Synchronous and Asynchronous Communications-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Synchronous communication and Asynchronous communication. Answer: Introduction Communication is a crucial aspect of any organization. Effective communication processes in a business enable transparent flow of information and efficiency in business processes. In the given case, our office is based out of Sydney and is currently planning to commence operations across New York, Beijing and Mumbai. Therefore communication between these teams would involve virtual tools. A virtual team often causes discomfort and extra scheduling but for teams which are not in the same city, a virtual team is the only solution. Expansion is an imperative part of the growth of any business. This expansion if geographical requires employees to coordinate and devise strategies to communicate effectively. Such a communication is better known as asynchronous communication. Every organization is party to synchronous as well as asynchronous communications. Both of which are described below. Synchronous communication As the name suggests synchronous communication refers to communication between people who are in sync. They happen to converse in real time and hence create an effective flow of information (Gossweiler Gargi, 2014). Synchronous communication happens as per a fixed external clock and all the parties respond to the communication based on the same. The advantages and disadvantages of synchronous communication are as below: Advantages Transparent flow of information: synchronous makes the information very transparent as the information can be sent and received at the same time and a two way communication can be established at the same time (Austin Pinkleton, 2015). Less chances of miscommunication: Synchronous communication has less chances of miscommunication or misunderstanding as in case of a discrepancy it can be immediately addressed by both the parties at the same time Faster decision making: Since the sender and receiver are both available at the same time, the decision making happens at a faster pace which is beneficial for the overall performance of the organization. Less turnaround time: Once the sender has sent the message, the receiver responds to it almost instantly. This leads to lesser turnaround time and quicker conclusions. Disadvantages Difficulty in collaboration: It is often difficult to get all the participants of the communication process to contact at the same time. This creates a difficulty in collaborating all the members and getting them available at the same time. Technical glitches: Except in case of a face to face communication, technical glitches may arise that would hamper the flow of communication. This is even more prevalent in case of instant messengers, video calling tools and telephonic conversations (Garvey, 2014). Asynchronous communication Asynchronous communication refers to communication that happens at the participants own time without a referred external clock. It involves the exchange of messages by reading and responding as the schedule permits rather than according to the same clock that is synchronized for the sender as well as the receiver. The advantages and disadvantages of asynchronous communication are as below: Advantages Improved documentations: Asynchronous communication happen frequently over emails and other such tools. This is why it becomes easier to document asynchronous communications. Documentation of communication helps in ensuring that there is no miscommunication and can be referred to in case of conflicts (Bawm Nath, 2014). Better informed decisions: Since the responder of the message gets sufficient amount of time to reply, he or she can make better and more informed decisions. Higher number of people can be looped: in case of a video call, a maximum of 6 people can be added to the loop. However, in case of asynchronous communication any number of people can be looped. Even if someone joins the conversation late, he or she can be given a feedback of the entire conversation as everything remains documented. Disadvantages Slower decision making: The decision making process takes a longer amount of time in asynchronous communication as the recipient of the message may not be available to respond immediately. This may lead to slower decision making and may indirectly affect organizations productivity. Higher chances of miscommunication: asynchronous communication often happens among people belonging to different cultures and time zones. Therefore the possibility of a miscommunication is much higher. Delayed response: As people respond as per their earliest convenient time in asynchronous communication, the response might be delayed (Baker Warren, 2015). It is advisable that people commence an asynchronous communication by keeping a buffer of time. References Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015.Strategic public relations management: Planning and managing effective communication campaigns(Vol. 10). Routledge. Baker, T. and Warren, A., 2015. The Nine Common Barriers to Communication. InConversations at Work(pp. 54-74). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Bawm, Z.L. and Nath, R.P.D., 2014, December. A Conceptual Model for effective email marketing. InComputer and Information Technology (ICCIT), 2014 17th International Conference on(pp. 250-256). IEEE. Garvey, W.D., 2014.Communication: the essence of science: facilitating information exchange among librarians, scientists, engineers and students. Elsevier. Gossweiler, R. and Gargi, U., Google Inc., 2014.Managing nodes of a synchronous communication conference. U.S. Patent 8,749,610.