FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

STUDENT’S NAME           : JACOB MAMBO 

REG NUMBER : S22.ASC.DBA.002 

LECTURER'S NAME          : Mrs. AMVIKO GLORIA.

COURSE UNIT                   :  BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

SKILLS

COURSE                            :  DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION

QUESTIONS
Referring to any organization of your choice, identify the barriers of communication within that
organization and suggest solutions to the identified barriers.
Communication Barriers in South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority Juba South Sudan

Communication barriers are interferences or obstacles which affects not only the transmission
of idea or information and also the understanding and acceptance of it.
A communication barrier can also be defined as anything that prevents us from receiving and
understanding the messages others use to convey their information, ideas and thoughts.
It has an effect on entirely preventing communication, filtering part of it, or giving it an incorrect
meaning. The three main causes for the barriers in communication are due to the deficiencies of
the sender, the deficiencies of the listener and Inappropriate means of communication.
Barriers to communication can be classified as follows on the basis of the stage of the
communication process during which the problem arise.
Sender oriented barriers, which include lack of planning, lack of clarity about the purpose of
communication, improper choice of words resulting in a badly encoded message, difference in
perception, wrong choice of channel, etc.
Receiver oriented barriers like poor listening, lack of interest, difference in perception, biased
attitude, etc.
Channel oriented barriers such as noise, wrong selection of medium, technical defects, etc.
The various barriers to the process of communication are physical or environmental barriers,
physiological barriers, semantic or language barriers, personal barriers
emotional, socio- psychological, cultural barriers and organizational barriers

1 Physical or environmental barriers: These are environmental factors which limit the sending
and receiving of messages. Often the term Noise is used as a blanket term to refer to this kind.
They include distance, noise, breakdown of communication media, faulty mechanical
equipments, etc.
Noise, it is the first major barrier to communication. Communication gets disturbed by noise that
occurs at the transmission level. For example, the noise of traffic around a school obstructs the
flow of information between a student and a teacher. Similarly poor signal while talking over cell
phone or using public address system or watching TV also disrupts communication. Bad weather
conditions may also sometimes cause barrier to communication.

Time and distance: These may also obstruct the smooth flow of information. For example, time
difference between two different countries may affect communication between two people.
Another example will be two people working in two different shifts may face problems in
communicating effectively. Improper seating arrangement in a class also may act as a barrier to
the process of communication.
Wrong choice of medium: This can cause a barrier to communication if the sender uses the
wrong channel for the transmission of the message with is improper for the audience. For
example, if an expert uses a power point presentation for the uneducated factory workers, then
they will be unable to understand it.
Surroundings: Adverse or extreme weather conditions like, too hot or too cold, their
surroundings do have a direct effect on the effectiveness of communication. As environment
causes a psychological effect like, too hot weather will cause restlessness and humidity, whereas
too cold weather makes a person feel lazy to communicate.
Inadequacy of message design/Poorly expressed message: No matter how clear the idea in the
mind of the sender, it may still get affected by use of poorly chosen words, long sentences,
complex words, poor organization of ideas, use of jargon.

2 Physiological or Biological barriers:

Physiological barriers are related to a person’s health and fitness. These may arise due to
disabilities that may affect the physical capability of the sender or the receiver. Proper
functioning of the vocal cords, hands, fingers, eyes is necessary for effective communication. For
example, Speaking can adversely be affected by stammering, fumbling, utterance of improper
sounds due to defective vocal organ.
Listening can be ineffective as a result of defective hearing
Writing can be failed due to hand injury, numbness, etc.
Reading can be affected due to poor eyesight.
3 Semantic barriers/ Language Barriers: The term ‘semantic’ refers to the systematic study of
meaning of the words. Semantic barriers are barriers related to language. Language barriers
occur when people do not speak the same language, or do not have the same level of ability in a
language. However, barriers can also occur when people are speaking the same language.
Sometimes barriers occur when we use inappropriate levels of language or we use jargon or
slang which is not understood by one or more of the people communicating.
Often the situation in which the conversation is taking place, and whether or not people have
prior experience of the matter being discussed, can also contribute to such barriers being formed.
They cause obstructions in the process of receiving or understanding of the message during the
process of encoding or decoding ideas and words. The most common semantic barriers are listed
below.

Misinterpretation of words: Different people mean different meaning while using the same
word.
Use of technical language: It is often found that technical people use technical language, which
is related to their profession which is known as jargon. For example, A manager handed over an
important document to a new assistant and told him to burn it (here burn means copy in another
computer.) But the new assistant took a different meaning to the word burn and literally burn it
with a match stick. Doctors, lawyers, etc. uses a language which a layman cannot understand
that, due to lack of knowledge of that language.
Vocabulary deficiency of both the sender and the receiver may cause semantic barrier to
communication.

Multiple meaning of the words in different context: Different words are used in different ways as
per the need/ message, the word ‘out’ conveys a different meaning when used in different
situations and thus miscommunication occurs.

4 Personal barriers
Differences in personal and psychological makeup of individuals may create barrier between
people. They arise from judgments, emotions and social values of people. The following are
some of the most common personal barriers.
Attitudes and opinions, A common cause of communication breakdown in a workplace
situation is people holding different attitudes, values and discrimination. An example of this is
differing perceptions people have of power and status. Some people may think that they should
treat people or be treated differently based on what they perceive as their status or power within
a workplace or in the community. If they think that managers and supervisors have power over
staff, for example, that they can allocate duties, reward, promote, or dismiss staff, this may lead
to barriers before the communication even takes place Assumptions and negative feelings about
the receiver, such as hostility may have an effect on the message. In a typical superior
subordinate relationship, a subordinator may or may not ask questions, may even withhold
information due to fear. Some supervisors may not be open to suggestions and feedback as they
presume that their subordinates are not capable of advising them. This creates indifference
between them and subordinates do not feel motivated. Attitude thus becomes a barrier to
communication.
Lack of self-confidence: Lack of self-confidence either on the part of the sender or the receiver
while communicating may be a barrier to it.
5 Emotional Barriers,
Emotional barriers are associated with sentiments and emotions. Blocked mind, Blocked mind
considers only limited information and ignores or rejects additional information. An individual
who has a blocked mind is rigid and dogmatic. He resists all contradictory communication and
pays deaf ear to new ideas.
Bias and prejudice, if closed minded people are asked for reasons for rejecting a message, they
may reveal prejudices. They react with anger and give a sharp rebuff who tries to argue with
them. This acts as a barrier in communication.
Emotions: One’s state of mind plays an important role in act of communication. If the sender is
worried, excited, afraid, nervous, then he will not be able to organize his message properly.
Similarly, if the receiver is not in a proper state of mind, he may misinterpret the message.
6 Socio-psychological barriers
They are similar to perceptional barriers
Selective perception, this means that the receiver selectively sees and hears based on their
needs, motivations, experience and expectations. In communication, this tendency means that
they hear what they want to hear and ignore other relevant information
Status consciousness: Differences in status and power between the sender and the receiver may
constitute another barrier. The subordinate feels very jittery, nervous in front of the supervisor
and the supervisors may be reluctant to pass complete information.
Prejudices, People who are not open to discussions, new ideas, viewpoints and have a closed
mind may be a great barrier to communication.
Halo Effect, Sometimes the listener may be too much in awe of or completely distrust a speaker.
When there is a lack of sufficient trust, confidence and faith between the communicating parties,
selective listening takes place. In these situations, several types of ‘noise’ enter the
communication process. Similarly, things like distrust, threat, fear are vital barriers to effective
communication.
Physical appearance, Receiver may not like the sender’s physical appearance, voice,
pronunciation, accent, use of grammar or mannerism. This may cause the receiver to discard the
content. Communicator’s mood also influences his capacity to communicate, for eg: he may be
tired, sleepy, bored, etc.
7 Cultural Barriers: Communication with people of different cultures and backgrounds means
becoming aware of the differences in values, beliefs and attitudes that people hold. Empathy is
important for overcoming barriers to communication based on culture. Empathy means sensing
the feelings and attitudes of others as if we had experienced them personally.
Culture shapes the way we think and behave. Each group categorized on the basis of nationality,
ethnicity, race, religion, etc. has its own distinctive culture. Cultural differences often cause
communication differences. It arises when individuals in one social group have developed
different norms, values, or behaviors to individuals associated with another group. The same
category of word, phrases, symbols, actions colors mean different things to different cultures.
For eg: In western countries black color is associated with mourning, while in the far east white
is the color of mourning. In U.S people love to be called by their first name, while in Britain,
people are addressed by their last name.
8 Organizational barriers:
Complex organizational structure, A complex org structure has long communication channels
which subjects to breakdown of communication.
Too many levels in the organization: As the message has to pass through many levels, there are
chances of distortion, delays or total failure of the message.
Time and timeliness, time pressures can be a serious obstacle as messages are hastily and
inadequately communicated by managers.
9 Behavioral barriers
The behaviors like bias, generalizations and stereotyping can cause communication barriers.
Having these attitudes and not confronting them is not just wrong, it’s bad for individuals. In the
workplace, such attitudes can cost the organization time and money. Stereotyping occurs when
you assume we know something about a person because of their cultural or social background.
Our views may come from a bias you may have against a particular behavior, appearance,
possession or even a particular geographical area. Our situation, appearance and behavior may
contribute to other people’s stereotyped views. This could contribute to communication
breakdown. Learn to treat everyone as an individual. We will open up the channels for
communication and overcome the barriers based on discrimination.
Perception of Reality, when communicating, it is important to understand various perceptions
of a situation or of an issue or a problem. There are different levels of perceptions that are
involved when communicating about a particular topic, condition, problem, issue, situation,
dilemma, stress or a concept. Lacking understanding about different levels of perceptions may
prove to be a barrier. In order to implement effective communication, it is vital to gain the
‘perception of reality’ which means information about facts, knowledge, figures, actuality and
what is true. While communicating, it is important to be open, flexible and transparent.

Overcoming communication barriers in South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority as an

organization in Juba South Sudan
Eliminating Differences in Perception – Within the organization when individuals are
recruited, their performance, qualifications, skills, abilities, knowledge, attitude should be taken
into consideration; there should be proper training and development programs, employee
selection procedures and individuals should possess effective communication skills especially
regarding the English language, they should be fluent in English, in speaking as well as in
writing.
Use of Simple Language – While communicating no matter what language, the use of words
should be understandable, clear and simple; usage of complicated words might make an
individual perplexed and such words should be avoided.

Reduction and Elimination of Noise Levels – Noise is the most common barrier which occurs
everywhere, for instance, when family members are communicating at home, constant noise
comes from busy neighborhoods, or at the workplace too while working on the computers,
people may get engaged in informal conversations, hence that leads to emergence of noise levels.
It is necessary to identify the sources of noise and then formulating measures in order to
eliminate those sources.

Active Listening – The receiver should listen to the speaker with awareness and in a considerate
manner; he/she should respond by asking questions, the speaker should always be aware of the
fact that the listener understands everything that he is saying and this overcomes the barrier to
effective communication.
Speak slowly and clearly, Focus on clearly enunciating and slowing down your speech. Even if
you’re pressured for time, don’t rush through your communication. Doing so often takes more
time, as miscommunication and misunderstanding can result and you’ll ultimately have to invest
additional time in clearing up the confusion.
Emotional State – During communication, the speaker is required to make effective use of body
language and not depict ones emotional state; for example, if the speaker is upset due to some
reason than he should not portray his distress in his speech, the listeners might misinterpret the
information if it is delivered by a speaker in a distressed mood.

Simple Organizational Structure – The hierarchical levels within the organization should be
optimum in number; the operations and functions implemented within the organization, the
leadership skills, span of control, authority, rules, policies should be organized appropriately and
put into operation in an effective manner.

Avoid Information Overload – Employers as well as the employees should not overload
themselves with work; they should manage their work for the day accordingly, extended working
hours should be avoided and employees should also take out time during their working hours to
listen to the subordinates and workers grievances; they should practice effective time
management skills.

Provide Constructive Feedback – While making provision of feedback to the employees and
subordinates, negativity should be avoided and feedback should always be delivered in a
constructive manner; negative feedback is stated to be a barrier to effective communication. The
content of the feedback can be negative, if the superior feels that there have been some
misinterpretations, but it should be communicated in a constructive manner with a positive
attitude.
Proper Media Selection – The medium of communication should be proper; if it is a simple
message or just a minor notice, it can be delivered either through a face to face conversation or
through a telephone; information which is complicated and lengthy should be delivered in a
written manner for example, through letters, notices, newspapers or electronic mail, therefore
proper media selection also leads to effective communication.
Flexibility in Meeting the Targets – Employees when they are employed within an
organization, should work towards accomplishing the desired goals and objectives, they should
not be put under pressure to complete a particular assignment within a particular time period, in
other words, they should be allowed sufficient time, especially when the task is extensive; in
accomplishing the organization’s goals and objectives, it is essential to have effective means of
communication and flexibility should be allowed in meeting of the targets.

CONCLUSION
In the conclusion, it is vital to highlight that communication is very essential not only for the
development and progress of the South Sudan Aviation Authority as an organization,
Educational institutions, academic learning or in implementation of one’s daily routine tasks but
also for the individual as a whole. There are number of barriers that do come within the course of
communication, these are environmental and physical barriers, semantic barriers, cultural
barriers, psychological barriers and perception of reality. Within an organizational structure,
many barriers arise and there have been formulation of certain measures and procedures for
overcoming them, these are perceptual barriers, emotional barriers, language barriers, cultural
barriers and physical barriers; the most effective and successful means of overcoming barriers of
effective organizational communication is by forming an optimistic approach within the
workplace and it is regarded as mandatory to develop politeness, good manners and respect
within ones approaches and attitude.
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