ENG301 Midterm Short Notes by MAS All Rounder

Definition of Communication

The word communication means the act or process of giving or exchanging of information, signals, or messages as by talk, gestures, or writing. Technically speaking, in the act of communication, we make opinions, feelings, information, etc known or understood by others through speech, writing or bodily movement.

Why do we communicate?

The purpose of any given communication may be: a) to

initiate some action;

Initiating Action

Initiating action may be achieved by two basic categories of communication.

1. Expressing needs and requirements

Q2. Persuading and motivating others to carry out the desired course of action”

1. to impart information, ideals attitudes, beliefs or feelings; and /or Imparting Information

Imparting information, ideas, attitudes, beliefs and feelings may have any number of specific purposes. a) Creating awareness b) Creating understanding c) Persuading others d) Influencing others c) to establish, acknowledge or maintain links or relations with other people.

Establishing relations

Establishing, acknowledging and maintaining relations with other people is a vital function of Communication

A quality for Promotion

An executive must have the ability to communicate if he wants promotion. Those who cannot communicate effectively in either oral or written communication remain in the same positions. Developing the right attitude

“To the customer, you are the company.” Your attitude when dealing with customers, clients, and the public reflect on the company you represent. Our attitude will reflect your country and your culture. Each message communicates the essential quality and culture of your company and can either build goodwill of destroy it.

What People required being Skilled Communicators?

They need extensive and complex body of knowledge that includes:

Semantics (the study of word choice)

Linguistics (the study of language)

Rhetoric (the study of writing and speaking effectively)

Psychology (the study of human behavior)

Sociology (the studying of society)

Graphic Design (the ability to communicate through visuals) Computer Sciences(to handle word processing etc.)

Components of communication

Communication is a process of transmitting and receiving verbal and nonverbal message. Communication is considered effective when it achieves the desired reaction or response from the receiver. Simply stated, communication is a twoway process of exchanging ideas or information.

Cultural Diversity at Work

Today‟s workplace is increasingly diverse in age, gender, and national origin.

Diversity has brought problems to organizations and has brought strengths too.

To handle diversity issues in the workplace, companies need to take certain measures:

Seminars

Manager‟s needs to be open minded

Language problems

FLOW OF COMMUNICATION

An organization is a group of people associated for business, political, professional, religious, social, or other purposes. Its activities require human beings to interact and react, that is, to communicate. They exchange information, ideas, plans, and order needed supplies and make decisions, rules, proposals, contracts, and agreements. All these activities require one skill that is communication. So we can say that communication is the “Lifeline” of every organization An exchange of information within an organization is called internal communication. It takes place at different levels -- downwards, upwards and horizontal

Downwards

Organizational decisions are made at top level and then flow down to the people who carry them

Upward Flow

• To solve problems and make intelligent decision manager need what is going on in the organization. Many executives want comments from employees in addition to the usual periodic reports.

Horizontal Flow

• Horizontal flow takes place between peers in organizations in order to solve problems, perform job duties, prepare for meetings, and cooperate on important projects.

Informal Internal Communication

• Every organization has an informal communication network – a grapevine – that supplements official channel. It is important source of information. It is casual conversation of an organization. External Communication
• Communication that takes place outside the organization is called external communication. Ways of External

Communication

• Letters, pamphlets, annual reports, interviews with the news media, etc.

Electronic Theory

• The message is transmitted as a signal through a channel, where it may be distorted by noise (such as smudged typing or acoustical problems). As a last step, the receiver decodes the message.

The electronic theory is helpful because it introduces the ideas of senders and receivers and of possible interference. It emphasizes one important aspect of communication: accuracy.

• Its usefulness is limited, people are not machines
• a accurate electronic communication system can be design but not a human one
• ignores money other important dimensions of the situation in which we communicate

Social Environment Theory

• We need to understand the rules, or the “culture,” of the environment in order to communicate: both the official rules
• such as company policies and practices – and those unwritten rules regarding to whom, how, and when, and for how long it is appropriate for us to communicate within a certain organization.

Social environment is helpful because it adds the important dimension of the specific social situation

Rhetorical Theory

Third set of theorists add more dimensions to our understanding of the communication process: communication is not linear, but circular; not just sending a message to be received, but producing a response; not static, but dynamic. Rhetorical theorists provide an important addition to a communication model for business Communicators

Communication is a process of sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages. The process of communication has six components: sender/encoder, message, medium, receiver/decoder, and feedbacks.

CONTEXT

Every message, whether oral or written, begins with context. Context is a broad field that includes country, culture, organization and external and internal stimuli. Every country, every culture and every company or organization has its own conventions for processing and communicating information.

SENDER-ENCODER

Sender is the person who communicates the idea, information, material, etc. He acts in the capacity of speaker, writer, or encoder.

The message he intends to send

The message he actually sends

The message the other person receives or understands.

The other person interpretation of the message

The other person response