Effective Business Communication Language Barrier

Question: Discuss about the Effective Business Communicationfor Language Barrier. Answer: Introduction Business communication issues stem from misunderstandings, and this leads to reduced productivity. Communication problems within the workplace waste funds, time, and profitability. Effective communication barriers arise when the sender of message adopts the wrong communication style. Managers need to address the communication problems within their organizations so as to promote success and competitiveness in the industry (Scheer, 2012). This report will analyze language barrier as the major communication challenge that faces most businesses today. The relationship between the language barrier and Berlo's communication model that focus on the source, channel, receiver, and the message itself will be explained as to how the model may get applied to assist organizations in solving language barrier issues. Language Barrier There exists language barrier in a diverse workplace within a business. Diverse workplaces are formed by employees whose ethnicity, culture, norms, and attitudes differ from their background. Different aged and ethnicized people operate either in different or similar levels within an industry (Anvari Atiyaye, 2014). For example, global companies recruit people across the whole world who come from diverse backgrounds; this implies that an unplanned problem of language is established. The inability to communicate in a common language slows the passage of information among various parties within the workplace and thus creating misunderstandings that deem communication ineffective. Berlos Model Overview Also referred to as Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver (SMCR) model, the model argues that the source and the receiver of information are influenced by attitude, knowledge, the skill of communication, culture, and social systems (Drew Coulson?Thomas, 2013). The message is passed based on the structure, code, element, content, and treatment. The channel of communication is influenced by the sensory patterns of the sender and receiver. Relationship Between Berlos Model and Language Barrier Language barrier originates from ethnic background differences and hinders the progress of business operations especially in a diverse workplace. Berlo's model has various benefits based on the source of language barrier issues and therefore useful in solving communication challenges (Heath Bryant, 2013). Berlos model reaches treatment of interpersonal, mass, oral, and written communication difficulties experienced within an organization. The fact that this model is considered to be heuristic, managers employ its concepts in designing a conventional system and workplace language that is understandable by every stakeholder. How the speaker passes a message or responds to questions depends on his or her attitude towards the receivers. The social background of a person affects the common understanding of other people, and this follows a person to the workplace whereby he or she cannot communicate information in the right approach (Lievrouw, 2009). The linear model of communication considers various factors affecting the source, message, channel, and receiver. According to SMCR model, communication takes place efficiently when the receiver and the sender are similar. Effects of Langauge Barrier Problems in Organizations The most important communication levels in an organization are vertical and horizontal which go hand in hand with organizational objectives. Language differences create numerous adverse effects to the operations of a company, some of which include: Poor Work Relationships The greatest impact of language barrier within a diverse workplace is the establishment of conflicting relationships between colleague employees and between the supervisors and the line staff (Narula, 2006). Bad employee relationships lead to reduced productivity in the firm. Misunderstandings and Misinterpretation Language barrier leads to distortion of information since the speaker may pass a message in a language that the respondent is not well conversed with (Guffey Loewy, 2010). This misunderstanding of information leads to mistakes which turn to be costly for a firm to recover in the long run. Inaction Language barrier results to inaction whereby the personnel fails to deliver on the required and requested directives from the supervisors (Guffey Loewy, 2010). When the sender of the message uses a language that the employees do not understand, uncertainties are created since the sender fails to pass the message in the prescribed manner. Using Berlos Model to Solve Language Barrier Problems The Berlo's model of communication can be used to adequately address the above effects of language barriers within the workplace. This can be achieved in the following ways based on the core elements of the model: Source Problems The primary cause of language barrier is a lack of establishing the order of command and communication rules within an enterprise. Berlo's model postulates that information communicated within an organization must come from one source (Scheer, 2012). Therefore, to solve language barrier challenges in the workplace, the management should have a particular person or a group of individuals who should pass the message to all stakeholders. The Berlo's model argues that solving communication problems, the sender of information must have a positive attitude towards the audience, know the subject matter as well as the social background of the existing personnel. Message Barriers To solve language barrier problems caused by the type of information passed, Berlo's communication model argue that the sender must select a uniform language of giving the information to the receivers (Guffey Loewy, 2010). The terms used in giving the message needs to be friendly and with respect to the organizational culture. The moment the message is not complicated, this means every employee understands the message, and thus language barrier issues are solved. Channel Constraints The channel is the path through which the signal is passed by the sender to the receiver. Language barrier arises whereby intermediaries are used in communicating the information to a given team (Bruneel Kim, 2012). For example, instead of the manager talking directly to all employees, he or she instead authorizes supervisors to pass that message. Berlo's model argues that the channel to get adopted must be language sensitive and liable for any mistake possibly realized out of false message given. Receiver Problems For an organization to solve language barrier problems, all employees recruited must have the skills, abilities, and knowledge to interpret and understand the message passed to them by the supervisor (Narula, 2006). The audience needs to understand the social culture of the organization so as to easily understand and act upon any directions instructed to act upon by the managers. Conclusion The problem of language barriers hinders success in organizations. Any misunderstanding between the supervisors and the subordinates leads to inaction and thus underproductivity. Berlo's model of communication plays a major role in solving language barrier issues within the workplace. Therefore, organizations should adopt the use of communication models when addressing real business communication issues for this leads to improved performance and productivity. References Anvari, R., Atiyaye, D. M. (2014). Determinants of effective communication among undergraduate students.International Education Studies,7(9), 112. Bruneel, H., Kim, B. G. (2012).Discrete-time models for communication systems including ATM(Vol. 205). Springer Science Business Media. Drew, S., Coulson?Thomas, C. (2013). Transformation through teamwork: the path to the new organization?.Team Performance Management: An International Journal. Guffey, M. E., Loewy, D. (2010).Business Communication: Process and product. Cengage Learning. Heath, R. L., Bryant, J. (2013).Human communication theory and research: Concepts, contexts, and challenges. Routledge. Lievrouw, L. A. (2009). NEW MEDIA, MEDIATION, AND COMMUNICATION STUDY 1.Information, Communication Society,12(3), 303-325. Narula, U. 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