CHAPTER ONE

COMMUNICATION AN OVERVIEW
Chapter Objectives:
After Completing this chapter, Students will be able to:

 Understand the concept of Communication

 Explain the significance of communication
 Recognize the role of communication in management

1.1. Meaning of Communication

Communication as an academic discipline relates to all the ways we communicate, so it
embraces a large body of study and knowledge. The communication discipline includes both
verbal and nonverbal messages. A body of scholarship all about communication is presented and
explained in textbooks, electronic publications, and academic journals. In the journals,
researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever expanding understanding of
how we all communicate. Communication teachers and scholars, in 1995, developed a definition
of the field of communication to clarify it as a discipline for the public.
The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within
and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The field promotes the effective and
ethical practice of human communication.
Communication is a learned skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk, but we
must learn to speak well and communicate effectively. Speaking, listening, and our ability to
understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are skills we develop in various ways. We learn basic
communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviors based on what
we see. We also are taught some communication skills directly through education, and by
practicing those skills and having them evaluated.

Definitions

The word Communication is derived from a Latin word “cummunicare” which means “to share”.
Therefore, the word communication means sharing of ideas, messages and words expressed
through a language, which is easily comprehensible to the listener. Communication starts with a
sender, who has a message to the receiver. The sender must encode the message and select a
communication channel that will deliver it to the receiver. In communicating facts, the message
may be encoded with words, numbers, or digital symbols; in communicating feelings; it may be
encoded as body language or tone of voice.
Some important definitions of communication given by prominent writers are as follows:
 “Communication is the means by which people are linked together in an organization to
achieve a common purpose.” Chester I. Bernard

 “Communication is the broad field of human interchange of facts and opinions and not the
technologies of telephone, radio and the like.”Charles E. Redfield
 “Communication is the act or action of transmitting information.” Leslie W. Rue
 “Communication is a process involving the transmission and accurate replication of ideas
reinforced by feedback purporting to stimulate actions to accomplish organizational goals.”
William G. Scott
 “Communication is the transmission and reception of ideas, feelings and attitudes both
verbally and non-verbally eliciting a response. It is a dynamic concept underlying all kinds
of living system.” Sig bond
 Communication is the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver, with the
information being understood by the receiver. ----- Keith Davis
 Communication is the process of sharing thoughts, ideas and feelings with each other in
commonly understandable ways. ----- D.E. McFarland
 Communication is any behavior that results in an exchange of meaning. ----- The American
Management Association
 According to Murphy and Peack definition, “communication is a two way process of
exchanging idea or information between human being.” This means Communication is the
sum total of all things one person does when he/she wants to create outstanding in the minds
of the other which includes systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and
understanding.
What is Business Communication?
Business communication is the process by which information is passed between individuals
and/or organizations by means of previously agreed symbols. ----- Peter Little
It is the type of communication that occurs within company. It involves the exchange of
information between employees, managers and customers. Business communication is the giving
and receiving of feedback between individuals and/or groups for the purpose of exchanging
information and altering performance in the workplace.
What is General Communication?
General Communication is the type of interaction that takes place outside of the specific
organization. It is defined as the way in which a person can communicate through his or her
words, deed or actions. Business communication is a specialized field and branch of general
communication. It is hardly possible to make a basic difference between the two. The process
and the principles that regulate them are similar. Their difference lies in their application to
situations. General communication is concerned with many roles at large. On the other hand
business communication is concerned with business activities like internal business activities:
maintaining and improving the morale of employees, giving order to workers, prescribing
methods and procedures, announcing policies and organizational changes, and etc… as well as
external business activities: selling and buying goods and services, reporting the government and
shareholders on the financial condition of the business operations and etc.
How we communicate?
We communicate in several ways:
1. Written communications like: letters, memos, reports, e-mail, faxes
2. Oral communications like: one-on-one meetings, phone conversations, speeches, video
conferencing, group meetings
3. Nonverbal communications like: Body language (eye contact, facial expressions),
physical appearance et. Therefore nonverbally may communicate more than our spoken
words.
1.2. Significance of Communication
Oral communication has long been our main method for communicating with one another. It is
estimated that 75% of a person’s day is spent communicating in some way. A majority of your
communication time may be spent speaking and listening, while a minority of that time is spent
reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster personal, academic,
and professional success.
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly and
unambiguously. Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver.
And it's a process that can be filled with error, with messages often misinterpreted by the
recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed
opportunity.

In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the
same information as a result of the communication. By successfully getting your message across,
you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that
you send do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating
roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue
to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or
written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the
workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must understand what
your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must
also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and
cultural context.

Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the direct result of people failing to
communicate. Faulty communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can
cause a good plan to fail. Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas
from one person to another. It involves a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. Effective
communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the
sender intended to transmit.

Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the
members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

The importance of communication in any managerial process can hardly be over-emphasized. If

an organization is to operate as an integrated unit, it is necessary that the top management should
keep the lower level supervisors and employees well informed of its ultimate objectives and what
it wants each person to accomplish toward their realization
The importance of a communication may be summarized as follows:-

 To establish and disseminate goals of an enterprise.

 To develop plans for their achievement.
 To organize human and other resources in the most effective and efficient way.
 To select, develop and apprise member of the organization.
 To lead, direct, motivate and create a climate in which people want to contribute.
 It strengthens Control of performances & operations..
 It promotes managerial efficiency
 It is an aid to planning and decision making
 It is a basis of leadership action
 It develops cooperation/co-ordination
 It leads to job satisfaction

1.3. Communication in Management

In today’s enterprise, information must flow faster than ever before. Even a short stoppage on a
fast moving production line can be very costly in lost out. It is therefore, essential that production
problems be communicated quickly for corrective action. Another important element is the
amount of information, which has greatly increased over the years frequently causing an
information overload. What often needed is not more information, but relevant information. It is
necessary to determine what kind of information the manager needs to have for effective
decision making. To obtain this information frequently requires getting information from
managers’ supervisors and subordinates and also from departments and people elsewhere in an
organization.

Managers use communication every day. In fact, they spend as much as three quarters of their
time communicating. Research has found that 55%of managers’ time is utilized for listening,
22%of their time is consumed for speaking and only remaining 23%of their time allocated for
other activities. Good managers develop effective communication skills. They use these skills to
absorb information, motivate employees, and deal effectively with customers and co-workers.
Good communication can significantly affect a manager’s success.
Communication in management demand ability to do well in written and oral communication.
Communicating effectively is an important management skill for several reasons:
Managers must give direction to the people who work for them. Managers who fail give clear
guidance often find that employees perform their job poorly because they do not understand what
is expected of them.
Managers must be able to motivate people. Good managers use their ability to communicate to
get other people excited about their jobs.
Managers must be able to convince customers that they should do business with them.
Effective communication is the key to convincing a customer to purchase a product or service.
Without good communication skills, managers will find it difficult to attract customers, even if
their companies’ product or services meet the customers’ needs.
Managers must be able to absorb the ideas of others. Business managers interact with many
people, including co-workers, customers, and suppliers.
To be effective, they must be able to understand and accept other peoples viewpoints.
Managers must be able to persuade other people. Managers often have ideas that oppose. To
persuade other people to accept their ideas, managers must be able to communicate effectively.
In relationship management, communication allows to you explain to someone else what you are
expecting and what your needs are. In our daily life, communication helps us build relationships
by allowing us to share our experiences and needs as well as helps us connect to others.

To sum up, the ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing is a critical
managerial skill and a foundation of effective leadership. Through communication, people
exchange and share information with one another and influence one another's attitudes,
behaviors, and understandings.

The role of communication in management can be summarized as: in order to execute the plan,
managers must pass on the information to everybody in the organization. Good communication
advises as well as assists with making a culture that causes individuals to feel like they have a
place with and need to help the organization.
Managerial communication is important because it allows a manager to perform the basic
functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Communication allows managers to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships, listen

to others, and otherwise gain the information needed to create an inspirational workplace.
No manager can handle conflict, negotiate successfully, and succeed at leadership without
being a good communicator.

Generally, communication has four goals:

a. To inform- to provide an information for the use of decision making and giving relevant
information on the area of their activities.
b. To request – to ask the specific actions to be taken by the receiver. Receiver asks the
information which confuses them during achieving their objectives.
c. To persuade – to reinforce or change the audience belief about the something. To change
the belief that affects the organizational performance.
d. To create relationship – to build harmonious relationship with stakeholders such as
government, supplier, customers, firms and etc.
To achieve these goals, the organization must have well maintained communication facilities and
a good communication policy. Individual skills need the support of organizational policies and
facilities for communication.