Communication is the exchange of facts, ideas, wishes, and attitudes between or among persons. Communication in business is the same. Business communication is the expression, channeling, receiving, and interchanging of ideas in commerce and industry.
This exchange becomes fruitful when the receiver understands the meaning of the message in the way the sender encoded it. However, several factors distort the meaning of a message in business.
8 Factors Influencing the Business Communication are;
These are some factors that influence the meaning of business communication.
Cultural Diversity
When people from different cultural backgrounds communicate, the chance of misunderstanding and wrong interpretation of the message is higher. Large corporations and MNCs usually have a culturally diverse workforce.
Also, they deal with many nationalities. Misunderstanding of messages can lead to a very troubling situation for a company. Companies can take some measures to avoid this problem.
Misunderstanding of Message
Communication in business also fails when people assign different meanings to the same word. Such a misunderstanding happens when technical words or jargons are used. Moreover, people may intentionally misinterpret the inner meaning of words.
Misunderstanding of the message is a common thing in communication, but it could create a problem for the company. So, messages must be prepared properly, and there should be a feedback system.
Emotional Difference
Emotions and feelings of the parties involved in communication significantly affect the meaning of communication. For example, physicians are usually less emotional to the patient than those of the relatives of the patients.
Past Experiences
The experience of previous communication strongly determines the effectiveness of further communication between the same sender and receiver. If either of the parties has a bitter experience, further communication between them is likely to be ineffective.
Educational and Intellectual Difference
The difference in the informal educational and intellectual level of the sender and receiver also influences the meaning of communication.
If they have similar educational qualifications, communication will be effective because they are likely to hold similar perceptions, understanding, feelings, thinking, views, etc.
Group Affiliations
Differences in group affiliation also affect communication in business. If the sender and receiver belong to different formal or informal groups, communication between them is affected.
They may become less effective.
For example, communication between trade union leaders and managers may fail simply because of their hostile attitude to each other.
Similarly, informal group relationships based on religion, gender, region, age, etc., can affect business communication.
Positional Differences among the Personnel
If the sender and receiver hold different positions in the hierarchy, communication between them may fail. Sometimes we see that for the purpose of maintaining the formality it the organization, some people go too far.
For example, superiors usually pay less attention to any message from their subordinates. Also, subordinates try to avoid any instruction from the superiors to avoid the workload and responsibilities.
Functional Relationship between Sender and Receiver
The functional relationship between the sender and receiver significantly affects the meaning of communication in business. If the sender and receiver belong to different functional departments or areas, the receiver may not understand the sender’s message.
For example, the finance manager may not clearly understand the message of the product design manager; the quality control manager may not understand the message of accountants.
Business communication is the expression, channeling, receiving, and interchanging of ideas in commerce and industry. In many ways, the meaning of business communication can be an influence. This influence can be positive or negative.
