REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Q1What is Communication? It is a personal process involving the transfer of information, Ideas, and Feelings Between two or more parties with the purpose of conveying a message to recipient s! Q"What are the Barriers to #ffective Communication?

$"- %he Barriers to effective communication can &e categori'ed as follows(

Physical Barriers: )noise, time, environment, physical medium of communication*! Poor Listening Skills: if the receiver is not paying attention or not listening effectively to the communicated message! Cultural Barriers: #ffective communication re+uires understanding the &asic values, motives, aspirations, and assumptions of the other person! ,iven some dramatic differences across cultures in approaches to such areas as time, space and privacy, the opportunities for miscommunication while we are in cross-cultural situations are plentiful! Experiential Barriers: )new information not e-perienced &efore, information overload* Perceptual Barriers: .eople who have different &ac/grounds of /nowledge and e-perience often perceive the same phenomenon from different perspectives! Motivational Barriers )mental inertia* Emotional Barriers )feelings, anger, fear, an-iety, feeling of threat*! Lack of, or ineffective feed ack: 0ot getting effective feed&ac/ on your message will not give you any hint if it is ineffectively communicated! 1n the other hand, withholding constructive feed&ac/ is li/e sending people out on
a dangerous hi/e without a compass! %his is especially true in today2s fast changing and demanding wor/place! %hey will not have any inclination of how they are performing, what they need to improve to achieve their goals etc!

!rgani"ational Barriers )&usiness practices, position in the hierarchy*! Linguistic Barriers: %he choice of language in which a sender encodes a message will influence the +uality of communications! Because language is a sym&olic representation of a phenomenon, room for interpretation and distortion of the meaning e-ists! For a message to &e properly communicated, the words used must mean the same thing to sender and receiver! #on$ver al Barriers: $ large amount of the meaning we derive from communication, we derive from the non-ver&al cues that the other person gives! 1ften a person says one thing &ut communicates something totally different through vocal intonation and &ody language! %hese mi-ed signals force the receiver to choose &etween the ver&al and nonver&al parts of the message! 3ost often, the receiver chooses the nonver&al aspects! %hus the use of gestures, movements, etc! can clarify or confuse the meaning of a ver&al communication! Competition Barriers )other competing elements for the receiver4s attention*!

Q5$5

6ow can we overcome the Barriers to #ffective Communication?

We can overcome the Barriers to #ffective Communication as follows( 1vercoming &arriers of perception through learning as much as possi&le a&out the &ac/ground of the audience in order to e-plain the message so that receivers with different views and e-periences can understand it! 7anguage &arriers are minimi'ed through the use of simple, direct and natural language! %o ma/e sure the message has &een understood, it is helpful to as/ the receiver to confirm or restate the main points of the message! 8eceivers should &e encouraged to as/ +uestions and clarifications of points that are unclear! #ffective 7istening is essential for the receiver to understand the communicated message! %here are a num&er of situations when one needs to solicit good information from others9 these situations include interviewing candidates, solving wor/ pro&lems, see/ing to help an employee on wor/ performance, finding out reasons for performance etc! %hus we need to improve our listening s/ills in order to have effective communication! )%ips for effective 7istening attached in $ppendi-*! 1vercoming noise )physical &arriers* is &est done &y eliminating it! If noise in the environment is ma/ing it difficult to tal/, move to a new location or try as much as you can to eliminate this noise e!g! &y shutting the window, turning a

machine off etc! In case the noise cannot &e eliminated and you can not move to a different location, increase the clarity and strength of the message!

1vercoming emotional reactions through understanding and trying to anticipate them and finding ways to deal with these reactions! :ou can do that &y thin/ing a&out your own moods and how they influence others, and how others can influence them! 1vercoming non-ver&al &arriers through the control of gestures, facial e-pressions and the use of appropriate &ody language! It is imperative that you loo/ at the &ody language you use and ma/e sure it is consistent with your message! %hus a thorough understanding of &ody language is essential for overcoming non-ver&al &arriers as well as ma/ing your communication more effective! #ffective feed&ac/ is a&solutely essential to organi'ational effectiveness9 people must /now where they are and where to go ne-t in terms of e-pectations and goals-yours, their own, and the organi'ation! Feed&ac/ taps &asic human needs-to improve, to compete, to &e accurate9 people want to &e competent! Feed&ac/ can &e reinforcing9 if given properly, feed&ac/ is almost always appreciated and motivates people to improve! But for many people, daily wor/ is li/e &owling with a curtain placed &etween them and the pins9 they receive little information! Be aware of the many reasons why people are hesitant to give feed&ac/9 they include fear of causing em&arrassment, discomfort, fear of an emotional reaction, and ina&ility to handle the reaction! It is crucial that we reali'e how critical feed&ac/ can &e and overcome our difficulties9 it is very important and can &e very rewarding &ut it re+uires s/ill, understanding, courage, and respect for yourself and others! 8epetition is an approach, which is usually very useful in getting your message across! :ou repeat the message or state in a different way, this reduces the uncertainty in the message! %his is especially useful if the message is +uite comple- )in case of written form*! It is always important in case of oral communication! 6owever repetition should not &e overused as this would cause receivers to get &ored or angry and would again result in ineffective communication!

Q;- What are the Forms of Communication?

$;- %he forms of Communication are(

Communication ta/es place in many forms( %er al: $s in face-to-face discussions, meetings, phone conversations etc! &ritten: $s in letters, memos, notes etc!

#on$ver al: $s in &ody language, gestures, facial e-pressions, tone of voice etc! %isual images: $s in photographs, logos, slides and prints etc! Multimedia: $ com&ination of the different methods a&ove, often involving information technology! Q<$<

What are the Components of the Communication .rocess? %he Components of the Communication .rocess are(

Sender: %he source of the message, the initiator of the

Communication! In an organi'ation this would &e a person with information, needs, desires etc! and a purpose for communicating hem to one or more persons!
communication!

Encoding: 1ccurs when the sender translates the information transmitted into a series of sym&ols )words, gestures etc!* which the sender &elieves have the same meaning for the receiver! Message: What is communicated, it is the physical form into which the =ender encodes the information, whether in writing, spea/ing etc! Channel: %he method )medium* of transmission through which a communication message travels from one person to another! For communication to &e effective the channel has to &e appropriate for the message! 'ecoding: 1ccurs when the receiver interprets the message and retranslates it into meaningful information! It is a two-step process( %he receiver must first perceive the message, and then interpret it! %his is affected &y the e-pectations of the receiver and the mutuality of meaning with the sender! (eceiver: %he person who perceives and translates the sender4s message! %he receiver can &e a large num&er of people )such as in case of a written memo to staff* or a single person )such as in a oneto-one discussion*! )eed ack: is the sender2s way of determining the effectiveness of his message! >uring feed&ac/ the direction of the communication

process is reversed! When providing feed&ac/, the original receiver goes through the same process, as did the original sender and the same factors influence him as they did the sender! %he receiver may use the same channel for feed&ac/ as the sender used for the original message9 this is usually the case in face-to-face conversation! 1r the receiver may ta/e a different channel, as might &e the case when you as a leader transmit a message to your group re+uesting action on a matter and a group acts or does not act in the way you as/ed! %he group2s actions have then &ecome the feed&ac/!

#oise: $ny factor that distur&s, confuses or otherwise interferes with communication! It may &e internal )e!g! if receiver is not paying attention* or e-ternal )e!g! when the message is distorted due to other sounds in the environment*! 0oise can occur at any stage of the communication process, thus &eing a &arrier to communication! What are the 1" =trategies to communicate for results? %he 1" =trategies to communicate for results are(

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1! "! 5! ;!

$s/, do not tell! 7isten first, persuade second! =ee/ support to gain strength in num&ers! $ssess the pros @ cons and anticipate o&Aections!

<! ?! B! D!

=upport your assertions! $dAust your communication to match listeners4 reactions! Cse the goal 1-"-5 formula to organi'e your thoughts! %ell your listeners what you would li/e them to do!

E! 1F! 11! 1"! QBQB-

=pea/ with enthusiasm! It4s contagious! >escri&e appealing results, &ut don4t overreach! Geep negative emotions under control! 3a/e it easy for others to say yes! Why we don2t hear the others? We don2t hear the others &ecause of the following(

If you want to listen so you really hear what others say, ma/e sure you4re not a( 3ind reader! :ou4ll hear little or nothing as you thin/ Hwhat is this person really thin/ing or feeling?I 8ehearser! :our mental tryouts for H6ere4s what I4ll say ne-tI tune out the spea/er! Filterer! =ome call this selective listeningJhearing only what you want to hear! >reamer! >rifting off during a face-to-face conversation can lead to an em&arrassing Hwhat did you say?I or Hcould you repeat that?I Identifier! If you refer everything you hear to your e-perience, you pro&a&ly didn4t really hear what was said! Comparer! When you get side J trac/ed assessing the messenger, you4re sure to miss the message! >erailer! Changing the su&Aect too +uic/ly soon tells others you4re not interested in anything they have to say! =parer! :ou hear what4s said &ut +uic/ly &elittle it or discount it! %hat puts you in the same class as the derail! ,oing along! $greeing with everything you hear Aust to &e nice or to avoid conflict does not mean you4re a good listener! Q8- .lease e-plains what does one of the following three statements means( $-H%here is nothing so une+ual as the e+ual treatment of the une+ual!I B- K$ leader4s Ao& is to ma/e it easy to do the right thing and difficult to do the wrong thingK! C- K%rou&les are li/e &a&ies - they only grow if you nurse them!I $D- )$* #ffective communication can &e defined as getting the right information to the right person at the right time, in a form that is understood &y the receiver4! Communication is one of the /eys to motivation of employees! If employees are involved in decision ma/ing within the &usiness, they &ecome involved in the future success of the &usiness! $ )B* Communication is one of the essential elements of leadership! Without communication, there is no leadership! It is possi&le, however, to communicate without leading! %hrough the communication process, leaders attempt to influence the &ehavior of others toward goals! $ )C* Conflict is e-pected in &usiness relationships, Aust as it is in social relationships!

Without conflict, growth is limited! Conflict is feared and avoided &y many managers &ecause they don4t /now how to deal with it! Cnresolved ;conflict can &e as poisonous to the productivity of your company as the virus is to the computer! QE- What is the communication process wand what is its components? 7ist and e-plain please? A9- The Communication Process: Communication can &e thought of as a process or flow! Communication pro&lems occur when there are deviations or &loc/ages in that flow! %he message, which needs to &e communicated, passes &etween a source )the sender* and a receiver! %he message is converted to sym&olic form )encoded* and is passed &y way of some medium )channel* to the receiver who retranslates )decodes* the message initiated &y the sender! %he result is the transfer of meaning from one person to another! %hus the communication process is the steps that ta/e place &etween a sender and a receiver which result in the transfer and understanding of meaning! Q1F- What are the Components of the Communication .rocess? A10- Components of the Communication Process: Sender: %he source of the message, the initiator of the communication! Communication! In an organi'ation this would &e a person with information, needs, desires etc! and a purpose for communicating hem to one or more persons! Encoding: 1ccurs when the sender translates the information transmitted into a series of sym&ols )words, gestures etc!* which the sender &elieves have the same meaning for the receiver! Message: What is communicated, it is the physical form into which the =ender encodes the information, whether in writing, spea/ing etc! Channel: %he method )medium* of transmission through which a communication message travels from one person to another! For communication to &e effective the channel has to &e appropriate for the message! 'ecoding: 1ccurs when the receiver interprets the message and retranslates it into meaningful information! It is a two-step process( %he receiver must first perceive the message, and then interpret it! %his is affected &y the e-pectations of the receiver and the mutuality of meaning with the sender!

(eceiver: %he person who perceives and translates the sender4s message! %he receiver can &e a large num&er of people )such as in case of a written memo to staff* or a single person )such as in a oneto-one discussion*! )eed ack: is the sender2s way of determining the effectiveness of his message! >uring feed&ac/ the direction of the communication process is reversed! When providing feed&ac/, the original receiver goes through the same process, as did the original sender and the same factors influence him as they did the sender! %he receiver may use the same channel for feed&ac/ as the sender used for the original message9 this is usually the case in face-to-face conversation! 1r the receiver may ta/e a different channel, as might &e the case when you as a leader transmit a message to your group re+uesting action on a matter and a group acts or does not act in the way you as/ed! %he group2s actions have then &ecome the feed&ac/! Communication can &e one-way or two-way depending on the reason for communicating! In one-way communication, the sender communicates without e-pecting or getting feed&ac/ from the receiver, e!g! when top management is ma/ing policy statements, little or no feed&ac/ is e-pected! 6owever, in many situations, such as the setting of divisional o&Aectives, new sales strategy etc!, twoway communication is essential to achieving clarity and the commitment of employees who must carry out the ideas communicated! #oise: $ny factor that distur&s, confuses or otherwise interferes with communication! It may &e internal )e!g! if receiver is not paying attention* or e-ternal )e!g! when the message is distorted due to other sounds in the environment*! 0oise can occur at any stage of the communication process, thus &eing a &arrier to communication! Q11- >o we need to communicate with the others? $11-$ccording to $&raham 3aslow Communication fulfills human needs which he classifies as follows( >eficiency needs( .hysiological needs, =afety needs, =ocial needs, =elf #steem, Belonging! ,rowth needs( 0eed for /nowledge @ understanding, 0eed for =elf-actuali'ation, 0eed for &eauty!

Designing Organizational tructure Organizing - arranging an! structuring "or# to accomplish an organization$s goals% Organizational tructure - the formal arrangement of &o's "ithin an organization% Organizational Design - a process in(ol(ing !ecisions a'out si) #e* elements: +or# specialization Departmentalization Chain of comman! pan of control Centralization an! !ecentralization ,ormalization +hat is the Chain of Comman!.t is the continuous line of authorit* that e)ten!s from upper le(els of an organization to the lo"est le(els of the organization/clarifies "ho reports to "ho