CHAPTER Nature of

1 Communica on

Chapter Objective
To help the learner understand the basics of communication, namely, its process, components and
besides types, giving him a clear perception of the nature of business communication and its global,
ethical and legal aspects.

COMMUNICATION CORE
Communication is the process of transmitting meaning from one person to another. The main components
of the process are sender, message, channel, receiver and response. When the sender is able to elicit
the desired response from the receiver of the message, the communication is said to be successful. In
many cases there is a semantic gap between the message sent and the message received. The factors
responsible for the failure in communication arise from (a) the personality traits of both the sender and
the receiver, (b) the complexity of interpersonal transaction and (c) the organisational network. These
barriers can be removed by encoding the message, keeping in view the objective and the expectation
of the receiver, and by transmitting it through the appropriate channel.
Communication may be classified according to mode, medium, number of participants, direction
and purpose. Business communication is a specialised branch of general purpose communication. It
may be defined as the effective use of language to convey a commercial or industrial message to
a well-defined audience for achieving a pre-determined purpose.
Since business is becoming international at a rapid pace, it is essential to be aware of culture-
specific elements of communication. The expansion over a wide geographical area has also made
communication more diverse, intricate and complex. Hence, in handling it, greater care has to
be taken. An awareness of ethical and legal aspects can prove helpful in making both intra-
organisational and inter-organisational communication smooth and trouble-free.
In an organisation, formal communication flows in three directions: vertical (both upward and
downward), horizontal, and diagonal. The patterns that emerge are as follows: linear, multilinear,
trichannel, and bilevel. Informal communication is multidirectional and haphazard and there are
no clear-cut patterns in it. But top management can filter the information through this channel
advantageously. For functioning effectively in an organisation it is also necessary to be acquainted
with the features of cross-cultural communication, gender communication, and strategies for
maintaining communication network during crisis.
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Communication is a word of Latin origin; it means sharing—sharing of information or

intelligence. The most common medium of communication is language. While speaking we
often resort to physical gestures. We wave our hands, shrug our shoulders, smile and nod to
reinforce what we say. Besides, there are several other means of communication available to
us. We use non-linguistic symbols such as traffic lights, road signs, railway signals to convey
information relating to the movement of vehicles and trains. We also use telegraphic code for
quick transmission of messages and secret codes for communicating defence and other highly
confidential information. For communication all these codes are valid in their special frames
or reference. But it is linguistic communication with which this book is concerned. Let us,
therefore, briefly consider how it takes place.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is a process, the main components of which are sender, message, channel,
receiver and response. Exhibit 1.1 shows these components and their relationships.

Exhibit 1.1

Common frame of reference

Sender Message
Receiver Response

Channel

Sent Received

Semantic gap

Feed-back

Process of communication

The first thing to note is that in every communication situation there are two parties, a
sender and a receiver, who interact within a common frame of reference. Without a common
background, purpose, and interest there can be no effective communication.
Another important factor in the communication process is the existence of cooperation
between the sender and the receiver. If you speak to a person who is totally lost in his thoughts
or use a language he does not understand, no communication will take place. Communication,
in fact, is a social function and each community develops a common medium for the purpose.
The medium may consist of a language or code—a set of symbols which stand for certain
ideas, feelings, notions, things, etc. To encode a message, relevant symbols are selected and
arranged into a pattern to convey meaning.
The choice of the channel and the type of symbols is determined by the situation. When
addressing a conference of research workers a scientist uses technical language. He speaks
distinctly and makes suitable gestures to drive home his points. On the other hand, when he talks
to his wife and children he uses simple everyday language and speaks in an informal manner.
 Nature of Communica on 5

When the sender transmits a message, he expects a response. The response may be
immediate or deferred, favourable or unfavourable. He may, for instance, send a letter of
congratulations to a friend on his success in an examination and receive an immediate reply.
On another occasion, an application for leave may not be granted. But for this reason it has not
ceased to be a communication, only it has not produced the desired response.
The sender is naturally interested in knowing how his message has been received. The
observation of the receiver’s response is called feedback. Immediate feedback is possible
only in face to face interaction or telephonic conversation. Such communication has one
significant advantage. The sender can promptly adjust the tenor of his communication. But
oral communication by its very nature is ephemeral.
For many of our needs we resort to written communication. Though in written communication
there is no immediate feedback, yet it has other virtues which more than compensate for this
shortcoming. It gives you better control over what you wish to say. You can edit, review and
revise as often as you like. You can reproduce, multiply, store or retrieve it to suit your needs.
Further, it is convenient as you can write at leisure and the reader can handle it at his own
convenience.
Now let us take a specific situation to illustrate the communication process. Suppose you
have to place an order for a book. You write a letter (message) and send it by post (channel) to
a bookseller, and he despatches the book (response) to you. On receipt you examine the book
(feedback) to assure yourself that it is the same which you had ordered.
But all communication situations are not like the one described above. In many cases the
message fails to produce the desired response because of a semantic gap between the sender
and the receiver. The failure occurs because the sender may not be clear about his objective
or he may use inappropriate language to convey his ideas. It also occurs if the receiver is not
able to understand and interpret the message in the same way. Therefore, a great deal of
importance is attached to acquiring skills of communication in all spheres of life.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
As we have seen, communication is a natural manifestation of a complex process of human
behaviour. All of us communicate in a variety of ways and for a number of purposes. Some of
the nuances of the process are subtle and imperceptible and our specific attention has to be
drawn towards them if there is a need to refer to them for analysis or discussion. When we
talk about communication, our mind conjures up the picture of two parties interacting with
one another. This is basically true but it is only one of the major strands of the concept. The
notion has a wide semantic range and to understand it we must look at its various referents in
different situations a little more deeply.
Sometimes we talk to ourselves. A sort of internal dialogue takes place in which we command
ourselves to do something or not to do something. We weigh and consider ideas, suggestions
and take decisions to plan and execute them. In fact, even while communicating with others,
our thinking process goes on concurrently within us. Sometimes we verbalise the internal
dialogue, that is, we think aloud. You may have observed that characters in some plays think
aloud and this is presented on stage in the form of soliloquies or asides. Both the quiet dialogue
within ourself and verbalised dialogue between self and self are termed as intrapersonal
communication.
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However, as we pointed out earlier, communication mostly takes place between two parties,
namely, the sender and the receiver. Let us now briefly discuss the various types of such
communication. Our focus would be on verbal communication, that is, communication
through spoken and written words. In oral communication, non-verbal means play a
significant role. So, we have discussed them separately in Chapter 3.
We may classify communication on the basis of the following parameters:
(i) According to mode:
(a) Oral (b) Written
(ii) According to medium:
(a) Electronic (b) Print
(iii) According to number of participants in the process:
(a) Dyadic (b) Group
(iv) According to direction:
(a) One-way (b) Two-way
(v) According to purpose:
(a) General (b) Business (Specific)
These five categories are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they denote five ways of looking at
the same concept (and related activities), namely, communication. Let us discuss them briefly
one by one.

Oral and Written Communication

Oral communication is interpersonal and so it is an effective mode of discussion. It helps resolve
issues, solve problems, settle disputes and iron out differences. Since it offers immediate
feedback, it can be made flexible to suit the immediate needs and requirements of the situation
in terms of time, cost and effort it is generally more convenient and less strenuous. A lot of
business is transacted daily by means of oral communication.
Written communication tends to be relatively formal and is used when a record of
transactions is needed. It is better organised and enjoys, when required, a legal status. Even
tape-recorded statements have sometimes turned out to be fake. Often an important oral
message is confirmed by a written communication. By its very nature, it is more precise and
better structured. While one can go back on what one said, this can not be done in the case of
written communication.
Every organisation uses both the modes. It generally develops a set of practices and
conventions regarding the use of various forms of these modes. Some such forms are listed
below:
Oral Forms Briefing, lecture, seminar, group discussion, meeting, presentation, interview,
telephone conversation, face to face conversation, dictation, instruction, etc.
Written Forms Letters, reports, proposals, memos, notices, newsletters, circulars, research
papers, articles, bulletins, inhouse journals, email, faxes, manuals, handbooks, brochures,
information booklets, etc.

Communication through Print and Electronic Media

Despite spectacular development in electronic technology, print media are still widely used for
exchange and dissemination of information and transmission of knowledge. Books, journals,
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magazines and newspapers are as important today as they were ever before. There are millions
of people across the world who use these sources for gathering and storing information.
With the recent advancements in technology, electronic medium has emerged as an important
tool of communication. The use of telephones, fax machines and computers for communication
has increased considerably. Business organisations transact quite a bulk of their business
through these means. We are flooded with information through radio and television and the
use of electronic devices has strengthened the techniques of oral presentation in general and
that of formal classroom teaching in particular.

Dyadic and Group Communication

Dyadic communication is the exchange of message between two persons. Interviews (in which
only two persons interact), telephone conversations, dialogues and letters are a few examples
of this type of communication. A writer also interacts interpersonally with the reader, who is
always kept in mind while he writes. Group communication occurs when more than two persons
interact with one another. Group discussion, seminars, conferences, circulars, office orders,
oral presentations, panel discussions, etc., are some of the examples of group communication.

One-way and Two-way Communication

In one-way communication, the message is sent to a large number of people and the receivers
get almost no opportunity for personal response and feedback. The sender plays a dominant
role and the receivers are unable to interact with him effectively. Some examples of this type
are: large public meetings, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, films and other similar
means of mass communication. You may have observed that the number of feedback letters
to the editor and viewer’s comments about a TV serial, for example, are almost negligible,
considering the total number of receivers. In fact, for the sender each receiver becomes a
faceless individual with no option but to listen, to view or to read what is offered to him.
This does not in any way reduce the importance of mass communication. Take, for example,
our exposure to advertisements in print and electronic media. If we ponder for a while, we
would find that these do influence our thinking and behaviour. To highlight the importance
of mass communication we have discussed one of its roles separately in Chapter 2 entitled
Advertising Communication.
In two-way communication, the sender and the receiver keep on changing their role. In fact,
in some cases such as telephone or personal conversation, group discussion, seminars, etc., the
participants in the process interact instantly and sometimes with great intensity. If there is no
two-way communication within an organisation, it may be difficult for it to function smoothly.
Imagine, what would happen if the employees are swamped with orders, instructions and
directions without being given a chance to air their views or to convey their reactions to the
sender. Such a situation may adversely impact their productivity and creativity. To avoid
this contingency, organisations generally devise and maintain a system of downward flow,
upward flow and horizontal flow of communication. The system may also permit diagonal
flow, according to context and need, thereby cutting across the hierarchy in the organisational
structure.