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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Communicating in business

A company's chief executive sends the same detailed message about a restructuring to staff through a formal memo. Each management layer then summarises and reinterprets it before passing it down, and front-line staff receive a version that differs materially from the original. Which barrier is the PRIMARY cause of this problem?

The primary cause is filtering and distortion as the message passes through several hierarchical levels. Each manager summarises or reinterprets it, so the front-line version differs from the original. The scenario describes no selective perception by the sender and no cross-cultural issue.

  1. AFiltering and distortion as the message passes through several levels of the hierarchyCorrect
  2. BSelective perception by the chief executive
  3. CCultural differences between countries

Explanation

Each layer alters, shortens or reinterprets the message, a process known as filtering or distortion in a long chain of communication. The problem arises from the number of levels, not from the sender's own perception. Nothing in the scenario suggests cross-cultural issues. A flatter structure or direct communication would reduce the problem.

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