The act of communicating; transmission. a. by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. b. Interpersonal rapport. communications (used with a sing. or pl.

verb) a. The art and technique of using words effectively to impart information or ideas. b. The field of study concerned with the transmission of information by various means, such as print or broadcasting. c. Any of various professions involved with the transmission of information, such as advertising, broadcasting, or journalism. Something communicated; a message. communications A means of communicating, especially: a. A system, such as mail, telephone, or television, for sending and receiving messages. b. A network of routes for sending messages and transporting troops and supplies. communications The technology employed in transmitting messages. Biology. The transfer of information from one molecule, cell, or organism to another, as by chemical or electrical signals or by behaviors. Anatomy. a. An opening or connecting passage between two structures.

b. A joining or connecting of solid fibrous structures, such as tendons and nerves. NATURE:

Communication has been variously defined as the passing of information, the exchange of ideas, or the process of establishing a commonness or ones of thought between a sender and receiver. These definitions suggest that for communication to occur, there must be some common thinking between two parties and information must be passed from one person to another (or from one group to another). Establishing commonality in thinking is not always as easy as it might seem; many attempts to communicate are unsuccessful. The communication process is often very complex. Success depends on such factors as the nature of the message, the audiences interpretation of it, and the environment in which it is received. The receivers perception of the source and the medium used to transmit the message may also affect the ability to communicate, as do many other factors. Words, pictures, sounds, and colors may have different meanings to different audiences, and peoples perceptions and interpretations of them vary. According to George Belch author of Advertising and Promotions, Sixth edition, In parts of the Midwest and South, a soft drink is referred to as pop. If you ask for a soda, ou may get a glass of pop with ice

cream in it. Marketers must understand the meanings that words and symbols take on and how they influence consumers interpretation of products and messages. As you may imagine this may be difficult for companies marketing their products in foreign countries. Language is one of the major barriers to effective communication, as there are different languages in different countries, different languages or dialects within a single country, and more subtle problems of linguistic nuance and vernacular. The growth of bilingual, multicultural, ethnic markets in the United States is also creating challenges for domestic marketers. Basic models of communication: A basic model of the various elements of the communication process are shown below. The two elements represent the major participants in the communication process, the sender and the receiver. Another two are the major communication tools, message and channel.

Four others are the major communication functions and processes: encoding, decoding, response, and feedback. The last element, noise, refers to any extraneous factors in the system that can interfere with the process and work against effective communication. As a marketer its imperative to understand the major functions of communication especially when your marketing online. The sender, or source, of a communication is the person or organization that has information to share with another person or group of people. The source may be an individual, or a non-personal entity. Because the receivers perceptions of the source influence how the communication is received, marketers must be careful to select a communicator the receiver believes is knowledgeable and trustworthy or with whom the receiver can identify or relate in some manner. The process, known as encoding, involves putting thoughts, ideas, and information into a symbolic form. The senders

goal is to encode the message in such a way that it will be understood by the receiver. The encoding process leads to development of a message that contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. Messages must be put into a transmittable form that is appropriate for the channel of communication being used. In advertising, this may range from simply writing some words or copy that will be read as a radio message to producing an expensive television commercial. To better understand the symbolic meanings that might be conveyed in a communication, advertising and marketing campaign researchers have begun focusing attention on semiotics. Semiotics studies the nature of meaning and asks how our reality words, gestures, myths, signs, symbols, products/services, theories acquire meaning. Marketers may use individuals trained in semiotics and related files such as cultural anthropology to better understand the conscious and subconscious meanings the nonverbal signs and symbols in their ads transmit to consumers. The channel is the method by which the communication travels from the source or sender to the receiver. At the broadest level, channels of communication are of two types, personal and nonpersonal. Personal channels of communication are direct interpersonal (face-to-face)

contact with target individuals or groups. Nonpersonal channels of communication are those that carry a message without interpersonal contact between sender and receiver. Nonpersonal channels are generally referred to as the mass media or mass communications, since the message is sent to many individuals at one time. The receiver is the person(s) with whom the sender share thoughts or information. Generally, receivers are the consumers in the target market or audience who read, hear, and/or see the marketers message and decode it. Decoding is simply the process of transforming the senders message back into thought. During the duration of the communication process, the message is subject to extraneous factors that can distort or interfere with its reception. This unplanned distortion or interference is know as noise. Noise may also occur when the sender and receiver are lacking a common ground making it difficult for the receiver to understand and encode a message. This usually happens when the message, picture, symbols are unfamiliar or have different meanings to the receiver. If the sender and the receiver can stay on common ground very little noise should occur. The receivers set of reactions after seeing, hearing, or reading the message is known as the response. Receivers

responses can range from nonobservable actions such as storing information in memory to immediate action such as dialing a toll-free number to order a product advertised on television. Additionally, markterers are very interested in feedback, tthat part of the reivers response that is communicate back to the snder. Feedback, which may take a variety of forms, closes the loop in the communications flow and lets the sender monitor how the inteded message is being decoded and recived. Successful communication is accomplished when the marketer selects an appropriated source, develops an effective message or appeal that is encoded properly, and then selects the channels or media that will best reach the target audience so that the message can be effectively decoded and delivered. Of course, to communicate effectively with customers, marketers must understand who the target audience is, what (if anything) it knows or feels about the companys product or service, and how to communicate with the audience to influence its decisionmaking process. Its also good for marketers to understand and predict how different types of messages will be encoded by their audience.

The Nature of communication can be explained by the following characteristics of communication:

Two-way process: Communication can take place only when there are at least two persons. One person has to convey some message and another has to receive it. The receiver, however, need not necessarily be an individual. Information may be conveyed to a group of persons at a time. For example, in classroom, the teacher conveys information to a group of students. If the receiver needs any clarification, he can ask the sender of message immediately in the case of face to face of telephonic conversation. Communication may also be sent by means of letters, circulars etc. If a letter is sent, the receiver may respond to it either by way of a reply letter or as per the mode desired by him or by the sender. Knowledge of language: For communication to be successful, the receiver should first of all understand the message. For this, the sender must speak in a language that is known to the receiver. For example, if the receiver cannot understand English and the sender of message conveys his ideas in English, the communication will be a failure. Meeting of minds necessary: The receiver must understand the message in the way the sender wants him to understand. For this consensus is required.

Consensus is nothing but identity of minds. If weekly target announced by a supervisor is misunderstood by a worker as monthly target, there is lack of consensus. Inattention, poor vocabulary, faulty pronunciation etc., may result in lack of consensus. Read more in Social Sciences Arguments Differ with Boys and Girls Boy and Girl Stereotypes: How Do They Influence Our Thinking? The message must have substance: The message has substance only if the receiver shows interest in the subject matter. In other words, the sender of message must have something really worthwhile for the receiver. For example, If certain botanical names are explained to a student learning commerce, he may not show any interest.

Communication may be made through gestures as well: Communication need not necessarily be made orally or in writing. Certain gestures or actions may also convey ones willingness or understanding of a given problem. Nodding of heads, rolling of eyes, movement of lips etc., are some of the gestures normally used to convey certain ideas. Communication is all-pervasive: Communication is Omni=present. It is found in all levels of management. The top management conveys information to the middles management and vice versa. Similarly, the middle management conveys information to the supervisory staff and vice versa. There is flow of communication in all directions in a workplace.

Communication is a continuous process: In any workplace someone will be conveying or receiving some information or the other always. Sharing or exchanging information is an on going activity. As long as there is work personal, official or unofficial, there will be communication. Communication may be formal or informal: Formal communication follows the hierarchy the official channel established. For example, if a worker wants to convey any information to the production manager, he can do only through the foreman. He cannot bypass the foreman and have direct contact with the production manager. Informal communication does not follow the official channel. It allows any individual to convey information to anybody else freely without having to bother about the hierarchy.