The word ‘communication’ is derived from the latin word ‘communicare’

Which means ‘to make common, to share, to transmit or to impart’.

Thus communication can be considered as process that involves the transfer of information, ideas,
emotions, feelings etc. between people.

‘Business communication differs from other types of communication, not by its means of
communicating but by its objectives’

Five Principles of Communication

1. Communication is transactional because it involves an exchange.

 If I go to the store to get a coke, I exchange money to the cashier for the coke. I give
something and get something in return. Communication is the same… you have to give
and receive for communication to happen.

2. Communication is complex for several reasons.

 It is interactive because many processes are involved.
 It is symbolic because symbols are open to interpretation.
 It is personal & cultural because a person’s culture can add a new or different meaning
to a phrase or gesture.
 It is irreversible because once a message is sent, it cannot be taken back.
 It is circular because it involves both original messages and feedback which is necessary
to confirm communication.
 It is purposeful because there is always a reason behind a message and it helps meet
our needs.
 It is impossible to duplicate because each interaction is unique.
3. Communication is unavoidable because it is impossible to not communicate.
 You are communicating constantly even when you do not intend to communicate.
You communicate by the way you sit or move, by the way you speak, by what you wear,
by your actions…. Even when you sleep in class, you’re communicating that you are
bored or that you don’t care.
4. Communication is continuous because it continues to impact and influence future interactions
and shape our relationships.
 Have you ever gotten off to a wrong start with someone? Has it taken a lot of time to
perhaps overcome someone’s negative opinion of you?
 Has someone ever said something to you that hurt your feelings and you’ve always
remembered it and think about it when you see that person?
5. Communication skills can be learned because they can always be improved.
 You may need to work on speaking skills, written communication, listening, relationship
skills… there’s always room for improvement!

Types of Communication

 Communicating with yourself

 Communicating with a partner/another person

 Communicating with a group or team (ex. Class)

 Communicating with an audience

 Use media (watch tv, advertisement, read the paper)

1. Intrapersonal Communication is communication that occurs in your own mind. It is “self-

talk” which are the inner speech or mental conversations that we carry on with ourselves.
It is the basis of your feelings, biases, prejudices, and beliefs.

 Examples are when you make any kind of decision – what to eat or wear. When you
think about something – what you want to do on the weekend or when you think about
another person.

 You can also communicate with yourself when you dream at night.

2. Interpersonal communication is the communication between two people but can involve
more in informal conversations. Through this kind of communication we maintain
relationships.

 Examples are when you are talking to your friends. A teacher and student discussing an
assignment. A patient and a doctor discussing a treatment. A manager and a potential
employee during an interview. Any one on one or informal

3. Group communication is communication within formal or informal groups or teams. It is

group interaction that results in decision making, problem solving and discussion within
an organization.

 Examples would be a group planning a surprise birthday party for someone. A team
working together on a project. A focus group discussing the pros and cons of a new
product. A group therapy session.

4. One-to-group communication involves a speaker who seeks to inform, persuade or

motivate an audience.

 Examples are a teacher and a class of students. A preacher and a congregation. A

speaker and an assembly of people in the auditorium.

5. Mass communication is the electronic or print transmission of messages to the general

public. Outlets called mass media include things like radio, television, film, and printed
materials designed to reach large audiences.

 A television commercial. A magazine article. Hearing a song on the radio. Books,

Newspapers, Billboards. The key is that you are reaching a large amount of people
without it being face to face. Feedback is generally delayed with mass communication.

The Communication Process

 Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of symbols (words or
graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response.

For instance - a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees.
Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views, background,
approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the
message.

 Encoding – Encoding is the process where the information you would like to communicate gets
transferred into a form to be sent and decoded by the receiver.

 Channel – Channels are the way you convey your message. These channels include verbal such
as telephone, and face-to-face conversations as well as non-verbal such as e-mail and text
messaging. Each individual channel has its strengths and weaknesses in terms of
communicating.

 For instance -- Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group
of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the
recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.

 Message: Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits
the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the message to
be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.

 Decoding – Decoding is on the receiving end of communication. This stage is just as important as
encoding. Communication can go downhill at this stage if the receiver is not practicing active
listening skills or if they do not possess enough information to accurately decode the message.

 Receiver - Receiver is a person for whom the message is intended or aimed. The degree to
which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various factors such as
knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on
decoder.

 Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender
to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct
interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-
verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of memos, reports,
etc.
 Types of Communication in Business

A. Internal Communication- takes place between people inside a company

B. External Communication- takes place between a company outside parties

1. FORMAL COMMUNICATION- ideas and information flow along lines of command in the
company’s organization structure.

 Downward Communication- flows from executives to employees, conveying executives

decisions and providing information that helps employees do their jobs.

 Upward Communication- flows from employees to executives, providing insights into problems,
trends, opportunities, grievances, and performance.

 Horizontal Communication- flows between departments to help employees share information,

coordinate tasks, and solve complex problems.

2. INFORMAL COMMUNICATION- often referred as grapevine or the rumor mill. Like small talks,
chitchats and unofficial messages.

Business Communication Ethics

The word “ethics” is derived from the Greek word ethos or the nature or disposition of a
culture. In organization ethics is further characterized as both a field of study concerned with
moral principles and the moral principles that govern or influence human behavior. Oxford
English Dictionary (1963)The Oxford English Dictionary. (1963).

Ethical Dilemma involves making a choice when the alternatives aren’t completely wrong or
completely right.

Ethical Lapse is making a choice that you know to be unethical.

Etiquette is the expected norms of behavior in any particular situation.

Ensuring Legal Communication

• Promotional Communication- Marketing specialist need to be aware of the many laws that
govern truth and accuracy in advertising. These laws address such issues as false and deceptive
advertising, misleading or inaccurate labels on products.

• Contracts- A contract is a legally binding promise between two parties in which one party make
specified offer and the other party accepts.

• Employment communication- a variety of local, state/provincial, and national laws govern

communication between employers and both potential and current employees.

• Intellectual property- includes patents, copyrighted materials, trade secrets and even internet
domain names.

• Financial reporting- Finance and accounting professionalism.

Defamation- negative comments about another party

Managerial Moral Reasoning

“Means” are the tools or behaviors that one employs to achieve a desired outcome.

“Ends” are those outcomes that one desires to achieve.

 Mc Croskey, Wrench, and Richmond (2003)McCroskey, J. C., Wrench, J. S., & Richmond,
V. P. (2003). Principles of public speaking. Indianapolis, IN: The College Network.

The Ethical Matrix

1. Good Means—Good End—Ethical Behavior

In an effort to win a new client for your business, you deliver a presentation
about how your business is more suited for the client than your competitors. You
develop a well-honed argument based on the facts at hand. Ultimately, your business is
able to really help the client expand her or his market share.

2. Bad Means—Bad End—Unethical Behavior

In an effort to win a new client for your business, you lie to a prospective client
during a presentation. The client is impressed with your presentation and decides to
sign a contract with your business. Unfortunately, the lying catches up with you and you
end up doing the client more harm than good and the client starts to lose part of her or
his market share.

3. Bad Means—Good End—Machiavellian Ethic

In an effort to win a new client for your business, you lie to a prospective client
during a presentation. The client is impressed with your presentation and decides to
sign a contract with your business. Even though you lied to your client, your business is
ultimately able to really help the client expand her or his market.

4. Good Means—Bad End—Subjective Ethic

In an effort to win a new client for your business, you deliver a presentation
about how your business is more suited for the client than your competitors. You
develop a well-honed argument based on the facts at hand. After the client signs a
contract with your business, you discover that one of your competitors is better suited
for the client’s specific interests. Ultimately, your business ends up doing your client
more harm than good and the client starts to lose part of her or his market share.

MASTERING TEAM AND INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Team is a unit of two or more people who share a mission and the responsibility for
working to achieve a common goal.

Committees are formal teams that usually have a long life span and can become a
permanent part of the organizational structure.

Problem Solving or task force team assemble to resolve specific issues and then
disband when their goals have been accomplished.

ADVANTAGES OF TEAMS

Effective teams can pool knowledge, take advantage of diverse viewpoints, and increase
acceptance of solutions the teams proposes.

1. Increased information and knowledge. By pooling the experience of several individuals,

a team has access to more information in the decision making process
 2. Increase diversity of views. Team members can bring a variety of perspectives to the
decision making process. Keep in mind; however, unless these diverse viewpoints are
guided by a shared goal, the multiple perspectives can hamper a team’s efforts.
3. Increased acceptance of solution. Those who participate in making a decision are more
likely to support it and encourage accepting it.
4. Higher performance level. Working in teams can unleash new levels of creativity and
energy in workers who share a sense of purpose and mutual accountability.

DISADVANTAGES OF TEAMS

Teams need to avoid the negative impact of groupthink, hidden agendas, and excessive
costs.

1. Groupthink. It occurs when peer pressures cause individual members to withhold contrary
or unpopular opinions. Business teams can generate tremendous pressures to conform with
accepted norms of behavior.
2. Hidden Agenda. Some team members have desire to take control of the group, to
undermine someone else on team, or to pursue a business goal that runs counter to the
team’s mission.
3. Cost. Aligning schedules, arranging meetings, and coordinating individual parts of a project
can eat up a lot of time and money.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS

Effective teams have a clear sense of purpose, open and honest communication, consensus-
based decision making, creativity, and effective conflict resolution.

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATION

 Select collaborators carefully.

 Agree on project goals before you start.

 Give your team time to bond before diving in.

 Clarify individual responsibilities.

 Establish clear process.

 Avoid writing as a group.

 Make sure tools and techniques are ready and compatible across the team.

 Check to see how things are going along the way.

TECHNOLOGIES FOR COLLABORATIVE WRITING

Content management system organizes and controls the content websites.

Wikis from the Hawaiian word quick, is a website that allows anyone with access to add new material
and edit existing material.

Shared workspaces are online virtual offices that give everyone on a team access to the same set of
resources and information.

GROUP DYNAMICS are the interactions and processes that takes place in a team.

Group Norms are informal standards of conduct that members share and that guide members behavior.
 Self-oriented roles motivated mainly to fulfill personal needs, so they tend to be less productive
than other members.

 Team-maintenance roles to help everyone work well together

 Task-oriented roles to help the team reach its goals

ALLOWING FOR TEAM EVOLUTION

 Orientation. Team members socialize, establish their roles, and begin to define their task or
purpose.

 Conflict. Team members begin to discuss their positions and become more assertive in
establishing their roles, Disagreements and uncertainties are natural in this phase

 Brainstorming. Team members air all the options and fully discuss the pros and cons

 Emergence. Consensus is reached when team finds solution that all members are willing to
support.

 Reinforcement. The team clarifies and summarizes the agreed-upon solution. Members receive
their assignments for carrying out the group’s decision, and they make arrangements for
following up on those assignments.

7 MEASURES THAT CAN HELP RESOLVE CONFLICT

1. Pro-action. Deal with minor conflict before it becomes major conflict.

2. Communication. Get those directly involved in a conflict to participate in resolving it.
3. Openness. Get feelings our. Get feelings out in the open before dealing with main issues.
4. Research. Seek factual reasons for a problem before seeking solutions.
5. Flexibility. Don’t let anyone lock into a position before considering other solutions.
6. Fair play. Insist on fair outcomes and don’t let anyone avoid a fair solution by hiding behing the
rules.
7. Alliance. Get opponents to fight together against an “outside force” instead of against each
other.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
It is the process of sending and receiving messages between people whose cultural
backgrounds could lead them to interpret verbal and non-verbal signs differently.

Diversity includes all the characteristics that define people as individuals.

Advantages of Diversity in Workplace

1. A broader range of views and ideas.
2. A better understanding of diverse, fragmented markets.
3. A broader pool of talent from which to recruit.

A company’s cultural diversity effects how its business messages are conceived,
composed, delivered, received and interpreted.
Culture influences everything about communication, including:
 Language
 Nonverbal signals
 Word meaning
 Time and space issues
 Rules of human relationships

Culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and

behavior norms.
Cultural pluralism is the acceptance of multiple cultures on their own terms.
Stereotyping is assigning generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of
membership in a particular group.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge other groups according to the standards,
behaviors and customs of one’s own group.
Xenophobia a fear of strangers and foreigners.

How to avoid Assumptions and Stereotyping

1. Avoiding assumptions. Don’t assume that others will act the same way you do, use
language and symbols the same way you do, or even operate the same values and
beliefs.
2. Avoiding judgments’. When people act differently, don’t conclude that they are in error
or that their way in invalid or inferior.
3. Acknowledgement distinctions. Don’t ignore the differences between another person’s
culture and your own.
(8) Eight Main Types of Cultural Differences
1. Contextual
2. Legal and Ethical
3. Social
4. Nonverbal
5. Age
6. Gender
7. Religious
8. Ability

 CONTEXTUAL
Cultural context is a pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit
understanding that conveys meaning between members of the same culture.
High context cultures rely heavily on nonverbal actions and environmental setting to
convey meaning, low-context cultures rely more on explicit verbal communications.
Low context cultures tend to value written agreements and interpret laws strictly,
whereas high context cultures view adherence to laws as being more flexible.
 LEGAL AND ETHICAL
Honesty and respect are the cornerstones of ethical communication, regardless of
culture.
Four Basic Principles How to Keep Messages Ethical
1. Actively seek mutual ground
2. Send and receive messages without judgment
3. Send messages that are honest
4. Show respect or cultural differences.
  SOCIAL
Formal rules of etiquette are explicit and well defined, but informal rules are learned
through observation and imitations.

Areas wherein Social Norms Vary from Culture to Culture

1. Attitudes toward work and success
2. Roles and status
3. Use of manners
4. Concepts of time
5. Future Orientation
6. Openness and inclusiveness

 NONVERBAL
The meanings of nonverbal signals vary widely from culture to culture, so you can’t rely
on assumptions.
Differences in Nonverbal Communication
1. Greetings
2. Personal space
3. Touching
4. Facial Expressions
5. Eye Contact
6. Posture
7. Formality
 AGE
A culture’s view on youth and aging affect how people communicate with one another.
 GENDER
Broadly speaking men tend to emphasize content in their messages, and women tend to
emphasize relationship maintenance.
 RELIGIOUS
Religion is a dominant force in many cultures and the source of many differences
between cultures.
 ABILITY
Assistive technologies help employers create more inclusive workplaces and benefit
from the contributions of people with physical or cognitive impairments.