Week 2: COMMUNICATION

AT WORKPLACE
 WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

Communication is the process of sending and

receiving a message
This include
 exchanging an e-mail
 sending a letter
 giving a formal presentation
 chatting with the co-worker
 Features of Effective Communication

Provide practical information

Give facts rather than impressions
Clarify and condense information
State precise responsibilities
Persuade others
Offer recommendations
 Barriers to Effective Communication

Distractions
Information overload
Perceptual differences
Language differences
Restrictive environments
Deceptive tactics
Main Forms of Communication in Business

Operational
 Internal
 External
Personal
 Communication Networks

Formal communication represents a network, in which

ideas and information flow along the lines of command
(the hierarchical levels) in an organization.
Informal communication is a network where two or
more individuals (i.e. employees) are in contact that
does not maintain formal hierarchy of an organization.
It is also termed as “Grapevine”.
 Communication Networks

Formal Network
 Well-establish, usually along operational lines
 Depends on certain established forms or “genres in
the company
 Planned and managed
Informal Network
 Complex
 Grapevine

 A secret means of spreading or receiving

information
 The information transmission of (unofficial)
information, gossip or rumor from person to
person “to hear about something through the
grapevine”
 A rumor: unfounded report; hearsay
 Factors Affecting the Communication in a
Business
Nature of business
Operating plan
business environment
Geographic dispersion (colleagues working in different cities, countries and
even continents)

People
Company culture
 The Communication Process

 Sensing a communication need

 Defining the situation
 Considering possible communication strategies
 Selecting a course of action
 Composing the message
 Sending the message
 The contexts for Communication

The larger context

 Business – economic
 Sociocultural
 Historical
The relationship of the communicators
The communicators’ particular contexts
 Organizational
 Professional
 Business Communication as Problem
Solving

Most business-communication problems

are ill-defined problems requiring
 Analysis
 Creativity
 Judgment
 Some Basic truths about Communication

 Meaning is in the mind , and no two

minds are alike.
 The symbols for communicating are
imperfect, and so are our best
communication efforts.
 Communication is about information and
relationships
THANK YOU