Page 196 - DMGT106_MANAGING_HUMAN_ELEMENTS_AT_WORK

Managing Human Element at Work

Notes 8.6.5 Psychological/Attitudinal Barriers

Communication is an activity dependent on the flexible nature of the participants.
Unfortunately the world is made naughty with rigid, inflexible and prejudiced attitudes. We
will send or receive a message and react/respond to it only if we feel that the person who
communicates has credibility. Our reaction and response depend on our attitude to the
source of information. The sender should consider the receiver’s view point as the receiver
should overcome his bias against the sender to overcome attitudinal barriers. The information/
message should be favourable to the receiver to respond/react to it. Even bad news/
unfavourable information could be communicated to the receiver without causing shock or
heartburn. Communication exercise is affected by the values, opinions and attitudes of the
sender and the receiver in a given context. The reaction/response to an unfavourable
information/truncated message from a source lacking credibility will always fall short of
the expectation and fail to provide the necessary feedback to the sender.
8.6.6 Cultural Barriers

In the context of globalization and free trade, business communication has to cut across
different cultural identities. These invariably cause cultural barriers that have to be overcome.
The relaxed and leisurely pace of the Easterners, the formal and official style of the Britishers,
the casual and matter of fact nature of the Americans, the thorough nature of the Germans
and the extreme courtesy and politeness of expression of the French are all cultural features.
It is easy for an American to give his opinion even to his boss whereas decisions and
opinions are seldom expressed in the presence of elders and seniors in the East. To overcome
any cultural barrier to effective communication one has to possess an understanding of the
culture of the receiver(s)/decoder. Even in body language there are variations. If a Filipino
smiles, they say he is angry. The loop formed by tip of the thumb and index finger is a signal
of agreement in North America but an obscenity in the Southern states.
8.6.7 Semantic Barriers

Semantics is related to meanings of words. To be more exact, it is related to connotative and
denotative meanings of words and its study. Every word has a direct meaning called the
denotative meaning. In addition to its exact or lexical meaning, words also acquire implied
meanings called connotative meanings. Connotations are understood based only on an
individual’s experience. If the encoder and decoder do not share the some connotative
meaning for a word, miscommunication occurs. We have already seen how ‘bimonthly’ can
mean two different concepts to two different people even at denotative level. Similarly,
examine the word ‘cheap’ as an adjective. You will enjoy a ‘cheap holiday’ because you spend
less than the real cost. Industries desire ‘cheap labour’ to reduce the overall cost of production.
These connotations of cheap as an adjective are different from the connotations in expressions
like “cheap popularity’ and “cheap joke”. If the receiver does not understand the connotation
attributed by the sender, miscommunication takes place. But when words are used for
denotations alone, not much damage will be done. To overcome the semantic barrier to
communication, the communicator should choose the precise and exact word that will carry
the same meaning for the receiver in the given context. The meaning of the word is related
to context at the connotational level. A complimentary expression may derive a connotative
derogative meaning which will ruin the communication process. If you examine the word
‘fellow’, you will find so many connotations to it. The word used with adjectives such as
‘nice’ and ‘lousy’ change the complexion of the word ‘fellow’. A ‘nice fellow’ and a ‘lousy
fellow’ are poles apart. If you call someone a ‘fellow scholar’, he is your contemporary. A
‘fellow traveller’ is simply your co-passenger on a train, but in another context he is a
sympathizer or a secret member of the communist party. Fellowship simply means
companionship/friendliness. However, in special contexts it can have different connotations.
You can be a scholar with UGC (University Grants Commission) getting a fellowship.

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