Paper Topic:

Computers and Information Systems

Computers and Information Systems 2006

Communication takes place when a message sent by one person has been received and understood by another person . The message is sent from the sender , encoded and passed through some medium of communication

Other definitions of effective communication include

An exchange of information

An act or instance of transmitting information

A verbal or written message

A technique for expressing ideas effectively

A process by which meanings are exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols

The United States Department of Veteran Affairs , formerly

called the Veterans Administration , was established July 21 , 1930 to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans (http /www .va .gov /about_va /vahistory .asp

The department depends on information from the active-duty Tricare healthcare system in to establish eligibility for veterans to receive attention . However , this has resulted in considerable screening wait times . Screening involved a 2-step process of first confirming eligibility status as a veteran and then determining whether the person qualifies for one of the eight enrollment priority groups . In 2005 there was a 340 ,000 backlog of pending disability claims under review (Wikipedia

As the message passes through this medium , there is noise and the like which changes the message into something different from what was sent These are otherwise known as the barriers to effective communication Below are two of the barriers to effective communication as identified in the communication between the active-duty organization and the United States Department of Veteran Affairs

Noise : Noise can be actual static or anything that distracts from the intended message . An example of this was the security breach that occurred on the weekend of July 31 , 2006 . A laptop computer containing the social security numbers of 26 .5 million U .S . veterans was stolen from a Veterans Affairs official 's home . Shortly after this , on August 3 , 2006 , another breach occurred in the form of a computer , containing personal information on as many as 38 ,000 veterans , which also went missing . This provided unnecessary distraction especially at a time when the organization was dealing with catching up on processing backlogs This barrier to communication resulted in time lost which would have been better spent in addressing the more pressing backlog issue (Wikipedia

Incorrect medium of communication : This involves sending a message through a medium that may be inappropriate . For example , lack of encryption on laptops used by officials as evidenced by the security breaches of July 31st and August 3rd , 2006 . Also , the old ID card was another incorrect medium of communication because it contained sensitive data like social security number and date of birth . The new Veterans Identification Card (VIC ) aims to reduce veteran vulnerability to identity theft and to demonstrate VA 's commitment to securing the confidential personal information of all enrolled veterans (http /www .va .gov

The organization has already started putting in place improvements to the communication process . The VA is working to cut down screening times by ensuring that veterans are evaluated by VA...

3 pages

35.0 KB

Free sing-up