Communication is essential for an organisation to operate effectively and efficiently. Effective communication helps to ensure that information is relayed accordingly and accurately within the organisation. If the relay of information is inaccurate, the organisation’s productivity may be affected. This essay will describe the concept of communication in relation to management and explain how effective communication is undermined by barriers such as cultural differences, generational differences and filtering of information by referring to academic literature such as journal articles. Furthermore, an example will be used to explain how managers can increase the productivity and performance of their organisation by developing an effective
The author further states that Generation X and Y prefer working individually as they consider team work to be unproductive. The author also notes that Generation Y will not be communicating much with others if they are assigned team work.

Technology is another aspect of communication being affected by generational diversity. Kyles (2005) states the Veterans and Baby Boomers were born before technology was implemented and as a result they are not accustomed and do not rely on technology to communicate. The author further states that they prefer face to face communication, phone calls or written letters as opposed to E-mails. Generation X and Y were born during the time of technological advancements and modernisation of industries (Kyles 2005). As a result, they prefer electronic means of communication such as E-mails and Instant messaging. These small differences affect effective communication in an organisation.
Filtering of information is a barrier to effective communication as the information being relayed has been altered. Filtering can be defined as, the distortion or withholding of information to manage a person’s reactions (Butschi & Steyn 2006). The authors state that filtering can be intentional or accidental and it prevents members of an organization from getting the actual