Unit – 1
Introducing business communication
Q1) What do you mean by communication? Give elements of communication.
A1) Communication is as old as man himself. Without communication we can’t live and work together in an organized way. It enables us to understand others and make ourselves understand. Communication is the process by which we exchange meanings, facts, ideas, opinions or emotions with other people. The word communication has been derived from a Latin word ‘Communis’ which means ‘commonness’ or to share or to participate. Communication means to convey a message bye one person to another so that another person may understand, follow and implement the message. Basically, communication is a two-way process and the two terminals should be concerned with mutual understanding if communication is to be purposefully effective. It is important to note that communication does not mean merely written or oral messages.
IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION TO MANAGERS-
Communication is the vehicle through which basic management functions are carried out. The success of an enterprise depends upon the effectiveness of the communication. It is said to be the nervous system of an organization. Managers cannot plan, organize, direct and control without communication. It is no exaggeration to say that communication is the means by which organizational activity is unified, behaviour is modified, change is effect and goals are achieved. A manager typically spends 3/4th of his working day on communication and his success depends largely on communication skills. The importance of communication in the field of management has been highlighted by Alvin Dodd,
The number one management problem today is communication Now-a-days employers give high weightage to the communication skills at Nobert Winner has rightly said that "Communication is the cement that
Communication is the essential flux that binds individuals together in the time of their appointment as well as promotion makes organizations group activities. It is as necessary to an organization as blood stream to a person.
It is the foundation of sound management. It is the mechanism through which human relations are developed. In the words of Peter F Drucher, "The manager has a specific tool : information. He does not handle peoplę; he motivates, guides, organises people to do their own work. His tool, his only tool-to do all this is the obvious that communication is the life blood and foundation stone of the successful working of an organization. spoken or written word or the language of numbers." Thus, it is the necessity for effective communication in management has been widely recognised in recent years. The major responsibilities of an organizer in an industry lie in the establishment and effective utilisation of a communication system. The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following points:
1. Smooth and unrestricted running of the enterprise: The smooth and unrestricted running of an enterprise depends in toto on an effective system of communication. In every organization, big or small, may it be in the public or private sector, 'communication' plays a major role. For instance, if you happen to enter in a bank or an insurance company, you will find all the clerks and the peons busy with the disp0sal of some sort of "communication'. In industrial or manufacturing concerns instructions and information is being passed on continuously from one end to the other, from a superior to his subordinate, from a Labour Officer to the workers, from the Managing Director to his executives and so on. "The more complex the organization the more difficult it becomes to establish that the correct information is passed on to the right person at the right time through the right medium. The communication from the superior is the basis on which the work of his subordinate depends. This is the medium through which the subordinate knows his limitations, regulates his work and expects reward or punishment for his approved or disapproved behaviour. Without a rich flow of communication from his boss, the subordinate cannot judge which direction he should be going or how well he is doing and the like. Similarly, the communication from the subordinate to his superior is a necessity for a successful organizer to plan his work."
2. Quick decision and implementation: Communication helps the administration in arriving at vital decisions. In its absence it may not be possible for the top administrators to come in closer contact with each other and discuss the important problems pertaining to the organization. Just as without soul human body is but a corpse, similarly, howsoever intelligent and painstaking the personnel or management may be, it would be of no avail unless the top management can effectively communicate either the policy or the decision to those who can translate it into action. In short, effective communication is the sine qua non for the quick at systematic implementation of the management decisions.
Elements of Communication-
Q2) What is the process of Communication?
A2) The communication is the process by which two or more people exchange information and share meaning. By analyzing the communication process, one discovers that it is a chain made of identifiable links. “Link in this process include: Sender message, encoding, decoding, receiver and feedback. Link any other chain, the communication chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
1. Sender: The process of communication involves two parties i.e, the sender and the receiver. Sender may be individual or group of individuals or any organization, who desires to share information for a predetermined purpose or for an expected action or response.
2. Encoding: Encoding means to transform the idea into words, symbols, pictures, diagrams, gestures i.e, it is a method to provide a concrete shape to the message. The purpose of encoding is to translate internal thought patterns into a language or code that the intending receiver of the message will probably understand.
3. Message/Information: The message is the physical form of the thought which can be experienced and understood by one or more senses of the receiver.
4. Channel/Media: It is a vehicle in the transmission of a message. In this stage the message is actually sent and the information is transferred. The technological revolution has brought about a wide range of telecommunication methods.
5. Receiver: The person or group, who perceives the message and attaches some meaning to the message is the receiver.
6. Decoding: Decoding is translation of information received, into an understandable message to interpret it. Even the most expertly fashioned message will not accomplish its purpose unless it is understood.
7. Feedback: Feedback is the response to the message received by the receiver of the information, which sends back to the sender of the information. Feedback is the reversed of the communication process. This is the stage where major and serious distortions take place in a message and such distortion are due to receiver's perception, value system, attitude, past experience etc.
Normally the message interpreted by the receiver is different from what the sender had intended to. Therefore, feedback is necessary to ensure whether the receiver has understood the message as desired by the sender or not and if not, the message is modified or certain additions are made in the message by the sender in order to make communication effective.
Appropriate forms of feedback are determined by the same factors that govern the sender's encoding decision. Without feedback, senders have no way of knowing whether their ideas have been accurately understood. It may be noted, that in oral communication, feedback is often immediate and direct, in meetings the audience may nod or smile to show understanding and agreement. Immediate feedback offers an advantage to the sender of the information to clear off doubts, bring modification or change the topic of information to make the communication effective. In addition, indirect means of feedback (such as declines in productivity, poor production quality, increased absenteeism or turnover and poor coordination and/or conflict between units) may indicate communication breakdowns. In a nut shell, prompt and suitable feedback improves the efficiency of communication process, but it may influence the process at any or all points. Noise is any interference with the normal flow of understanding from one person to another. Noise may be with the receiver or channel or the message or sometimes the external environment. Psychological noise consists of forces within the sender or receiver that interfere with understanding i.e., egotism, hostility, prejudices, etc.
8. Noise: Noise is not an integral part of the chain like communication necessary to take preventive steps to reduce the level and intensity of noise to make communication effective. Noise reduces the effectiveness of communication.
Q3) Discuss the various Communication Models and Theories.
A3) There are many communication process, models and theories to understand the process involved in it developed by different people.
2. Rogers and Shoemaker’s Communication Model: Rogers and Shoemaker given their S-M-C-R-E Model, the ingredients of which are
S M C R E
According to them a source (i.e., S) sends a message (i.e., M) via channels (i.e., C) to the receiver (i.e., R) which causes some effects thereby changing the existing behavior pattern of the receiver.
3. Leagans Communication Model: The communication models given by leagans.
Communicator Message Channel Treatment Audience
Audience Response
According to leagans, the task of communication is to provide powerful incentives for change and thorough understanding of the six elements of communication.
4. Shannon and Weaver’s Communication Model: The Shannon weaver model consistent with Aristotle’s proposition. According to them, the ingredients of communication are:
Information Source: It is the first step in the communication process. The source is the speaker.
Transmitter: A transmitter, which sends out the source’s message.
Channel: Channel carries signals from transmitter to receiver.
Noise Source: This model recognizes that noise distorts the message. It is not necessarily sound, rather any interference with the natural flow of understanding from one person to another.
Receiver: Receiver catches the message for destination. Message is decoded by the receiver, either by healing on reading the message.
Q4) What do you mean by feedback? Give importance of feedback in communication.
A4) Two- way communication takes place when the receiver provides feedback to the sender. For instance, giving an instruction to a subordinate and receiving its acceptance is an example of two-way communication. On the other hand, in one-way communication feedback is totally absent. Here the sender communicates without expecting or getting feedback from receiver.
A policy statement from the Chief Executive is an example of one-way communication. Two-way communication is superior to one-way communication in the following respects:
(a) Two- way communication is more accurate than one-way communication. The feedback allows the sender to refine his communication so that it becomes more precise and accurate.
(b) Receives self-confidence is higher in case of two-way communication as they are permitted to ask questions and seek clarifications from the senders.
When two- way communication occurs, both parties experience greatest satisfaction, frustration is prevented and work accuracy is much improved. Feedback helps to reduce misunderstandings. The information is transferred more accurately when the receiver is given the opportunity to ask for clarifications, and answers to any questions about the message. Two-way communication, even though more time consuming, avoids distrust and leads to trust and openness which builds a healthy relationship between the sender and the receiver and contributes to effective communication.
Sending back the knowledge about the message to the communicator is After receiving the message, the receiver will take necessary action and send feedback information to the communicator. On the other hand, known as feedback. communicator must know how well the message has been received by the receiver, understood, interpreted and acted upon. Feedback helps to determine this process. Feedback is one of the important elements of the communication process. A communication process without a provision for feedback is not an effective communication. To check effectiveness of communication, a person must have feedback. One can never be sure whether or not a message has been effectively encoded, transmitted, decoded and understood unless it is confirmed by feedback.
Q5) What are the qualities of good communication system?
A5) An office manager should be conversant not only with the various methods and devices of communication but also with different factors which have to De considered before adopting a particular system of communication in the once
NO hard and fast rules can be laid down as to the qualities of a good communication system. A method may be suitable for a particular, type of message but may not be for another type. What particular. system of communication should be used will depend, on the needs of the organization and the type of message. A communication system may be very. quick and excellent but the cost may be prohibitive, so cost factor cannot be ignored, Any- how an ideal system of communication should have the following qualities:
1. Speed the Communication system should be capable of carrying message speedily.
2. Accuracy: Communication system should be capable of conveying the messages accurately. Figures are likely to be misheard over telephone.
3. Secrecy: If desired, the message should not leak out. Certain modes of communication like television or public address system cannot keep the message secret.
4. Record: In certain matters authentic record of the communication has to be kept which may be needed as legal evidence in case of dispute later. An ideal system should be capable of keeping record of the communication. There can be no record of verbal communication.
5. Cost: The system should not be costly to install or operate. Anyhow, cost is measured in terms of benefits derived from the system. T'he conveyor belt system is quite costly to install but is essential where the number of letters or documents to be carried is large.
6. Convenience: The system of communication should be convenient to use. If a system cannot be easily used it will lose its utility.
7. Suitability: Suitability of communication system will depend on the nature, size and dispersal of the organization. In the case of a small office even the method of face-to-face talk will be sufficient but internal telephone system is a must if different departments or sections of an organization are located on different floors of a multi stored building.
8. Impression: The mode of communication should not be clumsy it must leave good impression on others. Speeding tubes, for example, throw a very bad impression.
Q6) Discuss the principle of effective communication.
A6) An effective communication system is an essential part of good labour management relations. The prime objective of setting up a communication is to exchange facts and information in a manner which is acceptable to concerned and which will lead to a cooperative action by all concerned. Effective communication is an essential for achieving the overall goals of an organization. Effective communication occurs when the sender obtains his intended results from the receiver. In effective communication the sender's goal is to influence the receiver so that the desired behavior is achieved. Good communication occurs when the receiver correctly understands the message communication, understanding is the goal that is achieved. While it is easy to achieve good communication, effective communication is rather difficult as it involves other aspects of behavior such as motivation, leadership, persuasion, and power. Furthermore, effective communication implies good communication but good communication itself does not ensure effective communication. For making a communication effective, a manager should consider the following principles of communication.
Principle of Clarity: The communication message should be clear. It should be communicated in simple, easy and commonly understood language.
Clarity of thought is the soul of the communication, it is the speaker who makes them meaningful and it is the receiver who interprets them. So, whatever is conveyed should be conveyed in an unambiguous manner. Selection of words to be used in the communication should be made properly so that the words do not have dual meaning: Difficult and high, sounding words obscure the meaning. Simple and familiar words, on the other hand, produce the best and quickest response from everyone. Technical terminology and multisyllable stet may be impressive looking, but they can also be troublesome to the listener.
One should avoid jargon and cliches, Jargon means unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing, familiar only to a group or profession. It is full of special words known only to the members of a group. Each profession has its own jargon or special vocabulary. When it is used outside the group, it becomes unintelligible. While speaking one should always place oneself in the receiver's position. This would definitely bring clear conversation.
Principle of Timeliness: Timing of communication is of great significance in making it effective. Information must be transmitted to the right person in right time. It is often said that information delayed is information denied. Unnecessary delays and red-tapism on the communication process should be avoided. Many time the organizations loose profitable business opportunities due to delays in the communication.
Principle of Use of Informal Channels of Communication: The principle states that management must make use of informal communication as much as possible. This will serve twin purpose of bringing management closer to the workers and also avoiding delay in the communication. Moreover, very often, management extracts such information from the informal channels which it would never have obtained through formal channels eg., information concerned with the problems and complaints of the workers are normally suppressed and distorted by the formal channels in the organizations. Therefore, best way of knowing such problems, grievances etc. is to establish personal or informal contacts with the workers.
Principle of Participation The principle emphasizes that a communication can be effective only if both the communicator as well as the communicatee actively participate in the process. There is a common complaint that a superior always stresses upon what he wants or what he is saying and is never ready to listen what a subordinate has to say. Again, if the communicatee is not attentive to the communication and fails to understand the idea behind the message because half-listening is like accelerating your scooter with its gears in neutral i.e., oil is consumed but result is zero.
Therefore, there should be active participation of both the parties in the process. Also, the sender must ensure side by side whether the recipient has followed him or not. Such feedback helps him in judging the response of the receiver.
Principle of Trust and Cooperation: In order to make communication effective, it's necessary to have cordial relations based on trust and mutual faith in the organization. Lack of trust between management and workers, fails communication in evolving positive response. Due to which communication between the two parties is looked upon with the suspicious eyes of the other. Hence management and worker must have trust and confidence in each other.
Principle of Objective The communicator must be clear about the purpose of communication before actually transmitting the message. The objective may be to obtain information, give information, initiate action, change another person attitude and so on. If the purpose of communication is clear it will help in the choice of mode of communication.
Principle of Adequacy: Communication should be adequate and complete, not broken or incomplete, Inadequate communication delays action. It, spoils understanding as well as good relations. Efficiency of both the communicator and recipient is affected.
Principle of feedback: This principle calls for making communication a two-way process. Messages, policies and programs, directions, opinions, etc, are communicated downwards and complaints, greviences, suggestions are communicated upwards. Both are necessary in the organization. Thus, the communication is a two-way process. It follows the principle of "give & take Oral communication is regarded better as compared to written, since the former provides more opportunities of feedback than latter. As regards written communication, ways and means have to be devised for getting feedback. But feedback principle is often given a back seat by most managers which defeats the every purpose of communication
Q7) Discuss 7C’s of communication.
A7) Clarity: The communication message should be clear. It should be communicated in simple, easy and commonly understood language. Clarity of thought is the soul of the communication, It is the speaker who makes them meaningful and it is the receiver who interprets them. So, whatever is conveyed should be conveyed in an unambiguous manner. Selection of words to be used in the communication should be made properly so that the words do not have dual meaning: Difficult and high sounding, words obscure the meaning. Simple and familiar words, on the other hand, produce the best and quickest response from everyone. Technical terminology and multisyllable stet may be impressive looking, but they can also be troublesome to the listener. One should avoid jargon and cliches, Jargon means unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing, familiar only to a group or profession. It is full of special words known only to the members of a group. Each profession has its own jargon or special vocabulary. When it is used outside the group, it becomes unintelligible. While speaking one should always place oneself in the receiver's position. This would definitely bring clear conversation.
Complete: The message should be complete with respect to thought as well as content. Incomplete messages will create confusion in the mind of the receiver and he will be forced to seek clarification from the sender. This will lead to slowing down of the communication process to ensure completeness, answer all the questions, give all the relevant facts. One should always check for the basic questions i.e., what, why, where, when, who. For example, while announcing a meeting, specify what is to be discussed in the meeting, why it is being held, where the meeting is to be held, when it is being held and who is to attend the meeting.
Concise: The message should be concise and in concrete form. Ruskin irrelevant content and words. It should avoid the over elaboration of points. Ina nut shell, to retain the attention as well as to save time of the reader, it is essential that the message should be concise. Conciseness means conveying the message in fewest possible words without sacrificing its completeness and clarity. Therefore, irrelevant details, repetition of the same ideas and words should be avoided and the message should be properly organised.
Courteous: Courtesy means a friendly and helpful behavior towards others. Congenial and healthy communication environment is essential to ensure the effectiveness of communication. Courtesy, in the message as well as manners, plays a dominating role in this regard. In order to make communication effective, it is of utmost importance that use of only refined language is made. While communicating, it is necessary that we should be considerate, compassionate and friendly. We should avoid becoming sarcastic, impatient and irritated by being aware of ourself. For courtesy, one should thank generously for any favour and apologize sincerely for any omission. If itis necessary to criticize, we must be tactful in approach, so that our communication generates more light than heat. Even if a subordinate is to be reprimanded for his inefficiency or inaction, the superior should do so in an effective manner so that he is successful in showing his displeasure without hurting the feelings of the subordinate. Very often it has been seen that use of harsh words and rough tone during the communication becomes the root cause of deteriorations in the relations between the superior and the subordinate.
Correct: We should not transmit any message unless we are absolutely convinced of its accuracy and authenticity. The message to be communicated should be correct in spelling, grammer, format, contents, statistics, information etc. it's very essential to use correct facts and correct style. Also, the message should be transmitted or sent at correct time. Delayed and outdated messages cause loss of time and money. It is often said that information delayed is information denied. Transmission of incorrect information to outsiders may spoil relations and reputation. If employees forward incorrect information managers, it may sometimes lead the management to erroneous disasterous decisions.
Consistency: The communication should be consistent with the plans. The policies, programmes and communication should also be consistent. Inconsistency in communication may reduce the effectiveness of communication and sometimes it does not remain reliable due to inconsistency for objective of the enterprise.
Candid: The message to be communicated must be candid, i.e., it must be straight forward and frank. One should not beat about the bush while communicating which may amount to active concealment.
Q8) State the different types of audience.
A8) Types of Audiences-
One of the first things to do when you analyze and audience is to identify its type (or types-its rarely just one type). The common division of audiences into categories is as follows:
Experts: These are the people who know the theory and the product inside and out. They designed it, they tested it, they know everything about it. Often, they have advanced degrees and operate in academic settings or in research and development areas of the government and business worlds.
Technicians: These are the people who build, operate, maintain and repair the stuff that the experts design and theorize about. There is a highly technical knowledge as well, but of a more practical nature.
Executives: These are the people who make business, economic, administrative, legal, governmental, political decisions on the stuff that the experts and technicians work with. If it's a new product, they decide whether to produce and market it. If it's a new. Power technology, they decide whether the city should implement it. Executives are likely to have as little technical knowledge about the subject as non- specialists.
Non -specialists: These readers have the least technical knowledge of all. Their interest may be as practical as technicians, but in a different way. They want to use the new product to accomplish their tasks; they want to understand the new power technology enough to know whether to vote for or against it in the upcoming bond election. Or, they may just be curious about a specific technical matter and want to learn about it -but for no specific, practical reason.
Q9) What is Audience Analysis? Explain its objective.
A9) AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
The audience of a technical report or any piece of Writing for that matter-is the intended or potential reader or readers. For most technical writers, this is the most important consideration in planning, writing, and reviewing a document. You "adapt" your writing to meet the needs, interests, and background of the readers who will be reading your writing.
The principle seems absurdly simple and obvious. It's much the same as telling someone. "Talk so the person in front of you can understand what you're saying." It's like saying, "Don't talk rocket science to your six-year-old son." Do we need a course in that? Doesn't seem like it. But, in fact, lack of audience analysis and adaptation is one of the root causes of most of the problems you find in professional, technical documents-particularly instructions where it surfaces most glaringly.
Q10) What are the elements of audience analysis?
A10) Elements of Audience Analysis-
1. Add information readers need to understand your document: Check to see whether certain key information is missing-for example, a critical series of steps from a set of instructions; importance background that helps beginners understand the main discussion; definition of key terms. (See the section on ideas on content for details.)
2. Omit information your readers do not need: Unnecessary information can also confuse and frustrate readers-after al1, it's there so they feel obligated to read it. For example, you can probably chop theoretical discussion from basic instructions.
3. Change the level of the information you currently have: You may have the right information but it may be "pitched" at too high or too low a technical level. It may pitch at the wrong kind of audience-for example, at an expert audience rather than a technician audience. This happens most often when product-design notes are passed off as instructions.
4. Add example to help readers understand: Examples are one of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences, particularly in instructions. Even in noninstructional text, for example, when you are trying to explain a technical concept, examples are a major help-analogies in particular.
5. Strengthen transitions: It may be difficult for readers, particularly non- specialists, to see the connections between the main sections of your report, between individual paragraph, and sometimes. even between individual sentence. You can make these connections much clearer by adding transition words and by echoing key words more accurately. Words like "therefore, for example", however" are transition words-they indicate the logic connecting the previous thought to the upcoming thought. You can also strengthen transitions by carefully echoing the same key words.
6. Write stronger introductions-both for the whole document and for major sections: People seem to read with more confidence and understanding when they have the big picture"-a view of what's coming, and how it relates to what they've just read. Therefore, make sure you have a strong introduction to t entire document-one that makes clear the topic, purpose, audience and contents of that document. And for each major section within your document, Use mini-introduction that indicate at least the topic of the section and give an overview of the subtopics to be covered in that section.
7. Create topic sentences for paragraphs and paragraph groups: It can help readers immensely to give them an idea of the topic and purpose of a section (a group of paragraphs) and in particular to give them an overview of the subtopics about to be covered. Roadmaps help when you're in a different state.
8. Use more or different graphics: For non- specialist audiences, you may want to use more graphics-and simpler once at that. Writing for specialists and experts tends to be less illustrated, less graphically attractive even boring to the eye! Graphics for specialists tend to be more detailed, more technical. In technical documents for non- specialists, there also tend to be more "decorative" graphics-ones that serve no strict informative or persuasive purpose at all.
9. Break text up or consolidate text into meaningful, usable chunks: For non- specialist readers, you may need to have shorter paragraphs. Notice how much longer paragraphs are in technical documents written for specialists. (May be a 6 to 8 line paragraph is the dividing line.)
10. Add cross-references to important information: In technical information, you can help non- specialist readers by pointing them to background sources. If you can't fully explain a topic on the spot, point to a book or article where it is.
11. Use special typography, and work with margins, line length, line spacing, type size and type style : For non- specialist readers, you can do things like making the lines shorter (bringing in the margins), using larger type sizes and other such tactics. Certain type styles are believed to be friendlier and more readable than others. (Try to find someone involved with publishing to get their insights on fonts.)
