HAMDARD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES MBA EVENING

HAMDARD UNIVERSITY KARACHI

SEMINAR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Introduction to Communication (CHAPTER NO. 1 OF Mary Munter Business Communication Strategy & Skills)
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY GR #
Furqan Ahmed

Dr. Rahat Alam : :

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Furqan Ahmed MEN-2201355

SEMINAR

IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

RESEARCH REPORT

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Date

28-11-2012

Furqan Ahmed

SEMINAR

IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

HAMDARD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES MBA EVENING

Acknowledgement
A task or project cannot be completed alone. It requires the effort of many individuals. I take this opportunity to thank all those who helped me complete this project.

I express my sincere gratitude to Sir. Rahat Alam for give us the opportunity to undergo this project. I further thank his for lending a helping hand when it came to solving my problems related to the project. This
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project would not have been possible without his valuable time and support.

I also thank Hamdard University for an opportunity to undertake a Soft skills project at the start of our MBA course which helped us to understand deeply for those topics which are untouched.

Any suggestions to improve are always welcome.

Furqan Ahmed

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WHY IS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT

Without communication, we all might as well have been doomed. How we convey what we feel, and what it is we need, cannot be done without communication, be it in action or verbally. Let's venture into this section on the importance of communication...Communication is the basis of our lives and we would in this day and age, be handicapped without it. Every day we are communicating with each other in some way or another, be it by using words, actions or even expressions in conveying a message. We humans depend not only on face-to-face communication but the kind that brings technology to the fore to bridge that gap between people by mere seconds across vast distances.
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Furqan Ahmed

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TYPES

OF

COMMUNICATION

AND

THEIR

IMPORTANCE

Communication is the root of all events, daily interaction, social affairs and anything that requires the purpose of human dealings. We have technology to enhance the idea of communication by making it simpler, faster, effective and convenient no matter where you are on the globe. Its humble beginnings of written letters sent out by men on horseback have evolved greatly to building virtual bridges between nations. Every day we are constantly humming with
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communication, whether we realize it or not. All aspects of nature, be it humans, animals, plants and even the weather, are all communicating in a way that is understood and interpreted through observation. The importance of this vital means of being in touch is crucial for us to survive the everyday. There are four kinds of communication which we will overview that make up the vital parts of this process.
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These

are...

Verbal we do it every day; be it with our help at home, babysitters, neighbors, dog walkers, colleagues, children, friends, family, partners, and store owners - we are constantly in a state of communication. Whether to-the-point or elaborate, our
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messages are sent across to one another in a manner that is understandable, vague or distorted. How we communicate what we try to convey, is critical in having the message understood by the receiving party. Verbal communication is also handwritten or emailed, and is streaming in and out of countries and within states every single day.

Non-Verbal not everything we convey to another is done verbally, where our actions and expressions speak for us on several occasions. We use body language and our facial expressions
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to portray a feeling, be it a happy, sad or angry one. I'm sure you've observed how those who cannot speak, use sign language to their advantage. Using a series of gestures that translate into alphabets and words, the dumb / deaf are able to communicate with others who understand the language. Even the way you dress signals a kind of message to the one who sees you.
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Formal In workplaces and other environment that are constantly communicating through email, reports and other sorts of messages, there is a formal flow to how it is written where that air of casualness is absent. There is a system that is followed be it while writing or typing out the message, or when conversing with superiors and others either in person or over the phone. There is a professional stiffness that is commanded and needed in order to maintain a level of respect, precision and clarity. The hierarchy in a company
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also follows a chain of command that is practiced when it comes to who communicates to whom, and how the message gets across using the right people intended to be in touch with first, before it is carried forward to the appropriate party.

Informal this kind of communication loosens its grip on a formal

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setting, where group meetings, discussions, debates and the sort that encourage free speaking, is what qualifies as informal. There is no restriction on conveying what it is you feel. AA meetings, leaving messages through post-its, voice mail, a debate team, a creative brainstorming session and so on, are such informal scenarios. Even when conferences take place, the speaker doesn't have to be all formal about the affair, but can take on an informal edge to keep listeners interested, at ease and encouraged to ask questions if any.

Communication as you can see, is an important factor that

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governs our everyday lives. What is needed most is the effectiveness of how we communicate, which is often misinterpreted. In order to pass a message along in its entirety without jumbling up its core meaning, it is wise to always review what is being sent, and think beforehand about what is right to say when put into words. That is why, reviewing one's work diligently and repeatedly is always
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stressed

upon.

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
Communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. Communication requires a sender, a message, and a

recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication requires that
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the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender.

Theories of communication

Communication theory is a field of information and mathematics information that and studies the the technical process process of of
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human

human

communication. According to communication theorist Robert T. Craig in his essay 'Communication Theory as a Field' (1999), "despite the ancient roots and growing profusion of theories about communication," there is not a field of study that can be identified as 'communication theory'.

Electronic Theory The message is transmitted as a signal (marks on paper or sound waves) through a channel, where it

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may be distorted by noise (such as smudged typing or acoustical problems). As a last step, the receiver (listener or reader) decodes the message. Communicator Audience As "sender" as "receiver" Message

The electronic theory is helpful because it introduces the

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ideas of senders and receivers and of possible interference. It emphasizes accuracy. Its usefulness is limited , people are not machines a accurate electronic communication system can be design but not a human one ignores money other important dimensions of the situation in which we communicate. one important aspect of communication:

Social Environment Theory Social environment theory of the social and behavioral scientists
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We must consider the situation, the social context in which we will work. When we work and communicate together, we all participate in a social situation, Within that situation, each agrees to assume certain roles such as "compromiser," "initiator," "or "encourager" based on our part in the activity. We each have a certain status prescribed officially, such as
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our job title. We need to understand the rules, or the "culture," of the environment in order to communicate: Both the official rules such as company policies and

practices and those unwritten rules Regarding to whom, how, and when, and for how long it is appropriate organization. for us to communicate Within a certain

Rhetorical Theory

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Third

set

of

theorists

add

more

dimensions

to

our

understanding of the communication process: communication is not linear, but circular; not just sending a message to be received, but producing a response; not static, but dynamic. Rhetorical theorists provide an important addition to a communication model for business communicators
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DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION
1. Communication is transfer of information from one

person to another, whether or not it elicits confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver 2. Communication is the intercourse by words, letters or
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messagesWe can now proceed to define communication from what we have seen above. To define means to give the precise and exact meaning of a word. The exact meaning of the word communicate is to share or to participate. The dictionaries say that communication is the transmission of a message or information by speaking or writing. Another dictionary declares that communication is giving or exchanging

information, signals, messages by talk or gestures or writing. Yet another definition says that communication is social intercourse. Communication is all this and much more. A
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good definition should not only give the precise meaning but also throw light on the scope of the word / expression. Communication is giving, receiving or exchanging ideas, information, signals or messages through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek

information, to give information or to express emotions. This broad definition writing. includes It body-language, the skills of of

speaking

and

outlines

objectives

communication. It emphasizes listening as an important aspect of communication.

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IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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WHY IS COMMUNICATION IMPERFECT?

Although bad organization, bad delivery, or bad grammar would certainly block communication. Instead, I mean those barriers that may exist despite your skills, barriers our which you have no control, barriers that make communication necessarily imperfect.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION Psychological barriers refer to an individuals state of mind. For example if an individual is suffering from personal issues such as health or marital problems this is most likely to affect them. Psychological barriers are closely linked to emotional

barriers, emotional barriers play an important role in the communication of a message.

An example of this maybe when receiving a message you cannot properly interpret the message because you are
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emotionally blocked at the moment in time. Reasons why you may be emotionally blocked are due to internal issues such as fear, worry, suspicion and mistrust.

Emotional: One possible psychological block is emotional. For example, you might be emotionally blocked if you are announcing a
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new policy you know will be unpopular, giving the first major presentation on your job, or writing to someone you dislike. The people with whom you are communicating are also subject to emotional blocks. They may feel indifferent or hostile toward you or your subject, or be biased against you (perhaps because of your youth, sex, race, relatives, friends, or even clothes) or against your subject (perhaps because they think it's illogical, perhaps simply because "That's not the way we've always done things here").

Perceptual:
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Even if there are no emotional blocks, every person perceives things differently. Although we all live in the same objective world, we all live in different subjective worlds.

Communication involves perception, and perception is never precise. A second psychological block, then, is perceptual. One perceptual problem is that people perceive things differently. Given precisely the same data, people see,
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interpret, or respond to them differently. A second perceptual problem is caused by people "filling in" information without checking its accuracy.

Selectivity: One factor in the way people select is timing. Some messages that may be effective at one time might be blocked, or even deter mental, at another time.

SEMANTIC & PHYSICAL BARRIERS:

SemanticBarriers Words, of course, are symbols, and therefore limited because
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they cannot have precisely the same meaning for everyone. Since the words can mean different things, their different meanings may block communication. The study of words choice is called semantic, so the kind of blocks that arise from word choice are called semantic blocks.

PhysicalBarriers
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Physical

barriers

are

caused

by

such

factors that

as of

the the

communicators

physical

appearance

and

audience, physical aspect of the written medium, noise of all types, breakdown of the electronic or other media, the style, tone and pitch of your spoken or written language, and the degree of communication skills of both the communicator and the audience.

SUMMARY

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