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Communications in Business

influence on our behavior toward e-communication tools. To be most effective, the feedback loop (the receiver’s
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 48(2), 117. decoded interpretation of the original message) should go
Lengel, Robert H., and Daft, Richard L. (1988). The selection forward; that is, the receiver should respond to the sender.
of communication media as an executive skill. The Academy The feedback loop provides the sender with two vital
of Management Executives, 2(3):236. pieces of information: (1) if the original message was cor-
McLuhan, Marshall, and Fiore, Quentin (1967). The medium is rectly understood as sent and (2) the new message. The
the message. New York: Random House. feedback loop allows for early correction of incorrectly
Vickery, S. K., Droge, C., Stank, T. P., Goldsby, T. J., et al. decoded messages. The decoding, encoding, and feedback
(2004). The performance implications of media richness in a loop continue as the parties communicate.
business-to-business service environment: Direct versus indi- In the decoding of a message, miscommunication
rect effects. Management Science, 50(8), 1106.
and/or missed communication can occur. In the feedback
loop, the receiver must clarify how that message was per-
Marie E. Flatley ceived. The greater the number of people involved in the
message exchange process and the greater their differences
in values, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of the subject
matter, the greater are the chances that the message will be
COMMUNICATIONS IN decoded improperly and a communication breakdown
will occur.
BUSINESS
Communication is most successful when it is under-
Communication, stated simply, is the act of conveying a
stood by all persons involved in the process. That is, good
message, through a channel, from one person to another; communication is free from social colloquialisms, cultural
that is, connecting or sharing thoughts, opinions, emo- mores, and gender biases. Because communication may be
tions, and intelligence. Communication is a mechanism
conveyed in many forms, it is frequently described in two
for all types of interaction and connectivity: communica-
general categories: verbal and nonverbal. Nonverbal com-
tion can instantaneously bring people together, link ideas munication includes body language, gestures, and signals.
and things, deliver news and facts, and impart knowledge. In general, successful communication depends on how
Because communication can be expressed as words, let- well a sender conveys a message to a receiver relying on the
ters, pictures, gestures, signals, colors, and so forth, it is six senses (seeing, speaking/hearing, intuition, smelling,
credited with being the single element that has brought touching, and tasting) and feedback.
the world closer together.
People communicate for one of four reasons: to COMMUNICATION RULES
inform, influence, persuade, or entertain. In business,
Several rules facilitate successful communication. The fol-
effective communication will influence outcomes and it is
lowing checklist provides a guide to creating successful
the critical backbone of an organization’s ability to oper-
communication:
ate internally and externally as well as nationally and
internationally. • Make messages clear, correct, comprehensive, and
concise
COMMUNICATION BASICS • In messages that require a response, include an
Communication, in its most basic definition, involves a action step with a deadline
sender (encoder) and a receiver (decoder). The sender • Select correct channels of communication based on
encodes a message, deciding what content and relation- message content and relationship components
ship codes to use, and sends it via a communication chan- • Structure the message so as not to overload the
nel such as face to face (verbal and nonverbal) and written receiver with information
(frequently using electronic technology). The receiver
• Develop sensitivity to the receiver’s communication
takes the message and, in the decoding process, attempts
style and create the message accordingly
to understand its content and relationship meaning. After
decoding, the receiver then may respond, via a communi- • Be aware of how cultural patterns affect communi-
cation channel, to the sender with a new message based on cation style and take this into consideration when
the receiver’s perception of what the message imparted in sending and receiving messages
terms of information and the relationship with the sender. • Be aware that people operating in a second language
It is at this point that one-way communication becomes may still encode/decode messages based on their
two-way communication. first culture’s communication patterns

126 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION