Download communication - AIS-IB

Thought for the day:
‘Think like a wise man but
communicate in the
language of the people.’
Yeats (1865 – 1939)
COMMUNICATION
Target
Outcome
Who?

• Compare the ways in which
communication takes place within
organizations.
• Identify types of ICT
All
3

• Anayslse the causes of
communication failure.
• Be able to prepare different forms
of communication.
• Discuss the effect of new
technologies on communication
• Explain how types of networks
influence the effectiveness of
communication (HL).
MOST
4/5

• Evaluate communication solutions
SOME
6/7
Keywords
Communication
Channels of
communication
Communication
media
Lateral
communication
Vertical
communication
Defined
• What do you think?
• Communication is the process by which
information is exchanged between a group
or person and another
Purpose of Communication
• Communication is aiming to exchange of
information, ideas, opinions and feelings.
• Communication is said to be effective
when it is received and understood in the
manner intended by the sender.
What makes communication?
• A message: people communicate in order to
pass a message
• A Source: the transmitter – all messages arise
from a source
• A medium: transmission – there are many
formal methods that a person can use to
transmit information
• A receiver: Communication only becomes
complete when a message is received
• Feedback: the receipt of a message normally
creates a response from the recipient.
Communication
• Process:
Finance Dept
Change in
payment systems
Sender or
Instigator
E-mail
Channel
Medium
Feedback
Receiver
Which is which?
Message/ Source/ Medium/ Receiver/
Feedback
Forms of communication
Communication can take a number of forms,
including:
• Written (Letters, memos, Reportas,
Notices, Executive Summaries, Abstracts,
Research proposals)
• Spoken (oral)
• Visual (Graphical, body language)
• Electronic forms
Remember communication is: Not always Word!
What are these people communicating to
you?
How many different messages can you
communicate with these same four words?
‘What are you doing?’
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
QUESTION
• One advantage and disadvantage of each
communication medium?
Pg 123
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
Visual
Electronic
Advantages and disadvantages of
communication medium?
• Verbal (spoken) – rapid, flexible, covering meaning by
content and by manner of speech HOWEVER it can
cause confusion where the recipient is unable to pick up
on the intonation
• Non-verbal – very important in face-to-face
communication HOWEVER limited to supportive role
(conveying very simple messages)
- (form of non-verbal) Visual – Understood easily, quicker
than words, cheaper, long lasting impact HOWEVER
Who must managers communicate
with?
Financiers
Customers
Employees/
Shareholder/
Potential
Investors
MANAGER
Suppliers
The
government
The local
community/
Media
What are the main management
tasks?
• Planning
• Organising
• Leading
• Directing
• Controlling
Communication can help you do this!
Purpose of communication in
Business:
• Communication is essential to the
achievement of business objectives.
• This is because the basic purpose of any
communication is to influence the actions
of others.
• Effective communication is therefore an
essential aspect of management
Purpose of communication in
Business:
• Goals must be established for the organisation and then
communicated to objectives
• Communication is vital to the development of plans
• Communication is also essential in the organisation of
both human and non-human resources
• Leading, directing and motivating inevitably require
communication skills
• The control function cannot be effective without the
communication of accurate and up-to-date data
Classification of communication:
Formality
• Formal and Informal
• Formal – Using channels of
communication
• Informal– Channels established by the
employees themselves (passes
information quickly but usually distorted).
Communication by Formality
• Formal communication = arranged, approved
or official
• Informal communication = unofficial,
unplanned
They help:
• i) satisfy personal needs
• ii) counter monotony at work
• iii) provide an alternative source of job-related
information
Communication flows –
Formal/informal
TOK
• Discuss the viability, reliability and
credibility of knowledge communicated
through formal and informal channels.
Direction
• Where there is no facility for a reply
(feedback), it is called one-way
communication
Sender
Receiver
• Feedback built into two-way
communication is a feature of a
democratic leadership style
Sender
Receiver
Feedback
• Sender receives feedback e.g manager
discusses an issue with an employee at a
meeting.
• This is slower than one way but sender
gains more information.
Sender
Receiver
Why is the facility for feedback
important?
• Feedback ensures message is fully
understood
• Feedback enables subordinates to
contribute to the process of decision
making
Activity
A01: Knowledge
AO2: Application
Summing Up
• In an organisational context, the aim of communication is
to influence others to work towards the achievement of
the goals of the organisation
• You should recognise also that communication links the
organisation with customers, suppliers, creditors,
shareholders and the wider community
• Communication may be classified by media, direction
and degree of formality
Activity
• What factors do you
think would effect the
choice of
communication
method?
A01: Knowledge
Pairs ‘thought shower’
A model of communication
Noise
Conceives
and
encodes
Transmission of
the message
SENDER
Decodes
Decodes
and
interprets
RECEIVER
Transmission of
the message
Encodes
A model of communication
• Communication is the process by which an idea
is transferred from one mind to another.
• The purpose is to make the receiver
understand what is in the mind of the sender.
• To accomplish this task, it is necessary for the
sender to encode a message in appropriate
words, symbols or gestures.
• Effective communicators will adjust their style
of language to different situations.
Internal communication
• The purpose of most formal
communication is to initiate action
• The performance and efficiency of an
employee will be influenced by the
effectiveness of internal
communication.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
Head office
One department
Branch Manager
Another Department
Manager
Staff
Staff
Staff
The importance of internal
communications
To achieve business aims, functional areas must support each other,
eg
• Operations and sales must agree delivery dates
• Finance must know what has been sold
• Sales staff must know credit limits
• Customer service must know about problems and delays
• Human resources must know about training requirements
GOOD COMMUNICATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
Business
Staff
Other Businesses
Customers
Business
Shareholders
Business
The community
The importance of external
communications
External communications are critical to sales,
eg
• Customer enquiries must be handled
promptly
• Product/service information must be
accurate/attractive
• Customer invoices must be correct
• Customer and supplier problems must be
resolved quickly
Communication –
Internal/External
Suppliers
Internal
Communication
Other businesses
e.g Directors
Shareholders
Potential Investors
Managers
Government
Employees
Local Community
Reasons for communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Informing – Presenting facts
Commanding – giving instruction
Negotiating – Presenting a case
Reporting – Presenting findings
Co-ordinating – organising people
Co-operating – involving teamwork
Motivating – influencing attitudes
Good communication
• Good Internal communication makes sure
everyone within the business is aiming
towards the same goal.
• It makes sure people know what they are
expected to do and why they are doing it
• It also co-ordinates the activities of
different parts of the business.
Activity
• What is a barrier to
communication?
Pairs ‘thought shower’
A01: Knowledge
A model of
communication
A model of communication
• Transmission can be affected by noise
• Noise is anything that distracts the recipient and causes
either a failure to receive the message or a
misinterpretation of the message
• But there are many other barriers…
• Here are a few….
Barriers to effective communication
• Perception – Interpret messages
according to our experienced, motives ad
state of mind.
e.g.
• suspicious
• anger frustration
• shyness and confusion
• all can distort our ability to communicate
and to respond.
Perception
• All communication has a SOURCE who initiates
the activity
• The source will often react and respond to the
recipient's reaction e.g feedback.
• How the recipient responds depends on his
receptive ability, formulated by his values and
beliefs.
• These are influenced by the culture of present
and past environment – education, status,
personality etc.
Perception/ Attitudes
‘An attitude is
a
predisposition
to make
certain kinds
of judgements
about people,
issues and
events,
usually in
specific
situations.
Attitudes lead
to personal
opinions and
prejudices.’
Perception
• Everyone is affected by childhood
experiences.
• Create positive and negative reactions
• These build attitudes that are linked to our
image of ourselves
• There are four basic psychological
attitudes:
I’m okay – You’re okay
Down-to-earth
I’m Okay – your not okay
Badly treated as children. Blame
others
I’m not Okay – You’re okay
Feel powerless and insignificant in
comparison to others. Try to avoid
others ot attach like parasites.
I’m not okay – You’re not okay
Despair and lose interest in living.
Communication Loop
Barriers to communication
• Language Problems – Jargon and
abbreviations, ambiguity, different
languages
• Vague purpose – transmitter is not clearly
thought through why, or for whom the
message is being transmitted (wrong
target for message)
• Inappropriate medium – delayed, wrong
choice of formal/informal
Barriers to communication
• Status, social distance – degree of
stiffness and formality that impairs the
discussion
• Red Tape/ bureaucracy –
Communication breaks down in large
organisations because of number of
employees – impersonal, inflexible,
ineffective. People can get messages who
don’t need them.
• Stereotypes – beliefs about others play
Barriers to communication
• Location – Geographical or people
always out of the office.
• Different countries/ different cultures/
time difference
• play
16:36 Wed
01:36 Thu
Barriers to communication
• Length of ‘chain of command’ or
distance – word of mouth through a
number of people - distorted
Barriers to communication
• Distraction of receiver – not have full attention
• Hostility between participants – Poor
relationship. An employee not promoted, or
supervisor who feels let down.
• Stress or frustration – Repetitive bored work,
or failure to have good work recognised, will
tend to cause frustration and can affect an
employees performance and distort their ability
to communicate. Conflict in organisations is
often the result of misunderstanding caused by
stress.
Barriers to communication
• The grapevine – informal methods of
communication can establish opinions
which formal communication is unable
to change. Rumour thrives on distorted
and sensational interpretations of
information, and it can distort an
employee’s ability to perceive the true
situation.
• Jargon – A word or phrase which has
technical or specialised meaning.
Barriers to communication
• Problems with ICT – Information
overload, introduction of ICT (training),
confidentiality
• Skills of the sender and receiver –
Senders ability to explain message and
receiver understanding it.
Barriers to communication
• Form of the message – We probably forgotten
half of what we hear within a few hours, no
more than 10% remains after two or three days.
Sender must make sure it:
1. does not contain too much information
2. is not poorly written
3. is not presented too quickly
4. written in a way which is understood.
• Wrong target for the message – wrong
information to wrong person
Communication failure
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communication problems result in:
Inefficiency
Failure to achieve organisational goals, and
Employment relations problems
Low morale
Errors – reworking
Loss of competitiveness (low productivity)
Lack of control
• Pg 239 Hoang
Improving the quality of
communication
• Planning the message to improve encoding
• Selecting an appropriate channel
• Ensuring that the recipient is receptive
Planning the message to
improve encoding
• This might mean that the communicators need to
undergo training and/or the message needs to be
adapted to the recipient’s needs
Selecting an appropriate channel &
method
Ensuring that the recipient is
receptive
• It is important to make sure that the message is received
in an environment that lends itself to concentration.
Summing up
• Effective communicators will adjust their style of
language to different situations.
• After a message is encoded (prepared for
transmission), it is transmitted via a communication
channel or medium. It then needs to be decoded (so
that its meaning to the recipient is as intended by the
sender) .
• Transmission can be affected by noise
Communication problems result in:
• Inefficiency
• Failure to achieve organisational goals, and
• Employment relations problems
Higher Level
Clarke pg 115
Communication networks
Higher Level
Clarke pg 115
Communication networks
Activity
Case Study:
Clark pg 111-112
A04: Evaluation
What do these faces tell you?
HIGHER LEVEL
• Link org chart, motivation and
communication
Effect on communication as
businesses grow…
More layers in the hierarchy
Effect on communication as
businesses grow…
More layers in the hierarchy
• Communication is more difficult
• Slows decision making
• Greater risk of message getting distorted
• Goes through so many people ,message
gets confused
Effect on communication as
businesses grow…
Number of people increase
• More written communication
• Instead of quick conversation to sort
something out you end up with numerous
messages back and forward
• Lots of paperwork
• Less face to face (no immediate feedback)
Effect on communication as
businesses grow…
More difficulty with changes in employment
patterns
• Part time
• Work from home
• Outsourcing
• Communication more complex
Effect on communication as
businesses grow…
• Amount of written communication generated in a
large organisation can lead to communication
overload
• So much information gathered to keep control
that it gets in the way of making decisions
• Managers desks covered in memos/reports –
swamped
• Overload leads to inefficiencies (can’t find
information when needed/ or too much data to
decide what's important).
Activity
In groups – how are you going to deal with
these problems to improve
communication in your company?
•
message getting distorted
•
Less face to face (no immediate feedback)
•
More difficulty with changes in employment
patterns
•
Communication overload
A04: Evaluation
Possible Solutions: Feedback
• message getting distorted
Possible Solutions: Feedback
• Less face to face (no immediate feedback)
Possible Solutions: Feedback
• More difficulty with changes in
employment patterns
Possible Solutions: Feedback
• Communication overload
Improving communication
Perfect communication is an impossible
objective, but an organisation will benefit
from relative improvements
Improving communication
• Ensuring employees are aware of
communication problems
• Using more than one communication net/system
• Minimising communication chain linkages
• Reducing status differentials e.g open plan
offices or all staff using the same cafeteria
• Careful composition of messages, encouraging
simplicity and clarity
Improving communication
• Using different media to reinforce the message
• Encouraging recognition of cultural and social
differences, prejudices and interdepartmental
rivalries
• Using and encouraging upward communication
channels e.g appraisal, staff meetings,
suggestion boxes, procedures for solving
grievances, for feedback.
Summary
• There are many Barriers to effective communication
• In particular, there are many difficulties for large
companies.
• Essay:
• ‘Communication is inevitably more difficult in large
organisations.’ Discuss.
HINT: Your discussion should include an evaluation of
what can be done to improve it.
Exam question 4 (b)
2008:
• Business directors can not agree on how a
decision to close the old factory should be
managed and communicated to staff.
• Recommend which approach should be
used.
• Justify your answer.
• 10 marks
Purpose of Communication
• Communication is aiming to exchange of
information, ideas, opinions and feelings.
• Communication is said to be effective
when it is received and understood in the
manner intended by the sender.
Think about it!
• What are the consequences of poor
communication?
Symptoms of poor
communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Low morale
Errors or re-working
Higher labour turnover
Unwillingness to make decisions and/or accept
responsibility
Loss of cometitiveness (low productivtiy etc)
Lack of control
Conflict and/or aggression
Absenteeism
More production errors or higher ‘scrap rate’
Evidence of lack of control and discipline
Why effective communication is
essential?
• Because employees need to know what is
expected of them and what they should be
trying to achieve.
Meeting Objectives
• All businesses work towards achieving
objectives.
• These objectives can be met by means of
clear plans.
• The implementation of plans involves
establishing policies which govern the
way things are done in the organisation.