IPCC Paper 2: Law, Ethics & Communication Chapter 13

Dr. Naveen K Mehta

Essentials of Communication

Learning Objectives

1 • Reading

2 • Interdepartmental

3 • Verbal Nonverbal and Written

4 • Communication Channels

5 • Barriers to Effective Communication

6 • Planning and composing Business messages

Communication - An Introduction

Communication: An Introduction

The word ‘communication’ has been derived from the Latin word

‘communis’ or ‘communicare’ that means ‘to share’.

It means- sharing of information/ideas/thoughts/opinions.

Communication: Definitions

George Terry: “Communication is an

exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons.”

Communication: Definitions

Peter Little:

“Communication is the process by which information is

transmitted between individuals and/or organizations so that an

understanding response results.”

Understanding The Definitions

• The key element is “understanding”

Thus, communication is the process of sharing

our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with other

people and having those ideas, thoughts and

feelings understood by the people we are

talking with.

Factors For the Growth of Communication

Growth in the size and multiple

Technological advancement locations of organization.

Growth of trade unions.

Growing importance of human relations.

Public relations.

Advances in behavioural sciences.

Communication Process

THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

• involving both receiving and giving messages; and a

• two-way method utilizing both spoken words and nonverbal messages.

Communication is a two-way

process

The Process Of Communication

Forms of Communication

Forms of Communication

Formal:

Established and agreed procedures - Memos, Circulars,

Notices, Letters etc.

Informal:

Channels not formally

recognised – ‘the grapevine’, Gossip,

Chitchat

Formal Communication

Formal Communication Paths

Formal Communications

Horizontal

Downward

Upward

Downward/ Upward Communication

Executive Director

Vice President

A.G.M.

Manager

Supervisor

Foreman

Downward Communication

Upward Communication

Horizontal Communication

Downward Communication

• Highly Directive, from Senior to subordinates, to assign duties, give instructions, to inform to offer feedback, approval to highlight problems etc.

Downward Communication:

Upward Communication

• It is non directive in nature from down below, to give feedback, to inform about progress/problems, seeking approvals.

Upward Communication:

Horizontal Communication

• Among colleagues, peers at same level for information level for information sharing for coordination, to save time.

Lateral or Horizontal

Communication:

Definitions

• Superior to subordinate. Downward

• Subordinate to superior. Upward

• Between co-worker with different areas of responsibility. Horizontal

Benefits

• Greater Job satisfaction. • Improved morale. • Managing manpower. Downward • For suggestions. • Feedback is easy. Upward • Better Understanding and cooperation. • Less Managerial conflicts. Horizontal

Limitations

Horizontal

Lack of motivation. Physical barrier. Discourage contacts.

Upward

Discourage/disregard of employees. Distortion of the message.

Downward

Delay in operation. Unclear messages. Less /excess of information.

Informal Communication

Informal Communication

Communication may be oral or written for direct

contact. It may be informal also.

Informal channel of communication is also known as secondary

network of communication.

Informal Communication

This process is known as rumor mill.

They interact on serious and non- serious issues and they spread it fast whether the information is correct or not.

According to human psychology, a person likes to form and move in groups.

Informal Communication

The “Grapevine” is

one of the recognized channels of

informal communication.

The larger the organization,

the more active is the rumour

mill.

Grapevine Chains

• which is the least accurate in passing on the information or message.

(1) Single Strand Chain

Grapevine Chains

• Which is often used when information or a message regarding ‘not-on-job’ nature is being conveyed.

(2)Gossip Chain

Grapevine Chains

• It is used when information is somewhat interesting but not really significant.

(3) Probability

Chain

Grapevine Chains

• which acts as liaison and spreads information with the greatest speed.

(4)Cluster Chain,

Grapevine Chains:benefits

Speedy Transaction: • Under this channel of communication,

information flows very fast.

Valuable Feedback: • Managers can obtain useful feedback

concerning their decisions and actions through the grapevine.

GRAPEVINE CHAINS:BENEFITS

Psychological Satisfaction: • It draws employees close to each other and

inculcates in them a sense of belonging.

Supplementary Channel: • The grapevine channel of communication functions

as a supplementary channel of communication.

Grapevine Chains: Limitations

Less credible: • As the information spreads by the word of mouth, it can not always be taken

seriously.

Distorts image of organizations: • As its origin lies in the rumours and gossips, so it may spread any kind of

stories about responsible people.

Incomplete information: • The grapevine communication does not always carry the complete information and

incomplete information may create misunderstanding.

Inter - Departmental Communication

The word department comes from the French word departir, which means “to Separate.”

Communication between departments is essential to collaborate and achieve the objectives of the organisation.

Departments in an organization are like rooms in a house.

Interdepartmental Communication

Communication Media

Communication Media

Media/ Means of Communication

Verbal

Oral

Written

Non-Verbal

Sign Language

Visual signs

Audio Signs

Body Language

Verbal Communication

Oral One-On-One Conversation

Meetings

Phone Calls

Presentations

Video Conferences

Written Memorandums

Letters

E-Mails

Reports

Orders

Verbal Communication

Writing 9%

Listening 45%

Reading 16%

Speaking 30%

Oral V/S Written Communication

• More personal and informal

• Immediate impact ORAL

COMMUNICATION

• Better for complex and difficult subjects

• Better for keeping records WRITTEN

COMMUNICATION

Oral V/S Written Communication

• It saves time, money and energy • Suitable for small messages • Less retention

ORAL COMMUNICATION

• It consumes a lot of time, money and energy

• Suitable for lengthy messages • Rate of retention is higher

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Oral V/S Written Communication

• No legal validity • Better for conveying feelings and emotions • Knowledge of non-verbal cues is necessary

ORAL COMMUNICATION

• Serves as a legal document • It can be revised before transmitting • No help from non-verbal cues

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Non- Verbal Communication

Non-verbal Communication

Effective communication is the combined harmony of verbal and nonverbal actions.

Nonverbal communication consists of body movement, facial expressions and eye movement.

Types of Nonverbal Communication

Kinesics

Paralanguage

Vocal interferences

Spatial Usage

Self-presentation cues

Kinesics

Defined – The study

of Posture Movement Gestures & Facial

Expressions

Kinesics

Eye Contact

Facial expressions

Emotions

Gestures

Postures

Touches

Eye Contact

Often eye to eye contact is important to develop open and honest communication

Eye contact when listening often shows that the person is engaged in listening

Eye contact an help people to feel comfortable and valued

Facial Expressions – Universal facial expressions

Happiness

Sadness

Anger

Disgust

Fear

Surprise

Facial Expressions

Gestures (Hands and arms)

Gestures, e.g: handshake

Changing their meanings over a

period of time How to tell someone

to be quiet in a library?

We use gesture when our voice engaged, e.g: talking on the

telephone, we used gesture to tell another person to come and sit

down

Postures

The way in which we

position our bodies

Early age:

“sit up straight”, “shoulder back” –

instruction heard at home or school

Upright posture –

people who have confident (police, army)

Posture is another

sign of the status and role within

society (army, police)

Postures

Use posture as one means of indicating to

another person our feelings of friendship or

hostility

“hands on hips” –

confrontational and hostile

Group – imitating the postures of the people

they are with (mirroring, postural congruence)

Cross legs, fold their arms

Reinforce group identities

Touching - Haptics

Physical contact such as holding, hitting, kissing,

stroking, shaking hands,

guiding.

Linked to proxemics.

Touch is very important in our

early development.

Many rules and taboos

regulating physical contact.

Dress

Dress – we combine items of clothing and the appropriateness of certain types of styles of dress to specific situation.

Funeral – people wear black or dark coloured clothes as a symbol or mourning ~ avoid colour clashes.

Dress

Dress

Time dependent dress code

Office - formal

Relaxing or socialising –

casual

Initial judgments

about people because of their clothes

Dress –

one aspect of the physical appearance

Paralanguage

Pitch Volume Rate Quality Intonation

Paralanguage

Those utterances that we make when

we are speaking

• When we speak, we make noise that aren’t words (‘um’ or ‘ah’), we raise and lower voices, we pause, we stress some words

Proxemics

The study of how we handle the space around us, especially in relation to other people

Human beings are territorial!

We create for ourselves spaces that belong to us and to which we try carefully to control access

Example: Our homes, Our spaces at work or school

Spatial Usage

Spatial Usage

Proxemics

Intimate distance

Personal distance

Social distance

Public Distance

Territory Artifacts

Space Public Zone

12’ and up

Social Zone

4’ – 12’

Personal Zone

18” – 4’

Intimate Zone

Touching – 18”

Chronemics

Chronemics The study of how humans structure time

How do we manage and react to others’ management of time

Duration Activity Punctuality

Benefits of Effective Communication

Effective Communication

Quicker Problem Solving

Stronger Decision Making

Increased Productivity

Stronger Business

Relationships

Enhanced Professional

Image

Smooth Work Flow

Barriers to Communication

Barriers to Communication

A communication of the message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it in the same manner. It is very important to understand the causes of communication breakdown.

Barriers to Communication

Communication Barriers

Physical

Noise

Darkness

Distance

Fatigue

Semantic

Language

Words

Pictures

Symbols

Psychological

Values

Perceptions

Distrust

Poor

listening

habits

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Noise: • It refers to the distracting element that

breaks the concentration of the sender or receiver.

Distance and Time: • Physical distance between the sender

and the receiver becomes a big barrier to the smooth flow of communication.

Barriers to Communication

Semantic Barriers: It refers to the study of meanings of

words and signs. Sender and receiver interpret same words in

different manner:

Words carry different nuances, shades and flavours to the sender

and receiver.

Poor expression power or ability.

Poor Pronunciation: Some Examples

Communication

Colonel

Bouquet

Career

Barriers to Communication

Cultural Barrier: • The same category of words, phrases, symbols, actions, colours mean different things to people of different

cultural backgrounds.

Attitudes and Opinions: • Personal attitudes and opinions often interfere with communication process.

Emotions: • Emotions play a very vital role in our life. Both encoding and decoding of messages are influenced by

our emotions.

Closed Mind: • A person may have a closed mind due to deep rooted prejudices, superiority complex, limited intellectual

background and narrow mental make-up etc.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Poor Retention: • It is observed that in oral communication; about 30% of the information is lost in each transmission.

Status Consciousness: • Subordinates are either too conscious of their low status or too afraid of being snubbed.

Distrust: • Communication is likely to collapse when the receiver has a suspicion about the source of information.

Poor Listening: • Poor listening may lead to serious communication problems.

HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Use proper channel(s). Learn to use channels well.

Use simple language.

Listen to UNDERSTAND!

Be sensitive to receiver’s point of view.

Learn to use feedback well.

Letter Writing

The Importance of Letters

Letters represent your company’s public image and your competence

Letters are more personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or e-mail

Letters are more permanent than e-mail

Letters constitute an official legal record of an agreement

Guide to letter writing

1 • Stick to one format throughout the letter.

2 • Proofread. Eliminate ALL errors.

3 • Do not duplicate a letter---send original.

FULL Block Format

Most common

Left justified

Single spaced, except double spaced between paragraphs

Do not indent the first word of each paragraph

Block Format (MODIFIED)

Left justified except date line and closing, which are center-aligned.

Single spaced, except double spaced between paragraphs.

Do not indent the first word of each paragraph.

Examples of Block & Full Block Letters

Parts of a business letter

Sender’s address

Date

Inside address

Salutations

Body

Closing

Typist initials

Date

1 • Date the letter was written.

2 • When writing to companies within the United States,

use the American date format. ( place the month before the day. For example: June 11, 2001. )

3 • Choose your format. (Date changes position

depending on format.)

Inside Address

For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line.

Follow a woman’s preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr.

Recipient’s address.

Salutation

Use the same name as the inside address,

including the personal title.

If you know the person and typically address

them by their first name, it is acceptable to use only the first

name in the salutation (i.e., Dear Rakhi:).

In all other cases, however, use the

personal title and last name followed by a

colon. (Dear Mr. Ajay)

Leave one line blank after the salutation.

Body

In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point.

The next paragraph should begin explaining the importance of the main point.

The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request and outline some type of action.

Closing

The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. (Semi-block)

Capitalize the first word only (i.e., Thank you)

Leave four lines between the closing and the sender’s name for a signature.

Enclosures

If you have enclosed any documents

along with the letter, such as a

resume, you indicate this

simply by typing Enclosures one line below the

closing.

Typist’s Initials

Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter.

If you typed the letter yourself, omit the typist initials.

March 16, 2001 Future Groups 1234 ,Industrial Town Ranchi ( Bihar) Dear Mr. Ramesh The first paragraph of a typical business letter is used to state the main point of the letter. Begin with a friendly opening; then quickly transition into the purpose of your letter. Use a couple of sentences to explain the purpose, but do not go in to detail until the next paragraph. Beginning with the second paragraph, state the supporting details to justify your purpose. These may take the form of background information, statistics or first-hand accounts. A few short paragraphs within the body of the letter should be enough to support your reasoning. Finally, in the closing paragraph, briefly restate your purpose and why it is important. If the purpose of your letter is employment related, consider ending your letter with your contact information. However, if the purpose is informational, think about closing with gratitude for the reader's time. Sincerely, Jitendra Kumar 123 Ring Road New Delhi

Block Letter Format

March 16, 2001 Future Groups 1234 ,Industrial Town Ranchi ( Bihar) Dear Mr. Ramesh The first paragraph of a typical business letter is used to state the main point of the letter. Begin with a friendly opening; then quickly transition into the purpose of your letter. Use a couple of sentences to explain the purpose, but do not go in to detail until the next paragraph. Beginning with the second paragraph, state the supporting details to justify your purpose. These may take the form of background information, statistics or first-hand accounts. A few short paragraphs within the body of the letter should be enough to support your reasoning. Finally, in the closing paragraph, briefly restate your purpose and why it is important. If the purpose of your letter is employment related, consider ending your letter with your contact information. However, if the purpose is informational, think about closing with gratitude for the reader's time.

Sincerely, Jitendra Kumar

Modified Block Letter Format

Summary

Communication is regarded as the “life-blood” of an organization.

Communication is a dynamic two-way process in which there is an exchange of ideas linking the sender and receiver towards a mutually accepted direction.

A formal communication flows along prescribed channels which all organizational members desirous of communicating with one another are obliged to follow whereas Side by side with the formal communication there exists on a much larger scale, an informal channel of communication or a secondary network of information.

Summary

Communication between departments is essential to collaborate and achieve the objectives of the organisation.

Oral communication is characterized by seven Cs – Candidness, Clarity, Completeness, Conciseness, Concreteness, Correctness, and Courtesy.

Communication with words is verbal communication and without words is non-verbal communication.

Only through effective communication both inside and outside, an organisation, becomes an open system interacting with its environment.

Summary

It is important to understand the causes of communication breakdown.

Effective writing in the workplace is an essential skill. Knowing the elements of good business writing can make or break a career.

A letter is the most important form of written communication. It is, therefore, supposed to have an attractive or impressive layout.

Thank You