Noise and Managerial Solutions

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“Noise.” Explain the concept of noise. Please respond to the following: How does multitasking deal with the concept of noise? Describe a scenario where multitasking results in negative efficiency and another scenario where multitasking results in positive efficiency. Of all the factors that play a role in the process, which is the most important and why? From a communication’s point of view, noise in the business world can have very costly and detrimental effects as miscommunication can result due to difficulties in listening. This causes problems for both the senders and receivers of messages. The obvious notions of noise would be any physical activity cause by external sources beyond the control of those communicating between one another and literally prevents the receiver from hearing a clear message (such as a door slamming or the sound of a passing plane). When exploring different concepts of noise, we also learn that differences in culture, ethnicity, religion and class as well as factors such as sex and age can alter the perception of how a message is received (known as internal noise). Semantic noise refers to the meaning and value of words, which also differs according to the receiver’s perspective and background. This is where a level of sensitivity and extra attentiveness should be paid between both parties as this helps decrease confusion when communicating. Essentially, multitasking refers to shifting mental processes and trains of thought between different tasks. It paralyzes analytical skills and makes decision makers less affective in the information selection process affecting the quality of the work output. This wastes time and the costs are even greater when subjects switch to tasks that are less familiar. According to Shannon and Weaver’s mathematical theory of communication, each element of specific information that travels within a

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