Communication Channels

8 Key excerpts on "Communication Channels"

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  Data and Computer Communications

  Networking and Internetworking

  • Gurdeep S. Hura, Mukesh Singhal(Authors)
  • 2001(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  The communication devices could be computers, terminals, printers, processors, etc. The message information is carried between the devices by electrical signals. The signals are generated by the transmitter at the sending side and are received by a receiver on the receiving side. The two communi-cation devices are connected by transmission media (telephone lines, coaxial cables, sat-ellite link, microwave link, etc.) which define a communication channel on different types of links. Obviously, we expect the communication channel to offer an error-free path for the transmission of signals, but the fact is that it offers a number of distortions to the signal which affect the capacity of the channels (expressed as the number of bits per second) and also the throughput of the systems. 142 Data and Computer Communications: Networking and Internetworking The communication channel offers a variety of services on different systems. These services are available on private networks (usually owned by private organizations or corporations and governed in the U.S. by the Federal Communications Commission, FCC), private leased networks (usually known as common carriers to provide leased communi-cation services and governed by the FCC), and public switched networks (known as communication service providers for communication services). Various aspects of com-munication channels are discussed below. 4.2.1 Channel modes of operation The communication channel is defined over a transmission medium or combination of transmission media and offers a path between the nodes. The signals (analog or digital) travel over this path. The communication channel may be used as a service in data communication and can be established over different media within the communication systems. In some books, the transmission media are also known as communication links .

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  Exploring Management

  • John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Daniel G. Bachrach(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  They establish direct personal contacts that can create a supportive, even inspirational, relationship between sender and receiver. Face-to face channels work especially well for complex or difficult messages and when we need immediate feedback. And don’t forget that “face to face” can mean being together through online video chats. The richness of Communication Channels diminishes quickly when you move away from face- to-face interactions. Written channels such as memos, e-mails, and texts are efficient for sending basic information and messages, but they tend to be impersonal, one-way transactions that offer limited, or at best delayed, opportunity for feedback. By the time you receive communications in the form of newsletters and blogs, time and physical distance have removed most channel richness. Poor Written or Oral Expression Makes It Difficult to Communicate Effectively. Communication will only be effective when the sender expresses the message in a way that is clearly understood by the receiver. Words must be well chosen and used properly, something we all too often fail to do. Consider the following “bafflegab” found among some executive communications. 11 A business report said: “Consumer elements are continuing to stress the fundamental neces- sity of a stabilization of the price structure at a lower level than exists at the present time.” Translation: Consumers keep saying that prices must go down and stay down. A manager said: “Substantial economies were affected in this division by increasing the time interval between distributions of data-eliciting forms to business entities.” Translation: The division saved money by sending out fewer questionnaires. A university president said: “We have strived to be as transparent as possible about the strategic alliance plans within the confines of our . . . closed negotiations.” Translation: The negotiations were confidential.

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  Exploring Management

  • John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Daniel G. Bachrach(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  292 CHAPTER 15 Communication to communicate well. So, let’s get on with understanding the potential missteps. Look at Figure 15.2. It updates our description of the communication process to include noise— anything that interferes with the effectiveness of communication. It’s important to guard against common sources of noise that find their way into our conversations and discussions. These include poor choice of Communication Channels, poor written or oral expression, failure to recognize nonverbal signals, information filtering, and physical distractions. Poor Use of Channels Makes It Difficult to Communicate Effectively. People communicate with one another using a variety of Communication Channels, the pathways used to carry the message. Good communicators choose the right channel or combination of channels to accomplish their intended purpose. They understand differences in channel richness, the capacity to carry information in an effective manner. 9 Face-to-face channels are high in richness. They establish direct personal contacts that can create a supportive, even inspirational, relationship between sender and receiver. Face- to-face channels work especially well for complex or difficult messages and when we need immediate feedback. And don’t forget that “face-to-face” increasingly means being together through online video chats and virtual meetings, not just in person. The richness of Communication Channels diminishes quickly when you move away from face-to-face interactions. Written channels such as memos, e-mails, and texts are efficient for sending basic information and messages. But, they are still largely impersonal and one- way transactions that offer limited, or at best delayed, opportunities for feedback. Chats and instant messaging are better at keeping things interactive and opening the back-and-forth dia- logues that make for more effective communication.

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  Theories and Models of Communication

  • Paul Cobley, Peter J. Schulz, Paul Cobley, Peter J. Schulz(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter Mouton

    (Publisher)

  Finally, we need to consider that the channel shapes the context (broadly defined) in which the message may be experienced. Today, the same generic chan-nel (e.g. the newspaper in its website version) can be experienced through a variety of specific channels: one can read the news on the home computer, on the mobile phone on the go, or on the iPad during a boring business meeting. A paper-based newspaper would afford different experiences in different social and physical con-texts. 3 Media use and interactive Communication Channels The passive notion of communication channel, i.e., an objective constraint that we cannot remove, but to which we must submit our communication effort, applies primarily to traditional media such as newspaper, radio, film, or television. Since these media are often the carriers of message, there is little user involvement regarding the creation, transmission, and manipulation of the mediated informa- Channel 405 tion. With the development of interactive media, the channels of communication should no longer be treated as an isolated concept separated from the users, who should be conceptualized as active participants in the communication process. Therefore, the active perspective of communication channel, i.e., the channel’s function would go much beyond the pure transmission of the message, informs the conceptualization of the interactive communication channel. Interactivity is one of the key variables for new media and communication research. It refers to a process of reciprocal influence (Pavlik 1996: 135) and was used as a criterion to decide if a channel is interactive (Durlak 1987; Heeter 1989; Rafaeli 1988). Interactivity thus became a standard to judge a specific communica-tion channel. Interactive channels help to enable audiences as active participants by controlling the state, shape, location, etc.

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  Fundamental Theories of Business Communication

  Laying a Foundation for the Field

  • Milton Mayfield, Jacqueline Mayfield, Robyn Walker(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  © The Author(s) 2020 M. Mayfield et al. Fundamental Theories of Business Communication New Perspectives in Organizational Communication https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57741-4_5

  Begin Abstract

  5. Channels and Barriers

  Milton Mayfield 1 ,

  Jacqueline Mayfield

  1   

  and

  Robyn Walker 2

  (1) Texas A&M International University, Laredo, TX, USA

  (2) Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

   

    Jacqueline Mayfield

  Email: [email protected]

  Keywords Barriers Business communication Channels Descriptions Theory

  End Abstract

  Something there is that doesn’t love a wall —Robert Frost, Mending Wall

  Chapter Theories

  • Business English as a Lingua Franca
  • Communication Apprehension
  • Communication Competence
  • Genderlect Theory
  • Information Theories
  • Media Naturalness
  • Media Richness Theory
  • Media Synchronicity Theory
  • Multimodality
  • Social Presence Theory
  • Source Credibility
  • Uncertainty Reduction/Initial Interaction Theory

  We should value clear messages in any business communication. By clarity, we mean transparency, or “sharing [all] genuine information that is relevant to an employee’s work in a timely manner” (J. Mayfield & Mayfield, 2018c , p. 52). Transparency leads to increased engagement, workplace trust, organizational commitment, and perceived leader effectiveness (Holmes & Parker, 2017 ; J. Mayfield & Mayfield, 2018c ; Norman, Avolio, & Luthans, 2010 ). Just as important, clear business communication matters because it is ethical. We will discuss this impact in more detail later in this introduction.

  Theories in this category reap the advantages of transparency by giving us the tools to understand and examine the barriers to clear communication and the channels through which communication (clear or not) travels. Plus, these same theories explore the bedrock requirements of communication—how to send a message. If a sender has no channel to send a message through or if barriers prevent someone from receiving the intended message’s meaning, then no communication can occur. These theories also grow our awareness of how communication travels through diverse channels, how these channels affect a message’s reception, and what barriers a message can encounter during transmission.

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  Workplace Writing

  Beyond the Text

  • Stephen Bremner(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  7 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION Introduction

  It is a truism to point out the dramatic way in which communication has changed over the last twenty years or so, as opportunities opened up by technology in general and the internet more particularly – “the subject of much breathless contemplation” (Goodman and Hirsch, 2014, p. 130) – provide a vast and ever-increasing range of channels with which to communicate. The so-called ‘new’ technologies are developing at great speed, to the extent that it is not clear at what point any given means of communication might be no longer considered new – at the time of writing, for example, the book New New Media (Levinson, 2009) was already in its second edition. Moreover, it is quite probable, given the rapid pace of development in information and communications technology (ICT), that many of the channels and platforms that are currently modish may have fallen out of favour or been superseded by the time this book appears in print. (Note: In this chapter I have used a number of terms to talk about communication that is mediated through electronic channels, and these are intended as interchangeable, rather than representing different, nuanced forms of communication.)

  From the perspective of those engaged in workplace writing, the story is much the same, with increasing reliance on digital discourses seen in the workplace and writing more generally (Hafner, forthcoming) deftly summed up by Warschauer, Zhang and Park (2013, p. 825): “there is little serious writing that is not done digitally”. Certainly, a huge range of electronic options is at the disposal of the workplace writer that goes beyond well-established channels such as email and instant messaging (IM), and includes a variety of social media, various platforms for the collaborative production of texts, blogs and group decision support systems, to mention but a few.

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  Communication in Everyday Life

  • Seyed Ali Fallahchay(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Society Publishing

    (Publisher)

  The chapter also states some of the communication networks that are widely adopted in organization. The chapter also evaluates the role of creative thinking as an imperative tool in communication at workplace. In the end, the chapter discusses some of the barriers that act as a major hurdle effective workplace communication. 7.1. WHAT IS WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION? Workplace communication can be defined as the process of exchanging information, both verbal as well as non-verbally, within an organization. There are various ways to engage in the communication. To be a valuable and an effective member in an organization, it is essential to have good communication skills and know the importance of communication in company. Effective workplace communication is concerned with achieving the goal of organization. Workplace communication is of utmost importance for every organization whether it is private or public, because it increases efficiency and productivity. Ineffective workplace communication can hamper the smooth flow of communication, which can result in creating the communication gaps between employees that causes confusion, impede productivity, wastes time, and reduce transparency. Misunderstandings that cause friction among individuals can be evaded by communicating in an effective and efficient manner. To make the communication successful, it is important to pass it from a sender to a receiver. This must occur irrespective of the form of communication. To make sure that the communication be effective, it must be delivered by the sender clearly so that the receiver understands the actual meaning of the message. This means that communication involves speaking, listening, reading, and reasoning skills. As communications pass from the sender source to the Communication in the Workplace 161 receiver, there is higher likelihood that the original meaning of the message could be changed.

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  Organisational Behaviour

  • Gert Alblas, Ella Wijsman(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  The immense speed and vast range enable news (of an earthquake or a serious accident) to spread rapidly across a large group. Social media enables people to remain in intensive contact with others living on different continents and in different time zones. § 5.4 Communication in organisations In organisations, management and employees communicate constantly with each other. Through communication it is made clear what activities must be performed, how they must be performed, by whom this must be done and within what time frame. Communication is also necessary to resolve problems, to coordinate activities and to instruct, stimulate and support employees who are having difficulties in the performance of their work. Different forms of information transfer can be used, such as meetings (management meetings, progress meetings, team meetings, committee and council meetings), oral and written communications from management and instructions that colleagues give each other in order to complete a task together. All these forms of communication are intended to produce effective collaboration. We describe two types of communication in organisations: formal and informal communication. 5.4.1 Formal communication Formal communication includes all communication between the management and employees of an organisation that takes place via fixed channels and communication structures. EXAMPLE 5.10 Informing and adapting Katie Knightley is head of the Personnel and Organisation Department. Every two weeks, she has a meeting with the management team. She informs management about the state of affairs in her department and, if necessary, raises problems in her department that require a solution for which she needs management approval. The management team can put forward new activities that must be carried out by her department. Every week, Katie also has a progress meeting with her staff.

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