ACCA F1 Accountant in Business - 2010 - Study text - Emile Woolf Publishing
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Chapter 11: Individual effectiveness and effective communication
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Was the instruction not followed because subordinate Y was fed up of getting
instructions from his manager that he considered a waste of time, and so he did
not bother to act on the instruction?
Was the instruction ineffective because the sender of the message did not receive
feedback, to inform him that the instruction had been carried out successfully?
Shannon and Weaver’s communication model
Another communication model was developed by Shannon and Weaver in 1949.
They were interested in how information seems to get lost or changed or
misunderstood in transmission, and they studied telephone messages from one
country to another.
Their model introduced the concept of noise. Noise is anything that distorts a
message or makes it difficult to understand. The term comes from the noise of
interference on a telephone line or in a radio message that makes the voice of the
sender impossible to hear.
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Destination
The obvious cause of noise is technical failure or technical problems. For example an
e-mail message might fail to reach its destination for any of the following reasons:
The server (computer) for the e-mail system is temporarily out of service.
The message is sent to an invalid or incorrect e-mail address.
The e-mail message is treated by the recipient’s anti-‘spam’ software as an
unwanted message, and is diverted automatically into an unwanted messages
box.
Noise is also caused by a failure of the sender and the receiver of a message to
communicate properly. If there are problems with communication, the problem may
be a distortion in the message in transmission.
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Redundancy
One cause of ‘noise’ may be that the person receiving a message does not
understand it properly, or understands it but does not give it much attention and so
forgets about it.
A message might be unclear because the sender has failed to make the message
clear enough, or has even made a mistake in the message.
Another reason for ‘noise’ is that the receiver of the message does not
understand the message from the sender, possibly because it is too ‘technical’ or
complex.
A message might be ignored simply because the receiver does not believe it, and
thinks that the sender ‘must have got it wrong’ or is deliberately trying to tell an
untruth.
One approach to getting round the problem of lack of understanding in a message is
redundancy. Redundant information is information that is repeated. The
information should be unnecessary, because if it has been given once, there should
be no need to give it again. However, it may be more effective to give the message
twice, three times or even more times, to make sure that the messages gets through
clearly to its intended recipient.
An example of redundancy in information is advertising. A person who sees an
advertisement once has got the message, but the message may not have any effect
unless the person sees the advertisement many times.
The attitude of the recipient of information
Some communication models consider the effect on communication of the
knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of the recipient of the information. A message
might fail to prompt the intended response in any of the following situations:
The recipient of the message wasn’t paying proper attention.
The recipient does not have the knowledge or experience to understand the
message.
The recipient has a personal dislike of the sender, or is in conflict with the sender.
The recipient gets the message but then forgets it.
5.4 Attributes of effective communication
Effective communication depends to a large extent on the quality of the information
that is communicated. The qualities of good information are described in an earlier
chapter.
Other attributes of an effective communication system are as follows.
Messages get through quickly and without difficulty when they are sent. Or
information is available to individuals when they need it. ‘Noise’ should not
disrupt the sending of messages.
Messages should be understood, and their content and intention should be clear.
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Messages should achieve their intended purpose. The intended purpose of a
communication might simply be to inform other people. However, a
communication might be intended to make someone act, respond to the message
or reach a decision.
An efficient informal communication system should supplement the formal
communication system.
Every individual within the organisation should feel confident that he or she is
receiving all the information needed to do their job.
5.5 Barriers to communication
A barrier to communication is anything that stops information from:
getting to its intended recipient(s)
being understood by the recipients, and
being acted on in the way intended.
Communication models can be useful in identifying barriers to communication.
However, you may be familiar with the following barriers to communication from
your own experience:
The sender of the message might think and express his ideas in a different way
from the recipient. For example, people of different generations often find it
difficult to communicate with each other and understand each other.
The sender of information might use technical words (‘jargon’) that the recipient
does not understand. For example, accountants might talk to non-accountants in
technical terms that the non-accountant does not understand.
The sender of the message and the recipient of the message might speak
different languages.
Personal dislike or antagonism between individuals, and a lack of trust between
individuals, will make it difficult for them to communicate effectively.
There may be technical ‘noise’, such as a breakdown in the communication
system itself.
Information overload. The recipient of information might be given so much
information that he cannot take it all in, and so does not understand any of it.
The sender of the message and the recipient might have different perceptions of
what the information is for.
The recipient of the information may be biased, and may interpret the message
so that the information ‘means’ what he would like it to mean.
The recipient of the information might misunderstand the message.
The sender of the message might get the information wrong. The distortion of
information in a message could be either intentional or accidental!
Difficulties in communication may arise because of the distance between the
sender and the recipient. For example, someone in Hong Kong may have
problems communicating with someone in the US because of time differences.
The information is sent by a channel that the recipient does not like or does not
use, so that the message does not get through. For example, a person might send
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a message to the mobile phone of someone else, who does not use the phone
much and leaves it switched off or who does not check his text messages.
The information is sent using a medium or format that the recipient finds difficult to
use or understand. For example, a manager might be sent information in a written
report containing nothing but words. He might prefer to receive the information in
a summarised form (to reduce information overload) and in a more easily-
understood form, such as in tables of figures, charts and graphs.
It should be apparent from this list of barriers to communication that the barriers
may be either:
personal barriers, caused by interpersonal matters and the inability of the
sender and recipient to communicate properly, or
technical barriers, such as faults in the transmission system, information
overload, and the geographical distance between the sender and recipient.
Overcoming barriers to communication
When there are significant barriers to communication, it is important to:
identify what those barriers are, and
consider ways of dealing with the problem.
The solution to a communication problem depends on the nature of the barrier.
5.6 Methods of communication
You will be familiar with many different methods of communication:
face-to-face discussion
discussion by telephone
video conferencing
e-mail
web sites
fax messages
formal speeches or lectures
public address systems
notices on a notice board
communication in electronic form, between computer systems
communication between a computer system and individuals through keyboard,
mouse and computer screen
films, radio or television, including transmission of images by computer or
phone
in written form, such as reports, letters, notes (memoranda), journals and magazines
in words, pictures, charts or graphs.
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The choice of medium or the way of formatting the information should be suitable,
so that the information is communicated effectively.
5.7 Patterns of communication: vertical and lateral communication
A pattern of communication is the direction and frequency of information. Who
sends out information and how frequently? And who receives the information?
In a teaching group of six students, the pattern of communication may be described
as:
a lecturer providing information to students for 70% of the time
students asking questions for 30% of the time
of the six students, one asking twice as many questions as two other students,
and the other three students saying nothing at all.
Within a work team, one of the tasks of the leader should be to make sure that
everyone in the team communicates as they should, and that communications are
not dominated by a relatively small number of individuals in the group.
Vertical communication and lateral communication
In hierarchical business organisations, information flows:
vertically and
laterally (horizontally).
Vertical communication is communication down the scalar chain or chain of
command. A boss communicates with subordinates.
Downward communication is information or a command given by the boss to
one or more subordinates.
Upward communication is information moving from subordinates to the boss.
When the leader is autocratic, most communication is downward.
Lateral or horizontal communication is communication between people at a similar
level in the organisation’s management hierarchy. It is communication between
individuals in the same work group, and also between individuals in different work
groups.
Purpose of vertical communication Purpose of lateral communication
To give instructions/direction
To delegate responsibilities
To co-ordinate the activities of different
individuals and groups
To control activities of subordinates To develop and maintain social
relationships at work
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Example
An organisation has four grades of manager, from level 1 (the most senior) to level 4
(the most junior). Manager A and manager W are both Level 3 managers. Manager
A has a team of four level 4 managers, managers B, C, D and E. Manager W has a
team of three level 4 managers, managers X, Y and Z.
The patterns of communication in these work groups may be the following.
Manager A might be autocratic, so that most communication is vertical and one-
way (downward).
Manager W may be democratic, so that there is extensive two-way vertical
communication between Manager W and his three subordinates.
If, on the other hand, both managers have a participating style, and encourage two-
way vertical communication, they would probably also allow and encourage some
lateral communication.
Each manager would encourage communication between the managers in their
own team – for example manager A would encourage communication between
B, C, D and E.
If the two work groups needed to co-operate in some aspects of their work, the
Manager A group and the Manager W group would need to communicate with
each other.
All communication between the two management groups might be between
Manager A and Manager W.
Alternatively, whilst Manager A and Manager W might communicate regularly,
they may also encourage communication and co-operation between the Level 4
managers in their groups, for example between Manager B and Manager X.
The pattern of communication in an organisation affects the way that people work
together and co-operate with each other. In this example, if the two management
groups work together regularly, the most effective communication pattern would be
to allow and encourage horizontal (lateral) communication at the junior
management level (Level 4).
5.8 Other patterns of communication
Within a work group or a management structure, other patterns of behaviour might
be identified. The most efficient pattern of communication should be a pattern that
achieves effective communication.
Pattern
Description
Chain
A communicates with B,
B communicates with A and C,
C communicates with B and D,
D communicates with C and E,
E communicates with D.
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This pattern may be found in a
‘traditional’ bureaucracy,with A
at the top and E at the bottom of
the chain of command.
Wheel
A communicates with B, C, D
and E.
B, C, D and E all communicate
with A only, and not with each
other.
This pattern is typical in a group
led by an autocratic and
authoritarian boss. A controls all
communication.
The Y
A B
C
D
E
C communicates with A, B and
D.
A and B communicate with C
only.
D communicates with A and E.
This is similar to a combination
of a wheel and a chain system of
communication.
Circle
A communicates with B,
B communicates with A and C,
C communicates with B and D,
D communicates with C and A.
This is unusual in formal
communication systems, but
may well occur in informal
communication networks.
All-
channel
Everyone communicates with
everyone else. This pattern is
typical of a democratic work
group or project team.
The chain, wheel and Y systems of communication system are found in many
formal organisation structures. The speed and effectiveness of communication in
each of these patterns depends on the communication abilities of particular
individuals in the system.
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A chain communication structure is likely to be slow and inefficient. In the
diagram above, the ability of A to get a message to E depends on the efficiency
and competence of B, C and D. This is because a message must go through B
then C then D before it van get from A to E.
A wheel structure is a much quicker way to send a message, because all
messages go directly to or from the person at the centre. In the diagram above, A
can send a message to everyone. For B to get a message to C, it must go through
A, but there are only two stages in the communication of the message.
The speed of sending messages, and the effectiveness of communication, in a Y
structure depends on the length of the chain or ‘stem’ of the Y pattern. In the
diagram above, the chain in the stem of the Y consists of just three individuals,
C, D and E. However, this chain could be much longer.
Similarly, the speed and efficiency of a circle network depends on the number of
people in the circle. When there are many people in the circle, it can be a very
long time before an item of information reaches everyone.
An all-channel system of communication is the quickest and most efficient, but it
is not suitable for a formal communication structure in a formal hierarchical
organisation structure.
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