BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION In any organization effective communication forms an essential part of the organization’s growth and progress. However, it has been seen that this is not always the case. This istrue in today’s globalized world when one has employees coming from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds working together. If the reasons for communication failure are examined it has been found that they fall in four distinct categories. These are: 1) Process or organizational barriers. 2) Personal barriers 3) Physical barriers 4) Semantic barriers

These categories will be examined in detail, one by one. Organizational or Process barriers: The organizational barriers are mostly related to the organizational structure. Effective communication has to be vertical as well as horizontal. This is where the structure determines whether this communication assisted or hindered by the structure. However the various factors within the process or organization will be examined below. 1) Organizational policies: These policies determine the relationship between the various levels in the organization and how communication occurs between these levels. For instance, if policy dictates that all communication must be in writing, then even the smallest request has to be put in writing. This can hinder effective communication due to the delays in writing the request. 2) Rules and regulations: Organizational rules can become a barrier to communication. If the rules dictate the media, subject matter and frequency of the communications, some employees may choose just nort to send any communications rather than try to stick to the rules. 3) Status: All organization structures have a series of levels. These levels form a barrier between the various levels especially for vertical communication. For