TEXT 1. How Information Travels

1. Managers do not work in isolation; once they acquire

Channeling information, they will often wish to pass it on. To be most

Information effective a message should be sent in the form most suited

to the receiver (and that is not necessarily the form easiest

to you, the sender). When you submit a recommendation to

your boss you will summarize the arguments as best you can

stressing the facts that support your case. When you were

originally collecting the information you may have received

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some items that later turn out to be irrelevant. You will not

wish to waste the time of senior management with these

items – it is your job to filter out the unnecessary.

2 In a similar vein, when decisions are passed down to

Management and you, from on high, you will wish to “translate” them into

Communication appropriate terms for your staff. This can sometimes

take the form of receiving orders and passing on detailed

instructions. The manager is thus the hub of a system of

communications – a one-man communication centre, as

well as being a powerhouse of ideas, an initiator of actions,

and a thinking man to boot. Information and questions

come up to him; answers, decisions, and instructions go

down from him. The junior manager is in the same relation

ship to his superior as are his staff to him. The good

manager is a good communicator – and usually, vice versa.

3 Communications of all kinds are what make an

The Formal Route organization work. Without adequate communications an

organization will soon grind to halt. And communications

are usually intended to follow the route of the established

management hierarchy.

4 Formal communications will pass up and down the

The Grapevine pyramid of management as intended. What is too often

forgotten is that there are other communication paths.

In any organization there are inevitably social links that

are unofficially and informally used to transmit “interesting’

information. (‘Interesting’ information can be defined as

that affecting people.) The ‘grapevine’ includes not only

the social links but also everything from office gossip to

post-room misinformation. Every office, every factory,

every organization has its grapevine.

The good communicator will be aware of the grapevine

and plug into it. Not all that he obtains from it will be

complementary, nor will it always be correct, but it will

always be interesting and often useful. At times the manager

can feed information into the grapevine himself. If he

is not to lose all credence though, his input must always be

correct.

5. Communication is a two-way process. It is not

Two-way complete until the message has been received and under-

Communication stood. The extend to which the message is understood

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is more important than the way or form in which it is sent.

This means that the transmission of messages should

always be in the form best understood by the person

receiving them. Some things are better said, some best

written down. The principle is repeated: think first, last

and all the time about the recipient or audience or reader.

Adjust the writing, the speaking and arithmetic to suit him.

And if pictures will help, give him a picture.

Clearly, the style and quality of communication will

depend not just on the sender and the receiver but also on

their relationship to each other. A small, informal organisation

will suggest a different style of communication to a

large rigidly-controlled, hierarchical one. In all cases it is

necessary to select the best mode for communication.

Methods of communication

6. Fundamentally, man communicates by sight or by

Communication sound, but within those categories, there are others. We

Modes can define a manager’s communication modes as:

verbal – the written word

oral – the spoken word

visual – the illustration, and

numerical – the written and interpreted number,

electronic – using a computer.

Further, within the above categories, there are the

receivers of the messages. For every writer there must

be a reader, for every speaker a listener, and for every

artist a viewer.

7. We have explained that a communication is not

When does made until it is received and understood. The prime

communication essential in any form of communication is therefore

take place? to know the audience. It is important to accept the

concept that people tend to receive – to hear, to read,

to see – very largely only what they want to receive.

They seek out what is expected and what is familiar

while trying to ignore or reject what is new. Every

communication should be made with that thought in

mind. The answer is to ensure that every message is

clear, simple and- as far as possible – unambiguous.

However, no matter how much the sender of the message

may try, the taking of that message depends on the past

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experience(the training) of the recipient. This characteristic

can be partially allowed for in the communication process –

by departing from the well known and moving in short,

simple steps towards the really new.

8. It is very important to know that for any

The Purpose of communication to be worth while, it must have a purpose-

Communication and that purpose is always persuasion. This is not to say

that there are no purposeless communications: there are

too many, but they are usually of little value to anyone.

Every genuine communication seeks to influence the

recipient. It may seek to persuade him to take some course

of action, to make a decision one way or another, or merely

to apply his mind to accepting more information.

If we think about persuasion it is clear that we are most

likely to succeed if acceptance of the persuasion is made

easy.

9. We have identified the fundamental principle of communi-

cation as: transmit all communications in the manner

best suited to the recipient’s understanding. This rather ponderous phrase could itself be better communicated as : write or speak clearly and simply so that the reader or listener can easily understand.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

1. In what form should a message ideally be sent?

2. Why should you summarise your argument in order to present a recommendation?

3. How can you save the time of senior management?

4. What must a manager do, as well as thinking and initiating actions?

5. What happens to organizations in which communications are poor?

6. Are formal communications the only route by which information spreads?

7. How is ‘interesting’ information defined?

8. Is such information always complementary to the manager?

9. After a message has been sent, what is still required before communication may be said to have taken place?

10. Is it best always to write things down?

11. On what factors does the style of communication depend?

12. Name the five modes of communication used by man.

13. What is the prime need if communication is to be effective?

14. What do people tend to read or hear?

15. What is the essential purpose of any communication?

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16. What should be done in order to make a communication acceptable?

SCAN READING.

TEXT 2. Read the information below about communication (some tips) and

decide which tips are good advice and which tips you disagree with.

Do to others as you would be done by.

1. Communicate only when you have something worth while to say.

2. Don’t write or speak at greater length than is necessary to convey

the message.

3. Write in such a way that the reader will find it easy to read.

4. Read carefully, concentrating on absorbing and understanding

the writer’s message.

5. Speak in ‘the language’ of you listeners – but never talk down.

6. Listen attentively to a speaker and avoid mind-wandering.

7. Help a speaker to feel at ease; encourage him to speak.

8. Where helpful, supplement words with pictures.

9. Watch speakers and listeners for “non-verbal” signals.

10. Explain mathematical information with summaries, words and

pictures.

WRITING.

1. Read paragraphs 1 to 9 of the first text again and complete the table.

What do you think is:

a) the most important about communication ………………...………………

……………………………………………………………………….……..

…………………………………………………………………..………….

b) the least important about communication modes ………………………….

……………………………………………………………………….……..

…………………………………………………………………..………….

c) a “golden rule” for a good communicator …………………………………

……………………………………………………………………….…….

…………………………………………………………………..…………

2. Write a summary of the texts you have read (the Russian language is

preferable.)

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WAYS OF COMMUNICATION