Communication Process

Introduction

Communication establishes relationships and makes organizing possible. Every message has a purpose or objective. The sender intends -- whether consciously or unconsciously -- to accomplish something by communicating. In organizational contexts, messages typically have a definite objective: to motivate, to inform, to teach, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire. This definite purpose is, in fact, one of the principal differences between casual conversation and managerial communication. Effective communication in the organization centers on well-defined objectives that support the organization's goals and mission. Supervisors strive to achieve understanding among parties to their communications.

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Communication Process

Communication is the process in which data is sent from a source to an intended audience with a meaning perceived by the receiver. Communication is vital if a company wants to survive. Without communication there will be no work getting accomplished and chaos will reign in the workplace. It is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. The communication process involves six basic elements: sender (encoder), message, channel, receiver (decoder), noise, and feedback. Supervisors can improve communication skills by becoming aware of these elements and how they contribute to successful communication. Communication process cab be described with help of the following elements: -

Sender: A sender initiates the communication process. It is source wishing to present a particular view or event of object. For e.g. a supervisor giving instruction to the employees

Message: What is it? A "message" is the information that the sender wants to transmit. These messages have an attached meaning that may be interpreted differently by different people. It consists of verbal and nonverbal symbols that have been developed to convey meaning to the receiver. For e.g. as a sender, the supervisor should define the purpose of the message, construct each message with the receiver in mind.

Encoding: It is the process of translating the intended meaning into symbols (which includes words and gestures). The person who gets the thought or idea feels the need for communication. In the initial stage when idea is formed, it is encoded. After that encoded idea takes the shape of message and send to communicate by using proper media. After receiving the message it is analyzed and interpreted by communication.

Channel: The medium/channel is the means of communication or a way to convey the message, such as print, mass, electrical, and digital. Factors to consider when selecting a medium include relative speed, cost, convenience, intelligibility, timing, feedback options, and documentation. It is very important to choose the appropriate medium for a particular message, as this will highly influence the feedback process.

Receiver: The receiver is the person with whom the message is exchanged. Just as information regarding the object or event was sensed and interpreted by the sender, so the information from the sender is sensed and interpreted by the receiver. A receiver can be anybody it is not necessary that the receiver is in the appropriate channels of communication he can be a outsider, client etc. There is a possibility that the actual receiver was not able to receive the message but somebody else (receiver) did! Or there may be opportunities for the receiver to gain information directly regarding the event or object, without receiving the information through the sender.

Decoding: Decoding is the process of translating the symbols into the interpreted message. In effective communication, the sender and receiver achieve a common meaning. But this is not the case always decoding of the message can be interpreted differently by different individuals.

Feedback: Feedback is the basic response of the receiver to the interpreted message. During feedback, the receiver becomes the sender. It also provides preliminary information to the sender about the success of the communication. It is critical that after receiving the message the receiver give constructive feedback. Feedback gives the source the opportunity to ensure that the message was interpreted accurately.

Noise: Noise is defined to be anything that distorts the message intended by the source, anything that interferes with the receiver's receiving the message as the source intended the message to be received. Three types of noise can be identified which is a hindrance to effective communication: physical noise, psychological noise, and semantic noise.
The first type of noise interferes with the physical transmission of the signal or message: like for e.g. cars screeching, air conditioners humming, a speaker's lisp, and sunglasses. Second type psychological noise, on the other hand, may include biases and prejudices, in both the sender and receiver, that lead to distortions in receiving and processing information: closed mindedness, for example. In semantic noise, the interference is due to the receiver failing to grasp the meanings intended by the sender. For e.g. jargon, technical, or complex terms as being examples of semantic noise.

We can conclude that the essential ingredients of the communication process is the:

Starting Point – Sender
What - Message
Encoding
How - Medium
Decoding – Reacting
Feedback – Ending Point