Interpersonal

Communication

Name: Debarchan Mishra
Roll No: u113082
BM-2013-15
Section B
OB-1 Assignment







Introduction
The definition of communication is known to us since centuries. Communication in simple
terms is defined as the transfer of a message from one party to another. Interpersonal
communication is defined as the exchange of ideas or communication between two or more
individuals. In todays scenario it is very necessary for us to understand the role interpersonal
communication plays in a persons life particularly related to the organisational behaviour of
an individual.
An organisation is based on the framework of team efforts, employee motivation,
networking, authority and responsibility. All involve an inherent need for smooth
interpersonal communication. This report aims to address interpersonal communication in the
different facets of an organisation and demonstrates that it is a vital part of any organisation.

The Process of Interpersonal Communication
The process of interpersonal communication is viewed from a general communication
perspective provided in 1949 by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. This model, in its
most basic format, includes the sender, the message, the channel, and the receiver. Noise
provides an additional component.
The first two components of interpersonal communication are the sender and the message.
The sender mentally composes a message to relay to another person, taking into account the
reason, or intention, for sending the message. The act of transferring this message from
thought to words is called encoding.
The channel in this model refers to the mode of communication used to relay the message.
The channel is generally face to face.
The fourth component of this model is the receiver. This person is responsible for taking the
sender's message and decoding it.
The exchange described is one basic unit of interaction between communicators. Once the
receiver decodes the message and gives meaning to it, that person can encode another
message to relay to the sender. The resulting action is characterized as feedback.
An additional component affecting the interaction represented in this model is noise. Noise
refers to anything that could interfere with the transmission of the message from the sender to
the receiver, and it can be attributed to a number of sources. Physical sources are often much
easier to recognize and would include a loud truck driving by while the sender was talking to
the receiver during a meeting, or if the receiver was having difficulty with his hearing aid
while listening to the sender speak.



Evolution of interpersonal communication
There was a time when interpersonal communication was only to talk face to face. But in
today's world where numerous gadgets like mobile, laptop, i-pad, etc. have become an
important part of human life; technology plays an important role in business and
communication too as people stay connected online most of the times and express their
thoughts with the help of technology. If an organisation wants to establish a productive
communication channel, it cannot afford to overlook the importance of online
communication. An organisation chooses a means of communicating with employees
depending on various factors, some of which are costs associated with technology,
globalization, the size of the workforce, information and consumer markets. Some of the
research findings indicate that employees prefer face to face interaction with the management
rather than the online mode of communication. However, the cost associated with face to face
communication is higher in large organisations, packaging in terms of money, time and
effort. Thus, human resource managers are opting for online mode of communication in a
variety of cases. But there must be a clear differentiation in situations that lend themselves to
these forms of communication. Usually, in situations that involve personal messages,
information which are critical and sensitive in nature, both management and employees opt
for face to face communication. But when the context is less critical and widespread as
meeting times, schedules, policy changes, training, and exchange of annual or weekly reports,
online mode of communication is preferred. Even critical and confidential data is shared via
email, but appropriate measures are taken in this regard. Also e-mail happens to be the most
effective media in time sensitive situations.
Technology and globalization are in fact bipolar for businesses or organisations. We are
facing new perspectives and are presented with new challenges every day. As online
communication, other media or communication channels is a conference call. Conference
calls are multi-stakeholder meeting on the phone. Conference call in a workplace is as
important as meeting face to face. The sense of meeting should be specified here. There is no
official definition of the meeting here, but in general terms can be expressed as the
communication between two or more people is called in advance and usually has a fixed
agenda or purpose. Starting today, when most organisations in general are going global, most
employees are required to attend the conference call a day or another. Also nowadays we can
see the use of video conference in use across organisations for meetings or for taking
interviews. Persons sitting in different places or even in different parts of the world can
communicate and also see each other through video. This aids in better understanding of the
agenda and also in taking decisions in a better way. That has taken interpersonal
communication to a new high.
Today in various organisations it can be seen that employees and their client work in different
places and they solve the doubts, queries, etc most of the times through conference calls. I
would like to cite an example here from my own experience in the industry. I worked in the
proposals department and our product used to cater mostly to clients based abroad in the oil
and gas industry. We used to interact with our customer abroad through e-mails,
teleconference, video-conference for resolving our technical queries, doubts, other important
clarifications, etc. Face to face interactions with the customer at his place was only required
when we had to finalize the deal i.e. award of the project to us or in case of very critical
situations. Most communication was done through conference calls and emails. Even we can
take another example of the IT industry where communication takes place in the above
manner. This explains the importance of alternative communication channels such as online
media and the use of conference calls. In general, participants in the conference call are more
numerous, and no more than two. However we cannot ignore some disadvantages of
teleconference. There may be problems related to clarity of voice, the intonation and
modulation. The use of non-verbal elements of communication which aids in conveying a
message appropriately is a missing element. The parties cannot see each other; it is always
not possible to determine who will speak. Therefore, there may be cases of interruptions and
overlaps. As a new employee, one must understand the importance of these means of
interpersonal communication. For multicultural meetings, intonation and pronunciation can
be confusing. People are always more comfortable when they discuss face to face. But
understanding the nitty-gritties is important to understand what to expect and how to behave
and handle the conference meetings. Here comes video-conference which is a step forward in
technology. Some of the problems cited above like seeing face to face, non-verbal
communication and confusion get solved to a good extent.

Language and cultural barriers in Interpersonal communication
Many organisations including Indian and mostly multinational organisations have the
common problem i.e. to overcome the language and cultural barriers in interpersonal
communication. As mentioned earlier globalization has a major impact on the way
organisations operate. As more multinational companies come into picture, we see more of
diverse cultures. This could pose a problem with regard to the use of the mother tongue. The
use of swift and smooth interpersonal communication is a major challenge in this type of
scenario.
Different organisations have different ways of dealing with it. Some multinationals are hiring
or give positions of responsibility based on some strategies to address language and cultural
barriers to interpersonal communication. The strategies can be broadly classified as
ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric. Ethnocentric organisations send individuals
belonging to the region of the base of the organisation to other places and countries. They
believe that in such a way the persons can guide the company because they have greater
ownership as they are culturally closer and understand the principles of the organisation in a
better way. They face the problem of communication in a foreign environment. They are the
minority and face challenges when they try to run an organisation smoothly. The second
strategy is polycentric. This involves hiring local talent and people who belong to the specific
area of operation. Such a commitment can lead to a differentiation between groups and
language groups in levels between modules. The third recruitment strategy is geocentric. The
adoption of this strategy by multinationals is trying to find a balance between tapping local
responsiveness as well as to seek global presence and overall coherence. Thus, to facilitate
interpersonal communication within the organisation the management take into account
language and cultural distinctions. In addition, training modules and workshops may help the
employees to communicate effectively and at ease in different demographics and situations.
Workshops could also facilitate interpersonal communication between workers in different
locations, environments and cultures.

Interpersonal communication in an Organisation
We discussed above the problems related to language and culture one comes across in an
organisation when it comes to interpersonal communication and the means organisations are
employing to overcome the same. Here we discuss one more important aspect pertaining to
interpersonal communication in an organisation. The communication between a superior and
his subordinate is one of the fundamental aspects of communication in an organisation. In
general, this relationship is one of the most critical in an organisation but it is mostly looked
in a one-dimensional way. People tend to focus on the communication from a superior to a
subordinate. First debate centres on how a superior ought to communicate. However, one
needs to focus on the upward communication too. Employees work in an organisation not
only to satisfy their physiological needs, such as monetary benefits, but also to meet their
higher needs of social life and self-realization. Therefore, we rarely see an open minded
communication from a subordinate to a supervisor. For the common good, which is to benefit
the organisation as a whole, the best suggestions or measures should be addressed regardless
of the category of employee, who suggested the idea. We can see that in a normal situation,
supervisors are motivated to self-esteem and care about their image. But a subordinate is
different. They are motivated by the opportunities for their self-esteem as well their
supervisors. They tend to avoid sharing their true comments, feedbacks and opinions. In the
extreme opposite case however a subordinate might be completely oblivious to his
supervisors comments. Both hard and soft interpersonal communications are detrimental to
an organisation. Some researchers have coined the term "mum effect" to explain the situation
of subordinates who do not want to express their true opinion.
This can be generalized in the relations between the employees as well. People believe in
maintaining good relations with colleagues to ensure smooth sailing in their organisation.
They tend to avoid confrontation and conflict. Confining their views could lead to a process
of making bad decisions. We must understand the importance of healthy and true feedback
system.
For effective interpersonal communication, one must understand that maintaining a good
relationship with the people by not to opposing them is different from maintaining a healthy
communication. The latter consists of a free flow of ideas by all parties involved in the
communication. It may happen that an employee does not speak of problems with the project
or the work of a colleague, but reports it directly to the supervisor. Thus, different situations
lead to "mum effect." However, the end result is same in all cases. It is a hindrance to
effective interpersonal communication framework and could therefore cause harm to an
organisation.
The lack of healthy communication between employees, whether in a hierarchical level or on
the same horizontal level has negative effects on the culture of an organisation. If the higher
order needs and self-image become too important for an employee, then it hinders the process
of knowledge sharing in the organisation. However, the hierarchical structure has its positive
effects. If there is a free flow of knowledge and ideas within colleagues or among superiors
and subordinates, it would strengthen the organisation in a way nothing else can. Therefore,
good interpersonal communication can help an organisation to define its principles,
objectives, mission and vision clearly.
There have been several research works investigating interpersonal communication between
colleagues by examining the strategies used by them in maintaining relations. There is a
direct relationship between interpersonal communication and relationships between
employees, strategies related to their work, their level of job satisfaction and commitment to
work. Different research findings have shown that if an employee maintains healthy social
relationships and communication with colleagues, it benefits work to a large extent. He is
more motivated and committed towards his job. According to the need hierarchy pyramid by
Maslow, social needs of a person rank as higher order needs. Thus, an employee is happier if
he has healthy interpersonal relationships with his colleagues.
Recent studies have shown the importance of small talk to facilitate communication between
individuals. In addition, the nature of the small talk is beneficial in understanding the
requirements that can lead to a better communication. Small talk would lead to better social
interpersonal communication and helps build harmonious working relations. This is very
important in an organisation and particularly helps a superior in understanding his
subordinate and also in many cases in resolving of conflicts between persons in an
organisation. Another important aspect with respect to organisation that cant be overlooked
is the building of rapport. Rapport is a common bond that a person creates with others. It
helps to identify one with a particular person. Rapport also helps to improve communication
and can influence others with the rapport one shares with others. Small talk actually helps to
build a long-term relationship. Small talk and rapport are very essential in building up a
healthy working environment in an organisation.






Conclusion
In contexts and the examples mentioned above, I tried to explain the different aspects of
interpersonal communication from the point of view of an organisation. Although in general,
interpersonal communication can be classified as - social and organisational. We cannot
overlook the importance of sound and efficient interpersonal communication if we want a
particular organisation to succeed.
This is a quote often repeated and rehashed that "Success is all about human relation. So are
the relationships and trust issues. To achieve this, we need to have a free flow of ideas by all
parties concerned. Therefore more importance should be given to the areas of interpersonal
communication. This in turn can lead to greater job satisfaction, positive attitude, confident
personality, better management of stress and conflicts. Thus, all objectives can be achieved
by focussing on building relationships, by facilitating smooth and effective interpersonal
communication.



















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