Business Communication and Ethics (HS-208/304) Mahwish Arif

What is Communication?

Communication can be defined as “giving, receiving or exchanging information, opinions or

ideas by writing, speech or visual means, so that the message communicated is completely
understood by the recipient(s).”

Communication involves systematic and continuous process of conveying messages (facts, ideas,
attitudes, and opinions) from one person to another so that they are understood. It is a two way
process in which a speaker must have a listener and a writer must have a reader with whom to
share his/her thoughts.

Why Study Communication?

The only complete portable skill, needed in every sphere and activity of life, needed in
every relationship
You will need it regardless of your career path: engineers, doctors, parents, teachers,
nurses, students, everyone needs it
The “Information Age”, globalization, computer information technologies brought it to
the forefront
The history of civilization is the history of information
Language and written documents facilitate the transfer of information and knowledge
through time and space
Your quality of life and work depends primarily on your communication skills
You cannot be too good at communication; everyone needs improvement in some area.
Enhancement in communication skills is continuous activity

Conceptualizing Business Communication

The business means any activity which is professional, formal, official, and career oriented, and
work place related for which communication skills are needed to accomplish the activity. English
language skills (all four viz. listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are a pre requisite to
undertake communication skills enhancement.

Types of Communication

There are four types of communication:

I. Non-Verbal Communication

Nonverbal communication is expressed through nonlinguistic means. It is the actions or

attributes of humans, including their appearance, use of objects, sound, time, smell, and space,
that have socially shared significance and stimulate meaning in others. It includes visual/kinesic
cues such as facial expressions, eye movements, gestures, and body orientation;
vocal/paralinguistic cues such as volume, pitch, rate, and inflection; proxemic cues such as space
and distance; olfactory or smell cues; cues provided via appearance; cues sent via color; and time

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cues.

Our interpersonal effectiveness depends on more than words. Nonverbal messages add to or
detract from our words. In effect, we become the message, with our nonverbal cues announcing
our state of mind, expectations, and sense of self. Our entire beings chatter incessantly, revealing
what we really feel and think.

II. Oral Communication

Oral communication involves using speech to exchange information with others. You usually
communicate orally in face-to-face conversations. Meetings, interviews, conferences, speeches,
and phone calls are other forms of verbal communication. In business, you communicate
verbally to exchange ideas, understand diverse points of view, and solve problems. Oral
communication is an efficient way to develop consensus when many people must be consulted.
Because verbal skills are among those most valued by employers, developing these skills will
help you find jobs, advance your career, and improve your professional performance.

III. Technological Communication

New electronic technologies are dramatically affecting the way workers communicate. We now
exchange information and stay in touch by using e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging,
PDAs, fax, voice mail, wireless networking, cell phones, powerful laptop computers, and
satellite communications. Through teleconferencing and videoconferencing, we can conduct
meetings with associates around the world.

Channels of Communication

The main methods of oral and written communication, which can either use internal or external
channel, are shown in the following diagrams.

i. Internal Communication

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ii. External Communication

Internal communication with: Superiors, coworkers, subordinates

External communication with: Customers, suppliers, government agencies, the public

Functions of internal/external communication: To inform, to persuade, to promote goodwill

Choosing the Channel of Communication

The channel (or means) that is chosen to send a message is very important. The channel chosen
can influence the message and how it is interpreted by the recipient. Each situation should be
judged individually, and will depend on various factors such as cost, confidentiality, safety and
security, influence, urgency, distance, time of day, resources, and recipient.

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Use oral channels when:

your message is fairly simple

you need an immediate response
you don’t need a permanent record
you want to encourage interaction in problem-solving or decision-making
you need to hear the tone of your recipient’s response
Use written channels when:

Your message is fairly detailed or requires careful planning

You don’t need an immediate response
You need a permanent, written record
You want to minimise the distortion that often occurs when messages are passed
orally from person to person
You don’t need immediate interaction with your audience

Use electronic channels when:

speed is important
time zones differ
you are physically separated from your audience.

Modes of Communication

There are formal and informal modes of communication.

Formal Modes:

Official information among workers typically flows through formal channels in three directions:
downward, upward, and horizontally.

i. Downward Communication: Information flowing downward generally moves from

decision makers, including the CEO and managers, through the chain of command to
workers. This information includes job plans, policies, and procedures. One obstacle that
can impede the downward flow of information is distortion resulting from long lines of
communication. However, to improve communication and to compete more effectively,
many of today’s companies have restructured and reengineered themselves into smaller
operating units and work teams.
ii. Upward Communication: Information flowing upward provides feedback from non-
management employees to management. Subordinate employees describe progress in
completing tasks, report roadblocks encountered, and suggest methods for improving
efficiency. Imperfect communication results in upward communication when individuals
are not using words or symbols with similar meanings, when they cannot express their
ideas clearly, or when they come from different backgrounds.
iii. Horizontal Communication: Horizontal communication occurs between people of the

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same status – sales staff, departmental heads, directors, supervisors. The senders and
receivers can be in the same department or in different units. The common link is their
need to cooperate and share. Messages that flow horizontally typically involve the
exchange of information or data that is necessary to complete routine tasks. The
information can be communicated during face-to-face discussions, via telephone, or
through correspondence.

Informal Mode: The Grapevine

The grapevine is an informal channel of communication that carries organizationally relevant

gossip. This informal but powerful channel functions through social relationships in which
individuals talk about work when they are having lunch, working out, golfing, carpooling, and,
more recently, blogging. The grapevine can be a powerful, pervasive source of information. It
can be a vehicle for distortions of the truth, rumour and gossip. An active grapevine can cause
much damage to an organization by spreading incomplete, false or exaggerated information. It
results in low morale, cynicism, fear and an unsettled workforce.

The Communication Process

Communication refers to the act, by one or more persons, of sending and receiving messages
that are distorted by noise, occur within our context, have some effect, and provide some
opportunity for feedback. The communication process takes place in a context (physical,
cultural, social-psychological, and temporal) and is subjected to interference by noise
(physical, psychological, and semantic). The interaction of messages with the encoder-
decoder leads to some effect.

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Communication Context
Channels

Sources/ Feedback Sources/

Encoder Encoder
Effect Messages Effect
Receiver/ Receiver/
Decoder Decoder

Noise

Communication Context

All communication takes place in a context that has at least four dimensions:

a. The Physical Context: it is the tangible or concrete environment in which

communication takes place. The physical context exerts some influence on the content
(what to say) and the form (how you say) of your message.
b. The Cultural Context: it refers to the communicator’s rules and norms, beliefs and
attitude that are transmitted from one generation to the other.
c. The Social-Psychological Context: it includes the status relationships among
partners, the roles that people play, and the cultural rule of the society in which they
are communicating. It also includes the friendliness/ unfriendliness,
formality/informality, and seriousness/ humorousness of a situation.
d. The Temporal (Time) Context: it includes the time of the day as well as the time in
history in which communication takes place.

These four dimensions of context interact with each other. For example, arriving late for an
appointment (temporal context) will be interpreted differently in different cultures (cultural
context). Sometimes arriving late might lead to change in the social- psychological context;
perhaps creating tension and unfriendliness, which in turn may lead to changes in physical
context.

The hyphenated term source-receiver emphasizes that each person involved in communication is
both a source (speaker) and a receiver (listener). You send messages when you speak, write,
gesture, or smile. You receive messages in listening, reading, feeling, and so on.
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The communication process has five steps: idea formation, message encoding, message
transmission, message decoding, and feedback.
i. Sender has an idea: The process of communication begins when the person with whom
the message originates— the sender—has an idea. The form of the idea will be
influenced by complex factors surrounding the sender. The form of the idea, whether a
simple greeting or a complex idea, is shaped by assumptions based on the sender’s
experiences.
ii. Sender encodes idea in message: The next step in the communication process involves
encoding. This means converting the idea into words or gestures that will convey
meaning. In selecting proper symbols, senders must be alert to the receiver’s
communication skills, attitudes, background, experiences, and culture.
iii. Message travels over channel: This stage is where the message is actually sent and the
information is transferred. The technological revolution has brought about a wide range
of telecommunication methods. Sender must consider all aspects: speed, cost, quick
receipt, printed record, confidentiality, etc., and make an intelligent decision before
sending the message. Time and money can be wasted if the wrong medium is chosen.
iv. Receiver decodes message: Only when the receiver understands the meaning intended
by the sender—that is, successfully decodes the message—does communication take
place. Such success, however, is difficult to achieve because no two people share the
same life experiences and because many barriers can disrupt the process.
v. Feedback travels to sender: The verbal and nonverbal responses of the receiver create
feedback, a vital part of the communication process. Feedback helps the sender know that
the message was received and understood. The best feedback is descriptive rather than
evaluative. An evaluative response is judgmental and doesn’t tell the sender whether the
receiver actually understood the message.

Feedback Messages

Feedback tells the speaker what affect s/he is having on the listener(s). On the basis of this
feedback the speaker may adjust the message by strengthening, deemphasizing, or changing the
content or form of the message. The process is cyclical, with one person’s feedback serving as
the stimulus for the other person’s feedback message.

Feedback can be looked upon in terms of five dimensions:

1. Positive - Negative: positive feedback (applause, smiles, and head nods signifying
approval) tells the speaker that the message is being well received. Negative feedback
(boos, frowns, puzzled looks and gestures signifying disapproval) tells the speaker that
something is wrong and that some adjustments need to made.
2. Person Focused and Message - Focused: feedback may concentrate on a person (you’re
sweet, you have a great smile) or on message (can you repeat? your argument is a good
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one).
3. Immediate - delayed: in interpersonal communication, feedback is immediate
(appreciating a presenter after his presentation). In other situations, however feedback
may be delayed (writing an email to a guest speaker conveying the audience’s feedback).
4. Low monitoring - High monitoring: feedback varies from the spontaneous and totally
honest reaction (low monitored feedback) to the carefully constructed response designed
to serve a specific purpose (high monitored feedback).
5. Supportive - Critical: supportive feedback confirms the person and what that person
says; it occurs when, for example, you console or encourage others. Critical feedback, on
the other hand, is evaluative. Critical feedback is when someone is judging another’s
performances.

Considerations in sending feedback effectively:

Immediateness
Honesty
Appropriateness
Clarity
Informative value

Considerations in receiving feedback effectively:

Sensitivity
Supportiveness
Open-mindedness
Helpfulness
Intercultural Communication

Difference between Multicultural and Intercultural

The term multicultural refers to nations that have diverse cultural groups, usually as a result of
immigration, while the term intercultural refers to the diversity among separate nations.

Intercultural Communication

Understanding the role of culture in communication is an essential foundation for understanding

intercultural communication as it occurs interpersonally, in small groups, in public speaking, or
in the media. Intercultural communication occurs when the people creating shared meanings
have different cultural perspectives and values. Intercultural communication may occur between
individuals; it occurs when you travel abroad and talk with someone in a culture that is different
from your own. Intercultural communication may also occur between groups of people or within
nations. It also occurs between and among states, often through global intergovernmental
organizations like the United Nations.
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How Cultures Differ

There are at least four major ways in which cultures differ that are especially important for
communication. These are:

1. Individual and Collective Orientation:

Cultures differ in the extent to which they promote individual values (for example, power,
achievement, and stimulation) versus collectivist values (for example, benevolence, tradition,
and conformity). In an individualistic – oriented culture members are responsible for themselves
and perhaps for their immediate family, whereas in a collectivist culture, members are
responsible for the entire group.

2. High- and Low- Context Cultures:

A high-context culture is one in which much of the information in communication is in the

context or in the person – for example, information that was shared through previous
communications, through assumptions about each other, and through shared experiences.
Members of high-context cultures spend lots of time getting to know each other interpersonally
and socially before any important transactions take place. They place emphasis on face-saving,
and are reluctant to say no for fear of offending the other person.

A low-context culture is one in which most of the information is explicitly stated in the verbal
message. Low-context cultures are also individualistic cultures. They spend less time getting to
know each other and hence don’t have the shared knowledge. As a result, everything has to be
explicitly stated.

3. Power Distances:

In some cultures power is concentrated in the hands of a few, and there is a great difference in
the power held by these people and by the ordinary citizen. These are called high power distance
cultures. Direct confrontation and assertiveness may be viewed negatively, especially if directed
at a superior. In high power distance cultures, there is a great power distance between students
and teachers; students are expected to be modest, polite, and totally respectful.

In low power distance cultures, power is more evenly distributed throughout the citizenry. In low
power distance cultures you’re expected to confront a friend or supervisor assertively; there is in
these cultures a general feeling of equality which is consistent with acting assertively.

4. Masculine and Feminine Cultures:

In a highly masculine culture, men are viewed as assertive, oriented to material success, and
strong; women are viewed as modest, focused on the quality of life, and tender. Members of
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masculine cultures are more likely to confront conflicts directly and to competitively fight out
any differences; they are more likely to emphasize win-lose conflict strategies.

In a highly feminine culture, both men and women are encouraged to be modest. Oriented to
maintain the quality of life, and tender. Feminine cultures are more likely to emphasize
compromise and negotiation in resolving conflicts.

Factors Affecting Intercultural Communication

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the use of one’s own culture and its practices as the standard for interpreting the
values, beliefs, norms, and communication of other cultures. Ethnocentrism fosters negative
judgments of anything that differs from our own ways. In place of ethnocentrism, one can adopt
the perspective of cultural relativism, which recognizes that cultures vary in how they think, act,
and behave as well as in what they believe and value.

Prejudice

Prejudice means decision making on the basis of incomplete information or pre-judging. It is a

subjective attitude, opinion, or feeling formed without prior knowledge, thought, or objective
reason.

Stereotyping

A stereotype is a method of understanding, which works through classifying individual people

into a group category. As a typical picture about a social group, a stereotype may be accurate or
inaccurate, justified or unjustified. It is though, the negative, the inaccurate, and the unjustified
stereotypes that distort the communication.

Discrimination

Discrimination is the differential treatment that favours one individual, group, or object over
another.

Culture Shock

Anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1960), who first used the term culture shock, notes that it occurs
in stages:

i. Honeymoon:

At the first stage, there is fascination, even enchantment, with the new culture and its people.
Many tourists remain at this stage because their stay in foreign countries is so brief.

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ii. Crisis Stage:

At this stage, the differences between your own culture and the new one create problems. This is
the stage at which you experience the actual shock of the new culture.

iii. Recovery:

During this stage, you gain the skills necessary to function effectively. You learn the language
and ways of the new culture. Your feelings of inadequacy subside.

iv. Adjustment:

At the final stage, you adjust to and come to enjoy the new culture and the new experiences. You
may still experience periodic difficulties and strains, but on the whole, the experience is pleasant.

Barriers to Communication

The communication process is successful only when the receiver understands the message as
intended by the sender. Most messages that we send reach their destination, but many are only
partially understood. Several communication barriers exist between sender and recipient, and
they may be responsible for a message not being understood correctly, or a message becoming
distorted. Communication may fail for a variety of reasons:

i. Noise:
a. Physical Noise: interference that is external to both speaker and listener, it
interferes with the physical transmission of the signal or message. For example,
screeching of passing cars, hum of computer.
b. Physiological Noise: physical barriers within the speaker or listener. For
example, visual impairments, hearing loss.
c. Psychological Noise: Cognitive or mental interference. For example, close-
mindedness, inaccurate expectations.
d. Semantic Noise: speaker and listener assigning different meanings. For example,
dialectical differences in meaning.
ii. Differing Frames of Reference: Everything you see and feel in the world is translated
through your individual frame of reference. Your unique frame is formed by a
combination of your experiences, education, culture, expectations, personality, and other
elements. As a result, you bring your own biases and expectations to any communication
situation. Because your frame of reference is totally different from everyone else’s, you
will never see things exactly as others do.
iii. Gender Differences: Between genders in the same culture, there are differences that
begin in how a person creates their self-concept. Men look for social comparisons
whereas women value self-appraisals. Men gain self confidence with achievements

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whereas women gain it through connections with other people. These two major
differences affect how the genders communicate with each other. This gap in
communication can lead to misunderstandings and the formation of barriers between the
genders.
iv. Bypassing: Choice of words is vital to the effectiveness of any communication. Many
words have different meanings. Our background knowledge and experience affect our
understanding. Bypassing happens when people miss each other with their meanings.
Foreign languages, dialects, regional accents and the use of technical/specialist language
should always be considered.

v. Lack of Language Skill: No matter how extraordinary the idea, it won’t be understood
or fully appreciated unless the communicators involved have good language skills. Each
individual needs an adequate vocabulary, a command of basic punctuation and grammar,
and skill in written and oral expression.
vi. Information Overload & Underload: Communication load refers to the amount and
complexity of information as it is perceived by persons who receive it. Having too much
information in volume or information that is too complex to decipher easily is referred to
as overload. Having not enough information is referred to as underload.

Ways to Improve Communication Skills / Principles of Communication

To compose effective written or oral messages, you must apply certain communication
principles. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation,
adapted to the purpose and receiver of the message. These principles are called the Seven C’s of
Communication.

1. Completeness:
Provide all necessary information
Answer the WH questions (who, what, when, where, why, how)
Answer all questions (stated, and implied)
Use your good judgment in offering additional material if the sender’s message
was incomplete.
2. Conciseness:
Use single word substitutes instead of phrases
Omit trite, unnecessary expressions
Include only relevant material; stick to the purpose of the message
Avoid unnecessary repetition of words and ideas.
3. Consideration:
See you material from your reader’s point of view
Focus on you instead of I and we
Readers like to see benefits. Be sure benefits are a prominent part of the message
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Consciously use positive words; readers will react more favourably.

4. Concreteness:
Be precise in using facts and figures whenever possible
Use the active voice more than the passive
Put action in verbs rather than in nouns or infinitives
Occasionally use vivid, image building words (use sparingly in business writing).
5. Clarity:
Choose precise, concrete, and familiar words
Limit average sentence length to 17 to 20 words
Insert no more than one idea into a sentence
Arrange words so that the main idea occurs early in a sentence.
6. Courtesy:
Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative
Be cautious in using humour in communication
Be careful in using discriminatory language; this means being aware of gender,
race, age, colour, creed, or ethnic origins.
7. Correctness:
a. Select the right level of language for you communication; either formal or
informal
b. Check for correct figures, facts, and words
c. Apply the principles of accepted mechanics to your writing.

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