1. The components of the communication process
Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non verbal messages. It is a
continuous process. Pre-requisite of communication is a message. This message must be
conveyed through some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be
understood by the recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within
a time frame. Thus, communication is a two way process and is incomplete without a
feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by him.
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Communication Process
The main components of communication process are as follows:
1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This
context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication
proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a
context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender
makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and
produce the required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training
for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an
organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge
of the sender have a great impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols
chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in
the same terms as intended by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign
that elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding
about the message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the
message is clear.
4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender
must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message
might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of
communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted
by the recipient. This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the
features of communication. For instance - Written medium is chosen when a message
has to be conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when
spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared
then and there.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is
intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message
is dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their
responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.

2. 6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits
the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the
correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through
words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in
form of memos, reports, etc.
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The importance of feedback
Receivers are not just passive absorbers of messages; they receive the message and respond
to them. This response of a receiver to sender’s message is called Feedback. Sometimes a
feedback could be a non-verbal smiles, sighs etc. Sometimes it is oral, as when you react to a
colleague’s ideas with questions or comments. Feedback can also be written like - replying to
an e-mail, etc.
Feedback is your audience’s response; it enables you to evaluate the effectiveness of your
message. If your audience doesn’t understand what you mean, you can tell by the response
and then refine the message accordingly.
Giving your audience a chance to provide feedback is crucial for maintaining an open
communication climate. The manager must create an environment that encourages feedback.
For example after explaining the job to the subordinated he must ask them whether they have
understood it or not. He should ask questions like “Do you understand?”, “Do you have any
doubts?” etc. At the same time he must allow his subordinated to express their views also.
Feedback is essential in communication so as to know whether the recipient has understood
the message in the same terms as intended by the sender and whether he agrees to that
message or not.
There are lot of ways in which company takes feedback from their employees, such as :
Employee surveys, memos, emails, open-door policies, company news letter etc. Employees
are not always willing to provide feedback. The organization has to work a lot to get the
accurate feedback. The managers encourage feedback by asking specific questions, allowing
their employees to express general views, etc. The organization should be receptive to their
employee’s feedback.
A manger should ensure that a feedback should:
1. Focus on a particular behaviour - It should be specific rather than being general.
2. Impersonal - Feedback should be job related, the manager should not criticize anyone
personally.
3. Goal oriented - If we have something negative to say about the person, we should
always direct it to the recipients goal.
4. Well timed - Feedback is most effective when there is a short gap between the
recipients behaviour and the receipt of that feedback.
5. Use “I” statements - Manager should make use of statements with the words like “I”,
“However” etc. For example instead of saying”You were absent from work
yesterday”, manager should say”I was annoyes when you missed your work
yesterday”.
6. Ensure understanding - For feedback to be effective, the manager should make sure
that the recipients understands the feedback properly.

3. 7. While giving negative feedback to the recipient, the manager should not mention the
factors which are not in control of the recipient.
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8.
Communication Flows in an Organization
In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions-
1. Downward
2. Upward
3. Lateral
4. Diagonal
5. External
1. Downward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows from a higher level
in an organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words,
communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward
communication. This communication flow is used by the managers to transmit work-related
information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this
information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their
managers. Downward communication is used by the managers for the following
purposes -
Providing feedback on employees performance
Giving job instructions
Providing a complete understanding of the employees job as well as to
communicate them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.
Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.
Highlighting the areas of attention.
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc are
all examples of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free
downward communication, managers must:
 Specify communication objective
 Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous.
 Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the
receiver in right form
2. Upward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows to a higher level in an
organization is called upward communication. It provides feedback on how well the
organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward communication to convey
their problems and performances to their superiors.

4. The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have
understood the downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to
share their views and ideas and to participate in the decision-making process.
Upward communication leads to a more committed and loyal workforce in an
organization because the employees are given a chance to raise and speak
dissatisfaction issues to the higher levels. The managers get to know about the
employees feelings towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in general.
Managers can thus accordingly take actions for improving things.
Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction
surveys etc all help in improving upward communication. Other examples of Upward
Communication are -performance reports made by low level management for
reviewing by higher level management, employee attitude surveys, letters from
employees, employee-manager discussions etc.
3. Lateral / Horizontal Communication: Communication that takes place at same
levels of hierarchy in an organization is called lateral communication, i.e.,
communication between peers, between managers at same levels or between any
horizontally equivalent organizational member. The advantages of horizontal
communication are as follows:
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It is time saving.
It facilitates co-ordination of the task.
It facilitates co-operation among team members.
It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members.
It helps in solving various organizational problems.
It is a means of information sharing
It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department
or conflicts within a department.
4. Diagonal Communication: Communication that takes place between a manager and
employees of other workgroups is called diagonal communication. It generally does
not appear on organizational chart. For instance - To design a training module a
training manager interacts with an Operations personnel to enquire about the way they
perform their task.
5. External Communication: Communication that takes place between a manager and
external groups such as - suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes etc. For
instance - To raise capital the Managing director would interact with the Bank
Manager.

5. Grapevine Communication (Informal Business Communication)
Grapevine is an informal channel of business communication. It is called so because it
stretches throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Man
as we know is a social animal. Despite existence of formal channels in an organization, the
informal channels tend to develop when he interacts with other people in organization. It
exists more at lower levels of organization.
Grapevine generally develops due to various reasons. One of them is that when an
organization is facing recession, the employees sense uncertainty. Also, at times employees
do not have self-confidence due to which they form unions. Sometimes the managers show
preferential treatment and favour some employees giving a segregated feeling to other
employees. Thus, when employees sense a need to exchange their views, they go for
grapevine network as they cannot use the formal channel of communication in that case.
Generally during breaks in cafeteria,the subordinates talk about their superior’s attitude and
behaviour and exchange views with their peers. They discuss rumours about promotion and
transfer of other employees. Thus, grapevine spreads like fire and it is not easy to trace the
cause of such communication at times.
Examples of Grapevine Network of Communication
1. Suppose the profit amount of a company is known. Rumour is spread that this much profit is
there and on that basis bonus is declared.
2. CEO may be in relation to the Production Manager. They may have friendly relations with
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each other.
Pros and Cons of Grapevine Communication
Advantages of Grapevine Communication
1. Grapevine channels carry information rapidly. As soon as an employee gets to know some
confidential information, he becomes inquisitive and passes the details then to his closest
friend who in turn passes it to other. Thus, it spreads hastily.
2. The managers get to know the reactions of their subordinates on their policies. Thus, the
feedback obtained is quick compared to formal channel of communication.
3. The grapevine creates a sense of unity among the employees who share and discuss their
views with each other. Thus, grapevine helps in developing group cohesiveness.
4. The grapevine serves as an emotional supportive value.
5. The grapevine is a supplement in those cases where formal communication does not work.
Disadvantages of Grapevine Communication
1. The grapevine carries partial information at times as it is more based on rumours. Thus, it
does not clearly depicts the complete state of affairs.
2. The grapevine is not trustworthy always as it does not follows official path of
communication and is spread more by gossips and unconfirmed report.
3. The productivity of employees may be hampered as they spend more time talking rather
than working.

6. 4. The grapevine leads to making hostility against the executives.
5. The grapevine may hamper the goodwill of the organization as it may carry false negative
information about the high level people of the organization.
A smart manager should take care of all the disadvantages of the grapevine and try to
minimize them. At the same time, he should make best possible use of advantages of
grapevine.
Reference: Management Study Guide: Free Training for students and Entrepreneurs.
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