Module - 01

MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION

ORGANIZATION

HUMAN GROUP CONSTITUTED FOR CERTAIN SPECIFIED OBJECTIVES.

The achievement of these objectives largely depends upon the fact that human efforts are properly co-ordinated and integrated.
The working and maintaining of human relationships in organization based on the organization structure is possible through communication
Communication is a necessary element in human relationships
The more the organization grows the more complexities it have – to deal with it ommunication is required to a great extent.
DEFINITION
“Communication is the process through which two or more persons come to exchange ideas and understand among themselves.”
There must be a receiver for communication to occur.
There must be a receiver for communication to occur.
The sender should consider the receiver both while structuring his message from a technical standpoint as well as in delivering it.
When the receiver is not considered there is either no response or wrong response
The understanding element in communication –sharing of understanding would be possible only when the person to whom the message is meant understand it in same sense in which the sender of the message want him to understand.
Communication involves something more than mere transmission of message and physical receipt thereof.

Importance of Communication in an Organization
Communication is one of the basic functions of management in any organization and its importance can hardly be overemphasized. It is a process of transmitting information, ideas, thoughts, opinions and plans between various parts of an organization.
You cannot have human relations without communication. However, good and effective communication is required not only for good human relations but also for good and successful business.
Importance of Communication

# Efficiency Functioning of the Organization.
# Quick Decision and implementation.
#Good Industrial Relations.
# Develops Managerial Skills.

# Efficiency functioning of the organization-The efficient functioning of the organization totally depends on the effective communication system. Communication helps everyone in the organization to understand his role clearly and provides a path through which an enterprise can attain the objectives of the organization.

#Quick decision and implementation-A continuous flow of information enables the executives to take decisions quickly and implement them without delay. Therefore, effective communication is a pre requisite for solving managerial problem.

#Good industrial relations-it is always desirable on the part of management to avoid disputes rather than finding solutions after they occur. In this context, communication plays a vital role. It provides reliable and accurate information and thereby prevents disputes and promotes good industrial relations in an organization.

# Develops Managerial Skills-According to modern management thinkers; communication which is a learning process helps executives to acquire more knowledge. It also facilitates executives to share the acquired knowledge with their subordinates which results in increase in the overall managerial skill of people in the organization. Thus proper communication system develops managerial skill.

You can use software’s like business writing software for writing effective business communication, which is required at various levels and for various aspects in an organization such as -
Importance of communication for manager and employee relations:
Effective communication of information and decision is an essential component for management-employee relations. The manager cannot get the work done from employees unless they are communicated effectively of what he wants to be done? He should also be sure of some basic facts such as how to communicate and what results can be expected from that communication. Most of management problems arise because of lack of effective communication. Chances of misunderstanding and misrepresentation can be minimized with proper communication system.
For motivation and employee morale:
Communication is also a basic tool for motivation, which can improve morale of the employees in an organization. Inappropriate or faulty communication among employees or between manager and his subordinates is the major cause of conflict and low morale at work. Manager should clarify to employees about what is to be done, how well they doing and what are can be done for better performance to improve their motivation. He can prepare a written statement, clearly outlining the relationship between company objectives and personal objectives and integrating the interest of the two.
For increase productivity:
With effective communication, you can maintain a good human relation in the organization and by encouraging ideas or suggestions from employees or workers and implementing them whenever possible, you can also increase production at low cost.
For employees:
It is through the communication that employees submit their work reports, comments, grievances and suggestions to their seniors or management. Organization should have effective and speedy communication policy and procedures to avoid delays, misunderstandings, confusion or distortions of facts and to establish harmony among all the concerned people and departments.
Importance of written communication:
Communication may be made through oral or written. In oral communication, listeners can make out what speakers is trying to say, but in written communication, text matter in the message is a reflection of your thinking. So, written communication or message should be clear, purposeful and concise with correct words, to avoid any misinterpretation of your message. Written communications provides a permanent record for future use and it also gives an opportunity to employees to put up their comments or suggestions in writing.
Use of business writing software for effective business communication:
So, effective communication is very important for successful working of an organization. Writing software like business writing software with grammar checker and text enrichment tool can be used for writing effective business communications.
Several myths are associated with communication. Each can be refuted.
Myth #1: As Long As People Are Talking, They Should Be Able To Understand Each Other.
Understanding occurs only when individuals attribute the same or similar meaning to the messages.
Do not assume that "talk" has resulted in understanding.
Myth #2: As Long As You Have The 'Right' Message, It Doesn't Matter How You Send it.
Be sure to send a message in a way that will generate the desired result.
Myth #3: You Can Decide To Send No Message At All.
If you send no message, you are sending the message that you don't want to talk.
Nonverbal behavior sends messages you may be unaware of.
Myth #4: More Communication Is Always A Good Thing.
More frequent communication does not guarantee success.
Sometimes more talk is not helpful.
Myth #5: Words Have Meaning.
Words have meaning only when we agree on the meaning. A word represents its referent (the object it symbolizes) only if we to that representation.
Because meanings are assigned arbitrarily, there is great room for misunderstanding.
Myth 6: Communication is a Natural Process.
Communication must be learned and practiced.
Some people are better at it than others; but everyone can improve.
How to Enhance Communication Skills
Listen
The first step in good communication is to listen to what others are saying. If you are so focused on saying your piece, you’ll miss important points and could even offend those around you. Listen to the points colleagues or friends are making. When they have finished their thought, go ahead with your own. It also helps to build relationships if you can address another’s comments in your own.
For example by saying, “I agree with Mary that we should expand our target demographic…” will be much more effective and demonstrate that you are a team player better than the more self-centered, “I think we need to…” By acknowledging that you are listening, others will pay more attention to what you say in return and respect your style of communication. Besides, being a good listen is just plain polite.

Think Ahead
If you say everything that crosses your mind exactly when you think it, it’s unlikely anyone wants to speak with you. Everyone suffers from ugly thoughts and sometimes even positive or neutral thoughts come out sounding bad if you don’t put the right amount of thought into your presentation. It’s the proverbial foot in mouth that can be avoided simply by thinking a thought before saying it.
Planning what you are about to say can go a long way in avoiding embarrassment on your part or someone else’s hurt feelings. It is also crucial when you are trying to deliver constructive criticism or negative feedback. Softening a blow with a compliment can make a hard statement much easier to swallow. Just be sure your point is clear. Stopping to think before speaking gives you time to filter your thoughts and ensure that you are sharing exactly what you mean to say.
Speak All Languages
You can’t possibly know every spoken language in the world, but some styles of language are more universal. It is important to speak with not only words, but your body, face and tone as well. If you are telling a joke, you should smile. If you are serious about a situation, your tone and body should express that.
Others will listen to your words, but they are always tuned in how you are saying those words to get a full understanding of your message. If you’re truly engaged in what you are saying, the rest should follow easily. It’s easy to see when someone is faking enthusiasm, so don’t. If you feel it, great. If not, don’t pretend. Everyone will know your real thoughts on the matter regardless.
Get to the Point
In the business place, there is little time for long rambling thoughts or stories. Eliminate most of the idle chatter in a professional context and get to the point. Stories and random thoughts are great among friends at the water cooler or lunch table, but they don’t belong in the conference room or office. Of course, you don’t need to speak only in short bursts, but a few extra sentences to introduce a thought are much more appreciated than a fifteen minute narrative.
Your message should be clear both at home and at work. If you’re simply relaxing with a few friends, think about how much more you enjoy a brief funny story than a long, slightly boring one. Keep it simple. Not only will your friends appreciate your wit, but they’ll also appreciate your not monopolizing the conversation. Plus, you’ll have the details you failed to share as fodder for a future conversation.


WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written communication involves any type of interaction that makes use of the written word. It is one of the two main types of communication, along with oral/spoken communication. Written communication is very common in business situations, so it is important for small business owners and managers to develop effective written communication skills. Some of the various forms of written communication that are used internally for business operations include memos, reports, bulletins, job descriptions, employee manuals, and electronic mail. Examples of written communication avenues typically pursued with clients, vendors, and other members of the business community, meanwhile, include electronic mail, Internet Web sites, letters, proposals, telegrams, faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements, brochures, and news releases.
Ironically, the importance of good writing skills in the business world has become more evident even as companies rely increasingly on computers and other new technologies to meet their obligations. Indeed, business experts warn that any business's positive qualities—from dedication to customer service to high-tech expertise—will be blunted to some degree if they are unable to transfer that dedication and knowledge to the printed page. "Whether you are pitching a business case or justifying a budget, the quality of your writing can determine success or failure," wrote Paula Jacobs in InfoWorld. "Writing ability is especially important in customer communication. Business proposals, status reports, customer documentation, technical support, or even e-mail replies all depend on clear written communication."
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
The basic process of communication begins when a fact or idea is observed by one person. That person (the sender) may decide to translate the observation into a message, and then transmit the message through some communication medium to another person (the receiver). The receiver then must interpret the message and provide feedback to the sender indicating that the message has been understood and appropriate action taken.
As Herta A. Murphy and Herbert W. Hildebrandt observed in Effective Business Communications, good communication should be complete, concise, clear, concrete, correct, considerate, and courteous. More specifically, this means that communication should: answer basic questions like who, what, when, where; be relevant and not overly wordy; focus on the receiver and his or her interests; use specific facts and figures and active verbs; use a conversational tone for readability; include examples and visual aids when needed; be tactful and good natured; and be accurate and nondiscriminatory. Unclear, inaccurate, or inconsiderate business communication can waste valuable time, alienate employees or customers, and destroy goodwill toward management or the overall business. Communications Skills - The Importance of Removing Barriers:
Problems with communication can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of sender, encoding, channel, decoding, receiver, feedback and context - see the diagram below) and have the potential to create misunderstanding and confusion.
To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of these problems at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:

Source...
As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and what you want to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you're communicating is useful and accurate.

Message...
The message is the information that you want to communicate.

Encoding...
This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information.) A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

Channel...
Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports.

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll quickly cause problems if you criticize someone strongly by email.

Decoding...
Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.

Receiver...
Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately.

Feedback...
Your audience will provide you with feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that allows you to be confident that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.

Context...
The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture (i.e. corporate culture, international cultures, etc.).


Removing Barriers At All These Stages
To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist in each of these stages of the communication process.

Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse the message.

Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.

Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your own organization, in your country and even abroad
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
In their book Management: Function and Strategy, Thomas S. Bateman and Carl P. Zeithaml described several advantages and disadvantages of using written forms of communication. One advantage is that written messages do not have to be delivered on the spur of the moment; instead, they can be edited and revised several times before they are sent so that the content can be shaped to maximum effect. Another advantage is that written communication provides a permanent record of the messages that have been sent and can be saved for later study. Since they are permanent, written forms of communication also enable recipients to take more time in reviewing the message and providing appropriate feedback. For these reasons, written forms of communication are often considered more appropriate for complex business messages that include important facts and figures. Other benefits commonly associated with good writing skills include increased customer/client satisfaction; improved interorganizational efficiency; and enhanced image in the community and industry.
There are also several potential pitfalls associated with written communication, however. For instance, unlike oral communication, wherein impressions and reactions are exchanged instantaneously, the sender of written communication does not generally receive immediate feedback to his or her message. This can be a source of frustration and uncertainty in business situations in which a swift response is desired. In addition, written messages often take more time to compose, both because of their information-packed nature and the difficulty that many individuals have in composing such correspondence. Many companies, however, have taken a proactive stance in addressing the latter issue. Mindful of the large number of workers who struggle with their writing abilities, some firms have begun to offer on-site writing courses or enrolled employees in business writing workshops offered by professional training organizations, colleges, and community education programs.
E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Electronic mail has emerged as a highly popular business communication tool in recent years. Indeed, its capacity to convey important corporate communications swiftly and easily has transformed it into a communications workhorse for business enterprises of all sizes and orientations. But many users of e-mail technology pay little attention to basic rules of grammar and format when composing their letters, even when they are penning business correspondence addressed to clients, customers, vendors, business partners, or internal colleagues. This sloppy correspondence reflects an "astonishing" lack of professionalism, wrote Sana Reynolds in Communication World: "We seem to have been seduced by the ease and informality of the medium to produce messages that ignore the rules and conventions usually in place when producing hard copy. We send out messages with grammar, usage or spelling errors…. In the name of speed, we throw caution to the winds and forget sentence patterning, paragraphing, and other conventions that make messages intelligible, creating unattractive and impenetrable data dumps."
Given this unfortunate trend, many business experts counsel companies to install firm guidelines on tone, content, and shape of e-mail correspondence. These guidelines should make it clear that all employees are expected to adhere to the same standards of professionalism that (presumably) remain in place for traditional postal correspondence. Proper spelling and grammar and the ability to frame correspondence in suitably diplomatic language should be hallmarks of electronic mail as well as regular mail, especially if the communication is directed at a person or persons outside the company. Ten Forms of Written Communication in an Organization
Communication is a process of transmitting information between different parts of an organization. It is one of the basic functions of management in any organization. For communication with the outside world, organizations use advertising material, news releases and audio-visual aids. However, for communication within organization and with employees, different forms of communications are used such as in-house magazines, journals, reports and bulletin boards to transmit ideas, thoughts and information.
Forms of communication in an organization:
Employee handbook:
Employee handbook is given to the new employee at the time of induction or orientation program. It provides complete information of the organization with details on nature of the business, its customers, products, policies, benefits and services available to its employees. Some organizations use charts, photographs, and cartoons to make it more interesting for reading.
In-house Magazines & journals:
Organizations publish quarterly or monthly in-house magazines to keep employees updated about the latest development in the business, activities conducted in the company like social or cultural and achievements by the sales team. Management can unite with employees in an informal or direct way through these magazines. It also contains promotions, retirements, honors and awards with pictures of employees receiving award from management.
Financial reports to employees:
Financial reports published for shareholders & general public with all the technical accounting language & its terminologies, do not serve any purpose for the employees. So, some organizations publish financial reports specifically for employees with details on expenses, income, profits and distribution of income, which gives the idea about financial standing of the organization to the employees.
Information racks or display stands:
Information racks or stands are usually placed at places like front lobby, factory gate, cafeteria, shop or at a place which is most frequented by employees. These stands are used to display books dealing with wide range of topics such as help yourself, hobbies, sports, accident prevention etc.
Bulletin boards:
Bulletin boards in attractive colors & types can be used for display of clippings from newspapers, magazines, clippings on retirements, honors, marriages and other events in the lives of employees.
Museums & exhibitions:
Small museum or an exhibition can be used to display quality control ideas, old photographs of the factory, old designs and good quality products. It can create interest among the employees in their own work.
Posters: Posters are used to display topics related with health and safety, hygiene, improvement in production process, etc. Along with text matter, it should contain pictorial diagrams, charts, and photographs to explain the topic in a simple way.
Notice Boards:
Notice boards are usually placed at the factory gate or in front lobby. These are used to display notices and circulars issued by the management for administrative purposes, circulars related with hours of work, factories act and any new rules and regulations.
Suggestion system:
Some organizations use suggestion system to provide an opportunity for a working communication with the management. Employees can use this system to give positive proposals for improvement in machines, devices, techniques and procedures or to express their dissatisfaction with existing facilities or particulars.
Memo: Memos are business letters but used within an organization and only for employees. Memos are used to give information to employees such as changes in some procedures or rules, policy change or for specific purpose like request to attend a meeting. The format of the memo differs from business letter format.


Differences Between Oral and Written Communication
Most of us intuitively understand that there are differences between oral and written language. All communication includes the transfer of information from one person to another, and while the transfer of information is only the first step in the process of understanding a complex phenomenon, it is an important first step. Writing is a fairly static form of transfer. Speaking is a dynamic transfer of information. To be an effective speaker, you must exploit the dynamism of oral communication, but also learn to work within its limitations. While there is a higher level of immediacy and a lower level of retention in the spoken word, a speaker has more ability to engage the audience psychologically and to use complex forms of non-verbal communication
The written language can be significantly more precise. Written words can be chosen with greater deliberation and thought, and a written argument can be extraordinarily sophisticated, intricate, and lengthy. These attributes of writing are possible because the pace of involvement is controlled by both the writer and the reader. The writer can write and rewrite at great length, a span of time which in some cases can be measured in years. Similarly, the reader can read quickly or slowly or even stop to think about what he or she has just read. More importantly, the reader always has the option of re-reading; even if that option is not exercised, its mere possibility has an effect upon a reader's understanding of a text. The written word appeals more to a contemplative, deliberative style.
Speeches can also be precise and indeed they ought to be. But precision in oral communication comes only with a great deal of preparation and compression. Once spoken, words cannot be retracted, although one can apologize for a mistake and improvise a clarification or qualification. One can read from a written text and achieve the same degree of verbal precision as written communication. But word-for-word reading from a text is not speech-making, and in most circumstances audiences find speech-reading boring and retain very little of the information transmitted.
On the other hand, oral communication can be significantly more effective in expressing meaning to an audience. This distinction between precision and effectiveness is due to the extensive repertoire of signals available to the speaker: gestures, intonation, inflection, volume, pitch, pauses, movement, visual cues such as appearance, and a whole host of other ways to communicate meaning. A speaker has significantly more control over what the listener will hear than the writer has over what the reader will read. For these techniques to be effective, however, the speaker needs to make sure that he or she has the audience's attention--audiences do not have the luxury of re-reading the words spoken. The speaker, therefore, must become a reader of the audience.
Reading an audience is a systematic and cumulative endeavor unavailable to the writer. As one speaks, the audience provides its own visual cues about whether it is finding the argument coherent, comprehensible, or interesting. Speakers should avoid focusing on single individuals within an audience. There are always some who scrunch up their faces when they disagree with a point; others will stare out the window; a few rude (but tired) persons will fall asleep. These persons do not necessarily represent the views of the audience; much depends upon how many in the audience manifest these signals. By and large, one should take the head-nodders and the note-takers as signs that the audience is following one's argument. If these people seem to outnumber the people not paying attention, then the speech is being well-received. The single most important bit of evidence about the audience's attention, however, is eye contact. If members of the audience will look back at you when you are speaking, then you have their attention. If they look away, then your contact with the audience is probably fading.
Speeches probably cannot be sophisticated and intricate. Few audiences have the listening ability or background to work through a difficult or complex argument, and speakers should not expect them to be able to do so. Many speakers fail to appreciate the difficulties of good listening, and most speakers worry about leaving out some important part of the argument. One must be acutely aware of the tradeoff between comprehensiveness and comprehension. Trying to put too much into a speech is probably the single most frequent error made by speakers.
This desire to "say everything" stems from the distinctive limitations of speeches: after a speech, one cannot go back and correct errors or omissions, and such mistakes could potentially cripple the persuasiveness of a speech. A speaker cannot allow himself or herself to fall into this mentality. At the outset, a speaker must define an argument sharply and narrowly and must focus on only that argument. There are certainly implications of an argument that are important but cannot be developed within the speech. These aspects should be clearly acknowledged by the speaker, but deferred to a question-and-answer period, a future speech, or a reference to a work that the audience can follow-up on its own. Speakers must exercise tight and disciplined control over content.
As a rule of thumb, the audience will remember about one-half of what was said in a twenty-minute talk. After twenty-minutes, recall drops off precipitously. Oral arguments should therefore be parsed down as much as possible. There are very few circumstances in which an audience will recall a great deal of the information in a speech longer than twenty minutes. Most evidence suggests that audience recall declines precipitously after 16 and one-helf minutes.
Oral communication uses words with fewer syllables than the written language, the sentences are shorter, and self-referencing pronouns such as I are common. Oral communication also allows incomplete sentences if delivered properly, and many sentences will begin with "and," "but," and "except."
The upshot of these differences is that one should not think about speeches as oral presentations of a written text. Speeches are genuinely different from written prose, and one should not use the logic of writing as a basis for writing a speech.