Horizon Degree and Commerce College Chakwal
Organizational Behavior
Assignment no. 1
Business Communication
Submitted to: Miss Maria Aarif Submitted by: Iqra Akhtar,
Malaika, Nosheen and Subhana
(Lecturer Psychology department) (BS-PSY 8)
Business Communication
Communication
“Transfer and understanding of information”
Perfect communication, if it existed, would occur when a thought or idea was
transmitted so the receiver perceived exactly the same mental picture as the sender.
Though it sounds elementary, perfect communication is never achieved in practice.
Functions of communication
Control
Motivation
Emotional expression
Information
Control:
Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways. Organizations have
authority hierarchies and formal guidelines employees are required to follow. When
employees must communicate any job-related grievance to their immediate boss, follow
their job description, or comply with company policies, communication is performing
a control function. Informal communication controls behavior too. When work groups
tease or harass a member who produces too much (and makes the rest of the group look
bad), they are informally communicating, and controlling, the member’s behavior.
Motivation:
Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what they must do, how
well they are doing it, and how they can improve if performance is subpar. The
formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the goals, and reward for
desired behavior all stimulate motivation and require communication.
Emotional expression:
Their work group is a primary source of social interaction for many employees.
Communication within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show
their satisfaction and frustrations. Communication, therefore, provides for the emotional
expression of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.
Information:
The final function of communication is to facilitate decision making. Communication
provides the information individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting
the data needed to identify and evaluate choices.
Communication process
Before communication can take place it needs a purpose, a message to be conveyed
between a sender and a receiver. The sender encodes the message (converts it to a
symbolic form) and passes it through a medium (channel) to the receiver, who decodes
it. The result is transfer of meaning from one person to another.
Phases:
Transmission phase
Feedback phase
The key parts of communication process are:
Sender
Encoding (selecting language, specific words, verbal or non-verbal)
Message
Channel (formal and informal)
Decoding
Receiver
Noise
Feedback
context
Types:
Internal communication
Communication among the employees within organization. Communication between
the supervisors, subordinates and employees with same designation.
Vertical (downward, upward)
Horizontal/lateral
External communication
With individuals outside the organization, legal departments, stakeholders, customers.
Direction of Communication
Downward communication (To influence):
Communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level is
downward communication. Group leaders and managers use it to assign goals, provide
job instructions, explain policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention,
and offer feedback about performance. When engaging in downward communication,
managers must explain the reasons why a decision was made. One study found
employees were twice as likely to be committed to changes when the reasons behind
them were fully explained.
Upward communication (To inform):
Upward communication flows to a higher level in the group or organization. It’s used
to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay
current problems. Upward communication keeps managers aware of how employees
feel about their jobs, co-workers, and the organization in general. Managers also rely
on upward communication for ideas on how conditions can be improved.
Lateral communication (To coordinate):
When communication takes place among members of the same work group, members
of work groups at the same level, managers at the same level, or any other horizontally
equivalent workers, we describe it as lateral communication.
Interpersonal Communication
Oral
Written
Non-verbal (body movements, facial expressions, physical distance
Organization communication
Formal small group networks:
Chain
Wheel
All-channel
The Grapevine
Electronic communications
Email
Risk of misinterpreting the message
Drawbacks for communicating negative messages
Time-consuming nature
Limited expression of emotions
Lack of privacy
Experts suggest the following strategies:
Don’t check email in the morning
Check email in batches
Unsubscribe
Stop sending emails
Instant messaging/text messaging
Social networking
Blogs (twitter)
Video conferencing
Managing information
Information management refers to the process of acquiring, utilizing, accessing, and
disseminating information within an organization. It aims to integrate information from
various sources and levels to meet business objectives efficiently.
Information overload
A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual’s processing capacity.
Dealing with Information Overload
5 ways to overcome information overload in the workplace
Be choosy about choosing.
Identify three to five priorities.
Understand the importance.
Put a time limit on information gathering.
Schedule related tasks together.
Threats to Information Security
Threats are actions carried out primarily by hackers or attackers with malicious intent,
to steal data, cause damage, or interfere with computer systems.
Choice of communication channel
Rich channels
Face-to-face conversations
Live speeches
Video conferences
Instant messages
Telephone
Lean channels
Posted notices
Email
Letters
Memos
Persuasive Communication
Automatic processing
Controlled processing
Interest level
Prior knowledge
Personality
Message characteristics
Barriers to communication
Filtering
Selective perception
Information overload
Emotions
Language
Silence
Lying
Cultural barriers
