Assignment on Barriers to Communication

Communication Barriers

ABSTRACT
The present report is based on Communication Barriers. The company taken in this report
is a resort in Sri Lanka. The resort was open in Sri Lanka as earlier the island was attacked by
large number of terrorists and it is one of the favoured destination among the international
tourist. By performing investigation it has been found that in Sri-Lanka various type of
communicational methods used that support in developing inter-departmental cooperation which
includes formal, informal, upward or downward, horizontal, oral and written. Despite of that, the
communication performed with the organisation also get affected due to communicational
barriers. The major barriers found among resort staff members are linguistic, psychological and
emotional barrier which also affect the performance to a great extend by creating issues. Hence,
it is recommended to new Beach Resort that it follow certain principles of communication such
as principle of clarity, consistency, feedback and timeliness which help in reducing the chances
of miscommunication. In addition to this it is also recommended that staff members of resort
must use proper language or tone, select proper media and ask for feedback while
communicating messages in order to barriers.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Developing inter- departmental cooperation...............................................................................1
Barriers of Communication.........................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Communication is defined as a process of where information is exchanged between
individual or group of people. It plays a important in an organisation as it build a healthy
relationship among the employees as through this goals can be achieved within a specified time
duration (Davis Boykins, 2014). Communication barriers refers to the obstacles that arise in the
path of communication and leads to misunderstanding and confusion. For this report, a resort of
Sri Lanka is taken and the study will cover the need of inter departmental communication,
barriers of communication and ways to overcome it.
MAIN BODY
Developing inter- departmental cooperation
Business communication refers to the process in which company shares information to
promote the product and services to the potential consumers. One of the most important section
in communication is inter departmental which helps in creating the best culture in an
organisation. It is the medium through which every one receives and send messages that
promotes the healthy culture of an organisation. Further organisational communication refers to
the communication that take place in the business environment and and focuses on building a
effective relationship among the internal as well as external public for the purpose of profit
maximisation. There are different kind of communication in context of resort in Sri Lanka and is
explained below:
On the basis of organisational structure
 Formal communication: It refers to the official channel where information is passed
within the lines of the authority. Here the members communicate with each other under
the structure laid by an organisation (Shannon, 2015). Formal communication is in
various forms like departmental meetings, conference, telephone calls etc. There is
formal flow of communication in resort as this enables the routine and standardised
information to flow without claiming the attention of managers.
 Informal Communication: It refers to process where information does not travel
officially as there is no specific channel set by an organisation. It includes the flow of
casual and personal message in an organisation.
On the basis of direction
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 Downward and Upward Communication: The communication that flows from
superior to subordinates is known as downward communication as in resort the executive
are able to know about their instructions which led them achieve the desire objective in
the company (Madera, Dawson and Neal, 2014). Where as on the other hand, the flow of
communication from subordinates to superiors is known as upward communication. Here
subordinates provide valuable suggestions to employer in order to accomplish the goals
and objective of the company.
 Horizontal Communication: Here there is a flow of communication between the people
of same level in an organisation. Such type of communication is very beneficial in resort
as it enables the proper interaction and also reduces the conflicts and confusion that
normally arise during the workplace.
According to the way of Expression
 Oral and Written communication: These communication is very common in resort as
they use it according to the time availability. In oral communication there is face to face
interaction between the two individuals or through the medium of electric devise like
telephone etc. Where as on the other hand written communication involves written words,
pictures, diagrams etc. for transmitting the valuable information. Through this
communication, manager of resort are able quickly exchange their ideas which results in
friendly team spirit that strengthen the productivity of an organisation (Raman and
Sharma, 2015).
In order to make business communication more effective in resort, there are some
principles of communication which creates a effectual human relationship between the inter
department. Some of the principles of communication are mentioned below:
 Principle of Clarity: The message or information to be communicated by the superior
must be a very clear in order to avoid miscommunication which results in building an
amazing culture.
 Principle of Feedback: It is considered as one of the most important principle of
effective communication. Here it involves taking proper feedback from the person to
know about the understanding of message in the way transmitted by the sender.
 Principle of consistency: It state that communication should always be in accordance
with policies and objectives of an organisation. As if the messages are against the policies
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then there is change of conflicts in the mind of subordinates which results in their wrong
implementation.
 Principle of Timeliness: This principle states that communication should always be on
time in order to implement the plans properly. Any delay in the communication led to
delay in the business decision (Engström and Stehn, 2016).
Hence with the help of this principles, effective communication can be developed in an
organisation which results in strengthening the productivity as well as profitability of the
concern.
Barriers of Communication
The communication process always have some of the barriers that sometimes results in
creating the misunderstanding among the organisation. It is the duty of manager of Resort in Sri
Lanka to determine such type of barrier and make suitable measures in order to overcome. Below
mentioned are some of the barriers of communication:
 Linguistic Barrier: It is considered as one of the main barrier that effective the
communication. As in resort there are lot many people of different region or different
culture that have covey through different language. So there arise a problem in
transmitting the information as there creates a gap which results in inefficiency and also
hampers the growth of the company (Malacane and Beckmeyer, 2016).
 Psychological Barriers: Some of the people have physiological issues like stage fear,
phobia etc. Due to this reason a individual faces some of the issue while communicating
the facts. Sometime the individual also faces difficulties in managing the things properly
in the resort.
 Emotional Barriers: The communication of a person depends upon their emotion IQ. As
through this only they are able to communicate properly with the guest as well as staff
members. Perfect combination of emotions is very necessary for the effective
communication. As emotions like anger, frustration can hamper the decision making
ability of a person.
Measures to overcome the barriers:
Effective communication helps resort in Sri Lanka to create a healthy and positive environment
which results in increasing productivity and profitability of the concern. Below are some of the
ways through which barriers of communication can be minimised:
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 Eliminating the differences in perception: The manager of Resort in Sri Lanka should
always recruit the one who suits best for the job. They must ensure that the candidate has
command over the language. A proper induction program must be conducted for the
candidate in order to clear them about their job roles and responsibilities. By doing so,
the employees feel motivated which results in putting extra efforts toward the
achievement of organisational goals.
 Clarify the idea before communication: The one who is transmitting the information in
resort should be very clear about what is required to be convey. The sender must convey
the message keeping in mind the level of the receiver.
 Using of proper language or tone: While transmitting the message to the subordinates,
leaders and managers of Resort in Sri Lanka should focus on using simple language so as
to reduce misunderstanding and confusion in the premises. By having command over the
language one can easily help the organisation in improving the performance.
 Active listener: Manager of Resort must have the ability to listen properly as it enables
to clarify the big and complex issues that normally arise during the working in an
organisation (Arnold and Boggs, 2019). As, if the managers are active listener they are
able to transmit properly to their subordinate which result in creating the healthy bond
between the employers and employees.
 Convey the things that provide value to the listener: Before transmitting, it is required
by the manager and leader to know about the interest of the receiver as in that case
communication act as very effective.
 Proper selection of media: The manager of Resort in Sri Lanka should use proper
medium of communication according to the situation and time. Message can be conveyed
in the form of oral or written communication.
 Ensure proper feedback: Proper feedback should be taken on time from the receivers in
order to know whether the message transmitted is clear to the receivers. As such feedback
results in effective communication between the superiors and subordinates.
Thus by using the above mentioned ways one can overcome the barrier which face while
communication. Thus by overcoming, Resort in Sri Lanka is able to build effective team which
results in gaining competitive advantage.
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CONCLUSION
From the above discussed report it can be said that communication plays a important role
in an organisation as through this effective relation can be developed. Moreover it also helps the
company to reduce conflicts and misunderstanding that usually arise while performing of the
operations. There are various barriers faced during the communication which creates the
conflicts or problems and hampers the growth of the company. By overcoming those obstacles
company is able to gain the competitive advantage.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Davis Boykins, A., 2014. Core communication competencies in patient-centered care. ABNF
Journal. 25(2).
Shannon, P. J., 2015. Beyond stigma: Barriers to discussing mental health in refugee
populations. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 20(3). pp.281-296.
Madera, J. M., Dawson, M. and Neal, J. A., 2014. Managing language barriers in the workplace:
The roles of job demands and resources on turnover intentions. International Journal of
Hospitality Management. 42. pp.117-125.
Raman, M. and Sharma, S., 2015. Technical communication: Principles and practice. Oxford
University Press.
Engström, S. and Stehn, L., 2016. Barriers to client-contractor communication: implementing
process innovation in a building project in Sweden. International journal of project
organisation and management. 8(2). pp.151-171.
Malacane, M. and Beckmeyer, J. J., 2016. A review of parent-based barriers to parent–adolescent
communication about sex and sexuality: Implications for sex and family
educators. American Journal of Sexuality Education. 11(1). pp.27-40.
Arnold, E. C. and Boggs, K. U., 2019. Interpersonal Relationships E-Book: Professional
Communication Skills for Nurses. Saunders.
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