Communication

Damodar Suar
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Individuals spend 70% of their time in

writing, reading, speaking and listening.
Verbal, non-verbal

The main goal of this chapter is to improve

your communication and understanding of it

Recruiter emphasizes on communication skills as

most important.
Companies effective communication, employee
engagement is 4.5 times, 20% lower turnover rates
Transferring and understanding of meaning
Birbal in King Akbars court: famer, parents died:
one falling into well, another lightning struck him;
Mulla, parents died while fighting, soldiering not
good profession. Kings died in bed, dangerous to
sleep in a bed.

Functions of communication

Control,
Motivation,
Cooperation,
Emotional expression, and
Information sharing and decision
making

Process
Receiver

Sender
Message
to be
sent

Encodin
g
message
/
symbolic
(V/NV)

Channe
l

Message
received

Noise

Perceptual problem,
information
overload, semantic
difficulty, cultural
difference

Message
decodin
g

Feedbac
k

Passes between sender and receiver through a channel, receiver

decodes, result is transfer of meaning from one person to another
Formal vs. informal channel
Noise communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message
Feedback: check on how successfully the message is transferred and
the meaning is understood

Directions of communication
Downward communication: top to bottom, manger to
subordinate (verbal), team leader sending an e-mail to team
members (written), one-way employee down-the-line,
reasons why a decision made, need to be respected, listened
Upward communication: bottom to top, subordinate to
managers, provide feedback to higher-ups, progress towards
goal, target realization, feeling about job, difficulties.
Conference meeting, social media, town hall; Brief, focus
on main points, mention actionable items to get the attention
of boss
Lateral communication: members of same workgroup or
same levels, save time, co-ordination, knowledge transfer
and supervisor support

Interpersonal Cmmunication

1. Oral communication: speeches, formal one-to-one,

group discussion, rumor mills, grapevine, advantage:
speed, feedback and correction; still richest medium
in controversial issues to resolve
message distortion when passes through a number of
people
2. Written communication: memo, letter, fax, e-mail,
instant messaging, organizational periodicals, notice
displayed on bulletin boards, any other device where
message pass through written words or symbols;
Why?: tangible and verifiable (record available),
careful, well thought out, logical, clear
Time-consuming, less information in more time
compared to oral, have built-in mechanism for
feedback vis-a-vis oral

 Nonverbal communication: body movements, the

intonations or emphasis on words, facial expression,
physical distance
Through body language: Help me, I am lonely,
hand/leg crossing to protect oneself, lifting of
eyebrows, rub noses, tap fingers for impatience,
Namaste varies in different places in India
Interest in other, status difference
(Body language+ spoken word) more meaningful
Intonation: Why dont I take you to dinner tonight?
( someone else, reasons, problem with me, etc)
Facial exp.: arrogance, aggressiveness, fear, shyness
Distance, verbal, looking to watch; contradiction
between verbal and non-verbal cues; No universal
nonverbal message

Organizational Communication
Chain: formal channel of command, Speed
(moderate), Accuracy(high), Emergence of a leader
(moderate), Member satisfaction(moderate)
Wheel: central figure to act as a conduit for all of
groups communication, fast, high, high, low
All channel: self-managed teams, fast, moderate,
none, high
Grapevine: informal communication, 75%
employees hear about matters through rumors on
grapevine. Not controlled by mgt, perceived by
employees as reliable, serves self-interest; 3/4
message accurate
Rumors: Anxiety, ambiguity, emergency situation,
situation important to us, Persist till uncertainty is
met or anxiety reduced.

Reduce rumors: 1. Announce time-table for

making important decisions; 2. explain
decisions/behaviours that appears secretive; 3.
let all know current and future plans;
Open discuss
wrost-cases e-mail, text
4.Electronic
communication:
messaging, networking software, internet and
webblogs, vedioconferencing
E mail: quickly written, stored, edited,
distributed widely, read at convenience, cost low
Instant messaging (IM) via laptop or desktop
and Text messaging via cell phones
Networking software: face book, Orkut, linkedln,
ERP in IIT KGP
Web blogs ; Video conferencing: audio + images,
TV cameras, microphones attached to PC

Knowledge management
Organizing and distributing collective wisdom
so that right information reaches the right
people at right time.
Explicit, tacit, databases, vital services and
information, computer network and server,
think of library of IIT KGP,
wikipedia
Motivation and value of knowledge,
Organization performance

Barriers to effective communication

Distort information? 1. Filtering: sender
manipulating information, fear of communicating
bad new and desire to please boss/others; vertical
level, status difference; up-ward vs. down
2. Selective perception: see and ear based on our
needs, motivations, experience, background and
personal characteristics
3. information overload: e-mail, fax, IM, phone
calls, meetings, assignments, working memory
fails
4. Emotions: happy vs. sad mood, angry vs.
happyinterpretation differs

 5. Language: Age and context

6. Communication Apprehension or anxiety,
individual vs. group, oral communication
apprehension avoid oral
7. Gender difference: Man- facts, logic,
women- men not listening; relationships;
status, power, interdependence, womencloseness
Politically correct communication
Global Implications: Cultural barriers, cultural
context (non-verbal), A cultural guide: assume
difference, description, empathy, treat your
own interpretation as working hypothesis