However, oral communication is not suitable in the following cases:
-- When the communicator and the recipient are far off, (beyond the telephone range) oral communication will not serve the purpose.
-- If the message to be transmitted is lengthy and requires a thorough clarification, oral communication will not be suitable.
-- Oral communication does not serve as a record or as evidence. It cannot be made use of in future.
-- There are chances of misunderstanding and mis-interpreting the communication.
Written Communication
A written communication is conveyed through a letter, report, circular notes, memoranda, notice and communiqué. It is a very common form of communication in most of the organisations and is suitable for many situations.
The usual forms of written communication are:
Orders – given by the superiors to the subordinates. These can be of three types.
a.General
b.Specific
c.Definite
General orders are given by the top management, specific orders by the middle level management to lower level managers and definite orders by the supervisor to workers.
-- Instructions given by the departmental heads to supervisors and by the supervisors to their sub-ordinates.
-- Reports submitted by the authorized persons. These are of three types.
(a)Routine reports- which are prepared periodically and are a regular feature.
(b)Commission reports- which are of a non-routine nature and are prepared under special orders.
(c)Special circumstances reports.
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Written communications have the following advantages.
-- They serve as permanent record and as a source or reference.
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More care is taken in drafting written communication (than |
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is in the case of oral |
communications) and this saves the |
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subsequent loss of time and money. |
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When the communicator |
and recipient are far off, written |
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communication is the |
best method. |
-- The recipient can ponder over the communication and request for changes, if necessary.
The disadvantages are listed below:
-- As everything is to be translated into black and white, it consumes a lot of time and money.
-- People do not care at all to pass the appropriate message. Consequently, poor messages are to be followed by clarifications and explanations.
-- Sometimes it may not be possible to reduce everything into writing.
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Any omission |
will call for additional communication. |
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Written communication is subject to delay and red tapism. |
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It is very difficult to keep some communications up to date. |
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Formal and Informal Communication
The formal organisation chart describes the formal lines of authority, power, responsibility and accountability of the organizational members. All these relationships involve communication. For instance, the delegation of authority involves the flow information from a superior to his subordinate. Formal communications are in black and white.
On the other hand, informal communication is free from all the formalities of formal communication. Informal communication is based on the informal relationship among the organisation members. It is conveyed by a simple gesture, glance, nod, smile or mere silence. For instance, when the worker approaches the manager and informs about the completion of the job entrusted to him, and if the manger simply nods his head or gives an approving smile, then it amounts to informal communication.
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The informal communication which supplements the formal organizational relationship is referred to as the “Grapevine”. Though this relationship is structureless, it comes into existence when formal organizational members who know each other pass on information relating to the enterprise. It thrives on information not openly available to the entire work group. This may be due to the fact that information is regarded as confidential. The Grapevine may flourish, if formal lines of communication are inadequate. The Grape vine is inevitable and valuable, because all forms of informal organisation serve essential human communication needs. It is very effective for quick communication.
Downward, Upward or Horizontal Communication
Communications are classified as downward, upward or horizontal. Communication is said to be downward when it flows from the top to the bottom, it is upward when it flows from the sub-ordinates to the top management. It is horizontal when it flows between individuals at the same level (e.g. between two depar tmental or section heads). All these three kinds of communications may be either oral or written. The Classical theorists emphasized downward communication. Downward Communication is used by the superiors to convey their orders and directions to their subordinates. The purposes of downward communication are:
a.To give job instructions
b.To create an understanding of the work and its relations with other tasks.
c.To inform about procedures.
d.To inform sub-ordinates about their performance.
e.To indoctrinate the workers to organizational goals.
Barriers to Communication
It is not possible that every time an order, instruction, guideline, direction, programme, information etc, transmitted by the superior is properly understood and assimilated by those for whom it is intended. Similarly suggestions, reports, advice, recommendations, complaints, etc., transmitted by the sub-ordinates to their superiors may be misunderstood or mis-interpreted. In any case, the objectives of communication are defeated.
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As such, the process of communication is not always smooth. It is obstructed by many obstacles. These are referred to as barriers of communication. It refers to those factors which cause disturbance either in the mind of the communicator or the communicatee or in the process, which will create distortion of the message, leading to lack of the response, ignoring or mis-understanding. The important barriers to effective communication are:
Ineffective Expression
The first and the most common barrier in the process of communication is bad expression. This means that the messages suffer from omissions, uncertainty, inaccuracies, verbosity, repetitions, ambiguity, lack of clarity and precision. In order to remove this, the staff should be trained to draft various kinds of effective communication. This will save time because otherwise much time has to be devoted in giving subsequent clarifications.
Inaccurate Translation
Decisions are generally conveyed from the top to the lower level. The superiors are known for their specialised knowledge. They generally draft messages in a technical language which may not be clearly understood by those who have to implement the decisions. Even if they are able to understand, they may not be able to convey it further down the line in simple words.
In many such cases, it becomes necessary to translate the subject matter or the message into a simpler language, i.e., the language which the Communicatee can understand easily. But the translation may be done inaccurately. Sometimes the translator is not in a position to find out the equivalent of many terms. With the result, the translation leads to further confusion. It becomes necessary that competent persons are appointed for the job and are provided the necessary equipment for the execution of the entrusted tasks.
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Inattention
Inattention is a very common and chronic human failing. This barrier generally arises in case of oral communication. It can be illustrated with the help of the following example: a superior is giving a message on the telephone. The subordinate is busy reading a magazine or looking through the window or his mind is occupied with some family problem. Superiors have to face this problem of inattention quite frequently. Efforts to communicate fails. The communicator should choose the appropriate time for communicating. Thus, for example, communicating at lunch hour or while at rest will not invite due attention. Holding a meeting at an odd time or calling the worker over for a talk on a holiday are some other examples.
Loss in Transmission
Loss in transmission is another barrier of communication which arises in oral communication. When messages are conveyed from the higher to the lower level step by step, much of it is likely to be lost in transit. This problem may arise in case of written communication as well. At every level the superior will interpret the message which is likely to be distorted. Further, the meaning will change if some words ar are dropped, changed or misspelt. Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell estimate that about 30% of the information is lost in each transmission. Written communications too are subject to loss in transmission. It is no wonder that enterprises often operate in a cloud of ignorance.
Vague and Unclarified Assumptions
The object of a communication is to distinctly tell the communicatee what is desired of him. If the message is not clear in meaning, assumptions are not clear to the personnel; communication will lose its purpose. If the personnel are not able to know what they are supposed to do even after receiving the message, the communication will be no more than a waste paper.
Inadequate Adjustment Period
Certain messages affect a large number of people in their personal life. For example, a notice is issued informing change in the timings of the shift in a factory. This requires sufficient lead time for the workers to make an adjustment. In case sufficient time is not granted there will be a communication barrier.
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