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Meaning and Nature of Communication:
The exchange of information or passing of information, ideas or thought from one person to the other or from one end to the other is communication. -------According to McFarland communication is, “a process of meaningful interaction among human beings. More specifically, it is the process by which meanings are perceived and understandings are reached among human beings.”
----Newman and summer defined communication as “an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons
Communication is the process of passing information from one person to another. The purpose of communication understands of information. Whatever one wants to say to someone should be clearly understood by him else the very purpose of the communication would be defeated.
In an organisation communication facilitates the flow of information and understanding between different people and departments through different media using all the channels and networks. This flow of information is vital for managerial effectiveness and decision making in general and for human resource manager in particular as he has to be in contact with the managers of various departments, employees and workers and trade union leaders.
Communication thus helps understand people better removing misunderstanding and creating clarity of thoughts and expression. It also educates people. The communication may be written or oral, formal, informal, and upward, downward, horizontal, diagonal, interpersonal, intrapersonal, interdepartmental, intra-organisational.
The communication brings people together, closer to each other. The communication is an important management function closely associated with all other managerial functions. It bridges the gap between individuals and groups through flow of information and understanding between them. Information is the most vital aspect for communication. It is the information which is transmitted, studied, analyzed and interpreted and stored. The manager therefore has to spare time to collect, analyze and store the information for decision-making and routine day to day business.
Purpose of Communication:
Management is getting the things done through others. The people working in the organisation should therefore be informed how to do the work assigned to them in the best possible manner. The communication is essential in any organisation.
The purpose of the communication can be summed up into the following:
1. Flow of Information:
The relevant information must flow continuously from top to bottom and vice versa. The staff at all levels must be kept informed about the organisational objectives and other developments taking place in the organisation. A care should be taken that no one should be misinformed. The information should reach the incumbent in the language he or she can understand better. The use of difficult words should be avoided. The right information should reach the right person, at right time through the right person.
2. Coordination:
It is through communication the efforts of all the staff working in the organisation can be coordinated for the accomplishment of the organisational goals. The coordination of all personnel’s and their efforts is the essence of management which can be attained through effective communication.
3. Learning Management Skills:
The communication facilitates flow of information, ideas, beliefs, perception, advice, opinion, orders and instructions etc. both ways which enable the managers and other supervisory staff to learn managerial skills through experience of others. The experience of the sender of the message gets reflected in it which the person at the receiving end can learn by analyzing and understanding it.
4. Preparing People to Accept Change:
The proper and effective communication is an important tool in the hands of management of any organisation to bring about overall change in the organisational policies, procedures and work style and make the staff to accept and respond positively.
5. Developing Good Human Relations:
Managers and workers and other staff exchange their ideas, thoughts and perceptions with each other through communication. This helps them to understand each other better. They realize the difficulties faced by their colleagues at the workplace. This leads to promotion of good human relations in the organisation.
6. Ideas of Subordinates Encouraged:
The communication facilitates inviting and encouraging the ideas from subordinates on certain occasions on any task. This will develop creative thinking. Honoring subordinates’ ideas will further motivate them for hard work and a sense of belonging to the organisation will be developed. It will provide them with the encouragement to share information with their superiors without hesitation. The managers must know the ideas, thoughts, comments, reactions and attitudes of their subordinates and subordinates should know the same from the lowest level staff of their respective departments.
Importance of Communication:
Effective communication is vital for efficient management and to improve industrial relations. In modern world the growth of telecommunication, information technology and the growing competition and complexity in production have increased importance of communication in organisations large and small irrespective of their type and kind. A corporate executive must be in a position to communicate effectively with his superiors, colleagues in other departments and subordinates. This will make him perform well and enable him to give his hundred percent to the organisation.
The following points can illustrate the importance of communication in human resource management:
1. Base for Action:
Communication acts as a base for any action. Starting of any activity begins with communication which brings information necessary to begin with.
2. Planning Becomes Easy:
Communication facilitates planning. Planning is made easy by communication. Any type of information regarding the human resource requirement of each department of the organisation with their qualifications, the type and kinds of job etc. can be collected through communication which helps in human resource planning. Policies and programmes for their acquisition can be prepared and implemented. In the entire process communication plays a vital role, it also facilitates managerial planning of the organisation.
3. Means of Coordination:
Communication is an important tool for coordinating the efforts of various people at work in the organisation.
4. Aids in Decision-Making:
The information collected through communication aids in decision-making. Communication facilitates access to the vital information required to take decisions.
5. Provides Effective Leadership:
A communication skill bring manager near to his subordinates and exchange ideas and submits appropriate proposals, knows their opinions, seeks advices and make decisions. This enables a manager 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.
6. Boosts Morale and Motivation:
An effective communication system instills 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 manager 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.
Principles of Communication:
Lack of effective communication renders an organisation handicapped. So to have effective communication certain principles are to be followed.
They are as follows:
1. Clarity:
The principle of clarity means the communicator should use such a language which is easy to understand. The message must be understood by the receiver. The words used should be simple and unambiguous. The language should not create any confusion or misunderstanding. Language is the medium of communication; hence it should be clear and understandable.
2. Adequacy and Consistency:
The communicator must carefully take into account that the information to be communicated should be complete and adequate in all respect. Inadequate and incomplete message creates confusion and delays the action to be taken. The adequate information must be consistent with the organizational objectives, plans, policies and procedures. The message which is inconsistent may play havoc and distort the corporate interests.
3. Integration:
The principle of integration portrays that through communication the efforts of human resources of the organisation should be integrated towards achievement of corporate objectives. The very aim of communication is to achieve the set target. The communication should aim at coordinating the activities of the people at work to attain the corporate goals.
4. Economy:
The unnecessary use of communication system will add to cost. The system of communication must be used efficiently, timely i.e. at the appropriate time and when it is necessary. The economy in use of communication system can be achieved in this way.
5. Feedback:
The purpose of communication will be defeated if feedback is not taken from the receiver. The confirmation of the receipt of the message in its right perspective from its receiver fulfills the object of communication. The feedback is essential only in case of written communication and messages sent through messengers. In case of oral type of communication the feedback is immediately known.
6. Need for Communication Network:
The route through which the communication passes from sender or communicator to its receiver or communicate refers to communication network. For effective communication this network is essential. The managerial effectiveness will also depend upon the availability of adequate network.
7. Attention:
The message communicated must draw the attention of the receiver staff and ensure action from him in the right perspective. The efficient, sincere and prompt manager succeeds in drawing the attention of his subordinates to what he is conveying.
It is the psychology of the people that they watch their superiors closely and then respond to their orders or instructions. Lazy and insincere superiors fail to garner support for themselves and their instructions usually are not taken seriously by their subordinates. Adhering to the above principles shall make communication effective, minimize the human relations problems and increase the overall efficiency.