CHAPTER ONE

Introduction: Communication an
overview
 Meaning of Communication
• Derived from a Latin word “cummunicare” which means “to
share”.
• Communication starts with a sender, who has a message to
send to the receiver.
• Communication is a process that involves the transfer of
information and understanding from one person to another
person.
• Communication is a shared meaning among two or more
people through verbal and non-verbal transactions.
• On the other hand business communication is concerned with
business activities like internal business activities as well as
external business activities
 Significance of Business Communication

• It promotes managerial efficiency

• It is an aid to planning and decision making
• It strengthens control and operations
• It increases co-operation and understanding
• It is a basis of leadership action
• It develops co-ordination
• It leads to job satisfaction
Nature/Characteristic of Business communication

• It is not that begins at one time and stops at another.

• It concerns all managers at all level of management.
• It facilitates managerial functions.
• It facilitates managerial roles
 Communication in Management
• Communication is a linking process of management.
• Communication is the primary means by which people obtain and
exchange information.
• The most time-consuming activity a manager engages in is
communication
• Information and communication represent power in organizations
 CHAPTER TWO

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

 Elements Of The Communication Process

1. Sender (communicator): is the source of the message

who initiates the communication process.
2. Encoding: is the process of selecting and organizing
bits of information into transmissible message
language.
• Message: the result of encoding is the message- either verbal or
non verbal.
• Channel: is the formal medium of transmission of the message.
• Receiver: is the one to whom the message is intended to reach.
• Decoding: is the process by which the receiver interprets the message and
translates it into meaningful information.
• Feed back: is a response from the receiver.
Advantage of feed back
• It makes the communication process two way or bilateral and enhances the
accuracy of employee understanding and performance
• It increases employee satisfaction with their job
Disadvantage of feed back
• It is a time taking activity
• It is difficult to elicit
• Employees do not want to give positive feedback to the management
Noise: is any interfering factor that, if present, can distort the intended
message. It can be present in any element.
 Barriers to Communication
1. Socio-cultural Barriers
• Group think
• Confliction values and beliefs
• Stereotyping and ethnocentrism
• Language and jargon
2. Psychological Barriers
 Psychological barriers are those relations to the individual and the
individual’s mental and emotional state, key psychological barriers are;
Filtering
Perceptions
Faulty memory
• Understanding
• Breadth of knowledge
• Active recall
• Over learning
• Association
 Poor Listening Skills
• Verbal Battling
• Fact Hunting
Feigning listeners
Limiting listeners
Self-centered listeners
Positive or active listeners
• Attending Skills
• Following Skills
• Reflecting Skills
Emotional Interference
 3. Organizational Barriers
• Information overload
• Message competition
• Information distortion
• Message filtering
• Conflicting messages
• Communication climate
• Status difference
• Structural problems
Overcoming Organizational Barrier????
 CHAPTER THREE
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION
• Completeness:
• Conciseness :- Conciseness means saying what you have to say in
the fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C
qualities.
• Consideration:- prepare every message with the recipient in mind
and try to put yourself in his or her place.
• Concreteness: So, good concrete writing and speaking include
specific facts and figures with relevant examples.
• Clarity: Choose short, familiar and conversational words
 Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
• Include examples, illustrations and other visual aids when
desire
 Courtesy :
• Be sincere, thoughtful, and appreciative
• Omit expressions that irritate, hurt or belittle the reader
• Answer mails as promptly as possible.
Correctness
• The message is grammatically correct
• The information is considerate and appreciative
• The message is bias less and impartial
• Proper punctuation and capitalization
CHAPTER FOUR
 Internal and External Communication
• External communication refers to communication with outside
sources such as customers, suppliers, professional associations,
government organization etc.
• Internal communication takes place within the organization among
managers and other personnel between department, superiors and
subordinates.
• Vertical and horizontal communications take place with in the
organization.
 Formal and Informal Communication
• The formal communication channel is used to transmit official
messages, policies, procedures, directives, and job instruction.
• Established by the management and formally shown in the
charts of the organizations
 Diagonal Communication

• Interchange of message among two persons located at different

levels of hierarchy and outside the direct chain of command.
• It is used to speed up information flow to improve understanding
and to coordinate for the achievement of organizational
objectives.
 Informal channel of communication
• Known, as the grapevine is communication that
takes place without regard to hierarchical or task
requirements.
Characteristics of Informal Communication
• It is very fast and spontaneous
• It is not entirely reliable
• Its messages are difficult to stop once they get
started
• It is accessible to everybody in that organization
• It can be supportive or obstacle to the effort of
management
 Types of Grapevine Chains

• Single strand Chain: In this chain Person “A” tells to a single

person “B”, who tells it to a person “C” and so on
• The Gossip Chain: a person being the source of the information
transmits to many individuals.
• Probability Chain: They tell people at random and those people
in turn tell other at random.
• Cluster Chain: Here person “A” conveys the information to few
selected individuals, some of whom then inform a few selected
individuals.
 From the point of view of human aspect

• Intrapersonal communication: is communication with in

oneself.
• It refers to speaking to oneself.
• Thinking, encoding, decoding are can be examples.
 Verbal and Non-verbal Communication
• Verbal communication can be of two types, oral and written.
The main difference between the oral and written is the time
factor.
• Written communication is slower in preparation, in conveyance
(carrying or transmitting) and in perception (understanding).
 Non-verbal Communication
• Is the process of communication without words.
• People use nonverbal signals to support and clarify verbal
communication.
Appearance:
• Personal appearance
• Appearance of surroundings
Body language
• Facial expression
• Gestures and postures
• Smell and touch
 SILENCE, TIME AND SOUND:
• Silence: can actually cause serious hard feelings, loss of business,
loss of sales, sometimes loss of profit and loss of opportunities.
• Time: is important in many ways.
• So, being on time for appointments, for work each day and for
deadlines communicate favorable nonverbal messages in our
culture.
• Sound: in addition to speaking person voice, other human sound
like clearing throat, language, etc… also communicate non-verbally.
• Sometimes nonhuman sounds like bells, cars, airplanes all can be
significant nonverbal communicators.