Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Business communication
Chapter one
Introduction to communication
The word communication derived from the Latin word communicare that means to impart, to
participate, to share or to make common. It is a process of exchange of facts, ideas, and opinions
and as a means that individual or organization share meaning and understanding with one
another. In other words, it is a transmission and interacting the facts, ideas, opinion, feeling and
attitudes.
Communication adds meaning to human life. It helps to build relationship and fosters love and
understanding. It enriches our knowledge of the universe and makes living worthwhile.
Communication is the act of conveying information for the purpose of creating a shared
understanding.
PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION
1. for instruction:
Deals with the commanding nature.
It is more or less of directive nature.
Instructions basically flow from top to the lower level.
2. For integration:
It is consolidated function under which integration of activities is endeavored.
Involves bringing about inter-relationship among the various functions of the
business organization.
It helps in the unification of different management functions.
3. For information:
Top management informs policies to the lower level through the middle level.
In turn, the lower level informs the top level the reaction through the middle level.
Information can flow vertically, horizontally and diagonally across the
organization.
Becoming informed or inform others is the main purpose of communication.
4. For evaluation:
Examination of activities to form an idea or judgments of the worth of task is
achieved through communication.
Communication is a tool to appraise the individual or team, their contribution to
the organization.
Evaluating ones own inputs or others outputs or some ideological scheme
demands an adequate and effective communication process.
5. For direction:
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business, the communication links are also lengthened because of which the control of the
multiple business activities becomes more difficult.
7. Competition
A businessman, who wants to survive in the world of free competition, should
know his competitors, the quality and the prices of their products, the
discounts, terms and conditions of sale, the policies of advertising, government
laws, etc. If they are not able to communicate better in this respect, their sale
will not be satisfactory.
A good salesman is efficient communicator who can attract the customer,
induce him to buy his goods and services.
Participation and delegation
Participative managers communicate with their employees. They ask for the opinions, views,
suggestions and recommendations of the employees in the decision-making process so that they
work together as a team. The delegation of authority can be communicated in oral or written
form, but it is always better to use the written form in order to avoid the conflict and confusion.
In participatory management, the manager retains the ultimate responsibility of his unit, but he
shares the operating responsibility with the employees who actually perform the work. This gives
a sense of involvement and satisfaction to the employees who work with high morale to achieve
the objectives of the organization as the manager seeks participation of the employees in policy
matters and decision making.
Chapter two
Elements of communication process
Elements of communication
The process of communication involves the following elements:
1. Sender or transmitter:
The person who desires to convey the message is known as sender.
Sender initiates the message and changes the behavior of the receiver.
2. Message:
It is a subject matter of any communication.
It may involve any fact, idea, opinion or information.
It must exist in the mind of the sender if communication is to take place.
3. Encoding:
The communicator of the information organizes his idea into series of symbols
(words, signs, etc.) Which, he feels will communicate to the intended receiver or
receivers.
4. Communication channel:
The sender has to select the channel for sending the information.
Communication channel is the media through which the message passes.
It is the link that connects the sender and the receiver.
5. Receiver:
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5. Feedback travels to sender. The verbal and nonverbal responses of the receiver create
feedback, a vital part of the entire communication process. Feedback helps the sender know that
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the message was received and understood. Senders can encourage feedback by asking questions
such as Am I making myself clear? And Is there anything you dont understand? Senders can
further improve feedback by delivering the message at a time when receivers can respond.
Senders should provide only as much information as a receiver can handle. Receivers can
improve the process by paraphrasing the senders message. They might say, Let me try to explain
that in my own words, or my understanding of your comment is . . .
An important part of the communication process is listening.
Types of Communication
Communication takes place when we interact with one other person, when we interact with a
small group, and when we speak to an audience.
Intrapersonal
A special type of communication, intrapersonal communication, is an integral part of any
communication event.
Intrapersonal communication is communication with our selves;
It is an ongoing process that includes such activities as evaluating ourselves and our
relationships with others, planning for the future, and doing some internal problem
solving.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal communication is the informal exchange that occurs between two or more
people.
It usually occurs on two levels: dyads (groups of two) and small groups.
Dyadic communication is the interaction between two people. It can focus on safe topics, such
as our day at the office, or on highly sensitive issues, such as our love for a particular person.
Dyadic communication tends to be informal, and therefore, it requires little or no preplanning.
Interviews are the exception; they are generally formal in nature.
Through dyadic communication we can learn a great deal about ourselves and our relationships
with others.
Small Group communication
Small-group communication includes those interactions with three to eight people present.
In most instances, small-group communication is less intimate than dyadic communication and
less formal than public speaking.
Small-group communication can occur as an informal discussion of such social issues as gun
violence or shelters for runaway adolescents or serve as a vehicle for problem solving in
organizations.
Public communication
Involves having an individual share information with a large group; the usual structure
has a speaker presenting ideas to an audience.
Public communication is more formal than interpersonal communication;
Requires more preparation on the senders part.
Usually, speakers have a limited amount of time in which to share their ideas;
This forces them to plan and organize what they want to say in advance.
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Phases of communication
Communication is a chain of events that can be broken in to five phases. These are:-
1. The sender has an idea.
2. The idea becomes a message.
3. The message is transmitted.
4. The receiver gets the message.
5. The receiver reacts and sends feedback to the sender
Barriers of communication
Communication barriers can arise while the message is being developed, transmitted, received,
or processed.
1) Barriers in relation to the senders idea
The world constantly bombards us with information: sights, sounds, scents, and so on. Our minds
filter this stream of sensation and organize it into a mental map that represents our perception of
reality. Because your perceptions are unique, the ideas that you want to express are different
from other people.
As a communicator, you filter out the details that seem unimportant and focus your attention on
the most relevant, and general, a process known as abstracting.
Thus, in the process of conceiving an idea, you leave out many things and assume many others.
This means that the idea in your mind is a simplification of the real world, so whenever you send
a message, you inevitably distort reality.
2) Barriers in transforming idea to message
In a process not completely understood, the idea in your mind is transformed into words; you
decide such issues as the message's length, organization, tone, and style.
Your choice of words depends on your subject, your purpose, your audience, and your personal
style or mood.
To some extent, your choice of words also depends on your cultural background.
The nature of your code, your language and vocabulary imposes its own limits on your message.
For example
The language of a lawyer differs from that of an accountant or a doctor, and the difference in
their vocabularies affects their ability to recognize and express ideas.
A. Indecision about message content
Communication often fails because the sender tries to convey everything that she or he knows
about a subject. When a message contains too much information, it is difficult to absorb. So if
you want to get your point across, you have to decide what to include and what to leave out, how
much detail to provide, and what order to follow. If you try to explain something without first
giving the receiver adequate background, you will create confusion. In addition, if you
recommend actions without first explaining why they are justified, your message may provoke
an emotional response that inhibits understanding.
B. Lack of familiarity with the situation or the receiver
Lack of familiarity with your audience is an equally serious handicap. You need to know
something about the biases, education, age, status, and style of the receiver in order to create an
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effective message. If you were writing for a specialist in your field, for example, you could use
technical terms that might be unfamiliar to a layperson. Or if you were addressing a lower-level
employee, you might approach the subject differently than if you were talking to your boss.
C. Emotional conflicts
Another potential problem in developing the message arises when the sender has conflicting
emotions about the subject or the audience. Let's say that you've been asked to prepare a report
recommending ways to improve the organization of your department. After analyzing the
situation, you have come to believe that the best approach is to combine two positions.
Unfortunately, this solution means eliminating the job of one of your close associates, and when
the time comes to write your report, you find yourself apologizing for your recommendation.
Even though you know your position is justified, you find you cannot make a convincing case.
D. Difficulty in expressing ideas
Lack of experience in writing or speaking can also prevent a person from developing effective
messages. Some people may have a limited vocabulary or may be uncertain about questions of
grammar, punctuation, and style. Or perhaps they are simply frightened by the idea of writing
something or appearing before a group. In any case, they are unable to develop an effective
message because they lack expertise in using language.
3) barriers while the message is transmitted
Communication may also break down because of problems in getting the message from sender to
receiver.
The most obvious transmission problems are physical:
Bad connections, Illegible copy.
Poor acoustics, and
Although defects of this sort (called "noise") seem trivial, they can completely block an
otherwise effective message. For this reason, you should exercise as much control as
possible over the physical transmission link. If you're preparing a written document,
make sure that its appearance doesn't detract from your message. If you're delivering an
oral presentation, choose a setting that permits the audience to see and hear you without
straining.
In addition to minimizing noise, you frequently need to give, the receiver a chance to
provide feedback. But one of the things making business communication difficult is the
complexity of the feedback loop. If you're talking face-to-face with one other person,
feedback is immediate and clear. But if you're writing a letter, memo, or report that will
be read by several people, feedback will be delayed and mixed. Some of the readers will
be enthusiastic or respond promptly; others will be critical or reluctant to respond. As a
consequence, revising your message to take account of their feedback will be difficult.
When you plan a message, think about the amount of feedback that you want to
encourage.