UNIT- 8
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION
Communications is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans as well as to an organization. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding. It is the key to the directing function of management.
The word communication has been derived from the Greek word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’. Thus, it means sharing of ideas in common.
According to Louis A. Allen, “Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.”
The American Management Association defines communication as, “any behavior that results in the exchange of meaning.”
Koontz and O’Donnell are of the opinion that, “Communication is a way that one organization member shares meaning and understanding with another.”
Thus, communication refers to the whole process of man’s life in relation to the group and includes exchange of information, a system of communicating and a process by which meanings are exchanged among human beings.
Following principles of communication make it more effective:
1. Principle of Clarity:
The idea or message to be communicated should be clearly spelt out. It should be worded in such a way that the receiver understands the same thing which the sender wants to convey. A clear message will evoke the same response from the other party.
2. Principle of Attention:
In order to make communication effective, the receiver’s attention should be drawn towards message. Subordinates should act similarly as per the contents of the message. The acts of a superior also draw the attention of subordinates and they may follow what they observe.
3. Principle of Feedback:
Feedback is one of the most essential elements of the communication process. There should always be a feedback from the recipient to know whether he has understood the message in the same sense in which the sender has meant it.
4. Principle of Informality:
Sometimes informal communication may prove successful where formal communication does not achieve desired results. Management should use informal communication for assessing the reaction of employees towards various policies.
5. Principle of Consistency:
This principle states that communication should always be consistent with the policies, plans, programmes and objectives of the organization and not in conflict with them.
6. Principle of Timeliness:
This principle states that communication should be done at proper time so that it helps in implementing plans.
7. Principle of Adequacy:
The information communicated should be adequate in order to take proper and timely decisions and making action plans.
The communication process follows the steps given below:
5. Decoding: It is the process of converting the symbols encoded by the sender.
6. Receiver: The person who is last in the chain of communication process is the receiver.
The barriers prevent effective communication due to which misunderstandings may be created. Therefore, it is essential for a manager to identify such barriers and take appropriate measures to overcome them. The barriers to communication are as follows:
6. Inadequate attention: Inadequate attention to the message makes communication less effective and the message is likely to be misunderstood.
7. Resistance to change: It is a general tendency of human beings to stick to old and customary patterns of life. When new ideas are being communicated to introduce a change, it is likely to be overlooked or even opposed. This resistance to change creates an important obstacle to effective communication.
8. Other barriers: There may be many other barriers such as unclarified assumptions, lack of ability to communicate, mirage of too much knowledge or closed minds, communication overload, shortage of time etc. which cause distortion or obstruction in the free flow of communication and thus makes it ineffective.
The following steps may be taken to minimize barriers to communication and making it more effective:
1. Clarity and completeness: The message to be conveyed must be absolutely clear in the mind of the communicator because if one does not understand an idea, one can never express it to someone. The message should be adequate and appropriate to the purpose of communication. The communication, itself, should be clearly defined.
2. Proper Language: To avoid semantic barriers, the message should be expressed in simple, brief and clear language. The words or symbols selected for conveying the message must be appropriate to the reference and understanding of the receiver.
3. Sound organization structure: To make communication effective, the organizational structure must be sound and appropriate to the needs of the organization.
4. Avoid premature evaluation: To communicate effectively, one should be a good listener. Superiors should develop the habit of patient listening and avoid premature evaluation of communication from their subordinates. This will encourage free flow of upward communication.
5. Motivation and mutual confidence: The message to be communicated should be so designed as to motivate the receiver to influence his behavior to take the desired action. A sense of mutual trust and confidence must be generated to promise free flow of information.
6. Informal Communication: Informal channels of communication help to overcome the barriers in formal channels and make communication more effective.
7. Feedback: Communication is not complete unless the response or reaction of the receiver of the message is obtained by the communicator.
8. Orientation of employees: Employees should be oriented to understand the objectives, rules, policies, authority relationships and operations of enterprise. It will help in understanding one another, minimizing conflicts and distortion of messages.
8.7 Role of Effective Communication
The main role of communication is to effect change in someone i.e., to influence action or to secure inaction in the overall interest of an enterprise. It enables us to understand and make ourselves understood. Without communication we cannot live or work together in an organized way. The basic purpose of communication is to facilitate and lubricate the organization. Thus, the role of communication may be listed below:
- To keep employees informed.
- To provide employees with orders and instructions in connection with their duties.
- To solicit information from employees, that may aid management.
- To make each employee interested in his respective job and in the work of the company as a whole.
- To express management’s interest in its personnel.
- To reduce or prevent labour turnover.
- To install each employee with personal pride in being a member of the company.
Key Takeaways
- The word communication has been derived from the Greek word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’. Thus, it means sharing of ideas in common.
- It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding.
- There are certain principles which, if adhered to, lead to effective communication.
- In the process of communication, the sender encodes a massage and sends it to the buyer through a channel. After receiving the message, the receiver decodes it as per his understanding and then provides feedback to the sender.
- Communication helps the organization in many managerial functions.
- The barriers prevent effective communication due to which misunderstandings may be created. Therefore, it is essential for a manager to identify such barriers and take appropriate measures to overcome them.
References
- Gupta, S.K. & Joshi, R. Human Resource Management. Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi (2002).
- Khanka, S.S. Organizational Behavior. S. Chand & Company Pvt. New Delhi (2000), pp. 560.
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