CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Communication permeates all aspects of our personal and professional lives. It is the key to
having positive interactions and building and maintaining favourable relationships. The
ability to communicate and to have that message understood is vital in todays world. The
core principles apply, no matter how complex or advanced the technology becomes.

Whether you are preparing e-mail, leading a meeting, writing a report, ironing out
misunderstanding with a co-worker or conveying the vision of an organization, your use of
good, basic communication skills will give you confidence that your message will be
effective. - Diane Kiekhoefer

The word communication is derived from the Latin word communis which means
common. Communication involves the bringing about of a commonness of thought between
the sender and the receiver of a message. It is a process wherein there is an exchange of facts,
ideas, and opinions, between individuals.

Business communication is the process of establishing a common understanding between or

amongst individuals in a business environment. Business communication is mostly formal as
against personal and social communication.

1
 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

2.1 Role of Communication

Communication plays a key role in the success of individuals and organisations alike.

Individual Perspective: In todays competitive environment, individuals must display

effective communication abilities in order to succeed in the various spheres of their personal
and professional life, like getting jobs, being productive on the job, earning promotions,
providing leadership and in relating positively with others. At the workplace, professionals
who possess effective communication skills are considered to have an edge over those with
poor communication abilities.

Organisational Perspective: Communication is the life line of any business. No business can
be sustained in the absence of an effective communication process/system in place. Employees
can contribute towards building, maintaining and developing good relationships with the
organisations various stakeholders such as customers, vendors, employees, shareholders and
the society.

Business communication has grown complex in recent years due to cultural interventions and
advances in technology. Technological developments have led to a spurt in the number of
channels/medium for communication. Globalization and multiculturalism have made it
necessary to understand the culture of the people, one is interacting with. Therefore, it is
imperative for individuals to keep themselves updated on the developments on the
communication front.

2.2 Dimensions of Communication

There are four dimensions to business communications. These are: Formal and informal
communication, and Internal and external communication.

Knowledge of the channel of communication most appropriate to a situation/occasion is

essential for effective communication. The following table, captures the dimensions of the
business communication and the various tools of communication.
2
2.3 Forms of Communication

Internal External

Formal Planned communication Planned communication with

among insiders (such as outsiders (such as letters,

memos, reports, e-mail, reports, speeches, websites,

instant messages, executive instant messages, and news

blogs, conference calls, and releases, advertising, and

presentations) that follows executive blogs).

the companys chain of

command.

Informal Casual communication Casual communication with

among employees (such as e- suppliers, customers,

mail, instant messages, face- investors, and other outsiders

to-face conversations, phone (such as face-to-face

calls, team blogs, and wikis) conversations, e-mail, instant

that do not follow the messages, phone calls, and

companys chain of customer-support blogs).

command.

3
2.4 Goals of Communication
Effective business communication requires participation from both the sender and the receiver of
the message. However, the success of the communication primarily rests on the senders ability
in meeting the basic goals of business communication, which are:
-
Receiver Understanding;
-
Receiver Response
-
Favourable relationship and
-
Organizational goodwill.

Receiver Understanding - The most important goal of business communication is receiver

understanding the message correctly. The message should be understood by the receiver, the way
sender intends it to be understood. The challenge for the sender is to develop a clear message.
The sender must keep in mind the following four factors while creating the message, to ensure
that the message is understood as intended:
- Receiver characteristics
- Message form and content
- Receiver feedback and
- Communication barriers

Receiver Response - The next goal of business communication is receiver response. The response
can be positive, negative or neutral. It may be conveyed through actions, words or both. The
message should encourage receivers to respond. The sender of the communication should assist
the receiver to respond by providing clear and concise information, which will enable/prompt a
specific response. Generally, the situation determines the appropriate way to respond. For
example, a communication requesting a meeting with a customer is said to have achieved its goal
if the customer responds by accepting or declining the meeting request.

Favourable Relationship - The third goal of business communication is development of

favourable relationships among the people involved in the communication process. The sender
and the receiver should relate to each other optimistically to establish a strong business
relationship. While a favourable relationship is beneficial to both parties, the primary onus of
creating and maintaining a favourable relationship lies with the sender. Using positive language
and stressing the receivers interests in dealings will help build a strong basis for a favourable
relationship. For example, when a banks customer points out discrepancies in his or her account
information, and if the customer service team responds immediately by rectifying the mistake,
4
the customer will be happy. This helps develop a favourable image of the bank in the customers
mind, which in turn can help establish a favourable relationship.

Organizational Goodwill - The fourth goal of business communication is benefit to the

organisation or organisational goodwill. The goodwill of clients and customers is very important
for any organization. Proper communication enables organisations to gain confidence of the
customers, leading to continued patronage and thereby more business. All communications
should reflect positively on the service and the quality of the company products.

For example, providing information regarding the services and products of a bank, timely
redressal of customer queries, etc., can create a sense of confidence and goodwill amongst the
customers of the bank.

Employees can achieve the above mentioned goals of business communication by:

Organizing ideas and information logically and wholly;

Expressing ideas and information coherently and persuasively;
Listening to others effectively;
Using communication technologies effectively and efficiently; and
Following accepted standards of grammar, spelling and other aspects of communication.

2.5 Elements and Process of Communication

Communication is a systematic process and as such contains many elements to enable it to
happen.

5
1.SENDER/ENCODER
The sender also known as the encoder decides on the message to be sent, the best/most effective
way that it can be sent. All of this is done bearing the receiver in mind. In a word, it is his/her job
to conceptualize. The sender may want to ask him/herself questions like: What words will I use?
Do I need signs or pictures?

2. MEDIUM
The medium is the immediate form which a message takes. For example, a message may be
communicated in the form of a letter, in the form of an email or face to face in the form of a
speech.

3. CHANNEL
The channel is that which is responsible for the delivery of the chosen message form. For example
post office, internet, radio.

4. RECEIVER
The receiver or the decoder is responsible for extracting/decoding meaning from the message.
The receiver is also responsible for providing feedback to the sender. In a word, it is his/her job
to INTERPRET.

5. FEEDBACK
This is important as it determines whether or not the decoder grasped the intended meaning and
whether communication was successful.

6. CONTEXT
Communication does not take place in a vacuum. The context of any communication act is the
environment surrounding it. This includes, among other things, place, time, event, and attitudes
of sender and receiver.

7. NOISE (also called interference)

This is any factor that inhibits the conveyance of a message. That is, anything that gets in the
way of the message being accurately received, interpreted and responded to. Noise may be
internal or external. A student worrying about an incomplete assignment may not be attentive in
class (internal noise) or the sounds of heavy rain on a galvanized roof may inhibit the reading of
a storybook to second graders (external noise).
6
2.6 Types of Communication
The communication process is dynamic, continuous, irreversible, and contextual. It is not
possible to participate in any element of the process without acknowledging the existence and
functioning of the other elements.
a. Verbal communication
Verbal communication is communication that uses words, either written or spoken.
"Verbal" is sometimes used colloquially in the sense of "spoken", but it is better to use
"oral" in that context, to avoid ambiguity.

b. Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication is the process of communication through sending and
receiving wordless cues between people. Some forms of non verbal communication
include chronemics, haptics, gesture, body language or posture, facial expression and eye
contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles, architecture, symbols,
infographics, and tone of voice, as well as through an aggregate of the above. Speech also
contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage

2.7 Barriers of Communication

Barriers of Communication are the difficulties involved in the process of communication which
distort the message being properly understand by the receiver.

barriers prevent the communication from being effective

Types of Barriers in Communication:-

1. Physical
2. Psychological
3. Language/semantic
4. Organizational structure barrier
5. Cross-cultural Barriers
6. Overcoming barriers
7. Personal barriers
8. Barriers related to the communicator
9. Perceptual barriers

7
1. Physical barriers :
are often due to the nature of the environment. Thus, for example, the natural barrier which exists,
if staff are located in different buildings or on different sites. Likewise, poor or outdated
equipment, particularly the failure of management to introduce new technology, may also cause
problems.
Ex:
- Defects in media (letters,courier,fax,)
- Noise in Environment(Air vibration, people talking, in factory because of noise the oral
communication is difficult
- Information overload(in advertisement &sales information is an example of overload)

Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is proximity.
As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others aids
communication because it helps us get to know one another. Proximity in different cultures is
different and therefore needs to be taken in the right context. It has been observed that people
coming from rural backgrounds with more physical space available may not feel comfortable in
closed quarters as they tend to have larger personal spaces as compared to people living in urban
conditions. This aspect alone can become a significant psychological barrier if they
subconsciously feel threatened by inadvertent invasion of their personal space in case an
urbanite approaches them in close proximity considering it as a normal personal space. There are
numerous accounts of such barriers that in certain cases sprout out of cultural norms.

2. Psychological barriers
may result from individuals' personal discomfort, caused, for example, by ill health, poor eye
sight or hearing difficulties.One meaning of the term psychological barriers is the self limiting
beliefs a person may have which in turn affects their behavior - that is ....what they do or don't do
as a result of having a self limiting belief.
We may categories Psychological barriers into :
a. Self-Centred attitude
- In this the individual persons show their attitude or behavior of each persons.
- In self centered attitude we pay attention to message which is useful or related to us,-if it
is not for us than we do not pay enough attention to that message
- The person who is highly self centered he is fails to build up good relation with
others(here we cannot learn more)

8
b. Group identification
- In organization our ideas suggestions & opinions are influenced in some matters by the
group to which we belong.
- In family there is different groups that is an the basis of age.
- There is a conflicts B/W husband & wife because of their age difference as well as
different culture.(both are from different culture)
- In family father says something the children's may nt lizn that word becoz of the age
difference.

c. Self image
- Our own identification with in the organization that is what exactly your.
- This barriers shows both your +ve(knowingly the work) as well as ve(if you do not know
that but acting like that) thing in the organization

d. Selective perception
- This psychological barriers sometime we fail to get the complete message which is sent
to us.
- After getting that message we project our expectation in to the communication as we
explain the message
- Proper media we have to select to send message to the right person(without fail)

e. Defensiveness
- Defensive is nothing but serving for defense.
- If we feel threatened by a message we become defensive and respond in such ways that
reduce understanding.
- Example:- In organization the sales manager gives threatened(decleared intention to
injure) message to his team to reach target than the team will perform well to be safe.
- This is mainly harmful barrier in handling complaints & grievances(painful or oppressive)
in resolving conflicts

f. Filtering
- Filtering is the process of reducing the details (or) unwanted things of a message
- If sender send the information that we have to change or edit all unwanted information
than finally we have to get the actual information to boss he wants results.

9
g. Status block
- This is the main reason to break information or because of this status barriers occurs in
the organization.
- Here the sine our manager never lizn to the junior than the subordinate he connote express
his new ideas than the barriers starts in the organization.

h. Resistance to change
- This is the serious psychological barrier
- Some peoples strongly resist new ideas which are against their established
opinion(or)treditions (or)social customs.
- They may avoid the new ideas because the feel insecure or afraid of changes in methods
or situations
- The peoples are maintain their own emotions attitudes, standards. They are not ready to
accept anything new changes.

i. Closed mind
- This is also main barrier of each and every organization
- Close minded seniors are narrow minded peoples they cannot implement new ideas.
- And they are not allowing to young employees to perform well & to implement to ideas
for growth of organization

j. Poor communication skills

- Lack of skill in writing & in speaking prevents a persons from framing the message
properly.
- Lack of understanding
- Because of nervousness the person cannot communication orally with audience
- Because of excitement about on achievement or new idea may make a person speech
incoherent.
- Lack of listening, poor reading habits.

k. State of health
- The human health condition can affect communication efficiency pain or fever certainly
makes a persons disinclined to engage in communication.
- Perception is low when the state of health is poor.

10
 l. lack of concentration
m. Attitude and bias
n. Lack of self discipline
o. Low emotional state
Equally, if someone has personal problems like worries about their health or marriage, then this
will probably affect them

3.Language/semantic
Semantics, or code noise, occurs when the meaning of a message to the sender differs from its
meaning to the recipient.
Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who are
not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words,and jargon. When we couch our communication in
such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global setting the greatest compliment we can
pay another person is to talk in their language. Living languages derive from other languages and
successfully absorb and indigenize the borrowed words and phrases into its usage. A dialect for
example would identify a person geographically and identically certain slang would reveal the
cultural or group orientation of the persons speaking it. The same are then barriers, if spoken in
situations and with people, who may not be able to relate to them.

4.Organizational barriers:
- Status relationship
- One way flow
- Organization structure
- Rules and regulations
- Distance barriers
- Physical barriers
- Mechanical barriers

5. Cross-cultural barrier
- We communicate the way we do because we are raised in particular culture and learn its
language, rules, and norms. Different cultures (and sub cultures)may have different rules
and norms. Understanding the other's culture facilitates cross-cultural communication

11
- Different languages And cultures
Different languages and cultures represent national barrier which is particularly important
for organizations involved in overseas (Proper usage and pronunciation) business.
Staff shortages are another factor which frequently causes communication difficulties for
an organization

- Cultural conflicts in workplace

Cultural conflicts arise because of the differences in values and norms of behavior of
people from different cultures.
A person acts according to the values and norms of his or her culture; another person
holding a different worldview might interpret his or her behavior from an opposite
standpoint.
This situation creates misunderstanding and can lead to conflicts

- Learning about other cultures

People can prevent cross-cultural conflicts by learning about cultures that they come in
contact with. This knowledge can be obtained through training programs, general reading,
talking to people from different cultures, and learning from past experience.

- Discrimination - Cultural conflicts lead to Discrimination toward or against a person or

group is the prejudicial treatment of them based on certain characteristics.
Types Of Discrimination
- Gender discrimination
Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different roles for men and
women, in some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles.
- Language discrimination
Diversity of language is protected and respected by most nations who value
cultural diversity. However, people are sometimes subjected to different treatment
because their preferred language is associated with a particular group, class or
category. Discrimination exists if there is prejudicial treatment against a person or
a group of people who speak a particular language or dialect.

12
 - Disability Discrimination
People with disabilities face discrimination in all levels of society. The attitude
that disabled individuals are inferior to non-disabled individuals is called
ableism.

6.Overcoming barriers
- Constant organizational efforts is need to overcome the barriers which are unconsciously
built up by different people in the organization.
- Health Centers:- many organizations provide medical aid, gymnasium and recreation for
the staff in an effort to keep down stress level.
- Regulation like compulsory vacation after a certain number of months/years are also
meant to ensure that employees avoid stress and fatigue.
- Semantic and language barriers can be overcome only by being careful with the use of
language & by using words which have clear meaning, by using short and simple sentence,
and also by using visual aid whenever possible.

7.Personal barriers:
- Attitude of superiors
- Lack of confidence in subordinates
- Insistence of proper channel
- Ignoring comm.
- Filtering of information
- Message overload

8.Barriers related to the communicator

- Unwillingness to say things differently
- Unwillingness to relate to others differently
- Unwillingness to learn new approaches
- Lack of self -confidence
- Lack of enthusiasm
- Voice quality

13
9. Perceptual barriers
The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. In other
words we see world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate: something
like extrasensory perception would take its place. The electivity/exposure filters that are
developed on the basis of experience or lack of it play their part. A bad experience would
perceptually block out unpleasant things. This could be in the shape of avoiding it and if that is
not possible by altering the behaviors i.e., response types in different ways. Similarly,retention
filters out things that feel good, and gives the tendency to forget those things that are painful.

2.8 Communication cycle

The first major model for communication was introduced by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver
for Bell Laboratories in 1949. The original 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.

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 emissary/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/ decoder. This common
conception of communication simply views communication as a means of sending and receiving
information. The strengths of this model are simplicity, generality, and quantifiability. Social
scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on the following
elements:
1. An information source, which produces a message.
2. A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals
3. A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission
4. A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
5. A destination, where the message arrives.

14
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?

Daniel Chandler critiques the transmission model by stating:

It assumes communicators are isolated individuals.

No allowance for differing purposes.
No allowance for differing interpretations.
No allowance for unequal power relations.
No allowance for situational contexts.

In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver's (1949) linear model of communication
and created the SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model
of communication separated the model into clear parts and has been expanded upon by other
scholars.

15
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

In this working paper, we can conclude that effective communication is a critical element
to succeed in todays globally competitive world. The basic goals of business
communication are:

Receiver Understanding;
Receiver Response Favourable
relationship and Organizational
goodwill.

Communication play a significant role in business organisations today. The key elements that
help in being a successful communicator are:

(1) Planning,
(2) The content,
(3) Delivery skills and techniques of the communicator.

A communicator should be aware of the potential barriers to communication during

communication. The communicator needs to work towards overcoming these barriers in order
to deliver effective communication.

Thanks

16
 REFERENCES

www.scribd.com

Courtland l. Bovee, John V Thill, Mukesh Chaturvedi, Business Communication Today, 9th
edition Prentice Hall-Ga

17
18