10.Organizational Communication

 By Mithini Punsara

Introduction

Although communication is a common activity for every person and every animal in the world, interpersonal communication is the most advanced and complex among them. Although we consider communication to be only verbal communication, every person starts communicating with the external environment from birth before they are able to speak. In the society we live in today as well as in the business environment, communication has been given an important place. In today's business environment, we can see a situation in which no business can achieve its goals effectively and efficiently without maintaining the communication process in a proper manner.

 

Communication in an organization takes many forms and it is done through interpersonal communication, face-to-face discussion, reports and books. Effective communication is known as the heart of the organization as it minimizes problems and maximizes efficiency in an organization. According to Mintzber's research, the managers of an organization use about 78% of their cars for communication work, and 90% of them are used for verbal communication. Here we can conclude that the communication process is an essential part for the existence of an organization.

 

What is communication?

Different people have different definitions of what communication is. They can be understood through the following definitions.

 

"Communication is the exchange of ideas, feelings and facts by two or more people."

 

"The process of sending a message from one party to another."

 

"The exchange of data and information between a sender and a receiver, that is, between two parties."

 

Most of the definitions presented about communication emphasize that information communication is a complex process in which the sender sends his message to the receiver in a way that can be understood verbally or non-verbally. This can be clearly explained to you through the communication process. Different subdivisions can be seen in a communication process and they are ideas, feelings and sensations, sender of the message, signaling, message, media, decoding, and receiver of the message, response, feedback and external sounds.

 

Communication process

For the beginning of a communication process, a person must have a thought, an idea, a feeling, a need, or information for transmission. Next in the communication process is the encoding of the mental thought or need one wishes to convey. Language can be widely used in this symbolization and movement of body parts and sound can also be given as examples for symbolization. In the next stage of this process, a message that can be sent through coding is converted into a physical output, such as a spoken word, a printed word, or an image. The resulting message is transmitted to the receiver through the use of a medium. An example is seeing and hearing. The recipient of the message decodes the message and gives some meaning to the message. Finally, the feedback confirms that the relevant message was received in the right way and that it was interpreted correctly. External noise is also a part of this process and it reduces the accuracy of the message due to its negative impact on the success of the communication process.

Organizational factors affecting communication

1. Formal communication is the formal communication within the organizational structure.

·         Vertical Communication

-        Upward Communication

-        Downward Communication

 

·         Horizontal Communication

Ø  Authority structure

Changes in power and positions affect the content and accuracy of information.

 

Ø  Job specialization

Specialization facilitates communication between groups of people.

 

Ø  Ownership of Information

The reluctance of individuals to share information intrinsic to their own politics prevents full communication from running smoothly.

Ø  Degree of centralization

The extent to which information flows through an individual in an organization affects the effectiveness of its communication, the accuracy of information, and the satisfaction of team members.

 

Ø  Hierarchical level

The amount of hierarchical levels in the organizational structure affects communication in the organization.

 

Ø  Geographical dispersion

Personal Communication Geographical location affects the efficiency and effectiveness of communication.

Communication functions

4 main functions of communication in an organization can be identified and they can be described as the main agents of communication. They are,

 

Control: Through communication, the behavior of people in an organization is controlled in various ways. For example, the instructions given to the organizational unit holders must be followed.

Both formal and informal communication methods are used in an organization in management.

 

Motivation: Communication plays a very important role in personal motivation and what should each person do? How to do it? How to improve performance? Providing information about such matters is done through communication. Also, establishing objectives, providing feedback information about currently achieved objectives and encouraging employees is done through communication.

 

Expressions of emotions: Identifying the emotions of the employees working in an organization and acting on them in the right way helps in the survival of an organization. Through a successful communication system, it is possible to identify the satisfaction and frustration and setbacks of the people of an organization and manage it in the right way. Here, it paves the way for presenting mental feelings and ideas and thereby satisfying social needs.

 

Information: Having accurate information is an essential part of an organization for making successful decisions. In a correct communication system, information is compiled to select people at different levels in an organization.

Formal communication and informal communication

 

We can see how communication works both formally and informally in an organization. What is important here is the impact of both these communication methods on the success of the organization.

 

Formal communication

Conducting communication activities by following a formal authority hierarchy established in a certain organization is known as: Examples of this are directors' meetings, annual general meetings, circulars, annual reports and employee meetings. In formal communication we can see vertical communication and horizontal communication. Vertical communication occurs through the flow of information from top to bottom and bottom to top along a chain of command. Horizontal communication occurs through the exchange of information between people on the same level.

 

Informal communication

Communication that takes place informally in an organization and ignores its hierarchy of authority is called informal communication. For example, gossip can be used and through such methods, an organization is facilitated to maintain communication successfully.

 

Communication Networks

A communication network is a set of patterns that communicate information. That is, the methods in the organization for information communication are communication networks.

 

Centralization of communication systems

How much information reaches through one particular person to another person in the water of communication is called communication system mediation.

 

Centralized communication networks

In a centralized communication network, the person in the communication network communicates information to other people in the water through a central person. This is illustrated by the diagram below.

Decentralized communication networks

In a decentralized communication network, all members play an equal role in exchanging information.

 

Difference between centralized communication and decentralized communication

Elements	Centralized communication	Decentralized communication
The results
1. Simple tasks	Satisfactory results	Unsatisfied
2. Complex tasks	Unsatisfactory performance	Satisfied
Communication accuracy
1.Simple tasks	Fast, very accurate	Slow, not very accurate
2.Complex tasks	-	Fast, very accurate
Member satisfaction
1.Simple tasks	Lower	High
2.Complex tasks	Lower	High

Non-verbal communication

Verbal communication methods are widely used in many organizations. In non-verbal communication, a written or verbal message is communicated in a non-verbal way.

 

Sources of non-verbal communication

·         Body language

·         Facial Expression]Posture

·         Movements

·         Gesture

·         Eye Contract

·         Touch

 

Obstacles to effective communication

Filtering

To send a message means to change the information according to the interests of the person or group of people receiving it. Here the actual message to be sent is distorted.

Selective perception

If a recipient of a message selects the message based on personal characteristics, the message will be received based on one's taste rather than the actual situation. Here the needs, motivations and experience of the person or persons are used in the decoding of messages.

The feeling

The message received by a person or a group of people is interpreted according to the feelings generated.

Language

Language is understood by different people and different groups depending on factors such as their age, education level, culture, etc., and there can be various contradictions.

 

 

Types of communication

According to the way communication takes place, 5 main parts can be identified.

 

Ø  Interpersonal communication

Ø  Interactive communication

Ø  Group communication

Ø  Mass communication

Ø  Universal communication

Listening

Introduction

Listening has a very important place in the communication process. Correctly listening to a message helps in making more efficient and effective decisions. Listening is a process in which we can see several subdivisions. Managers who have well-developed listening skills manage their organization and its human resources in a very successful manner and achieve the organization's objectives efficiently and effectively.

 

Defining listening

As mentioned above, it is a process of listening and different people have offered different interpretations for this.

"Listening is the process of hearing, selecting, focusing, and understanding, evaluating, remembering, and responding with feedback.”

John A. Keeling

 

According to the above interpretation, in the process of listening, we can see receiving the message received through a sound medium, focusing on it and understanding it.

 

The need to listen

We all pay a lot of attention to reading, writing and speaking and for that a series of instructions are followed. Nowadays, listening can be seen as a neglected communication skill and the formal instructions offered for this are minimal.

Research on communication has shown that if 70% of time is spent on communication, 10% is written, 15% is read, 30% is spoken and 45% is listened to. This makes it clear to us that we spend more than half of our communication time on listening. This clearly shows us that it is a very important part of the communication process. The success of communication is determined by the extent to which communication is carried out. According to the findings of people who conducted research in this regard, the quality of work and listening helps a lot.

 

Myths about listening

Although listening is understood as a very important concept, due to some illusions in us, the process of listening is prevented from happening successfully. This affects the individual's listening performance. By eliminating the myths that affect listening, we can maintain a good communication process.

We can identify the following myths as listening myths.

 

Ø  Listening is not one's problem

People generally believe that they are good listeners. They believe that while listening is a problem, it is not one's own problem. But it should be emphasized here that listening is not her problem, it is our problem.

Ø  That listening and hearing are one

In effective communication, both hearing a message and understanding it correctly must be satisfied. It is not satiated by hearing alone and requires a deep listening. Effective listening means that the listener correctly understands the message being conveyed. Here hearing means receiving a certain sound and listening means getting a meaning for that hearing.

Ø  Talented people are good listeners.

Although a person's level of intelligence helps in listening, it is not correct to consider gifted people as very good listeners.

Ø  People who read well are good listeners

Many people misunderstand these facts and it is not necessary to be a psychic.

Ø  That hearing improves with age

It is seen that the listening ability increases with age and experience and after a certain level the listening ability increases but the listening efficiency decreases. The reason for this is the habit of wrong listening.

 

Familiarity with mishearing

·         Speaking while listening

·         Be prepared to respond to the commenter without listening.

·         Lack of attention

·         Pre occupation

·         Pre typing

 

Elements of good listening

·         Being ready

·         Absence of speaking - Abstaining from speaking while listening

·         Concentration

·         Try to understand the point of view of the person expressing the opinion

·         Smart questions and listening

 

The process of listening

(medium.com)

Receiving

This is the first step in listening and it involves making sure that a message has been sent to a particular person. Asking and receiving the message is an essential part of the listening process.

Attending

It is essential that we refer to the message in order for the listening process to proceed. At any given time we hear a many messages and what message do they refer to? There are three main factors that determine if they are,

·         Selectivity of attention

·         Strength of Attention

·         Sustained of attention

Understanding

For effective listening it is very important to receive the message, pay attention to the message and understand the message in the right way. Here, verbal and non-verbal communication methods are very useful to understand a message. In verbal communication, a message is communicated verbally

Is to do here the following obstacles may occur for listening.

 

·         Different people understand a word in different ways

·         Eliminating different words in the same way

 

Following are barriers to listening in non-verbal communication.

·         Misunderstanding actions

·         Misunderstanding symbols that are not actions

·         Misunderstanding of voices

 

Responding

Correct listening is confirmed by correct response. Below are some ways to respond.

·         Direct verbal responses

·         Responses to settlement

References : 

 

(No date) Session 15: Communication Flashcards | Quizlet. Available at: https://quizlet.com/20512942/session-15-communication-flash-cards/ (Accessed: 25 November 2023).

Learning, L. (no date a) First-year seminar, What is Communication? | First-Year Seminar. Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-wcc-collegesuccess2/chapter/what-is-communication/#:~:text=Communication%20is%20simply%20the%20act,a%20huge%20range%20of%20things. (Accessed: 25 November 2023).

Diya_Ganguly (2018) Connection between formal communication and our classroom activities, Beautiful Mind. Available at: https://diyaganguly.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/connection-between-formal-communication-and-our-classroom-activities/ (Accessed: 25 November 2023).

Quinn, P. (2017) Causes why listening is essential for foreign language learning, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@listening125/causes-why-listening-is-essential-for-foreign-language-learning-4d2e461b359f (Accessed: 25 November 2023).

(No date) Google search. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=Centralized%2Bcommunication%2Bnetworks&sca_esv=585206540&tbm=isch&sxsrf=AM9HkKnhx2vpqtZx8VavO-bCl18QStVzIA%3A1700901405252&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA8rrA396CAxU2zDgGHePVAg0Q_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1366&bih=641&dpr=1#imgrc=c16qVpQ_tMn4_M (Accessed: 25 November 2023).