Page 3 - Lesson Note 9

(iii) Loss by transmission and poor retention: When communication passes

through various levels, successive transmissions of the message results in loss of,
or transmission of inaccurate information. This is more so in case of oral

communication. Poor retention is another problem. Usually people cannot retain
the information for a long time if they are inattentive or not interested.

(iv) Distrust: Distrust between communicator and communicate acts as a barrier.
If the parties do not believe each other, they cannot understand each other’s
message in its original sense.

Organizational barriers: The factors related to organization structure, authority

relationships, rules and regulations may, sometimes, act as barriers to effective
communication. Some of these barriers are:
(i) Organizational policy: If the organizational policy, explicit or implicit, is not

supportive to free flow of communication, it may hamper effectiveness of
communications. For example, in an organization with highly centralized pattern,

people may not be encouraged to have free communication.
(ii) Rules and regulations: Rigid rules and cumbersome procedures may be a

hurdle to communication. Similarly, communications through prescribed channel
may result in delays.

(iii) Status: Status of superior may create psychological distance between him and
his subordinates. A status conscious manager also may not allow his subordinates
to express their feelings freely.

(iv) Complexity in organization structure: In an organization where there are
number of managerial levels, communication gets delayed and distorted as

number of filtering points are more.
(v) Organizational facilities: If facilities for smooth, clear and timely

communications are not provided communications may be hampered. Facilities
like frequent meetings, suggestion box, complaint box, social and cultural

gathering, transparency in operations etc., will encourage free flow of
communication. Lack of these facilities may create communication problems.

Personal barriers: The personal factors of both sender and receiver may exert

influence on effective communication. Some of the personal barriers of superiors
and subordinates are mentioned below: