Communication Barrier, Research Paper Example

Communication barriers occur when the message intended by the sender is not fully heard, understood and acknowledged by the receiver in the same manner, tone and impact desired by the sender. Communication barriers can come in multiple forms such as a difference in language, perception of the communication, interference or noise breaking up the message or simply the receiver not actively listening to the delivered message. Communication to leadership can have another subset of barriers associated with communication. If the organizational structure is too complex or the message must travel through numerous levels of management, the same message sent may not reflect the message that was received by the intended person or people (Ober 2007). On the same note, leadership may not actively listen to or act upon previous information and this could be the greatest barrier to providing essential information pushed through the upper echelons of the work force so that leadership can have the information to make the proper business decisions.

Leadership is inundated with information that their subordinates and peers think is critical information. This influx of information needs to be prioritized so that each area receives the proper amount of feedback and action necessary. The problem with leadership prioritizing the information is that it has already been processed through multiple levels of the organization and potentially pushed and pulled up and down the prioritization list multiple times before reaching its end state. The information losses value as it is manipulated and processed through management due to the fact that bits and pieces could change depending on what other information is provided at the time and the perception of the management reading and modifying it prior to the intended recipient’s review.

Other than information manipulation, leadership does act on the prioritized information (Hogan 2003). Which means that if the information is time sensitive and of high impact it will get the most attention. If leadership has not acted on or listened to previous information the current information is of little or no value. Upper management must go through the rigors of back briefing leadership to bring them up to speed on the issue so that they can make an informed decision. This has a ripple effect at each level of management which creates more work for each team briefing each level of management so that they can brief senior leadership the information that was presented in prior communications.

References

Hogan, K., & Stubbs, R. (2003). Can\’t get through: 8 barriers to communication. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.

Ober, S. (2007). Contemporary business communication. (7th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.