CHAPTER 12

Managerial Communication

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Understand the meaning and importance of communication
2. Enumerate the elements of communication
3. Elucidate the process of communication
4. List the types of interpersonal communication
5. Understand the forms of organizational communication
6. Explain the factors influencing organizational communication
7. List the barriers to organizational communication
8. Describe strategies to overcome communication barriers

India’s Inspirational Managers

N. R. Narayana Murthy is the founder chairman of Infosys—a world-class software company. He played a pivotal role in making Infosys a USD 2 billion company. The vision, foresightedness and leadership skills of Narayana Murthy has won him many accolades at the international arena. Time magazine has voted him as one of the Asian heroes, along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, for bringing revolutionary changes in the country. Time/CNN declared him as one of the twenty-five most influential global executives for their lasting influence in creating new industries and reshaping markets. As a top manager of Infosys, Narayana Murthy emphasized on transparent corporate structure, good governance and global practices, farsightedness, strong systems and high ethical values. His key success factors include well-balanced leadership, well-conceived business plans, nurturing working environment, strong product differentiation, commitment to values, speed, excellence and imagination, scalability and strong capital base. His unique management philosophies are: (i) compassionate capitalism, (ii) better to be a small part of a large entity, than a large part of a small one, (iii) under-promising and over-delivering, (iv) customer is the king, (v) employee-friendly HR practices and (vi) decisions well-grounded in facts. As regards organizational communication, Murthy insists that the communication system must be such that it helps employees to have high aspirations, self-esteem, belief in core values, faith in the future and the willingness to accept challenges in the job.

Keeping the unique managerial skills of N.R. Narayana Murthy in the background, we shall now discuss the role and relevance of managerial communication in this chapter.

Introduction

Communication is a process by which information is shared and understood by people. Managerial communication may mean all forms of communication that emanates from the managers. It is an important means by which managers fulfil their tasks and duties and also the organizational objectives. Therefore, managerial communication is one of the major determinants of organizational effectiveness and success. As a managerial function, communication works through the entire organization and impacts all other managerial functions. Managerial communication usually occurs at different levels like intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational and intercultural levels. It is important for managers to ensure that their communication practices are systematic, continual and well-integrated with the organizational structure. Communication practices can be classified into different forms such as formal and informal, verbal and non-verbal, and oral and written communication. Managers must gain expertise in every form of communication to become successful in managing today’s modern, complex and diverse workforce.

Effective communication is essential for managers in improving interpersonal relations with others in the firm. Interpersonal relationship is important for successful accomplishment of other managerial functions such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling the organizational resources. This is because effective communication can help managers in conveying their messages to their subordinates and others, forcefully and convincingly. Managers can also get others act on their messages swiftly and correctly. In contrast, ineffective communication may result in misunderstanding, communication gap, decrease in employee productivity and organizational performance. Many studies have proven significant correlation between communication effectiveness, organizational turnover and financial performance.¹

Individual and group performance of employees in general depends on the quality and effectiveness of the managerial communication. Further, recent challenges to managers in the form of increased competition, greater quality concerns and increasingly assertive workforce have all reinforced the need for effective communication. It is therefore essential for the top management to create an organizational environment conducive for effective and flexible communication system. Normally, managerial communication passes through formal as well as informal channels of the organization. Formal channel refers to the formal organizational structure or line of authority through which official information is sent. Formal channels of communication are used by managers to transmit orders, reports, policy, manuals, procedures, etc. Informal channel on the other hand usually exists outside the formal organizational structure. Informal channel is built around social relationship existing among the organizational members. This channel is used mostly for fulfilling the personal needs of the members. Certainly, management must keep both the channels open and active for managers and workers.

Definitions of Communication

The process of transmitting information from one person to another to achieve a common understanding is the essence of many definitions of communication. In the case of managerial communication, the focus is on the achievement of the organizational goal. In this context, we shall now look at a few definitions of communication:

“Communication is the process by which people attempt to share meaning via the transmission of symbolic messages.”—James A. Stoner²

“Communication is the process in which actors use specially designed signals or displays to modify the behaviour of reactors.”—Krebs and Davis³

“Communication is a process involving the selection, production, and transmission of signs in such a way as to help a receiver perceive a meaning similar to that in the mind of the communicator.”—W. C. Fotheringham⁴

“Managerial communication is the downward, horizontal, or upward exchange of information and transmission of meaning through informal or formal channels that enables managers to achieve their goals.”—R. L. Bell and J. Martin⁵

“Managerial communication is a process of speaking and receiving back feedback on what was said and perceived by the person receiving the message.”—Peter F. Drucker⁶

We may define managerial communication as a process by which managers send and receive information for performing managerial functions such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling.

Communication Terms Associated with Business

Though, in general, many communication terms associated with business are interchangeably used, there are a few subtle differences among them. It is hence essential to understand the meaning of each of these terms in a specific context.

• Management communication—Refers to the complex communication process that arises as a result of execution of overall management functions.⁷
• Managerial communication—Refers to the specific communication between managers and their subordinates and the focus is on effective accomplishment of the task and goals in the existing business environment.
• Corporate communication—Refers to the verbal and/or written communication issued by a company with the intention of enhancing its corporate image and culture.⁸
• Business communication—Refers to the process of communication among business partners who are involved in direct transactions. Strategic talks or negotiations with business associates and correspondence with financial and trade creditors are a few examples of business communication.
• Organizational communication—Refers to overall communication that occurs within the organization and aims at defining the relationship between the organization and its environment.

The main challenge of all these communications is to persuade the message recipients to respond positively and carry out intended actions. In the case of managerial communication, the aim of managers is to work with their subordinates by exchanging information with them. Managers should also provide and receive feedback for measuring and improving communication efficiency. The communications strategy of a private company are discussed in Box 12.1.

Importance of Communication

Communication, which is the life blood of any organization, is essential for accomplishing organizational goals and plans. Since managerial job basically involves getting work done through others, managers should spend considerable portion of their time for communication. Depending upon their hierarchical levels, managers spend nearly 70 to 90 per cent of their time communicating with others.⁹ Managerial communication is critical to the successful execution of different managerial roles such as interpersonal role, informational role and decisional role by managers. Of all these, informational role consisting monitor, disseminator and spokesperson roles depends more critically on the communication system for its success. This is because managers constantly gather and disseminate information on almost every aspect of their job and responsibilities. Understandably, the aim of managerial communication is to develop and disseminate appropriate knowledge that can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the managers.¹⁰ We shall now look at the importance of communication in business from the managerial perspective.

Planning—Planning involves collection of necessary information from internal and external sources for determining the best course of action. As a part of planning function, managers need to constantly interact with their subordinates and others through oral and written communication. In this regard, they may have to write letters, memos and reports to gather necessary information and also for explaining their plans. Surely, the planning ability of managers is critically influenced by their communication skills.

Organizing—Organizing involves relating people and physical resources to each other in such way that the organizational objectives are achieved. Communication facilitates organizing activities through its: (i) relationship function, (ii) organizing function and (iii) change function.¹¹ The relationship function refers to the role of communication in integrating organizational members with their work environment and making them socialize. The organizing function involves guiding, directing and controlling the organizational activities. The change function of communication facilitates the organizational process of problem analysis and problem solving, and innovation to constantly improve the quality of organizing.

Directing—Communication is essential for managers to influence and direct the behaviour of their subordinates towards goal and task achievement. It helps managers express their feeling, opinion and viewpoints easily and effectively. It is also necessary for managers in counselling, evaluating and supervising their subordinates. It also helps them promote discipline, responsibility and accountability among their subordinates. Communication can also help managers in conveying their interest in the well-being of their subordinates and thereby motivating them.

Controlling—Communication is a principal tool for managers in achieving effective managerial control. Downward communication helps them in controlling and coordinating with people at lower levels by passing necessary information, rules, regulations, processes and instruction to them. Upward communication assists managers in gathering relevant data from their subordinates for analysis and required action. This analysed information forms the basis for managerial control of finance, process, material and facilities.¹²

Industrial relations—A two-way communication process between managers and workers can create greater understanding between them and thus facilitate better understanding of each others’ position. In the absence of appropriate communication, there is a possibility of misunderstanding, frustration, ego clashes and unrealistic expectations in the relationship. Ultimately, it can strain the labour−management relations leading to industrial disharmony and strife.

It is thus clear that communication is a key component of any organization. Studies on managerial communication have also emphasized the continuing importance and worth of communication to the business success.¹³ However, the whole communication process involving people and physical instruments can be successful only when it achieves the desired audience response.

Communication Process

Communication as a process involves transmission of information from the sender to the receiver in an understandable manner. In the case of managerial communication, this process is usually initiated by managers with the intention of achieving organizational goals and objectives. As shown in Figure 12.1, communication process consists of key elements such as encoding, medium of transmission, decoding and feedback, besides the sender and the receiver. This process acts as a guide for effective sharing of common meaning and also for accomplishment of communication goals. We shall now discuss each component of the communication process.

Sender

Communication process begins with the sender who wishes to convey a message to the receiver. This message may be information, need, desire, feeling, idea or any other impression of the sender. The sender’s mood, frame of reference, abilities, knowledge, proficiencies, approach and background can influence the formation of message to be sent. In case of oral communication, the speakers’ body language, voice tone, vocabulary, physical appearance and other gestures can influence the effectiveness of the message delivery. In any case, the ability of senders in accurately predicting the likely response of the receivers and appropriately adapting their message to get best response from them is critical to the success of communication.

Encoding

Encoding involves the conversion (or translation) of sender’s ideas, intentions and messages into understandable symbols in the form of words, colours, sounds and signals. The purpose of encoding is to establish mutuality of meaning between the sender and the receiver through common symbols and gestures. The extent of success in encoding depends on the way the receiver reconverts the encoded message and understands them as intended by the sender. For instance, if the sender uses red colour as a symbol to indicate danger, it must convey the same meaning to the receiver to get a desired response.

The success of encoding critically depends on the sender’s ability to foresee and eliminate the sources of confusion at the time of decoding the message. In the case of absence of common symbols between the sender and the receiver, there is bound to be misunderstanding, confusion and communication failures. It is hence essential for the senders to know the receivers’ background details while deciding on the encoding. Finally, the nature and type of encoding for a message also depends on the channel of communication adopted.

Channel

Channel refers to the medium or vehicle by which message is transmitted from the sender to the receiver. Speaking and writing are the two basic mediums of message transmission. In this regard, the common channels of communication include fax, telephone, the Internet, meetings, conversations, lights, videoconferencing, radio waves and postal systems. The choice of communication medium is usually influenced by factors such as permanency of record, urgency of matter, nature of response required, (such as immediate response) and number of response. The choice is also influenced by other factors like nature of participation desired such as face-to-face meeting; number of receivers involved such as individual or group; nature of communication such as formal or informal and also the audience’s channel preference.

Managers may also employ multiple channels to transmit information. Since each channel has its own strengths and weaknesses, managers usually look to minimize cost and maximize communication effectiveness while selecting channels.

Receiver

The person who gets the messages intended for him (or her) is a receiver. There may be single or multiple receivers for a message. The presence of common language, vocabulary, understanding and mutual interest between the sender and receiver are prerequisites for any communication to be meaningful. For the communication process to end successfully, the sender and receiver must reach the same understanding of the subject being communicated. However, the mood, preconceived notions or ideas and physical environment of the receivers can influence their understanding of the message received.

Decoding

Decoding is just the reverse of encoding. The process of breaking the encoded message and converting it into an understandable form is known as decoding. Through decoding, the receivers convert the symbols such as words and signals back into the sender’s original message for ascertaining its meaning and determining their response. Decoding usually happens in two stages. The receiver first makes an impromptu perception of the encoded message and then breaks its code to know its exact meaning.¹⁴

Generally, the accuracy of decoding is affected by internal and external noise in the communication. Noise can be anything that affects the clarity and accuracy of decoding. Internal noise is caused by the receivers’ attitude, feelings and past experiences. External noise is caused by disturbances in the channel and semantic problems resulting from misinterpretation and unintended meanings of symbols. Improper encoding by the sender can also affect the interpretation of messages by the receiver.

Feedback

The response of the receiver to the decoded message is usually known as feedback. It helps the senders in knowing whether the communication has produced the intended response. In most cases, senders seek and receive feedback from the receivers with the intention of assessing the efficacy of the whole communication process. Interestingly, feedback makes communication a circular and continuous process. It also helps the sender in determining the changes and improvements to be done in the existing communication process. Feedback may also be sent in a coded form by the recipient of the original message to the sender for decoding and interpretation. When direct feedback is not available for certain reasons, managers can consider declining productivity, high absenteeism and attrition, industrial conflicts, falling quality standards and absence of coordination among units as indicators of communication inefficiency or failure.¹⁵

The whole communication process can be considered as effective if the message was understood by the receiver in the same way the sender intended it. However, the effectiveness of any communication process is affected by the message, channel, environment in which communication occurs and the potential barriers to communication. In this regard, the sender’s selection of an appropriate type or style of communication can make a substantial difference to the outcome of any communication process.

Interpersonal Communication

A communication process that involves face-to-face contact between two or more individuals is called interpersonal communication. In this form of communication, senders and receivers normally communicate through words, sounds, facial expressions, gestures and postures. Since there is a personal and direct interaction among the participants of the communication process, interpersonal communication often has an emotional appeal. Interpersonal communication can help the participants develop and strengthen personal relationships. Thus, interpersonal communication is effective in persuading, motivating and encouraging participants to understand and accept other point of views. It also facilitates an instant feedback from the receivers. As such, interpersonal communications are capable of performing three important functions.¹⁶ They are: linking function, command and control function, and enculturation function. Let us now discuss them briefly.

• Linking function—This communication function aims at promoting flow of information among various parts of an organization. It also helps people connect with their environment. The basic purpose of communication here is to achieve the desired level of coherence or unity among the organization and its members.
• Command and control function—This communication function aims at issuing directives, identifying problems, motivating people and monitoring performance. In a nutshell, communication acts as a managerial tool to “command and control” the employees of an organization.
• Enculturation function—This communication function aims at creating and maintaining desirable organizational cultures. It works to get the employees influenced by those organizational cultures and also facilitates effective integration of members into an organization.

Types of Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communications are usually classified into two types, namely, verbal and non-verbal. In organizations, managers generally adopt both types of communication to perform their functions. In case of verbal communication, words or phrases are the important elements. Words are conveyed to the receiver through oral and written communication. In contrast, facial expressions or body languages are the important means of communication in a non-verbal form. We shall now discuss the different types of interpersonal communication in detail.

Verbal Communication

In verbal communication, the aim of managers is to communicate messages through spoken or written words to the receiver. These messages can be communicated through conversation or presentation or both. Generally, the nature and characteristics of the messages, urgency of the situation, accessibility to communication equipment and facilities and convenience of the participants influence the managers in choosing a specific type of verbal communication. In any case, managers must ensure that their messages get across to the audience effectively, whether they are in spoken or written form. We shall now discuss the kinds of verbal communication in detail.

Oral communication—Oral communication may be defined as the ability to express oneself clearly in conversations and interactions with others.¹⁷ This is usually a two-way interactive communication process. Oral communication is the most flexible and frequently used means of communication in an organization. This communication allows people to speak with one another in person or through electronic instruments such as mobile and landline telephones. Thus, the important forms of oral communication are conversations, interviews, meetings, conferences, phone calls and voicemail messages. This communication is useful for managers to seek or provide information, suggest ideas or opinions, seek support, engage in negotiations or discussions and also know the feelings and responses of the listeners. The major merit of this communication is that it allows quick exchange of information and immediate response from listeners. It can also minimize misunderstandings as participants can quickly seek or offer clarification during conversations. However, managers must be skilled and resourceful as they have to quickly encode and decode the messages and also respond immediately in a face-to-face meeting. Further, poorly-expressed words or messages can cause misunderstanding, irritations and angry reactions from the listeners leading to communication failure. Finally, managers may find it difficult to keep a written record of their conversations with others.

Written communication—It is an impersonal form of communication adopted by managers to convey messages in writing. Reports, letters, proposals, memos, newsletters, e-mails, faxes and PowerPoint presentations are important forms of written communication. Written communications allow sufficient time to the managers to think, draft, recheck and encode the messages before sending them. Similarly, receivers can also spend required time to decode, read and understand the messages and also to decide their responses. Thus, written communication is more precise and explicit. They can be documented and kept as permanent records. They can also be a ready reference and legal evidence in the case of disputes. However, this communication can consume the precious time of the managers. It can also push up the office expenses due to increased labour, stationery and mailing cost. It may be difficult to get instant clarification and feedback for the communication. Finally, a poor-drafted written communication can affect the image and reputation of the organization.

Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication involves “the transfer of meaningful information from one person to another by means other than written or spoken.”¹⁸ Though this communication does not involve any transmission of words, it can be a powerful, spontaneous and effective in conveying the message. In this, managers convey their emotions through non-verbal cues, actions, facial expressions, postures and other actions. They also understand the messages of others communicated in a non-verbal manner. Non-verbal communication can also be a two-way interactive process between the communicator and the receiver. Non-verbal communication can be effectively used to supplement, substitute or contradict verbal communication.

Managers can adopt three forms of non-verbal languages to transmit their messages. They are:

• Sign language—In this, gestures in the form of words and numbers are used to communicate the messages. For instance, a communicator may gesture a number (say, five) to indicate his or her time of availability to the other person.
• Object language—In this, material objects such as tools, watches, pens, scales and clothes are used to communicate messages. For example, people often wear black or dark dress to show their sorrow and anguish.
• Action language—When actions and movements like running, walking, bending down, etc. are used to send messages, they are known as action language. For instance, gestures such as running can be an instruction to the other person to arrive quickly.

Managers can use different styles of non-verbal communication to convey their messages to others clearly and correctly. They may be used effectively to indicate the mood of the communicators. For instance, feelings like joy, anger, fear, arrogance, aggression, victory and defeat can be conveyed through a person’s gestural expression. We shall now look at the important kinds of non-verbal communication.

1. Body language—It involves gestures like hand signals and facial expression and other body movements that send meaningful messages to others. Facial expression typically includes meaningful changes in eyes, mouth, nose, etc.
2. Proxemics—It refers to the use of space gap between the communicator and listener. For instance, the larger the space between the communication participants, more formal is their relationship.
3. Artefacts—It refers to the objects in possession of the communicator that act as a non-verbal stimuli for conveying message to others. Examples of such artefacts are clothes, decorative ornamentation, perfumes, shoes, eye glasses and watches.
4. Time—It can be a non-verbal tool in conveying messages to communication participants. A strict adherence to time by a communicator can indicate his or her desire to be punctual. Communicators can also show respect to their audience by honouring their time expectations while speaking to them.
5. Territoriality—It is a non-verbal signal relating to physical space in possession of a person and used for conveying messages to others. For instance, the way furniture is arranged using the physical space available within an office can express the intentions of the communicators as related to the audience.
6. Paralanguages—It involves non-verbal aspects of communication that influence the meaning of the messages. It deals more with how a message is communicated and less with what was said or not said. The tone, intensity, intermittent pausing or silence can indicate the real intentions of the communicators while conveying the message.
7. Tactile communication—It involves communicators’ reliance on “touch” as a non-verbal communication technique to convey messages. Physical touch as such can be used to convey the intentions of the communicators. These touches can be classified into functional-professional touch (medical examination by doctors), social-polite touch (handshake), friendship-warmth touch, love-intimacy touch and sexual-arousal touch.¹⁹

Forms of Organizational Communication

Organizational communication which allows people within an organization to communicate with one another has several aspects. Based on authority levels, it can be classified as formal and informal communication. Based on the flow patterns of communication, it can be classified into downward, upward, lateral and diagonal. Finally, based on the interpersonal dimensions, communication can become verbal and nonverbal. We shall now discuss each of these classifications here. Figure 12.2 shows the forms of organizational communication.

Authority as a Basis

On the basis of the authority of the communicator, organizational communication can be classified into formal and informal communication. Let us now discuss these two forms of communication.

Formal communication—Communication that confirms to the structure of an organization is called formal communication. Organizational structure strictly guides the flow of formal communication by clearly establishing the line of authority, reporting structure and channels of communication. Formal communication is usually the easiest and smoothest way to communicate in the organization as it is controlled and regulated by the managers. Written communication is the most common and preferred form of formal communication in organizations. Formal communication may include among others reports, memos, disciplinary actions, queries and staff meetings.

Informal communication (grapevine)—Communication occurring outside the formal channels is called informal communication or grapevine. This kind of communication is not authorized or prescribed by the structure of an organization. This communication generally arises as a response to employees’ need for social interaction and relationship building within the work place. Informal communication is usually relaxed and casual, but it is a faster form of information sharing because it is not routed through official channels. However, informal information channels can help managers in fostering mutual understanding and cooperation with their subordinates. It can also help them in the early detection and rectification of tensions, frictions and conflicts in the interpersonal relations. Verbal and non-verbal forms of information sharing are the most common forms of informal communication in an organization. However, written form is normally least preferred in such communication. Formal communication may include casual discussions, gossip, gestures and online or offline chatting.

As formal and informal communication fulfil two contrasting needs of the organizational members, both forms of communication are bound to co-exist in every organization. However, managers through sincere, respectful, accurate, timely and effective formal communication can considerably reduce the role and relevance of informal communication in an organization. Box 12.2 shows the open communication initiatives at an Indian pharmaceutical company.

Flow Patterns as a Basis

On the basis of the flow pattern (direction) of information movement, communication can be classified into four categories. They are: downward communication, upward communication, lateral communication and diagonal communication. We shall now discuss each of these four categories.

Downward communication—Communication that passes down the organizational hierarchy is known as downward communication. Downward communication may be defined²⁰ as “Information flowing from the top of the organizational management hierarchy and telling people in the organization what is important (mission) and what is valued (policies).” This is a traditional form of communication through which superiors pass orders, instructions, notices, directives, circulars, memos, reports, performance feedback and guidelines to their subordinates. The primary purpose of downward communication is to get the job done through subordinates by issuing them necessary directives. This form of communication can be oral, gestural and written. In downward communication, managers usually expect immediate response from the workers under their supervision. This form of communication facilitates better employee coordination and cooperation and also ensures that the overall goals and objectives are effectively accomplished.

Upward communication—Communication that flows upwards through the organizational hierarchy is upward communication. In upward communication, information typically flows from the subordinates to superiors. This form of communication includes appeals, grievances, complaints, feedback, reports, judgements, estimations, etc. Upward communication is essential for gathering feedback from lower-level employees on how well organizational policies, plans and objectives are understood and adopted by them. It also helps the employees in sharing their work achievements, creativity, progress and suggestions with the management. This communication also helps the management in getting to know the simmering troubles and dissatisfaction among the workers. It can be used to understand their views on the job, superiors, co-workers and the workplace. Thus, upward communication helps in assessing the communication effectiveness, boosting employee morale, ensuring worker participation in decision making and also developing a sense of belonging among employees. In essence, it makes the subordinates feel valued and important in their organization.

Lateral communication—Communication between persons who occupy equal levels in the organizational structure, but belong to different functional areas is known as lateral or horizontal communication. The communication between a production manager and a marketing manager is an example of lateral communication. Lateral communication may simply be defined as “the flow of messages across functional areas at a given level of an organization:²¹ In lateral communication, there is usually no hierarchical relationship (such as superior and subordinate relationship) between the sender and the receiver. Mostly, this form of communication is informal as the participants of communication have no formal power over one another. This communication is essential for promoting team work, effective information dissemination, and sharing mutual expertise and experience among managers. A study on the efficacy of lateral communication also shows that this form of communication can generate higher level of satisfaction among managers.²²

Diagonal communication—Communication among individuals who occupy different levels in the organizational hierarchy and belong to different functional areas is called diagonal or crosswise communication. This form of communication is useful for specific projects, as members are usually drawn from different departments and hierarchal levels to work together for accomplishing some common goals. In diagonal communication, information can pass through both official and unofficial communication channels. Thus, this communication is flexible, faster and efficient for integrated decision making. However, this form of communication can cause misunderstanding between the superior and subordinates when the former is kept uninformed about the diagonal communications of the latter.²³ Communication between a marketing manager and a general manager (finance) can be classified as diagonal communication.

Managers must carefully evaluate the potential benefits and problems of each form of communication before choosing a specific form. They must also consider the nature and purpose of communication while making communication decisions. In this regard, managers must have a good understanding of all the factors influencing organizational communication for achieving required communication effectiveness.

Factors Influencing Organizational Communication

The success of any organizational communication process is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors, individually and collectively, influence the process and critically determine its outcome. We shall now briefly discuss these factors as shown in Figure 12.3.

Organizational climate—Organizational climate means a collective perception of the members about their organization. They may have a positive or negative perception of their organization and its characteristics. This perception influences their behaviour which in turn gets reflected in all their action. Based on the style of communication within each climate type, organizational climate can be classified into four categories. They are: supportive climate, innovative climate, respect for rule climate and goal-oriented information flow climate.²⁴

• Supportive climate model—High degree of importance is attached to informal and accidental contacts and also for bottom to top (called bottom-up) communications in this model. Personal relationships are more important than task-oriented relationships in communication. Decision making is encouraged through the use of informal contacts within the organization. Formal, systematic and structured flow of information occurs only when it is absolutely necessary.
• Innovative climate model—Flexibility and speed are the essence of communication and decision-making process in this model. Communication in this type of climate is usually two-way, i.e. downward and upward. Since authority is significantly delegated and decentralized in this model, employees normally enjoy the freedom to choose appropriate communication channel for information circulation. For instance, vital information can be discussed verbally by the managers through informal meetings and written confirmation can be obtained through formal meetings.
• Respect for rules model—Formal communication, strong centralization and rigid hierarchy are the basic characteristics in this model. This model aims at exercising strict control over the individual behaviour and establishing managerial supremacy. Most contacts in this model take place within a department or office with the purpose of passing or seeking information. It relies more on one-way communication for information dissemination. In this model, communication flows strictly in conformity with the hierarchical structures.
• Goal-oriented information flow model—Goal fulfilment and task-oriented leadership are the basic characteristics in this model. In contrast to respect for rule model, hierarchical structures in this model are not rigid and also not always insisted for information exchanges. Thus, all forms of communication channels are justified under this model for faster and effective goal accomplishment.

Besides organizational climate, the following factors too can have a significant influence on the communication process of an organization.

Role and relationship—The nature and kind of relationship prevailing between the sender and the receiver can also influence the organizational communication process. For instance, the status and interpersonal equations among the organizational members can get reflected in their communication styles and practices. Similarly, the role donned by the managers as superior, subordinate and peer group member while communicating with others can also determine the communication styles and approach. For instance, managers may not feel it necessary to inform their lower-level staff about certain matters, even if they are relevant for the latter. Thus, the role-defined relationship between the sender and receiver may also determine the communication decisions.

Value system—Value system refers to the ethical and ideological values held by the individuals and organizations that guide their behaviour in all situations. Value system adopted by managers in their thinking and decision-making process can also influence the communication practices. For instance, managers with liberal values may encourage informal and upward communications with subordinates.

Emotional context—Emotional environment prevailing at the time of communication can have an impact on the nature and style of communication. For instance, when the sender and receiver enjoy friendliness and warmth in their relationship, the communication exercise would be tension-free and smooth. In contrast, when hostility defines the relationship between them, communication exercise could generate anxiety and strain.

Attitude—An individual’s like or dislike for something is described as attitude. Managers’ attitude can also influence the way they receive, interpret and act on the messages. For instance, a manager with positive attitude can take everything positively and also radiate that positive feeling in their communication with others. This way, they make the whole communication process pleasant and productive. In contrast, managers with bad attitude could become potential fault-finders.

Besides the above, Raymond V. Lesikar²⁵ has also listed four factors as influencing communication practices and decisions. These factors are: (i) formal channels of communication, (ii) authority structure, (iii) job specialization and (iv) information ownership. We shall now briefly discuss them.

• Formal channels of communication—Communicators operating through formal channels usually have restricted participation and freedom. This is because the formal channels are regulated, controlled and sometimes stifled by the managers. A few examples of formal channels of communication are newsletters, reports, memos, etc. In the case of formal channels, managements may find it difficult to keep pace with the ever-expanding communication requirements of fast growing organizations. This difficulty in turn may impact the organizational communication effectiveness. Further, formal channels of communication can also obstruct free flow of information among members belonging to different organizational levels. For instance, workers may not have the liberty to communicate with their managers without the knowledge and concurrence of their immediate supervisor.
• Authority structure—Authority and status differences among the senders and the receivers can affect their communication styles and practices. The seriousness and accurateness of communication can also be undermined by such authority differences. For example, communication between a chief executive officer and his peon may be characterized by excessive politeness and formality.
• Job specialization—In general, communication within a homogenous group can be more effective than among heterogeneous groups. This is because members of the homogenous group with high job specialization may tend to use same symbols, technical terms and behavioural styles. They may also share same objectives, goals, activities and time horizons.
• Information ownership—Organizational members with unique talents, knowledge and skills are usually reluctant to share such uniqueness with others. They may refuse to let others learn certain privileged information and skills, just to maintain their supremacy in the organization. This may affect the openness in information sharing and also the communication effectiveness.

The same factors, which usually facilitate communication at one time, can cause obstructions to its free flow and efficiency at another time. Such factors are generally described as barriers to communication.

Barriers to Organizational Communication

After deciding what is to be communicated, when it is to be communicated and how it is to be communicated, managers proceed with its execution. But they may face challenges at any stage of the communication process. This is because communication is often disturbed, defaced, distracted and distorted by the presence of many potential barriers in the communication process and environment. It is therefore essential for managers to identify and remove such barriers so that their communication is exact, timely and productive. Barriers to organizational communication normally arise from three sources. They are those that: (i) originate within the sender, (ii) originate within the receiver and (iii) originate in the communication environment.²⁶ We shall now discuss the barriers under the broad classification of individual and organizational barriers.

Individual Barriers

Individual barriers are caused by the attitude and behavioural problems of the senders and receivers. Some individual barriers are as follows:

• Filtering—When communicators withhold information in part or full, it is called filtering. It can happen in both upward and downward communication flows. It can also be both unintentional and intentional. Unintentional filtering can occur due to faulty encoding or decoding of messages by the senders and receivers, respectively. Intentional filtering may happen when the communicators decide to withhold certain part of the information for some reasons. They may do so when they feel that complete sharing is not required or may harm their own interest. In such a situation, the senders may wilfully distort the messages sent to the receivers. For instance, managers often tend to avoid sharing negative feedback in performance evaluation reports with their subordinates fearing hostile reactions.²⁷ How much of information is filtered usually depends on the circumstances and the hierarchical position of the communicators and also the organizational culture. When employees are mature in their response and believe in openness, filtering is usually minimal.
• Frames of reference—This refers to a system of assumptions and standards that approve certain behaviour and give it meaning. Frame of reference is unique for each person and is formed based on one’s education, experience, training, expectations, cultures, personality, functional domain, etc. For any communication to be successful, frames of references must mean the same thing to the sender as well as the receiver. However, frames of reference can become barriers when the receivers interpret communication based on their own frames of references and not on any common understanding. Different frames of references for senders and receivers may result in different interpretation of the same message. For instance, a talk of quality improvement in organization may mean different things to different functional managers. For the production manager, it may mean purchase of high-tech machines while the HR manager may consider it as further training of employees.
• Emotions—The emotional state of mind of the receivers can influence the interpretation of the messages. For instance, when communicators and receivers are going through positive emotion (like interest, enthusiasm, laughter, empathy, boredom and curiosity) they can be more open and receptive. In contrast, negative emotions (such as anger, apathy, grief, fear, hatred, shame, regret, resentment and hostility) can act as barriers in the communication process. In any case, emotional judgements can affect the rationality and objectivity of any communication interpretation process.
• Preconceived notions—Predetermined opinions and notions about other participants in the communication process can influence one’s attitude and response to the messages. For instance, the receivers’ trust, confidence and faith in the words and past actions of the senders may create a positive or negative opinion about them. A negative perception of the senders can make the receivers inattentive, nonchalant or even hostile while receiving and interpreting messages from them. Interestingly, union leaders often view their managements as exploiters out of their preconceived notions and deal accordingly.²⁸
• Lack of effective listening skills—Listening generally involves acquiring, retaining and comprehending the information. Active listening by receivers can facilitate accurate interpretation and better retention of the messages. In contrast, inactive listening, selective listening and reflective listening (i.e., interpretation based on how the information is conveyed or said by the sender) can distort the interpretation of communication.
• Defensiveness—Communicators and receivers may turn defensive when they feel threatened and insecure. Threats may arise out of their fear of loss of status, fear of rejection, desire to be perfect in the public eye and absence of self-confidence. In such situations, they may tend to avoid direct and rational responses to communication. Instead, they may intentionally pick up quarrels or indulge in the personal disparagement of others just to distract the core issue.
• Time pressures—Tight deadlines and time pressures often prevent managers from keeping frequent contacts with their subordinates. Time pressures may also force managers to abandon formal channels and leave out a few intended subordinates while communicating with others. In the long run, this may affect the trust, commitment and motivation of the deprived subordinates.

Organizational Barriers

Factors found in the organizational environment that reduce the effectiveness of communication are usually described as organizational barriers. These barriers are:

• Culture—It refers to the behaviour, values, belief and characteristics of a particular group. When organizations have different cultures, it may affect the communication effectiveness. In a multicultural environment, managers may be compelled to adopt different ways of communicating with members. This may be a cause of a burden on the managers while communicating with others. Factors such as social hierarchy, religious beliefs, etiquette, body language, personal appearance and status can become potential communication barriers in a multicultural environment. For instance, when subordinates ignore superiors while communicating with others, it is viewed seriously in countries like India. In contrast, it is not a big issue in countries like the USA and Northern Europe.
• Language—In organizations, language can be a barrier to communication effectiveness, if no common language is available for communication among members. In such a situation, exchange of information among them is restricted and mostly formal. At times, communication even in a common language can cause misunderstanding and communication breakdown due to differences in pronunciation of words. For instance, regional, cultural and ethnic factors exert influence on the English accent of most people in India.
• Structure—It refers to the way in which people and positions are interrelated within an organization for goal accomplishment. Lack of clarity in structure may act as a barrier, especially when people are not clear about their roles and responsibility. This is because they may be uncertain about what is expected of them and whom to communicate with. In organizations with a tall structure, communication is more formal and rigid and its flow is slow. It has to pass through many levels of authority in the organizational hierarchy. In the case of flat structures, members can directly, freely and frequently communicate with one another as there are fewer levels in the organizational hierarchy.
• Status differences—Status refers to the position of a person in an organization relative to that of others. Status symbols associated with positions such as job titles, office cabins, office furnishing, salary and reserved parking lot can be barriers to effective organizational communication. Such status symbols may interfere with the free flow of communication between a superior and subordinates. For instance, organizational members low on status may be excessively cautious about what they communicate with their superiors. Similarly, people high on status may dislike free and frank communication with their subordinates fearing that they might undermine their authority. The higher one’s status in an organization, the less likely the person will have effective communication with people a few levels below him.²⁹
• Information overload—Communication may become a problem when managers are overloaded with more information than they can effectively handle. In recent times, managers often face information overload due to the following reasons:

   

  1. Advancements in information and communication technologies such as the Internet, emails, SMS and mobile phones that lead to rapid piling up of information.
  2. Increased role specialization and task complexity that necessitate gathering of more information for effective decision making.
  3. Increased disturbances in the external environment which often force managers to collect and analyse huge volumes of information to handle such uncertainty.³⁰

      

  Managers frequently face difficulties in effectively absorbing and processing such overloaded information. In such situations, they tend to respond in any of the following ways. Omitting (some information), making errors, queuing (waiting till the information inflow ceases), filtering, approximating (general response to all categories of information), escaping and adopting multiple channels for regulating information flows.³¹

• Noise—It refers to both physical noise and mental noise affecting the communication effectiveness. Physical noise may arise out of a bad signal, machines or vehicles in motion and any other interruptions that may affect the listening ability of the receiver. Mental noise may arise out of the receivers’ concerns for any other matters that make the communication less or unimportant.
• Security—Fears about safety of information and reliability of communication tools sometimes compel the communicators to reduce their dependence on a few channels. When the employees suspect that a particular channel has high potential to be monitored by others, they may tend to reduce the amount of communication transmitted through such channels. Similarly, communication leaks are also problematic because information may reach the unintended or even wrong persons. Communicators may avoid such channels that have high prospects of intrusion by others. In the case of internet-based communication, hacking by strangers has increased the fears of people communicating through internet, emails, voicemails, etc.

Strategies to Overcome Communication Barriers

Managers desiring effective communication must first recognize the barriers to the communication process. Then, they must work systematically to eliminate the barriers for effective goal accomplishment. In case complete elimination of barriers is not possible, then they must learn to cope up with them. We shall now examine the strategies that can help managers improve the effectiveness of communication.

Employee orientation initiatives—It refers to the systematic process of offering essential information to employees about the job and organization. This process enables employees to know the company policies and authority relationships. As a result, each employee would know with whom they need to communicate, what procedure and practice are to be followed in such communication and also the problems of others in the communication channel. Effective orientation can help an organization avoid many possible misunderstandings and conflicts in communication.

Effective communication plans and policies—Each organization must have a clear communication plan that should spell clearly the potential challenges in the entire communication process. It must also define the exact strategies and specific course of action for overcoming such challenges. Communication policies can include information on communication objectives, structure and feedback system, comunication policies serve as an approach towards aligning the communication process with the organization’s overall strategies.

Enhancing interpersonal relationships—To make communication effective, managers must promote good interpersonal relationship among the organizational members. Cordial relationship based on mutual trust and confidence must prevail among the superiors and subordinates. In this regard, managers must encourage effective two-way communication process with emphasis on personal and regular contacts.

Efficient listening—Communication can be productive only when the managers listen attentively and understand the message clearly. There is a difference between hearing and listening in communication. Hearing is the physical act of perceiving sound by ear. Listening involves understanding the message properly and responding to it appropriately. It requires effort, concentration and patience to be a good listener. Certainly, a good listener can make others express their true feelings, emotions and desires. It is hence essential for managers to improve their listening skills through constant training and practice.

Ease of language—The choice of word and language can make a difference to communication effectiveness. Managers must choose language that best suits their audience. If necessary, they can choose different languages for different audiences just to serve the communication goals objectively. As far as possible, managers must avoid complex languages while communicating with their subordinates. Similarly, they must ensure that the technical jargons used in communication facilitate understanding and not undermine it.

Enhancing non-verbal communication skills—Communication is certainly more than mere exchange of words. Effective communication gives equal importance to both verbal and non-verbal communication. Certainly, the ability of managers to use and understand non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture and tone can vastly improve communication effectiveness. Non-verbal gestures at the time of communication like how much eye contact participants make, how loud or fast they speak and how close they stand, etc., send strong indication about the seriousness of the communication. It is hence essential for managers to learn the art of non-verbal cues to improve the effectiveness of communication.

Ensuring flexibility—The term flexibility stands for the ability of managers to adapt and work efficiently in different situations and to carry out a variety of tasks.³² By adopting behavioural flexibility, language flexibility and channel flexibility that suit the communication environment and receivers’ requirements, managers can greatly improve communication effectiveness.

Emotional stability—It may mean the quality of managers to remain relaxed even under stressful conditions and to allow no adverse influence on the performance. When managers remain emotionally stable, calm and composed while communicating with others, it can help them properly receive and understand the communication. It can also help them respond in a mature way to all communication. Moreover, emotionally mature communicators can be rational in their approach and attitude towards others.

Effective feedback—Feedback makes the communication process complete and meaningful. Since communication is a continuous process, it is essential for managers to know the effectiveness of the existing communication process. When there are deficiencies in the communication process, they must make improvements in the process. In this regard, communication feedback can exactly serve this purpose. Feedback gathered through two-way communication typically helps managers in assessing the communication message clarity, effectiveness of tools and techniques and appropriateness of the channels. Feedback can be verbal and/or non-verbal, formal or informal.

Empathizing—Empathy means the ability of managers to think and understand the perspectives and feelings of others while communicating with them. Through empathizing, managers are able to place themselves in the position of other participants in the communication process. It makes managers good and patient listeners. This quality also enables managers to encode and decode the messages properly and understand the messages in the right sense. Empathy also persuades managers to avoid any intentional filtering of messages and reach a common understanding with their subordinates and others.

Since communication is the basis of almost all the activities of the organization, managers should make all possible efforts on a continuous basis to improve the speed, reliability, accuracy and quality of the communication. Moreover, effective communication is capable of improving managerial efficiency, employee motivation and customers’ satisfaction.

Summary

1. Managerial communication is a process by which managers send and receive information for performing managerial functions such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling.
2. Communication is essential for efficient planning, organizing, directing and controlling of organizational resources besides keeping harmonious industrial relations within the firm.
3. Communication involves transmission of information from the sender to the receiver in an understandable manner. Communication process consists of key elements such as encoding, medium of transmission, decoding and feedback, besides the sender and the receiver.
4. The communication process that involves face-to-face contact between two or more individuals is called interpersonal communication. Communications are capable of performing linking function, command and control function, and enculturation function.
5. Interpersonal communication can broadly be classified into verbal communication and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication includes oral and written communication. Nonverbal communication consists of sign language, object language and action language.
6. Organizational communication can be classified into formal and informal communication based on the level of authority. It can also be classified as downward communication, upward communication, lateral communication and diagonal communication-based flow patterns.
7. Organizational communication is generally influenced by factors such as organizational climate, role and relationship, value system, emotional context and attitude.
8. Barriers to organizational communication can broadly be divided into individual barriers and organizational barriers. Individual barriers include filtering, frames of reference, emotions, preconceived notions, lack of effective listening skills, defensiveness, and time pressures. Organizational barriers include culture, language, structure, status differences, information overload, noise and security.
9. Communication barriers can be overcome through strategies like employee orientation initiatives, effective communication plans and policies, enhancing interpersonal relationships, efficient listening, ease of language, enhancing non-verbal communication skills, ensuring flexibility, emotional stability, effective feedback and empathizing.

Review Questions

Short-answer questions

1. Define the terms communication and managerial communication.
2. State the meanings of (a) management communication, (b) corporate communication, (c) business communication and (d) organizational communication.
3. Define the term interpersonal communication.
4. What do you mean by non-verbal communication?
5. Differentiate between oral and written communication.
6. How can we classify communication based on authority?
7. Differentiate between formal communication and informal communication.
8. Explain the importance of communication with relevant examples.
9. Distinguish between verbal and non-verbal communication.
10. State the meaning of the term grapevine.

Essay-type questions

1. Discuss in detail the elements of the communication process.
2. Explain the various functions performed by interpersonal communication?
3. Critically evaluate the different types of interpersonal communication in detail.
4. Describe the effects of grapevine. How can we protect an organization from the effects of grapevine?
5. Describe the different forms of communication based on flow patterns.
6. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of upward and downward communication.
7. Critically examine the factors influencing organizational communication.
8. Illustrate with examples the barriers to efficient organizational communication.
9. Enumerate the strategies to be adopted to overcome organizational communication barriers.
10. Good communication is the foundation of sound management. In light of this statement, elaborate the role and relevance of managerial communication.
11. Communication aims at creating a common understanding. Comment.

Case Study

No Safety Please?

Aravind Engineering Company is one of the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprises in India. It is engaged in the production of heavy electrical equipment like heavy boilers, and power generation and transmission equipment.

This company is well known for its high quality products and it exports a significant portion of its production. The workforce strength of this company is 12,500, of which nearly 60 per cent of the employees are in the age group of 40 and above. The company has a strong union presence as nearly 80 per cent of its workforce is unionized. The HR department of the company is headed by Mr. Mithun, a post graduate in HR with a law degree. This company has an appreciable HR policy that offers the best compensation packages for the employees. It also offers adequate training and development and career opportunities to its workforce.

However, the only sore point among the otherwise excellent HR practices of this company is the slightly high level of industrial accidents occurring in the factory premises. The company has reported an average injury and illness rate of 6.2 per 100 employees, while the industry average remains at 4.8. Based on this criterion, the safety management policy of the company is deemed to be inadequate and ineffective. Obviously, the management wants the HR department to adopt rigorous safety practices to scale down the injury and illness rate to a level that is less than the industry average in a cost-effective manner.

Although the HR department is more than willing to introduce a comprehensive safety regulation by introducing new safety devices, apparatus and procedure, it faces several problems. The unionized employees are bent on opposing the new safety provisions for several reasons. In fact, the earlier safety initiatives by the HR department failed miserably due to the noncooperation of the employees and their trade unions. The unions feel that any compliance with the new safety regulations would force them to spend 10 minutes extra time. These employees are not prepared to spend any extra time for safety matters. They also feel that the handling of safety devices could slow down their productivity and performance, which, in turn, could affect their earning capacity. The traditional work culture of this company, which accords top priority to productivity over safety, is also making matters difficult for the HR department to introduce changes in the safety regulation. The safety training programmes conducted by the HR department in the past did not serve any purpose as the employees continued to exhibit an intransigent attitude towards safety regulations and flouted safety norms. Ironically, the employees are satisfied with the existing norms and apparatus and do not mind the injury rate and record of the company.

Quite understandably, the HR manager is perplexed over the strange situation. He is at a loss to know what needs to be done in the future to convince the employees, especially the union members, to accept the additional safety features. With the deadline, fixed by the management, for introducing the revised safety regulation fast approaching, the HR manager is in a real tight spot.

Questions

1. How do you assess the safety problems of Aravind Engineering?
2. Who should be held accountable for the present state of affairs?
3. Had you been the HR manager, how would you have handled the situation?

Note: The solution for the above case is available at www.pearsoned.co.in/duraipom2e

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