Question

Mr. Shubhendu Bose is the owner of 'Bikmac Enterprises' carrying on the business of manufacturing various kinds of biscuits. There was a lot of discontentment in the organisation and the targets were not being met. He asked his son. Naval, who had recently completed his MBA, to find out the reason. Naval found that all decision making of the enterprise were in the hands of his father. His father didn't believe in his employees. As a result both the employer and the employees were not able to understand each other’s message in the same sense. Thus, the employees were not happy and targets were not met.

a. Identify any two communication barriers because of which Bikmac Enterprises was not able to achieve its target.

b. State one more barrier each of the types identified in (a) above.

Mr. Fernandes is the owner of Unibie Enterprises, carrying on the business of manufacturing electrical appliances. There is a lot of discontentment in the organisation and targets are not being met. He asked his son, Michel, who has recently completed his MBA, to find out the reason.

Michel found that all decision making of the enterprise were in the hands of his father.

Moreover, his father did not have confidence in the competency of the employees. Thus the employees were not happy.

a. Identify any two communication barriers because of which 'Unibie Enterprise' was not able to achieve its target.

b. State one more barrier each of the types identified in part (a) above.

Answer 1

a. Two communication barriers because of which Enterprises were not able to achieve their targets:

i. Barriers at the personal level:- Clear lines of communication are hindered by personal barriers present in an organisation. This happens when the management does not entrust its confidence in employees. Managers should conduct discussions and ask employees for inputs to ensure that such barriers are resolved.

ii. Barriers at the organisational level:- Policies which suppress the initiatives to empower employees such as centralisation of all decisions, high attrition rates and low perks result in dissatisfaction among employees. This dissatisfaction hinders their performance.

b. i. One barrier at the organisational level is ‘Rigid code of conduct’. If an organisation follows extremely rigid rules and regulations, all its employees remain suppressed and dissatisfied. Organisations should promote good communication lines with their employees.

ii. One barrier at the personal level is ‘Disregard and fear’. When managers do no appreciate employees for their contribution, employees lose their motivation to perform. Also, fear blocks all lines of communication with managers. This results in personal barriers.