Barriers to effective communication can be seen as
those factors which militate against the effective communication in any
organization. These barriers can exist in any process of communication such as
in the sending of the message, transmitting of the message or in receiving of
the message. The success of any communication process is retarded if it is
faced with the barriers.
According
to Ogunsaju (1983) in a situation where messages are poorly sent or if an
action is not effected the system cannot plan or operate properly. He further
stressed that as message become more complex, meaning and interpretation become
more complicated and more dependent on a common field of understanding between
the sender and the receiver. Therefore in order to avoid communication
barriers, organization managers must recognize the common difficulties people
encounter in trying to understand each other during the communication process.
According
to Dittimiya as cited in Adiotomre and Avwata (2007) barriers to effective
communication are classified into four categories and they are as follows:
i. Intrapersonal Factors: There are two types of
barriers under this category. Selective perception and individual differences
in communication skills. Selective perception occurs when people block out or
distort new information, especially if it conflicts with what they believe. The
result is that the receiver interprets the message transmitted quite
differently from the intent of the sender. In addition to selective perception,
people also differ in their ability to develop and apply basic communication
skills. For instance, some people are able to read but find it difficult to
comprehend, others are unable to express themselves verbally but are able to
write clear and concise messages. When such difficulties exist they are
potential barriers to effective communication.
ii. Interpersonal Factors: This category includes
climate, trust, credibility and sender-receiver similarity. Climate refers to
the relationship between a superior and a subordinate arising from the
attitudes and treatment each receives from the other. The lack of positive
relation between the communicator and the receiver may lead to the distortion
of the intended messages. Similarly, lack of credibility, distrust and
suspicion between a superior and a subordinate can lead to less likelihood of effective
communication. Furthermore, the degree of similarity between the sender and
receiver in terms of such characteristics as frames of reference, age, sex,
intelligence, socio-economic status and common attitude will affect the
effectiveness of communication.
iii.Organizational Factors: Organizational barriers to
effective communication include hierarchical differentiation, time, pressure,
network breakdown and status differences. The bigger the organizational
structure, the more layers a message must pass through to get to those at the
lower levels; the more the levels a message must pass through, the longer it
takes to reach its destination and the less likely it is to be accurate
(Bedeian, 1980).
Furthermore, the size
of the workforce is likely to affect the accuracy of communications. The larger
an organization, the less likelihood that adequate communication will be
achieved. Network breakdown is another factor that can bring about ineffective
communication in an organization. Finally, status differences may create
problems that block upward communication because sometimes, subordinates do not
wish to express an option that is different from that of their superordinate.
iv. Technological Factor: The most important factor
here is that of information overload. The school administrator may have
difficulty making a decision or communication, not because of the absence of
information but because of excessive information. Sometimes school
administrators are so overloaded with information and data that they cannot
absorb or respond adequately to all the messages directed to them. The result is
that “they screen out” the majority of messages and consequently do not respond
to all.
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