LABOUR LAWS AND BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

UNIT 3 SECTION
INDUSTRIAL 4
RELATIONS Unit 3, section 4: Barriers to effective communication

This section seeks to identify and explain the main barriers to effective
communication in the organization. Conflict always results when
communication is not effective due to one or more barriers that make it
difficult for the parties to understand one another in any communication
process. It is therefore, important to identify the most possible barriers and
work to eliminate them during communication.

By successfully completing a learning programme of this section, the

student will able to identify the main barriers to effective communication in
the organization.

Meaning of Barriers to Communication

The overriding objective of communication is to achieve common
understanding between the sender and a receiver. We have already
identified the seven basic elements of the communication process to include
the communicator, the encoding process, the message, the medium, the
decoding process, the receiver and feedback. If some interference occurs in
anyone of these elements in any way, clarity of meaning and understanding
will be impaired. This is referred to as a communication barrier.
Communication barriers are any roadblocks that interfere with the effective
transmission of message between parties in a communication process.

Common barriers to effective communication

The following are some of the most common barriers to effective
interpersonal communication.
 Differing perceptions
Rarely can only two people observe, analyze or react to an event in exactly
the same way. Ten people who witness an automobile accident are likely to
give ten different versions of what happened. Similarly, the same
information given to ten people at a meeting will result in ten different
interpretations. The reason to this is very simply; not all of us come from the
same social, genetic or cultural backgrounds. We have different set of
experiences, and our values and beliefs are different. As a result, we have
different perceptions of the world and its environment, and these perceptual
differences tend to color our communication. Perception refers to the
subjective process of receiving and interpreting information. An employee
who has ever been ‘let down’ by a previous manager is likely to perceive a
new manager as someone not to be trusted. Below are some common forms
of perceptual errors identified by Kathry M. Bartol et al, (1991).
− Stereotyping
Stereotyping is the act of attributing some characteristics to an individual on
the basis of some general assessment of the group the person belongs to.
When we judge someone on the basis of our perception of the group that
person belongs to, we are victims of stereotyping. In Ghana, people usually
stereotype others on the basis of the tribes they belong to.

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− Halo effect
The second perceptual error, the halo effect is concerned with the tendency
to raise a general impression based on one or a few characteristics of an
individual to judge other characteristics of that same person. When we form
a general impression about a person on the basis of a single characteristic
such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance, we are being influenced by
the Hallo effect. The halo effect often occurs during employment interviews.
In Ghana and most other countries, a particular candidate may have an
excellent academic record, but may come to the interview wearing jogging
shoes or unattractive clothes. This single “appearance trait” usually causes
an interviewer to rate the candidate very low.
− Projection
This perceptual error relates to the tendency of an individual to assume that
others share his or her thoughts, feelings and characteristics. People
sometimes read their own thoughts, feelings and attitudes into others.
People caught in this type of error, often see others just like they see
themselves. Thus, when they are happy, they think all other people are
happy. A person who tends to be suspicious of others may perceive others
as being suspicious. A manager who commits such an error usually engages
in one-way communication because he thinks subordinates share exactly the
same views with him and have no differing views.
− Perceptual defense
When we are faced with information which we find to be threatening or that
challenges our beliefs, our perceptions try to defend us. We may distort the
information or block it out entirely. The tendency to block out or distort
information that one finds threatening or that challenges one’s belief is
referred to as perceptual defense. Some individuals get angry at others who
provide them with what they called “bad news” even though the bearer was
not the cause of the problem. In this way, effective communication may be
hampered as the true meaning of the message is likely to be distorted by the
recipient of the message. Perceptual defense plays an important role in
human life. If people have to absorb the impact of the problems and tensions
of daily living, some might crack under the pressure. Perceptual defense
mechanisms help people defect a lot of the things that might otherwise
diminish their self-esteem and raise their anxiety.
− Self-serving Bias
Self-serving Bias is the tendency to take credit for successes and deny
personal responsibility for failures. This tendency often sets the stage for
serious communication problems between managers and their subordinates.
Some managers make self-serving assumptions when communicating with
their subordinates. For instance, when a subordinate is successful with a
project, the manager may attribute the positive outcome to the manager’s
won effective leadership. However, when a subordinate fails with a project,
the manager is likely to conclude that the failure is due to the subordinate’s
shortcomings. Such preconceived ideas can hamper effective
communication.

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 Semantic problems
Managers transmit information in the form of words and symbols.
Unfortunately however, these words and symbols do not carry any inherent
meaning with them. The same word may mean different things to different
people. Since there is no apparent and fixed connection between a word and
what is being symbolized, the meaning of a message communicated may be
received quite differently from what was intended. In this way, the
participants in the conversation are said to be facing semantic problems. The
term semantic relates to the differences between meanings of words and
symbols. Semantic barriers occur due to differences in individual
interpretation of words and symbols. Occupational, professional, and social
groups may form words, phrases and expressions that have meaning only to
the group members. When these words, phrases and sentences are used in a
gathering where some members do not belong to such groups, semantic
problems are likely to occur. To achieve effective communication, the
sender must ensure that the receiver understands the symbols and signs
exactly the same way as they are used by the sender. Two potential semantic
barriers are jargons and ambiguity.
− Jargons
A Jargon is a technical language that members of a particular social or
occupational group use to communicate among themselves. Such special
language can serve many useful purposes. It can facilitate effective
communication within the group. It shapes and maintains an organization’s
cultural values. It also symbolizes an employee’s self-identity in the group.
The use of such in-group languages can however, result in several semantic
problems when outsiders are involved. For instance, in Ghana, the world
“Kalabulé” is well understood by many to mean the same as ‘419’ as used
in Nigeria.
− Ambiguity
This occurs when the sender and receiver interpret the same word or phrase
differently. For example, you might wonder whether “see me afterwards”
means immediately or next week or after you have finished a task. If a co-
worker says “would you like to check the figures again?” the colleague may
be politely telling you to double-check the figures. But this message sounds
sufficiently ambiguous that you may think that the co-worker is merely
asking if you want to check the figures.

 Filtering
Filtering involves the process of withholding, ignoring, or distorting
information. A sender may convey only portions of the relevant information
to the receiver, or purposely modify the message to highlight the strong or
weak points. Filtering is common with upward communication where
subordinates try to delete, “uncover up”, delay unfavorable information or
change the words of information so that events sound more favorable in
order to create good impression of themselves to their superiors. Receivers
including managers, can also filter information. They may fail to recognize
an important message, or attend to some aspect of the message more than

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other aspects. Furthermore, when a message passes through many people,

each transmission may cause further information loses. As messages are
communicated downward through many organizational levels, each person
adds their own words or interpretations. These are all instances of filtering.

 Information Overload
Naturally, people can handle so many problems or make so many decisions
before they become overloaded and incapable of handling any more
message. When people receive more information than they can process or
absorb adequately, they usually “screen out” the majority of the message.
When this occurs, an individual is said to be overloaded with information.
Information overload is a condition in which the volume of information
received by an individual exceeds that individual’s information processing
capacity. Everyone has a limit within which he or she can process
information per time. This is referred to as the information processing
capacity. If this limit is exceeded, our capacity to communicate effectively
is reduced. Phone calls, memos, written reports, computer outputs or an
inflow of people into an office, can create a state of information overload.

 Value judgment
This occurs when a receiver evaluates the worth of a sender’s message
before the sender has finished transmitting it. We sometimes draw
conclusions about what somebody has to say immediately that person starts
a statement; “I know what he wants to say”. Usually, we cut them short
without getting the details of what they have for us. When Employers meet
with union leaders, they often think the leaders are there to demand
increases in wages, when sometimes they have good news for these
employers. If we assign meaning or overall worth to a message prior to
receiving the entire communication, we may be likely to make serious
mistakes.

 Poor communicating skills (speaking and listening)

Poor speaking and listening habits can pose a barrier to effective
communication. Few of us know how to speak properly in every situation,
and most of us are not good listeners. Speaking too quickly or too slowly
can reduce the likelihood of being understood by the receiver. Failing to use
the appropriate tone or voice can also lead to ineffective communication.
Similarly, a person who does not listen well reduces the likelihood that a
message transmitted will be understood. Some people are selective listeners;
we tend to block out new information, especially if it conflicts with our
existing beliefs. Blocking out information will definitely limit effective
communication.

 Conflicting nonverbal communication

Conflicting nonverbal communication means the use of a particular
nonverbal symbol or sign that has different meaning to different people. For
instance, nodding the head up and down means yes in Africa but in Bulgaria

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the same sign means no. Unless the sender agrees on the same meaning to a
nonverbal symbol, its usage undermines effective communication.

 Inconsistent verbal and nonverbal communication

The verbal messages that are sent during a face-to-face conversation do not
match their nonverbal symbols. An example is a person who frowns the face
but says “I really feel great”. Such a person is actually sending two different
messages; contradicting the spoken message with the body language. Any of
these can hamper effective communication.

 Distrust (evaluating the source)

The meaning and value of a message is often influenced by our evaluation
of the source of the message. If the sender has credibility, the message will
be received more readily. Communication from a person who has a proven
track record is received with more attention than the same message coming
from a rookie. While managers will regard a piece of advice from Sam Dona
with rapt attention, the same advice given by a pupil teacher will be received
with some suspicion in Ghana.

Effective communication at the work site has always been affected by some
barriers. These include, but not limited to information overload, poor
communication skills, distrust, filtering, value judgments, inconsistent
verbal and nonverbal, deferring perceptions including stereotyping, halo
effect, projection, perceptual defense, self-serving bias as well as semantic
problems including jargons and ambiguity.

Self-assessment questions
(1) What is stereotyping? How different is it from Halo effect?
(2) What is a semantic problem? List and explain the two major semantic
problems.
(3) Explain the term barrier to communication. State any five barriers to
effective communication in the organization.
(4) How does the inconsistency between verbal and nonverbal
communication serve as a barrier to effective communication.
(5) What is information overload? When does information overload occurs?

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