Prepared by: Mario M.

Sino Cruz III Grace Malana Mae Margareth Nebreja

Communication Fundamentals

1. Definition

of Communication

Communication is the process of exchanging messages or information between two or more parties. Businesses today are heavily dependent on information to meet organizational needs. Effective communication plays a key role in fulfilling these needs and contributes significantly to organizational success. Despite its importance, business communication has not grown, as it should. Realizing this, both industry and academic sectors have begun training employees and students on business communication and its relevance. It has become all the more evident that business communication is vital for effective functioning of business units.

2. The Importance of Communication

Effective business communication is crucial for the success of individuals as well as organizations. Good communication skills help individuals effectively interact with others in an organization. These skills are important for career development as they boost confidence; ensure clarity of thought and information flow. Good communication is a prerequisite for good managers. It is essential for organizations too. An organization is benefited by the internal and external information gathered and passed on by employees. The management can use such information to gain an edge in business.

3. The Basic Forms of Communication

A. Non-verbal communication -is a primitive form of communication that does not involve the use of words. It rather uses gestures, cues, vocal qualities, spatial relationships etc. to convey a message. It is commonly used to express emotions like respect, love, dislike, unpleasantness, etc.

B. Verbal communication -involves the arrangement of words in a structured and meaningful manner, adhering to the rules of grammar. The message is then conveyed to the audience in either spoken or written form.

Kinds of Verbal Communication

1.

Oral

-consists of all spoken exchanges. Casual conversations among friends as well as political debates fall into this category. In oral communication, verbal feedback typically follows the initial message whether in the form of a question or comment.

2. Writing
-another form of verbal communication requires no speech. Written communication, while technically nonverbal, commonly falls under the umbrella of verbal communication for the use of words to convey ideas. Books, letters, email, texts, memos, magazines, newspapers and personal journals are all examples of verbal communication.

4. The Process of Communication

Communication goes through a process, involving the following phases: Sender Message Channel Receiver Feedback

Diagram of Communication Process

5. Barriers to Communication
1. Physical Barriers -consist of any sound that prevents a person from being heard. Physical noise interferes with a speaker's ability to send messages and with an audience's ability to receive them.

2. Language Barriers -there are different languages, vocabulary, accent, dialect represents a national/ regional barriers. Semantic gaps are words having similar pronunciation but multiple meanings like- round; badly expressed message, wrong interpretation and unqualified assumptions. The use of difficult or inappropriate words/ poorly explained or misunderstood messages can result in confusion.

3. Cultural Barriers -age, education, gender, social status, economic position, cultural background, temperament, health, beauty, popularity, religion, political belief, ethics, values, motives, assumptions, aspirations, rules/regulations, standards, priorities can separate one person from another and create a barrier.

4. Emotion Barriers -your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in your emotions for some reason. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences include hostility, anger, resentfulness and fear.

5. Stress Barrier -this is one of the major communication barriers faced by employees in most of the organization. When a person is under immense stress, he may find it difficult to understand the message, leading to communication distortion. At the time of stress, our psychological frame of mind depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values. Thus, we fail to realize the essence of communication.

6. Perceptual Barrier -we all see the world differently. We all have our own preferences, values, attitudes, origins and life experiences that act as "filters" on our experiences of people, events and information. Seeing things through the lens of our own unique life experiences or "conditioning" may lead to assumptions, stereotyping and misunderstandings of others whose experiences differ from our own.

7. Information Overload -people are surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective.

6. Dealing with Communication Barriers

Though most communication barriers require situation specific handling, a few basic methods for dealing with them are available. These methods such as know your subject, focus on the purpose, know your audience, and be organized.

7. Summary
Communication is the process of transmitting messages. Communication can be verbal, non-verbal or both. Non-verbal communication involves the use of gestures and facial expressions to convey a message. Verbal communication involves the written and spoken forms. The process of communication comprises the sender, message, channel, receiver, and feedback.

 There are many barriers to effective communication. These barriers can arise at the level of the sender, receiver, in the channel of communication, the medium or at the stage of message comprehension. The barriers to effective communication can be overcome by a thorough knowledge of the subject, by focusing on the purpose, by knowing the audience and by organizing content.

DOWNWARD AND UPWARD COMMUNICATION

Downward Communication
-is communication created by directors and managers and passed down the hierarchy of workers in the organization. In traditional organizations this is the preferred method of communication. -one concrete example is that managers decide what the systems, rules and procedures will be and then they pass these down to employees they manage and supervise.

-is the communication from the higher level authority to lower levels. -this direction of communication strengths the authoritarian structure of communication. -orders, instructions, policy statements, notices circulars are the main objective of downward communication.

Advantages of Downward Communication

Downward

Communication can increase efficiency by synchronising organisational procedures and can ensure that everybody is working towards the same overall aims and objectives.

Types of Downward Communication

Appraisals/evaluations

Job Description. Organizational policy Organizational system

Limitations of Downward Communication

Distortion

of message Delay due to number of levels Brief information Filtering

Upward Communication
-This is the communication which originates at the lower level of the employment hierarchy and is then communicated up through the line. Organizations encouraging upward communication believe that everybody is capable of generating thoughts and ideas which may help the organization to progress, particularly when they are working closely in the field.

-the function of upward communication is to send the information, suggestion and complaints of lower level workers to managers upward. -it is the direct result of increasing democratization. -this gives employee satisfaction and encouragement.

Advantages of Upward Communication

-may increase motivation and make employees feel valued and respected whilst enabling managers to understand how employees are feeling. -Furthermore if problems occur at they are more likely to be identified earlier by those working closely in the area that they occur.

Types of Upward Communication

Suggestion

Schemes Feedback Forum/Surveys Grievance Procedures Employee-Manager Discussion

Diagram of Comparison
DOWNWARD
-valuable information -Employee feels responsibility. -structured organization -alert management to spot trouble

UPWARD
-valuable feedback -Employee feels satisfaction -innovative ideas -valuable suggestion