FACTORS AFFECTING COMMUNICATION
A number of factors which may disrupt the communication process and affect the overall understanding and interpretaion of what is communicated are :
1. Status / Role
2. Cultural differences .
3. Choice of communication channel .
4. Length of communication .
5. Use of language .
6. Individual Perceptions / Attitudes / Personalities .
7. Known or Unknown Receiver .
1. Status/Role
The sender and receiver of a message may be of equal status within a hierarchy (e.g. managers in an organisation) or they may be at different levels (e.g. manager/employee, lecturer/student, business owner/clients).This difference in status sometimes affects the effectiveness of the communication process.
2. Cultural Differences
Cultural differences, both within or outside the organisation (for example, inter-departmental dealings and communication with outside organisations or ethnic minorities) may impede the communication process.
3. Choice of Communication Channels
Sender should choose the most appropriate channel for a particular purpose and keeping the person/receiver in mind.
Sending messages via inappropriate channels can send out wrong signals and end up creating confusion.
Choosing the appropriate channel needs :
- Considering all aspects of the communication process (interpretation, understanding, feedback).
- Determining all the possible barriers.
- Evaluating the complexity of the message and decide how it might be best conveyed .
- Knowing--
- Who? ? Characteristics of the receiver(s).
- Why? Purpose of the communication.
- What? Content of the message.
- How? Oral, written, visual or a combination of all three.
- Where? Location of the meeting.
- When? Timing/time limit/expected response time.
4. Length of Communication
The length of the message also affects the communication process.
Sender need to be sure that it serves the purpose and is appropriate for the receiver.
Is the message too long or too brief?
5. Use of Language
The language used must be familiar to the receiver .
Poor choice of words or weak sentence structure also hampers communication.
Sentences must be framed correctly .
6 .Individual Perceptions/Attitudes/Personalities
Sometimes, the method of communication needs to take into consideration the receiver's personality traits, perceptions , age and preferred style.
EXAMPLE -The elderly and children, have different communication needs and preferences when compared to young adults.
7 .Known or Unknown Receiver
Whether the receiver is known or unknown to sender also plays a major role in determining the effectiveness of the communication.
- A known receiver may be better able to understand the message despite having insufficient information as both sender and receiver have common experiences .
- An unknown receiver, on the other hand, may require more information and time to decode the message.
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
(1) SEMANTIC BARRIERS
There is always a possibility of misunderstanding the feelings of the sender of the message or getting a wrong meaning of it. The words, signs, and figures used in the communication are explained by the receiver in the light of his experience which creates doubtful situations. This happens because the information is not sent in simple language.
The semantic barriers are as :
(i) Badly Expressed Message:
Because of the obscurity of language there is always a possibility of wrong interpretation of the messages. This barrier is created because of the wrong choice of words, in civil words, the wrong sequence of sentences and frequent repetitions. This may be called linguistic chaos.
(ii) Symbols or Words with Different Meanings:
A symbol or a word can have different meanings. If the receiver misunderstands the communication, it becomes meaningless.
For example, the word ‘value’ can have different meanings in the following sentences:
For example, the word ‘value’ can have different meanings in the following sentences:
(a) What is the value of computer education these days?
(b) What is the value of this mobile set?
(c) Value our friendship.
(iii) Faulty Translation:
A manager receives much information from his superiors and subordinates and he translates it for all the employees according to their level of understanding. Hence, the information has to be moulded according to the understanding or environment of the receiver. If there is a little carelessness in this process, the faulty translation can be a barrier in the communication.
(iv) Unclarified Assumptions:
It has been observed that sometimes a sender takes it for granted that the receiver knows some basic things and, therefore, it is enough to tell him about the major subject matter. This point of view of the sender is correct to some extent with reference to the daily communication, but it is absolutely wrong in case of some special message.
(v) Technical Jargon:
Generally, it has been seen that the people working in an enterprise are connected with some special technical group who have their separate technical language.
Their communication is not so simple as to be understood by everybody. Hence, technical language can be a barrier in communication. This technical group includes industrial engineers, production development manager, quality controller, etc.
(vi) Body Language and Gesture Decoding:
When the communication is passed on with the help of body language and gestures, its misunderstanding hinders the proper understanding of the message. For example, moving one’s neck to reply to a question does not indicate properly whether the meaning is ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
(2) PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
The importance of communication depends on the mental condition of both the parties. A mentally disturbed party can be a hindrance in communication. Following are the emotional barriers in the way of communication:
(i) Premature Evaluation:
Sometimes the receiver of information tries to dig out meaning without much thinking at the time of receiving or even before receiving information, which can be wrong. This type of evaluation is a hindrance in the exchange of information and the enthusiasm of the sender gets dampened.
(ii) Lack of Attention:
When the receiver is preoccupied with some important work he/she does not listen to the message attentively. For example, an employee is talking to his boss when the latter is busy in some important conversation. In such a situation the boss may not pay any attention to what subordinate is saying. Thus, there arises psychological hurdle in the communication.
(iii) Loss by Transmission and Poor Retention:
When a message is received by a person after it has passed through many people, generally it loses some of its truth. This is called loss by transmission. This happens normally in case of oral communication. Poor retention of information means that with every next transfer of information the actual form or truth of the information changes.
According to one estimate, with each transfer of oral communication the loss of the information amounts to nearly 30%. This happens because of the carelessness of people. Therefore, lack of transmission of information in its true or exact form becomes a hindrance in communication.
(iv) Distrust:
For successful communication the transmitter and the receiver must trust each other. If there is a lack of trust between them, the receiver will always derive an opposite meaning from the message. Because of this, communication will become meaningless.
(3) ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS :
Organisational structure greatly affects the capability of the employees as far as the communication is concerned. Some major organisational hindrances in the way of communication are the following:
(i) Organisational Policies:
Organisational policies determine the relationship among all the persons working in the enterprise. For example, it can be the policy of the organisation that communication will be in the written form. In such a situation anything that could be conveyed in a few words shall have to be communicated in the written form. Consequently, work gets delayed.
(ii) Rules and Regulations:
Organisational rules become barriers in communication by determining the subject-matter, medium, etc. of communication. Troubled by the definite rules, the senders do not send some of the messages.
(iii) Status:
Under organising all the employees are divided into many categories on the basis of their level. This formal division acts as a barrier in communication especially when the communication moves from the bottom to the top.
For example, when a lower-level employee has to send his message to a superior at the top level there is a lurking fear in his mind that the communication may be faulty, and because of this fear, he cannot convey himself clearly and in time. It delays the decision making.
(iv) Complexity in Organisational Structure:
The greater number of managerial levels in an organisation makes it more complex. It results in delay in communication and information gets changed before it reaches the receiver. In other words, negative things or criticism are concealed. Thus, the more the number of managerial levels in the organisation, the more ineffective the communication becomes.
(v) Organizational facilities:
Organisational facilities means making available sufficient stationery, telephone, translator, etc. When these facilities are sufficient in an organisation, the communication will be timely, clear and in accordance with necessity. In the absence of these facilities communication becomes meaningless.
(4) PERSONAL BARRIERS
The barriers which are directly connected with the sender and the receiver. They are called personal barriers. From the point of view of convenience, they have been divided into two parts:
(a) Barriers Related to Superiors: These barriers are as follows:
(i) Fear of Challenge of Authority:
Everybody desires to occupy a high office in the organisation. In this hope the officers try to conceal their weaknesses by not communicating their ideas. There is a fear in their mind that in case the reality comes to light they may have to move to the lower level,
(ii) Lack of Confidence in Subordinates:
Top-level superiors think that the lower- level employees are less capable and, therefore, they ignore the information or suggestions sent by them. They deliberately ignore the communication from their subordinates in order to increase their own importance. Consequently, the self-confidence of the employees is lowered.
(b) Barriers Related to Subordinates
(i) Unwillingness to Communicate:
Sometimes the subordinates do not want to send any information to their superiors. When the subordinates feel that the information is of negative nature and will adversely affect them, an effort is made to conceal that information.
If it becomes imperative to send this information, it is sent in a modified or amended form. Thus, the subordinates, by not clarifying the facts, become a hindrance in communication,
(ii) Lack of Proper Incentive:
Lack of incentive to the subordinates creates a hindrance in communication. The lack of incentive to the subordinates is because of the fact that their suggestions or ideas are not given any importance. If the superiors ignore the subordinates, they become indifferent towards any exchange of ideas in future.
