Indraprastha INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Sector-10, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075

Subject:- Business Studies

Chapter- 7
Directing

➢ Communication:
Communication can be defined as a process of exchange of ideas, facts, feelings, etc. between or among
two or more people to create common or mutual understanding.

• Elements of Communication Process:

a. Sender or communicator: he is the person who conveys the message to the receiver.
Sender may be a manager, a speaker, a client, a writer or an actor.
b. Message: It is the content or subject matter of communication to be sent to the receiver.
It may involve any idea, suggestion, order, request, grievance, circular, etc.
c. Encoding: in this step, the sender translates, the message into words, symbols, gestures,
drawings, etc. which he feels will make the receiver understand the message. This is
called encoding of message.
d. Media or Communication channel: It is the route or medium or way through which
encoded message is passed by the sender to the receiver. The common ways of
transmission are phone call, e-mail, letter, radio, television, movement of body parts, etc.
e. Receiver: The person who receives the message is called the receiver. A receiver is a
person for whom the message is sent. The receiver may be a listener, a reader or an
observer.
f. Decoding: It means translating the encoded message into language understandable by the
receiver.
g. Feedback: Feedback is the receiver response to the message sent by the sender. It
includes all those actions of receiver indicating that he has received and understood the
message of sender. It is necessary to ensure that the receiver has received the message
and understand it in the same sense as the sender intended. When the feedback
information is received by the communicator only, then the process of communication is
complete. If there is any deviation, the feedback enables the sender to send the revised
message. Thus, feedback is the backbone of effective communicating.
h. Noise: Noise means some disruption or hindrance or interference or obstruction in the
communication process. It can occur at any stage in the process of communication. It
reduces the accuracy of communication.
Examples of noise-
A poor telephone connection, ambiguous symbols that lead to faulty encoding, an
inattentive receiver or listener.

• Channels of Communication:

Formal Communication Informal Communication

a. Formal communication refers to the communication which flows trough official channels
designed in the organization chart (i.e, through scalar chain). It flows upwards from a
 subordinate to superior (e.g, application for grant of leave) or downwards from a superior to
subordinate (e.g, sending notice to attend a meeting) or horizontally between two
departments/divisions (e.g. discussion about design between production and marketing
managers).
b. Informal communication refers to the communication which takes place without following
formal lines of communication (i.e. disregarding the levels of authority).
Informal communication spreads throughout the organisation with its branches going out in all
directions in utter disregard to the levels of authority. There is no fixed line of communication.
So, it is generally referred to as ‘grapevine’.
Examples of informal communication- Workers chit-chatting in a canteen about the behaviour of
the superior, workers discussing about rumours that some employees are likely to be transferred.

• Barriers to Effective Communication:

Several obstructions, hurdles, distortions, delays, etc called barriers of communication reduces
the effectiveness of communication.
Some of the barriers to effective communication are-
a. Semantic/Linguistic Barriers: Semantic barriers are concerned with problems and
obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or
expressions.
o Types of semantic barriers are-

i. Badly expressed message: The message to be communicated must be

stated in simple and clear words. Sometimes, the intended meaning may
not be conveyed by a manager to his/her subordinates because of use of
wrong words, omission of needed words, inadequate vocabulary, etc.
ii. Words or symbols with different meanings: A word or symbol may
have different meanings. The receiver is required to understand the
meaning of the word used by the sender in the same sense for which
sender has used it. Examples- The word ‘shoot’ may be used with an
intention of taking a photograph or a film scene, but the listener may take
it as ‘gun fire’. Similarly, words like hair, heir, peace, principle, principal,
right, write, pale, pail, etc, should be used carefully.
The word ‘value’ may be used in different senses- The value of this book
is ₹ 250, What is the value of computer education these days? , I value
your friendship.
iii. Faulty translations: Sometimes, the communication originally drafted in
one language (e.g., English) need to be translated to the language
understandable to workers (e.g., Hindi). If the translator is not proficient
with both the languages, communication may be misunderstood.
iv. Unclarified assumptions: Some communications may have certain
assumptions which are subject to different interpretations. Sometimes, the
assumptions of the sender and the receiver of message may differ.
Example- A manager may instruct his employees to “take care of goods”.
Manager may mean that take care of quality of goods whereas employees
may understand that he is instructing to keep the goods safely.
 v. Technical jargon or words: Many specialists like doctors, scientists,
engineers, etc. use technical words in their communication, which may
not understand by the listener. It leads to poor communication.
Example- Patients often do not understand many words used by doctors.
vi. Body language and gesture decoding: The information can be
misinterpreted if the sender’s body movement do not match with his
verbal communication.
Examples- A communicator may shake his head sideways while uttering
‘yes’ and vice versa i.e. he may nod his head while saying ‘no’.

b. Psychological/Emotional barriers:
Psychological barriers are related to the state of mind of both the sender and the receiver
of communication. For example- a worried person cannot communicate properly and an
angry receiver cannot understand the real meaning of message.

Some psychological barriers are-

i. Premature evaluation: It means deriving conclusions before completion
of message. Sometimes receiver evaluates the meaning of message before
the sender completes the message. This type of evaluation may lead to
failure of communication.
Example- Mr. Manav has a pre-notion that his boss always finds faults in
his presentation. During one of the presentations, his boss wanted to
appreciate him for good performance of work but before he could
complete Mr. Manav closed his presentation and left the room.
ii. Lack of attention/listening: The pre-occupied mind of receiver and the
resultant non-listening of message acts as a major psychological barrier.
Example- an employee explains about his/her problems to the boss who is
pre-occupied with an important file. The boss does not listen him/her
properly. So, the employee may get disappointed.
iii. Loss by transmission and poor retention: Poor retention is another
problem. If the people are not attentive or interested, they cannot retain
the information for a long time.
Example- Vikas told his secretary to inform all department heads about
the meeting today at 10:00 a.m. in the conference room. She informed
three departments heads about the meeting timely. On her way, she met
her friend and started talking to him and forgot to inform other department
heads about the meeting.
iv. Distrust: For successful communication, it is necessary that the sender
and receiver must trust each other. When the sender and the receiver do
not believe each other, the message may not be understood in its original
sense.

c. Organisational barriers:
These barriers arise because of organisational structure, authority, relationships, rules and
regulations.

Some of the organizational barriers are:

i. Organisational policy: Communication hampered if the organisational
policy does nit support the free flow of communication. For example, if it
 is the policy of the organization that all message must be in writing, then
it may cause delay in activities. Similarly, in a centralised organization,
people may not be encouraged to have free communication.
ii. Rule and regulations: Rigid rules and cumbersome or complicated
procedures act as a barrier in the way of effective communication.
Communication through the prescribed channels may result in delays.
iii. Status: Status of an organisational member is determined by his position
in the organisation. Generally, people of higher status do not talk freely
with those of lower status. Subordinates at lower levels may hesitate to
talk freely to superiors.
iv. Complexity in organisation structure: When there are a large number of
managerial levels, communication gets delayed and distorted due to many
filtering points. For example- While giving the feedback the subordinates
filter all their negative points and highlight only their positive points.
v. Organisational facilities: Proper organisational facilities like complaint
box, frequent meetings, regular power supply, suggestion box, social and
cultural gathering, etc. are essential for free flow of communication. In the
absence of these facilities, people fail to make effective communication.

d. Personal/Individual barriers:
These barriers are related to the personal factors of both the sender and the receiver of
communication.

Some of the personal barriers are:

i. Fear of challenge of authority: If a superior perceives that a particular message
or information mat adversely affect his authority, he may try to withhold or
suppress such message or information.
ii. Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates: Process of communication
is hampered when superiors do not have faith or confidence on the competence of
his subordinates. In such cases, superior may not seek advise, opinions or
suggestions of the subordinates.
iii. Unwillingness to communicate: A subordinate may not be willing to
communicate with the superior if he perceives that it may affect his interests, e.g.,
fear of punishment or demotion.
iv. Lack of proper incentives: if there is no motivation or incentive for
communication, the subordinates may not take initiative to communicate.
Example- If there is no reward or appreciation for a good suggestion, then an
employee having a useful suggestion for the company may not open his mouth.

• Measures to improve Communication effectiveness:

a. Clarify the ideas before communication:

The message to be communicated must be clear in the mind of communicator. The
message can be conveyed properly only when it is clear to the communicator himself.
The message should be encoded in the clear and simple language, so that the receiver is
able to understand it easily quickly. Technical jargon should be avoided.

b. Communicate according to the needs of the receiver:

The level of understanding of the receiver should be crystal clear to the sender. A sender
should adjust his communication according to the education and intelligence of the
receiver.
c. Consult others before communicating:
Before communicating the message, it is advisable to consult others. Effective
communication is the responsibility of all people in the organisation as all have to work
towards a common goal. If plans are developed with consultation and involvement of
employees, they will implement the plans with full cooperation.

d. Be aware of language, tone and content of message:

Language, tone and content of message to be communicated are very important aspect of
an effective communication. The language should be clear, simple and easily
understandable. The words, language and subject matter of communication should not
offend or humiliate or hurt the feelings or sentiments of the receivers rather it should
stimulate them to give response.

e. Convey helpful and valuable things:

Communication is more effective, of message contains something useful for the receiver.
So, while designing the message, it is better to know the needs and interests of people
with whom you are communicating.

f. Consistency of message:
The message to be communicated should always be consistent with the objective,
policies and rules of the organisation. If the new message is contrary to the previous
messages, this fact should be stated clearly so that there is no confusion and chaos in the
organisation.

g. Be a good listener:
To make communication process effective, the receiver should listen to the sender’s
words patiently, carefully and attentively. The communicator should try to obtain the
complete attention of the receiver. Similarly, the communicator should also listen to the
receiver’s words patiently, carefully and attentively. A good listener improves the
communication process.