Communication

COMMUNICATION “Communication takes place with every action, every word, every statement – oral or written-which management makes. Organizing, planning, directing, controlling and evaluating in all their ramifications have their life lines firmly rooted in organizational heartbeat of communication”. -Schneider Channels of Communication : Face to Face A B

Chain

A

B

C

D

E

B

A

Circle

C

E D

C

B

A

Wheel D

E

Direction of Communication Downward Upward Horizontal

( Policy, Directions, Information) ( Grievances, Problems, Information ) ( Co-ordination, Information)

Business Communication Media Personal talk Directions – notices, memos Letters Pamphlets, handbills Advertising Reports House Magazines

Committees, meetings Market surveys, Research Union Publications Social and cultural programmes Electronic Media Telephone, Telex, Fax, PCs, E-mail

Barriers and Filters to Communications Most barriers involve a tendency to evaluate and to approve or disapprove the message. Communication barriers arise because : Poor responsibility and credibility Left out feeling Instructions getting lost Censoring of upward communication Problems in getting higher ones to listen Inability to inform properly and timely Lack of knowledge, technicalities involved Victim of conspiracy Semantic barriers Social and cultural perceptions Communicator’s skill Listen’s interest, attitude and motivation Reciprocity - Feedback

Information may be filtered / given different direction than originally meant by managers and also union leaders

Filtering of Communication

Communication Prism- Reflecting or Deflecting messages More filtering and misdirections possible with layering and greater length or span of communication. Managers/ union leaders may also colour the informationinternationally or unintentionally.

Communication Models Aristotelian Persuasion Model (Speaker oriented model) Communication should be persuasive in nature – advocacy in court rooms, assemblies, public meetings. Weakness – one way process from speaker to listener Strength – emphasis on setting Persuasiveness depends on : Logical appeal – scientific in nature, backed by facts and figures, quotations, Emotional – unscientific inform of strokes, hypothetical illustrations and Ethical – unscientific reference to moral, intellectual and social attributes. Speaker Setting

Message

Listener

Newcomb’s Interpersonal Communication Model The model assumes that when person A communicates to person B about something X, both A’s and B’s orientation toward X will be determined not only by X itself but by the relationship of other person to X as well as described as ‘Persistent strain towards symmetry’. The situational factors which can affect A-B-X i). Nature of association – constrained or voluntary one ii). Prescribed role differentiation – symmetry may involve complementarity rather than sameness. iii). Possibility of symmetry being threatened – one may like to develop good relations with his supervisor, but this may annoy union leader X A

B

Traditional Approach : Engineering Model It deals with information devoid of meaning i.e. the information theorist is not interested in what is communicated, but only in the fact that this information is communicated both accurately and correctly. The basic information theory model involves an information source which selects a desired message, a transmitter which changes the message into a signal which can be sent over some communication channel to a receiver, a destination to whom message was originally intended, and finally a noise source which can introduce extra uses information into the signal. Information Source

Transmitter

Signal

Receiver

Message

Destination

Message Noise Source

As viewed by information theorists, communication problems can arise at any one of three levels : 1.

Technical Level

how accurately can the symbols of communication be transmitted.

4.

Sementic Level

how precisely do the transmitted symbols convey the desired meaning.

7.

Effectiveness Level

how effectively does the received meaning effect the conduct in desired way

Information theorists are primarily concerned with problems at technical level.

Organizational Communication Model

Technical

Organizational Interpersonal Intrapersonal

LEE THAYER Four levels of communication as above have their origin in physiological, psychological, sociological and technicals. There are three basic information system within an organization which maps the flow of information relating to : Operational Information System : Production, Inventory etc. Regulatory Information System

: Goals, objectives, policies

Maintenance and Development Information System – Maintenance and support of all common characteristics e.g. payroll, evaluation.

HOVLAND MODEL (Receiver or Listener Oriented) Observable Communication Stimuli Content Characteristics: Topic, Appeal, Argument, Features

Predispositional Factors

Internal Mediating Process

Content bound

Opinion

Topic bound

Change

Appeal bound Style bound

Observable Communicat ion Effect

Attention

Communicator Characteristics: Roles, Affiliations

Communication bound

Perceptio n Change

Intensions Comprehension Media Characteristics: Direct/Indirect Interaction, Sense modality

Media Bound

Affect change

Acceptance Situational Surrounding: Social Setting

Situation Bound

Action Change

The stimuli to communication are : content, communicator, media and situation. The predispositional factors enumerated in the model represent prior opinion, attitudes, values and beliefs that we bring with us to any communcation situation, they represent the result of our past experiences. Attention, comprehension and acceptance are all tightly interrelated. The effect of communication is observed in changes which may occur in attitude, opinion, perception, effect and action of the listener.