Question

what are the functions of communication???

Answer 1

Some important functions of communication are:

Knowledge management
Decision making
Coordinating work activities
Fulfill other work related needs
Passing Information
Imparting Education
For Persuading others
For giving advice
For warning others

Answer 2

Four Functions of
Communication

• Knowledge management

• Decision making

• Coordinating work activities

• Fulfils relatedness needs

The term communication is freely used by everyone in modern society, including members of the general public, scholars and management practitioners. Communication is defined as the interaction, giving and taking of information,sending and receiving of messages through verbal and non verbal means.

Functions of communication varies as one must determine the function of the communication. Known as the primary function and in certain circumstances the situation or position may have one, two or three other secondary functions.For example,informing,controlling,persuading and co-ordinating.

Inform functions: An organization needs a vast amount of information to function and operate a business. The top management would require timely and accurate information for the various departments to make effective decisions.

Control functions: The management of any organization will always have plans with long, medium or long term objectives for the months and years ahead. To achieve these objectives, thedaily & monthly activities must proceed as planned in order to achieve the objectives for the period.

Persuading functions: Persuasion usually involves the selling' of an idea, product or services to a person or group. Persuasive words or actions, there is a better chance of the person or group accepting it. Will result in voluntary compliance.

Co-ordinating functions: Every employee plays a part in controlling inputs, outputs, job scope and head count. Has to be well-coordinated.

In Any form of communication, there is a sender and receiver of the message. The question of whether the message is sent and how the message is received is of vital importance in communication. Communication is successful only when the receiver receives the intended message of the sender.

One outline of the functions of Communication follows what might be thought of as a rhetorical approach and is as follows:

Information
Education
Persuasion
motivation
instruction
raising morale
advice
warning

Another, focuses more on needs:

Physical
Identity
Social

An outline of the interpersonal functions of commmunication (see http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/interpersonal/infunctions.html) asserts the following:

Gaining Information (which often requires disclosing information; self-disclosure)
Building a Context of Understanding (via relationship messages that are a subtext of many "content" messages).
Asserting identify (by adopting "roles" and creating and maintaining "face").
Social needs, including inclusion, control, and affection.

According to Del Hymes ethnography of communication, communication serves:

an expressive function when message creators focus on themselves
a directive function when message creators focus on message consumers
a phatic (contact) function when message channels are concerned with message channels
a metalinguistic when codes are focused on codes
a contextual when settings are focused on settings
a poetic when message-forms are focused on forms
a referential when topics are focused on topics
a metacommunicative when events are focused on an event

Answer 3

Communication is the transmission of information through the use of symbols, it is encoded into something which can be transferred between communicators and the decoded into something usable by the brain.