communication
covers communication in nonmediatedp u b l i c s e t t i n g s a n d f o c u s
e s m a i n l y o n o n e - t o - m a n y communication. Primary topics include rhet
oric, public address,analysis and delivery of speeches, persuasion, argumentation,
andd e b a t e . R e s e a r c h f o c u s e s o n s p e a k e r c r e d i b i l i t y , e t h i c s , i n t e r p r e t i
n g l i t e r a t u r e , p r o p a g a n d a , p o l i t i c a l c a m p a i g n s , a n d communication education.
6. Mass communication
focuses on communication from a source
oro r g a n i z a t i o n t o m a n y p e o p l e v i a m e d i a t e d c h a n n e l s s u c h a s television
or newspapers under conditions, of limited
feedback. Those who study mass communication are concerned with howsuch mediated
messages are formulated and received and howthey affect individuals and society, as well as the control of
powerin society. They are often interested in media effects, history,e t h i c s , f o r m a t i
on of public opinion, policy and regulation,
2 i n t e r n a t i o n a l b r o a d c a s t i n g , a n d c r i t i c a l o r t e x t u a l a n a l ys i s o f messages.
Interpersonal Communication
Conflict management Dyadic communication Gender and communication Instructional communication
Interpersonal influence Interpersonal perception Intrapersonal communication Relational communication
Small-GroupCommunication
Decision making Family communication Group dynamics Intergenerational communication Leadership Problem
solving
LanguageandSymbolicCode
Developmental communication Discourse analysis Intercultural communication Linguistics Nonverbal
communication Semantics Semiotics Textual analysis
Organizational Communication
Business and professional speaking Health communication Human communication technology Negotiation and
mediation Organizational behavior Socialization and assimilation Training and development
Public Communication
Argumentation Communication pedagogy Debate Environmental communication Freedom of speech
Barriers to Communication :Most people would agree that communication between two individuals should be simple. Its
important to remember that there are differences between talking and communicating. When you

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

communicate, you are successful in getting your point across to the person youre talking to.
When we talk, we tend to erect barriers that hinder our ability to communicate. There are seven
of these types of barriers to effective communication.
1. Physical barriers are easy to spot
doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and distance between people all work against
the goal of effective communication. While most agree that people need their own
personal areas in the workplace, setting up an office to remove physical barriers is the
first step towards opening communication. Many professionals who work in industries
that thrive on collaborative communication, such as architecture, purposefully design
their workspaces around an open office plan. This layout eschews cubicles in favor of
desks grouped around a central meeting space. While each individual has their own
dedicated work space, there are no visible barriers to prevent collaboration with their coworkers. This encourages greater openness and frequently creates closer working bonds.
2. Perceptual barriers,
in contrast, are internal. If you go into a situation thinking that the person you are talking
to isnt going to understand or be interested in what you have to say, you may end up
subconsciously sabotaging your effort to make your point. You will employ language that
is sarcastic, dismissive, or even obtuse, thereby alienating your conversational partner.
Think of movie scenarios in which someone yells clipped phrases at a person they believe
is deaf. The person yelling ends up looking ridiculous while failing to communicate
anything of substance.
3. Emotional barriers
can be tough to overcome, but are important to put aside to engage in conversations. We
are often taught to fear the words coming out of our own mouths, as in the phrase
anything you say can and will be used against you. Overcoming this fear is difficult,
but necessary. The trick is to have full confidence in what you are saying and your
qualifications in saying it. People often pick up on insecurity. By believing in yourself
and what you have to say, you will be able to communicate clearly without becoming
overly involved in your emotions.
4. Cultural barriers
are a result of living in an ever shrinking world. Different cultures, whether they be a
societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can hinder developed
communication if two different cultures clash. In these cases, it is important to find a

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

common ground to work from. In work situations, identifying a problem and coming up
with a highly efficient way to solve it can quickly topple any cultural or institutional
barriers. Quite simply, people like results.
5. Language barriers
seem pretty self-inherent, but there are often hidden language barriers that we arent
always aware of. If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or technical language,
care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking with someone from outside the
industry. Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a situation in your industry to a
child. How would you convey these concepts without relying on jargon? A clear, direct
narrative is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of specialty terms.
6. Gender barriers
have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the possibility for a man to
misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice versa. Men and women tend to form their
thoughts differently, and this must be taken into account when communicating. This
difference has to do with how the brain of each sex is formed during gestation. In general,
men are better at spatial visualization and abstract concepts such as math, while women
excel at language-based thinking and emotional identification. However, successful
professionals in highly competitive fields tend to have similar thought processes
regardless of their gender.
7. Interpersonal barriers
are what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and opening ourselves up,
not just to be heard, but to hear others. Oddly enough, this can be the most difficult area
to change. Some people spend their entire lives attempting to overcome a poor self-image
or a series of deeply rooted prejudices about their place in the world. They are unable to
form genuine connections with people because they have too many false perceptions
blocking the way. Luckily, the cure for this is more communication. By engaging with
others, we learn what our actual strengths and weaknesses are. This allows us to put forth
our ideas in a clear, straightforward manner.

Communication is not a one-way street. To have others open up to you, you must be open
yourself. By overcoming these barriers to communication, you can ensure that the statement you
are making is not just heard, but also understood, by the person you are speaking with. In this
way, you can be confident that your point has been expressed.

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

Communication noise
In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over a
channel by an encoder. There are many examples of noise:
Environmental noise
Noise that physically disrupts communication, such as standing next to loud speakers at a party,
or the noise from a construction site next to a classroom making it difficult to hear the professor.
Physiological-impairment noise
Physical maladies that prevent effective communication, such as actual deafness or blindness
preventing messages from being received as they were intended.
Semantic noise
Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For example, the word "weed" can be
interpreted as an undesirable plant in a yard, or as a euphemism for marijuana.
Syntactical noise]
Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as abrupt changes in verb tense during a
sentence.
Organizational noise
Poorly structured communication can prevent the receiver from accurate interpretation. For
example, unclear and badly stated directions can make the receiver even more lost.
Cultural noise
Stereotypical assumptions can cause misunderstandings, such as unintentionally offending a nonChristian person by wishing them a "Merry Christmas".
Psychological noise
Certain attitudes can also make communication difficult. For instance, great anger or sadness
may cause someone to lose focus on the present moment. Disorders such as Autism may also
severely hamper effective communication.
Cultural differences. The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the
way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between
cultures
and
between
different
social
settings.
(1) Semantic Barriers
There is always a possibility of misunderstanding the feelings of the sender of the message or
getting a wrong meaning of it. The words, signs, and figures used in the communication are
explained by the receiver in the light of his experience which creates doubtful situations. This
happens because the information is not sent in simple language.

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

The chief language-related barriers are as under:

(i) Badly Expressed Message:
Because of the obscurity of language there is always a possibility of wrong interpretation of the
messages. This barrier is created because of the wrong choice of words, in civil words, the wrong
sequence of sentences and frequent repetitions. This may be called linguistic chaos.
(ii) Symbols or Words with Different Meanings:
A symbol or a word can have different meanings. If the receiver misunderstands the
communication, it becomes meaningless. For example, the word value can have different
meanings in the following sentences:
(a) What is the value of computer education these days?
(b) What is the value of this mobile set?
(c) Value our friendship.
(iii) Faulty Translation:
A manager receives much information from his superiors and subordinates and he translates it for
all the employees according to their level of understanding. Hence, the information has to be
moulded according to the understanding or environment of the receiver. If there is a little
carelessness in this process, the faulty translation can be a barrier in the communication.
(iv) Unclarified Assumptions:
It has been observed that sometimes a sender takes it for granted that the receiver knows some
basic things and, therefore, it is enough to tell him about the major subject matter. This point of
view of the sender is correct to some extent with reference to the daily communication, but it is
absolutely wrong in case of some special message,
(v) Technical Jargon:
Generally, it has been seen that the people working in an enterprise are connected with some
special technical group who have their separate technical language.
Their communication is not so simple as to be understood by everybody. Hence, technical
language can be a barrier in communication. This technical group includes industrial engineers,
production development manager, quality controller, etc.
(vi) Body Language and Gesture Decoding:
When the communication is passed on with the help of body language and gestures, its
misunderstanding hinders the proper understanding of the message. For example, moving ones
neck to reply to a question does not indicate properly whether the meaning is Yes or No.
(2) Psychological or Emotional Barriers

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

The importance of communication depends on the mental condition of both the parties. A
mentally disturbed party can be a hindrance in communication. Following are the emotional
barriers in the way of communication:
(i) Premature Evaluation:
Sometimes the receiver of information tries to dig out meaning without much thinking at the
time of receiving or even before receiving information, which can be wrong. This type of
evaluation is a hindrance in the exchange of information and the enthusiasm of the sender gets
dampened.
(ii) Lack of Attention:
When the receiver is preoccupied with some important work he/she does not listen to the
message attentively. For example, an employee is talking to his boss when the latter is busy in
some important conversation. In such a situation the boss may not pay any attention to what
subordinate is saying. Thus, there arises psychological hurdle in the communication.
(iii) Loss by Transmission and Poor Retention:
When a message is received by a person after it has passed through many people, generally it
loses some of its truth. This is called loss by transmission. This happens normally in case of oral
communication. Poor retention of information means that with every next transfer of information
the actual form or truth of the information changes.
According to one estimate, with each transfer of oral communication the loss of the information
amounts to nearly 30%. This happens because of the carelessness of people. Therefore, lack of
transmission of information in its true or exact form becomes a hindrance in communication.
(iv) Distrust:
For successful communication the transmitter and the receiver must trust each other. If there is a
lack of trust between them, the receiver will always derive an opposite meaning from the
message. Because of this, communication will become meaningless.
(3) Organisational Barriers
Organisational structure greatly affects the capability of the employees as far as the
communication is concerned. Some major organisational hindrances in the way of
communication are the following:
(i) Organisational Policies:
Organisational policies determine the relationship among all the persons working in the
enterprise. For example, it can be the policy of the organisation that communication will be in
the written form. In such a situation anything that could be conveyed in a few words shall have
to be communicated in the written form. Consequently, work gets delayed.
(ii) Rules and Regulations:
Organisational rules become barriers in communication by determining the subject-matter,
medium, etc. of communication. Troubled by the definite rules, the senders do not send some of
the messages.

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

(iii) Status:
Under organising all the employees are divided into many categories on the basis of their level.
This formal division acts as a barrier in communication especially when the communication
moves from the bottom to the top.
For example, when a lower-level employee has to send his message to a superior at the top level
there is a lurking fear in his mind that the communication may be faulty, and because of this fear,
he cannot convey himself clearly and in time. It delays the decision making.
(iv) Complexity in Organisational Structure:
The greater number of managerial levels in an organisation makes it more complex. It results in
delay in communication and information gets changed before it reaches the receiver. In other
words, negative things or criticism are concealed. Thus, the more the number of managerial
levels in the organisation, the more ineffective the communication becomes.
(v) Organisational Facilities:
Organisational facilities mean making available sufficient stationery, telephone, translator, etc.
When these facilities are sufficient in an organisation, the communication will be timely, clear
and in accordance with necessity. In the absence of these facilities communication becomes
meaningless.
(4) Personal Barriers
The above-mentioned organisational barriers are important in themselves but there are some
barriers which are directly connected with the sender and the receiver. They are called personal
barriers. From the point of view of convenience, they have been divided into two parts:
(a) Barriers Related to Superiors: These barriers are as follows:
(i) Fear of Challenge of Authority:
Everybody desires to occupy a high office in the organisation. In this hope the officers try to
conceal their weaknesses by not communicating their ideas. There is a fear in their mind that in
case the reality comes to light they may have to move to the lower level,
(ii) Lack of Confidence in Subordinates:
Top-level superiors think that the lower- level employees are less capable and, therefore, they
ignore the information or suggestions sent by them. They deliberately ignore the communication
from their subordinates in order to increase their own importance. Consequently, the selfconfidence of the employees is lowered.
(b) Barriers Related to Subordinates: Subordinates-related barriers are the following:
(i) Unwillingness to Communicate:
Sometimes the subordinates do not want to send any information to their superiors. When the
subordinates feel that the information is of negative nature and will adversely affect them, an
effort is made to conceal that information.
If it becomes imperative to send this information, it is sent in a modified or amended form. Thus,
the subordinates, by not clarifying the facts, become a hindrance in communication,

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

(ii) Lack of Proper Incentive:

Lack of incentive to the subordinates creates a hindrance in communication. The lack of
incentive to the subordinates is because of the fact that their suggestions or ideas are not given
any importance. If the superiors ignore the subordinates, they become indifferent towards any
exchange of ideas in future.
Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication
Effective communication with people of different cultures is especially challenging. Cultures
provide people with ways of thinking--ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. Thus
the same words can mean different things to people from different cultures, even when they talk
the "same" language. When the languages are different, and translation has to be used to
communicate, the potential for misunderstandings increases.
Stella Ting-Toomey describes three ways in which culture interferes with effective cross-cultural
understanding. First is what she calls "cognitive constraints." These are the frames of reference
or world views that provide a backdrop that all new information is compared to or inserted into.
Second are "behavior constraints." Each culture has its own rules about proper behavior which
affect verbal and nonverbal communication. Whether one looks the other person in the eye-or
not; whether one says what one means overtly or talks around the issue; how close the people
stand to each other when they are talking--all of these and many more are rules of politeness
which differ from culture to culture.
Ting-Toomey's third factor is "emotional constraints." Different cultures regulate the display of
emotion differently. Some cultures get very emotional when they are debating an issue. They
yell, they cry, they exhibit their anger, fear, frustration, and other feelings openly. Other cultures
try to keep their emotions hidden, exhibiting or sharing only the "rational" or factual aspects of
the situation.
All of these differences tend to lead to communication problems. If the people involved are not
aware of the potential for such problems, they are even more likely to fall victim to them,
although it takes more than awareness to overcome these problems and communicate effectively
across cultures.
Definition And Examples Of Cultural Barriers To Communication
Have you ever had trouble communicating with someone from another culture? Perhaps you
struggled to understand someone's speech or interpret their behavior. Whether in a university or
the workplace, it is common to face barriers or challenges to effective cross-cultural
communication. The global marketplace creates many opportunities for business development,
but ineffective cross-cultural communication can harm employees, customers, and other
stakeholders. It is important to understand the barriers to cross-cultural communication and

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

know how to overcome them. Let's take a look at some of the cultural barriers to
communication in the workplace.
Language - Misunderstandings are common among people who speak the same language, so it
is not surprising that people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds face
communication barriers. Anything from the mispronunciation of a word to a lack of specificity
can lead to misunderstandings. For example, if a sales director in New York asks a contractor in
Brazil to do something soon, the two parties may have a different interpretation of the word
'soon.' Language is a reflection of culture, and different cultures have very different ways of
assigning meanings to words.
Behavior - Cultural differences in body language and other behaviors can also cause
miscommunications. For example, in the U.S. it is important to make eye contact with someone
who is speaking to you or they may think you are distracted or uninterested. However, in many
Asian countries eye contact can be a sign of disrespect or a challenge to authority. There are
many other cultural differences in body language that can create barriers to effective
communication. These include differences in facial expressions, the use of nodding to indicate
agreement or understanding, and the amount of space to give someone with whom you are
having a conversation.

Stereotypes are assumptions people make about the characteristics of members of a cultural or
social group. Many stereotypes are negative or even hostile and are a serious barrier to
workplace communication. If you make a joke about expecting your Latin American colleague
to arrive late for a meeting, you may damage your professional relationship. While some
cultures may share a general set of characteristics, it is never okay to assume that individual
members of a group have those same
Shannon and Weaver
The new model was designed to mirror the functioning of radio and telephone technologies.
Their initial model consisted of three primary parts:sender, channel, and receiver. The sender
was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the
receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver
also recognized that often there is static that interferes with one listening to a telephone
conversation, which they deemed noise. The noise could also mean the absence of signal.[1]
In a simple model, often referred to as the transmission model or standard view of
communication, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in some form
(as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/ decoder. This
common conception of communication views communication as a means of sending and

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

receiving information. The strengths of this model are simplicity, generality, and quantifiability.
Mathematicians Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on the
following elements:
An information source, which produces a message.
A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals
A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission
A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
A destination, where the message arrives.

Shannon and Weaver argued that there were three levels of problems for communication within
this theory.
The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted?
The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning 'conveyed'?
The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behavior?

Linear Model
It is a one way model to communicate with others. It consists of the sender encoding a message
and channeling it to the receiver in the presence of noise. In this model there is no feedback
which may allow for a continues exchange of information. This form of communication is a oneway form of communication that does not involve any feedback or response, and noise

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

he linear communication model

The linear communication model

According to Fill (2009, p. 42, quoting Theodorson and Theodorson, 1969) this is a linear model
that emphasises the transmission of information, ideas, attitudes, or emotion from one person to
another, primarily through symbols. The model and its components are straightforward but it is
the quality of the linkages between the various elements in the process that determine whether a
communication event will be successful.
In other words, does the message sender (source) use the right language and images (encoding)
to create a message, which can be interpreted (decoded) by the message recipient (receiver)?
Successful messages need to be heard over and above interruptions (noise) and ultimately the
realms of understanding of the message sender and the message receiver should overlap.
Retail marketing communications rely, to a large extent, on these principles of communication
being successfully implemented. According to Fill (2009, p. 42, quoting Theodorson and
Theodorson, 1969) this is a linear model that emphasises the transmission of information, ideas,
attitudes, or emotion from one person to another, primarily through symbols. The model and its
components are straightforward but it is the quality of the linkages between the various elements
in the process that determine whether a communication event will be successful. In other words,
does the message sender (source) use the right language and images (encoding) to create a
message, which can be interpreted (decoded) by the message recipient (receiver)? Successful
messages need to be heard over and above interruptions (noise) and ultimately the realms of
understanding of the message sender and the message receiver should overlap. Retail marketing
communications rely, to a large extent, on these principles of communication being successfully
implemented.
Aristotle, a great philosopher initiative the earliest mass communication model called
Aristotles Model of Communication. He proposed model before 300 B.C who found the

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

importance of audience role in communication chain in his communication model. This model is
more focused on public speaking than interpersonal communication.
Aristotle Model of Communication is formed with 5 basic elements
(i) Speaker, (ii) Speech, (iii) Occasion, (iv) Audience and (v) Effect.
Aristotle advises speakers to build speech for different audience on different time (occasion) and
for different effects.

Speaker plays an important role in Public speaking. The speaker must prepare his speech and
analysis audience needs before he enters into the stage. His words should influence in audience
mind and persuade their thoughts towards him.
Example:
Alexander gave brave speech to his soldiers in the war field to defeat Persian Empire.
Speaker

- Alexander

Speech

Occasion

- War field

Audience

Effect

- To defeat Persia

about his invasion

Soldiers

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

Organizational Communication:A process by which activities of a society are collected and coordinated to reach the goals of
both individuals and the collective group. It is a subfield of general communications studies and
is often a component to effective management in a workplace environment.
The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following facts:
1. Necessary for planning Planning, the most important functions of management,
requires extensive communication among the executives and the other personnel.
Communication is important in executing a planned programme and then
controlling the activities of the personnel with the help of feedback information. In
order to evaluate the performance of the personnel in the light of the planned
objectives, communication is necessary.
2. Basis of co-ordinationThe present day big organisations are designed on the
basis of specialisation and division of labour, constitute a large number of persons.
In order to achieve the desired objectives, it is very necessary to coordinate the
efforts of the labour engaged in the various activities of production and
organisation. Co-ordination requires mutual understanding about the organisational
goals, the mode of their achievement and their inter-relationship between the work
being performed by various individuals, this all can be achieved only through
effective communication.
3. Establishment of effective leadershipCommunication is the basis of effective
leadership. By developing the skill of communication, a manager can be a real
leader of his subordinates. A good system of communication brings them in close
contact with each other and removes misunderstandings.
4. Increases managerial efficiencyFor the smooth running of the organisation,
management conveys directions, goals and targets; issues instruction, allocates
jobs and responsibilities; and looks after the performance of subordinates. This all is
not possible without effective system of communication. As a matter of fact it
lubricates the entire organisation and keeps the organisation at work. Moreover,
management cannot work efficiently unless it knows the grievances of its
subordinates and removes it. Thus the skill of communication has become an
essential quality of successful management.
5. Promotes Co-operation and industrial peaceCommunication is a two-way traffic
which helps promoting cooperation and mutual understanding between both the

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

parties. The efficient downward communication helps the management to tell the
subordinates what the organisation wants and how it can be performed. The upward
communication helps the workers in putting their grievances, suggestions and
reactions before the management. Thus it promotes the industrial peace and good
relations.
6. Basis of Decision-makingIn order to make prompt decision, fact and information
should be collected. Thus communication is primary requirement of decision
making. Again to implement the decision effectively, it becomes essential to convey
the decisions to the subordinates concerned through an effective system of
communication.
7. Morale Building and MotivationCommunication system enables management to
change the attitude to motivate influence and satisfy the subordinates. Proper and
timely communication between the interested parties reduces the points of friction
and minimise these that inevitably arise. Good communication improves good
industrial relations and ensures participative and democratic pattern of
management.
8. Smooth Working of Enterprise-Communication makes the working of the
enterprise smooth. All organisational interaction depends upon the communication.
It is the process of communication which makes cooperative action and coordination
possible. When communication stops organised activity ceases to exist.
9. Job satisfactionGood communication removes the possibility of
misunderstandings among the parties concerned. Workers know what they have to
do and how. It creates a sense of cooperation among them. It will increase the
morale of the worker and each worker will be fully satisfied in his work.
Thus, we see that communication is very vital for the very existence of an
organisation.

Cross Functional Communication

Cross functional communication is any communication used to build partnerships, intellectual
resources, to promote an idea, a product, service, or an organization with the objective of
creating value for your business.
Need of C.F.C.
To support core operations
For Profiling
For Informing
For Socializing
Need for social Interaction

To support core operations

Technological change coupled with increased competition have required companies to

become more market- driven, attempting to gain competitive advantage by reaching the
marketplace first with a superior product.
Comm. is necessary for production, services and the distribution of products.

For Profiling

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

When a corporate of long time, manager or a product profile is created and disseminated,
Comm. Is required.

For Informing

For the Intra and extra- official communication and to impart the information to the stake
holders Comm. Is required.

For Socializing

Comm. is individuals socialization in an organization as good employees with the

multitude of people

Need for social Interaction

As social interaction is the need of Human Being.

Grapevine comm. & informal Social Networks.

Phatic Communication

The word Phatic is related with the trivial meaning of time and date.
It is the most important component of Rapport Building.
It increases the understanding of Cultures.
Cross Cultural Communication.

Communication for Marketing

Comm. Channels in this are fragmented and exploding.
Most of the people with connect with consumers at a deeper lever.
Slogans or tag Line of barands.

Human Resource Comm.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

It refers to the techniques and processes used in the organizations across the globe while
communication with the employees about the following points.
Appointment.
Promotions/ Increments.
Compensations.
Trainings
Personalize counseling
Employee benefits.
Grudges and grievance handling

Financial Comm

It is about all the reports and financially sensitive data of a year or so that one department
has conveyed.
IT INCLUDES.
1. Over all performance of the company
2. Major capital expenditures
3. Profitability performance
4. Stock market performance.

Devesh Kumar Sharma Notes Business Communication 1 st sem

5. What do diverse companies such as Boeing, Coca-Cola, DuPont, Ford, Hewlett-Packard,

Federal-Mogul, Siemens, and Xerox, all have in common?
6. Each is part of a growing legion of organizations that are utilizing individuals with crossfunctional communication skills to achieve business success.

Types of cross functional communication

Internal communication includes communication of corporate vision, strategies, plans,

corporate culture, shared values and guiding principles, employee motivation, crosspollination of ideas, etc.
External communication includes branding, marketing, advertising, selling, customer
relations, public relations, media relations, business negotiations, etc.
Whatever form it takes, the objective remains the same to create a business value.

Cross-functional integration can be achieved by the following methods:

shared values or corporate culture
2.
leadership
3.
effective communication systems
Shared values:
are expressed through the firms corporate culture
should be clearly linked with the firms strategic intent and strategic mission
promote unity and internal innovation
Leadership:
emphasizes the importance to the firm of the value-creating potential of innovation
value-creating potential of innovation encourages the integration of functional activities
Effective communication systems lead to the following outcomes:
facilitating cross-functional integration
sharing knowledge among team members
creating synergy and gaining commitment to an innovation throughout the organization
supporting the development and commercialization of new products

Benefits of cross functional communication

Increase understanding
Improves the flow of information
Overcomes the obstacles, barriers and bottlenecks
Resolves conflicts and disagreements
Change blame, finger-pointing and hostility into cooperation and collaboration