Effective Business Communication

Communication is the life blood of social as well as business world. We cannot ignore its importance. We exist because we communicate. Man as a social animal has to communicate. The word Communication is derived from Latin word ‘communis’ that means to ‘share’ or ‘participate’. Communication is the process by which we exchange meanings, facts, ideas, opinions or emotions with other people. General communication is different from business communication or Administrative communication. According to William g. Scott “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 organizational goals”. We can say it’s a two-way process because it completes when receiver of the message gives feedback to the sender. The communication will be effective when there is a feedback. “According to Shetcliffe (2004), effective communication occurs when the entire message is clearly understood and responded to completely within the timeframe requested”. Communication can be done verbally and nonverbally, means we can communicate through writing, voice, gestures, and facial expressions and through symbols.

“It is known that words are only 10% effective, body language 35% and verbal communications 65% effective (Delcarson).” There should be analytical thinking, good listening and efficient conveying of message to get the desired result. Communication can function either as downward or bilateral communication. Downward communication consists of messages sent from superiors to subordinates, while bilateral communication is messages sent between people on the same level or position in a company. 21st-century business is demanding more from its workforce than ever. “American Management Association identified four skills that have been articulated within each organization as priorities for employee development, strategic planning, and talent management. These four skills are creativity, collaboration skills, communication skills, and the ability to think critically.” In today’s world these are the skills that define success. The ability to communicate effectively is an essential quality of a businessman.

A person may be intelligent but he may not be able to get his message across to others. Ideas are generally common, but the ability to convey them to others is rare. “In business organizations, many sources have reported that communication skills are critical to career success and a significant contributor to organizational success (American Communication Journal).” If someone has good communication skills, it will help him to get promotion. So, effective communication helps to achieve individual as well as organizational goals. Effective communication of information and decision is also an essential component for management-employee relations. Effective communication in business provides clear direction and instructions for everyone to focus on a common goal. “Communication plays a major role in one’s job satisfaction (The Journal of Business Communication).” If there is effective communication, employees get job satisfaction and their motivation increases, which increase their productivity that leads to organization success. It means effective communication improves the performance of the individual and the organization.

“An organization needs to regularly communicate to enable employees to feel engaged, to feel valued, to seek their input, to keep them aware and to enable them to manage their jobs (Lowenthal cited by Grensing-Pophal, 2001).” This statement helps us to understand the importance of effective communication. If organization makes the individual feel that how important they are for the organization then there will be improvement in them. “Research shows that organizations that have the capability to effectively communicate benefit from 20% lower turnover and 4.5 times greater engagement in work indicating that as the communication between management and employees become more effective.” Communication is important in business; because of it all forms of information are sent and received. Communication is what makes business grow, mature and develop. In the multinational companies, hiring managers are also looking for people who have the skills or who can easily learn on how to effectively communicate in foreign countries and in foreign cultures.

There will not be effective communication in an organization when fear exists. People are not able to communicate well when they are in fear. Mistrust is also a serious problem. Without effective communication in business, there will be a lack of understanding, motivation and direction and that unable the organizations to achieve its goal. “We can improve business communication by removing barriers in communication that are noise, culture differences, stereotype, psychological barriers and physical barriers.” In business there is great importance of communication but still there is gap between desired versus acquired communication skills level and there is evidence that long-term employees and those who are entering the organization still lack these skills.

Much practice can improve these skills. In summary, when effective communication is in place in an organization it is evident that both individuals and organizations can reap benefits. Aspects of communication such as information distribution, information context, feedback and motivation are important to employees and managers because they contribute to effective communications that result in the success of the organization and the individual. Manager should clarify to employees about what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what could be done for better performance. To do this efficiently requires clear communication.

REFERENCES:

* ‘American Communication Journal’ 2011 SPRING (Volume 13, Issue1), 24 Business Communication Skills, Attitudes of Human Resource Managers versus Business Educators (Page 5 , 6) David Conrad, Robert Newberry http://ac-journal.org/journal/pubs/2011/spring/ConradNewberry.pdf (3.11.2012) * American Management Association : The 4 skills that give you advantage in today’s business world http://www.amanet.org/training/21st-Century-skills/ (3.11.2012) * Objectives of communication, Communication process and Functions of communication. Posted on January 17, 2011 http://rkmvcbba.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/objectives-of-communication-communication-process-and-functions-of-communication/ (3.11.2012) * Effective communication for business success by Michael Langley 20 May 2007 http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/37 (4.11.2012) * American Management Association : The 4 skills that give you advantage in today’s business world http://www.amanet.org/training/21st-Century-skills/ (4.11.2012) * Why Is Effective Business Communication Important to Employers? by Lisa Nielsen, Demand Media http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-business-communication-important-emp