Business communication

 

 

Business communication

 

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION:

                   Exchange of symbols or ideas between two persons is called as communication.

 The term ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin word “communico” Which means “To Share”? Communication means to inform, to tell, to show or to spread Information. Communication is a process through which an information or idea or opinion is transferred to more number of persons.

 

DEFINITION:

            W.H.Norman and summer “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,

opinions, or emotions by two or more persons”.

 

OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION

       In order to have effective communication, the communication must have the following

objectives:

 

1. INFORMATION:-

          Information is the message which has passed on from one person to another and

Understood by both parties in order to make communication effectively. Information is

Always factual & objective.

 

Kinds of information:

 

A. External information:-

           Information concerned with outside world (i.e.) outside the organisation-eg.

Suppliers, creditors, public etc.

 

B.Internal information:-

        Information within the organization (i.e.) information to members of the internal

Organization.

 

Sources of information:-

        The following may be considered as the sources of information:

1. Old files 2.observation 3.massmedia 4.library research 5.chambers of commerce

6. Meetings, seminars& coferences7.Personal interview 8.questionnaires 9. Trade

Fairs & exhibitions.

 

 

 

2. ADVICE:

          Advice is also a kind of information given by people in order to bring about a good

 Change on the receivers. Advice will be successful only if a change is brought in the

 Receiver. Since it involves personal opinions, it is likely to be subjective.

 

3. ORDER:-

           Order is an authoritative communication. It is directive to somebody & not to-do

Something. Usually orders are given to the subordinates of an organization

 

Types of Orders:

 

A) Written & oral orders

B) General & specific orders

C) Procedural & Operational orders

D) Compulsory & recommended orders

Instructions: Instruction is a particular type of order in which the guidance is also given

As to do a particular job.

 

4. SUGGESTION:

           One of the important of communication is to give suggestion. It is to give a particular

idea to a person or a group to carry out a particular work.

 

5. PERSUASION:

      Persuasion is the process of convincing a particular person to do particular activities

workers are persuaded to do the production activity quickly.

 

6. WARNING:

        Warning is a forceful means of communication. When the employee does not follow

the rules & regulations, it becomes necessary to warn him.

 

7. EDUCATION:

           Education involves both teaching and learning. Its main aim is to widen the

knowledge & to improve the skills. It is carried over in 3 steps:-

a) At the management level

b) At the level of employees

c) At the level of outside public.

 

8. RAISING MORALE:-

        Morale stands for mental health. It’s a powerful factor to increase the efficiency. It

Creates a sense of togetherness & makes the workers to work in co-operation.

 

9. MOTIVATION:-

                Motivation will help the management to get things done. It’s not an order.

Motivation is important so that they work willingly & eagerly. The motivation may either

Be in cash or in kind.

 

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION:

                Any communication has 4 elements.

1. Sender:

        For any communication there should be a sender. Without the sender there cannot be

Any communication. Hence there should be a sender or a transmitter to pass on some

Information.

 

2. Message:

         The need of communication arises only when an idea or impulse is generated in a

Person’s mind. If this idea or impulse is to be communicated to someone, there must be

Some purpose behind it.

 

3. Media:

         The media is the method or way selected to communicate. A number of mediums such

As telephone, postal etc., are available for communication...

 

4. Receiver:

            The main purpose of any communication is that it should reach receiver effectively.

He is the person who gives the feedback/ answer. Hence for any message there should be

A receiver.

 

5. Feedback:

          The response given by the receiver is called feedback which forms again a

Part of communication and without which the communication will not be effective.

 

THE COMMUNICATION CYCLE OR PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION:

 

1. Generation of idea:

      The communication cycle begins when an idea is generated in a person’s mind. If this

Idea has to be communicated to someone there must be a purpose behind it.

 

2. Encoding:

           The idea is converted into signals. The signal has to be carefully selected. Thus the

Process of converting ideas into signals is called as encoding.

 

3. Dispatch & reception:

           The encoded message is dispatched to its destination. In face to face communication

& oral communication, reception takes place immediately after the dispatch.

 

4. Decoding:

          When the signals have reached their destination, they are translated into ideas once

Again this process of interpretation is called as decoding.

 

5. Receiver’s response:

            If this message is received the receiver immediately responds to it.

 

6. Feed back:

             If this response is communicated back to the sender, it is called as feedback. Feed

Back is extremely important for effective communication because without that the sender

Cannot be sure whether his message has been understood effectively or not.

 

CHANNEL OR TYPES OF COMMUNICATION:

 

1. On the basis of organizational structure

 

a. Formal communication: Formal communication is an official communication & it

Follows prescribed channels through which all members communicate .It is considered as

A standard system of an organization.

 

I.Down wards communication: The communication from top management to lower

Level management is called downward communication. Egg: Rules, policies, orders etc.

 

ii. Upward communication : The communication from lower level management to

Upper level management is called upward communication. Egg: suggestions, problems,

Requests etc.

 

iii. Horizontal communication: Communication between departments or people on the

Same level is called as horizontal communication. For effective co-ordination among the

Departments and to achieve goal of an organization this type of communication is

Necessary. Egg: communication between departments for interdepartmental work.

 

b. Informal communication: It is the communication between persons in an informal

Way. It is also called “grapevine”. It is usually free from formalities and is based on

Informal relationship between persons. It can be in the form oral, gesture, glance or

Smile etc.

 

Grapevine communication is an informal channel of communication. It follows

No rigid rules, but spreads like gripe vine, in any direction, anywhere rapidly. It’s

Basically a channel of horizontal communication .Some people derive great pleasure from gathering secret information & Transmitting it to others. Certain situations like insecurity of service, certain innovations, Etc which are likely to affect the job prospectus of the employees are sure to activate the Leaders of grape vine.

 

Demerits of grapevine:

1. Distortion

2. Incomplete Information.

3. Damaging quickness

2. On the basis of media

 

a. Oral communication: It is a face to face communication. There can clarification of

Doubts since both the parties are directly involved through face to face contact. It is useful

In handling difficult problems in an organization.

Types are:

  1) Face to face communication

ü  Mechanical Devices for oral communication such as:

ü  signal in the form of bell, buzzer etc

ü  Speaking tubes

ü  Dictating machines

ü  Telephones

ü  Intercom system

ü  Electric paging system

ü  House telephones etc.

 

b. Written communication: It contains paper work relating to all kinds of transaction,

Agreements and proposals. It is important because it serves as a proof for future reference.

It is also a cheapest method and saves time. People place more reliance in pen than in

Tongue.

 

Types are:

Ø  Memo: Used to communicate short messages.

Ø  Notice: Used to communicate to a large group.

Ø  Telegram: Used for external communication for persons in another town.

Ø  Telex: Facility to type out messages simultaneously on the senders machine and

            The receiver’s machine.

Ø  E – Mail (electronic mail): Message transmitted through electronic computer

Network which reaches within a minute.

Ø  Reports: Presentation of information related to a meeting, project etc.

 

c. Non verbal communication: Unwritten and Unspoken communication is called

Nonverbal communication such as gestures, smile, actions etc.

 

Types are:

I.Body movement

      Facial expression: expressions in face

      Gestures: showing some actions

      Body stance: movement of the body also communicates

      physical appearance: To create good impression people sometimes concentrate on their

            Physical appearance.

ii. Voice quality: Raising one’s voice or minimizing one’s voice differentiates his or her

Communication.

 

d. Audio visual communication: It uses methods that are seen and heard. It is both

audio and visual eg: films, television, videotapes, slides etc.

 

BARRIERS / PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATION

 

v  Perception:Every individual is different in perceiving the information. One may

get the point easily but the other may not understand quickly.

v  Language problem: language sometimes becomes a problem to communicate.

Both the sender and the receiver should know the language.

 

v  Attention: there should be proper attention on the part of the receiver, otherwise

The communication fails.

 

v  Status: sometimes people neglect to involve in the communication process due to

The status difference between the persons.

 

v  Organizational structure: there should be first of all good relation between all

The departments of an organization. Then only the communication will be

Effective.

 

v  Premature evaluation: sometimes the receiver pre assumes or guesses the

Communicator in advance which makes him non attentive.

 

v  Emotional attitude: when a person is emotionally effected, then there he or she

Will not be in a position to involve in communication effectively.

 

v  Failure to communicate on the part of sender: there are possibilities that the

Sender himself is not good in communicating.

 

v  Other barriers: such as faulty translation, lack of attention, unqualified

Information etc.

 

Importance of Business communication:

 

       I.            Business has grown in size:

             Large business house have a number of branches within the country and even in

Abroad. The central organization of a large business house is its nerve centre. For its healthy and even growth it is extremely important that the central organization Maintain a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of a various activities at the branch Office. This calls for an effective an efficient network of communication.

    II.            Business activity has become extremely complex:

           This being an age of specialization, planning, production, sales, stores, advertising,

Financing, accounts, welfare, etc., are handled by different departments. If these Departments do not communicate with one another there will be no communication among them.

 III.            Effective communication promotes a spirit of understanding and

Cooperation:

       If there exist effective communication between the management and employees, it

Helps to bring about an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence. The management

Gets better returns; the employees get job satisfaction. They also develop a sense of

Belonging and loyalty to the enterprise.