CHAPTER ONE

COMMUNICATION OVERVIEW
COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS

If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak
before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate
effectively.

Gerald R Ford, 38th President of the United States

INTRODUCTION

Today, communication is even more important and more challenging than when President Ford
spoke. We live in an information age that revolves around communication. Developing
communication skills is extremely important to your future. Surveys of employers often show that
communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance, career advancement, and
organizational success. In making hiring decisions, employers often rank communication skills
among the most-requested competencies. In fact, many job advertisements specifically ask for
excellent oral and written communication skills. In a recent poll of recruiters, oral and written
communication skills were far and away the top skill set sought in applicants. Another survey of
managers and executives ranked the skills most lacking in job candidates, and writing skills topped
the list.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE BUSINESS MESSAGES

 Provide practical information.

 Give facts rather than impressions.
 Clarify and condense information.
 State precise responsibilities.
 Persuade others and offer recommendations.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

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 Phase 1: Phase 6:
Sender conceives message Receiver sends feedback

Phase 2: Phase 5:

Sender encodes message Receiver decodes message

Phase 3: Phase 4:
Sender transmits message Receiver receives message

*ENCODING is the transformation of ideas into symbols to design communication process

* DECODING means to perceive, translate, and interpret information received in a message

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – AN ORGANISATION’S LIFE BLOOD

All day, every day we are communicating – whether it is talking to people on the telephone or in
person, taking dictation and transcribing business correspondence, liaising with colleagues and staff,
writing letters, faxes, reports and e-mails. It is essential to learn from our communications, from our
successes and our failures, and to develop and enhance our communication skills. The more we
write and the more we speak, the more we improve our communication skills.

Communication may be defined as:

Giving, receiving or exchanging information, opinions or ideas by writing, speech or visual means, so
that the message communicated is completely understood by the recipients.

BASIC FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication occurs in many forms. You can pick up the phone and have a conversation with your
supervisor or leave her a voice-mail message if she’s unavailable. You can choose, instead, to write

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her a memo and send it by e-mail. In turn, she can respond to your message in the form of her
choice. Your supervisor may decide to forward your message to other employees or managers, and
they may communicate it to customers and other outsiders. The process is fluid; the form in which a
message is communicated changes constantly. Communication can be external or internal, formal or
informal, spoken or written. In fact, it can even be a simple smile.

Nonverbal Communication
The most basic form of communication is nonverbal communication: all the cues, gestures, facial
expressions, spatial relationships, and attitudes toward time that enable people to communicate
without words.

Nonverbal communication differs from verbal communication in fundamental ways. For one thing,
it’s less structured, so it’s more difficult to study. You can’t pick up a book on nonverbal language
and master the vocabulary of gestures, expressions, and inflections that are common in our culture.
No one teaches a baby to cry or smile, yet these forms of self-expression are almost universal. Other
types of nonverbal communication, such as the meaning of certain gestures, vary from culture to
culture.

Nonverbal communication also differs from verbal communication in terms of intent and
spontaneity. You generally plan your words. When you say, “Please get back to me on that order by
Friday,” you have a conscious purpose; you think about the message, if only for a moment.

Verbal Communication
Although you can express many things nonverbally, there are limits to what you can communicate
without the help of language. If you want to discuss past events, ideas, or abstractions, you need
symbols that stand for your thoughts. Verbal communication consists of words of words arranged in
meaningful patterns. To create a thought with these words, you arrange them according to the rules
of grammar, putting the various parts of speech in the proper sequence.

Given a choice, people would rather talk to each other than write to each other. Even more
important, oral communication provides the opportunity for feedback. When people communicate
orally, they can ask questions and test their understanding of the message; they can share ideas and
work together to solve problems.

Nonetheless, oral communication has its drawbacks. You have far less opportunity to revise your
spoken words than to revise your written words. You can’t cross out what you just said and start all
over. Furthermore, at times written forms, such as letters, memos, reports, and proposals, are more
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appropriate and effective: when the information you are conveying is complex, when a permanent
record is needed for future reference, when the audience is large and geographically dispersed, and
when immediate interaction with the audience is either unimportant or desirable.

Figure 1 below shows that in addition to underscoring the importance of oral communication, it illustrates that people spend more time
receiving information than transmitting it.

Writing
Figure 1

The Percentage of
Communication Time Spend
At Work on Communication
Speaking Listening Channels
30% 45%
Reading
(not according to scale)

METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

1) Internal Communication

2) External Communication

METHODS OF COMMUNICATION: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL

All day every day we are communicating, whether it is talking to people on the telephone or in
person, taking dictation and transcribing business correspondence, liaising with colleagues and staff,
writing letters and other correspondence. The importance of developing good communication skills
cannot be over-emphasised. Your might ask: “I communicate all the time, so why do I need to study
the subject?” The reason for this is because the process is not so easy as simply talking or writing.
We need to make sure that we get it right – that our ideas and information are completely
understood.

Whether an organization is large, small or virtual, sharing information among its parts and with the
outside world is the glue that binds the organization together. When you join a company, you
become the link of its information chain. Whether you are a top level staff or entry-level employee,
you have information that others need in order to perform their jobs, and others have information
that is crucial to you. Communication in an organization setting includes the internal and external
structure through which messages pass and the way information is presented. As you exchange
information with people inside and outside the organization, you use a variety of formal and
informal forms of communication.

The main methods of oral and written communication, both internal and external structures, formal
and informal forms, are as follow:

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Internal Communication

Oral : Telephone, Conversation, Meeting/Conference, Presentation, Face-to-

face discussion, Messages, Intercom

Written : Memo, Report, Graphs/Charts, Email, Fax, Notice, Form/Questionnaire,

Minutes, Staff Newsletter

Discussion

1. Internal Oral Communication can be conducted formally and/ or informally. Can you identify
situations whereby it is formal and/or informal?

2. Internal Written Communication is a formal form of communication. Why?

Internal refers to the exchange of information and ideas within an organization. As an employee,
you are in a position to observe things that your supervisors and co-workers cannot see: a
customer’s first reaction to a product display, a supplier’s brief hesitation before agreeing to a
delivery date, an odd whirring noise in a piece of equipment, or a slowdown in the flow of
customers. Managers and co-workers need these little gems of information in order to do their jobs.
If you don’t pass that information along, nobody will – because nobody else knows.

Much information can be exchanged internally by phone, e-mail, fax, interoffice memo, or company
intranet.

Internal communication helps employees do their jobs, develop a clear sense of the organization’s
mission, and identify and react quickly to potential problems. To maintain a healthy flow of
information within the organization, effective communicators use both formal and informal
channels.

External Communication

Oral : Telephone, Conversation, Presentation, Meeting/Conference, Seminar,

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 Face-to-face discussion, Messages

Written : Report, Graphs/Charts, Email, Fax, Notice, Form/Questionnaire, Minutes,

Staff Newsletter, Invitation, Leaflet/Brochure.

Companies use external communication to create a favourable impression. Good written

communication convey an important message o outsiders about the quality of your organization.
Public relations team/Marketing holds a very prominent task in creating and managing the flow of
formal messages to outsiders. Public relations team/Marketing is also responsible for helping
management plan for and respond to crises – which can range from environmental accidents of
sabotage situations to strike, massive product failure, major litigations, or even abrupt change in
management. To minimize the impact of any crisis, expert communicators advise managers to
communicate honestly, openly and often. If handled improperly, a crisis can destroy a company’s
reputation, drain its financial strength, erode employees’ morale, and result in negative publicity.

Top managers rely heavily on informal contacts with outsiders to gather information that might be
useful to their companies. Much of their networking involves interaction with fellow executives.
However, many high-level managers recognize the value of keeping in touch with “the real world” by
creating opportunities to talk with and get feedback from customers and frontline employees.

Discussion

1. How many of these forms of communication have you experienced with so far?

2. Which communication method would you use in each of the following situations?
a) congratulating an employee on passing an important examination
b) informing employees about an annual dinner and dance
c) putting a nervous applicant at ease while waiting for an interview
d) displaying the past 5 years’ sales figures
e) confirming a lunch appointment with an important client next week
f) describing the location of a hotel where your company is hosting a seminar
g) reminding staff of the security procedures at your company
h) obtaining the reactions of staff to a new telephone system recently installed
i) putting forward a proposal for a change in company policy
j) sending an urgent message to an overseas client.

CHOOSING THE CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION

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The channel (or means) that is chosen to send a message is very important. The channel chosen can
influence the message and how it is interpreted by the recipient. Each situation should be judged
individually, and will depend on various factors such as:

1) Cost

2) Confidentiality

3) Safety and Security

4) Urgency

5) Distance

6) Time of day

7) Resources

8) Written record

9) Recipient

SUMMARY OF COMMUNICATION CHOICES

Use oral channels when:
 Your message is fairly simple
 You need an immediate response
 You want to encourage interaction in problem-solving or decision-making
 You need to read the recipient’s body language
 You need to hear the tone of you recipient’s response
 Your message has an emotional factor

Use written channels when:

 Your message is fairly detailed or requires careful planning
 You don’t need an immediate response
 You need a permanent, written record
 You have a big widespread audience
 You want to minimise the distortion that often occurs when messages are passed orally
from person to person
 You don’t need immediate interaction with your audience
 Your message has no emotional factor

Use electronic channels when:

 Speed is important
 Time zone differ
 You are physically separated from your audience

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Communication, whether oral or written, is all about understanding. Our aim should be to
communicate a message successfully so that it is received as we intended it to be received, without
any misunderstanding.

Effective communication can be achieved by being aware of the barriers which exist, and by
considering carefully the following vital factors:

 What is the objective of the communication?

Is it intended to give information, to persuade, to request, to inform?

 Who will receive the communication?

What is the relationship between sender and recipient?
What is the recipient’s background knowledge and experience?

 Under what circumstances is the communication taking place?

Why is the communication happening? Is it urgent, serious, dangerous, emotive,
informative?

 How will the recipient react to the communication?

How will the message affect the recipient? Is it important?
Will the recipient be offended or angered? Will it achieve the desired aims?

A practical checklist for effective communication:

1. Think clearly. Think before you speak or write.

2. Listen intelligently. Remember that communication is a two-way process. Listening is

just as important as speaking. Similarly, try reading your written message as if you
were the recipient, and consider if it will be effective.

3. Select appropriate media. Consider carefully the method to be used for

communicating your message. It should be appropriate to the desired objective.

4. Time your communication appropriately. Consider when the communication should

take place, and how long it should be.

5. Use appropriate language. Use words which are relevant to the topic and which will
be understood by the recipient.

6. Obtain feedback. Obtain feedback to ensure that the communication was effective.

BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION

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1. Non-verbal signals
2. Language
3. Listening
4. Pre-judgement
5. Relationships
6. Emotional Responses
7. Systems

OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

1. Understand the value of differences.

2. Don’t expect conformity.
3. Create zero tolerance for bias and stereotypes.
4. Practise focused, thoughtful, and open-minded listening.
5. Invite, use, and give feedback.
6. Make fewer assumptions.
7. Learn about your cultural self.
8. Learn about other cultures and identity groups.
9. Seek common ground.

The Flow of Communication

In small organisations of just few people there are may be few communication problems. In larger
organisations the process is more complicated. Larger companies produce an organisation chart
which makes lines of communication quite clear.

Organisation charts make it easier to see how communication can take place vertically (between
levels), horizontally (between sections) and diagonally (between different levels and sections). It is
important to keep all communication routes as open and as effective as possible.

1) Vertical Communication

2) Horizontal Communication

3) Diagonal Communication

The Grapevine

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When the correct lines of communication are not used, the grapevine often results. This term
describes an unofficial communication system which is constantly changing. The grapevine is a
vehicle for distortion of the truth, rumour and gossip. An active grapevine can cause damage to an
organisation by spreading incomplete, false or exaggerated information. It results in low morale,
cynicism, fear and an unsettled workforce.

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

In recent years, there has been an information technology revolution. While paper-based manual
systems for processing information and communicating are still very much evident, more and more
office functions and procedures are now being undertaken by computer-based technology. The
implications of such information technology on communication methods cannot be ignored.
However, the technology will always require people, and in communication it is the input of the
operator that will ensure effective communication (or otherwise).

In the area of text creation, computer experts are trying to make the task of creating documents
much easier. Programs are available that will produce standard layouts for most business documents
when the inputs or variables are keyed in. In other words, the originator does not decide on the
layout, the computer program does. Sadly, many computer programs are written by computer
experts who may not be so expert in the modern display of business documents. Some of these
standard layouts leave much to be desired.

The fundamental skills of structure, tone and composition will always be of vital importance in
ensuring effective communication. However, while technological developments are making your role
more interesting and challenging, the basic presentational conventions should not be allowed to
suffer. No matter how technology develops in the future, high standards must be set and maintained
in order to ensure that all your communications are not only appropriately worded and logically
structured, but are also consistently and attractively presented.

Companies are using the internet to:

 share text, photos, slides, videos, and other data within the organization
 permit employees to telecommute, or work away from a conventional office, whether
at home, on the road or across the country
 recruit employees cost-effectively
 locate information from external sources
 find new business partners and attract new customers
 locate and buy parts and materials from domestic and international suppliers
 promote and sell goods and services to customers in any location
 provide customers with service, technical support, and product information
 collaborate with local, national, and international business partners
 inform investors, industry analysts, and government regulators about business developments

Quiz

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Write (T) for true statements and (F) for false statements in the bracket ( ) provided.
For false statements, state the correct answer.

1. ( ) When you join a company, you become the link of its information chain.

2. ( ) Communication in an organization setting includes internal and external

structures through which messages are passed and presented.

3. ( ) Internal communication refers to the exchange of information outside the

organization.

4. ( ) There are formal and informal forms of communication.

5. ( ) Formal forms of communication includes casual conversations with customers

and suppliers.

DISCUSSION:

a. Explain the three of the factors that you consider when choosing the method
communication.

b. What are the barriers of communication? Discuss briefly, stating a variety of different
barriers that exist.

QUIZ: Communication Overview

Write (T) for true statements and (F) for false statements in the bracket ( ) provided.

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1. ( ) The first phase of communication is when the sender has a thought and wants
to send it.
2. ( ) Encoding a message means communicating an idea in a message form that
the receiver will not understand.
3. ( ) The sender sends the message using an imprecise channel and medium in the
third phase.
4. ( ) The fourth phase of the communication process involves the receiver getting
the message by hearing or reading it.
5. ( ) Decoding a message means absorbing and understanding the meaning of the
message.
6. ( ) Business messages usually provide practical information and present hard
evidence.
7. ( ) “Please let me know if you are able to attend.” – This statement clearly states
what is expected of the audience.
8. ( ) Nonverbal communication differs from verbal communication in terms of
intent and spontaneity.
9. ( ) People spend more time listening than any other communication channels at
work.
10.( ) Communication is ineffective when people understand each other, stimulates
others to take action and encourages others to think in new ways.

End of Chapter 1

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