Communication

Communication is the exchange of messages between people for the purpose of reaching
common understandings, and achieving common goals. Unless common meanings are shared,
managers find it extremely difficult to influence others. Whenever groups of people interact,
communication takes place. Communication is the exchange of information using a shared set of
symbols. It is the process that links group members and enables them to coordinate their
activities. Therefore, when managers foster effective communication, they strengthen the
connections between employees and build cooperation.

Significance of Communication

The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following:

• Gaining acceptance of policies, winning cooperation of others, getting instructions
and ideas clearly understood and bringing about the desired changes in
performance are dependent upon effective communication.
• Communication helps the management in arriving at vital decisions. In its absence, it
may not be possible for the top-level management to come in closer contact with
each other and discuss the important problems pertaining to the organisation.
• Constant communication with personnel helps the management to remain
informed about their problems, difficulties and grievances.
• Communication is quite essential for coordination, which is the essence of
effective management.
• Greater, better and cheaper production are the aims of all managers. In today’s
organisations, the information passes through a variety of filters and there is
always a chance for misinterpretation. An effective system of communication
can play a vital role in avoiding this illusion.
• Under an effective system of communication, it is quite convenient for the
employees to express their grievances, and bring all their problems to the notice
of the management.

Types of Communication

Based on Level

Levels of communication are:

Intrapersonal communication: It is the language used or thought internal to
thecommunicator. Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement of the
individual in symbolic processing of messages.
 Interpersonal communication: It is the level in which communication channels are
themedium chosen to convey the message from sender to receiver.
Group communication refers to the nature of communication that occurs in groups thatare
between 3 and 12 individuals.
Public communication: It’s at the heart of our economy, society, and politics.

Based on Form/Medium Used

Communication can be classified on the basis of the medium employed:
Verbal Communication: It means communicating with words, written or spoken.
Non-verbal communication: It includes using of pictures, signs, gestures, and
facialexpressions for exchanging information between persons.
Meta communication: Here the speaker’s choice of words unintentionally
communicatessomething more than what the actual words state.
Formal Communication: A formal channel of communication can be defined as a means
ofcommunication that is formally controlled by managers or people occupying positions in
an organisation.
.Informal Communication:Side by side with the formal channel of communication
everyorganisation has an equally effective channel of communication that is the informal
channel.
Downward Communication: The Communication that flows from Top to Bottom is known as
downward communication.
Upward Communication: The Communication that flows from bottom to top, which is from
lower hierarchical level to higher level, is called Upward Communication.
Lateral Communication: When communication takes place between two or more persons who
are subordinates working under the same person, or those who are working on the same level, it
is called lateral or horizontal communication.
Diagonal Communication: Diagonal or Crosswise communication includes flow of information
among persons at different levels who have no direct reporting relationships.

Based on Context

Based on context, the different types of communication are:

Organisational Communication

It is communication which gives life to the organisation; so, it can be likened to the life blood of
an organisation. The communication system serves as the vehicle by which an organisation is
embedded in its environment.

Political Communication
Political communication is a field of communications that is concerned with political scenario in
a country or communication that often influences political decisions and vice versa.

Intercultural Communication
Intercultural communication refers to the communication between people from different
cultures. According to Samovar and Porter, intercultural communication occurs whenever a
message is produced by a member of one culture for consumption by a member of another
culture, a message must be understood.

Educational Communication
This type of communication relates to the field of education. It involves any type of
communication flows, levels, systems that lead to acquisition and imparting of learning
Effective Communication Process

Communication is important in building and sustaining human relationships at work. It cannot be

replaced by the advances in information technology and data management that have taken place
over the past several decades. Communication can be thought of as a process or flow. Before
communication can take place, a purpose – expressed as a message to be conveyed – is needed.
It passes between the sender and the receiver. The result is transference of meaning from one
person to another.
The figure below depicts the communication process. This model is made up of seven parts: (1)
the communication source, (2) encoding, (3) the message, (4) the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the
receiver, and (7) feedback.
Communication Process
 Source: The source initiates a message. This is the origin of the
communication and can bean individual, group or inanimate object.

▪ .Encoding:Once the source has decided what message to communicate, the content of
themessage must be put in a form which the receiver can understand.
▪ The Message: The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding.
Themessage contains the thoughts and feelings that the communicator intends to evoke in
the receiver.
▪ The Channel: The actual means by which the message is transmitted to the receiver
(visual,auditory, written or some combination of these three) is called the channel. The
channel is the medium through which the message travels

▪ Decoding: Decoding means interpreting what the message means.

▪ The Receiver: The receiver is the object to whom the message is directed. Receiving
themessage means one or more of the receiver’s senses register the message.

▪ Feedback: The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop. Feedback,
ineffect, is communication traveling in the opposite direction. If the sender pays attention to
the feedback and interprets it accurately, the feedback can help the sender learn whether the
original communication was decoded accurately.

Barriers to Effective Communication

 Obstructions in the process of communication are termed as barriers.

 Can be sender oriented or receiver oriented.

TYPES OF BARRIERS

1. SEMANTIC BARRIERS
• DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
• ACTIONS
• POOR VOCAB

2. EMOTIONAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS :
Arise from attitiudes ,judgement,motives
• LOSS IN TRANSMISSIONS AND RETENTION
• UNDUE RELIANCE ON WRITTEN WORD
• INATTENTION OF RECEIVER
3. PHYSICAL BARRIERS
• NOISE
• IMPROPER TIME
• DISTANCE
4. ORGANISATIONAL BARRIERS
• RULES AND REGULATIONS
• STRUCTURE OF ORGANISATION
• LACK OF FACILITIES: COMPLAINT BOXES,GREIVANCE CELL
• WRONG CHOICE OF CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION

5. PERSONAL BARRIERS
• ATTITUDE OF SUPERIORS
• POOR LISTENING
• UNWILLINGNESS TO Communication
6 CULTURAL BARRIERS
• WEST : BLACK FOR DEATH
• EAST : WHITE FOR DEATH
7. TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS

HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS?

✓ PROMOTE PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH

✓ EASY LANGUAGE
✓ GOOD LISTENING
✓ EFFECTIVE CHANNEL

ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE COMM..

 CLARITY OF PURPOSE
 ACTIVE LISTENING
 ELIMINATE NOISE
 AVOID AMBIGUITIES
 COMPLETENESS
 CONCISENESS
 Controlling:
Controlling is an important function of management. It is the process that measures current
performance and guides it towards some predetermined objectives. Under primitive
management, control was undertaken only when something went wrong and the objectives of
control was to reprimand the person responsible for these events and take action against him.
The modern concept of control envisages a system that not only provides a historical record of
what has happened to the business as a whole but also pinpoints the reasons why it has happened
and provides data that enable the manager to take corrective steps, if he finds he is on the
wrongtrack. Therefore, there is no intention to punish the person for wrongdoing, but to find out
the deviations between the actual performance and the standard performance and to take steps to
prevent such variances in future.
The concept of control is often confused with lack of freedom. The opposite of control is not
freedom but chaos or anarchy. Control is fully consistent with freedom. In fact, they are inter-
dependent. Without control, freedom cannot be sustained for long. Without freedom,
controlbecomes ineffective. Both freedom and accountability are embedded in the concept of
control.

Characteristics of Control

Managerial control has certain characteristic feature. They are:

Control is the function of every manager. Managers at all levels have to perform this
function to contribute to the achievement of organisational objectives.

• Control leads to appraisal of past activities. The deviations in the past are revealed by the
control process Corrective actions can be initiated accordingly.
• Control is linked with future, as past cannot be controlled. It should anticipate possible
deviations and to think of corrective action for the control of such deviations in the
future. It is usually preventive as presence of control system tends to minimise wastages,
losses and deviations from standards.
• Control is concerned with setting standards, measurement of actual performance,
comparison of actual performance with predetermined standards and bringing to light the
variations between the actual performance and the standard performance.
• Control implies taking corrective measures. The object in checking the variations or
deviations is to rectify them and prevent their recurrence. It is only action which adjusts
performance to predetermined standards whenever deviations occur.
• Control can be exercised only with reference to and or the basis of plans. To quote Mary
Cushing Niles - "Whereas planning sets the course, control observes deviations from the
course or to an appropriately changed one".
• To some people, control is opposite of freedom. This is not true. Control is based on facts
and figures. Its purpose is to achieve and maintain acceptable productivity from all
 resources of an enterprise. Therefore, control aims at results and not at persons. It is for
correcting a situation, and not for reprimanding persons.
• Information or feedback is the guide to control. The feedback is helpful to the manager to
determine how far the operations are proceeding in conformity with plans and standards,
and where remedial action is called for.
• Control involves continuous review of standards of performance and results in corrective
action which may lead to change in the performance of other functions of management.
This makes control a dynamic and flexible process.
• Control is a continuous activity. It involves constant analysis of validity of standards,
policies, procedures etc.

Steps in Control Process

There are three basic steps in a control process:

▪ Establishing standards
▪ Measuring and comparing actual results against standards
▪ Taking corrective action.

1 Establishing Standards

The first step in the control process is to establish standards against which results can be
measured. The standards the managers desire to obtain in each key area should be defined as far
as possible in quantitative terms. Standards expressed in general terms should be avoided.
Standards need to be flexible in order to adapt to changing conditions. The standard should
emphasis the achievement of results more than the conformity to rules and methods. If they do
not do so, then people will start giving more importance to rules and methods than to the final
results.
While setting the standards, the following points have to be borne in mind:
The standards must be clear and intelligible. If the standards are clear and are understood by
the persons concerned, they themselves will be able to check their performance.
Standards should be accurate, precise, acceptable and workable.
Standards are used as the criteria or benchmarks by which performance is measured in the
control process. It should not be either too high or too low. They should be realistic and
attainable.
Standards should be flexible i.e., capable of being changed when the circumstances require
so.

2. Measuring and Comparing Actual Results against Standards

The second step in the control process is to measure the performance and compare it with the
predetermined standards. Measurement of performance can be done by personal observation, by
reports, charts and statements. If the control system is well organised, quick comparison of these
with the standard figure is quite possible. This will reveal variations.
After the measurement of the actual performance, the actual performance should be compared
with the standards fixed quickly. A quick comparison of actual performance with the standard
performance is possible, if the control system is well organised. While comparing the actual
performance with the standards fixed, the manager has to find out not only the extent of
variations but also the causes of variations. This is necessary, because some of the variations
may be unimportant, while others may be important and need immediate corrective action by the
manager.

3. Taking Corrective Action

After comparing the actual performance with the prescribed standards and finding the
deviations, the next step that should be taken by the manager is to correct these
deviations. Corrective action should be taken without wasting of time so that the normal
position can be restored quickly. The manager should also determine the correct cause for
deviation.
Taking corrective action can be achieved in the following way:
The manager should try to influence environmental conditions and external situations in such
a way as to facilitate the achievement of goals.
He should review with his subordinates the instructions given earlier so that he may be able to
give clear, complete and reasonable instructions in future.
There are many external forces which cannot be adjusted by the manager. They have to be
accepted as the facts of the situation, and the executives should revise their plans in the light of
these changing forces.

Types of Control

Most control methods can be grouped into one of the two basic types:
• Past-oriented controls.
• Future-oriented controls.

Past-oriented Controls

These are also known as post-action controls and measure results after the process. They
examine what has happened in a particular period in the past. These controls can be used to
plan future behaviour in the light of past errors or successes.

Future-oriented Controls
These are also known as steering controls or feed-forward controls and are designed to
measure results during the process so that action can be taken before the job is done or the
period is over. They serve as warning-posts principally to direct attention rather than to
evaluate, e.g., Cash flow analysis, funds flow analysis, network planning etc.

Control Techniques

A variety of tools and techniques have been used over the years to help managers control
the activities in their organisations. There can be control in different perspectives. Time
control relate to deadlines and time constraints, material controls relate to inventory
control etc. Various techniques of control require varied control aids such as:
▪ Budgeting: A budget is a statement of anticipated results during a designated time
periodexpressed in financial and non-financial terms. Budgets cover a designated
time period – usually a year. At stated intervals during that time period, actual
performance is compared directly with the budget targets and deviations are
quickly detected and acted upon. E.g. of Budgets: Sales budget, production budget,
capital expenditure budget, cash budget, master budget etc.

• Standard Costing: The cost of production determines the profit earned by an enterprise.
The system involves a comparison of the actuals with the standards and the discrepancy is
called variance. The various steps involved in standard costing are:

▪ Setting of cost standards for various components of cost e.g.: raw materials, labour,etc
▪ Measurement of actual performance.
▪ Comparison of actual cost with the standard cost.
▪ Finding the variance of actual from the standard cost.
▪ Findings the causes of variance.
▪ Taking necessary action to prevent the occurrence of variance in future.

Responsibility Accounting: Responsibility accounting can be defined as a system ofaccounting under

which each departmental head is made responsible for the performanceof his department.

Reports: A major part of control consists of preparing reports to provide information to

the management for purpose of control and planning.

Standing Orders, Rules and Limitations: Standing orders, rules and limitations are also
control techniques used by the management. They are issued by the management and
they are to be observed by the subordinates.

Personal Observation: A manager can also exercise fruitful control over his subordinates
by observing them while they are engaged in work.