Chapter VI

Week 8:
1.What is communication
2.The Importance of Communication
3.The Communication Process
4.Basic Methods of Interpersonal Communication
5.Functions of Communication
6. Basic Goals of Effective Communication
7. Barriers to communication
8. Kinds of communication flow
9. Improving communication in organizations
Intended Learning Outcomes:
1. Discuss the importance and objective of interpersonal communication
in an organization.
2. Understand the communication process, functions, and methods
It may be defined as the transfer of
information including feelings, and ideas
from one person to another.
The goal is to have the receiver
understand the message as it was
intended.
1. What the organization is
2. What objective their organization wants to
achieve
3. What their roles are in achieving the
organization’s objectives
4. How they will achieve those objectives
5. Who the individual members of the
organization are
 Communication is essential for the coordination
of business.
Communication is a 2 way process in which a
sender reaches a receiver with a message.
6 components of an effective communication:
1. A communication sources or sender
2. A message
3. A channel
4. A receiver
5. Feedback
6. The environment
1. A communication sources or sender - It is a
person who makes the attempt to send a message
which could be spoken, written, in sign language
or nonverbal to another person or a group of
persons.
2. A message – is a purpose or an idea to be
conveyed in a communication event.
 How the message is received is influenced by the
following factors: (1) clarity of message (2)
alertness of the receiver (3) complexity and length
of the message (4) how the information is
organized
2. A message
Two components:
1. The thought or conceptual component of the
message
2. The feeling or emotional component of the
message
3. A channel – is the medium through the message
travels
 Types are face to face, telephone and cell phones,
e-mail, written memos and letters, posted notices,
and bulletins
 It may be classified also as formal and informal.
4. A receiver – the person receiving a message –
he must interpret and understand the message.
5. Feedback – refers to the process of
communicating how one feels about something
another person has done or said.
6. The environment – refers to the circumstances
in which messages are transmitted and
received.
7.The noise – refers to anything that disrupts
communication, including the attitude and
emotions of the receiver.
People in organizations transfer meaning
between and among each other using any or
all of the 3 basic methods which consist of the
following:
1. Verbal
2. Written
3. Nonverbal communication
1. Verbal communication
 Is a major means of sending messages.
 The delivery of verbal communication is
quick and it provides the opportunity for a
quick feedback.
 A major disadvantage of verbal is the
distortion of the message when it passes to
several people.
2. Written communication – include memos,
notice-boards and letter to staff, faxes,
internal newspaper and instant messaging.
3.Nonverbal communication –
communication that takes place through
facial expressions, body movements, eye
contact and other physical gesture.
 When linked with spoken language, body
movements (or more popular, body
language) give fuller meaning to a sender’s
message.
4 major functions within a group or
organization:
1. Information function – communication
provides information needed in decision
making.
2. Motivation function – communication is a
means used to encourage commitment to
organizational objectives. Commitment will not
be possible if the worker concerned does not
have full appreciation of the advantages of the
organization that achieves its goals.
4 major functions within a group or
organization:
3. Control function – communication
clarifies duties, authority, and
responsibilities, thereby permitting
control.
4. Emotive function – communication
permits the expression of feelings and
the satisfaction of social needs.
Communication is not just about transferring
message from one person to another.
Effective communication is really a way to
achieve certain goals which consist of the
following:
1. To gain goodwill
2. To inquire
3. To inform
4. To persuade
1.Filtering – refers to the manipulation of
information so that is will be seen more favorably
by the receiver.
2. Selective perception – receivers selectively
see and hear messages based on their needs,
motivations, experience, background and other
personal characteristics.
3.Information overload – refers to the condition
in which information inflow exceeds an individual’s
processing capacity.
4. Emotions – the receiver’s feelings affect
his ability to understand any message sent
to him.
5. Language – words do not always mean
the same things to different people.
6. Communication apprehension – refers
to the undue tension and anxiety about oral
communication, written communication or
both.
7. Absence of feedback – it does not
provide the sender the opportunity to correct
misimpressions about the message sent.
8. Physical separation – refers to effective
communication occurring in the environment
where the communication is undertaken.
9. Lack of credibility of the sender –
depending on the credibility of the sender,
messages can get through the channel to
the receiver.
The flow of communication in organization takes
different directions.
1. Downward communication – refers to message
flows from higher levels to lower levels. Their
purposes are:
To give instructions
To provide information about policies and procedures
To give feedback about performance
To indoctrinate or motivate
The various techniques used are: letters, meetings
and the telephone or cell phone; manuals;
handbooks; and newsletters
2. Upward communication – refers to messages
from persons in lower level positions to persons in
higher positions. Its purposes are:
To provide feedback to higher ups
To inform higher-ups of progress toward goals
To relay current problems.
The techniques used are performance reports;
suggestion systems; informal gripe sessions;
open-door policy; and exit interviews.
3. Horizontal communication– refers to
messages sent to individuals or groups from
another of the same organizational level or
position. Its purposes are:
To coordinate activities between departments
To persuade others at the same level of
organization
To pass on information about activities or feelings
The techniques used are memos; telephone or
cell phones; picnics and dinners and other social
affairs
Ineffective communication can affect people
involved in it negatively.
Tips:
1. The message should be improved so it
could be easily understood
2. The receiver must improve his skill in
understanding the messages sent to him