CHAPTER ONE

COMMUNICATION: OVERVIEW
‘Communication is everything’ that may seem a rather blunt and forceful statement. But think
about it for a moment, most of our needs and indeed most of what makes us human has
communication at its root. Human needs for love and affection come about as a result of
communication, for example between parent and child, caring is communicated through words
and actions. We are socialized and educated through a communication process.

The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills you can develop. How
well you inform, influence and persuade others will help to determine the progress you make in
your career. Research with executive and college graduates reveals that effective communication
ranks at the top of the skills necessary to succeed in business. Your employer will expect you to
be competent in your professional field. Your ability to demonstrate and communicate that
competence will determine whether you are effective at your job as well as whether you will
receive salary increase and earn promotion.

Communication as an academic discipline that relates to all the ways we communicate, so it

embraces a large body of study and knowledge. The communication discipline includes both
verbal and nonverbal messages. A body of scholarship all about communication is presented and
explained in textbooks, electronic publications, and academic journals. In the journals,
researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever expanding understanding of
how we all communicate. Communication teachers and scholars, in 1995, developed a definition
of the field of communication to clarify it as a discipline for the public.

The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within
and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The field promotes the effective and
ethical practice of human communication.
 Why you need to get your message across?
 Why Communication skills are so important?

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1.1 Meaning of Communication
Communication is a learned skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk, but we
must learn to speak well and communicate effectively. Speaking, listening, and our ability to
understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are skills we develop in various ways. We learn basic
communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviors based on what we
see. We also are taught some communication skills directly through education, and by practicing
those skills and having them evaluated.

Definitions: The term communication is derived from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means
common. Communication may be defined as the giving, receiving or exchanging of information,
opinion, or ideas by writing, speech or visual means-or any combination of the three so that the
material communicated is completely understood by every one concerned.

More Definitions

 Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals

through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
 Communication is the method by which people share their ideas, information, opinions
and feelings.

 Communication is a two-way activity between two or more people.

 Purposive interchange, resulting in workable understanding and agreement between the

sender and the receiver of a message.

 Louis –“Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to
create understanding in the mind of another; it involves a systematic and continuous
process of telling, listening, and understanding.”

 Keith Davis defines communication as, “The transfer of information and understanding
from one person to another person. It is a way of reaching others with fact, ideas,
thoughts, and values. It is a bridge of meanings among people so that they can share

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 what they feel and know. By using this bridge, a person can cross safely the river of
misunderstanding that sometimes separates people.”

 Cummin M.V defines communication as,” The process by which people attempt to share
meanings (ideas, feelings, thoughts, experience, knowledge, skill etc) for some purpose
through the transmission of symbolic messages.”

People sharing ideas, information, opinions and feelings may contribute to the operations of
teams and the work of individuals. There are various modes of communication, some of which
are used more commonly in some workplaces than others.

1.2 Significance of Communication

Oral communication has long been our main method for communicating with one another. It is
estimated that 75% of a person’s day is spent communicating in some way. A majority of your
communication time may be spent speaking and listening, while a minority of that time is spent
reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster personal, academic,
and professional success.
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly and
unambiguously. Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver.
And it's a process that can be filled with error, with messages often misinterpreted by the
recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed
opportunity.

In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the
same information as a result of the communication. By successfully getting your message across,
you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that
you send do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating
roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue
to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or
written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the
workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

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Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must understand what
your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must
also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and
cultural context.

Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the direct result of people failing to
communicate. Faulty communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can
cause a good plan to fail. Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas
from one person to another. It involves a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. Effective
communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the
sender intended to transmit.

Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the
members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.
Here are some key ways in which communication is important both in personal and
organizational level.
1.3 Communication in management
Importance of Communication at Individual Level
 Getting jobs you want- the ability to communicate effectively will make it possible for
you to compose a powerful resume and interview with poise and confidence and get the
job you want because employers form lasting impression on the basis of what they see
and know about a job candidate.
 Relating positively to others – your success in both personal and business relationships
depends on people trusting you and respecting you. Communicating ethically with
concern and compassion is essential. Good communication is important even in your
daily routine. The right choice of words even of a single word may make the difference
between settling an important issue at hand or igniting a company wide dispute.
 Providing leadership to others- your ability to motivate and help subordinates achieve
rests on your understanding of human nature and on mastering communication skills.

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  Personal Satisfaction
Mastery on certain area goes beyond vocational success or promotion, i.e., personal
satisfaction. Thus, communication skill can be a source of personal satisfaction, particularly
in the areas of arts such as writing, painting, etc, meeting social and ethical obligations.
 Resolving Conflicts
With the help of communication people continue to adjust profitably to themselves, to other
people, to environment in which they live and work. It is a means of winning respect and
confidence from other people or from the community at large.
Importance of Communication at Organizational Level
 Assuring the success of your organization- your organization will succeed only if it has
the support of its constituencies –support that comes from successfully communication
with customers or clients about the organization’s product or service.
Nature and Development of communication
Taking the primary definition\definitions of communication by various scholars, specifically the
last definition, one can come up with some conclusion about the nature of communication:

1. Communication is a process- communication is a process in a sense that it is a process

of interaction through which two or more persons exchange ideas among them.
Communication is beyond a simple process of talking or writing; it’s not also something
which can be kept separate from other areas of activity- a special skill which, like brain
surgery or growing roses, is practiced by only a few highly qualified or gifted people. It is
a complicated, subtle process which affects every facet of our working and private lives
and which gives plenty of opportunities for mistakes.

2. Communication involves people: Humans are social beings and spend much of their
time together. We first learn to communicate in a social setting, usually with parents and
relatives and throughout life much of our time is spent in social communication.
Communication shows the degree of understanding among the participants.

3. Communication is a two way process- the process of communication necessitates that

there be a speaker and an active receiver unless and until there is proper co-ordination
between the two in which there is a greater exchange of ideas, it degenerates in to in
effective communication. People labor under the misconception that mere

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 utterance/statement of the speaker comprises communication. Little do realize that it is
only the start or initial phase of communication. The completion of it takes place only
when there is feedback and the entire loop of communication is completed.

4. Communication is symbolic-communication is much more than words non-verbal sign

and symbols also help. For example, a victory signal made by the two finger or a thumb
up sign to boost the morale of the other interactant is indicative of the fact that certain
non-verbal gestures can also be used to communicate and that too. Probably with greater
effect than words. Mean while it is equally important to emphasize the fact that all signs
and symbols may not mean the same in different context. In fact even some words may
not mean the same to every one.
In communication symbols such as letters, numbers, words, gestures, sound etc can only
represent or approximate the ideas they want to communicate. In other words, symbols
are not perfect representation of our ideas. Therefore, we have to be careful enough in
selecting symbols that approximately represent the sender's ideas.

5. Communication is dynamic: Communication is a dynamic process which incorporates

both the situational factors and the changing process in the environment. Though,
communication is as old as man kind it kept on evolving through time and today thanks
to the fast-paced and global advancement in technology; communication must use tools
that respond to this highly technical and global environment.
The revolution in information technology allows many tasks to be performed much more
quickly and with greater accuracy, cutting costs and reducing the risk of errors; it enables
personal letters to be produced simply, thus providing the receiver with a better image of the
sender it can reduce the need for travel to personal meetings; it increases the security of the
transfer of confidential documents; and it means that changes in a company’s financial or stock
position can be recorded and circulated with the minimum of paper work.
The impact of the rapid and dynamic technology is quite visible in communication just like other
areas. The word processing software with its features like thesaurus, spellchecker and a style
checker make the written communication much easier and accurate. Similarly the electronic mail
enables written message to travel miles in seconds. Audio conference and video conference are
also the result of the high technological advance seen in the oral communication. Graphic and
presentation software also enhance visual communication considerably.

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1.4 PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION
1. For instruction: The instructive function unvarying and importantly deals with the
commanding nature. It is more or less of directive nature. Under this, the communicator
transmits with necessary directives and guidance to the next level, so as to enable them to
accomplish his particular tasks. In this, instructions basically flow from top to the lower level.
2. For integration: It is also a consolidated function under which integration of activities is
endeavored. The integration function of communication mainly involves bringing about inter-
relationship among the various functions of the business organization. It helps in the unification
of different management functions.
3. For information: The purposes or function of communication in an organization is to inform
the individual or group about the particular task or company policies and procedures etc. Top
management informs policies to the lower level through the middle level. In turn, the lower level
informs the top level the reaction through the middle level. Information can flow vertically,
horizontally and diagonally across the organization. Becoming informed or inform others is
the main purpose of communication.
4. For evaluation: Examining of activities to form an idea or judgment of the worth of task is
achieved through communication. Communication is a tool to appraise the individual or team,
and their contribution to the organization. Evaluating one’s own inputs or other’s outputs or
some ideological scheme demands an adequate and effective communication process.
5. For direction: Communication is necessary to issue directions by the top management or
manager to the lower level. Employees’ can perform better when he is directed by his senior.
Directing others may be communicated either orally or in writing. An order may be common
order, request order or implied order.
6. For teaching: The importance of personal safety on the job has been greatly recognized. A
complete communication process is required to teach and educate workers about personal safety
on the jobs. This communication helps the workers to avert accidents, risk etc. and avoid cost,
procedures etc.
7. For influencing: A complete communication process is necessary in influencing others or
being influenced. The individual having potential to influence others can easily persuade others.
It implies the provision of feedback which tells the effect of communication.

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8. For image building: A business enterprise cannot isolate from the rest of the society. There is
interrelationship and interdependence between the society and an enterprise operating in the
society. Goodwill and confidence are necessarily created among the public. It can be done by the
communication with the different media, which has to project the image of the firm in the
society. Through an effective external communication system, an enterprise has to inform the
society about its goals, activities, progress and social responsibility.
9. For employees orientation: When a new employee enter into the organization at that time he
or she will be unknown to the organization programs, policies, culture etc. Communication helps
to make people acquainted with the co-employees, superior and with the policies, objectives,
rules and regulations of the organization.
10. Other: Effective decision-making is possible when required and adequate information is
supplied to the decision-maker. Effective communication helps the process of decision- making.
In general, everyone in the organization has to provide with necessary information so as to
enable to discharge tasks effectively and efficiently.

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