Important Questions for CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Meaning, Importance and Types of Communication Barriers and Measures to Overcome Them

Directing Important Questions for CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Meaning, Importance and Types of Communication Barriers and Measures to Overcome Them

1.Communication It is the process of an exchange of ideas and views among two or more persons to create common understanding.

2. Definition of Communication According to Rogers, ‘Communication is a process by which people create and share information with one another in order to reach common understanding’.

3. Elements of Communication

Sender The person who conveys the message, is known as the sender or communicator.
Massage It is the subject matter of communication. It may consist of facts, information, ideas, opinions, etc.
Encoding The sender translates the message into words, gestures or other symbols, which he feels will make the receiver understand the message.
Channel or media The encoded message is transmitted through some medium, which is known as the communication.
Decoding It means process of conversion of symbols in to the message by the receiver.
Receiver The person, who receives the massage is called the receiver.
Feedback The receiver sends his response to the sender of the message such response is known as feedback.
Noise It means an obstruction or hinderance in communication process.

4. Importance of Communication

Acts as a basis of coordination and cooperation
Increases managerial efficiency
Helps in smooth working of an enterprise
Promotes cooperation and industrial peace
Effective leadership .
Helps in the process of motivation and morale
Acts as basis of decision-making

5. Types of Communication
(i) Formal communication It refers to the communication taking place through official channels in an organisation. It may be oral or written.
Some of the popular networks used in formal communications are:

Single chain
Wheel network
Circular network
Free flow network
Inverted V network

(b) Informal Communication It takes place in an organisation without following the formal line of communication. The network of communication followed in the informal communi -cation is referred to as grapevine network.

Some of the popular network used in informal communication are:

Single strand network
Gossip network
Probability network
Cluster network

6. Barriers to Effective Communication
(i) Semantic barriers to communication These are concerned with the meaning of words and symbols. These barriers are:

Badly expressed message
Technical jargon
Unclarified assumptions
Faulty translations

(ii)Psychological barriers Emotional or psychological factors acts as barriers to
communication. Some of the psychological barriers are: .

Lack of attention
Premature evaluation
Poor retention
Distrust

(iii) Organisational barriers The factors related to organisational structure authority relationship, rules and regulations act as barriers to effective communication. Some of these barriers are:

Organisational policy
Rules and regulations
Status
Complexity in organisational structure

(iv) Personal barriers The personal factors of both sender and receiver my affect effective communication. Some of these barriers are:

Fear of challenge to authority
lack of confidence of superior on his subordinate
Unwillingness to communicate
Lack of proper incentives

7. Measures to Overcome Barriers

Be aware of languages, tone and content of message
Convey things of help and value to listeners
Ensure feedback
Communicate for present as well as future
Follow-up communication
Be a good listener
Clarify the ideas before communication
Communicate according to the needs of receiver
Consult others before communicating

Previous Years Examination Questions

1 Mark Questions

1. What is meant by decoding as an element of communication?
(All India 2014)
Ans. Decoding is the process of converting encoded symbols of the sender.
2. What is meant by feedback in the concept of communication?
(Foreign 2014)
Ans. The action of the receiver, which reciprocates to the sender of the message, that he has understood the message in its true sense is called feedback.

3. What is meant by encoding as an element of communication?
(Delhi 2014)
Ans. The sender translates the message into words, symbols, gestures or other symbols, which he feels, he will make the receiver understand the message. This is known as encoding of message.

4. Define formal communication. (Delhi 2012)
Ans. Formal communication refers to the official communication which takes place through the chain of command.

5. What is meant by informal communication? (Delhi 2012)
Ans. Informal communication is the communication that takes place without following the formal lines of communication.

6. Define communication. (All India 2012)
Ans. Communication is the process of exchange of ideas and views among two or more persons to create common understanding.
According to Newman, Summer and Warren, ‘Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions between two or more persons’.

3 Marks Questions
7. Explain any three personal barriers to effective communication. (Foreign 2014)
Personal barriers to effective communication are-
(i) Lack of confidence of superior in his subordinates If superiors have no confidence and trust in their subordinates, then they pay no attention to their advice, opinion or suggestions.
(ii) Lack of incentives If there is no incentive for communication, then subordinates may not take initiatives to give suggestions, e.g. if there is no reward given for giving some good suggestion, then employees will take no initiative to give good suggestions.
(iii) Fear of authority Some superiors may modify feedback going from lower-level employees. This may be done especially if the feedback is a complaint directed against the superior. The dishonest superior may block complains reaching to senior management in order to prevent challenge from authority. In other words, sometimes superiors conceal and hide information if they have fear of losing their authority over the subordinates.

8. Explain any three organisational barriers to effective communication. (Foreign 2014)
Ans. Organisational barriers to effective communication are:
(i) Organisational policy If organisational policy does not support free flovv of information, it may result in barriers, e.g. in centralised organisation, most of the information remains at top level only. People at lower level may not be able to communicate freely in centralised organisation.
(ii) Status Sometimes the people working at higher level do not believe in the information supplied by lower level employees as they feel how would he know about my job and who is he giving suggestions. .
(iii) Rules and regulations Rigid rules and regulations may also create barriers as following rules may lead to red tapism, delay of action and delay in movement of information.

9. There are some barriers in communication which are concerned with encodingand decoding of message. State any three such barriers.
(HOTS; All India 2008; Delhi 2008)
Ans. These barriers are known as semantic barriers.
Three types of barriers in communication are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Badly expressed message Sometimes due to lack of vocabulary, manager may use wrong words, omission of needed words, etc. Due to this, the manager may fail to convey the same meaning to his subordinates.
(ii) Symbols with different meanings Sometimes a word may have different meanings. Receiver may understand the other meaning, e.g. price, prize, principle, principal, right, write, etc.
(iii) Faulty translations Sometimes the workers do not understand the language which is used by So workers get it translated. If translator is not efficient, he may make mistakes in translation. Due to wrong translation, there may be transfer of wrong message.
(iv) Unclarified assumptions Sometimes, the worker may misinterpret the assumptions, e.g. boss may instruct the subordinate to take care of goods. He may mean that take care of quality of good whereas, workers may understand that he is instructing to keep the goods safely.

10. There are some barriers in communication which are concerned with the state of mind of both the sender and the receiver. State any three such barriers. (HOTS; All India 2008; Delhi 2008)
Ans. Such barriers are known as psychological barriers.
Some of the psychological barriers are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Premature evaluation Communication is likely to fail if the receiver evaluates the meaning of message before the sender completes the message. Such premature evaluation may occur due to pre-conceived notions or prejudice against the communicator.
(ii) Lack of attention When the receiver’s mind is preoccupied, he fails to listen to what is said. e.g. a worker explains some problems to his supervisor. The supervisor is preoccupied with a telephone call and does not grasp the message.
(iii) Loss by transmission and poor retention In case of oral communication, when communication passes through various levels, successive transmission of the message results in loss or transmission of inaccurate information.
(iv) Distrust Some communicators don’t have leadership skills hence, they cannot effectively communicate with subordinates. When the sender and the receiver do not believe each other, the message may not be understood in its original sense.
4 / 5 Marks Questions

11. Communication plays a key role in the directing function of management. Do you agree? Give any four reasons in support of your answer,(All India 2010)
or ,
Describe the role of communication in the directing function of management. (All India 2009)
Ans. Yes, communication piays a key role in the directing function of management.
The communication is an important element of directing because of the following points:
(i) Acts as a basis of coordination and cooperation Communication acts as a basis of coordination, it provides coordination among departments, activities and persons in the organisation. Such coordination is provided for explaining about organisational goals, the mode to their achievement and inter-relationships between different individuals, etc,
(ii) increases managerial efficiency The employees must know clearly about their responsibilities and authority, who will report to whom, what part of total job, they are expected to perform and what are their decision-making powers and this leads to smooth flow of communication.
(iii) Helps in smooth working of an enterprise All interactions in an organisation and smooth working of an enterprise is possible only when there is no communication gap. Right from establishing of enterprise til! its survival, communication is essential.
(iv) Promotes cooperation and industrial peace Efficient operation is the aim of all prudent management. It may be possible only when there is industrial peace in the factory and mutual cooperation between management and workers. The two way communication promotes cooperation and mutual understanding between the management and workers.

12. There are some barriers in communication which are concerned with organisational structure and rules and regulations. State any four such barriers. (HOTS; All India 2008)
Ans. Such barriers are known as organisational barriers. Some of them are:
(i) Organisational policy If organisational policy does not support free flow of information, it may result in barriers, e.g. in centralised organisation, most of the information remains at top level only. People at lower level may not be able to communicate freely in centralised organisation.
(ii) Status Sometimes the people working at higher level do not believe in the information supplied by lower level employees as they feel how would he know about my job and who is he giving suggestions.
(iii) Rules and regulations Rigid rules, and regulations may also create barriers as following rules may lead to red tapism, delay of action and delay in movement of information.
(iv) Complex organisation When the information passes through various levels then it can lead to screening or filtering of information at different levels, e.g. while giving the feedback, the ordinates filter all their negative points and highlight only their positive side.

6 Marks Questions
13. Describe psychological barriers to effective communication. (Compartment 2014)
or
Explain any four psychological barriers to effective communication.
(All India 2013)
Ans. Communication is a process, by which people create and share information with one another in order to reach common understanding.
Psychological barriers to effective communication People tend to use emotions and personal values such as attitudes, judgements etc during communication. These qualities may hinder clear communication and may even offered the receiver and cause miscommunication.
Types of psychological barriers
Such barriers are known as psychological barriers.
Some of the psychological barriers are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Premature evaluation Communication is likely to fail if the receiver evaluates the meaning of message before the sender completes the message. Such premature evaluation may occur due to pre-conceived notions or prejudice against the communicator.
(ii) Lack of attention When the receiver’s mind is preoccupied, he fails to listen to what is said. e.g. a worker explains some problems to his supervisor. The supervisor is preoccupied with a telephone call and does not grasp the message.
(iii) Loss by transmission and poor retention In case of oral communication, when communication passes through various levels, successive transmission of the message results in loss or transmission of inaccurate information.
(iv) Distrust Some communicators don’t have leadership skills hence, they cannot effectively communicate with subordinates. When the sender and the receiver do not believe each other, the message may not be understood in its original sense.

14. Barriers to effective communication exist in all organisations to a greater or lesser degree. State any six measures to overcome these barriers. (Delhi 2013)
Ans. Organisation should adopt suitable measures to overcome the barriers and improve communication effectiveness.
The various measures to overcome the barriers are:
(i) Be aware of languages, tone and content of message Language, tone and content of message should be so adjusted according to the situation that it is easily understood by the receiver and stimulates them.
(ii) Convey things of help and value to listeners To get good response from the subordinates, it should be ensured that the message relates to their interests.
(iii) Ensure feedback For success of communication, response of the listeners should be encouraged by the manager.
(iv) Communicate for present as well as future For communication to be successful, managers should incorporate existing commitments as well as future goals of the organisation.
(v) Follow-up communication Sometimes it is difficult to implement instructions in its totality by the subordinates. To overcome this, regular follow-up should be done by managers.
(vi) Be a good listener Lot of problems can be solved due to attentive listening quality of the manager.

15. Describe any four semantic barriers of communication.
(Delhi 2011,2011c)
Ans. Semantic barriers are concerned with problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or impressions. The sender may be trying to communicate something different from what is being understood.
Types of semantic barriers of communicatio
These barriers are known as semantic barriers.
Three types of barriers in communication are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Badly expressed message Sometimes due to lack of vocabulary, manager may use wrong words, omission of needed words, etc. Due to this, the manager may fail to convey the same meaning to his subordinates.
(ii) Symbols with different meanings Sometimes a word may have different meanings. Receiver may understand the other meaning, e.g. price, prize, principle, principal, right, write, etc.
(iii) Faulty translations Sometimes the workers do not understand the language which is used by So workers get it translated. If translator is not efficient, he may make mistakes in translation. Due to wrong translation, there may be transfer of wrong message.
(iv) Unclarified assumptions Sometimes, the worker may misinterpret the assumptions, e.g. boss may instruct the subordinate to take care of goods. He may mean that take care of quality of good whereas, workers may understand that he is instructing to keep the goods safely.

15. Describe any four organisational barriers of effective communication. (All India 2011)
Ans. (i) Organisational policy If organisational policy does not support free flow of information, it may result in barriers, e.g. in centralised organisation, most of the information remains at top level only. People at lower level may not be able to communicate freely in centralised organisation.
(ii) Status Sometimes the people working at higher level do not believe in the information supplied by lower level employees as they feel how would he know about my job and who is he giving suggestions.
(iii) Rules and regulations Rigid rules, and regulations may also create barriers as following rules may lead to red tapism, delay of action and delay in movement of information.
(iv) Complex organisation When the information passes through various levels then it can lead to screening or filtering of information at different levels, e.g. while giving the feedback, the ordinates filter all their negative points and highlight only their positive side.

17. Explain any four personal barriers of effective communication.
(All India 2011)
Ans. Communication begins and ends at the perspn. Thus, there are barriers to communication that are personal in nature. Personal barriers of communication are as follows:
(i) Lack of confidence of superior in his subordinates If superiors have no confidence and trust in their subordinates, then they pay no attention to their advice, opinion or suggestions.
(ii) Lack of incentives If there is no incentive for communication, then subordinates may not take initiatives to give suggestions, e.g. if there is no reward given for giving some good suggestion, then employees will take no initiative to give good suggestions.
(iii) Fear of authority Some superiors may modify feedback going from lower-level employees. This may be done especially if the feedback is a complaint directed against the superior. The dishonest superior may block complains reaching to senior management in order to prevent challenge from authority. In other words, sometimes superiors conceal and hide information if they have fear of losing their authority over the subordinates.
(iv) Unwillingness to communicate The personal characteristic of an individual also influences the free flow of communication. Sometimes the superiors may not be prepared to communicate with subordinates. These superiors may have selfish intentions and may prevent anv negative information that threatens their reputation.

18. Managerial functions cannot be carried out without an efficient system ofcommunication. Do you agree with this statement? Give any five reasons in support of your answer. (HOTS; Delhi 2010)
or

Effectiveness of a manager depends on his ability to communicate effectively. Explain how. (Delhi 2009)
or
What is meant by communication? Explain how communication is an important function of management. (All India 2009)
Ans. Communication may be defined as a process of exchanging ideas and information between two or more persons to create mutual understanding.
Importance of communication are as follows:
(i) Acts as a basis of coordination Communication acts as a basis of coordination. It provides coordination among departments, activities and persons in the organisation. Such coordination is provided for explaining about organisational goals, the mode to their achievement and inter-relationships between different individuals, etc.
(ii) Acts as a basis of decision-making The decisions made in an organisation depends largely on the amount and quality of information available. On the basis of communication of relevant information, one can take right decisions.
(iii) Increases managerial efficiency The employees must know clearly about their responsibilities and authority, who will report to whom, what part of total job they are expected to perform and what are their decision-making powers and this leads to smooth flow of communication.
(iv) Helps in the process of motivation and morale Motivation and morale of employees largely depend upon the effectiveness of communication. Sharing of information with employees helps management to secure their willing cooperation.
(v) Effective leadership Communication is the basis of leadership. By developing the skills of communication, a manager can be a real leader of his subordinates. A good system of communication brings them in close contact with each other and removes misunderstandings.

19. List the barriers of effective communication. Explain any two.
(All India 2008)
Ans. Such barriers are known as psychological barriers.
Some of the psychological barriers are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Premature evaluation Communication is likely to fail if the receiver evaluates the meaning of message before the sender completes the message. Such premature evaluation may occur due to pre-conceived notions or prejudice against the communicator.
(ii) Lack of attention When the receiver’s mind is preoccupied, he fails to listen to what is said. e.g. a worker explains some problems to his supervisor. The supervisor is preoccupied with a telephone call and does not grasp the message.
(iii) Loss by transmission and poor retention In case of oral communication, when communication passes through various levels, successive transmission of the message results in loss or transmission of inaccurate information.
(iv) Distrust Some communicators don’t have leadership skills hence, they cannot effectively communicate with subordinates. When the sender and the receiver do not believe each other, the message may not be understood in its original sense.
Such barriers are known as organisational barriers. Some of them are:
(i) Organisational policy If organisational policy does not support free flow of information, it may result in barriers, e.g. in centralised organisation, most of the information remains at top level only. People at lower level may not be able to communicate freely in centralised organisation.
(ii) Status Sometimes the people working at higher level do not believe in the information supplied by lower level employees as they feel how would he know about my job and who is he giving suggestions.
(iii) Rules and regulations Rigid rules, and regulations may also create barriers as following rules may lead to red tapism, delay of action and delay in movement of information.
(iv) Complex organisation When the information passes through various levels then it can lead to screening or filtering of information at different levels, e.g. while giving the feedback, the ordinates filter all their negative points and highlight only their positive side.
Communication begins and ends at the person. Thus, there are barriers to communication that are personal in nature. Personal barriers of communication are as follows:
(i) Lack of confidence of superior in his subordinates If superiors have no confidence and trust in their subordinates, then they pay no attention to their advice, opinion or suggestions.
(ii) Lack of incentives If there is no incentive for communication, then subordinates may not take initiatives to give suggestions, e.g. if there is no reward given for giving some good suggestion, then employees will take no initiative to give good suggestions.
(iii) Fear of authority Some superiors may modify feedback going from lower-level employees. This may be done especially if the feedback is a complaint directed against the superior. The dishonest superior may block complains reaching to senior management in order to prevent challenge from authority. In other words, sometimes superiors conceal and hide information if they have fear of losing their authority over the subordinates.
(iv) Unwillingness to communicate The personal characteristic of an individual also influences the free flow of communication. Sometimes the superiors may not be prepared to communicate with subordinates. These superiors may have selfish intentions and may prevent anv negative information that threatens their reputation.

20.Discuss the various formal communication and informal communication networks, (All India 2008)
Ans. Communication network indicates the pattern through which communication flows within the organisation.

(i) Major formal communication networks are as follows:

Single chain network Communication flows from each superior to his subordinate through a single chain.
Wheel network All subordinates under one superior communicates through him/her only.
Circular network Communication moves in a circle. Each person can communicate with his/her adjoining two persons.
Free flow network Each person can communicate with others freely.
Inverted V network A subordinate can communicate with his/her immediate superior as well as superior’s superior.

(ii) Various informal communication networks are as follows:

Single strand network A person communicates with the other in sequence.
Gossip network A person communicates with all on selective basis.
Probability network A person communicates randomly with ohters.
Cluster network A person communicates with only those people whom he/she trusts.

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