Introduction
Communication in an organization is very important hence there arises the need for its effectiveness to avoid miscommunication. However, there are various barriers to effective communication in an organization, noise in communication will being one o them discussed in the paper. Noise in communication is a major factor since it distorts meaning and hence leads to possible mistakes.
Physical or environmental barrier is one of the forms of noise in communication. It involves anything external that disrupts the sender and receiver from sending or receiving messages.
These factors may become the cause for the interlocutor not to perceive and understand their collocutor in terms of hearing or viewing the message or it may become an obstacle for the interlocutor to get the messages. Some examples of such miscommunication include loud music, ringing phones and people shouting.
Reflection
Semantic noise arises when the sender and receiver get and apply a different meaning to words uttered. It mainly happens when words are translated to another language. The direct translation may not portray the true meaning of words. The example is, for instance, when one uses a word with several meanings, jargons or different dialects.
Psychological noise refers to “mental interference that occurs between the sender and the receiver” (Joyce 2006). When one of the parties communicating has problems or prejudices, it may lead to psychological noise as well.
This noise comprises feeling of love, hatred, pain or financial problems. This widely influences the way information is passed depending on the sender’s feelings and attitude towards the receiver. Also, the receiver’s feedback depends on their feelings towards the sender.
Physiological noise is the noise that is characterized by arising physical barriers within the receiver and the sender (Joyce 2006).
They include hearing loss, poor eyesight, memory loss, etc. In an organization, if a message is communicated on a notice board, those with poor eyesight will experience physiological noise. In the same way, if any communication is made by word of mouth, those with poor hearing will experience physiological noise.
Supportive materials
According to the case study, the case of Radioshark, direct communication when firing employees was argued to be the best form. In this case, employees were fired by using electronic notification which could lead to psychological barriers and employee’s feedback could be influenced by their emotions (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, Wiesner& Creed 2010).
A company can adopt the use of the language that softens the termination during downsizing to avoid harsh words that may affect the receiver of the information (Joyce 2006)
The noise factors affecting communication include literal noise, especially around train stations and airports where there is a lot of congestion (Doppelt 2010). Employees of companies near such places may experience a lot of communication barriers (Kokemuller 2012).
According to Anthropological linguist Dr. Orville Jenkins, linguistic interference is the language difference that impacts communication. It happens in organizations where people of diverse languages work together (Bauer &Erdogan 2009).
Discussion and Conclusion
Therefore, organizations need to put special considerations on communication since it reflects directly on its performance. This can be improved by using alternative forms of communication. For instance, in places where there is much noise, they can resort to use of notices (Kinicki & Kreitner 2007).
Videoconferencing can be used where there are barriers in terms of distance between the parties communicating and there is need for interaction and visual display of charts.
Teleconferencing is also used when distance is a barrier and there is no need for visual display. These two forms of communication solve the problem of distance between the parties. Finally, the use of emails, text message and notices can be of help in noisy environments.
Communication barriers or noise, therefore, is one factor that needs to be avoided at all costs by organizations that look for quality hence there appear fewer mistakes.
References
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Cole, N., Kinicki, A., &Kreitner, R., 2007. Fundamentals of organizational behavior, Key concepts skills and best practices. McGraw-Hill Ryerson limited, New York.
Doppelt, B., (2010). Leading Change toward Sustainability: A Change Management Guide For Business, Government And Civil Society, 2 Nd Edition. Greenleaf, Sheffield UK.
Joyce, A., 2006. Fired via e-mail, and other tales of poor exits. Washington Post. p. F1. Web.
Murdock, R., 2012. Three Types of Noise in the Communication. Process.eHow Contributor. Web.
Kokemuller, N., 2012,What Are the Noise Factors That Affect Communication? How Contributor. Web.
Rashid, A., 1982,Organizational behavior, 2 Nd edition, Methuen Publications, Ontario.
Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R. & Creed, A., 2010,Organisational Behaviour: Core Concepts And Applications. 2nd Australasian Edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Brisbane.