Communication Barriers - Reasons for Communication Breakdown

Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the message and passes it through some channel to the receiver who decodes the message. Communication is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by the sender is interpreted with same meaning by the receiver. If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of communication, the message will be destroyed. Due to such disturbances, managers in an organization face severe problems. Thus the managers must locate such barriers and take steps to get rid of them. There are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an organization. These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the reciever, thus making communication ineffective. It is essential for managers to overcome these barriers. The main barriers of communication are summarized below. Following are the main communication barriers: 1. Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generally how each individual interprets the world around him. All generally want to receive messages which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. For example : A person is on leave for a month due to personal reasons (family member being critical). The HR Manager might be in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate manager might think of replacement because his teams productivity is being hampered, the family members might take him as an emotional support. The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean different to different individuals. For example: consider a word value. a. What is the value of this Laptop? b. I value our relation? c. What is the value of learning technical skills? Value means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver. 2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It is

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essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to one NO PARKING sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be good and interesting). Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels), more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.

Types of Barriers in Communication

By Taffy Wagner, eHow Contributor

When communication barriers are present, it is difficult for the receiver of information to understand the message the sender is trying to convey. Critical parts of the message get lost. By familiarizing yourself with the biggest barriers in communication, you can work toward overcoming them -- and becoming a far more effective communicator.

1. Physical Barriers
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This barrier is particularly important when speaking to a group or audience. If the audience perceives you as distant from them, looking down on them, or simply not reachable, then they will not be as receptive to the message you are trying to share. For example, if you are standing on a stage and never venture out into the audience, the distance itself can send a message contrary to the one you intend.

Lack of Common Experience

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If you are using technical terms or other language your audience does not understand, you will miss the mark. Even an audience that should be sympathetic to you could end up providing negative feedback because you chose to speak only to your own level of knowledge or experience rather than considering theirs.

Language Barriers
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Buzzwords, jargon and slang are very specialized. Using them will always prevent some portion of the potential audience from understanding your message. That includes people who might benefit from your message, if it were presented in a way they understood.

Gender Barrier
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It has been demonstrated in studies that women communicate more on a regular basis than men do. Though both sexes have both kinds of communicators, women are more likely to be right-brain communicators -- abstract and intuitive. Men are more likely to be left-brain communicators -- linear and logical. Depending on your own makeup, this could be a barrier. Both men and women have to learn how to communicate in a way that allows both sexes to receive and understand the message.

Lack of Credibility
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If it's evident that you're speaking strictly from book knowledge, rather than personal experience, or if your audience does not see how what you are saying

could possibly be true, this creates a credibility problem. The audience will suspect that you don't know what you're talking about. As a sender, you need to make sure that the stories you tell don't lead the audience to question your credibility and authenticity.

Top 10 Examples Of Communication Barriers In Organization There are many barriers that affect the efficiency of an organization and Communication barriers in undoubtedly falls on the top of the list. The Top 10 examples of communication barriers in an organization or effective business communication barriers will provide you an insight into their existence and nature. The businesses are going global and hence there is an inherent need to eliminate such barriers that has the potential to affect the profitability of the businesses in the long run. Additionally it has deep impact into the morale and productivity of the workforce that can lead to problems of different nature.

The examples of effective communication barriers within an organization are the basic area that needs to be looked upon for the growth of not only the employees but the organization. These are the areas that act as hindrances and are often reason for inefficiencies. So lets now look at these barriers and see their nature and the way they exist within an organization.

1. Distance- Distance infact is major and first example of communication barrier that affect an organization. Offices located in different locations give little opportunity to people to interact in person and hence major business communication barrier exists between employees located in different offices. 2. Language- Use of different language in office premises or across different location can act as major communication barrier. This example of communication barrier encompasses the bad language used within an organization too with intent to harm the feelings and create working gap. 3. Culture- It is a challenging task at times to make people from different culture come close to each other. People prefer to live in the company of other people with known habits and traits. This is the reason culture act as barrier to effective communication within an organization. 4. Attitude/Ego-Now everyone share the same nature and friendly attitude within an organization. Workplace personality conflicts arise because of habit and ego of people. These reasons again lead to communication barrier within an organization.

5. Hierarchy-The presence of hierarchy within organization is another example of effective communication barrier. A common example the People below the hierarchy generally find it difficult to approach and talk to their superior. 6. Written Communication- Communication written badly without use of proper language generally leads to confusion and can act as barrier to communication. The difference verbal and written communication gets reflected in form of an example of communication barrier within an organization. 7. Gender- Gender sometimes does act as a barrier to communication within an organization. People find it comfortable to talk, confide and relate to people from same gender and hence this leads to ineffective communication. 8. Focus/Listening- Inability of employees to interpret the information or provide adequate focus leads to ineffective communication. The reason can be nature of subject or nature of employees but this example of communication barrier is very much pertinent. 9. Knowledge-Inadequate knowledge within a function act as major hindrance when it concerns the communication within or outside the group. People with bad or poor functional knowledge generally pose problems within a group too 10. Relationship- Groupism, favoritism, friendship etc and many other similar sort of association is another example of communication barrier within an organization. Many things happen to us naturally without our knowledge and existence of communication barriers is one of them. This does leads to a loss not at organizational level but at individual levels too. The top 10 examples of communication barriers is a checklist to help you improve in respective areas. Work on them and you would find the difference for yourself.

4 Barriers to Effective Communication & What to Do About Them

Im wondering how many words have actually been written about communication. Suffice it to say there have been a great many. I suppose it is because we havent cracked it yet, this ability to convey messages so that what we say is heard in the way we mean it and conversely what we hear is received in the way it was meant. Indeed, the road to clarity always seems to be under construction. Even if we try to simplify our communication processes, barriers come up that can sabotage the message and render it ineffective by the time it gets to those who must act on it. There are a lot of reasons for this. Here are four that come to mind for me. Cultural Barriers There are many factors that make up what we refer to as culture but to me, cultural difference is about attitudes and beliefs that come from our personal environment and experience. As such, two people could get the same message but interpret it in two entirely different ways simply because their frames of reference and language differ. Here is an example from a Scandinavian advertising campaign. It was developed for the vacuum cleaner Manufacturer, Electrolux, then interpreted and used, without modification, in the companys American campaign. It read, Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux What To Do

Consider the cultural makeup of the intended audience. Seek to understand where there are differences. Fashion the message to ensure that it says what you mean and also takes those differences into account.

Linguistic Barriers Variance in expression or colloquialism is common even among those who speak the same language. When my parents brought our family to Canada from England, there were a lot of expressions we used that were interpreted differently in our new country. This once placed my mother in an embarrassing situation when she was sitting around a table with her co-workers one day discussing the time they each got up in the morning to get ready for work. When it came to my mothers turn to speak, she said, My husband knocks me up every morning at 7:30. It was only after the laughter had died down did someone explain to her the North American meaning associated with what she had just said.

What To Do

Minimize the use of slang and idioms when delivering the message Keep the language used in the message simple and as free as possible from business speak or (dare I say it) sports metaphors. Make clarity and simplicity the goal over showcasing linguistic ability.

Biases We all have them. Bias is, after all, shaped by our experiences and who we are. It becomes an obstacle to effective communication though when we consciously or subconsciously choose to speak only to those who are more likely to understand and agree with us. Its natural. But in leadership, it is also important to extend the reach of our message to those whose biases do not necessarily align with our own. The workplace, for example, now employs more than one generation of people. Each generation has its view of the world. Each generation also has its challenges. And yet, the messages you send must finds ways to reach and engage everyone to be effective. What To Do

Acknowledge your own biases first Look through the lens of those who are least likely to align with your views Listen. Fashion your message to include something that everyone can relate to.

Assumptions It was Oscar Wilde who said, When you assume, you make an ass out of U and Me Assumptions sabotage effective communication and have the potential to lead everyone down unintended paths. For instance, you may assume that because people are nodding while you speak, they understand and agree with what you are saying. Similarly, if you invite questions about your message and get none, it would be easy to assume there are none. The truth is, few people will risk the potential embarrassment of being the only one who doesnt agree with or understand your message or doesnt know what to ask. To assume they do would be a mistake. What to do

Work on the basis that all your assumptions could be false Make your assumptions known to others to determine their validity Anticipate questions and concerns that could come out of your message and bring them up to encourage conversation

Host Country National Law & Legal Definition

A host-country national (HCN) is an employee who is a citizen of a country in which an organization's branch or plant is located, but the organization is headquartered in another country. An impediment to hiring HCNs is that such employees may not understand the parent companys culture. To deal with this issue, companies may base hiring decisions on certain criteria that serve to increase identification with the company and its values. Many countries have national localization policies that require firms to hire locals rather than international employees when at all feasible. Some of the legal issues that arise in connection with employment of HCNs include determining which country's labor laws and tax laws are applicable.

Parent Country National Law & Legal Definition

A parent-country national is a person working in a country other than their country of origin. Such a person is also referred to as an expatriate. Long periods of assignment (perhaps 4 5 years or more) may run the risk of de facto employee status in the host country, so that labor laws or the host country apply. A U.S. parent-country national residing abroad still owes U.S. taxes each year on his or her worldwide income. The US has income tax treaties with over 35 other countries. The IRS and the foreign taxing authorities can exchange information on their citizens living in the other country. Qualifying U.S. citizens and residents working outside the United States are permitted to elect to exclude a portion of their foreign earned income under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). This section provides a general exclusion limited to a specified amount, another exclusion measured by foreign housing costs, and, for self-employed persons, a foreign housing cost deduction. To qualify for the foreign earned income and housing cost exclusions, the individual must have foreign earned income, his or her tax home must be in a foreign country, and he or she must meet either of two tests: The bona fide residence test, which requires the taxpayer to be a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes a full tax year, or The physical presence test, which requires the individual to be present in a foreign country or countries at least 330 full days during a period of 12 consecutive months.

A U.S. citizen may qualify under either the bona fide residence or physical presence test. A U.S. resident alien working abroad can qualify under the physical presence test, and in certain limited cases, tax treaty nondiscrimination rules may permit qualification under the bona fide residence rule.

Third Country National Law & Legal Definition

A third country national (TCN) is an employee who is not a citizen of the home or host countries. For example, a French National working in the Hong Kong subsidiary of a US company would be considered a TCN employee. Various laws and treaties govern which country's labor laws and taxation apply to third country nationals. Expatriates can be identified as domestic employees of a multinational company or its subsidiary with a foreign assignment, whereas third country nationals or TCNs are employees of a multinational company that work in a foreign country and do not have the citizenship of the parent company's home country or the country of employment.