Communication: Meaning

and Nature in Business

Organizations

Skill Development I
HRM, Sem II
Dr Asiya Nasreen
Concept

• Business communication is the process of sharing information

between people within and outside an organization.
• “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or
emotions by two or more persons”, W. H. Newman and C. F. Summer.
• Entails how employees and management interact to reach the
organizational goals
• Improves practices within an organizations and reduces the chances
of errors.
Approaches to communication

• Arrow managers: communication operates one way, as in firing an

arrow.
• A clear message, facilitate to communication. Positively, arrow
managers may spend time working out their ideas and making sure
that their messages and instructions are as specific as possible.
• Arrow managers can also be insensitive to possible ambiguities in
what they say and how they say it.
• Circuit managers: communication as a two-way process, emphasizing
the importance of feedback.
• The emphasis is on good listening and trust in relationships. Circuit
managers can overemphasize agreement and fail to recognize real
differences in views within the workplace.
• Circuit managers may assume that disagreement is simply a matter of
poor communication and that more communication will almost
automatically lead to agreement.
• Dance managers: Communication is used for multiple purposes like to
inform, to persuade, to impress, etc.
• There is the coordination of meanings in what is communicated.
When we communicate we also have to recognize how other people
see the situation, recognize what they are doing and respond
accordingly. Important particularly at the interpersonal level
• There are certain rules that apply to different communication
situations – ranging from the rules and conventions of grammar to
social rules and expectations which can change over time and are
negotiable.
Contd
Effective communication depends on:

• How the communication is to be made

• Important to select an appropriate medium for the message

• Need to consider the needs of the sender, the nature of the receiver and
the aims of the communication

• Inappropriate medium can be a barrier to effective communication

Significance (in Groups)
• Effective business enterprises are those that successfully communicates its vision, mission
and practices. .

• Effective communication removes the difficulties in achieving the target of an organization.

Vast majority of problems in business are caused by ineffective communication in one form
or another. Tanisnq Ad of Jashne-Riwaz or handling diversity matters.

• Ineffective communication could lead to loss of money, time, energy, opportunity and even
goodwill of a business.

• In current scenario, all business enterprise organizations, big or small, requires proper
communication for its existence. Businesses essentially human focused organisations

• Successful business organizations are those that have good communication mechanisms.
Elements in Communication
Six elements involved in communication:

1. Message: is a subject-matter transmitted or passed by the sender to

the other party or group of persons. This could be in the form of
opinion, order, suggestion, attitude, feeling, view, etc.

2. Sender: is a person who intends to make contact for passing

information and understanding to other person.

3. Receiver: is a person to whom the message is sent is known as

receiver.
4. Channels: are the mediums through which the information is
transmitted like radio, television, telephone, letter, e-mail, etc.
The medium is selected by the sender considering various factors.

5. Symbols: are the words, actions and signs which are passed
on by the sender while communicating with the receiver.

6. Feedback: When the receiver acknowledges the message of

the sender and responds back, feedback takes place. Without
feedback communication is incomplete.
Process

• A message arrives in a receiver’s sensory world (all that can be detected by

the senses)
• Message is picked up by the senses and sends it to the brain
• Brain filters the message through all its contents and gives it a unique
meaning (decodes)
• Meaning trigger a response which the mind then forms (encodes)
• Person then sends by some medium this message into the sensory world of
another person
• Within this person, process is repeated (another cycle begins)
• Compare two speakers of Interface of sem I – one whom you liked
and other you disliked or who irritated you.
• How would you describe their verbal and nonverbal styles?
• Which features of their behaviour did you notice?
• What did you think these differences told you about their
personalities?
• What are the lessons for effective communication.
Communication:Types
• Who is aimed at: An important factor in deciding the type of
communication.

• The nature of the medium and the content depend on who the
target / receiver is.

• On the whole, Internally within an organization, communication

could be formal or informal
• E.g. Email…..Formal, Lunch discussions….Informal
 Formal communication

Internal-
Operational External-
Communication Operational
Communication
Internal-Operational Communication

• Communication through well-defined channels created by organizations are known as

formal communication.

• In this form, information is typically conveyed from top leadership to various

departments that further percolates down to employees working at lower level.

• It is backed by organizational procedure, and it is necessary to fulfil the goals of the

organization.

• Includes giving orders, assembling reports and writing emails forms by supervisors or
workers preparing inventories, reports

• Mostly performed on computer network or company’s intranet.

External-Operational Communication

Work related communication with people outside the organization such

as the suppliers, service companies, customers and general public

• Includes telephoning, writing and sending messages and mails,

• Messages display a company’s etiquettes as they form contact with

outside world by forming an image of the company.
Formal communication: Value

• Increase efficiency within an organization.

• Smooth and streamlined information flows that travels upward and downward.

• A way to easily communicate rules, procedures, and policy to lower level employees.

• Favourable in situations requiring documentation to prove or disapprove in

situations like a claim or complaint. If company policy is violated or a rule is broken
against another coworker, then by this means employees can point out to staff and
upper management.
Informal communication/ Personal communication

• Communication that is relational in nature is understood as

Informal communication.

• It is not backed by any pre-determined channels and can happen

anywhere within the organization.

• The primary goal is to preserve and establish relationships with

colleagues and superiors and subordinates. Since it is not defined
by any channels, messaging moves a lot faster, but it is without any
paper trail or official documentation.
• Since Informal communication, is all about relationships; informal
discussions can create solidarity and strengthen teams if a culture of
goodwill and relationship is adequately fostered within the company.

• Allows employees to give feedback to their superiors by facilitating the

action of upward interface and enables messaging to go both ways
efficiently.

• Employees if given the opportunity to comment on their experiences

in the company informally, it puts the ball back in the court of upper
management to improve and meet their expectations. This action then
leads to higher employee morale.
 Challenges: Formal Communication

• Acknowledging a New Generation: increasing use of social media and use of

more informal communication methods by millennials, forces companies to shift
towards go easy approach on the formal board meeting and email memos. Business
leaders look out for effective ways to incorporate new mediums to inform about
company vision, policy and procedures.

• Buy-In from Employees: Sometimes it is more comfortable for formal messaging

to be accepted by employees when done in a proper procedure with humanistic touch.
Turning off authoritative tones by upper management can balance conversations
about rules and procedures, overall goal of the company, else, employees may not be
ready to buy in totally.

• Inflexibility: Being top down, many voices in upper management have to be heard
before a message is sent down the ranks. This makes it difficult for anyone to change a
formal message if something needs to be tweaked or left out.
4. Contributes to a Lack of Understanding: Being not
tailored to everyone’s communication style can create confusion
and stress for some of the employees and a kind of challenge for
upper management to account for a general lack of
communication.

5. Slow Decision Making: Some employees and departments

depend on formal messaging from upper management to make
important decisions that could take longer time duration. It can
be frustrating to managers or employees who need it and can
even cause the demise of a product or project.
Challenges: Informal Communication

• Rumors Can Spread Rapidly: Though good in creating

relationships and producing unity among staff, but are also
effective in creating rumors as messaging is not pre-determined
or controlled.

• Lack of Control: It is not possible to control Informal

communication as it is not affiliated with management-
approved channels, and as a result does not necessarily obey the
same messaging rules as formal communication.
• An Increase in Conflict: Sometimes lead to situation of conflict by developing
competition among employees or departments or problems between superiors and
subordinates. In turn, this can decrease or halt productivity.

• Contradict Formal Communications: Informal communication can contradict

information sent from pre-defined channels.

• Lack of Secrecy: Inadequate control increases the chance for company secrets to
travel. A rumored promotion, coming retirement, or the advent of a new product not yet
released to all parts of the company might be leaked to others who do not need to know.
This can potentially damage a new product release or breach the trust of employees.
THANKS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egtyq2ccCIA