Organizational Behavior

Chapter No 11
Communication
 Definition

The sharing of information

between two or more
individuals or groups to reach
a common understanding.
Functions of Communication

70% of day spent

Communicating

Communication serves four major

functions within a group or
organization.
Here are the functions of
communications
Information

Functions Persuasion
Control of Or
Communication Motivation

Emotional
Expression
Information
 Communication within the group is a fundamental mechanism
Emotional by which members show their satisfaction and frustrations.
Expression Communication, therefore, provides for the emotional expression
of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.

Communication acts to control individual’s behavior in organization.

Control Organization have authority hierarchies and follow guidelines
employees are required to follow.
 Communication Process
Before communication can take place it
needs a purpose, a message to be
conveyed between a sender and a
receiver. The sender encodes the message
(converts it to a symbolic form) and
passes it through a medium (channel) to
the receiver, who decodes it. The result is
transfer of meaning from one person to
another
 Communication Process
The keys parts of communication
process are: SENDER: The sender
initiates a message by encoding
a thought.
Encoding: Encoding is the production
of a message.
The Message: The message is the
actual product of the sender’s
encoding
The Channel: Channel is the medium
through which the
 Communication Process
Decoding: The decoding of a message
is how an audience member is
able to understand
and interpret the message
The Receiver: Receiver is the person to
whom the message is
directed.
Noise: Noise represents communication
barriers that distort the clarity of the
message.
Feedback: Feedback is the check on
 Directions of
Communication
Communication can flow vertically or
laterally . We further subdivide the vertical
direction dimensions into downward and
upward direction.
Downward Communication:
• Downward communication is the flow
of information and messages from
higher level inside an organization to a
lower one.
• One study found employees were
twice as likely to be committed to
changes when the reasons behind
• Managers might think that sending a
message one time is enough to get
through to lower level employees most
research suggests managerial
communications must be repeated
several times and through a variety of
different media to be truly effective.
Upwards Communication
• Upward communication is the process of
information
flowing from the lower levels of a hierarchy to
the upper
levels.
• This type of communication is becoming more
popular in organizations as traditional forms
of communication
are becoming less popular.
• Upward communication keeps managers aware
of
how employees feel about their jobs, co-workers,
Lateral Communication
• When communication takes place among
members of the same work group,
members of work groups at the same
level, managers at the same level, or any
other horizontally equivalent workers, we
describe it as lateral communication.
• Lateral communication saves time and
facilitates coordination.
 Interpersonal
Communication
• Interpersonal communication is the process
by which people exchange information,
feelings, and meaning through Oral
Communication, Written Communication
and Nonverbal Communication.
• It is face-to-face communication.
1. Oral Communication:
• Oral communication is the process of
expressing information or ideas by word of
mouth.
Major Advantages:
• We can convey a verbal message and
receive a response in minimal time.
• Best way of getting information to and
from employees.
• If the receiver is unsure of the message,
rapid feedback allows the sender to
quickly detect and correct it.
Major Disadvantages:
• The more people, the greater the potential
distortion.
• Each person interprets the message in his
or her own way.
2. Written Communication
Written communications include
memos, letters, fax transmissions, e-mail,
instant messaging, notices placed on
bulletin boards (including electronic ones),
and any other device that transmits via
written words or symbols.

Why would a sender choose written

• Both the sender and the receiver have record
communication; and message can be stored for
indefinite period.
• If there are questions about its content, the
message is physically available for later
reference.
• This feature is particularly important for complex
and lengthy communications.
• People are usually forced to think more thoroughly
about
what they want to convey in a written message
than in a spoken one.
Drawbacks
• They are time consuming. It take more time
in writing as compared to speak in oral
communication.
• Oral communication allows to receiver to
respond more quickly, but emailing a memo
or sending an instant message provides no
assurance it has been received that the
recipient will
interpret it as the sender intended.
3. Nonverbal Communication
nonverbal communication=communication without
words
• Nonverbal communication is a process of
communication through sending and receiving
wordless messages.
• facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture
include in nonverbal communication.
Organizational Communication

• Organizational communication, as a field,

is the consideration, analysis, and criticism
of the role of communication in
organizational contexts. Its main function is
to inform, persuade and promote goodwill.
• Three common small group Networks
1) Formal Small Group Networks
• Formal organizational networks can be very
complicated, including hundreds of people and a
half-dozen or more hierarchical levels. To simplify
our discussion, we’ve condensed these networks
into three common small groups of five people
each: chain, wheel, and all channel.
i. The chain rigidly follows the formal chain of
command.
ii. The wheel relies on a central figure to act
as the conduit for all the group’s communication

ii. The all-channel network permits all group

members to actively communicate with each
other
 The Grapevine
• The informal communication network in a group or
organization is called the grapevine.
• Although the rumors and
gossip transmitted through
the grapevine.
• Its still an important role of
Information.
• One survey found it’s where 75 percent of
employees hear news first. When one executive
decided to resign to enter the insurance business, 81
percent of the others knew about it, but only 11
percent told someone else.
Electronic Communication
E-mail: E-mail uses the Internet to transmit and
receive computer-generated text and documents.
• Now a days it is the one of the best ways of
communication.
• It can be stored or recorded easily.
• It can be distributed to one person or thousands
• Drawbacks of e-mail:
 Time Consuming
 Don’t Check e-mail in morning
 Difficult to find one e-mail from thousand of mails.
 Limited expression of emotions
 Privacy concerns when e-mail monitored
 Can’t always trust the recipient of e-mail to keep it
confidential.
• Instant messaging and Text messaging
• Social networking
• Blogs
• Video Conferencing

Managing Information
• Dealing with information overload
• Threats to information Security
Barriers to Effective communication
• Filtering Data
• Information Overload
• Emotions
• Language
• Silence
• Lying
• Cultural Barriers
Reduce it with Cultural Guide