Business Communication

Group Assignment #01

Submitted to Ms. Kianat

By (FA20-BAF)
Shanza Nazir (072)
Ammara Fatima Gondal (088)
Amna Bilal Chughtai (065)
Abdul Haq (081)
Farooq Baloach (082)
 Business Communication
Communication is the process of exchanging thoughts, opinions, or information by speech,
writing, or signs. The communication process includes the sender to encode a message which is
then sent to the receiver via a communicating medium. The receiver then has to decode the
message and the process goes on. Communication barriers often occur due to the sender or the
channeling medium through which the communication is being held. This could be either the
sender sent the message in the language unknown to the receiver, poor voice quality,
inaccurate spellings, or poor network connection.

Communication Barriers that occur when traveling abroad

1. Language Barrier: Language is the biggest communication barrier everyone faces when
traveling abroad. For a communication to be effective, both the sender and receiver
should have a common language in which they’re communicating. A study found by
researchers show that 10% of the adults don’t travel due to the language barriers they’ll
have to face.
When travelling abroad, smallest of tasks such as ordering food or asking for the
restroom can become difficult. You’ll start facing language barrier right when you land in
a new country up until you land back into your home country. This can cause
miscommunication and misinterpretations.
Most people don’t speak English and if they do, it’s their second or third language and
so their accents may differ and cause the receiver to not understand properly. If the one
communicating speaks in a low or soft voice, the receiver will not be able to understand
it properly. Navigating in a new country can become quiet intimidating as well.
There are plenty of things one can do to overcome language barriers. Downloading a
translator alone swipe away half your troubles with the language barrier, having a
foreign language dictionary with yourself can be really handy, pointing at the items you
talk about while shopping, Google translator now has a feature that allows the user to
translate through camera so downloading that can save you from any troubles of
language barriers.

2. Religious and Cultural Barrier: Religion is an area steeped in tradition and conventions,
and is therefore, fraught with potential for error for the uninitiated. Culture is the
pattern of taken-for-granted assumptions about how a given collection of people should
think, act, and feel as they go about their daily affairs.
 Religious communication may be either (a) communication acts informed by religious
believers' understanding of their faith or (b) communication acts about religious belief
when the communicator does not share those beliefs.
Stereotyping is the process of creating a picture of a whole culture, overgeneralizing all
people belonging to the same culture. Negative stereotyping creates prejudices as it
provokes judgmental attitudes.
People look at those cultures as evil and treat the people following the religion wickedly.
Media is a tool of mass communication which promotes stereotypes and prejudices and
creates more communication barriers.
We are exposed to people with different cultures, whether in the community, at work,
at school, or even in your own family, despite this there is still someone out there who
judges others based on their own beliefs.
Therefore, religion happens to be one of the most important communication barriers
we face today especially when travelling a new different country.
There are many who would compare religious beliefs with their own when it comes to
what a person would consider to be normal. For instance, in France, when French
people see any men with beard or women who cover their head, they’re taken as
terrorists and behave violently towards them and so the communication between them
doesn’t takes place as efficiently as it should because of how the Muslim religion and
cultured people are stereotyped there.

3. Racism and Discrimination Barrier: It’s the twenty-first century and racism is still
present, not only in the United States, but also in the societies around the world. Racist
acts are current issues on every level of our societies and it seems that Martin Luther
King, Jr.’s dream that
“All children will be judged not only by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character” will remain just a dream.
Discrimination is the most transparent way of expressing negative attitudes based on
race, religion, sexual orientation and ancestry. It is sad, but true that discrimination has
been present for thousands of years throughout the world.
Many groups of people such as Asians, African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos,
and Arabs experience racism and communication barriers due to it. They find it hard to
communicate with the people of racist mindset.
To give a few instances, every bearded man, especially Muslims, has faced
discrimination and racism since 9/11 attacks. The Chinese facing difficulties after the
Covid-19 outbreak which can be gauged from the fact that free masks were available at
various stores in the USA for everyone except the Chinese. When tourist visit Asian
countries, they face price discrimination.
Not only in this century but if we take a look at history, we find aspects like
Montgomery bus Boycott. This shows how racism ruled people’s mind.
4. Lack of Trust Barrier: It’s a feeling that someone or something is not honest and cannot
be trusted. It may stem from previous experiences; perhaps the person has
posttraumatic stress, has been abused in the past, cheated on, or suffered from family
issues such as a parent walking out.
Whatever the cause, a deficiency of trust can cause serious communication barriers
between individuals.
When travelling abroad, lack of trust could become a barrier to communication as
people from different cultures, morals and values, race, and religions will be traveling
along with you and will be found in the country that you’re visiting.
Lack of trust may be derived due to the stereotypes associated with each type of
religion and culture.
For instance, an ill person from a different nation or race asking others for help won’t as
likely be listened to as compared to if the ill person is from the same nation or race.

5. Gender barrier: These have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the
possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice versa.
The gender barrier could arise due to two factors. One, misunderstanding of emotions
or, two, hesitation to talk to the opposite gender.
Gender barriers can be inherent or may be related to gender stereotypes and the ways
in which men and women are taught to behave as children.
Men and women have assigned roles in society that exacerbate to the gender divide;
it is important to remember, however, that not all men and women fit into a labeled
category.
When traveling abroad, one may face gender barriers in religious countries.
To give an illustration, as of early 2000s, women in KSA were more likely to talk to other
women when a problem or conflict arises than men as they have been taught to avoid
contact with men no matter what.