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CMA Foundation · Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication · Barriers to Business Communication

A Chennai-based firm's manager writes in an email to a supplier, 'Please dispatch the consignment at the earliest.' The supplier does not know whether this means today, this week or next month. Which type of barrier is mainly responsible for the confusion?

The confusion is a semantic barrier. The expression 'at the earliest' is vague and has no definite time attached, so the supplier can read it in several ways. The problem lies in the meaning of the words, not in noise, fear or technology.

  1. ASemantic barrier arising from a vague expression open to different interpretationsCorrect
  2. BPhysical barrier arising from noise in the office
  3. CPsychological barrier arising from fear of the manager
  4. DTechnical barrier arising from a network failure

Explanation

The phrase 'at the earliest' has no fixed meaning, so the receiver can interpret it in different ways. This is a problem with the meaning of words, which is a semantic barrier. Noise, fear or network failure are not mentioned in the situation.

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