Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assignment
Assignment
Assignment
Communication Barriers
example, an employee who avoids eye contact may cause others to assume
she is hiding something when she may simply feel inferior or shy.
Privacy
Attitude
We have a communication problem. How many times have you heard that as an
explanation for project failures, disgruntled employees, or a lack of teamwork in
organizations? Aside from the dramatic cases, such as a nurse not telling a doctor
that he is about to operate on the wrong leg or a co-pilot not telling the pilot that
another plane is on the same landing approach, we rarely know what is meant by
communication problem. Several colleagues and I decided to find out. Leslie
Stambaugh, Jim Stilwell, and I asked 15 organization leaders about the
communication challenges they face in their organizations. An analysis of their
responses identified nine major categories:
The assumption is that the usual modes of communication will send important
information to everyone who needs to know and that everyone will receive this
information. However, in many organizations, the information doesnt reach people
who are not using those methods of communication on a regular basis (e.g., email
that isnt read by front-line workers).
Information is not getting to employees when and where they need it. Without vital
information at the right time and in the right place, the decision-making process
slows and projects are not completed on time or in the best way.
Critical information (e.g., market data) is not being shared among key stakeholders.
Top management is not engaging employees who have most of the customer
contact in the important decisions of the organization. Employees are not getting
important information to management.
Top leaders do not discuss expectations with mid-level managers. Therefore, they
do not have the same expectations nor do they agree on how to reach strategic
goals. Because of this, employees do not have clear goals and benchmarks to guide
their progress.
Leaders do not discuss their vision for the future of the organization with
employees. There is no sense of a shared direction toward which everyone is
striving. This does not inspire employees to do their best work.
Employees do not share information with each other. They do not trust each other.
This compromises the productivity of teams, departments/units, and the
organization.
Even in this age of email, cell phones, text messaging, and Web conferencing,
critical communication among leaders, between management and employees, and
between departments/units, still does not happen as much and as often as needed.
Language Barriers
A diverse workplace has several benefits to a business, such as a variety of solutions to
company issues and insight into international markets during expansion. But the language
barrier that can sometimes occur in a diverse workplace, or any workplace, may become a
communication problem. There might be language barriers between people of different
ethnic backgrounds, people of different ages and people with different levels of industry
experience. Any language barrier is going to slow communication or create
misunderstandings that make communication ineffective.
Personal Issues
Effective communication in a workplace is based on professional correspondence designed
to assist in the daily operation of the company or the continued growth of the organization.
When employees allow personal issues to affect company communication, a communication
problem develops that could take a long time to track down and resolve. People who refuse
to communicate based on a personal disagreement are damaging the company's ability to
do business and slowing the growth of the organization.
Lack of Feedback
One-way communication can become an ineffective way to exchange information
throughout the company. Employees and managerial staff should provide feedback at all
times to improve the quality of information disseminated and the manner in which the
information is delivered. For example, if a department tends to send out information in a
format confusing to other people in the company, then that department needs to be
informed of its communication problems immediately or else the information coming from
that group will always pose a communication challenge.
New Hires
When new employees are brought into the organization, they need to receive a
comprehensive introduction into the proper ways to communicate throughout the
organization. Companies that do not include communication training in their new-hire
orientation programs will be forced to struggle with new hires who are forced to learn proper
communication procedures by a process of hit and miss.