Communication

The word communication has its root in the Latin word communicare, which means to share. This sharing is of information, knowledge, and thoughts.

—For sharing information we require two parties, the sender, and the receiver, without which communication cannot take place. Cooperation and understanding are also very important. The two parties should have a mutually accepted code of signals making up a common language (Raman and Sharma, 2004, pg- 1,2).

—The process involving the transmission and interchange of ideas, facts, feelings, or courses of action is called the process of communication. In business, communication is all the more important.

  Information is the message. Communication is the medium through which the information is transferred and synthesized. (Dr. Gillette, 2006)

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Why do people communicate in Business?

  In business people communicate to plan products and services, hire, train, and motivate workers, coordinate manufacturing and delivery, persuade customers to buy and bill them for the sale (Locker and Kaczmarek, 2004 pg-2).

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Forms of communication:

 

Verbal Communication (uses words):

• —Face to face or phone conversations
• —Meetings
• —E-mail and voice-mail messages
• —Letters and memos
• —Reports

— Non-verbal communication (does not use words):

• —Pictures
• —Company logos
• —Gestures and body language
• —Who sits where at a meeting
• —How long someone keeps a visitor waiting

— Model of communication

—In 1942, Claude Shannon formulated a theory explaining the communication of information ( Shannon – weaver model, 2003). Shannon’s Information Theory includes the basic elements of any general communication system. Before we learn about the model of communication it is necessary to know the relationship between information and communication.

—  According to Shannon, the basic elements of any general communication system includes the following: a) Source b) Sender c) Message d) Channel e) Receiver f) Destination and g) Noise source (2)

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An Illustration:

   Let us consider that person ‘A’ and person ‘B’ are communicating with each other. Person ‘C’ interrupts the communication between A and B (illustrated in figure 1)

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Here the elements of communication are

 a) Source: A’s brain

b) Sender: the transmitting device that A uses to communicate with B (e.g. mouth, hands, eyes, gestures etc.)

c) Message: the idea or thought conveyed by conversation, expression etc. 

d) Channel: the medium through which the message travels (e.g. air, sound waves, light waves etc.)

e) Receiver: The receiving device used by B to receive the message (e.g. B’s eye, ear etc.) 

f) Destination: B’s brain 

g) Feedback: the response from B

h) Noise source: the words or actions of person ‘C’ that interrupts the communication between person ‘A’ and person ‘B’

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Communication Theory Framework

  It is helpful to examine communication and communication theory through one of the following viewpoints:

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Mechanistic: This view considers communication to be a perfect transaction of a message from the sender to the receiver.

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Psychological: This view considers communication as the act of sending a message to a receiver, and the feelings and thoughts of the receiver upon interpreting the message.

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Social Constructionist (Symbolic Interactionist): This view considers communication to be the product of the people sharing and creating meaning.

 

Systemic: This view considers communication to be the new messages created via “through-put”, or what happens as the message is being interpreted and re-interpreted as it travels through people.

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