Communication Processes and Barriers

some way within the informal organisation) can prevent people from seeking clarification or raising issues for fear of disapproval. Professional jealousy, or conflicts between advice from management and specialist staff, can prevent issues from being raised and restrict openness in discussion (holding back information for reasons of advantage or lack of trust). Preconceptions of roles can distort meaning where one party to the communication steps out of the role which he or she is perceived as playing (particularly where managers act in an unfamiliar, social way when putting across formal points). (c) Stereotyping Stereotyping is the attribution of characteristics to an individual, based on the characteristics of a group to which he or she is perceived as belonging. We engage in stereotyping all the time indeed, the world would be an impossible place to make sense of if we did not. Thus, when meeting people for the first time, we make an initial assessment of them from a number of characteristics dress, style and manner, mode of speech, etc. and form generalised opinions about them from that. Without any additional information about the individual, we shape our initial opinions around the stereotype. The problems with stereotyping occur when we start to draw, and act upon, conclusions about the individual based on those perceived group characteristics, rather than finding out more about the person. Where such generalised images do not fit the individual, or where they do not apply equally to all members of a group, we risk giving offence or distorting communication based on misconceptions about the other party. Thus, generalisations about the abilities, actions and motivations of people based on gender, race, differing abilities, social class, etc. need to be carefully considered. (d) Halo effect The halo effect is the use of one set of characteristics of an individual to form a view about that individual as a whole. This can be either positive or negative, depending on the characteristics used as a basis for the whole perception. It is a common problem in organisations where opinions are sometimes formed on the basis of one or just a few instances of performance (good or bad) and the individual is judged forever after on them. (e) Individual misperceptions As well as tending to misjudge others, we as individuals also have a tendency to allow our feelings about ourselves to colour our interactions. Three common problems are: Projection the assumption that others share our thoughts, feelings and characteristics. This might cause managers to engage in one-way communication as they assume they know what their subordinates feel about a given issue, task or reward. The reality may be subordinates who feel frustrated or punished. Perceptual defence the blocking-out or distorting of information that threatens our own beliefs or position. An example of this is when a person receives some bad news, and takes their negative reaction out on the person delivering the news, rather than on the real culprit(s). Self-serving bias the perception of oneself as being responsible for success and of others as being responsible for failure. For example, if a subordinate is successful with a project, the manager attributes it to effective leadership; if the

subordinate fails, the manager attributes it to the former's personal inadequacies. We cannot easily get away from these problems, but we can and should be aware of them and do all that we can to make rational assessments of people as individuals and of the situation. Effective communication can only be enhanced by so doing.

Semantics
Communication cannot be effective unless there is a common reference and meaning for the words and symbols used in the process. Semantics is the study of the meaning and choice of words, and each person can be said to have their own "semantic net" of words and meanings which is used to make sense of communication in any given situation. When encoding or decoding a communication, the individual does it in accordance with his or her semantic net and if there is a difference between the nets of the transmitter and the recipient, a problem of understanding will arise. This is known as a "semantic block". There are two main semantic problems that are common in communication in organisations. The first is the tendency to be imprecise in our use of language, particularly in face-to-face situations where body language and perceived empathy can be used to fill in gaps. What is actually meant may well not be what is said and/or what is heard. There are numerous examples of this and we quote one here, but see if you can think of others from your experience: What was said: "I want your first draft estimates as soon as you can do them". What was meant: "The first draft estimates are needed by the end of next week". What was heard: "Do the estimates straightaway and drop everything else". The second semantic problem arises from the endemic use of jargon in organisations. This includes both professional jargon, which is associated with particular specialist functions and is indecipherable to outsiders (or, worse, employs particular meanings for words which have different meanings in common usage), and the shorthand used for everyday communication in offices, particularly the use of initials or acronyms. These require common understanding among the parties to the communication in order for it to make sense. However, where this does not exist, the use of jargon effectively excludes the recipient from the process a particular problem when communicating with people outside the organisation (i.e. the general public).

E. FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

The effectiveness of communications within the organisation does not just depend upon ensuring that the process is efficient and effective. The purpose of communication is to ensure that information reaches those who need it, at the right time. This requires that there is a flow of information throughout the organisation (and outside it), along established channels through which people can send or receive messages. In this section, we shall review the systems which exist for such flows of information. There is an important initial distinction to be made between formal and informal lines of communication. Formal systems are those which arise from the formal structure of the organisation between managers and subordinates, between different functions or departments and between those with staff and line responsibilities. Within many large organisations, particularly governmental bodies, there is also the political dimension of communication with board and council members through the particular structures of the committee system to consider. Informal systems are those which cannot be depicted on a formal organisational chart, especially relationships between peers which are used for the exchange of information and the ubiquitous "grapevine" which exists within the informal structure of all organisations and ensures the very fast spread of all sorts of information, conjecture, rumour, gossip and intrigue.