Business Management Tasks - Task 4 PDF

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Joanna Claxton 000373922 QHT1 - Business Management Tasks Task 4

The Four Key Barriers to Communication

A successful manager is a master communicator. Employees must receive relevant information to be successful in their job as well as develop and maintain loyalty to the organization. Often times, however, employees experience either too much or too little communication from their manager. Too much information results in an overload and employees fail to absorb it, too little and employees begin to feel frustrated and moral goes down. Barriers to effective communication present themselves in four ways: Process, Personal, Physical, and Semantic. Process barriers are difficulties in the communication process. The communication process begins with the sender starting the communication by sending a message to the receiver. The message may be an idea, information, a fact or feeling, etc. The message is encoded in a form such as words, pictures, or gestures. The message is transmitted via a medium such as in person, over the phone, through the internet or an email. The choice of the medium is decided by the sender. The message is then decoded by the receiver. Once the receiver receives and understands the message as intended and acts according to the message, the communication process is considered successful. Breakdowns in this process can occur at any step along the way. Common examples include the sender choosing the wrong medium with which to deliver a message, such as initiating the disciplinary process via email or using a rushed or ambivalent tone when communicating delicate or sensitive information. As a manager, it is critical that sufficient thought go into evaluating who the receiver is, the mood of the message that needs to be communicated, how that message will be decoded by the receiver, and what the best medium would be to communicate that message with. Failure to effectively communicate a message will lead to misunderstandings and further breakdowns in the communication process. Personal barriers to effective communication are often attitudes that can be changed such as generational, gender, or racial stereotypes. As a manger, it is important to treat each 1

Joanna Claxton 000373922 QHT1 - Business Management Tasks Task 4

person as an individual and not based on assumptions about a group they may identify with. The physical or emotional state of both the sender and the receiver can have a significant impact on the way a message is communicated and/or received. As a manager, it is important to assess the mental and physical state of the employee and adjust the tone of the message accordingly. It is also critical that we maintain a calm and professional demeanor even if we are experiencing heightened emotions such as anger or sadness. Cultural differences are another example of a potential personal barrier to communication. They can be difficult to overcome, but an effective manager will the potential for cultural barriers and take the time to understand the communication norms of people from other cultures and adjust their message accordingly. It is equally important to understand the cultural significance of the receiver’s responses and reactions as well. It is often helpful in these situations to ask the receiver to communicate the message back to you to ensure the message was received as intended. Physical barriers are ones that may not be directly related to the participants in the conversation but are more external in nature such as distance or environment. If your intention is to have a constructive back and forth dialog, it is best to choose a setting that is comfortable and inviting. Attempting to solicit feedback from employees in the middle of a windstorm may not produce the best results as all participants are probably going to want to hurry the conversation up and get inside. Distance can be another barrier if the sender or recipients are more familiar or comfortable with face-to-face communications. In this new COVID world, it has become essential for managers to devote extra time and attention to ensuring employees have the means and ability to stay connected to their manager and the rest of their team. Scheduling regular check-ins, either via e-mail or through a virtual service such as Zoom can go a long way in overcoming these physical barriers. The final type of communication barrier is a semantic barrier. Semantics is defined as the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text. Misunderstandings may arise during communication when the receiver interprets a word differently than the sender intended. For this reason, managers should strive to communicate using clear and simple terminology and actively listen not only to the verbal feedback from the receiver, but also to their body 2

Joanna Claxton 000373922 QHT1 - Business Management Tasks Task 4

language, facial expressions, and tone. If the manager senses that a message might not be translating as intended, they should check-in with the receiver to see if clarification is necessary. Conversely, if communication must be done via email or text, the sender loses the benefit of being able to use tone and body language to help convey their message. In these situations, it is best to avoid humor or sarcasm as they may not translate well, and the message may end up being misunderstood or interpreted as offensive.

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