Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
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.