Communication is conveying of the message that carries meaning. In an effective communication setup, there must be a sender and the receiver. When the receiver of the message acts as the sender intended then, the process is effective. The receiver of the message is required to send feedback to show that the message was well conveyed. The cost of communication should be low enough. However, the noises that arise in most of the communication setup usually make most of the communication ineffective and in most cases costly.
Managers of all organizations have a responsibility to communicate effectively to the employees and workers. Communication have been seen as the glue that binds are together planning, controlling, organizing, leading and staffing in an organization. For an organization to run smoothly then, the channels of communication in an organization should be smooth enough to allow faster communication.
According to Buckingham and Coffman (102), employees always feel motivated in an organization when they can communicate to their bosses. In an organization where an employee can freely and readily communicate with the employer may lead to higher production. The workers will air the challenges they face and the proposed solutions. In this case all the decisions made within the organization will favor both parties, employees included.
Communicating with people far away or from another country was once very difficult. The challenge arose due to the urgency of the message. Apart from urgency, cross-culture is another problem faced while sending a message to other people far away. Language barrier in most cases has led to misunderstanding of the intended message. In some countries, people have different meanings for different signs. This means that different body languages will be interpreted differently in a different culture. The channels used while communicating to someone in another country have faced different barriers.
When communicating with an employer far away, it might be very difficult to employ the non-verbal signal. A non-verbal signal adds meaning in a communication. Lack of non-verbal signal will mean that some meaning that one intended to convey will not go through. The cross-culture challenges also discourage the use of such signals since a different culture interprets such signals differently.
Poor use of the channel can be a challenge while communicating to someone far away. A manger will be forced to use electronic mail instead of sending a written memo to an employer in another country. In an organization setup, e-mails are viewed as not professional and informal. Due to the urgency of the fact, the manager will be forced to adopt this fast message sending channel.
Lack of personal contact might not provide space for a personal explanation. In most of the communication processes, the receiver might require further clarifications from the sender of the message. With the sender far away, therefore, clarification will be minimal. When the receiver does not understand some facts, mistakes can be made leading to poor performance.
Development in technology has brought a solution to most of the challenges faced by the managers in communicating. Electronic mails have been used to communicate faster hence making the message conveyed to be timely. Online conferences can be used to hold meetings with people who are in different parts of the world at the same time. Such conferences can provide a basis under which a manager can clarify facts and receive questions from the employees from different countries. Instant messaging and chats have also made communication very easy since people can communicate instantly through the internet. Surprisingly, most of the organizations have not embraced the use of technology as most of them still depend on the traditional written forms of communication.
The noises that are faced in a communication set-up can be reduced if the parties involved employ the use of technology. Technology such as internet that is, the use of online conferences and e-mail can solve the noise problem. With e-mail, message will reach the intended person faster and accurately. The receiver, on the other hand, can post a reply and request for further clarifications. Emoticons can also be used to show how one felt about the message hence can lead to better understanding between the sender and the receiver. The online etiquette should be considered that is; some emoticons should not be used in an official memo. One should also consider the culture of whom he or she is communicating to. When the culture of such a person does not allow some body languages then, such signals should be employed sparingly.
Work cited
Buckingham, Marcus, and Curt Coffman. "How Great Managers Develop Top People." Workforce (10928332) 78.6 (1999): 102.Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
