CHAPTER ONE

THE EVOLUTION AND IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Introduction
Communication is vital to every individual group and organization in their day to activities
communication is crucial particularly to those who deal with people (managers).
It is the lifeblood of every business. Information must be conveyed, received, understood, and
acted upon in a proper manner. When there is a breakdown in this process, organizational
efficiency suffers. Most organizations depend on communication to accomplish their objectives.
When people in business and professions are asked to define communication, they often respond by
saying something like, “Communication is the process of transferring thoughts and ideas from one
person to another.” This definition sounds good from the surface; it includes the idea of
communicating our idea and thoughts to others, which is a necessary occurrence in business.
However, the words transferring and from one person to another inaccurately imply that
communication is like pouring liquid from a jar to a glass. In other words, the definition implies a
simple one-way action where person A takes knowledge from her/his head and simply pours
(transfers) it into the head of person B. Obviously, communication is not that simple. Person B may
refuse to accept A’s ideas and may wish to present her/his own ideas. Or B may completely
misinterpret A’s message. As one communication scholar notes, “Communication does not consist
of the transmission of meaning. Meanings are not transferable. Only messages are transferable, and
meanings are not in the message, they are in the message-user.”

Communications is important for proper functioning of an organization b\c organization is a group

of people associated for business, politics, religious or any other purpose to exchange information,
ideas, plans and proposal to coordinate and work together towards common goals. Generally
effective communication is the life blood of every organization and a key success in business
career.

For an idea to become reality there must be a plan, and once a plan is developed, it must be
communicated to others who are to be involved in the implementation of the plan. Communication
is also required if results are to be evaluated in terms of a given plan. In the absence of
communication:
 No human relationship can be maintained
 No organization can achieve its objectives
 No activities are coordinated, and
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  No decisions are reached
Thus communication is the process of transferring meaningful and understandable introduction
message from the sender to the receiver for solving the above problem.

Learning Objectives:
When you complete this Unit, you will be able to:
 define “Business Communication”;
 explain when communication is said to exist;
 describe the historical development of communication;
 understand the importance of communication;
 recognize purpose of communication; and
 Prepare for change as a recurring aspect of your career.
1.1. Definition, nature and development of communication
1.1.1. Definition of communication
Activity
Dear learners, what is communication for you? ______________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Communication has been defined differently by different scholars at different points of time. Some
of the definitions include:
 Communication is the sum of the entire activities one person/organization does to create
understanding in the mind of another. It includes systematic and continuous process telling
listing and understanding (Avon).
 Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas opinions or emotions by two or more
people/organization. It is essentially a bridge, in a sense that a person can safely understand and
pass the river of misunderstanding that separates people through communication (Newman)
 Communication: is an intercourse by words, letters, symbols or messages and is a way that the
organization member shares meaning and understanding with other person.
 “Communication occurs when an exchange of messages result in shared meaning.” (Bovee &
Thill)
 “Communication is a two way process of exchanging ideas or information between human
beings.” ( Murphy & Peck )

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 “Communication is the process of conveying messages (facts, ideas, attitudes, & opinions)
from one person to another so that they are understood.” ( M.W. Cumming)
 “Communication is the process of people sharing thoughts, ideas, & feelings with each other in
commonly understandable ways.” (Hamilton & Parker)

Dear learners, from the above definitions, you might notice that all of them share something in
common. All of the definitions stress that there should at least be two people for communication to
occur & there should also be some kind of message that is intended to be transmitted from one
party to another. And, when people communicate, they express their ideas & feelings in a way that
is understandable to each other. They share information with each other.

To sum up the word communication comes from a Latin word “communis” which means sharing
commonly: Therefore we can say that communication is the process through which information
and human effect and ideas are exchanges with others using symbols (words, signs, Pictures and
sound which stands for ideas).

1.1.2. Nature of Communication

Activity
When do we say that communication exists? _________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________
There are many ways of communicating and many times what we hear is not what the other person
said, and consequently, what we say frequently can be interpreted in an entirely different manner
by the listener. Generally, communication is said to exist when:
 There is a person (sender or transmitter) desirous of passing on some information.
 There is another person (receiver) to whom the information is to be passed on.
 The receiver partly or wholly understands the message passed on to her/him.
 The receiver responds to the message; i.e. there is some kind of feedback.

Communication cannot exist in the absence of any of these four components. It is said to exist
when there are at least two parties and there is a message (either oral or written) that is intended to
be communicated. Communication further requires that the receiver of the message understands it
and conform this by nodding or by giving some kind of gesture or by verbally responding.
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For example, let’s say that your professor is writing the answer to a complex mathematical problem
on the chalkboard, but offers neither a verbal explanation for how he arrived at the answer nor the
opportunity for questions. In this instance, the professor has sent a message (via chalkboard);
however, the chances are very good that many students do not fully understand what the message
means. Thus, communication has not taken place. Therefore, communication is a process of
‘sharing’ rather than simply sending information.
1.1.3. Development of Business Communication
In the past so many years, office technology has improved, and with it has come an array of
developments that make business communication easier, faster, and less costly than before. Office
technology permits information to be produced quickly and easily. For example, a typist using
personal computer as a word processor can produce in one hour a greater number of typed paged
with fewer errors than a typist working with a standard electric typewriter. Moreover, if changes
have to be made, the computer-generated pages can be modified by adding, deleting, or rearranging
material without having to retype everything. Information analysis & data retrieval have been made
simpler & faster through modern office technology. Hence, technology plays a crucial role in the
operation of today’s’ modern offices.
Technology can help us reduce the time spent creating various businesses documents, as well as
enhance our ability to create professional-looking documents that will get attention from others. In
addition, technology facilitates the nearly instantaneous transmission of written and electronic
communication using duplicating machines and electronic mail.
Some of the communication technologies include: Computers, Fax machines, Scanners, Satellite
networks, Telephone (voice mail, cellular phones, and pagers), Telecommunication (electronic
mail, video conferencing, and on-line information services), Copiers and Software.
1.2. Characteristics of communication
Although communication is a complex process to sum it up in brief, there are several
characteristics, shared by all communication which enables to understand the concept of
communication. Some of the important characteristics of communication are:-

A. Commutation is a process:
communication is not discrete/ static, it is a process that exists and changes overtime, to that it is
difficult to study and analyze communication or we can study and materials that remains
unchanged for a period of time since communication is a dynamic process, studding it taffies
servitor observation of many things, occurring all at the same time or well as over a period of time.

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It involves an interaction between and among people. In their complex interaction of process
involved in communication makers it difficult to analyze.
B. Communication is symbolic:
Here we are referring to the nature of the message than the process of communication (symbols it
and for something, they may be objects, written sign, images and sounds). The most important and
frequently used symbols are linguistics (Written or oral). But also there are other communication
symbols like body language, facial expression, postures.
C. Communication is contextual:
Individuals have specialized language that we use only with others who share that specialized
vocabulary. Even if the use of several specialized language excludes those people that are ignorant
of these specialized vocabulary provides contexts in which specialized exchanges of information
can occur. In addition the contextual nature of communication also takes in to account the different
conditions of what is appropriate in certain situation. Communication is contextual level, etc., of
the parties involves in communication
D. Communication is purposive:
Generally speaking communication is done for a purpose. We have a reason for communications
even if we may not be aware of our purpose. A communication without purposes is like that of
tripe without variation and is a waste of resource. Understanding that communication is purposive
and individuals communicating are motivated by something in mind helps to explain some of the
behavior of the sender and the receiver.
E. Communication is a two way process:
The existence of two parties: namely
 The sender (the one who initiates, originated, and sender the massage) source of message
and
 The receiver (the person to whom the message is transmitted) the destination of the message
makes communication two way process.
1.3. Roles and importance of communication
1.3.1. Roles of communication in an organization
Since managers work with and through other people, all their policies, rules and procedures and
directives must pass through some kind of communication channel to reach all employees.
Therefore, some of the roles that communication plays include:
 Developing information and understanding among workers of the organization so as to
enhance group effort
 Enhancing an attitude which is necessary for motivation. Cooperation and job satisfaction.

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  Discouraging the spread of misinformation, ambiguity, rumor that are dissuasive fore
organizational performance.
 Preparing workers for a change in methods of operation by giving them necessary information
ignorance. So that we can minimize change resistance.
 Emphasizing and upgrading management labor relation simply by keeping the communication
channel open and accessible.
1.3.2. Importance of communication
We are not studying communication for nothing. The following are some of the major importance
of communication.
A) An aid to managerial performance
 A manager can take appropriate decisions without much difficulty with the help of
communication.
 A manager gets things done by other people through communication is more transmits the
objectives of the organization to subordinates through communication.
Thus communication acts as a tool of management
B) Achieving coordination;
In large organization employees are working on the basis of specialization and division of work, so
that there is a need for coordination among these specialized work units and individuals to achieve
the overall organizational goals. This coordination is achieved through effective communication.
The necessary up ward, down ward and lateral communication is essential to achieve the required
level of coordination needed in the company.
C) Smoothen organization operation:
Communication helps a worker to know the real situation prevailing in an organization;
subsequently workers perform their activities without any delay, which leads to the smooth
functioning of an organization.
D) Helps in decision making:
Good communication system provides all necessary information, which enables the manager to
take quality decisions in the proper time and these decisions are communicated to those who are in
need of them.
Activity
Discuss the major importance of business communication. ______________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________
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1.4. The Purpose of communication
Communication always has a purpose. We communicate because we want to make someone do
something or rake action or think, feel in a certain way. Most of our daily activities need
communicating with others. Communicating is a prime importance in the performance of all of the
managerial function.
The main purpose of communication in organization is the general wellbeing of the Organization.
Effective communication is needed at all level to ensure organizational welfare. In line with the
elaborate and complex commercial structure, communication will serve any of the following
purposes.
A. Information
One of the most important objectives of commutation is passing or receiving information about a
particular fact /circumstances. It can be done either though spoken or written languages. Mangers
need complete, accurate, precise and timely information to plan and organize and to translate the
plan in to reality. Every time we communicate something to others, hear others, read newspapers;
we are seeking and giving information. So one purpose of communication is informing or being
informed.
B. Advice
Commercial activities in the modern world have becoming extremely complex. Each individual's
activity needs specialized landing which cannot be expected from people working single landed. A
business man cannot have specialized knowledge of all branches like finance, taxation, publicity,
engineering etc., so that he/she have to seek expert advice. Advices normally flow horizontally or
downward.
C. Counseling
Similar to giving advice except that it is objective and impersonal. A counselor is a man of greater
skill (knowledge on some specific subject and he offers his counsel without any personal interest or
involvement.
D. Order
Is authoritative communication; it is a directive to somebody to do something, to modify or alter
the course of something he is already doing, or not to do something. The downward flow of
communication (information) is dominated by orders:
Written or Oral, General or specific, Mandatory or discretionary, and procedural or
operational
An effective order has the following attributes
1. It must be clear and complete: so that the person who receives the order knows exactly what
to do, how to do and when to do.
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 2. Its execution should be possible: that is the person who has to implement it has the materials,
tools, equipment, time and ability to implement the order. If any problem arises the order
should specify how the problem can be overcome.
3. Order should be given in a friendly manner to the implementer's so that it will not face a
resistance and reluctant nature from them.
E. Instruction (Education)
Instruction is a particular kind of order in which the subordinates are not ordered to do a particular
job but also given guidance on how to do it.
Example - If account officer asks one of his clerks to prepare a voucher he has issued an order, but
if he shows the clerks how to prepare a voucher and then asks him to prepare he is
giving instruction.
Education is a very conscious process of communication which involves both teaching and
learning and extends over considerably long periods. The main purpose of education is to widen
knowledge all well as to improve skills.
It may be carried at three levels:
 Management level
 Employee level
 Directed to outside public
F. Suggestion
Are ideas given by lower staff being actually in touch with the actual operation to the manager? It
has great advantage over other menses (purposes) of communication like advice or order.
 Advice comes from an expert
 Order comes from a higher authority
 Suggestion comes from lower level people even from employees, customers,
Nowadays, in most companies suggestion boxes are placed at convenient place in the office or
factory to get best ideas from lower level employees.
G. Persuasion
Persuasion is an effort to influence the attitudes, feelings, beliefs or actions based on those
attitudes or beliefs to get what you desire to be done by them. Persuasion is an art.
Example: Advertisement, political campaigns
The following activities are some of the points to make the art persuasion effective:
1. Persuasion needs commotion on the part of the speaker: the speaker should be genuinely
convinced that the alternative course of action suggested by you is in the interest of the

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 organization as well as in the receivers’ interest. You shouldn’t try to persuade others from
a poorly selfish motive.
2. Don’t impose yourself on the receivers of your communication. Don’t over whelm the
receiver with too many arguments; rather given indirect hints and subtle suggestions.
3. Bring your self to the level of the receiver: try to discuss the issue from his point of view
and mold your arguments accordingly.
H. Entertainment
All activities performed by a person (company) to create happiness on the mind of the reviser
using different manages like Jokes, Music’s, and Films.
Activity
Write down purposes of communication. ____________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
1.5 Significance of Communication
Effective communication is important in a business setting because of the following reasons:
1. It helps organizations achieve their goals. So important is communication that without it an
organization cannot function. Its activities require human being to interact, react – communicate.
They exchange information, ideas, plans, order needed supplies, make decisions, rules, proposals,
contracts, agreements. Both within (internal) and outside the organization (external)
communication –oral or written- is its lifeblood. A vital means of attending successfully to matters
of company concern is through effective internal communication. It helps increase job satisfaction,
productivity, safety, and profits as well as decrease absenteeism, grievances, and turnover.
Messages to persons outside the company can have a far-reaching effect on its reputation and
ultimate success.
2. Businesses growth in size: large businesses have a number of branches within a country or even
abroad. For their health and growth, it is extremely important that the central organization
maintains a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the various activities at the branch offices, keeps
the branch offices well acquainted with the activities at the center, and maintain some kind of link
among the various branches. This calls for effective and efficient network of communication.
3. Complexity of business activity: business activities have become extremely complex that
different departments handle specialization, planning, production, sales, stores, advertising,
financing, accounts etc. Thus, if these departments do not communicate with one another as well as
with management, there will be no coordination among them.

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 4. Business Competition: business has become very competitive such that products of common
consumption are available in the market in dozen of brands. All these brands do not sell equally
well. Marketing research has revealed that firms that communicate better can also sell better.
5. A valuable job requirement: if you can communicate effectively in speaking and writing, you
have an important, highly valued skill. Especially if your career requires mainly mental rather than
manual labor, your progress will be strongly influenced by how effectively you communicate your
knowledge, proposals, and ideas to others who need or should receive them. Preference for
communication skills is found in the job descriptions listed by numerous companies wishing to
employee college graduates. Some of these requirements could be:
a. Must be able to communicate with all levels of management
b. Needs ability to compose effective correspondence
c. Must have ability to communicate and sell ideas
d. Will prepare special analyses, research reports, and proposals
Job and career opportunities in which effective communication is the main responsibility are
available in various areas, such as customer relations, labor relations, marketing, personnel, public
relations, sales, teaching, etc. Also, technical and scientific fields need editors, producers,
researchers, and writers. Communication skills are also important in local, state, and federal
governments. Even when your work is mainly with figures, as in the accounting profession, the
ability to communicate to those who read your financial reports is essential.
6. An essential for promotion: the requisite for a promotable executive is ‘ability to communicate.’ The
ability to write and speak well becomes increasingly important as you rise in an organization. Too often
those who cannot communicate effectively in either oral or written communications remain ‘buried’ in
lower, dead-end jobs. Members of management spend 60 to 90 percent of their working days
communicating, speaking, writing and listening. Many surveys and articles have confirmed the statement
that effective communication is essential for success and promotion in business.
As a trainee on a new job, you have opportunities to speak about problems with co-workers and to
submit memos, reports and letters that test your ability to communicate clearly and quickly. A
frequent complaint of managers is the inability of college graduates to make them heard, read or
understood. Your messages can reveal how well you are doing a job, and they help management to
evaluate your fitness for a substantial promotion. For example, imagine that you are one of several
highly trained employees in an organization that requires everyone to submit frequent oral and
written reports to clients or company personnel. If there is an opening for promotion and you each
rate about the same except that you alone can write and speak effectively, then clearly you have the
advantage over the others.

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A help to meet personal responsibilities: people put things in writing to create a record, to convey
complex data, to make things convenient for the reader, to save money, and to convey their own
messages more effectively. Effective communication- written and spoken- also helps you to better
accomplish various aims in your personal activities. You will sometimes need to write letters,
proposals or reports, or to present your views orally as committee chairperson, club officers, etc. In
these roles you might communicate with public officials, business, industrial, or professional
people; or personal friends. Whatever your purpose, you will usually achieve them more effectively
when you apply the same skills that help you communicate effectively in business.

Summary
Past revolutions in communication meant very gradually moving away from an old technology
toward a newer one. Once the new technology had been mastered, communicators could relax for
generations at a time. For example, generations of the Western have had the chance to master
typewriters before computers became widely used.

The electronic communication revolution demands much more of us at an ever-faster pace. Just
when we start to master the keyboard word processor, the voice-driven word processor is being
developed. Just when we've perfected our visual teleconferencing techniques, holograms may allow
us to see three-dimensionally. Just when we've gotten used to turning to data bases as steady
sources of information, computers will pop up with artificial intelligence, offering us opinions as to
what we should know and
say when preparing a business document.

In short, this communication revolution promises perpetual and almost unimaginable change. What
business communications will commonly be used in 20 years? (What and where do you think you'll
be trying to communicate then?) We can only guess. Certainly, many traditional forms will be
vastly changed or entirely extinct.
How do we prepare for such unceasing change? First, we can identify those aspects of
communication that do not change. We can re-examine the purpose of a business document and
how that purpose can be found and presented. We can refine our sense of audience. To whom are
we speaking? What do they need? What do they want us to say? What do they expect us to say?
What will they do with what we say? We can reevaluate the importance of style, format, and even
the communication medium in business writing and speaking. We can study techniques for writing
and speaking, not as definite answers to future needs, but as tentative alternatives for meeting them.
Self-check exercise 1
Part I- True or False items

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 1. Communication is vital to perform organizations activities.
2. Communication is a one way process.
3. Existence of a sender is sufficient for the occurrence of communication.
4. Communication is static.
5. Creating understanding between workers of the organization is one of the role of
communication.

Part two – short answer

1. List down the characteristics of communication.
2. List down the importance of communication
3. List down the purposes of communication

CHAPTER TWO
COMMUNICATION PROCESS MODEL & BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION

 Introduction
Actions speak louder than words. A person’s motive at times can be described better via non-
verbally than verbally. The effective use of both verbal and non-verbal channels of communication
however is very important for the success of a company. This being the case, communication has
its own process. Two or more parties who are engaged in communication, knowingly or
unknowingly perform chain of events. We say communication has existed when all of these events
in the process are effectively carried out. The absence of one of these elements will lead to
miscommunication. And such will result in poor decisions made by management. On the other
hand, management should learn that there are so many factors influencing effective delivery of
message. As much as possible these factors need to be curtailed out whenever possible so that
companies can carry out their plans effectively.

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Learning Objectives:
After completing this Unit, you will be able to:
 identify the five steps in the communication process;
 describe the common sources of miscommunication;
 identify and explain the various obstacles to effective communication; and
 Explain what you can do to overcome common barriers to communication.
2.1. The Communication process
Activity
Do you think that communication is a process? Why or why not? ______________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
__________________
Communication is a complex process undertaken to have shared meaning among sender and
receiver having many elements evolved in the communication process. As a process, before
communication is takes place an idea in the form of massage or information is needed for the
purpose of conveying it to the intended receiver. The message in the mind of the sender is
converted to a set of symbol and pass along some channels to the receiver who translates the
message in to a meaning.
Communication involves
 Participants (a sender & a receiver)
 A message to be sent
 A medium to carry the communication signals, and
 The environments in which the message is sent and received.
These elements act and interact in the five-step process. Whether you are speaking or writing,
listening or reading, communication is more than a single act. Instead, it is a chain of events that
can be broken into five phases, as:
1. The sender has an idea. 4. The receiver gets the message.
2. The idea becomes a message. 5. The receiver reacts & sends feedback to
3. The message is transmitted. the sender.
Then the process is repeated until both parties have finished expressing themselves.
Communication is effective only when each step is successful.
Elements of communication process
Basically communication has five major elements as it can be seen from the above figure these are:
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1 - SOURCE /COMMUNICATOR/ SENDER
As the name indicates the sender is the organization or individual who sends /originates, transmits,
initiates/ the message to be communicated such as ideas, needs, feelings or any piece of
information.

Encoding
Source/
Sender/ Message
Communicator

Channel of
communication
Feedback
Decoding
Receiver

Figure: Communication Process

Attitudes, opinions, Perception, culture, Values, Educational background and

Internal feeling affects the way a sender processes and acts as stimuli coming outsides for a person
to initiate a message. The actors of communication in an organization may include- managers, -
non managers, departments or the organization itself.

Encoding: - is an internal brain gymnastic made by the sender that involves converting the idea to
be communicated into a set of symbol gesture or some other format of expression. It was
influenced by the previous experience, frame of reference, and knowledge.
In order to communicate one has to transform ideas in to a form that someone else can
comprehend, this process is called encoding, and it occurs as one elicit and put together ides and
translates them in to words, pictures, numbers, gestures or any other symbol that someone else can
understand.
An encoding process changes ideas into systematic set if symbol they can express the idea of the
communicator. Encoding involves providing a form in which ideas and purposes can be expressed
as a message using Language, friendlily smile, worried expression, site and location of an office,
kinds of furniture, body language, clothes, etc.
2. THE MESSAGE
Is what the individual hopes to communicate and its exact form it contains depends to greater
extent on the medium used to carry it. It is the result of the encoding process of the sender to make
the message effective, during encoding; the sender has to take the receiver in mind.
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3. CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
Is the manses /tools through which information/ message is transmitted. There are innumerable
channels which one can convert his/her message such as:
- Face to face - memos
- Telephone call - policy statement
- Group meetings - silence …. etc
- Computers
Choosing an appropriate channel of communication is the responsibility of the sender to make
communication effective.
4. RECEIVER (DESTINATION OF THE MESSAGE)/ DECODER
Is the person or organization who receives the message to be communicated by the sender the
receiver of the message is the focus of the communication process. If the receiver didn’t understand
the message the communication effort will futile thus for communication process to be completed
the message should be decoded by the receiver.
Decoding is the process by which the receiver tries to interpret, understands and internalizes the
essence of the message communicated to him/her. The receiver decodes the message by methods
like listening, reading and watching. The receiver’s environment, experience, frame of reference,
attitudes, social skills, preconditions and other variables affect the decoding of the message.
Problem of decoding underlines the importance of taking the receiver in to account when the
communicator attempts to transmit information.
Effective communication requires the communicator:
 To anticipate the receivers decoding capability.
 To know where the receiver is from since effective communication is receiver
oriented not media oriented
6. FEED BACK
It is a message or information provided to the original sender by the original receiver of the first
information. Even if it is not always present, feedback is an important element of communication.
It allows the sender to understand what the receiver responded to the message.
Example: When you press the switch on a lamp
The light comes on, or the light doesn’t come. Thus in both Aspects you have received feedback.
Feedback may appear as a sudden rise in sales after an advertisement has been aired. This
determines whether the message was received and clearly understood and the required action is
taken.
Feedback is essential element of the communication process because
 It helps the sender to know how the message was received or
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  If it was received at all
 Enables the sender to retransmit or modify the message, if the sender perceives that it was
misinterpreted.
 Leads to a new message (Here, the receiver of the first message becomes a sender and the
whole process continues since communication is a two way process).
2.2. Barriers to effective communication
Activity
Mention some factors that hinder effective communication in your day to day life.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Communication process operates with lots of problems. Barriers are road blocks that hinder
the communication process adversely. Understanding the barriers of communication will help in
minimizing and avoiding (if not at all possible) these barriers. The barrier may occur at any stage
of communication process such as:
 When the sender selects a material to be communicated
 During the passage of information through its channel
 When the receiver receives the message
Generally there are four categories of barriers for effective communication these are
1) Barriers inside people/us
- are barriers which are inside individuals. It includes
A) Tendency to evaluate - is a human behavior of listening with a primary purpose of evaluating the
speaker by taking prone and cones of the spoken material in assimilating the spoken content. This
results in losing part of concentration only to focus on finding prone and cones.
B) I approach - too much use of “I” will lead to an ‘I’ syndrome. If the ‘I’ attitude is changed to “you”
attitude communication is going to be relatively simplified.
C) Lack of interest, knowledge or attitude- this happens when a person
 Being bored with the topic being discussed lead to avoid it.
 Toning out may be the result of confusion
 Not knowing something about the subject under discussion, leads to not to attend it
 Familiarity with material presented in the way that doesn’t catch your attention
D) Difference in perception – this is a way of interpreting situations based on individual’s personal
experience. Since each of us tend to hear what we expect to hear and interprets whatever s/he read
/listen based on their experience, this strongly undermines communication.
E) Emotions - the message received at different emotional situations such when the receiver is angry,
frustrated, depressed, and happy or else, emotion will be interpreted differently.
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For a communication to be effective both parties should have rational judgment, but at times of
extreme emotions rational judgment will be replaced by emotional judgment that may hinder the
communication process.
2. External Environment /Noise barriers
It includes any external factor that impedes effective communication. These are
A) Distortions /distractions - Created by Noise, bright colors, sudden moments, noisy offices
which impede communication. Some of the important conditions that create distortion include: -
Telephone ringing
 Customers asking for help
 People hurrying to and fro
B) In appropriate channel - inappropriate channel selection is one of the major barriers of
effective communication. The channels (Medias) of communication will be discussed in the latter
chapters. The selection of channel depends on many factors such as
 Content of the message  Immediacy /urgency of message/
 The situation  Accessibility of the media
 Cost of channel
C) Physical appearance - The materials through which the message is transferred will be judged
by appearance.
 Personal appearance
 Letter, report and memo format, writing
D) Poor timing - to make communication effective it should be done at the right place and time.
Trying to communicate at inappropriate time for the sender and receiver will not bring the desired
outcome.
E) Space and distance - where people sit or stand can be an important factor in their receiving
and transmitting message. Some special arrangements facilitate communication while others
impede it. The distance between the sender and receiver also affects their communication (mostly
in face to face conversation.)
F) Organizational structure - it must be designed such that the chain of command and channel of
communication are clearly established. Traceable communication may be blocked or distorted if
the channels are not clear or if they are bottlenecks.
g) Improper or inadequate information or information overload - If the sender sends improper,
inaccurate, too little, or too much information, communication will suffer. When information
overload happen, individuals receiver more information than they are capable of processing that
leads them to be in dilemma for selection of the necessary information.

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H) Disorganization - when a massage is not properly organized the major point become lost or the
receiver become too confused to understand the substance of the message. Thus the receiver may
ask for clarification or additional information because using disorganized information the receiver
doesn’t have the ability to make decision.
3. Interpersonal Barrier/ Barriers between people
These are barriers due to the fact that communication is a two way process b/n the sender and
receiver. It includes:
A) Conflicting interest and attitudes - often communication problems occur simple because
 people don’t like each other
 Are afraid of each other, or
 Have preconception about each other that get in the way of the message.
Transmission and reception of the message are contingent upon the mental situation of the sender
and receiver. If the interests and attitudes of the receiver clashes with those of the sender effective
communication will be hampered.
B) Difference in status, experience, background - Generally communication b/n people of equal
managerial status will be easier than b/n a superior and subordinate. When communication is down
ward:
 Some managers believe that subordinates should not receive the entire information
concerning particular event, therefore the managers dilute the message.
 Subordinates may be given information that is irrelevant to their needs or outdated.
When communication is up ward
 Subordinates often dilute message by giving their superiors only partial information.
 Subordinate may also distort event in order to conceal news that may be unpleasant.
C) Alteration of information /distortion - It means that the content of massage becomes distorted
as it passes from person to person. Everyone perceives and transmits message differently, as a
result when information is passed through several people, the original message will be inevitably
be altered, and of course distortion of message by a third party may be done intentionally or
unintentionally. The stronger the desire of subordinate in advancement and promotion, the greater
the chance of distortion will be.
D) Source credibility - Is the trust and respect, confidence and faith that the receiver has in the
words /actions/ of the one who sends the information (sender). For sure receivers will attach
different degree of credibility for different sources.
Example: Walta information center (WIC) versus British Broadcast (BBC), or priest
versus politicians.

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E) Cross- cultural diversity - culture affects almost every aspect of human activities.
Communication as part of human activity is bounded by culture. We should understand that people
from different culture will encode message differently. Different cultures will have different
orientation towards time, personal space and touching, privacy, gender role etc...The following are
some of the problems created due to culture in communication process:
 Ethnocentrism involves culture of other in relative to our own culture which may lead to
communication problem.
 More surprisingly the same word may have different meaning in different areas: Ford
company brand 'fiera' implies with an old woman in Spanish.
Therefore, in during business oversea we have to take in to account the cultures of the countries use
are going to do business.
F) Poor listening / selective listening - occurs when the receiver has hesitation on the part of the
sender, the receiver takes much of his time in scrutinizing the messages or tricks that may lead to
poor communication. Along with this if the source is assumed to be inexperienced with no
internalized expert Knowledge, receivers may not lend their attention to the source (sender).
G) Filtering - implies intentionally with holding or deliberately manipulating information by the
sender for two major reasons:
 The sender may believe that the receiver didn't need all the information.
 The receiver is better if not knowing all aspects of given situation.
Another barrier related to filtering is slanting which is giving a particular bias or slant to the reality.
It is the conscious manipulation of facts in order to distort events.
4) Barrier made by words
How many times you have found yourself saying 'What I Mean is ' or 'I thought you meant,'
sometimes those language problems are trial, but they can be very Sevier. In both speaking and
writing the biggest pitfall awaiting the sender and receiver is language itself.
These communication problem arise primarily b/c
 Language is composed of symbol, word and sound that stand for a certain thing in our mind. In
fact, often a word stands for certain thing in our mind simultaneously.
 Moreover, not only do most word have more than one meaning (denotation), but they also have
connotation (the associations the word arouse).
A) - Multi meaning word - the very nature that communication is through language creates
communication break dawn due to the fact that a single word may have different meanings
(denotation). For example:-the word right implies
 not left
 not wrong (correct)
 privilege
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B) - Semantic barrier - arises due to different in individual interpretation for words and symbols.
To have effective communication both the sender and receiver should agree on the meaning of the
symbol and words used to transfer information, unfortunately the same word or symbol may mean
entirely different thing for different people. (Language difference)
C) - group words (slang and Jargon)
Jargon- is a technical terminology used within a certain specialization areas. The problem in
Jargon is not using jargons - Jargon provides a very precise and efficient way of commutation if
used b/n those who are familiar with the jargon. The problem in using jargon arises;
- While using the jargon with someone who doesn't understand it.
- While using the effort to impress other and as from of psychical defense.
Slang - is an expression often short lived that identities with a certain specific group of people.
D) Denotations & Connotations: Many of us have at some time been surprised that a remark
intended as a complement, or joke was interpreted by the receiver as an insult. A statement
intended as a good deed can be distorted into something self-serving. Some of these
communication problems may occur because words have both denotative and connotative
meanings, and the sender has not considered the receiver’s probable interpretation and reactions.
Denotations: the denotative meaning is the meaning on which most people will probably agree. It
often is the dictionary definition. The word informs the receiver & it names objects, people, or
events without indicating positive or negative qualities. Such words are car, desk, book, house,
water conveys denotative meaning, provided, of course, that the communicators understand the
English language & provided that the receiver has a similar understanding of the context in which
the word is used.
Connotations: in addition to more literal denotative meanings, some words have connotative
meanings that arouse qualitative judgments & personal reactions. The term ‘meeting room’ is
denotative. Director’s lounge, executive suite, boardroom, though they each denote a meeting
place, also has connotative meanings. The word ‘student’ is denotative; bookworm, scholar,
dropout, school dummy, gunner are connotative. Some words have favorable connotations in some
contexts but unfavorable meanings in other instances. Compare, for example, fat check & fat girl;
free enterprise & free (rude, bold) manners; cheap products & cheap price.
The communicators’ different backgrounds & interests also affect the connotative meanings for
words. On hearing that a particular person is ‘cool’, members of one generation may take it to
mean the person is fun to be with, while members of earlier generation may believe it means that
the individual is unemotional & insensitive.
Activity

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Discuss the major types of barriers to communication. __________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
2.3 Solving communication problems
Mere understanding of barriers to effective commutation is not sufficient as the management
saying "Defining a problem is defining half of your job". “A problem defined is half solved “.
The following point includes some important mechanism through which we can minimize or avoid
(if not at all possible) communication barrier so as to make communication effective.
A) Consider physical appearance - the appearance of the message often determine how it is
received. Make sure that your written communication is error free as well as neat and easy to
read. If you are communicating in person, consider your own appearance. The way you look is
an intrinsic part of your of message.
B) Choose the correct media - Before transmitting message, carefully consider the best way to
send it in person, by telephone, on paper, by computer mail, or by some other menses. In some
condition your choice may be limited, but in others, you have to consider both your access and
your message before choosing the channel.
C) Know your audience - your audience is your most important consideration which is a vital
component of effective communication. To make your communication effective consider points
like:
 Who are your listeners /readers  What are their interests and concerns?
 Are they your subordinates, peer or  What motivates them?
superior  How they will react to your message?
D) Choose your words carefully - Choosing correct words in speaking and Writing will help
to overcome numerous problems related to verbal communication. If you have good sense of whom
you are addressing, you will be better able to choose words that the receivers both understand and
response appropriately.
E) Organize your thoughts – whether you are speaking or writing, organizing the component of
your message must be taken in to account (must include major Points). To emphasize a major
point in written communication you may use several approaches: such as
 Put the point at the beginning or end of a paragraph.
 Use a short paragraph to attract the reader attention.
 Use heading and subheadings.
F) Focus topic sentence- is related to organization. To avoid information overload, isolate one
major point and highlight the important supporting data in your presentation.

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G) Selecting communication channel – to avoid serial distortion, avoid letting your message pass
through many people.
H) Encourage feedback – one way communication is often ineffective b/c the sender cannot fell
whether the communication goals have been achieved or not. To facilitate effective
communication, set up two way communication channels, make it easy for receiver to respond
to your message, and then pay attention to feedback and response as necessary.
Activity
Discuss the basic way you can use to solve communication problems. _____________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________
Summary
Effective communicators use both nonverbal and verbal signals to get their messages across. And
they pay as much attention to receiving information as they do to transmitting it.
Communication is a five-step process: The sender has an idea, the idea becomes a message, the
message is transmitted, the receiver gets the message, and the receiver reacts and sends feedback.
Misunderstandings arise when any part of this process breaks down. Business communication is
especially prone to misunderstanding, because the message is complex, conditions are difficult, and
psychological and social differences often separate the sender and receiver.
The communication obstacles discussed in this unit are not the only communication problems for
managers and employees, but they are some of the most common. Any how to overcome
communication barriers, think about your audience, let them know what to expect, use vivid
language, stick to the point, connect new ideas to familiar ones, emphasize and review key points,
minimize noise, and provide opportunities for feedback.

Self-check exercise 2
Instruction: Indicate the sentences below as ‘True’ or ‘False’
1. Nonverbal communication has few rules and often occurs consciously.
2. Nonverbal communication is more reliable and more efficient than verbal communication.
3. People use nonverbal signals to support and clarify verbal communication.
4. Body language and tone of voice reveal a lot about a person’s emotions and attitudes.
5. The use of touch, time and space (which are all affected by culture) help establish social
relationships.
6. Effective business communication depends on skill in receiving messages but not on skill in
sending them.
7. All ideas are simplifications and abstractions of reality, filtered through the individual mind.
8. Abstracting is considering the specific details and ignoring the general characteristics.
9. While writing a message it is wise to ask yourself why you are preparing the message but not
for whom you are preparing it.
10. An inability to put thoughts into words can hardly be overcome through study and practice.

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