Organizational Communication
Summary
TLDRThis course explores the intricacies of the communication process, emphasizing the role of encoding, decoding, and feedback in transmitting information. It highlights how technology and the internet have reshaped organizational communication. The script delves into barriers such as noise, selective perception, and cultural differences that can distort messages. It underscores the importance of active listening, effective business writing, and the dynamics of meetings in fostering clear communication. The course also distinguishes between different types of organizational communication, including downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal, and the impact of social networks on these channels.
Takeaways
- 🔄 **Communication Process**: Communication is a two-way process involving encoding, sending, receiving, decoding, and feedback to ensure shared understanding.
- 🌐 **Influence of Technology**: Technology and the Internet have significantly impacted how information is shared within organizations.
- 📢 **Encoding and Decoding**: The sender encodes a message into symbols or words, and the receiver decodes it, aiming for the decoded message to match the sender's intent.
- 🔍 **Barriers to Communication**: Noise, selective perception, misrepresentation, filtering, information overload, and organizational or cultural barriers can distort or block communication.
- 🤔 **Nonverbal Communication**: Nonverbal cues like facial expressions and body language are crucial, often conveying more than words in face-to-face interactions.
- 👂 **Active Listening**: Active listening is essential for effective communication, requiring full attention, feedback, and clarification when necessary.
- ✍️ **Effective Business Writing**: Good business writing is clear, concise, and tailored to the audience, using common language and avoiding jargon.
- 📅 **Meetings**: Effective meetings are punctual, well-prepared, and participatory, contributing positively to employee well-being and productivity.
- 🔽 **Downward Communication**: Managers communicate with subordinates about job expectations, goals, policies, and company performance.
- 🔼 **Upward Communication**: Encouraging feedback from lower levels helps managers understand employee challenges and fosters a sense of inclusion and commitment.
- 🔄 **Horizontal Communication**: Peer-to-peer communication is vital for coordinating tasks and resources within the same organizational level.
Q & A
What is the definition of communication as discussed in the script?
-Communication is defined as the process of transmitting information from one person to another to create a shared understanding and feeling. It comes from the Latin word 'communicator' meaning to share or make common.
What is the significance of the term 'encoding' in the communication process?
-Encoding is the process where the message sender converts a thought, idea, or fact into a message comprised of symbols, pictures, or words.
What role does the 'message' play in the communication process?
-The message is the encoded information being sent from the sender to the receiver.
Can you explain the term 'channel' in the context of communication?
-The channel is the medium used to send the message to the receiver, which can include voice, writing, graphs, videos, intranets, television, body language, and so on.
What is 'decoding' and how does it relate to the communication process?
-Decoding is the interpretation and translation of the message back into something understood by the receiver.
Why is 'feedback' important in the communication process?
-Feedback is a check on the success of the communication, ensuring that the receiver's understanding matches the sender's intended message.
What is 'noise' in the context of communication?
-Noise is anything that blocks, distorts, or changes the message in any way, preventing the intended message from being communicated effectively.
How does nonverbal communication play a role in the communication process?
-Nonverbal communication includes body language, facial expressions, and other non-spoken cues that can be as meaningful as verbal communication, with research suggesting that in face-to-face communication, a significant portion of the message is conveyed nonverbally.
What are some barriers that can interfere with the communication process?
-Barriers can include sender or receiver issues, organizational structure, cultural differences, noise, jargon, selective perception, misrepresentation, filtering, information overload, and more.
What is the difference between 'active listening' and 'hearing'?
-Hearing is passive, while active listening is an active search for meaning, requiring engagement and clarification of messages.
Why is effective business writing important and what are some guidelines for it?
-Effective business writing is crucial for clear communication and should be direct, use common language, support points with evidence, be respectful and relevant, and be free of grammatical errors. It should also be tailored to the audience and use graphic aids where appropriate.
How can managers improve meeting effectiveness?
-Managers can improve meeting effectiveness by ensuring people come prepared, using an agenda, starting and ending on time, having clear purposes, and encouraging widespread participation.
What are the different types of organizational communication mentioned in the script?
-The script mentions downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal communication as different types of organizational communication.
Outlines
📡 Understanding the Communication Process
This section introduces the concept of communication, explaining it as the transmission of information to create a shared understanding. It breaks down the communication process into key elements: encoding (converting thoughts into messages), channels (mediums like voice, writing, and body language), decoding (interpreting the message), and feedback (ensuring the message was received as intended). Additionally, it highlights noise—anything that disrupts or distorts the message— and emphasizes that nonverbal signals, like body language and tone, play a crucial role in effective communication.
🌎 Barriers to Effective Communication
This paragraph discusses various barriers that can affect communication, such as organizational, cultural, and noise-related challenges. It points out that jargon or technical language can cause misunderstandings if the receiver is unfamiliar with the terms. The section also stresses the importance of improving communication skills, especially active listening, where the listener engages meaningfully to ensure they understand the message correctly. It concludes by outlining suggestions for being a good listener, including paying close attention to nonverbal cues and providing clear feedback.
💬 Communication in Organizational Settings
This paragraph focuses on communication within organizations, outlining different types of communication flows—downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal. It explains how managers communicate with employees at various levels, from setting goals to checking on employees’ progress. The section also touches on the importance of effective meetings and how poor meetings can lead to frustration and wasted time. It suggests ways to improve meeting efficiency, such as setting clear agendas, being punctual, and encouraging participation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Communication
💡Encoding
💡Message
💡Channel
💡Decoding
💡Feedback
💡Noise
💡Nonverbal Communication
💡Barriers
💡Active Listening
💡Business Writing
💡Meetings
Highlights
Communication is the process of transmitting information to create a shared understanding.
The word 'communication' comes from the Latin word 'communicator', meaning to share or make common.
Encoding is the process of converting thoughts into messages with symbols, pictures, or words.
The channel is the medium used to send the message, including voice, writing, graphs, videos, etc.
Decoding is the interpretation of the message back into something understood by the receiver.
Feedback is a check on the success of communication, ensuring the message is understood as intended.
Noise can block, distort, or change the message in the communication process.
Nonverbal communication, such as body language, plays a significant role in conveying messages.
In face-to-face communication, 55% of the message is conveyed by facial and body expressions.
For effective communication, all parts of the message need to be congruent.
Barriers in communication can arise from the sender, receiver, organization, or noise.
Selective process, misrepresentation, filtering, and information overload are barriers to accurate communication.
Organizational barriers can influence who communicates what to whom within an organization.
Cultural barriers refer to different ways cultures express things, affecting communication.
Active listening is crucial for effective communication and leadership.
Effective business writing should be clear, concise, and appropriate for the audience.
Meetings can be improved with preparation, punctuality, clear purposes, and participation.
Communication skills are critical to effective management and organizational performance.
Downward communication involves higher-level employees communicating with lower-level employees.
Upward communication allows lower-level employees to communicate with higher-level management.
Horizontal communication occurs between individuals at the same organizational level.
Diagonal communication is when employees communicate across departments and levels.
Formal communication involves official organizational-sanctioned messages.
Informal communication includes gossip and answering questions, which is not official.
Social networks establish communication patterns within organizations.
Transcripts
[Music]
in this course we will discuss the
communication process some of the basic
issues in interpersonal communication
methods of communicating and how
technology and the Internet have
influenced organizational communications
communication is the process of
transmitting information from one person
to another to create a shared
understanding and feeling the word
communication actually comes from the
latin word communicator meaning to share
or make common communication does not
mean agreeing only that information is
transmitted and received as it was
intended this figure illustrates the
communication process encoding occurs
when the message sender converts a
thought idea or fact into a message
comprised of symbols pictures or words
the message is the encoded information
being sent the channel is the median
used to send the message to the receiver
including voice writing graphs videos
intranets intranets television body
language and so on when the message
receiver sees reads or hears the message
it gets decoded decoding is the
interpretation and translation of the
message back into something understood
by the receiver the decoded information
is hopefully the same as the information
in the sender intended to communicate
but that's not always the case
feedback is a check on the success of
the communication the message receiver
sends a new message back to the original
sender and the original sender assesses
to see if the receiver understood the
original message as intended repeating
or paraphrasing the original message
asking for clarification or asking if
your conclusions are correct our forms
of feedback noise is anything that
blocks distorts or changes in any way
the message the sender intended to
communicate in other words in the
communication process the sender
translates encodes information into
words symbols or pictures and
is it to the receiver through some
median or channel the sender then
receives the message Andrey translates
decodes it into a message that's
hopefully the same as what the sender
intended noise can enter anywhere in the
process making the message received
different from the one the sender
intended feedback creates two-way
communication that helps to check on the
success of the communication and ensure
that the receivers message was accurate
unfortunately though problems can arise
at any point during the communication
process that make the message ultimately
received different from the one sent
these barriers can come from the sender
or the receiver or the organization or
noise nonverbal communications are not
spoken or written some of the strongest
and most meaningful communications are
nonverbal a fire alarm a smile an
emoticon a red traffic light or a look
of anger on someone's face body language
is a body movement such as a gesture or
expression that conveys information to
others research suggests that in a
typical face-to-face communication
exchange 7% of the message is conveyed
by words 38% by vocal tone and 55% by
facial and body expressions for
communication to be effective and
meaningful then all three parts of the
message need to be congruent if any of
the three parts are incongruent
conflicting messages are being sent
consciously controlling your body
language is as important a managerial
skill as knowing how to interpret others
body language controlling your nonverbal
signals and vocal tone ensures that you
reinforce your intended message verbal
intonation is the emphasis given to
spoken words and phrases when body
language is inconsistent with the spoken
message receivers are more likely to
interpret your body language as the true
meaning barriers interfere with the
accurate communication of a message in
selective process
we selectively see and hear based on our
experiences and beliefs
misrepresentation occurs when messages
are not always decoded by the receiver
in the way the sender intended filtering
occurs when information is intentionally
withheld ignored or distorted to
influence the message that's ultimately
received information overload occurs
when you have so much information that
it's impossible to process all of it
organizational barriers refer to an
organization's hierarchical structure
and culture that can influence who is
allowed to communicate what to whom and
may limit how messages can be sent
cultural barriers refer to how cultures
have different ways of expressing things
noise is anything that blocks distorts
or changes the message to the sender
intended jargon or technical language
may create ambiguity if the receiver is
not trained to understand it many
barriers exist to good communication
that are beyond your control but
improving your communication skills can
help overcome these barriers listening
is not the same as hearing hearing is
passive listening is active search for a
meaning active listening plays an
important role in communication and is
especially important for effective
leadership
it requires becoming actively involved
in the process of listening to what
others are saying and clarifying the
meaning of messages if they're unclear
both parties should engage in active
listening until it's clear that each
understands the final message experts
generally offer the following
suggestions for being a good listener
pay close attention to individual
inferences facts and judgments and make
useful and logical connections between
what you've heard on multiple occasions
give speakers clear nonverbal evidence
that you are listening attentively
including leaning towards the speaker
maintaining eye contact and not
fidgeting give speakers clear verbal
evidence that you are listening actively
including giving constructive feedback
paraphrasing and questioning for
clarification and refinement
show the speaker respect by not
interrupting and using an inclusive
friendly and sharing tone rather than
exclusionary hostile and condescending
tones follow up on unusual or
inconsistent communication cues from the
speaker such as changes in tone
vocabulary and body language to
determine the real message the speaker
is trying to send use what the speaker
says or in first to determine the
speaker's motives self interests and
expectations of listeners offer speakers
honest clear timely respectful and
relevant acknowledgment of what they've
said effective business writing is not
just about grammar and punctuation the
style and tone also have to be
appropriate for the audience experts
suggest the following guidelines for
effective business writing get to the
point and use common language rather
than jargon or difficult verbage support
your points with statistics examples
citation of authorities and anecdotes
footnote any ideas phrases sentences and
terms that are not your own ensure that
your language length and evidence suit
your audience correct grammar and
spelling errors and stay focused make
documents attractive and easy to read
use graphic aids and pictures where
appropriate to highlight and express
ideas avoid passive voice because they
lead teams another way that managers
often communicate is through meetings in
addition to wasting time and money
poorly led meetings are often a source
of frustration one international survey
found that employee well-being was
related to whether meetings word times
were well spent
and the amount of meeting times our
number of meetings attended meeting
effectiveness may be improved when
people come prepared to meetings an
agenda is used meetings are punctual
they start and end on time purposes are
clear and there's widespread
participation communication skills are
critical to effective management and
organizational performance
organizational communication is the
exchange of information among two or
more individuals or groups in an
organization that creates a common basis
of understanding and feeling downward
communication occurs when higher level
employees communicate to those at lower
levels of the organization downward
communication typically consists of
messages about how to do a job
performance goals a firm's policies and
how the company is performing management
by wandering around is a face-to-face
management technique in which managers
get out of their offices and spend times
informally talking with employees
throughout the organization being
actively engaged in day-to-day
operations of the business gives
managers a feel for what's really going
on around the organization upward
communication occurs when lower-level
employees communicate with those at
higher levels encouraging upward
communication can help managers check
that subordinates understand their goals
and instructions keep managers informed
of employee challenges and complaints
and cultivate acceptance and commitment
by giving employees the opportunity to
express ideas and suggestions horizontal
communication occurs when someone in the
organization communicates with others at
the same organizational level managers
often depend on each other to help get
the job done and communication is
necessary for them to coordinate
resources and workflow although
horizontal communication occurs between
peers as in all levels of organizational
communication it's best to stay
professional and avoid confrontational
words and negative body language when
employees communicate across departments
and levels they are engaging in diagonal
communication formal communications are
official organizational sanctioned
communications they can be upward
downward horizontal or diagonal formal
communication channels typically involve
some sort of written communication that
provides a permanent record of the
exchange formal communication is usually
interpreted accurately informal
communication is anything that's not
official in formal communications
include gossip and answering and other
employees questions
about how to do something a social
network is the set of relationships
among people connected through
friendship family work and other sites
organizational communication can move in
a variety of directions and be formal or
informal in nature communication paths
can be downward upward horizontal or
diagonal social networks help to
establish communication patterns in
organizations
[Music]
you
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