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Flow of Communication: Downward, Upward, Horizontal and Diagonal
Flow of Communication: Downward, Upward, Horizontal and Diagonal
METHOD
CHANNEL DIRECTION
1. Downward
1 Formal 1. Oral
2. Upward
2. Informal 2. Written
3. Horizontal
3. Gestural
4. Diagonal
Direction or Flow of Communication
UPWARD
Diagonal
DOWN
WARD
HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION
On the basis of organization
1.Formal
2.Informal
Direction or Flow of Communication
UPWARD
Diagonal
DOWN
WARD
HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION
Formal vs. informal
communication
Formal Informal
• Formal communication • Informal communication is
follows the officially independent of the
established chain authority relations in the
of command and lines organization.
of communication.
• It is a slow moving • It carries messages at a fast
speed.
• process.
• It is not possible to fix the
It is easy to pin point the responsibility of informal
responsibility with respect communication.
to formal communication.
Formal vs. informal
communication
Formal Informal
• It is people oriented.
It is task oriented.
• It may consist of work
It consists mainly of related as well as social
work related matters. messages.
• It is erratic and
It is orderly and unsystematic as regards
systematic as regards direction of flow.
direction of flow. • It serves not only
organizational needs but
It serves organizational
also social needs of the
needs. people.
Formal vs. informal
communication
Formal Informal
• It flows in vertical, It flows in every
horizontal and diagonal possible direction.
directions.
• It can be both oral and It can be mostly
written. oral.
• The message is very The messagecan not be
accurate and authentic. considered authentic
unless it is
supplemented by formal
channels.
Formal communication
Executive Director
Manager
Vice President
A.G.M.
Supervisor 1 Supervisor 3
Supervisor 2
Manager
Supervisor
Horizontal C
Forman omm.
Formal
Communication
The flow of communication may take place vertically
along the chain of command or horizontally
between persons holding similar status in the
organizational hierarchy.
Vice Vice
President President
Efforts at coordination
A CHANNEL OR NETWORK
i Formal
ii
Informal
DIRECTION OF MESSAGE
I
Downward II
Upward
III
Horizontal
IV Diagonal
METHOD OF EXPRESSION
I. ORAL
II. WRITTEN
III. GESTURAL
CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
1.written or oral
2.formal relation
3.prescribed path
4.organisational message
5.deliberate effort
6. Authentic information
7. Identified source
Advantages of formal communication
• C
Chain
Whee
l
Formal and Informal
11/18/2003
Channels of
Communication
Wheel Network
All the sub-ordinates are of equal rank, all of them report to one
superior and interact between themselves.
Circl
e
Formal and Informal
11/18/2003
Channels of
Communication
Circle Network
The message moves in circle.
Commo
n
Formal and Informal
11/18/2003
Channels of
Communication
Free flow or all channel network
• There is no restriction in the flow of
communication.
• Everyone is free to communicate with anyone
and everyone in the organization.
• This network is informal and unstructured.
• It is very flexible.
• All are equal and everybody’s views are
equally and openly shared.
Informal communication
Communication between individuals and groups which
are not officially recognized is known as informal
communication.
Side by side with the formal channel of communication,
every organization has an effective channel of
communication – i.e., informal channel.
It consists of exchange of ideas and information resulting
from social interaction among the members of an
organization.
This communication is based on informal relations .
• Incomplete information
• Distortion
• Misunderstanding
• Incredible
• Damage to the organization
• Unreliable information
• Unsystematic communication
Incomplete information
Informal communication
r
Single strand
• In this type, information flows through a
long line of person to the ultimate
receiver.
• This chain is least accurate in passing on
the information.
2.Gossip wheel
x
S
H w
P
A
U
B
Gossip wheel
• It involves passing of information from a
person in the centre to all the other around
him.
• The chain is often used when information or a
message regarding is an interesting one but
non-job related nature is being conveyed.
3. Probability chain
u
r
p l
a
s
c w
q
Probability chain
• Here p communicates randomly with others
according to the law of probability.
• In this type of chain, individuals are indifferent
to, or not really interested in, the persons to
whom they are passing some information.
• The chain is found when the information is
somewhat interesting but not really
significant.
4. Cluster
j
n k
w
e
p l
m q
t
r
Cluster
• It involves selective communication in a
group.
• The individual communicates with only those
individuals whom he trusts.
• Out of these informal networks, the cluster
network is the most popular.
Formal Channel
1. Downward Communication
2. Upward Communication
3. Horizontal Communication
4. Diagonal Communication
Direction or Flow of Communication
UPWARD
Diagonal
DOWN
WARD
HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION
On the basis of direction
• Downward Communication
• Upward Communication
• Horizontal Communication
• Diagonal Communication
HIERARCHY LEVEL
Executive Director
Manager
Vice President
A.G.M.
Supervisor 1 Supervisor 3
Supervisor 2
Manager
Supervisor
Horizontal C
Forman omm.
Vertical/Lateral Communication
Organisation chart shows vertical
(black arrows) and lateral (green
arrows)
Board of Directors
Purpose:
Advise
Inform
Direct
Instruct
VERTICAL COMMUNICATION
• Disadvantages:
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.
VERTICAL COMMUNICATION
• Disadvantages:
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 COMMUNCATION
DOWNAR UPWARD
D
VERTICAL COMMUNCATION
Downward communication vs. Upward
communication
Downward Communication Upward Communication
• Feedback—
It helps managers in receiving
feedback from the lower levels that
helps them in carrying out the
controlling function.
• It also helps them in knowing the
working attitude of employees.
Creative ideas
• Listening
• Presenting
Listening
• Any discussion of oral communication is
incomplete without considering listening as an
important tool of communication.
• No oral communication can be effective
without proper listening.
• The recipient of the message must be
attentive and receptive.
• Poor listening may defeat the very purpose of
oral communication.
Effective Listening Skills
• Stop talking as you can not listen effectively
during talking.
• Free your mind from presumptions and
preconceived ideas by being aware of them.
• Avoid any external distraction.
• Put the talker at ease with smiling face and
sweet words, so that he can communicate
frankly and fearlessly.
Effective Listening Skills
• Demonstrate your interest in the talker’s
speech.
• Be patient and allow the talker sufficient time
to clarify his point.
• Do not interrupt him unnecessarily.
• Do not be selective and partial in listening.
• Avoid premature evaluation and judgment.
Presenting
• Ability to present one’s viewpoint is also
important for effective oral communication.
• In order to be an effective presenter, one
should present facts and not opinions.
• Keep to the point.
• Keep the listener’s interest in mind.
• Ask for feedback.
• Answer questions honestly.
Face to face communication
• The most natural way of transmitting the message.
• Helps in achieving greater co-operation and
understanding because the communicator can
convey the message both by words and expressions
or gestures.
• Listener can make queries if he has any doubt or if
he is not able to understand the message.
Advantages
• Listener’s attention
• Effect of facial expressions
• Suitable for discussions
Listener’s Attention
• It has the advantage of exercising control over
the listener’s attention.
• The speaker can effectively capture the
listener’s attention by making his message
clear and interesting.
Effect of facial expressions
Enumerative -- Numbers
Descriptive -- Size of the objects
Symbolic -- abstract concepts
Locative -- location of an object
Emphatic -- emphasis