Barriers to Effective Communication in Your Organization

Assignment on Organizational Behavior

Topics: Barriers to Effective Communication in your Organization & How to Overcome the Barriers

Prepared for Ms. Laboni Ferdous

Prepared by Tawhidul Alam Program: Master of Business Administration (MBA) Subject: Organizational Behavior  World University of Bangladesh Batch: 06. ID/Roll: 121.

Table of Content 1.0 Introduction ..................... ............................................ .............................................. .............................................. ................................................... ............................ 1 2.0 What is Communication?..................... ............................................ .............................................. ...................................................... ............................... 1 3.0 Business Communication..................... ............................................ ............................................... ...................................................... .............................. 1 4.0 Effec Effective tive Communication Communicatio n in Business ....... ............... ................. ................. ................ ................ ................ ............... ........... ......... ......... ...... ..2 4.1 Barriers of Effective communication ........................................................................... ........................................................................... 2 4.1.1 Lack of planning....................... .............................................. .............................................. ...................................... ........................... ................ ....3 4.1.2 Unclarified assumption ..................... ............................................ ................................................................ ......................................... ....3 4.1.3 Poor Expression ................................................................. ...................................................................................... .................................. ...............3 4.1.4 Poor Retention .................... ........................................... .............................................. .............................................. ..................................... .............. 3 4.1.5 Poor Listening .................... ........................................... .............................................. ............................................................ ..................................... 3 4.1.6 Distrust ........ ................ ................ ................. ................. ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ............ ........ ........ ........ ...... ..4 4.1.7 Information overload ..................... ............................................ .............................................. ................................................. .......................... 4 4.1.8 Selective Perception .................... ........................................... .............................................. ................................................... ............................ 4 4.1.9 Semantic Distortion ....................... .............................................. .............................................. ................................................. .......................... 4 4.1.10 Technical Words...................... ............................................. .............................................. ......................................... .............................. ............ 4 4.1.11 Unclarified Roles..................... ............................................ .............................................. .................................... .......................... ................. ....5 4.1.12 Unsound Objectives ..................... ............................................ .............................................. ....................................... ......................... ......... 5 4.1.13 Absence of Feedback ...................... ............................................. ................................................................ ......................................... ....5 4.1.14 Inappropriate Medium ..................... ............................................ .............................................. ............................................. ...................... 5 4.2 Overcoming the Barriers .................... ........................................... .............................................. ................................................... ............................ 5 4.2.1 Determining Plan .............................................................. ................................................................................... .................................. ...............6 4.2.2 Avoiding Assumption ................................................................. .............................................................................. .......................... ............. 6 4.2.3 Appropria Appropriate te Encoding ........ ................ ................ ................. ................. ................ ................ ................ ................ ............ ........ ......... ......... ...... ..6 4.2.4 Repeating Message ...................... ............................................. .............................................. .............................................. ............................ ..... 6 4.2.5 Effective Listening ...................... ............................................. .............................................. ................................................... ............................ 6 4.2.6 Creating Credibility ....................... .............................................. .............................................. ................................................. .......................... 7 4.2.7 Regulating Information Flow.................... ........................................... .............................................. ...................................... ............... 7 4.2.8 Recognizing the Receiver’s Personal Factors ..................... ........................................................ ................................... 7 4.2.9 Using Appropr Appropriate iate Language........ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ............... ............ ......... ........ ......... ..... 7 4.2.10 Simplifying Language .................... ........................................... .............................................. .............................................. ....................... 7 4.2.11 Clear Definition ........................ ............................................... .............................................. .............................................. ............................. ...... 8 4.2.12 Making Sound Objectives ..................... ............................................ .............................................. ................................... ................ ....8 4.2.13 Utilizing Feedback.................... ........................................... .............................................. ............................................. ............................. ....... 8 4.2.14 Selecting Appropriate Channel.................... ........................................... .................................................. ................................. ......8 5.0 Conclusion ....................... .............................................. .............................................. .............................................. .............................................. ............................ ..... 8 6.0 References............................................... ...................................................................... .............................................. ................................................... ............................9

1.0 Introduction Communication is simple to understand but difficult to define. The ‘Communication’ stems from the Latin word “communis” which means common. Howe Howeve ver, r, comm commun unic icat atio ion n incl includ udes es in addi additi tion on to comm common onal alty ty,, the the conc concep epts ts of  transm transmiss ission ion,, meanin meaning g & inform informati ation. on. When When all these these featur features es are combin combined ed togeth together, er, communication takes a precise shape in the form of transmission of commonly meaningful information.

2.0 What is Communication? Some scholar defined communication as a linking function between two or more persons. People can reach other members of the society through this link-path with their ideas, feelings, thoughts, facts & values. While many others termed communication is a ‘bridge’ of meaning among the people so that they can share news and views with each other. According to these theorists, people by using the ‘bridge’ can safely cross the ‘rivers of  misunderstanding’, which sometimes separate them from one another. The attitude and outlooks expressed by the scholars in the above statement suggest that communication is a meaningful transfer of information from one person (or group) to another. To avoid this theoretical confusion, it is better to define; communication is a process of  sending and receiving a message.   Now we can define, “Communication is a process of sending thoughts, ideas, feelings, suggestions, advice, information, culture etc. from at least one person to another person in order to get things done by the other individual”.

3.0 Business Communication Communication Genera Generally lly speaki speaking, ng, commun communicat ication ion applied applied to the busine business ss world world is called called ‘Busin ‘Business ess Commun Communica icatio tion’. n’. In this this sense, sense, it is a specia specialize lized d branch branch of general general commun communicat ication ion.. Processes, types, methods, etc. are the same with those general communications. Only the difference is in their application to the situation. Business in general, refers to the activities that are directed toward producing or acquiring wealth through making, buying or supplying goods or services. However, activities directed to the production of things for personal consumption do not fall within the purview of   business. We can define business communication as a flow of information that occurs within this   bus busin ines esss envi enviro ronm nmen ent. t. For For the the surv surviv ival al and and deve develo lopm pmen entt of any any orga organi niza zati tion on,, a  businessperson has to maintain a link with a host of people such as customers, suppliers, lenders, government and his own organizational members. Such maintenance of link for 

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 business purpose is ‘Business Communication’. For successful operations of daily business transactions also a businessman has to exchange opinion, feeling, information etc. with the  people of his own organization as a well as outside the organization. So business communication is a process of expressing any type of notice, instruction, request, recommendation, perception and the like to a person or a number of persons, within or outside the organization, with a view to informing them of any business data, decisions, objectives etc. and expecting the receivers to do something on receiving the message. As the main purpose of business communication is to secure action by the recei receive ver, r, so the the styl stylee emph emphas asiz izes es draw drawin ing g atte attenti ntion on,, arou arousi sing ng inte interes rest, t, deve develo lopi ping ng conviction and inducing action. In short, we can say, a) Business Business commu communicati nication on is a special specialized ized branch branch of of communicat communication. ion.  b) It deals deals with with various various commercial commercial & industrial industrial subjec subjects. ts. c) It is objectiv objectivee and impartial, impartial, as as very care care is taken taken to send send informatio information n accurately accurately & concisely. d) Ever Every y busi busine ness ss comm commun unic icati ation on aims aims at secu securin ring g some some acti action on by recei receive vers rs of  message. e) Language Language used used here is very very simple, simple, direct, direct, concise concise and to the point. point. f) Every busine businesspe ssperson rson transmit transmitss messages messages with due due emphasis emphasis on on drawing drawing attention, attention, creating interest and inducing action.

4.0 Effective Communication in Business When, both the sender and the receiver of the message perceive the message in the same sense, we called effective communication. Messages to be perceived in the same sense must be audience centered. This means that audience consideration is the key factor for all effective communication. To quote Griffin, “Effective communication is the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended”. Meaning is defined here as the idea that the person who initiates the communication  process wishes to convey. In effective communication, the meaning is transmitted in such a way that the person receiving the message understands it clearly. For effecti effective ve commu communic nicatio ation n the messag messagee must must be clear, clear, concis concise, e, comple complete, te, correct correct,, courteous and consistence.

4.1 Barriers of Effective communication Communication is a process of transmitting information from the source to the destination. It becomes effective when the receiver receives the message in the same sense as intended  by the sender. But sometimes it can’t happen because of the barriers. Barriers complicated the process of communication. Barriers & interferences are anything that obstructs free and

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smooth movement of a message. They may be related to the sender, the receiver or the environment. Here is given below some of the common barriers, 4.1. .1.1

Lac Lack of of pla plan nning ning

Good communication seldom takes place by chance. It needs prior thinking and  proper planning. Guidelines of business operations i.e. how to do, when to do, etc. are incorporated in the policies of the organization. Officers and employees of an organization feel easy to give and receive information in the light of the policy. Opposite happen i.e. the employees fails to communicate in due time in the absence of predetermined policy. 4.1. 4.1.2 2

Uncl Unclar arif ifie ied d assu assump mpti tion on

Messages may be interpreted otherwise if the sender does not clearly spell out his intention. For an example, Mr. X (customer) sends a message to Mr. Y (General Manager of a company) that he will visit Mr. Y’s plant on Monday at 7 o’clock.  Now Mr. Y assumes it may be 7pm. But the original time that Mr. X means is 7am. These unclarified assumptions in both the instances may result in confusion, which intervene a sound flow of a message. 4.1. .1.3

Poor oor Expr Expreessio ssion n

The purpose of communication is to clearly inform the receiver of the intention of  the sender. This sometimes may not be possible because of the inability of the sender to express his idea as appropriate to the receiver. It matters little how clear  the idea is in the mind of the sender, he fails to effectively communicate with the desired receiver if the messages are still marked by poorly chosen words, poor  organization of ideas, awkward sentence structure, lack of coherence, omission, unnecessary jargon and the like. This means the intended message of the sender  fails to translate itself into proper language easily understandable to the receiver. 4.1. .1.4

Poor oor Re Retenti entio on

In a series of transmission from one person to the next, a fraction of the message gets lost at every stage. The longer the communication route, the more the loss of  the messag messagee by transm transmiss ission ion.. Thus, Thus, very very little little inform informati ation on finall finally y reaches reaches the destination and of that very little information only a fraction is likely to be retained. This is a serious problem because it may lead to imperfect responses. 4.1. .1.5

Poor oor Lis Liste teni nin ng

In many place of discussion that talkers are many but listeners are few. These talkative talkative people are in the little habit to hear others. others. These people stand in the way of effective communication. Reasons of such behavior are many. May be that these   pers person onss are more more inte interes rested ted in pres pressu suri ring ng their their own own egos egos or maki making ng a good good impression on other group members instead of listening to the conversation. In such

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a situation persons deprived of expressing their opinions may not entirely work on the message imposed on them. 4.1.6

Distrust

Distrust undermines communication. In a climate of distrust, any message will be viewed with skepticism. Distrust can be the result of inconsistence behavior. A message sent by a person having inconsistence behavior is likely to fail to draw any attention, trust or confidence of the receiver. So, any sort of distrust acts as a barrier  to effective communication. 4.1. 4.1.7 7

Info Inform rmat atio ion n over overlo load ad

Unrestricted flow of information results in information overloads causing a major   barrier to communication. If people are overloaded with information, they simply fail to screen out which information is worth reaching to. As a result, they cannot abso absorb rb or adeq adequa uate tely ly resp respon ond d to all all of the the mess messag ages es sent sent to them them.. If all all communicatio communications ns were attended attended to, the actual work of the organization organization could never  take place. 4.1. 4.1.8 8

Sele Select ctiv ivee Perc Percep epti tion on

This is one of the most common barriers to communication. People having selective  perception block new information especially when it does not confirm to or reaffirm their beliefs. Thus, information information that conflicts conflicts with preconceived preconceived ideas either is not  processed or is distorted to confirm their preconceptions. 4.1. 4.1.9 9

Sema Semant ntic ic Dis Disto tort rtio ion n

Most communication is verbal i.e. a message is carried on through words, whether  spoken or written. But words have a variety of meanings. Naturally, the same word may may mean mean enti entire rely ly diffe differen rentt thin thing g to diff differe erent nt peop people le.. An enti entire re disc discip ipli line ne,, semantics, has been built around this widely accepted aspect of communication. For  an example, different departments of a company receive a memo stating that a new  product is to be added to the product line in a short time. The word ‘short time’ might mean 2/3 years to the people in the research and development department, 5/6 months to the people in the finance department and a few weeks to the people in the sales department. 4.1.10 4.1.10 Tec Techni hnical cal Wor Words ds

It is not expect expected ed of every every man to unders understan tand d everyt everythin hing g equall equally. y. Somet Sometime imess technical words are used in encoding a message. The receiver, in the sense intended  by the sender, may not understand these words. If these technical words are not clearly and properly understood by the receiver, the purpose of communication cannot be achieved.

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4.1.11 4.1.11 Unclar Unclarifi ified ed Roles Roles

Duties and responsibilities of each of the staff members should be clearly defined in the interest of proper job performance. In its absence, they cannot be aware of their  resp respec ecti tiv ve duti duties es & res respons ponsib ibil ilit itie ies. s. This his stan stands ds in the the way way of prop roper  communication. 4.1.12 4.1.12 Unsoun Unsound d Obj Objec ectiv tives es

Commun Communica icatio tion n is needed needed to supply supply relent relent inform informati ation on to the concern concerned ed staff  staff  member member so as to facili facilitate tate him to proper properly ly discha discharge rge his duties duties throug through h which which objectives of the organization are achieved. But if the objectives of the organization are unsound, the recipient may slowly or may not at all respond to the information received. Thus, unsound objectives create an unfavorable situation for effective communication. 4.1.13 4.1.13 Absenc Absencee of Feedbac Feedback  k 

Feedback has no substitutes to make communication perfect and effective. In the absence of feedback, it becomes one-way communication creating an autocratic environment, which is neither desirable nor feasible in these days. The receivers to whom these orders have been directed directed not duly and sincerely sincerely honor in one-way one-way or  autocratic directions. For obvious reason, absence of feedback then acts as a barrier  to effective communication. 4.1.14 4.1.14 Inapprop Inappropriat riatee Medium Medium

There are a number of media of communication available to us. All of these media are not equally suitable for all the purposes and in all situations. So a medium selected should be proper and appropriate which can add to the effectiveness of  communication. In contrast, an unsuitable medium may act as a barrier. For an example, example, an employee employee misbehaves misbehaves with his line manager and subsequen subsequently tly   becomes repentant. To express his regret, if the employee through face-to-face communication admits his offence and begs his pardon with a remorseful look, the  boss will be pleased with his approach of the subordinate and the whole matter will  be amicably settled. Instead, if the employee simply sends a regret letter to the boss and does nothing else, the boss may not be satisfied with such a routine approach of  the subord subordina inate. te. So the letter letter as a medium medium of commun communicat ication ion,, select selected ed in this this instance does not prove to be appropriate and thus, becomes one of the barriers.

4.2 Overcoming the Barriers It is true that a smooth flow of information always does not go unhindered. There exist many roadblocks or barriers in different shapes in the communication process. Despite these barriers the situation is not that much hopeless. Communication barriers can be overcome if it is sincerely wanted. The most general strategy for improving organizational

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or any other communication is that the persons involved in the communication process must be sensitive to the barriers and must act accordingly. Here is given below some of the ways of improving communication, 4.2.1

Determining Plan

A policy or planning tells the members what to do, how to do, etc. It acts as a guide to the members particularly operating employees of the organization. Well thought  policies or planning aid the smooth flow of effective communication. So a proper   planning or policy must be determined beforehand. 4.2. 4.2.2 2

Avoi Avoidi ding ng Ass Assum umpt ptio ion n

Unclarified assumptions may sometimes lead to draw different conclusion by the different people. To stop it, messages should be clearly spelled out. Whatever  intention is in the mind of the sender, it should clearly be encoded. In no way, there should be any scope open to the receiver to interpret the message differently. 4.2. 4.2.3 3

Appr Approp opri riat atee En Enco codi ding ng

Communication is intended to inform others as well as to know the others. When it is done for others, management (i.e. source of the message) should be serious in the organi organizat zation ion of ideas, ideas, senten sentence ce struct structure ure,, coheren coherence ce etc. It is noted noted that that good good encoding is an art that can be mastered through practice. So, every effort should be taken to make the message attractive, impressive, coherent and clearly & easily understandable to the receivers. 4.2. 4.2.4 4

Repe Repeat atin ing g Mes Messa sage ge

To overcome the problem of loss by transmission and poor retention, the same message may be sent repeatedly. Several channels may also be used simultaneously so as to avoid loss by transmission. tra nsmission. 4.2. 4.2.5 5

Effe Effect ctiv ivee Liste Listeni ning ng

Mere listening is not sufficient if it is not done with understanding. There are many guidelines to be followed for effective listening. For avoiding listening barrier we can follow these steps, a)  b)  b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)

Sto Stop talk talkin ing g Put Put the the talk talker er at at eas easee Show Show a talk talker er that that you you want want to list listen en Remo Remove ve dist distrac racti tion onss Empa Empath thiz izee with with talk talker erss Be pa patient Hold Hold your your temp temper  er  Go easy easy on on argume argument nt and and critic criticism ism Ask qu question And j) Stop talking

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4.2. 4.2.6 6

Crea Creati ting ng Cred Credib ibil ilit ity y

Distru Distrust st is to a great great extent extent,, overco overcome me throug through h creatin creating g trust trust or credibi credibilit lity. y. A   per persson’s on’s cred credib ibil ilit ity y in gener eneral al is hig high if oth others ers perc percei eive ve him or her as knowledgeable, trustworthy and sincerely concerned about the welfare of others. Source credibility means trust, confidence and faith that a communicatee assigns to the words and actions of the source. It is the result of a long-term process. There are no shortcuts to creating a trusty climate. But this atmosphere is must, because it facilitates open and honest communication. 4.2. 4.2.7 7

Regu Regula lati ting ng Inf Infor orma mati tion on Flo Flow w

Regulating the flow of communication ensures an optimum flow of information, which which facilit facilitates ates the elimin eliminati ation on of inform informati ation on overlo overload. ad. One way to regula regulate te information flow is the adoption of ‘exception principle’ of management, which states states that that only only signif significa icant nt deviat deviation ionss from from polici policies es and proced procedure uress should should be  brought to the attention of managers. 4.2.8 4.2.8

Recogn Recognizi izing ng the Recei Receive ver’s r’s Perso Personal nal Facto Factors rs

To overcome the preconceived preconceived perception perception of the receiver, receiver, the communicator communicator must try to antici anticipate pate the factors factors that that will will influe influence nce the symbol symbolic ic interp interpreta retatio tion n or  decoding of the message. For this purpose, the communicator must be empathetic i.e. he or she must place himself or herself in the receiver’s position to anticipate how the message is likely to be decoded. decoded. For an example, if the receiver receiver is skeptic skeptic abou aboutt the the send sender er,, this this skep skepti tici cism sm must must be take taken n into into cons consid ider erat atio ion n whil whilee transmitting any message. The communicator must try to remove the skepticism from the receiver’s mind. This may take more than one trustworthy message to modify such behavior of the receiver. 4.2. 4.2.9 9

Usin Using g Appr Approp opri riat atee Lang Langua uage ge

Effec Effecti tive ve comm commun unic icati ation on is some someti time mess impe impede ded d by sema semant ntic ic prob problem lems. s. To overcome this problem, a grate care is to be taken while encoding a message to ensure that words having varieties of meaning are not there. Words chosen for the  purpose should have as far as possible, positive and specific connotations. 4.2.10 4.2.10 Simpli Simplifyi fying ng Langua Language ge

Technical jargons used in communication transforms simple concepts into complex  puzzles. It is to be remembered that the job of communication is done not only for  tran transm smis issi sion on of info inform rmat atio ion, n, but but for for prom promot otio ion n of unde unders rsta tand ndin ing g and and acti acting ng acco accord rdin ingl gly y also. also. Obvi Obviou ousl sly, y, mana manage geme ment nt or any any othe otherr comm commun unic icat ator or must must emphasize using simple but correct language for effective communication to take  place. If technical jargons are to be used at all, their clear meaning should be given so that the receivers need not decipher the meaning.

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4.2.11 4.2.11 Clear Clear Defin Definiti ition on

To remove remove any sort sort of confus confusion ion developed developed from unclarif unclarified ied roles, roles, duties duties & responsibilities of each staff member of the organization should be clearly defined. Employees and officers having clear idea about their respective duties can exchange freely the needed information among themselves. 4.2.12 4.2.12 Making Making Sound Sound Objec Objective tivess

Employees do not usually discharge their duties directed to the achievement of  unso unsoun und d obje objecti ctive ves. s. Thus Thus,, befo before re any any dire directi ction on give given n to the the empl employ oyees ees,, the the organization must ensure that the objectives are sound and not contrary to the interest of the employees or to the society.

4.2.13 4.2.13 Utili Utilizin zing g Feedbac Feedback  k 

According to systems theory communication is complete only when the sender  receive receivess feedba feedback ck from from the receive receiver. r. Feedba Feedback ck enable enabless the commun communicat icator or to determine whether the message has been received as intended by the communicator. It provides the sender with clues about the acceptance of his message. As feedback  is an import important ant element element in effecti effective ve two-way two-way commun communicat ication ion,, necess necessary ary steps steps should be taken to elicit receiver’s feedback. 4.2.14 4.2.14 Selectin Selecting g Appropria Appropriate te Channel Channel

One best way to deal with the channel problem is to use appropriate channel of  communication. For effective communication to take place, a message must be transm transmitt itted ed throug through h the channe channel, l, which which is most most approp appropriat riatee for the partic particula ular  r  situation. For this purpose, a cautious communicator is expected of judiciously evaluating the alternative channels, giving due consideration to the receiver’s state of knowledge, gravity of the situation, need of immediacy, importance of feedback, releva relevant nt expend expenditu iture re etc. This This techniq technique ue will will indica indicate te which which partic particula ularr channe channell  proves to be appropriate for a given message to be transmitted effectively.

5.0 Conclusion From the above discussion, we understand that, communication is essential in our daily life as well as in business. Barriers will exist in communication. But we have to overcome the  barriers for smooth & effective communication. And then a business organization can run & organize smoothly.

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6.0 References a) Davis, Keith and Newstrom, John W. (2006). Organizational Behavior: Human

 Behavior at Work – 11 th edition.

b) Ali, M. Omar (2003).   Busines Businesss Communica Communication tion:: Theory Theory and Applicat Application ion – 2nd 

edition.

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