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

A company's head office in Mumbai and its plant in Nagpur share a single, frequently unreliable telephone line. Managers also sit in separate cabins with closed doors, and the plant rarely gets timely instructions. Which statement correctly classifies the barriers?

Both are physical barriers. An unreliable telephone line is a technical or channel fault, and separated offices with closed cabins create distance and isolation. These environmental and structural factors obstruct the transmission of messages, unlike semantic barriers, which relate to language and meaning.

  1. ABoth the faulty telephone line and the physical separation of cabins are physical barriersCorrect
  2. BThe faulty telephone line is a semantic barrier and the closed cabins are a psychological barrier
  3. CBoth are personal barriers arising from the attitude of managers
  4. DThe telephone line is a physical barrier but the closed cabins are a cultural barrier

Explanation

Defective equipment or channels and physical separation or closed-door layouts are environmental factors that hinder message flow. They are therefore physical barriers. Semantic barriers concern meaning of words, and nothing in the situation points to cultural difference or personal attitude.

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