Elements of Directing - Communication

• The word communication is derived from the Latin word "communis", meaning "common".
• Communication involves exchange of facts, ideas, opinions, and emotions to create common understanding.
• It is described as a "bridge of meaning" between people.
• Communication is a life-long activity - from a crying infant to interactions in school and office.

• "Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons." - Newman and Summers
• "Communication is the sum-total of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuing process of telling, listening and understanding." - Allen
• "Administrative communication is a process which involves the transmission and accurate replication of ideas ensured by feedback for the purpose of eliciting actions which will accomplish organisational goals." - Scott
• Communication is transfer of information from the sender to the receiver with the information being understood by the receiver. - Harold Koontz and Heniz Weihrich
• Communication is a process by which people create and share information with one another in order to reach common understanding. - Rogers

• Two-way process – involves both sender and receiver.
• Ongoing/continuous activity throughout life.
• Vital for organisations – essential for the functioning of all organisations.
• Aims at mutual understanding between parties.
• Includes ideas and emotions – tone, facial expressions, and gestures are part of communication.
• Flows through organisational networks (formal and informal).
• Requires at least one sender and one receiver.
• Dynamic in nature - changes with context and situations.
• Goal-oriented - always has a purpose.
• Interdisciplinary – draws from multiple fields of knowledge.

Examples of Noise:

• Ambiguous symbols
• Poor phone connection
• Inattentive receiver
• Faulty decoding
• Prejudices
• Misleading gestures/postures

• Coordination - links all parts of the organisation.
• Smooth functioning - keeps operations running efficiently.
• Decision making - provides the information needed for decisions.
• Managerial efficiency - helps managers perform their roles effectively.
• Cooperation and industrial peace - reduces conflict between management and workers.
• Leadership - a manager's directing ability depends largely on communication skills.
• Morale and motivation - boosts employee morale and motivates them.

• Early methods: Oral messages, signals using drums, smoke, flags.
• Written communication: Dependent on transport - letters carried by hand, animals, boats, rail, motor vehicles.
• Modern telecommunication: Telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, satellite, computer - made communication largely independent of transport.
• Postal services still depend on transport networks.

• Communication derives from Latin communis - means creating common understanding.
• It is a two-way, dynamic, goal-oriented, and continuous process.
• The communication process has 8 key elements: sender, message, encoding, channel, decoding, receiver, feedback, and noise.
• Noise can be physical, psychological, or semantic - it distorts the message.
• A manager's directing effectiveness depends heavily on communication skills.
• Communication serves 7 key managerial purposes: coordination, functioning, decision-making, efficiency, cooperation, leadership, and morale.