7.
2 Business Communication
Effective communication
The exchange of information and instructions between groups or people, with feedback.
Key features of effective communication–
o Sender
o Clear message
o Appropriate medium
o Receiver
o Feedback
Internal communication is between different people or groups within the organisation.
External communication is when the communication occurs with outside parties –
suppliers, government, customers, suppliers.
Why is effective communication important?
Higher staff motivation, labour productivity
Improve in the number and quality of ideas generated by the staff
Speeder decision making
Quicker response to market changes
Reduced risks of errors
Effective coordination between departments
Situations in which communication is essential
All businesses communicate. They communicate externally with stakeholders such as suppliers,
customers, shareholders, the government and other groups. Internal communication is
between different
people or groups within the organisation.
Effective external communication is essential for:
• Communicating with customers: for example, about new products, variations in existing
products, safety warnings about products purchased, constant feedback as part of customer
relationship marketing, special offers and other promotions.
• Communicating with suppliers: for example, about details of the next supply order, delivery
details, discount requests, and queries about incorrect products supplied.
• Communicating with shareholders: for example, about the date of the next AGM, the latest
dividend payments, the election of new directors, and the latest reports and accounts.
Effective internal communication is essential for:
• Communicating with employees: for example, about employment contracts, training
programmes, annual pay increases, performance appraisals, new working practices, new work
schedules and workplace problems when employee input is required.
• Communicating between managers: for example, about coordinating the activities and
decisions of different departments, reporting to senior management, passing decisions and
instructions to subordinate managers, and giving managers an opportunity to express their
opinions
Communication methods – the media used in communicating
Oral communication(Spoken)
One-on-one conversations, interviews, meetings
Allows two-way communication and feedback
Improves worker motivation
Message can be reinforced with body language
Maybe ambiguous
No written record
Costly, time taking
Written communication
Letters, memos, notices
Can be referred to whenever needed
Allows detailed data to be shared
No immediate feedback
IT and web-based media (Electronic)
Emails, fax
Quick
Written record
Need workers to be trained
Reduces social contact, interpersonal contact is lost
Security issues
Information overload
Visual communication
Accompany oral or written.
Diagrams, pictures, whiteboards
Increased impact, colour and movements
Useful during training, marketing
Communication methods – the media used in communicating
Factors influencing choice of appropriate media.
Importance of written record
Cost
Advantages to be gained from staff input.
Speed
Quantity of data to be communicated
Whether or not more than 1 method if necessary
Size and geographical spread
Barriers to effective communication
Failure in one of the stages of the communication process
Inappropriate medium
Receiver forgot a part of the long message
Misleading or incomplete message
Excessive use of technical language, jargon
Too much information
Long communication channel
Poor attitudes of either the send or the receiver
Sender is not trusted
Unmotivated workers
Intermediaries
Poor opinion or perception
Physical reasons
Noisy factories
Geographical distance
Reducing communication barriers
1. Message is clear and precise
2. Short communication channel
3. Clear channels of communication
4. Build in feedback to the communication process
5. Establish trust between receiver and sender
6. Appropriate physical conditions
Formal communication networks
The official communication channels and routes used in the organisations
One-way or two-way communication
One way communication doesn’t allow for feedback
Doesn’t give the receiver a chance to question the sender
No assurance for the sender that the message has been received, understood
Two-way communication allows feedback
Gives a chance for the receiver to contribute
More motivating
Used for democratic leadership
Time consuming
Vertical and horizontal communication
Messages can be transmitted in different directions within an organisation. The two
most common directions used are vertical communication and horizontal
communication.
Vertical communication is the main direction of communication in formal hierarchies. A
senior manager starts the communication, which is passed to the next person on a
lower level. The message is passed down the hierarchy until it is received by the final
person it is intended for. A vertical communication
Problems with vertical communication are:
• It is nearly always down the organisation, for example from senior managers to the
production employees.
• It is usually used by authoritarian managers using one-way communication.
• If there are many intermediaries in the chain, the message might become distorted.
• Messages take time to be received by the final person in the chain. However, this
method does give the leader control and allows an overview, from the top of the
organisation, of the communication system.
Horizontal communication occurs across an organisation, between people who have
the same status but different areas of responsibility. Apart from during team meetings
or committees, this type of communication is not as common as might be supposed.
This is often because most line managers are concerned with their day-to-day
responsibilities, which are concerned with their subordinates. There can also be a
widespread feeling that meetings with equals will bring either compromise solutions or
disputes over the allocation of resources.
Problems with horizontal communication are:
• Different departments may not understand the culture, ways of working, objectives,
problems or technical language of the others.
• The outlook and objectives of different departments could conflict, for example,
spending money on an advertising campaign that the finance department feels is
unnecessary. The blinkered approach often created by hierarchical and functional
organisations means that there is a lack of sympathy with the needs of other sections.
The establishment of a matrix structure could help to eliminate these problems. This
type of structure brings together, in a horizontal fashion, people of similar
status from different departments and greatly improves the communication flows
between them
Informal communication
Unofficial channels of communication
