Communication is an important aspect in an organization. It is the only process through which the entire organization coordinates its operation and function. If communication is not present in an organization the organization cannot perform its role and thereby fails to achieve its goals and objective. Therefore Communication is the process by which the sender sends the messages or information to the receiver. In between the sender and receiver there is a encoder-decoder present who decodes and encodes the messages. Here the role of interpreter is to decode and encode message in its true sense and if the same is not followed then the message loses its essence and henceforth a barrier stands forth in the communication channel.
There are numerous barriers in the communication channel which weakens the flow of information within the organization. Barriers in communication channel may be in the form of-
- There may be perceptual and language differences where each individual interprets the message in their own understanding point. In this process if the message is interpreted wrongly then the message send fails to fulfil its purpose. For example linguistic communication also fails the communication channel.
- Communication becomes ineffective if there is information overload. In this circumstances manager fails to handle too much of information and it may also happen that the information may be overlooked.
- If there is repetition of the messages the receiver overlooks the messages which lead to disappointment.
- Inefficient time leads to ineffective communication. This occurs when there is time constraint and insufficient time to meet the target.
- Effective communication also fails when there is noise in the communication path which may be present in tangible or in intangible form.
- With respect to the hierarchical structure in the organization there is more chances to interpret the message wrongly as send by the receiver. Thus complexity in organization structure leads to ambiguity in the communication process.
The above barriers to communication can be overcome by-
- Elimination of perception differences by way of interpreting in the right way. There should be induction programme to clear the role of the employee in the organization.
- The message communicated must bear simple language such that the simplicity of the words used makes the meaning of the message clear without any double meaning.
- Eliminating the noises present in the communication channel.
- There must be simple organizational structure such that the flow of information is simple and less complex.
- Most importantly the medium selected for communication must be apt to fulfil the role of the communication.
