1.

4 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ·
• 1 f th rganization and all the departments em.
Communication is an integra ta~oothe:;are involved in the transfer of info;rnatlo1oye
of the departments, managemen . an k lf the levels equipped with th 11 &
ideas from one point to another m order to ma e a . . e Update
• formation.
m • TIus • V'!ill m
• turn help in achievement of the goals of the orgaruzahon effectt
Ve
. and efficiently. . . , •
• There are basically three types of commun1cahon-
, (a) Vertical Communication.
(b) Horizontal Communication.
•(c) Diagonal Communication.
They are further bifurcated or divided as-
• • (a) Vertical Communication-
. 1. Downward Communicatiqn:
2. Upward Communication.
(b) Horizontal Comm~ication or Lateral Communication.
(c) Diagonal Communication or Crosswise Communication.
(a) Vertical Communication-
This type of communication takes place between the superior and the subordinate an
takes two forms- • • ·
1. Downward Comryiunication- .
This type of communication takes pla~e from top level to the lower level of managemen
i.e. ,from superior (o the subordinates. In this, the top level managers pass different kind
of information to the lower level so as to keep the lower level employees informed. This i
necessary because it enables the employees to take the decisions judiciously.
For Example-
The Top-level of the organization,'formulating the Company's policy and passing to th
 Communication 93

as to make them aware of the compan 's rul . . ill enable

vel so ke decisions of the organiz t' y es, regulations which w
r Je .~s to ta a 10n. .
;e }Or
~eJ]'P 9
of downward communication-
",.. 9 for,11 N . p
..io&J 1•cies, Reports, otices, rocedures and oth
ii''' ~ po 1 • d ers.
ordei"'fortl's are commuru~ate to the lower level through various means like written •
11'e5e. ation via reports, circulars and others: oral communication via telephones and
.,,11111c It audio-visual means.
c011' tt,t0US •
,~" oemerlts of Downward Communication • •
,,,d
,,,ns_ S DEMERITS
r.(~ff a}ces the employees :~are of the • It is time-consuming as information
, It inaruzation rules, regu ations and goals. passes through long hierarchies.
0 • The information may get distorted
~ : mployees satisfaction and make
, ~::f:el a me~ber of the organization. as it passes through long channels.
uiforntS the employees as to-what is
, Jt ted from them. . , '
rd ·communication- •. • •• • i • . . .-
, upwa
"'
• • ak- • 1 f
. type of comrnurucah~n t es place from lower level management to the top leye 0
~ ent i.e. frofil: subordinates to the ·superiors. In this, the lower level wor~ers pass on
lfl~ getntine information, reports, and outcomes to the top level management in order to keep
ttieir ~;are of the progress of th~ organization, its working, problems so faced by the-lower
thetn kel'S and others. - , . . •
1e\Tt?l wor .. . . . .
. an effective means of making lower level employees involve in the orgaruzation, the
1
\:~ees even co~unicate their prob~ems and grievances to the top level so as to make
etnP aware of it and in turn develop a sense of familiarity in the organization. •
thetn . \ •. • -
For EXample- • , . .- • . . . .-... . . .•. ,
As,sistant manager of a company giving regul~ reports to the Manage~ pertaining tQ the
performance of the orga~tion,-_ ·-· • __
Methods of Upward Communication- . \ . .. _ _ .. .
•. Suggestion boxes- Suggestion boxes are installe~ at different locations of t!:te company -
_so that employees cax:,. drop in_!heir suggestions or ideas for the rnanage_ment. _
, Questionnaires- .In order to identify the problems in• the areas of management;
questionnaires are given to the workers to fill it in order. to develop an. <;>ptimum
solution to the problem. • .:.. . • ;; •· i , . 1 , ..

• • Open door policy-This is an effective means in which workemate givenan opportunity

to speak their heart out and communicate their prob ttrih~ I eJ..1ij • • ·., •
• Ombudsman- Ombudsman is the complaint offi
the matters of the employee's complaints and
and provides an optimum solution to the einp
94 Pei:9ona1ity_p~•elogment & Communication Skills-I

Merits and Demerits of Upward Communication

j

MERITS DEMERITS
• Managers are able to receive creative· • It is a time-consuming process d
ideas from the lower level. long hierarchies. ue to
• Resistance to change is reduced by the • Develop a feeling of insecurity am
employees as they develop a positive the employees. 0
ng
feeling towards the organization.
• Develop a sense of employee
involvement in the organization.

(b) Horizontal or Lateral Communication-

Horizontal communication or the lateral communication is the one in which communi .
takes place among the members of the different departments, but at the same level. It ~alsotion
known as Inter-depar°!1ental communication, whi~ is very important as the organ:a . •
aims to achieve its goals as a whole rather than as individual departmental goals. tion
Horizontal communication can take place in the form of written communication or ev
orally. Written form can include the departmental head of one department sending report~
the departmental head of the Marketing department. However, in oral communication th 0
can communicate on telephone. . • ey
For Example-
• The manager of the HR· (Human Resource) department ~d Marketing depa!:_tment can
communicate_ among themselves in order t9 exchange information for performing their work
and_as a result contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organization.
There are various modes of Horizontal Communication - ~ritten or Oral. In Written
form,· the communication can be undertaken through letters, circulars, notices, reports and
others. • ·' • • . . •
However, in Oral communication the communication can be undertaken through spoken
words, telephonic c_onyersations _and others•
.
Merits and Demerits of Horizontal Comm~nlcation
Merits • Demerits

a. It helps in smooth flow of information in the a: Sometimes conflicts may arise

organization.. _ • .
b. It brings about coordination among in their
employees in the org~t ion. mew things
c. Quick decis,on-making c_an be tak pon their
organization. •
d. It de~elops a sense of trust and co
the organization.
 Communication 95
'
\
~
ofagonal communication or Cros swise Communic~ti~n-
. . . - •.
(c) • ti.
a on or ~ro ~w
.
ise co ~u n1 ca tio n 1s the one tha t takes place across the
Diagonal commu~uc ~ em plo yee wo rki ng at a lower level interac
ts
m an org ani zat ion . In _this,
ctions and levels at a hig her level. Diagonal communicatio
n
of ano th~ r de pa ~e nt and
~th other emplo yee
an d the~~ are no limits in communication.
rie s of the org ani za~ ~n
:ts across bounda -· ....

. For Ex~mple- . duction

resentativ e of the Sa les dep art ment communicating with the Pro
Sales rep -
ager of the Pro du ctio n dep ~rt me nt regarding certain reports. .
ntan
unication
Merits and Demerits of Diagonal Comm
Merits
• Demerits
(i.e. one
ps cor qia l rel atio ns am on g a. It violates the uni ts of -command
a. It dev elo ord ina te : interacting ONLY ·with his
. _ . sub
the employees. . . inu ned iate boss), which creates con
flicts.
eff icie ncy . in. ·. ~e anization.
b.. It increases the b.-. -It eve n create-confusions in the org
organization. ' . • .
yee s
c. It enables the low er lev ei ein plo
to interact wi th the hig her . on e and
this. in tur n boosts· the .mo rai e o(,. the • I

em lo ees. •
. . .
t
.
N •• -· .
1.5 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATIO y or p~ ~S '-
is d~ fin ed as· ~u+ h-i n wh ich impedes or' breakdowns any activitke anything a
B~r rier ma.kes .it.d·ifficult to ma
bl
· pro em , a
B~,....;er IS • • run dr'a n
l,A~ ce.go r an
_ ._
obs tacle
.-
·which
,. -·
a · -' • , -.-
~· re people. However,
•
1.U.U

success. · · , • · •-. ·. • '. =•

bet
•
we en two or mo
. , . -~ .. ~. . . : i information ideasti rocess a fail ure •
O ' •
Communication IS .a flow mu rudca to ~ receiver, certain bar . rier s com e.in the
tain bar rie rs wh ich ma kes com •
,there are cer . . th ess age fro m the sen er o s ine ffec tive. • • -
Wh ·1 . em . tiori proces
. . 1 e tra nsm itti ng ht time, otherwise they wil l make •
~e com m; i;~ :rie rs at the rig
. ?1ooth flow and -~ tUI'll:
8 ma_ ke - _· • •
is ver y im p~ rta nt t~ nu~ gat ! su • . •
- So, it •
ns
th~ com mu nic atio n proc~ss ine ffi~ ~io
Nl~ AT IO~ - •
liYPes· oF eA R~ IER S TO coM MU
. ,
1.• Se ~t ic or Lan gua ge Barrier~-
. al d Mechanic al Baar1ers.• ,
2. Phy sic ~ . .
~. Org ani zat ion al Ba rne rs.
4. Per son al Barriers. : . • • I

. ,,, thus, semantic .

.
riers_- is..der . G, k , rd "Sema,, meani.ng " sig ns
I. S& ~an tlc Bar ' ••tic" ived from a . ree wo
,,
. Language is an important tool of communication
••. Th e word ,,: m: 'e of wo rds and signs" patibility
persons. If there is com
munication between
definedbasles toeachieve an effective com
JS .
.wh ich ena
 96 r,nonality De,,lopmtnl & Communlc•tfon Sklll ►I

of language between two persons who are communicating, then the communic ti0
out ~o be effective, otherwise not. a n wu1
When there is incompatibility in languages, then Semantic barrier arises. ~"1\
Typn of Semantic baniera-
a. Symbols with different meanings: These barriers arises because the
words or symbols which have different meanings, which as a resultre0are <:erta·
1
receiver and the sender and in tum hampers the communication process. ; 0 n1uSes ~
In an Organization, the word 'Cost' is meant as Cost of human resourc ;£~alllp~
Department, Marketing Cost for the Marketing department, Sales cost': or th,~
department, as a result create confusions in the organization. or the s~•tt
b. Faulty translation: In the organization, the employees receives a lot more inf '-
on a daily basis and many a times the information is translated in faulty ~l'lnctijot\
manner which reap up confusions or misinterpretations. These .incorrect :r U\co~
st
makes the communication ineffective as the essence of the information is losant. "tiot\s
c. Using jargons and codes• Jargons are inappropriate words which hazn
communication process. In _organizations, people us_e jargons and codes Whicrr the
. it difficult to be W1derstood by others, thus many persons remain uninfonn rnc1~
thus problems arises as they are not a1'le to understand the meanings of the wo ~d8 aJl<t
Example-A Jargon "Hammer it out" is use~ many a·times in organization; ·~ot
"to type·something up", howe~er employe~s misunderstood or misinterpret i::ng
.a times. • • . . an,
d. Specialized language- A .Perso~ having proficiency _in }heir s~ecialist· lan a
tend to use such _langu~ge m therr day•tCKlay comrnumca~on, which in turn st&e,
, the communication with other employees as they are ignorant of that speO:I
language. For Example- A tech:nical personnel, may ~se technical language hist
•h• • • •• t d b th w le
. co~unicating with _oth~rs, wh1c 1n turn 1s m~s1n ~rpret~ y o er einployees.
• e. penotative barriers-~enotati~e means the liter~! o~ the ~traight forward meanin
of the word. D~notative barners are those barners 1n which· the sender.as Well g
the receiver disagre~ over· the straight me~g of the word· and produce diffe~
meanings of the word, whiq1 result in _co~1ons. For Examp_Ie• !he word "braces" .
in American English means the metalbc structures used to ~dJust the teeth, however
. in British English, ~t i~ a part ~f clothing. •, . . . .
• f. Connotative barriers•. Connotative means attaching certain associatio~ along ·With
_the literal mea~g of the word. M~y a times, peo~le a~ch certain associations with
the word dep~nding upon their culture, emotio~,. ~~tions and oth~rs. Fo_r ~~ple-
The word "God" is associ~ted differ~ntly with ·g1o~r cu,Jtures. .

2. Physical and Mechanical Barriers

' \

• Physical and mechanical barri~rs includes th

organization, which causes problems in the co
(a) Noise- Noise is the interference which
communicating among themselves. No·
• Physi_cal Noise• It includes- g
 . ' Communication 97

• , Psychological nois'e• It includes ego of the receiver,

• £atigue
• • and
or anxiety
others. . . '

• Electronic noise- It includes-poor telephone

. connecti d
ons, soun of typewriters
• •
and o thers. • .
All s~h inter:ferences disturb the entire communication process_. _
(b) •Distance-Distance too plays an important role in com~unication. If the s~nder as well
as the receiver is at long distances then there are prol?lems in communicating among
themselves. For ~x~mple- If the sender needs strong telephone connection facilities
· to commun~cate with the sender, but due to ·connection problems he is not able to
- do so, which in tum creates probleips in communicating. • • •• • •
(c) Tune- Reaching·of the messag~ to the sender when it is actually needed is time. For
Example- Due to weak internet connections, the sender was not able to communicate·
·' .the message at the right time, when it was needed, which harms the communication
. . ' . ' . •
process. · • • . • '• • • -
' (cl) Information Overload- It means excess information is passed from the sender to
_ ·. the receiver, as a result making it difficult for the receiver to digest, understand and
·· · •. interpret its meaning" Information· overload should be avoided as it lea!is to more
· • wastage ra~her than usage. • •• • •
. .

. 9rganizational Barriers- ~ . . . • _. , .
. ~ there are prOblems ~ th~ organization structure, its culture, and !ts
~ystem, the
~munication process is_ distorted and thus effects the efficiency of the orgaruzatton•.•••
• w • • • •

,es of• organizational

•
barriers- • ~•
th h.
. . .. .
hy iri the orgaruzation 1s too long, w c
hi h
.. (a) Long hierarchy- lylany a times, ~ ier~rc . f For Example- If in an
in turn act as an impediment to effective commuruc: ion; level .then the' message
.· organization, there are m~ny level$ be~een tohp ant ;::ous le;els; as a result the
I
that needs to be communicated.
need to pass t •roug . . •• •~ .
• : m~ssage loses its essence. . • • . •. . ~ s~m"etimes, the authority and
.t> Not clearly defined authority and responsibfint!llYd cl r}v which creates confusions
responsibilityof individualemployeesarenotde e ea 'h'' • • • ._ • •• • ••
· · h t • - xpected from t em.
as employees remain unaware as to w a is e .. • • h' h ~eans that there
c) o . . . b . all two-way process w 1c _
. ne-way flow- Commwucation IS asic Ya d and the receiver. However,
~f~m~tualinteractionand conversationbetwee~ t~ese~ ~e top level (sender) giving
· 1 man • . • . ommun1cation 1.e. • ) h th·
.. ?rg~atjon there 1s one-w~y c . f th lower level (receiver , t en ts
lllStruc?ons and not listening to the problems
O
~ • •• '
(d) p
one-w • b]
ay communication reaps up pro ems. £
•
ganizations to have a _well-
• portant 1or or
oor co · ·
define DUnunication policy- It is very _un unication effective and create
a c . d com~~cation policy so as to make;~velopment of the ~mp!oyees.
lio:ate ~h1ch 15 conducive to the growth . . n policy is poor wluch m turn
et, ever,_ m· some organizations the communicatio • •
( ) eates confu . . . . • • • • ••
e Rigid s1ons m the orgamza tion. . . tion has such rigid or stringent
tu!es :es and regulations- Mally a tunes, the or~ari::n process as they may support
· regulation whi~h hampers the communica
98 Personality Development & Communication Skills-I

communication which is not correct practically and

thus affect the org ~
- , anization to,
_ -large level.
4. Personal Barriers-
"
ich act as barriers in the comzn .
Some~es; the person itselfhas certaµ1 problems wh . Unicati00
process. Types of personal. barriers- . . _ •
.
the ~ceiver blocks the commun·1 .
(a) Inatt~~ti~n-Many~ ti~es the_lack of attention by
ces s as the sen de~ 1s sen dm g the me ssag e, how ever the receiver is not list ~ation
, pro
rnunication process. For ~!ling to
• it with ·fun attention thus impeding _the entire ~m
preparation of a report ~Ple.
The superior is giving instructions regarding the
om ing me etin g, how eve r the imp orta nce of tha t communication .will b i°r a_n
upc . e ost ij
t time. .
the subord~ate is thinking of someth~g else at tha
Ego clas hes -· Som etim es ~hi le the sen der is giv ~g infor_mation to the receiver
(b)
ego wdl be affected if he feels:
up certain ego clashes among them as the ~ender,,s
, th~s this feeling Will affect~
someo~e_els: is giving him instructions and ~ling him .
commurucation process. .
(c) Premature evaluation- It happens that wh
en the sender is giving information to th
tion bef ore it is actually delivered be
receiver,
the sen der
he
.
mig
Thi s
ht
cre
eva
ates
lua te
pro
the
ble ms
·ent
in
ire
the
info
co_
rma
mm unic ation proces~ as the information l
ng. ~ • •_ ·
evaluate~ much before actually interpreting its meani
(d) Attitudes and beliefs-· Attitudes and belie($
of the receiver too act as barriers in
tch with the attitudes and beliefs
communication. If message by the sender dosnotma ult problems in
rece iver ~ the n the rece iver doe s •
of the eandbeliefsof
communication process·arise. How ilive about it
the receiver are in accordance wi positively
For Exa mp le- A new inc rem ent
ploying
by the emp~oyees of the ·org •
young people from outside wi der
(e) Selective per cep tion - The _ ... lb
is com mu nic atin g the me ssag ·er in
information which suit s his or
the entire communication p •
(f) State of· health- The health
communication process. H
communication will be ,·ft,~

properly.