Research Paper – Communication Barriers among First Year Business Management Students

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Full Title: COMMUNICATION BARRIERS AMONG FIRST YEAR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDENTS AT CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY – MAIN CAMPUS DURING AY 2008-2009

Proponents: Andrean Dalayap, Bernadine Destura, Christopher Javier, Jayveelyn Latoc, and Ray Luaña

Introduction

Communication is the process of transmitting information from one person to another. It includes the one who wants to share information through a message and another one to receive the message.

The problem originated from the experience of the researchers during their college life. They observed that communication barriers among their classmates which tend to lead in conflicts and misunderstandings. The researchers got interested in the study because they want to know what possible communication barriers would be in an organization, since they will be managers in the future.

According to Bovve & Thill (2005), when one sends a message one intends to communicate meaning, but the message itself does not contain meaning. The meaning exits in one’s mind and in the mind of the receiver. In order to understand each other, the sender and the receiver must share similar meaning for words, gestures, tone of voice, and other symbols. “Effective communications do all they can to deal with barriers such as differences in perception and language, poor listening, and physical distraction.”

Physical barriers. These include bad connection, poor acoustics or an illegible copy, which “may be seen as trivial but they can block an otherwise effective message (Bovve & Thill, 2005. A receiver may be distracted by an uncomfortable chair, poor lighting, health problems, or some other irritating condition. Other physical barriers include: noise, the environment, climate, and distance.

Semantic barriers. These include the meaning of words and other symbols. “Semantics can affect persuasive messages in the variety of meaning that people attribute to certain words” (Bovee & Thill, 2008). These include the meaning of words, jargon, pronunciation, intonation

Personal barriers. These include gestures, gender, filtering, emotions, ego, and time pressure. Filtering is “a common occurrence in upward communication, it’s a screening out or abbreviating information before a message is passed to someone else” (Bovee & Thill, 2008). Emotions are personal barriers because

When you are upset, hostile, or fearful, you have a hard time shaping a message objectively. It your receiver is emotional, they may ignore or distort your message. It’s practically impossible to avoid all communication in which emotions are involved, but try to remember that emotional messages have a greater potential for misunderstanding.

According to Ivancevich & Matteson (1990),

The pressure of time is an important barrier in communication. One obvious problem is that managers do not have the time to communicate frequently with every subordinate. However, time pressure often can lead to far more serious problems….

Meanwhile, according to Kreitner & Kinicki, (1998), “Our egos—our pride, our self-esteem, even arrogance—is a barrier. Ego can be used in political battles, turf wars, and the passionate pursuits of power, credit, and resources.”

Methodology

The researchers used the descriptive method of research in order to find out the communication barriers among first years Bachelor of Science in Business Management. To gather primary data, the researchers constructed a questionnaire. They chose their classmates, students of BSBM 1-2, because these respondents are accessible (convenience sampling).

Results and Discussion

After distributing and collecting the questionnaires, the researchers tabulated the results and computed for percentages. The total number of respondents is 24.

Table 1. Physical Barriers

Situation	f	%
Noise	21	87.50
Environment	6	25.00
Climate	11	45.85
Distance	15	62.50

* Does not total to 100% due to multiple answers.

BSBM students consider noise as the primary physical barrier followed by distance and climate.

Table 2. Semantic Barriers

Situation	f	%
Meaning of words	2	8.33
Jargon	5	20.83
Pronunciation	19	79.17
Intonation	22	91.67
Information overload	14	58.33

* Does not total to 100% due to multiple answers.

BSBM students consider intonation as the primary semantic barrier, followed by pronunciation and information overload.

Table 3. Physical barriers

Situation	f	%
Gestures	15	62.50
Gender	3	12.50
Filtering	4	16.67
Emotions	21	87.50
Egos	19	79.17
Time pressure	15	62.50

* Does not total to 100% due to multiple answers.

BSBM students consider emotions as the greatest personal barrier followed by egos, and time pressure.

Conclusion

The researchers discovered that the greatest communication barriers encountered by the students of BSBM 1-2 are: noise and distance under physical barriers; intonation, pronunciation, and information overload under semantic barriers; and emotions, egos, and time under physical barriers.

The researchers suggest to those affected by communication barriers that they should choose a place where they can communication; to practice clear and correct pronunciation and intonation; and to adjust their level of communication according to the people they will talk to.

Communication barriers are natural in group settings because all individuals have differences. It is a major source of conflict not only in schools but also within companies.

REFERENCES [Original paper did not contain place of publication and publisher.]

Bovve, C. L., & Thill J. V. (1998). Business communication today.

Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (1987). Organizational behavior and management.

Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2004). Organiational behavior.

Thill, J. V., & Bovve C. L. (2005). Excellence in business communications.

Citation (APA-style)

Dalayap, A. L., Destura, B. P., Javier, C. L., Latoc, J. M., & Luaña, R. D. (March 2009). Communication barriers among first year Bachelor of Science in Business Management students at Cavite State University – Main Campus during AY 2008-2009. Edited by G. T. Guerrero. Unpublished research paper. Indang, Cavite: Cavite State University.