Communication Defined

Information Management

Business Communication

Communication and Its Process Defined

1. define communication and its elements;

2. illustrate the process of communication;

3. identify communication barriers;

4. value the need to communicate.

Introduction

Why do you need to study communication?

Man is a social animal therefore, the ability to communicate is essential in all areas of life. Whether you are at home, in school or at your workplace, you always end up communicating with somebody.

In the business world, communication proves to be very significant. When you go out to look for a job, you need to realize the economic importance of communication. At the start, you will need specific communication skills to pass the job interview and later on to get along in various work situations.

Most employers consider the ability to communicate effectively with others as a powerful trait that brings success to any form of business. Hence, your communication skills are vital to your success in the workplace.

What is Communication?

Your boss sends you a text message which reads:

"Good afternoon. We will have an urgent staff meeting tomorrow. Please do the necessary preparations. "

If you have been able to interpret the message of your boss, then you have engaged in successful communication.

Basically, communication may be defined as the act or process of transmitting or sending a message (Romero, et al. 1984)

It is further defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding (Tendero, 2009).

In the scenario which you have read earlier, the boss sending text message to a staff, it tells us something important about communication.

First is that communication must involve two parties.

Second is that communication is about a transfer of information.

Third is that communication involves some action on the party receiving the information.

Since communication is a process, there are elements that make up the process

The elements that comprise the communication process are as follows:

1. The source: The person or group or organization sending out the message/information.

2. The medium: The message is given out in some sort of medium, which is the means by which the message is sent. This can be either:

• Oral - spoken

• Electronic means like e-mail, fax, cellular phone

• Telephone

• Paper based like letter, memo, office circular

• Image/visual like television, photo

• Sound like radio

• Silent communication - smell, touch, body language, color

3. The Receiver: The person, group or organization that is receiving the information.

4. Feedback: The source will not know whether the communication that they have sent has been successful unless they receive some feedback in the form of some action or changed behavior.

To further your understanding on the process of communication, look at this diagrammatic representation of communication:

The model above shows that the communicator (encoder) is the source of information. He has an idea and puts across this idea and encodes or sends it to the listener. The communicator translates the idea by using both verbal (speech) and nonverbal (actions) messages. The receiver (decoder) picks up the message and decodes it. The decoding process is not simple because the receiver interprets the message using personal experience, expectation, comprehension level and other factors that influence his perception or understanding (Aquino, 1999).

After decoding, there is the final ring that closes the process of communication which is the feedback. This is the indication that the message of the communicator or sender has been received. The nature of the response usually signifies something of the quality of understanding.

Communication is not at all times successful. There are times that the receiver perceives the message differently from what the sender meant. When messages are sent, the source has to try to understand what they are trying to say to avoid misinterpretation by the receiver. There are times that messages experience ‘noise' along the way. Noise can occur during any stage of the process (Tendero, 2009). The presence of noise may distort the message thereby causing misinterpretation. It is clear that noise may hinder clear encoding and decoding processes. Yet, this noise is just one of the possible sources of barriers to communication.

Barriers