|
There is no such thing as perfect communication. There are continuous forces at work--called barriers which tend to distort communication and promote disorganisation. We may summarise these barriers as under:
1. Badly expressed message:People may talk too fast. They may lack coherence. They may organise their ideas poorly or may omit certain essential details. They may structure their sentences awkwardly or may make errors in their selection of words. All of these may distort a message.
2. Faulty organization: In a large-scale enterprise where the chain of command is too long or the span of control too big, communication will be poor. This is because successive transmissions of the same message are decreasingly accurate. According to Koontz and O'Donnel, in oral communication, something in the order of 30 per cent of the information is lost in each transmission.
3. Distrust of communicator: Some executives are noted for their habits of countermanding or modifying their original communications. Such executives invariably lose the trust and confidence of their subordinates. Subordinates do not take their communications seriously.
4. Restricting communication: In downward communication, a superior may withhold a part of the information from his subordinates under the belief that they do not need it. Similarly, in upward communication, the subordinate may omit unfavorable parts of the information which he thinks will not be liked by his superiors. This is called filtering. Most people do not want to be the bearer of bad news or reveal their mistakes to their boss.
- Poor retention:Studies show that employees retain only 50 per cent of communicated information.
- Different backgrounds:One reason for distortion of meaning is that different individuals often interpret the same communication differently; each individual uses his own frame of reference. This frame of reference is based on particular experience and knowledge. Thus, when people with different knowledge and experiences try to communicate, they often have trouble getting their meanings across.
7. In-group language: Often, occupational or social groups develop their own terminology or in-group language. This special language though provides a means for precise and quick communication within the group, creates severe communication breakdown when outsiders or other groups are involved.
8. Inattention: Another common barrier is that many receivers simply do not pay attention to the message. One reason people do not pay attention is selective listening. Selective listening results from a common tendency to block out information that conflicts with what we believe. When we listen to a speech or read a newspaper, we generally pay attention only to those things that confirm our beliefs. Sometimes people do not pay attention to communication because they are victims of communication overload or because the information is unsolicited. The source of communication, and the way in which it is presented also determine for its recipient how much attention he gives it. Major barriers to horizontal communication are inter-departmental rivalries, incorrect grouping of activities, inter-personal conflicts and indifference toward organizational goals.
9. Physical barriers: These are environmental factors which prevent or reduce the sending or receiving of communication. They include physical distance, distracting noises, and similar interferences.
10. Poor understanding: In downward communication a superior may not have full understanding of the information to be able to interpret it to the workers. Just as a photograph can be no clearer than the negative from which it is printed the superior cannot transmit more clearly than he understands.
|
Participants