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1.4. The Communication Process wanted to reach with the message. If the message went to any
other parties, they may find it irrelevant ant meaningless, the
We have said that communication is a two-way process
receiver decodes an information from a sender, transforms it
consisting of consecutively linked elements. Let’s take a brief
into a mental picture, creates meaning out it (interprets the
moment to analyze these elements in order to understand the
message), and comes up with a new message to be given back
role each of them plays in this process. We will use fig.1.2below
to the sender.
as an illustration of the continuously linked elements of the
6. Decoding - This is process of transforming the information/
communication process. Beginning from the arrows indicate
message so received into a mental picture thereby creating
the direction of the flow of information or idea.
meaning out of it. It is usually carried out by the receiver. If
wrongly done, the receiver ends up with wrong mental picture
and fails to get the intended meaning of the sender. This will
result in wrong feedback leading to a total communication
breakdown.
7. Feedback - This describes the response or reaction of a
receiver to some message or information given back to an
original sender. Once a receiver creates meaning out a message
received, they will be ready to respond. At this point the second
half of the communication process begins, the change of roles
occurs - the receiver becomes the sender while the sender
becomes the receiver. It is important to note that feedback
completes the communication process. The greatest role of the
feedback is to enable the parties involved in the communication
We will now try to understand each of these elements:
to make a decision as what is the next step. This particularly
1. originator of any one given information. He/she conceives
important to business managers and all people in general.
an idea, does encoding and creates a message and then looks
8. Noise - Also known as barriers to effective refers to any- thing
for and decides on a suitable method to pass that message on
that interferes with the information or the communication
to the receiver. He actively seeks feedback, which he decodes
process at any of its stages. There are a number of barriers
to create meaning. The communication process begins with the
ranging from physical distraction to semantic and linguistic
sender.
barriers. This are explained in details the sections below. The
2. Encoding - This refers to the process of transforming a
arrows from the oval marked ’noise’ in fig. 2 above point to the
mental idea or picture into a language that the receiver can
stages of the communication process that can be affected by
understand. The language in this case does not only mean a
various ’Noises’. It is this noise that causes misunderstanding,
description in the words of spoken languages like English or
miscommunication and even complete failure in
Swahili or French, but also any signs, diagrams and even
communication.
photographs. Encoding is important as it enables the sender to
Example. Identify the roles that the sender and receiver keep
think through their idea and come up with the most suitable
changing in the communication process.
way of sharing the idea with others thereby transferring the
Solution: The role of sending and receiving messages. At the
intended meaning.
initial stage the sender originates the message sends it to the
3. Message - This is the output or outcome of the encoding
receiver, at the creation of the feedback, the receiver becomes
process. Depending on the complexity of the idea, a sender may
the sender and the initial sender becomes the receiver.
decide to use words which are spoken or writ- ten, draw a
diagram, use a map or anything that can help a receiver
understand the idea the sender has. The message carries the 1.5. Quality/Effective Communication
import of communication and without clear, appropriate The other important terminology we must understand is what is
message, meaning will never be transferred accurately between meant by Quality communication or Effective communication.
any two communicators. Quality or effective communication is defined as
communication in which the receiver gets the intended
meaning of the message from the sender. How can this be
4. Medium - It is the means, method or channel used to pass achieved? Several factors come into play in determining the
some information or message to a receiver. Various media exist effectiveness of communication. These can be looked at from
ranging from formal numeric like computer printout showing the following three perspectives:
the last 10 transactions someone has done in a bank account - Communication that is free from all noise or barriers can be
obtained from an ATM to a face- to-face form like a said to be effective;
meeting. The medium is as crucial as the message itself and a - Communication which adheres to the 7Cs can be said
considerable thought must be given to its choice. We will look to be effective;
into this in greater details later. - Communication in which the ‘Information richness’ of the
5. Receiver - What do we mean by a receiver in the medium is appropriately matched with the ‘complexity’ of the
communication process? It is the person, or group of people or problem/situation at hand can also be said to be effective.
the organization for whom/which a message is intended. Mark These are discussed in details in the following sections:
this word intended. It means that there must be a particular,
designated person, or audience, or organization the sender
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1.6. Barriers to effective communication 1. Adopting the right attitude towards the sender
A communication barrier, also known as noise, is anything that 2. Always show interest in what the sender has to say as op-
hinders or interferes with the communication at any of the posed to dismissing it as not interesting before it is tabled.
stages of the communication process. There are many barriers 3. Moreover, he or she should be deliberately open and
which can be summarized into six major categories as below: receptive to new ideas.
1. Physical distractions – anything in the physical environment 4. In addition to this, embrace emotional intelligence- try to be
where communication is taking place e.g. noise from planes empathetic to the sender.
taking off, telephone rings during a meeting, extreme weather 5. It is essential to have a clear mind in order to be able to
conditions, or physical distance between the communicators. concentrate on the message being delivered.
2. Sender characteristics – personal attributes associated with 6. Ask questions that seek clarification on the message if need
the sender e. g wrong or poor attitude towards sender, Sender/receiver differences can be overcome by
stereotyping, lack of sympathy for sender, unclear non-specific practicing the following:
message (technical or business jargons), physical appearance, 1. Being professional, especially in an organizational setup-
mannerisms, etc. personal differences should be kept aside when handling
3. Receiver characteristics – these can be as a result of wrong official issues in communication.
attitude of the receiver towards a sender, unreceptiveness to 2. Being diplomatic, in the event of conflict between sender
new ideas, inability to concentrate, prejudice, lack of empathy and receiver, the two parties should embrace dialogue and
for sender among others. reach an amicable solution to their qualms.
4. Sender/receiver differences - these include differences in 3. Avoid social discrimination by embracing one another and be
age, gender, cultural background, educational willing to communicate despite cultural, age or gender
background/level, past experiences, personal preferences and differences (ethical practice).
level of exposure. 4. Both parties should embrace their differences as a means
5. Psychological/Mental/Emotional distractions - this may be to build experience in interacting with different people
caused by stress related problems, extreme feelings of anger or (attitudinal correction).
excitement, mental pre-occupations, and mental illness. 5. Embrace variety as a vital principal for development- different
6. Semantic/Linguistic barriers - these are things such as people provide several different views which create a pool of
differences in languages spoken by the sender and the receiver. ideas that is necessary for any development in an organization.
If the two do not have a common language which they can use Psychological, mental and emotional distractions can be
to communicate, it becomes a barrier. Others may include undone in various ways:
discriminative language, pronunciation and articulation 1. The handlers of staff should be willing to allow them time to
problems, words that sound or look similar but have different sort out social issues that make them emotional e.g. death of a
meanings to the communicators, etc. relative, delivery of a child.
OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS 2. Avoid saying anything when you are extremely emotional, be
The basic principle is to identify the barrier or barriers and deal it angry, sorrowful, or extremely excited.
with them effectively. Below are some suggestions on how the 3. People experiencing psychological stress should take up
various barriers can be overcome: Physical distractions can be therapy to relieve them of stress.
overcome by: 4. In the event of mental illness, please seek medical advice and
1. Holding meetings in a noise free environment; treatment if available.
2. In addition, take staff away from the normal workplace to Linguistic barriers can be overcome through the following
avoid temptation to sneak out of meetings to attend to pending ways:
work in the office; 1. In the event of absence of a common language, skilled
3. Moreover, switch off mobile phone during a meeting or interpreters should be engaged to foster communication.
put them on a silent mode to avoid disruptions; 2. Avoid the use of homonyms (words that sound the same
4. Also meeting rooms should be of suitable size depending and have more than one meaning), this reduces a great deal the
on the number of people involved, temperatures should be risk of misinterpretation.
moderate, etc. 3. Both the sender and receiver should make it a habit to
5. Besides that, take into account the different geographical speak proper language- use proper sentence structure, ac-
time-zones and implications these may have on communication curate pronunciation and articulation just to mention a few.
when deciding which media to use. 4. Have clarity of speech- use adequate volume in your
Sender oriented barriers can be lessened through: speech that you may be heard properly.
1. Approaching all communication situations with a right 5. Take diction into account- be sure of the meaning of your
(neutral) attitude towards the receiver choice words before you use them.
2. Always avoid stereo-typing 1.7. The 7Cs
3. Moreso, have empathy for receiver i.e. asking the 1. Clarity: This refers to the choice and use of simple, precise,
question: “If I were the one receiving this message, what would familiar right words and short sentences to express your ideas.
I feel about it?” 2. Courtesy: this refers to sincere and genuine expressions that
4. Remember to always compose clear, specific messages stem out of respect and care for others. It involves being
5. Taking care of one’s physical appearance and mannerisms sincere, avoiding anger and extreme rapture, refraining
being ’well groomed’ from preaching, and use of positive words.
A receiver can eliminate barriers associated with him by 3. Conciseness: It means being precise and straight to the point.
practicing the following: It is achieved by eliminating all redundant words.
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4. Correctness: it refers to correct use of grammar, message different communication media are grouped into five major
composition, appropriate words and adapting the right level of categories, namely:
communication to suit the receiver’s level. 2) 1. Face -to-face 2. Telephone 3. Personal written 4. Formal
5. Concreteness: it refers to having precision and being factual. written 5. Formal numeric.
it is the opposite of being abstract and vague. So, what is the ’information richness’ of a medium, and how
6. Consideration: it refers to giving due importance to the do we determine it?
receiver, keeping in mind the various factors like price, delivery Definition. The information richness of a medium is defined as
date, specifications and other benefits from the receiver’s side. ’the potential information carrying capacity of a given datum
7. Completeness: it refers to not only providing all the necessary of communication’. If communication of an item of data
information, but also how the matter is put across to the provides substantial new understanding, then it will be
receiver. The substance and style of the receiver must go hand considered high in richness. If the datum provides little
in hand. understanding, then it will be considered low in richness. For
example, if a wink of an eye, during a conversation would add
new meaning to what is being said, then we consider such a
1.8. The communication medium
datum rich in information. To determine the information
As mentioned earlier, this element is so important in enhancing
richness of a medium, the following factors are considered:
communication that it is worth dedicating considerable time,
1. Feedback - how fast it can be obtained
effort and thought in choosing or selecting the most
2. Channel - ranging from a combination of audio and visual to
appropriate communication medium in any communication
limited visual
arena. The method, means or ways through which we pass
3. Type of communication - ranging from personal to
messages to others will greatly influence the perception of
impersonal
these others of the message thus influencing effectiveness. In
4. Language source - ranging from a combination of body and
this section we learn about two methods of selecting a
natural to natural
communication medium: The general factors, and 2) The
The frame work below will help you understand how this works:
contingency approach to medium selection.
1. General factors to consider when choosing/selecting a
communication medium:
Table 1.1: Determinants of Information Richness of a
- Degree of urgency with feedback is required Medium
- Whether for internal or external purposes.
• The organizational structure in place.
• Physical distance between communicators.
• Time of day or season.
• Need for accuracy.
• Importance of a written record.
•Legal requirements.
• Confidentiality.
• Security. Interpretation. This framework shows that face to face
• Credibility. communication is highest in information richness as it allows for
• Complexity of material to be communicated. immediate feedback, one can hear what is being said as well as
• Availability of the medium to both the sender and receiver. observe body language, it is more personal in terms of tone and
• Level of technology required. approach and language source is the entire body that makes it
• Impression one desires to create. less artificial. On the other hand, formal numeric has the lowest
• Status of the recipient. information richness when you consider the four important
• Nature of the message. factors.
• Speed - how fast the information must reach the receiver, Let’s have a look at the complexity of the problem at hand:
• The cost - how cheap or expensive is the means? Definition. Managers face situations of different complexity:
• The size of the intended audience. Complexity implies the level of difficulty in understanding or
analyzing a problem. A highly complex managerial problem is
2) This list provides very good guidelines for communicators one with the following characteristics:
to use when deciding which medium to use for which • ambiguous,
communication. However, in business management it may • unpredictable or unexpected/unforeseen,
prove too long and cumbersome to go through. Most of the • hard to analyze and understand
cases managers do not have too much time at their disposition. • has no laid down procedures of solving it, and
This necessitates the need for a method that can help them • is generally emotionally laden.
make quicker decisions, hence the contingency approach to Managers spend more time analyzing such because they rely on
media selection. more sources of information during their deliberation. There
are no straight forward solutions to such problems or
The contingency approach to media selection: situations.
1) This is the approach which is widely used by managers to An example of such a problem is a major re-organization in an
select an appropriate communication medium. It is based on institution or a firm, where some established departments have
two factors: the Information Richness of the medium and the to merged into one department and others split or new ones
complexity of the problem or the situation at hand. In this the created. The dilemma will be when two or more departments
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are merged, which of the existing HOD’s becomes the head of • Zone of effective communication - In this middle zone, the
the new department? What do you do with the other one(s) Information richness of the medium is correctly matched with
that now have no department to head? How best can this be Complexity of a problem at hand. For instance, imagine a simple
communicated to the affected parties? On the contrary, a problem like wanting to know the balance in
problem that is low in complexity is one which is: • one’s bank account, all the person needs to do is access this
• simple and easy to understand information from a computer-generated print out through an
• predictable has laid down procedures of solving it routine ATM machine, or at home through the mobile phone - a formal
• non-emotional involving numeric. Or, in the case of business mergers, or acquisitions
Take the case of preparing a monthly pay for a new employee in elaborate meetings with affected parties would be most
an organization, for example, all the Human Resource Man- appropriate - a face-to-face medium.
ager needs to do is to inform the salary section of the effective • According to this approach therefore, effective
date of employment and the grade or scale of entry point of the communication is defined as any communication in which the
employee, they will easily come up with the employee’s pays lip information richness of a medium of communication is
as most organizations have predetermined pay packages for all appropriately matched with the complexity of the problem
levels of employees. This a problem which is low in complexity. and hand.
Having understood these concepts, we can look at the
contingency approach to media selection. This is usually
presented 1.9. Levels of Communication
in the form of a graph a shown in fig 1.3. • It is important to mention that communication occurs at
different levels and sometimes these levels have been also used
to describe what communication is, causing confusion to
Interpretation students as to what communication really is? We briefly
The model above is based on the interaction between the describe these levels in the following paragraphs in an attempt
information richness of a medium, ranging from low to high to eliminate this confusion.
along the

Intrapersonal communication
This takes place within an individual’s mind through the process
of thinking and feeling. The individual is able to process and
take time to strike understanding with him/ herself and others.
It is useful in the following ways:
• It helps and individual to shape self-concept and develop
conviction of opinion.
• It helps an individual to think, plan, analyze and interpret
ideas and messages.
• Gives one the opportunity to think of new ideas and be
creative about new decisions and approaches or solutions to
Figure 1.3: Contingency model of Selecting a Model organizational problem.
vertical axis, and the complexity of the problem, also ranging
from low to high along the horizontal axis. It is divided into Interpersonal communication
three major zones or areas which are explained below: The interaction between two or more persons in small groups
• Overload Zone - The medium chosen provides more in- preferably on a one- on-one basis, is known as interpersonal
formation than necessary. For example, if all a person with a communication. It has the following advantages:
savings account in a bank wanted to know is how much is in the • Makes it possible for people to open up and discuss issues
account, then books an appointment for a face-to- face meeting with other people.
with CEO of the bank to get that information, the graph when • Encourages exchange of views and opinions.
plotted will fall in the overload zone. Face to face medium like • Can give immediate feedback for immediate decisions.
the meeting is a rich medium and should be used to solve a
more complex problem. This area represents a zone of Organizational communication
ineffective communication. Like in this case the CEO of the bank
This occurs within an organization between its members or one
will be wondering if this particular client is in his right senses!
organization and another. It promotes smooth running of daily
• Oversimplification Zone - The medium chosen provides very
activities of an organization and is used generally to
little or inadequate information to help one make a decision,
communicate policy decisions to members. It has the following
e.g. the use of a simple medium like an informal notice to
advantages:
inform staff of a take-over of the company by another
• Ensures efficiency and profitability.
company. There will be too many questions from the staff due
• Makes it is possible to communicate policy and decisions to
to anxiety and future uncertainties whose answers cannot be
members.
provided in the notice! This represents another area of
• Enables executives to obtain feedback.
ineffective communication. A richer medium should be used to
provide a solution to such a complex problem contained in the
example.
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Mass communication
It is usually intended for a large audience whose location may
not be definite at the time of disseminating that information
e.g. newsletters, press releases, interviews with media houses,
radio and TV. It allows the sender to achieve the following
among others:
• cover large geographical areas
• reach large audience at once
• save on cost and time
Social communication
This happens when people interact in groups outside the formal
organization. People hold general conversations, share ideas
etc.
It requires social skills such as greeting one another, making
one- self known and being able to sell ideas. Great business
deals can be struck during these social activities like sports,
community work, which sometimes allow people of different
status and back- grounds to come together.
Transformational communication
Transformational communication is formed with the aim of
building a larger framework of reference for a healthy
understanding of phenomena. It aims at changing an already
existing attitude that is usually negative in nature to a positive
one. It is practiced by counsellors, teachers, NGOs, voluntary
organizations who act to provide a voice for the less fortunate,
those that are considered vulnerable in the society etc. It is
characterized by
the following elements; thinking, sensing, intuiting and feeling.
Group communication
This takes place between members of a unique group (social or
professional) where only issues affecting that group are dis-
cussed. The spirit of a good group lies in its respect for shared
values and its belief. The communication pattern is
interdependent. The group members have responsibilities and
obligations to one another. Its usefulness include:
• building and sustaining group cohesion
• maintaining standards and discipline
• enhancing professional and career development
• encouraging social support among members of the group.