Effective Teamwork and Communication

Effective Teamwork and
Communication
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Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3
2. MODELS OF COMMUNICATION...........................................................................................3
2.1 Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication (1948)....................................................3
2.2 Schramm’s Model of Communication (1954).......................................................................5
2.3 Berlo’s Model of Communication (1960).............................................................................6
3. COMMUNICATION SKILLS....................................................................................................7
3.1 Verbal communication skills.................................................................................................7
3.2 Non-verbal communication skills..........................................................................................8
3.3 Listening skills.......................................................................................................................9
4. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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1. INTRODUCTION
Communication can be defined as the process of exchanging or transmitting information
from one people, place or person to another (Miller, 2008). Essentially, every communication
process involves a sender, a receiver and a message. Communication is the process which helps a
person to exchange or convey useful information to another person in an effective manner. In the
context of business organisations, communication is one of the key elements facilitating
exchange of information across various levels and departments in an organisation. It is the most
significant dimension of managerial abilities as it helps the management to effectively motivate
employees and direct work among the members to attain the organisational goals and objectives.
Workplace communication helps an organisation to increase productivity and operate effectively
by maintaining and enhancing employee motivation, sharing useful information with the
management and many other aspects. In many instances, open lines of communication foster
innovation and creativity at a workplace (Wardrope, 2002). However, there are many barriers
that can hamper the process of communication in an organisation such as existence of noise,
inactive listening or lack of feedback. Barriers such as language differences, technical jargons,
lack of effective medium etcetera result into ineffective organisational communication.
Ineffective communication can have serious implications such as employee demotivation or
reduction in productivity and profitability (Lunenburg, 2010). In this report, an attempt is being
made to understand the different models of communication and provide recommendations on
how to improve the organisational communication process and develop essential communication
skills.
2. MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
Models of communication are conceptual frameworks that can be used for explaining and
comprehending the process of communication. Some of the most popular models of
communication are being described as follows:
2.1 Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication (1948)
It is one of the earliest models of communication that identified five important elements in
the process of communication which are sender, encoder, channel, decoder and receiver. Later, a
sixth element, noise was also integrated in the model of communication (Al-Fedaghi, 2012). The
different concepts under this model are being explained as follows:
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Sender: It is the source of information and the person who sends the message by encoding
and selecting the medium.
Encoder: It refers to the machine or the person who converts the message into different
signals or data that can be transmitted.
Channel: It refers to the medium or the mode which is used to deliver or send the
message.
Decoder: It refers to the person or the equipment that converts the binary data or signals
into a message that can be understood and comprehended.
Receiver: He is the person or the place where the message is intended to be delivered.
After receiving the message, the receiver acts or provides feedback as desired.
Noise: It refers to the various elements such as elements in physical environment including
noisy background or lack of clarity which affect the quality of message and results into
ineffective communication.
(Source:https://www.communicationtheory.org/shannon-and-weaver-model-of-communication/)
According to this model, the process of communication starts with the inception or the idea
of exchanging an information by the sender and he encodes this message or information and
sends it with the help of mediums such as telephone or verbally. Upon receiving the message, the
receiver decodes the message before understanding it. Noise acts as a disturbing element in the
process of communication (Maras, 2000). For example, at my workplace, the manager called for
a meeting at 1 p.m. at the conference room but due to a transmission error, the venue of the
meeting couldn’t be heard clearly. Hence, in this case, the transmission error acts as noise.
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