Barriers to Communication - Report Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 2. INTRODUCTION 4 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5 3 Language barrier 5 3.2 Cultural barrier 6 3.3 Perception barrier 7 3.4 Emotional barrier 7 3.5 Physical barrier 8 3.6 Noise barrier 9 4. CONCLUSION 9 5. REFERENCES 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The study of communication is particularly important since every facet of the communication function in organizations requires some form of communication. Communication is a part and parcel of business functions of planning, organizing, leading and monitoring & evaluate as people are involved. This implies that every individual’s skills of communication greatly influence efficiency at both personal and organizational levels. It is for this reason that poor communication has been identified as a major force constraining efficiency in organizations. Furthermore, effectiveness of communication is of particular importance to the success of any individual and business institution as well. Recent research has shown that many recruiters now rate communication skills as the most important characteristic sought for in job applicants during selection (Yate, 2009). In this paper, I will be illuminating on the most important barriers that must be understood in order for organizations improve on the communication skills of their people and ultimately efficiency. I will begin by defining what communication is before discussing the process through which occurs with the intention of helping all readers of the report to better utilize the communication function for better personal and organizational performance. INTRODUCTION Communication can be well defined as a method of exchanging information and common understating between individuals. Unless a mutual understanding is generated from exchange of information, communication will not take place smoothly. The most important necessities in every communication process are the sender and the recipient. The sender will usually start the communication. The recipient is that particular person for which a message is intended. Message refers to the outcome and it may take any form from verbal to nonverbal or written or Language. The flow of information between senders may be hindered by noise, which includes perceptions, barriers in form of language, emotional issues, physical interruptions and attitudes held by the different parties. Feedback occurs at the point when the receiver provides a response to the initial message by a sender. Feedback is crucial to the process of communication as it tells the sender whether their message has been delivered as intended and understood well. In this paper I purpose to closely examine those barriers of great significance to Communication as well as methods that can be used to better improves the daily communication. The common types of barriers that I will be addressing include language barrier- Language is a very important aspect of communication as it plays the role of mediation allowing humans to effectively understand and ultimately relate to each other. Physical barriers- these refer to environment factor, which interfere with effective communication and prevent it from taking place in a manner that is smooth. Noise barrier- noise in the communication process may occur either internally or externally depending on its source. I will also go ahead and provide alternatives to effectively improve the communication process. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY My research was majorly done through reading literature available in reliable sources such as books and journal articles on the topic of communication processes. I particularly counted on much reliable sources that had all the details regarding the author and did away with sources that provided minimal information. The major problem I encountered was finding a good source that had deep information on my topic. I found only two reliable sources in the library. The internet was also handy where I also managed to get more information that helped a lot in my report. Barriers to communication According to Lunenburg, 20 I 0), the quality of any communication is greatly influenced ) by elements in the process through which it occurs. A single problem occurring in any of the elements may significantly and negatively influence the effectiveness of communication. It is Therefore important that any message is encoded in a manner that will be well understood by the } recipient. As such, the medium selected for transmitting information plays a very critical role in the way information is understood. A very important problem associated with hindering effective communication is that notion assuming that communication has been achieved. The common types of barriers that affect majority of business institutions are language barrier, emotional barrier, physical barrier, and noise barrier. 3.1 Language barrier Language is important to an individuals self-identity. Language enables the expression of emotions, sharing of feelings as well as conveyance of messages, stories, and knowledge. It is the most important mediator allowing humans to relate and understand each other very easily. It is defined as a system of conceptual symbols that allow communication between individuals to take place. The growth in globalization has now forced an increasing number of businesses go international and thus interact across cultural and linguistic borderlines (Lauring, 2008). There needs to be a focus on language barrier, since it affects a major part of everyday life. Language as an aspect of intercultural communication is vital/and hence language barrier is important during intercultural encounters especially for customers who may not be native English speakers. They may find it significantly difficult when it comes to communicating their needs when it comes to the products and services being rendered. The language barriers cause a negative effect among customers that may prevent especially those that use English as a second language from making certain requests such requesting for product explanations, or even making complains in events of poor service or bad quality products (Lauring, 2008). 3.2 Cultural barrier Communicating effectively with people of different cultures is challenging. Cultures provide people with different ways of thinking and interpretation. Thus same words may mean a different thing to people who come from different cultures use the same language to communicate. It is a common occurrence for challenges to be encountered when communicating across-cultural limit lines. The globalised marketplace has created many opportunities in terms of development and transacting of business, but ineffective cross-cultural communication can be a significance hindrance to the interaction between employees, the organization, its customer and other stakeholders. Behavior constraint is an example of cultural barrier. Each culture has its own rules on proper behavior that can affect both verbal and non-verbal communication. For instance if one looks the other person in the eye or not, how close people stand to each other when taking all of these are rules which differ within different cultures ( Matilla, 2008). 3.3 Perception barrier Perception is the active of assessing information. It involves becoming aware of the environment in a way that is unique and strongly influenced by communication. What we perceive on the other hand can be different from objective reality. Perception is important simply because the behavior of people is based on their perception of what is real. Many organizations have begun empowering non-managerial employees with decision- making authority commonly reserved for managers. Individual decision making is, thus an important part of organizational behavior. However, the way individuals make decision and quality of their decisions is influenced by their perceptions. Each decision requires interpretation and evaluation (Brownell, 2009). 3.4 Emotional barrier An emotional individual may not be able to communicate well. If someone is angry or fearful, the person may be too engrossed with emotions to correctly receive the accurate message. If you simply do not like someone, you may have a problem hearing them. Some of the barriers include premature evaluation and intention. Premature evaluation involves misunderstanding because of jumping into conclusions instead of taking ample time to assess the communicated message. Distrust of communicator of leadership skill in some communicators to ineffective communication with subordinate thus, they may choose not to comply with the instructions issued by the leader. In addition, intention is where the mind should always be in focus. Proper communication can only be done if the listener is attentive to receive the instructions being ordered. Undue reliance on written words $ Some employees depend too much on written communications and not verbal communication, causing needless confusion. It is best to supplement verbal communication with written instructions (Henderson, 2005). 3.5 Physical barrier Physical barriers refer to interferences to effective communication taking place in the environment where the communication is currently taking place. A very loud sound produced by a passing airplane will temporally drown out the voice of a guest who delivering a speech. Such distortion will not allow full understanding of the meaning of the entire message. Physical barriers include (distance between people, walls a noisy sound system and the like. A business institution with a classy office may inhibit a person from meeting the occupant of the office face to face. Another physical barrier to communication is poor timing. For instance, it will be complex for a person who has just lost a loved one to immediately accede to a personal request from a fellow employee (Antos, 2011). 3.6 Noise barrier During communication, noise may occur from either internal or external sources. Internal sources of noise occur when there are other thoughts clouding ones mind, whereas external noise may originate from the speaker or setting where that particular communication is taking place. The idea of internal noise is best illustrated in a situation whereby the sender has worries about a family member who is unwell while attending a team meeting for instance. A good example of external noise on the other han may include a distracting environment, such 1 as windows that are open and noise from outside the building e.g. noise from constructions sites as well as side conversations (Antos, 2011). When referring to communication in the settings of organizations, noise may not be interpreted in its literal meaning but depending on the context. Barriers constituting noise in this case may encompass perceptions, emotions, stereotypes and biases held by either of parties involved in the process of communication. Ways of preventing this include training individuals on how to avoid communicating cultural sensitivities and making decisions that are completely devoid of emotional influence. 4. CONCLUSION Communication is the process through which information and knowledge is transmitted between individuals or levels of organization. A number of elements make up the process of communication; these include a sending party, encoding the information into messages that can be easily understood, transmission of the message through a selected type of media, a party intended to receive a particular message, the process of decoding received message into meaning, giving feedback, and also noise as a barrier to effective communication. Quite a number of barriers hinder effective communication. These have been classified into four broad categories: i.e. barriers related to the process, physical barriers in the environment, semantic barriers emanating from the choice and use of words, and psychosocial barriers that may be caused by knowledge levels as well as mental statuses. Therefore, for organizations to achieve better and effective communication, businesses of today must sensitize their employees on their responsibilities in the communication. There must also be deliberate efforts at eliminating the known barriers to effective communication through better training and emphasis on standard skills.References Antos, G. (2011). Handbook of interpersonal communication. The Hague, The Netherlands: Mouton De Gruyter. Brownell, J. (2009). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Boston: Pearson. Henderson, J.K. (2005). Language Diversity in International Management Teams International Studies of Management and Organization. Lauring, J. (2008). Rethinking Social Identity Theory in International Encounters: .. 6.-- - Language use as a Negotiated Object for Identity Making. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Mattila, A. S. (1999). The Role of Culture and Purchase Motivation in Service Encounter ,;_ -£._ .z._ valuations. Journal of Services Marketing Shaw, G.B. (2011). The wisdom of George Bernard Shaw. Mineola, NY: Oxford University Press. Yate, M. (2009). Hiring the best: A Managers Guide to Effective Interviewing and Recruiting. Cincinnati, OH: F &W Media. ONEA, A. (2012). LEVELS OF CULTURE AND BARRIERS IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION. USV Annals of Economics & Public Administration. 12(2), 123- 128. Harzing, A., & Feely, A. J. (2008). The language barrier and its implications for HQ- subsidiary relationships. Cross Cultural Management, 15(1), 49-61. / Read More