Understanding Economic Sectors, Organizational Elements, and Communication
Item 5: Key Concepts in Economics and Organizations
1. What are the Economic Sectors of a Country’s Economy?
- Primary Sector: Extraction of raw materials (e.g., agriculture, mining).
- Secondary Sector: Manufacturing and processing of raw materials into finished goods.
- Tertiary Sector: Services (e.g., healthcare, education, retail).
2. List the Key Factors or Elements of Any Organization.
- Aims: The organization’s goals and objectives.
- Structure: The formal arrangement of roles and responsibilities.
- Technology: The tools and methods used to achieve goals.
- Environment: The external factors influencing the organization.
- Work Environment/Human Resources: The people working within the organization.
3. What are the Two Main Types of Environment? What are Their Characteristics?
- Closed or Administrative Environment: Stable and predictable.
- Open or Competitive Environment: Dynamic and subject to external pressures.
4. What are Human Resources? Who are They in a Company?
Human Resources refers to the people working in the company.
- Owner(s)
- Managers
- Employees
5. What is an Organization?
An organization is a set of people performing planned and coordinated activities to achieve a common goal.
6. What are the Fundamental Elements of an Organization?
- Existence of a common goal.
- Division of labor.
- Coordination of activities.
- Structure (relationships and norms).
7. What is the Formal Structure of an Organization? What Does it Represent?
The formal structure is the explicit, defined structure.
- Hierarchy of authority and responsibility.
- Existence of work units and departments.
It is represented by an organizational chart.
8. Formal Structure Explained
The formal structure is the explicit structure of the organization, designed to ensure all members direct their efforts towards common goals. Its objectives are:
- Existence of a hierarchy of authority and responsibility.
- Existence of a set of work units and departments designed by the arrangement of the organization.
9. Informal Structure Explained
The informal structure is the spontaneous set of relationships, not formally established, that occur among groups of people who relate with their own rules.
Item 6: Understanding Communication
1. What is Meant by Communication?
Communication is the interaction process by which a sender transmits a message to a receiver via a compatible code, in context, and through a channel.
2. Differentiate Between Communication and Information.
Communication always involves communicating information, but the reverse is not always true. The difference lies in intentionality, which is present in communication but not necessarily in information.
3. Elements of Communication.
- Emitter (Sender)
- Receptor (Receiver)
- Message
- Code
- Channel
- Context
- Feedback
4. Stages of Communication.
- Intention of communication.
- Encoding.
- Reception.
- Interpretation.
- Comprehension.
- Performance barriers or noise.
Information:
- Transmission.
- Decoding.
- Feedback.
5. What Does Barrier Mean?
A barrier is anything that causes a deterioration of communication, altering the interpretation of the message by the receiver.
6. Functions of Communication.
- Informative
- Problem-solving
- Entertainment
- Persuasive
- Expression of feelings
7. What are the Most Important Barriers to Communication?
- Barriers in encoding/decoding.
- Barriers in the message: overload or scarcity of information.
- Physical barriers.
- Barriers at the reception.
- Barriers in the interpretation.
8. What Psychological Processes Can Alter the Reception of the Message? What are They?
- Overexposure: Selectively seeking information according to tastes and beliefs.
- Perceptual Defense: Avoiding any kind of information, eliminating it.
- Selective Perception: Receiving only a portion of the information that arrives.
9. List the Barriers to Interpretation.
- Attitudes.
- Bias.
- Effect of similarity.
- Stereotypes.
- Halo effect.
10. What is Entropy?
Entropy is a phenomenon of wear from the elements produced by the passage of time in nature. In communication, it refers to the process of attrition or loss of information.
11. List Strategies that Allow Better Communication.
- Credibility of the issuer.
- Rationality of the message.
- Message comparison.
- Use of means of support.
- Appeal of the issuer.
- Emotionality of the message.