Communications

Communications

1. DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION

   • The process of transmitting a message to the receiver in order to obtain a response.
   • The process by which a person, group, or organization (the sender) transmits some type of information (the message) to another person, group, or organization (the receiver)

2. Components of Communications Process

   • Sender-The sender initiates the communication process by encoding his or her meaning and sending the message through a channel.
   • Encoding-Encoding translates the sender’s ideas into a systematic set of symbols or a language expressing the communicator’s purpose.
   • Channel-The medium by which a message travels
   • Decoding-A receiver’s translation of a sender’s message
   • Receiver-The receiving person or group must make sense of the information received.
   • Feedback-The process of verifying messages and the receiver’s attempts to ensure that the message he or she decoded is what the sender really meant to convey
   • Noise-Any internal or external interference or distraction with the intended message that can cause distortion in the sending and receiving of messages

3. TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS

   • formal
     • Formal Communication Channels Formal communication follows the chain of command and is recognized as official.
     • Direction of Flow One way to view formal communication within organizations is to examine how it flows - vertically and horizontally
     • FORMAL COMMUNICATION Vertical
       • Downward communication Messages sent from individuals at higher levels of the organization to those at lower levels.
       • Upward communication Messages sent up the line from subordinates to managers.
     • ORMAL COMMUNICATION Horizontal
       • The flow of information that occurs both within and between departments.
       • Effective organizations encourage horizontal communication because it increases:- Coordination -Collaboration -Cooperation
   • informal
     • nformal communication is social relationships that are formed in the workplace outside of the normal organizational hierarchy
     • Types of informal Communication
       • Single Strand
         • ingle strand involves passing of information through a line of persons to ultimate recipient.
       • Gossip
         • This chain is often use to convey information that is interesting and is non-job-related. The news must be interesting to hear.
       • Probability
         • The probability chain is a random process in which someone transmits the information to others
       • Cluster
         • A person tells the information to a few chosen individuals. The information that is conveyed is usually interesting, job-related and most up to date

4. OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

   • Obtain feedback
   • Use simple language
   • Avoid noise
   • Recognize emotion
   • Do not make own conclusions