It is so very important and imperative for the organization to have clear channels of communication within its entire hierarchy for its growth, success, and overall development.
The communication has to be clear, transparent, crisp, and without any bias or filters that tend to act as the Barriers to Organizational Communication.
And if the communication within the organization and team members is not clear, the efficiency and effectiveness of work get harmed and affected very badly taking a toll on the business operations and profit thereon.
Top 10 Barriers to Organizational Communication
#1. Noisy environment
The first and foremost Barriers to Organizational Communication that we discuss here is the noisy environment.
If there is a lot of noise of people discussing the work with their raised voices, noise of the machinery from the manufacturing unit, noise of electronic appliances such as vacuum cleaner, air conditioning, television, or others act as a hindrance to the clear and crisp communication.
Owing to the issues mentioned above, the important points of communication get lost and result in having adverse effects.
The issues can be solved quite easily by the management and human resource department of the firm.
#2. No planning
Communication is a by-product of effective and efficient planning by the thorough pondering and research over the matters that need attention within the organization.
And the communication channels in the organization include having a face to face discussion, telephonic discussions, Skype calls, and e-mail communication amongst others.
And if the communication is drafted and passed on without proper planning, it comes across as futile and not very worthy. Barriers to Organizational Communication due to ineffective planning can affect the stature of the organization in the market as well.
#3. Cultural Differences
This case is majorly applicable to the organization that deals and works on a global level and have employees, partners, and vendors from various cultures and races.
Barriers to Organizational Communication owing to the cultural differences are not only confined to the language issues but also to certain and specific traits and elements that people of various races and cultures follow.
For instance, people of the USA like to be addressed with their first names while people hailing from the UK and India like to be addressed with their last names. Various such cultural differences can result in indifferences within the team members.
It is the vital responsibility of the top management of the organization to get such issues resolved for the smooth flow of communication.
#4. Incorrect Assumptions
Having wrong or incorrect assumptions about a person, team, or an organization can lead to the Barriers to Organizational Communication. Each of the employees in the organization come with a different mindset, perception, and preconceived notions.
They can either be quite beneficial for the organization if they are positive and healthy. And if they are negative, insecure, and biased; they tend to act as a barrier to the clear and transparent flow of the communication.
Hence, the employees must speak to the HR department of the organization and address the issues that they are facing with any of the team members.
#5. Poor listening and understanding skills
This is one of the major Barriers to Organizational Communication as many of the people in the organization, and even some of the members of the HR department and top management have poor listening and understanding skills.
Either their mind is preoccupied with other work aspects, or they do not pay attention to what is being communicated to them.
And even if they listen, they are unable to understand the same as they don’t process the information correctly in their minds owing to ineffective listening skills.
This results in major issues and problems cropping up with the employees passing the onus to one another affecting the overall work culture and environment of the organization
#6. Goals Unmatched:
The top management of the firm conducts its business operations, having a certain set of goals and objectives in mind.
And if the goals and objectives of the organization are not matched and aligned with the values and goals of its stakeholders including employees, vendors, investors, and others, it results in the Barriers to Organizational Communication.
For clear communication, the goals of all the parties involved need to be aligned and in tandem
#7. Offensive Communication
If the communication between the team members of the organization gets offensive in nature, it tends to the breakdown of the overall communication.
It makes the entire work atmosphere and environment quite negative and unhealthy, resulting in the various Barriers to Organizational Communication.
It is the prime duty of the human resource department of the organization to take actions against employees that use offensive ways of communication, hurting the sentiments and emotions of other teammates.
#8. Too much of Information
When an employee is loaded with heavy or too much information to be taken care or processed, there are high possibilities of slipping off some of the vital details.
Human brain and mind works on a certain capacity depending on person to person, but if there is an information overload, it will act as the Barriers to Organizational Communication.
#9. Filtering of the Data
Filtering of the data of the communication that needs to be passed on from one department to another is quite incorrect, but many of the employees follow the same, having some ulterior motives in mind.
It results in miscommunication, loss in transition, loss of vital details, and the feeling of insecurity.
It is the prime duty of every employee of the organization to pass on the information as it without any filters or any additions to it. This habit usually stems out of employees that are insecure, biased, and negative.
#10. Emotions
If an employee has extreme levels of emotions within him, it can result in the Barriers to Organizational Communication. Emotions can be termed as employees that are too shy, reserved, and introvert. And then some employees are too outspoken and extrovert.
In either of the given situations, the communication channels of the organization take a backseat.
Conclusion:
To iron out and resolve the Barriers to Organizational Communication, the management of the firm along with the HR department needs to conduct various training and development programs with the help of industry experts and trainers.
It will help to elevate the organization’s productivity and efficiency levels.
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