Business Communication

Week One
By David LIN
davidganglin@gmail.com

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 Communication
characteristics and
competence
Section 1
A

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 The importance of
communication at work
The competency/skill listed most often in job
advertisements was communication combined
with a variety of adjectives ranging from
excellent, the most common to superior,
advanced, well-developed, proven, outstanding
and natural. Being a team player was most
favourite followed closely by interpersonal
skills.
(Bamford, 2000, p. 13)
Communication: Organisation and Innovation
Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 Why study communication?
 The growth of technology
 Social alienation is growing
 Physical well-being

 Survival of the human race

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 Dimensions in
Communication
 Verbal
 Non-verbal
 Mediated
 Unmediated

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 Skill Sets
 Thinking and Feeling
 Acting and Observing
 Speaking and Listening
 Writing and Reading

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
 Levels of communication
 Level one: Intrapersonal communication or the
experience of the individual.
 Level two: Interpersonal communication.
 Level three: Group communication.
 Level four: Organisational communication, including:
 internal organisational communication
 external organisational communication.
 Level five: Mass communication

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Communication theory
Section 1
B

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
What is a theory?

 It explains information or behaviour that has

been observed.
 It is useful because it can be applied to
questions about observed behaviour to analyse
or explain it.
 It can be used to suggest solutions to
problems, or improvements to a situation.

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Why a model?
A model simplifies a theory.
 It can aid our thinking about a concept or idea.
 It maps something abstract and presents it in a
visual form.
 It shows the major elements in relationship to
each other.

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Components of the
communication process
 Participants
 Sender: the participant transmitting the message.
 Receiver: the participant receiving the message.
 Encoding: The translation of a message (thoughts
or ideas of the sender) into words or symbols that
the receiver will understand.
 Decoding: The translation by the receiver of words
or symbols (the encoded message) into thoughts or
ideas.
Communication: Organisation and Innovation
Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Components of the
communication process
 Channel: The route through which
communication takes place
 Context: The situation/environment in which
communication occurs. Includes time, place
and socio/psychological factors
 Perception: A person’s understanding or
interpretation of a particular event/message.

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Components of the
communication process
 Purpose: what the sender and receiver intend
as the outcome of the communication.
 Barriers (sometimes known as noise):
anything that interferes with effective
communication.

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
An integrated or shared meaning
model of communication

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
An integrated or shared meaning
model of communication

Communication: Organisation and Innovation

Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005
Principles of communication
 We communicate with others: it is a two-way process
 Communication is a collection of signals; is it is more
than words
 Communication is always on two levels:
 content and relational
 Communication is punctuated
 Communication is inevitable
 Communication is irreversible
 Communication is unrepeatable
 Communication is rarely completely understood
Communication: Organisation and Innovation
Lecturer’s Guide
© Pearson Education New Zealand 2005