BUS3050 builds the communication competencies that professionals need to exchange information effectively, influence decisions, resolve conflicts, and lead teams across the full range of organizational contexts — from one-on-one conversations and team meetings to presentations, reports, and crisis communications.
Organizational communication flows
| Direction | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Downward | From upper management to employees — directives, policies, feedback | Strategy announcements, performance reviews, training |
| Upward | From employees to management — feedback, reports, concerns | Progress reports, employee surveys, suggestion systems |
| Horizontal | Between peers at the same organizational level | Cross-functional collaboration, peer feedback, team coordination |
| Diagonal | Between people at different levels and different departments | Project teams, matrix structures, cross-functional task forces |
| External | Between the organization and outside stakeholders | Customer service, media relations, investor communications, supplier negotiations |
What BUS3050 covers
The transactional model of communication replaced the earlier linear (transmission) model by recognizing that communication is a simultaneous, mutual process — both parties send and receive messages at the same time, and both are simultaneously senders and receivers. Noise (anything that interferes with the transmission or interpretation of a message) exists at multiple levels: physical noise (environmental distractions), semantic noise (differences in word meaning, jargon), psychological noise (emotions, biases, and assumptions that distort interpretation), and physiological noise (physical states that affect attention and processing). Effective communicators actively manage noise in all its forms, which requires both self-awareness (what biases and emotional states are affecting how I am sending and receiving?) and audience awareness (what semantic or psychological noise might be affecting how my message is received?).
Nonverbal communication is often underestimated by students new to organizational communication — research consistently shows that nonverbal cues (facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, tone of voice, physical proximity, use of space and time) carry more meaning in interpersonal communication than the words themselves. Mehrabian's (often misapplied) research identified that emotional meaning in face-to-face communication is conveyed primarily through vocal tone and facial expression rather than words — the precise percentages (7%/38%/55%) apply only to communicating feelings and attitudes, not all communication. For organizational leaders, nonverbal awareness has practical consequences: inconsistencies between verbal messages and nonverbal signals undermine credibility (people believe what they see over what they hear), and leaders' nonverbal behaviors have an outsized effect on team climate because members pay close attention to them as signals about organizational conditions.
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Key topics you write about in BUS3050
- Communication models: linear, transactional, and interactive; noise and feedback
- Organizational communication flows: downward, upward, horizontal, diagonal, external
- Active listening: verbal and nonverbal attending behaviors, paraphrasing, clarifying questions
- Nonverbal communication: types, functions, and leadership implications
- Conflict resolution: conflict styles (Thomas-Kilmann), interest-based negotiation, difficult conversations
- Written business communication: emails, reports, proposals, executive summaries
- Cross-cultural communication: cultural dimensions (Hofstede), high-context vs low-context cultures
Thomas-Kilmann conflict styles
- Competing (assertive, uncooperative): pursue your own concerns at others' expense — useful in emergencies, harmful to relationships
- Accommodating (unassertive, cooperative): yield to others' concerns — preserves relationships but may sacrifice important outcomes
- Avoiding (unassertive, uncooperative): neither pursue own nor others' concerns — defers but does not resolve conflict
- Collaborating (assertive, cooperative): work with others to find a solution that fully satisfies both parties — ideal but time-intensive
- Compromising (moderate on both dimensions): split the difference — faster than collaborating but may leave both parties partially dissatisfied
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Frequently asked questions
The transactional model of communication, developed by Barnlund and others, views communication as a simultaneous, mutually influencing process rather than a one-way transmission. Unlike the linear (Shannon-Weaver) model in which a sender encodes a message, transmits it through a channel, and a receiver decodes it, the transactional model recognizes that both parties are simultaneously sending and receiving, that each person's messages are shaped by their unique fields of experience (background, culture, values, prior interactions), and that the relationship and context itself shape how messages are understood. Noise operates at multiple levels — physical, semantic, psychological, and physiological. Feedback is continuous and simultaneous. The transactional model better captures the reality of most organizational communication because it accounts for the complexity, ambiguity, and mutual influence that characterize real professional conversations.
Active listening is a deliberate set of behaviors that signal attention, promote understanding, and encourage the speaker to share fully. It contrasts with passive listening (hearing the words without full cognitive and emotional engagement) and pseudo-listening (appearing to listen while actually preparing to respond). Active listening behaviors include: maintaining appropriate eye contact and open body posture; paraphrasing (restating the speaker's main point in your own words to check understanding); asking clarifying questions (seeking more information to understand, not to challenge); reflecting feelings (naming the emotional content as well as the cognitive content); summarizing (pulling together the key points at transitions); and withholding judgment and advice until the speaker has fully expressed themselves. Active listening is particularly important for leaders because it signals respect, builds trust, surfaces information that might otherwise be withheld, and increases the likelihood that the speaker leaves the conversation feeling understood.
Geert Hofstede's research identified six dimensions on which national cultures vary and that significantly affect communication and organizational behavior. Power distance (the extent to which less powerful members accept unequal distribution of power) affects how directly subordinates communicate with leaders — high power distance cultures expect deference and may not voice disagreement. Individualism vs collectivism affects whether communication is direct and explicit (individualist) or indirect and relationship-embedded (collectivist). Uncertainty avoidance affects how much explicit structure and documentation is expected in communication. Long-term vs short-term orientation affects how decisions are framed (investment vs quick results). Masculinity vs femininity affects communication norms around assertiveness and competition. Indulgence vs restraint affects workplace informality and relationship-building communication. For leaders working across cultures, Hofstede's dimensions provide a starting framework for anticipating communication differences — though they describe cultures on average and must never be applied as stereotypes about individuals.
Effective business writing serves its audience and purpose with maximum efficiency and clarity. The core principles are: audience awareness (write for the specific reader — their knowledge level, their role, what decision they need to make based on your communication); purpose clarity (know what you want the reader to do or understand and make that the organizing principle); front-loading (put the most important information first — the purpose, the recommendation, the key finding — not at the end after extensive background); conciseness (use as few words as needed to convey your meaning accurately; eliminate filler phrases, redundant hedging, and unnecessary passive voice); visual organization (use headings, bullet points, tables, and white space to make information easy to scan and navigate); and action orientation (end with clear next steps, decisions required, and responsibilities). These principles apply from one-line emails to 50-page reports.