Barriers and Breakdowns in communication:
It is probably no surprise that managers frequently cite communication breakdowns as one of there most important problems. However, communication problems are often symptoms of more deeply rooted problems. For example, poor planning may be the cause of uncertainty about the direction of the firm. Similarly, poorly designed organisation structure may not clearly communicate organisational relationship. Vague performance standards may leave managers uncertain about what is accepted of them. Thus, the perceptive manager will look for the causes of communication problems, instead of look for the cause of communication problems. Barriers can exist in the sender, in the transmission of the massage, in the receiver, or in the feedback. Specific communication barriers are discussed below-
Lack of Communication planning: good communication seldom happens by chance. Too often people start talking and writing without first thinking, planning and stating the purpose of the message. Yet giving the reasons for a directive, selecting the most appropriate channels, and choosing proper timing can greatly improve understanding and reduce resistance to change.
Vague assumptions: often overlooked, yet very important, are the excommunicated assumptions that underlie massage. A customer may send a not stating that she will visit a vendor’s plant. Then she may assume that the vendor will meet her at the airport, reserve a hotel room, arrange for transportation, and set up a full scale review of the program at the plant. But the vendor may assume that the customer is coming to town mainly to attend a wedding and will make a routine call at the plant. These unclarified assumptions in both instances may result in confusion and the loss of goodwill.
Distortion in the sense: Another barrier to effective communication is semantic distortion, which can be deliberate or accidental. An advertisement that states ‘we sell for less’ is deliberately ambiguous; it rise this question: less than what? Words may evoke different responses. To some people, the word ‘Government’ may mean interference or deficit spending; to others, the same word may mean help, equalization, and justice.
Poorly expressed message: No matter how clear the idea in the mind of the sender of communication, the massage may still be marked by poorly chosen words, omissions, lack of coherence, poor organisation, awkward sentence structure, platitudes, unnecessary jargon, and a failure to clarify its implications. This lack of clarity and precision, which can be costly, can be avoided through grater care in encoding the massage.
Loss by transmission and poor conception: In a series of transmission from one person to next, the massage becomes less and less accurate. Poor retention of information is another serious problem. Thus the necessity of repeating the massage and using several channels is rather obvious. Consequently companies often use more than one channel to communicate the same massage.
Poor listening and premature evaluation: there are talkers but few listeners. Listing demands full attention and self discipline. It also requires that the listeners avoid premature evaluation of what another person has to say. A common tendency is to judge, approve or disapprove what is being said, rather than trying to understand the speaker’s frame of reference. Yet listening without making hasty judgments can make the whole enterprise more effective and more efficient.
Impersonal communication: Effective communication is more than simple transmitting information to employees. It requires face to face contact in an environment of openness and trust.
Improvement of communication often requires not expensive and sophisticated (and impersonal) communication media but the wiliness of superiors to engage in face-to-face communication. Such informal gatherings, without status trapping or a formal authority base, may be threatening to top executives, but the risk involved are outweighed by the benefit that better communication can bring.
Distrust, threat, and Fear: Distrust, threat and fear undermine communication. In a climate containing these forces, any massage may be viewed with scepticism. Distrust can be the result of inconsistent behaviour by the superiors, or it can be due to past experiences in which the subordinates were punished for honesty reporting unfavorable, but true information to the boss. Similarly, in the light of treat- whether real or imagined- people tend to tighten up, become defensive and distort information. What is needed is a climate of trust, which facilitates open and honest communication.
Insufficient period for adjustment to change: the purpose of communication is to effect change that may seriously concern employees: shift in the time, place, type and order of work or shifts in group arrangements or skill to be used. Some communication point to the need for further training, carrier adjustment, or status arrangements. Changes affect people in different ways, and it may take time to think through the full meaning of a massage. Consequently, for maximum efficiency, it is important not to force change before people can adjust to its implications.
Other communication barriers: Besides the mentioned barrier to effective communication, there are many others. In selective perception people tend to perceive what they expect to perceive. In communication this means that they hear what they want to hear and ignore other relevant information.
Closely related to perception is the influence of attitude which is the predisposition to act or not to act in a certain way; it is a mental position regarding a fact or state. Clearly, if people have made up their minds, they cannot objectively listen to what is said. Still other barrier to communications is differences in status and power between the sender and the receiver of information. Also when information has to pass through several levels in the organisation hierarchy, it tends to be distorted.
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