This document provides an overview of organizational behavior and communication and perception. It begins with definitions of communication and discusses the directions of communication within an organization. It also covers types of communication including verbal, non-verbal, and barriers to communication. Perception is defined and the document discusses selective perception and perceptual organization. It also outlines principles of perceptual organization and perceptual sets and worlds. The significance of non-verbal communication and common errors in perception are summarized.

1. ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR
Chapter # 2
COMMUNICATION AND
PERCEPTION
Prepared By:
Muhammad Riaz Khan
M.Com (Final)
Government College Of Management Sciences Peshawar
Cell: +923139533123
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2. WHAT IS COMMUNICATION??
Definition:
The word communication has been derived from a Latin word
“communis” which means to share something or hold in common.
Following are some definitions of Communication.
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“Communication is the process by which information is
transmitted between individual or organization also that an
understanding response result……(Peter little)”.
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“Communication is simply the act of transferring information
from one place to another”.
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“Communication is the exchange of ideas, information and
knowledge by two or more Persons (or Parties)”.
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“Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas,
thoughts, feelings and emotions through speech, signals, writing, or
behavior”.
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3. DIRECTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
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Directions of communication means the flow of information
within the organization. In an organization, communication flows in
various directions.
Downward communication:
Downward communication flows from people at higher level to
those at lower levels in the organization hierarchy. Downward
communication comes after upward communications have been
successfully established. Examples of written downwards
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communication are memo, letters, handbooks, policy statements and
procedures.
Upward communication:
Upward communication is the flow of information from subordinates to
superiors, or from employees to management. Typical means of upward
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communication are suggestion systems, appeal and complaint
systems, group meetings, morale questionnaires and the exit
interview.
Horizontal/Literal communication:
Horizontal communication normally involves coordinating
information, and allows people with the same or similar rank in an
organization to cooperate or collaborate. Communication among
employees at the same level for the accomplishment of work.
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4. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
People communicate with each other in a number of ways that
depends upon the message and its context in which it is being
sent. Choice of communication channel and style of
communicating also affects communication. So, there are variety
of types of communication.
Types of communication based on the communication channels
used.
A.
Verbal Communication
B.
Non-verbal Communication
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5. A)- Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the form of communication
in which message is transmitted verbally; communication is
done by word of mouth or a piece of writing. Objective of
every communication is to have people understand what we
are trying to convey.
Verbal Communication is further divided into:
i.
ii.
Oral Communication
Written Communication
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6. i.
Oral Communication:
In oral communication, Spoken words are used. It includes
face-to-face conversations, speech, telephonic conversation,
video, radio, television. It brings quick feedback. But In face-toface Communication, user is unable to deeply think about what
he is delivering.
ii.
Written Communication:
Written Communication is most common form of communication
being used in business. In written communication, written signs
or symbols are used to communicate. A written message may be
printed or hand written. In written communication message can
be transmitted via email, letter, report, memo etc.
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7. B)- Non-verbal Communication
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Nonverbal communication is the sending or
receiving of wordless messages. We can say that
communication other than oral and written, such as
gesture, body language, posture, tone of voice or facial
expressions, is called nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication have the following three
elements:
Appearance: Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness,
use of cosmetics
Surrounding: Room size, lighting, decorations,
furnishings
Body Language: facial expressions, gestures, postures
Sounds: Voice Tone, Volume, Speech rate
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8. PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
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In communication process, a sender (encoder) encodes a message
and then using a medium/channel sends it to the receiver (decoder)
who decodes the message and after processing information, sends
back appropriate feedback/reply using a medium/channel. The
communication process includes the following components.
Idea: A thought or collection of thoughts that generate in the mind.
Sender: The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates
the communication.
Encoding: Encoding means translating information into a message in the
form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts.
Message: Idea encoded by the sender.
Channel: The medium used to convey the message.
Decoding: Decoding is the reverse of encoding, which is the process of
transforming information from one format into another.
Receiver: The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the
message is directed.
Feedback: The response to a message or activity.
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10. BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
Barriers in communication means the causes or hurdles which
leads to miscommunication or failure of communication.
Following are some reasons which fail the process of
communication to bring a positive response from the receiver.
Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the
receiver.
Differences in perception and viewpoint.
Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech
difficulties.
Language differences.
Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false
assumptions.
Cultural differences.
Lack of Message Clarity.
Information Overload.
Wrong choice of channel.
Gender differences
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11. SIGNIFICANCE OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
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Non-verbal refers to any communication that does not use words. It
is one of the oldest forms of communication. It is both intentional and
unintentional, The important part is that most communication is
nonverbal. In fact, nonverbal behavior is the most crucial aspect of
communication. Communication is specifically 75% nonverbal or 90%
nonverbal holds no practical applications. It includes the following but not
limited to:
touch
glance
eye contact (gaze)
volume
posture
Smell
Dress
Body Movement
Gestures
Facial Expressions
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12. WHAT IS PERCEPTION??
Definitions:
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According to Stephen P Robbins, Perception is a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment. The term originated from a Latin word ‘‘percepio’’ meaning receiving,
collecting, action of taking possession, apprehension with the mind or senses.
“Perception is the dynamic psychological process responsible for attending to,
organizing sensory data. Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, smell
and taste”.
“The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses”.
“The word perception means the ability to take notice of something by using
your senses. Taking in your surroundings through sight, sound, taste, touch and
smell give the perception of everything around you”.
“Perception is someone's view. Everyone is said to have different perceptions
on political, religious, and personal subjects”.
The perceptual process allows us to experience the world around us. Take a
moment to think of all the things you perceive on a daily basis. At any given
moment, you might see familiar objects in your environment, feel the touch of
objects and people against your skin, smell the aroma of a home-cooked meal and
hear the sound of music playing in your next door neighbor's apartment. All of these
things help make up our conscious experience and allow us to interact with the
people and objects around us.
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13. SELECTIVITY AND ORGANIZATION IN PERCEPTION
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Selective perception:
Selective perception is the process by which people filter out
irrelevant or less significant information so that they can deal with the
most important matters.
“The ability to choose from the stream of sensory data, too
concentrate on particular elements, and to ignore others”.
“Selective perception is the personal filtering of what we see and
hear so as to suit our own needs. Much of this process is psychological
and often unconscious”.
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Perceptual organization:
“Perceptual organization is the process through which incoming
stimuli are organized or patterned in systematic and meaningful ways”.
In other words perceptual organization may be define as, “an
unconscious process of mind through which we organized or make
groups or through which we give pattern to the incoming data”.
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14. PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
Following are the three Principles through which perceptual organization
operates.
i.
Principle of proximity:
According to this principle “Things that are close to one another are perceived to be
more related than things that are spaced farther apart”. This principle notes that we tend to
group together or to classify stimuli that are physically close to each other and which thus
appear to belong together.
it is among the first principles to impact our perception and from which we derive
understanding. In the example below, proximity clearly indicates relatedness and relative
association:
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15. ii.
Principles of similarity:
Principles of similarity captures the idea that elements will be grouped perceptually
if they are similar to each other. This principle is quite straightforward: things that look
similar are assumed to be related in some way.
The similarity principle claims that elements tend to be integrated into groups if they
are similar to each other. This principle can also be presented in shape of the following
figure.
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16. iii.
Principles of Closure:
This principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive
incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric
stimuli as symmetric.
When presented with less than the full picture, we often attempt to employ the principle
of closure to fill in missing information and form a complete image or idea based on
common or easily recognizable patterns from our past experience and understanding.
Although the panda above is not complete, enough is present for the
eye to complete the shape. When the viewer's perception completes a
shape, closure occurs.
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17. PERCEPTUAL SETS AND PERCEPTUAL WORLDS
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Perceptual set:
Perceptual set is a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the
available sensory data and ignore others.
Perceptual set is a psychology concept that stresses on the tendency
to perceive or notice some aspects of the available sensory data and ignore
others. That is, the expectation of an individual to see something based on
prior experience. Its a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not
another.
Example
Let take a simple situation. There is a glass which is half full of water.
One say that glass is half full, but the other observe it in different way and
claimed that glass is half empty.
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18. 
PERCEPTUAL WORLDS:
The individual's personal internal image,
map or picture of their social, physical and
organizational environment.
We each live in our own perceptional
world. The perceptional world of an individual
id defined as,
“The individual’s perceptual world is simply
their personal image, map or picture of their
social, physical and organizational
environment”. We each have a unique vision
of what is ‘out there’ and of our own place ‘in
it.
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19. PERCEPTUAL SETS AND ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR
There are two related and prominent features of the process of
human perception:
Halo Effect:
An effect whereby the perception of positive qualities in one
thing or part gives rise to the perception of similar qualities in
related things or in the whole. The halo effect or halo error is a
cognitive bias in which one's judgments of a person’s character can
be influenced by one's overall impression of him or her.
Example:
A bright and cheery employee who always has a positive
attitude and enthusiastically tackles projects might be identified as
an ideal staffer because of her/his outgoing personality. Managers
might find it difficult to criticize or harshly evaluate this type of
employee because the halo effect positions the individual as
someone who tries hard, always has the best intentions and is a
cheerleader for the organization
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20. Stereotyping:
A “stereotype” is a common word that means an act of
assumption over a group of people or individual that’s might not
be true. This word was derived from the Greek word “stereos”
meaning “firm” or “solid” and “typos” meaning “impression”.
“Stereotyping is a thought process that organizes beliefs
about one group of people and assigns them to everyone in that
group”.
“Stereotyping is making assumptions about somebody or a
group of people based on their looks, heritage, or even skin
color. Stereotypes have also been made based on gender, IQ
levels, and age”.
Some common stereotypes include the saying that Americans
are all loud, obnoxious, and loud. That the Jewish are all greedy.
That Asians cannot drive correctly. Also, that all African
American's are in gangs.
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21. Person perception: Errors and Avoidance
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Errors in Person Perception: The main errors in person perception are as under.
Not collecting enough information about other people.
Basing our judgment on information that is irrelevant or insignificant.
Seeing what we expect to see and what we want to see, are not investigating further.
Make judgment based on early information, despite later and contradictory
information.
We judge people with our own characteristics.
Accepting stereotypes uncritically.
Attempting non-verbal behavior outside the context in which it appears.
Basing attribution on flimsy and potentially irrelevant evidence.
Avoidance of Such Errors: Following are the remedies of such errors
Take more time in judgment about others.
Collecting and consciously using more information about other people.
Get out your self from stereotyping.
Avoid the halo effect.
Avoid attribution theory and get information about people.
Get out bias from your judgment.
Avoid discriminations about sex, appearances, and attractiveness.
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