Communication and Presentation Skills Bs (CS) /It-Ii&Iii: Topic of The Week: Flow of Communication

1
Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Baig Email ID: abdullah.baig@biit.edu.pk Whatsapp # 03012851530

Dr. Mirza Naveed Baig Email ID: naveed.baig@biit.edu.pk Whatsapp # 03335158678
Ms. Kainat Anjum Email ID: kainat@biit.edu.pk Whatsapp # 03215023609
Communication and Presentation Skills

BS (CS)/IT-II&III
Note:
1. It is intimated that following lectures will not repeated and would be

part of mid-term & final-term exam as well.
2. The attendance of the students will be marked on receipt of assignment
on due date.
3. Marks of the assignment may be deducted on emailing irrelevant
material to respective teacher(s).
4. Email IDs of concerned teachers are mentioned in the Header of each
page (on the top of each page).
5. In case of any query, contact you teacher through email.
6. The mode of communication would be English only.
Topic of the Week: Flow of Communication
Objectives of Lecture 3 & 4
The learning objectives of these lectures are:
(a) To introduce students about the flow of communication.
(b) To create awareness among the students regarding role of communication.
(c) To learn importance of communication Skills.
CPS-WEEK-2-LECTURE-3&4
2

(Week 2) Lecture 3
Flow of Communication
Information can flow in five directions, in an organization: downward, upward, horizontally,
diagonally and External. The size, nature, and structure of the organization dictate, in which
direction most of the information flows. In more established and traditional organizations, much
of the communication flows in a vertical—downward and upward—direction. In informal firms,
such as tech start-ups, information tends to flow horizontally and diagonally. This, of course, is a
function of the almost flat organizational hierarchy and the need for collaboration. Unofficial
communications, such as those carried in the company grapevine, appear in both types of
organizations.
1. Downward
2. Upward
3. Lateral
4. Diagonal
5. External
3

1. Downward Flow of Communication:
Communication that flows from a higher level in an organization to a lower level is a downward
communication. In other words, communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of
command is a downward communication. This communication flow is used by the leaders to
transmit work-related information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this
information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their leaders.
Downward communication is used by the leaders for the following purposes:
● Providing feedback on employees’ performance
● Giving job instructions
● Providing a complete understanding of the employee’s job as well as to
communicate them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.
● Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.
4

● Highlighting the areas of attention.
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc are all examples
of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free downward
communication, leaders must:
● Specify communication objective
● Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous.
● Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the receiver in right
form
2. Upward Flow of Communication:
5

Communication that flows to a higher level in an organization is called upward communication.

It provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward
communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors.
The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood the
downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to share their views and ideas
and to participate in the decision-making process.
Upward communication leads to a more committed and loyal workforce in an organization

because the employees are given a chance to raise and speak dissatisfaction issues to the higher
levels. The leaders get to know about the employees’ feelings towards their jobs, peers,
supervisor and organization in general. Leaders can thus accordingly take actions for improving
things.
Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys etc all
help in improving upward communication. Other examples of Upward Communication are
-performance reports made by low level management for reviewing by higher level management,
employee attitude surveys, letters from employees, employee-administrator discussions etc.
DISADVANTAGES OF VERTICAL COMMUNICATION

● Downward communication is likely to be filtered, modified or halted at each level as
managers decide what should be passed down to their employee.
● This will lead to confusion.
● Upward communication is likely to be filtered, condensed or modified by the middle level
management to protect upper level management from non-essential data originating at the lower
levels.
Downward communication vs. Upward communication

6

Downward Communication
• It represents the flow of information from top level to lower levels.
• Its purpose is to communicate policies, procedures, orders and instructions to the sub-
ordinates.
• It is used to get things done through the subordinates.
• It takes the form of written and oral instructions, letters, memos, company publication etc.
Upward Communication
• It represents the flow of information from lower level to top level.
• Its purpose is to keep the superiors informed about the progress of work and difficulties
faced in the execution of orders.
• It is used to give reports and convey reactions of sub-ordinates to the management.
• It takes the form of activity reports, suggestions, grievances etc.
7

3. Lateral / Horizontal Communication:
Communication that takes place at same levels of hierarchy in an organization is called

lateral communication, i.e., communication between peers, between leaders at same levels
or between any horizontally equivalent organizational member. The advantages of
horizontal communication are as follows:
● It is time saving.
● It facilitates co-ordination of the task.

● It facilitates co-operation among team members.
● It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members.
● It helps in solving various organizational problems.
● It is a means of information sharing
● It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with another department or
conflicts within a department.
4. Diagonal Communication:
8

Communication that takes place between an administrator and employees of other workgroups is
called diagonal communication. It generally does not appear on organizational chart. For
instance - To design a training module a training administrator interacts with an Operations
personnel to enquire about the way they perform their task.
5. External Communication:
Communications do not start and stop within the organization. External communication focuses
on audiences outside of the organization. Senior management—with the help of specialized
departments such as public relations or legal—almost always controls communications that
relate to the public image or may affect its financial situation. First-level and middle-level
management generally handle operational business communications such as purchasing, hiring,
and marketing. When communicating outside the organization (regardless of the level), it is
important for employees to behave professionally and not to make commitments outside of their
scope of authority.
Communication that takes place between an administrator and external groups such as -
suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes etc. For instance - To raise capital the Managing
director would interact with the Bank Administrator.
Role of Communication:
Right from the time a child is born, communication plays an important role in his life. Speaking,
listening and writing are the common forms of communication. A large part of our time is
devoted to communication as we share our thoughts and feelings with individuals and groups of
people. Communication helps to develop an organised society with defined roles for each
individual.
9

In the business world, leaders perform their tasks and responsibilities through communication.
Communication provides the basis for effective implementation of plans, assigning jobs to
people, carrying out directions and activities and facilitates control.
Management functions can be performed successfully when leaders communicate face-to-face,

telephonically or electronically with their superiors, peers, subordinates, customers, suppliers,
competitors etc. Even when they are not talking, they are busy reading or writing reports, memos
and letters which are different forms of communication. Communication has reduced
geographical distances into storable and confidential forms and has facilitated a large number of
people to interact with each other.
It is important that communication should be effective. Effective communication is transfer of

information along with transfer of understanding. It means transfer of messages, ideas and
information in a manner that the sender and receiver understand the subject in the same sense.
“It is the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in
meaning as possible to the message intended.” Effective communication, thus, takes place when
receiver understands the message in the same sense as the sender wants to convey.
Communication is the foundation for human interaction that develops common understanding
amongst two or more persons. This promotes common objectives through coordinated efforts
amongst people belonging to different functional departments.
Importance of Communication:
The desire to socialize and get formed into organised groups necessitates the need for
communication. In the fast-changing world, leaders communicate changes in technology,
structure or people to the subordinates. If the communication system is well organised, it
becomes easier for subordinates to understand and act upon the message. Communication plays
important role in the lives of individuals and organisations.
The following points highlight the importance of communication:
10

1. Basis for planning:

Communication facilitates planning. Planning is made easy by communication. Any type of
information regarding the human resource requirement of each department of the organization
with their qualifications, the type and kinds of job etc. can be collected through communication
which helps in human resource planning. Policies and programs for their acquisition can be
prepared and implemented. In the entire process communication plays a vital role, it also
facilitates managerial planning of the organization.
2. Boosts Morale and Motivation:

An effective communication system instils confidence among subordinates and workers ensuring
change in their attitude and behaviour. The main cause of conflict and dissatisfaction is
misunderstanding which can be removed through communication skills. The removal of
misunderstanding makes administrator and his subordinates understand each other and create
good industrial relations. This boosts up the morale of the people and motivates them to work
harder.
3. Job satisfaction:
Exchange of information develops trust, confidence and faith amongst leaders and subordinates.
They understand their job positions better and, thus, perform better. People are committed to
organisational objectives which promotes job satisfaction,
4. Commitment to organisational objectives:

Leaders who follow an effective system of communication understand employees’ needs, adopt
suitable motivators to satisfy them, appraise their performance and provide them regular
feedback. The employees also work with commitment towards organisational objectives.
5. Means of Coordination:
11

Communication is an important tool for coordinating the efforts of various people at work in the
organization. Communication coordinates organisational resources (human and non- human),
individual goals with organisational goals and internal environment with external environment.
Coordination is the key to organisational success and communication is an active contributor to
coordination.
6. Adaptability to external environment:

In order to survive in the changing, dynamic environment, leaders continuously interact with
external parties like government, suppliers, customers, etc. This requires effective
communication system in the organisation.
7. Internal functioning of an enterprise:

Leaders interact with parties internal to business enterprises. They constantly obtain and provide
information to them. More effective the communication system, more accurate will be the
information.
8. Healthy industrial relations:

Satisfied workers contribute to healthy organisations. Communication brings leaders and trade
unions closer, develops mutual understanding and promotes industrial peace and harmony. This
increases industrial production.
9. Helps in performing managerial roles:

According to Henry Mintzberg, leaders perform three major roles – interpersonal, informational
and decisional. Communication helps leaders in performing these roles effectively. In
interpersonal roles, leaders interact with superiors, peers and subordinates; in informational roles
they receive and give information to people inside and outside the organization and in decisional
roles, they take important decisions and communicate them to organisational members for their
effective implementation.
12

10. Provides Effective Leadership:

A communication skill bring administrator near to his subordinates and exchange ideas and
submits appropriate proposals, knows their opinions, seeks advices and make decisions. This
enables an administrator to win confidence of his subordinates through constantly
communicating with them and removing probable misunderstandings. In this way he leads his
people to accomplish the organisational goal.
11. Facilitates control:

Planning is effective if accompanied by an effective control system. Control is possible when
leaders assess subordinates’ performance, correct and prevent deviations and provide them
regular feedback of performance. Control function largely depends upon communication system
of the organisation. How effectively leaders control organisational activities depends upon how
effective is the communication system.
12. Training and development:

Imparting training and development facilities to employees depends upon how well their
superiors communicate with them. Trainers with good communication skills are better than those
who have poor communication skills.
13. Substance to organisational existence:

Obtaining information to make plans, making members aware of authority-responsibility
structure, position in the organisational hierarchy, coordinating their activities is the essence of
organisational survival and growth. This is possible through effective communication.
13


Communication and Presentation Skills Bs (CS) /It-Ii&Iii: Topic of The Week: Flow of Communication

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Communication and Presentation Skills Bs (CS) /It-Ii&Iii: Topic of The Week: Flow of Communication

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Communication and Presentation Skills Bs (CS) /It-Ii&Iii: Topic of The Week: Flow of Communication

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Baig Email ID: abdullah.baig@biit.edu.pk Whatsapp # 03012851530