Analyze Barriers That May Exist in Group Communication

In group communication barriers do exist, not in one form but many different forms. In this company there are physical barriers which some groups face being distance apart from each other such as our branch in India trying to work with team members here and the difference in the time zones. Distance creates a barrier for most employees because one of the most effective forms of communication is actually speaking to someone face to face, for them having to communicate via email is frustrating and things that were written were taken the wrong way due to the fact that they cannot see each others facial expressions or body language when they are writing, so not having this form of communication did create a barrier. We've decided when working in groups they need to schedule meetings for the weekend, that helps the situation as the company is closed on the weekend and most group members would be available so there would be no conflict with the work schedules. Although many may agree video conferencing helps overcome this distance, it is not always effective. Sometimes there are technology problems we have to work around and training of a few employees so they can be a bit more computer savvy. It is also necessary for them reread what they wrote to make sure it is taken the way it was intended for the reader.

One may get offended if they think the group has a bad perception of them and that can create a barrier between them and the group. One often feels if they are in a group and they are given a task that does not require much work or research it can cause them to think the group or person does not think much of them, their ability to perform a task or they just do not trust them. An example of that was when Linda stopped speaking to Kim when a task was delegated Kim because she had more knowledge of it but it was not communicated to Linda, so she was angry at Kim and stop speaking to her, didn't answer any of her questions when she was asked one or even helped her when she needed the help. When I spoke to Linda about the situation she explained to me she felt as though the group looked down on her because she only had a high school degree never mind she has ten years experience but her opinion or ideas didn't count in comparison to Kim who had just joined the company and had her Bachelors degree. I understood how she must have felt and I relayed that to her. It is often necessary to deal with conflicts that may create unnecessary barriers before it is too late.

This company also deals with cultural barriers, working with people who speak a different language can be big problem for many, it may not just be the fact that one speaks another language but also the accent. We often have groups from our company in India having group conference with our company here and most of the time the English is not very good or the accent is quite deep which causes a bit of a problem and frustration for many of our workers