PASSMATE TUTORIALS
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE FROM UNISA. THE FRAMEWORK IS
NOT PREPARED NOR APPROVED BY UNISA, RATHER REPRESENTS A POSSIBLE
SOLUTION TO THE TASK CONSISTENT WITH THEORY. THIS ASSIGNMENT IS
INTENDED TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN GETTING STARTED WITH THEIR ASSIGNMENT,
AND IN NO CASE THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE USED FOR CHEATING. WE BELIEVE
THIS WILL BE A GOOD STARTING POINT AS IT WAS PREPARED BY OUR TEAM OF
PROFESSIONAL PRIVATE TUTORS WHO ARE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, AND IT WAS
PREPARED USING VARIOUS SOURCES. ANY SIMILARITY WITH ANY EXISTING
THEORY OR DISCUSSION BY OTHER AUTHORS IS EXCUSED. THE AUTHORS
HOWEVER DO NOT CLAIM MONOPOLY TO KNOWLEDGE HENCE MODIFICATION OF
THE ANSWERS CONTAINED IN THIS FRAMEWORK MAY NOT BE PROHIBITED AS IT
CONTRIBUTES TO EXPANSION OF KNOWLEDGE. FOR ANY FURTHER GUIDELINE
ABOUT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HERE AND THE MODULE IN GENERAL,
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS.
WE ASSIST WITH OTHER MODULES INCLUDING:
ECSs, FACs, MACs, MNGs, INTs, TRLs, HMEMS, PRMs, PROs, MNBs, DSC, QMI, MNMs,
MNO, MNPs, FIN, PUBs, MNMs, RESEARCH among others.
WE OFFER CLASSES, ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES, EXAMINATION PREPARATION,
RESEARCH AND RESEARCH PROPOSALS, DISSERTATION EDITING etc.
OTHER THAN UNISA, WE ALSO ASSIST STUDENTS AT VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS
INCLUDING MANCOSA, REGENT, REGEYNESES, BOSTON, STADIO, OLG, UJ, UP etc
For any enquiries the following numbers can be used for calling, SMS, WhatsApp and
telegram
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS @061 262 1185/068 053 8213/0717 513 144
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS @061 262 1185/068 053 8213/0717 513 144
,Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3
Question 1: Mechanical Barriers to Communication [15] ............................................... 3
1.1 Overloading....................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Semantic Barriers............................................................................................................ 4
1.3 Noise ................................................................................................................................... 5
Question 2: Organisational Barriers to Communication [25]......................................... 6
Hierarchical Levels ................................................................................................................ 6
Managerial Authority ............................................................................................................. 7
Specialisation and Jargon ................................................................................................... 8
Network Disruptions ............................................................................................................. 8
Information Overload ............................................................................................................ 9
Time Pressure ......................................................................................................................... 9
Question 3: Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication [20] ......................... 10
Reducing the Effects of Hierarchy and Managerial Distortion ................................ 10
Managing the Grapevine .................................................................................................... 11
Managing Semantic Barriers ............................................................................................ 11
Preventing Overloading ..................................................................................................... 11
Reducing Noise .................................................................................................................... 12
Managing Time Pressure ................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 12
References ................................................................................................................................. 14
, Introduction
Communication within any organisation can be modelled, at its simplest, as a message
that travels from a source, through an encoder, along a channel, to a decoder and a
receiver, a sequence first formalised by Shannon and Weaver (1949) in their
mathematical theory of communication. Shannon and Weaver (1949) further
distinguished three levels at which this process can fail: a technical level, concerning
how accurately signals are transmitted through the channel; a semantic level,
concerning how precisely the transmitted symbols convey the sender's intended
meaning; and an effectiveness level, concerning whether the received meaning
actually produces the desired effect in the receiver's behaviour. This three-level
distinction is a useful diagnostic framework for the Ubuntu University case, because
the barriers described there map fairly cleanly onto it: noise and network disruption
are technical-level failures, semantic barriers and specialisation are, unsurprisingly,
semantic-level failures, and the organisational barriers discussed in Question 2,
hierarchy, managerial authority, and time pressure, are best understood as
effectiveness-level failures, in which the message may arrive intact but still fails to
produce the intended coordinated action. The sections below apply this integrated
theoretical lens to the case study in detail.
Question 1: Mechanical Barriers to Communication [15]
Mechanical barriers are the practical, largely unintentional obstructions that interrupt
the flow of a message between sender and receiver, as distinct from barriers rooted
in organisational structure or individual psychology (Lunenburg, 2010). They
correspond most directly to what Shannon and Weaver (1949) classed as technical
and semantic problems: failures in the channel itself, or in the correspondence
between the symbols sent and the meaning received. Three such barriers are evident
in the Ubuntu University case: overloading, semantic barriers, and noise.
1.1 Overloading
Information overload occurs when a receiver is presented with more information than
can reasonably be processed, understood, and acted upon within the available time
(Lunenburg, 2010). Overloading does not reflect a lack of intelligence or effort on the
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE FROM UNISA. THE FRAMEWORK IS
NOT PREPARED NOR APPROVED BY UNISA, RATHER REPRESENTS A POSSIBLE
SOLUTION TO THE TASK CONSISTENT WITH THEORY. THIS ASSIGNMENT IS
INTENDED TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN GETTING STARTED WITH THEIR ASSIGNMENT,
AND IN NO CASE THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE USED FOR CHEATING. WE BELIEVE
THIS WILL BE A GOOD STARTING POINT AS IT WAS PREPARED BY OUR TEAM OF
PROFESSIONAL PRIVATE TUTORS WHO ARE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, AND IT WAS
PREPARED USING VARIOUS SOURCES. ANY SIMILARITY WITH ANY EXISTING
THEORY OR DISCUSSION BY OTHER AUTHORS IS EXCUSED. THE AUTHORS
HOWEVER DO NOT CLAIM MONOPOLY TO KNOWLEDGE HENCE MODIFICATION OF
THE ANSWERS CONTAINED IN THIS FRAMEWORK MAY NOT BE PROHIBITED AS IT
CONTRIBUTES TO EXPANSION OF KNOWLEDGE. FOR ANY FURTHER GUIDELINE
ABOUT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HERE AND THE MODULE IN GENERAL,
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS.
WE ASSIST WITH OTHER MODULES INCLUDING:
ECSs, FACs, MACs, MNGs, INTs, TRLs, HMEMS, PRMs, PROs, MNBs, DSC, QMI, MNMs,
MNO, MNPs, FIN, PUBs, MNMs, RESEARCH among others.
WE OFFER CLASSES, ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES, EXAMINATION PREPARATION,
RESEARCH AND RESEARCH PROPOSALS, DISSERTATION EDITING etc.
OTHER THAN UNISA, WE ALSO ASSIST STUDENTS AT VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS
INCLUDING MANCOSA, REGENT, REGEYNESES, BOSTON, STADIO, OLG, UJ, UP etc
For any enquiries the following numbers can be used for calling, SMS, WhatsApp and
telegram
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS @061 262 1185/068 053 8213/0717 513 144
CONTACT PASSMATE TUTORIALS @061 262 1185/068 053 8213/0717 513 144
,Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3
Question 1: Mechanical Barriers to Communication [15] ............................................... 3
1.1 Overloading....................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Semantic Barriers............................................................................................................ 4
1.3 Noise ................................................................................................................................... 5
Question 2: Organisational Barriers to Communication [25]......................................... 6
Hierarchical Levels ................................................................................................................ 6
Managerial Authority ............................................................................................................. 7
Specialisation and Jargon ................................................................................................... 8
Network Disruptions ............................................................................................................. 8
Information Overload ............................................................................................................ 9
Time Pressure ......................................................................................................................... 9
Question 3: Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication [20] ......................... 10
Reducing the Effects of Hierarchy and Managerial Distortion ................................ 10
Managing the Grapevine .................................................................................................... 11
Managing Semantic Barriers ............................................................................................ 11
Preventing Overloading ..................................................................................................... 11
Reducing Noise .................................................................................................................... 12
Managing Time Pressure ................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 12
References ................................................................................................................................. 14
, Introduction
Communication within any organisation can be modelled, at its simplest, as a message
that travels from a source, through an encoder, along a channel, to a decoder and a
receiver, a sequence first formalised by Shannon and Weaver (1949) in their
mathematical theory of communication. Shannon and Weaver (1949) further
distinguished three levels at which this process can fail: a technical level, concerning
how accurately signals are transmitted through the channel; a semantic level,
concerning how precisely the transmitted symbols convey the sender's intended
meaning; and an effectiveness level, concerning whether the received meaning
actually produces the desired effect in the receiver's behaviour. This three-level
distinction is a useful diagnostic framework for the Ubuntu University case, because
the barriers described there map fairly cleanly onto it: noise and network disruption
are technical-level failures, semantic barriers and specialisation are, unsurprisingly,
semantic-level failures, and the organisational barriers discussed in Question 2,
hierarchy, managerial authority, and time pressure, are best understood as
effectiveness-level failures, in which the message may arrive intact but still fails to
produce the intended coordinated action. The sections below apply this integrated
theoretical lens to the case study in detail.
Question 1: Mechanical Barriers to Communication [15]
Mechanical barriers are the practical, largely unintentional obstructions that interrupt
the flow of a message between sender and receiver, as distinct from barriers rooted
in organisational structure or individual psychology (Lunenburg, 2010). They
correspond most directly to what Shannon and Weaver (1949) classed as technical
and semantic problems: failures in the channel itself, or in the correspondence
between the symbols sent and the meaning received. Three such barriers are evident
in the Ubuntu University case: overloading, semantic barriers, and noise.
1.1 Overloading
Information overload occurs when a receiver is presented with more information than
can reasonably be processed, understood, and acted upon within the available time
(Lunenburg, 2010). Overloading does not reflect a lack of intelligence or effort on the
