COMMUNICATION
(Managerial/Business)
Major Md Nurul Islam (Retd)
MBA, [Link] Engr - Civil (Fellow)
Deputy Director (Coord)
Army Institute of Business Administration (AIBA) Savar
What is communication?
What does ‘communication’ mean to you?
Any idea?
Why do we even communicate?
Defining communication
Communication defined
• Communication is the process of sharing our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with other
people and having those ideas, thoughts and feelings understood by the people we are
communicating with
• Components in communication process
Message sender
Message receiver
Message itself
Medium
Method
Noise etc.
Key features in
communication
Communication is successful when the message is
received as the same one that has been sent -
Therefore understanding is the key element
It’s a both way process which is continuous
Methods of communication
Methods in communication
o Verbal
o Written
o Electronic
o Audio
o Visual -
Meetings
Notice board
Text!!
Mediums of communication
Mediums in communication
Letters
Memo Notice board
Reports Internet
Video/video
Fax conferencing
Body language
Telephone Face to face
Email
Which medium to use?
Choice of medium is affected by
Need for record
Direction of the information flow
Number of people to be reached
Confidentiality
Nature of the information
l e n g t h , c o m p l e x i t y , emergency need
Cost of the medium etc.
Constraints to successful
communication
* Internal
Fatigue
Poor listening skills Fear
Poor communication skills
Past experience
Attitude toward the sender or information
Halo effect
Mistrust
Perception
Constraints to successful
communication
* External
Noise
Distractions
Technical problems (email, internet, phone service)
Time
Environment
Why to read communication?
Careers in communication
In Bangladesh still a narrow one and not recognized yet!
But in developed part of the globe quite recognized!
Because of specialization practice a good prospect is
waiting ahead!!
Examples include customer service, tourism, government
administration, advertising, media, and event
management etc.
Communication in business
Business Communication
Transferring information from one part of the business to
another that leads to some outcome, changed behavior or
changed practice
It can be formal or informal, upward or downward
Types of communication
Communication can be of different types considering the situation.
Some of them are here
Formal and informal
Upward and downward
Internal and external
However we are basically concerned of the overall classification of
communications
Verbal: presentation, audio, voice message, face to face etc.
Non verbal: written, letter, memorandum, report, email, fax etc.
Barriers to successful
communication in business
Barriers to Successful Communication
Ability of the sender – how much the sender understands of the message they are
trying to send
Content – including technicalities and jargon
Method of communication – including style and body language where appropriate!
Skills and attitude of the receiver
Organizational factors – complexity of the organization, scope of the organization
Cultural attitudes
Perceptions, prejudices and stereotypes
Inappropriate target for the message
Technical capabilities – ICT!
Workplace Communication
By workplace communication we actually mean business
communication
Business communication
Transferring information from one part of the business to
another that leads to some outcome, changed behavior or
changed practice
It can be formal or informal, upward or downward
Scope of the business communication includes all the
business activities corporations involve themselves
Communication in the
workplace
Importance of communication
Business needs it extensively because of expanding need of
coordination, effectiveness, and efficiency
Specialization has made the field of communication a recognized one!
But unfortunately most people don’t communicate well!!!
Coordination, effectiveness, and efficiency
Think about Unilever
Information flows in the company
Major forms of business
communication
* Internal operational communication
» Communication among the people inside an organization
» To perform the main business activities
» These are kind of routine business activities like
instructions from the teammates
» Computer and intranet are two major technology being
used!
Major forms of business
communication
* External operational communication
» Communication with the people that are outside of the
organization
» It helps company to develop a better image
» Communication with suppliers, public relations activities
etc.
Major forms of business
communication
Personal
o Not according to operational plan, simple one to one or one to many
communication in an organization
Examples can be personal communication, gossiping, joking, story
telling, communication sitting at the company dining room etc.
o Can be an outstanding source of innovation!
Innovation
» What and why?
» What are the alternatives in case you can’t innovate?
Communication networks in
organizations
Formal network
A simplified form of information flow network transmits information in
all directions (upward, downward, and lateral)
These flow is defined formally
Informal network
A quite complex information flow network mainly based on personal
communication
This is affected by individual’s involvement and membership in
various groups and entities
Upward/downward/lateral
communication
Upward communication
Communication that originate from the bottom of the organization
and heading to top of the organization
Downward communication
Communication heading to the bottom of the organization after being
originated at the top
Lateral communication
This is the communication in between people in the same level or
group
Communication process
A. Sender sends the message
Sender prepares the message and decides on the methods and
mediums
He/she sends the message
B. Message in the sensory world
Once the message is sent, its in the world of lots of other
messages along with noises
Messages waits to be detected
Communication process
C. Message is detected
o Receiver detects the message
o Based on the ability to decode receiver decodes the message
o How much of the original message will be detected depends on lots of factors
including
Noise
Past experiences
Knowledge
Perceptions, prejudices, stereotyping
o The message may not get the original shape!
Communication process
D. Giving meaning to the message
Receiver gives meaning to the received message
Once again it depends how he/she will give meaning to the
message!
E. Reply is sent
Receiver replies to the sender
This is called feedback which makes the whole process
continuous
But not necessarily reply is always sent!
Oral vs Written communication
Oral vs Written
Written communication is likely to include more creative
efforts
Written communication is normally lengthier than the oral
communication
Written communication usually involves a limited number
of cycles
Some facts of communication
Meanings sent are not always received
No two minds have identical filters
But closer the meaning more success are gained
What can you do to bring the more synergy?
Meaning is in the mind
Meaning comes up from mind rather than words or symbols used
What to do?
The symbols of communication are imperfect
Symbols don’t have unique meanings
Meaning of symbols varies to receiver; nodding
Across culture symbols have different meanings
Thank You!
Any Question?