Inhibitors to Communication
Part I: Workplace
Working in a multinational organization has exposed me to various types of communication barriers. Communication inhibitors include cultural barriers, the direction of communication, emotional barriers, organizational barriers, and perceptual barriers. The success of an organization depends on the communication skills held by the employees and the management. Despite the process followed during selection and recruitment, some employees lack the necessary skills for communication. The coordination of employees is crucial, and where communication is limited, the activities of the company are subject to several challenges. Communication inhibitors are common where people are brought together by work and do not hold previous relationships. Generally, communication inhibitors require timely address before they turn to weaken the coordination needed in the workplace. Communication inhibitors tend to increase every time they are overlooked and continue impacting the company slowly until they interfere with the general coordination of activities. Overcoming communication barriers is crucial in ensuring improved productivity among employees. Communication inhibitors include cultural barriers, the direction of communication, emotional barriers, organizational barriers, and perceptual barriers.
Part II: Definitions
Emotional communication barriers occur depending on the emotional IQ of an individual. Different people respond differently when communication is directed towards them.
Organizational inhibitors are ones that occur due to the systems of communication set by a particular organization. Employees may have challenges adapting to the systems established by an organization to be followed for communication.
Cultural inhibitors are barriers that come along as a result of people from different backgrounds coming together in the workplace. Frictions may occur when individuals value their communication skills over their workmates.
The direction of communication may impose barriers where individuals are limited concerning the type of information to pass. For example, an employee is limited concerning the information they can pass to their managers.
Part III: Table
| Communication Example | Inhibitor | Justification |
| An employee keeps quiet and walks out of office when a disagreement occurs | Emotional barrier | Emotional communication barriers occur depending on the emotional IQ of an individual. Different people respond differently when communication is directed towards them. The first group of people has total control over their emotions and do not let their emotions affect the way they communicate with other people. On the other hand, other people cannot control their feelings and end up showing poor communication skills. The ability to control emotions affects the way communication flows from one individual to another. Individuals who can control their emotions end up having an easier time when communicating with people. Also, communication flows smoothly when emotions are controlled and managed. However, the management of emotions may force people to present a false image to the public, which may hinder them from accessing help when needed. On the other hand, individuals who cannot control their emotions have difficulties communicating and cannot maintain a smooth flow of communication. Generally, emotions should be mixed perfectly to enhance effective communication. Moreover, cultural barriers are common, especially were companies had embraced diversity in the workplace. |
| The workplace is comprised of people from different countries. Conflicts occur when individuals talk about the type of greetings and cloths to be allowed in the office | Cultural barrier | Companies have greatly embraced diversity in the workplace, with employees being sourced from different cultural backgrounds. However, diversification comes along with several challenges in terms of communication. People from different cultural backgrounds have different beliefs, as well as practices. For example, basic morals are different between cultures as well as practices such as clothing. Communication between people with different cultural backgrounds faces challenges in that some communication skills may be acceptable in one culture but not in the other. For example, some cultures accept nodding as an acceptable response, while others view nodding as a sign of disrespect. Also, some cultures prefer waving to hand-shakes. Communication can only flow smoothly among such workplaces if employees learn to appreciate the difference between them and learning to coexist without unnecessary frictions. Generally, the acceptance of the unavoidable cultural barriers is crucial in ensuring effective communication. Moreover, inhibitors also occur due to organizational specifications. |
| The only communication allowed is through letters. Some employees do not remember to read the letters addressed to them. | Organizational barrier | Organizational barriers are ones that occur due to the specifications of a particular company. Generally, different companies have different communication channels. The channels used by various organizations have their limitations that arise as inhibitors of communication between employees. For example, an organization may limit its communication to letters and memos. Such methods may only be effective for official communication. A method such as using letters destroys interpersonal relationships since employees do not get to interact at personal levels with each other. Therefore, the workplace ends up becoming dull, with some employees underperforming since the communication between the employees and the management is not straightforward. Thus, an organization should embrace communication systems that do not pose negative impacts on the productivity of the employees. |
| Employees admitted to have left out crucial information while talking to the manager | Direction of communication barrier | The managers and the employees are basically on different levels in the workplace. The managers are generally viewed as being at a higher level compared to the employees. The respect that the employees have for the managers sometimes affects the information that the employees can pass to the managers. This case appears as a barrier because more than two employees admitted that they left out crucial information for fear of consequences that would follow. Generally, the employees had vital information, but the direction of communication could not allow them to pass the information to the manager. |
Part IV: Organization Rating
The organization has attempted to improve the effectiveness of communication in its workplace. The fact that most employees are from different nations gives a challenge in ensuring effective communication. Generally, the organization can be rated at 50 percent because most of the challenges are addressed before they weaken the coordination of employees. However, some challenges have appeared to be beyond the control of the organizations and have been overlooked. for example, the organization does not control the dress code in the workplace. Instead, employees are advised to respect the dressing choice of every employee. Also, the choice of uniform communication methods has remained unchanged with employees being forced to address the management through letters. Generally, the effectiveness of communication in the organization has not improved for several years. The main reason for the continued ineffective communication can be associated with the organization’s attempts to create uniqueness in addressing the challenges in the communication sector. Also, the employees have remained silent on the inhibitors affecting their communication and thus the organization has done little to address the issue.