Page 254 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 10 • Organizational Communications

What kinds of distractions
can occur during a business
meeting? How can these
barriers to communication
be overcome?

PHOTO: © STOCKBYTE.

DISTORTIONS
When senders create messages, they must select the information they want to
include. They need not include every bit of data surrounding an idea, event,
or situation. Senders select only the information they think the receivers need
in order to understand the message. Depending on the information selected,
though, the message can become distorted. Distortion refers to how people
consciously or unconsciously change messages.
Distortion is usually not deliberate. People unconsciously pass along only
information they feel others need. Often they leave out important data. Dis-
tortion may be deliberate, however, for self-enhancement or self-protection.
For example, an employee may tell a supervisor about a machine breakdown
but not admit that he or she did not oil the machine regularly. Or a manager
may give an employee a very good rating because she likes him, even though
the worker’s performance may be only average.
Distortion can also occur because people often “hear” what they want to.
We all bring our own perspectives to any situation. We filter messages we
receive through our own system of beliefs and experience. Therefore, some-
times what we understand the sender to say was not at all what the sender
meant. Receivers don’t necessarily have to agree with the message, but they
have a responsibility to use feedback to try to understand it as the sender
intended.

CHECKPOINT
Describe the communication model and the factors that lead to
poor communication.

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