Transcript Business Communications

BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
STUDENT NOTES
JANUARY 2008
Communication involves these
things:
The diagram shows the four elements of communication:
a sender
a message
a medium
a receiver
These four elements are used together to get the reaction that we want.
In business, communication can be sent in various directions.
Three methods of communication that
can be used internally or externally:
– spoken: at meetings, on the telephone, in interviews
and presentations
– written: letters, memorandums, reports, trading
documents, staff magazines
– electronic: computers, videos, fax machines, mobile
phones, modems
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
For communication to work and get the response or
reaction that you want, the receiver must understand the
message that the sender is sending. To make this possible
the message should be:
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Clear
Simple
Accurate
Complete
Relevant
This sounds easy enough to do but there are quite a few
problems that get in the way of effective communication.
Understanding
If you were told to "vat vir jou 'n boek en sit daar
op die stoel" you would not do so. Not
surprising, considering that the communication
takes place in a language you don't understand.
(It is, by the way, in Afrikaans, which is one of
South Africa's 11 official languages). There has
not been effective communication between me,
the sender, and you, the receiver, because the
medium used was one you did not understand.
Attitude
Your response to the request "would you be able
to stay this afternoon and help in the office?"
would be very different if the message was given
by a sender you liked and wanted to impress
than it would be if the same message was given
by a sender you disliked.
The communication from the sender you want to
make a good impression on would have got the
desired result, you would have helped in the
office. The sender that you have a bad attitude
towards would be doing the work himself.
Timing
• Teenagers are experts at timing! Don't you
just know the right time to ask Dad for
those new jeans? Even if your
communication is clear, simple, accurate,
relevant and complete you know that it
won't be effective (get the jeans) if you ask
when the receiver (Dad) is in a bad mood,
has just come home from a hectic day, has
just seen your report/messy bedroom/you
fighting with your sister.
Tone
The "Oh, go away" that you laughingly say
to your friend who is teasing you is
communicating a very different message
to the "Oh, go away" that you say to your
irritating little brother when he asks if he
could borrow money. Same message but
very different tones that convey very
different meanings.
Purpose
In business, communicating is usually to
remind, reprimand, persuade, request,
encourage or inform. Your reaction to any
message would depend on the purpose of
it, what the sender was trying to get you,
the receiver, to do.
Capability
It is very important for the receiver to
understand the message, given in the right
tone, at the right time for the right purpose,
but useless if the desired result is beyond
his/her capabilities. Instructing you to split
the atom is not effective communication
because you are not a trained physicist.
SPOKEN COMMUNICATION
• This type of communication happens a lot
more than written communication for both
internal and external matters.
The feedback, or reaction, is immediate.
• Verbal communication can be over the
telephone, and now with mobile phones, it is
quick and flexible.
SPOKEN COMMUNICATION
• Much communication in businesses is face to face,
verbal communication. This can be at meetings, either
formal ones like an AGM or more informal departmental
meetings to get a report back on the progress of a task.
Unless minutes are taken at the meeting there is no
record of what has been said and different people may
have "received" different messages. Some may not even
have heard the message at all! A written agenda is
usually sent out before a meeting. It is to let those who
would be attending know what matters will be discussed
at the meeting.
Another form of spoken communication is
interviews, both internally for a
promotion or assessment or externally if
you are applying for a job. These are very
stressful because even though they give
immediate feedback in the form of an
impression, this impression is often false.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Another form of spoken communication is
interviews, both internally for a
promotion or assessment or externally if
you are applying for a job. These are very
stressful because even though they give
immediate feedback in the form of an
impression, this impression is often false.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Letters are a popular form of written
communication. Letters are often sent within the
business. When you get appointed to a new job
you get a letter of appointment, if you do that
job well you will get a letter of promotion, if you
do that job badly you will get a letter of warning
and, after enough of those, a letter of
dismissal. That's a lot of letters. Letters are also
a business's main form of external
communication. Letters, newsletters, contracts
and brochures are sent to customers all the
time.
REPORTS
• Reports are used internally to give feedback on the
progress of any task that may have been delegated. Like
a memo, they have a standard format but are more
detailed. Any report should have:
• introduction
• findings
• conclusion
• recommendations
• A report could be written on the results of a marketing
campaign, the progress in any department, quality
control on a new product or even on an assessment of
staff members.
TRADING DOCUMENTS
• Trading documents are used for written
communication externally. By these we mean
invoices, statements, delivery notes and
quotations. These documents are standard and
pre-printed to save time and effort. They record
all the buying and selling transactions and even
with all our "paperless technology" trading
documents are still a very important method of
communication for any organisation's office.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
A lot of businesses have in-house staff
magazines which are used to communicate
internally to staff about the organisation,
functions that have happened or will happen,
social activities and news on other staff
members. These are great for boosting morale
and team-building within a business, they make
the staff feel like part of a team. Do you have a
school magazine or newsletter? It's the same
idea.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
The advantages of electronic
communication are that it is quick, it can
be recorded and it is accurate. The
disadvantage is that the equipment is
expensive. It has, however, changed the
workplace and the way business
communicates, both internally and
externally.
Most employees have a desktop computer which allows
them to send and receive "paperless" memos, letters,
reports, trading documents and other messages quickly
and accurately. All documentation can be stored on disks
which saves on filing and storage. Email is used widely
for internal and external communication as not only is it
quick and reliable, but sending an email is also cheaper
than using paper and employing someone to do internal
mail. With email, the message is typed in, sent to the
receiver's email address immediately and the receiver is
made aware that he has a message waiting.
Another great method of communicating using
technology is video conferencing where a
group of people can hold a meeting without even
being in the same country. Sounds and pictures
are sent via telephone links so that the different
people can see and hear each other, making it
almost a face-to-face meeting. Video
conferencing is expensive, but think of the
money businesses could save on airfares, hotel
accommodation and other travel expenses.
Fax machines have been around for a while
and are very popular for sending written
documents, diagrams and pictures. As the
fax machine is linked to the telephone line,
it is a cheap, accurate and quick means of
communicating.
Mobile phones mean that business
communications, whether internal or external,
can take place anywhere, anytime. Now with
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), not only
can we phone people on our mobile but we can
also use it to access the internet and our email.
WAP is internet on a mobile phone so you can
send messages, do your banking, read the
news, check the listed stock prices and book
your cinema tickets using your mobile while you
sit in the park feeding the ducks.
Portable notebooks, modems, email, mobile
phones and fax machines all allow for
teleworking, where the employee works at
home and communicates with colleagues
via computer, telephone, fax machine and
email. Employees can work in their own
environment, keep the hours they prefer
and be near to their families.
Even with all this technology available to us,
communication is still a two-way process. The
sender still needs to use the correct tone and
language. He still needs to have a positive
attitude and must send a clear, accurate,
complete and relevant message. He must still
choose an appropriate medium, whether it is
spoken, written or electronic. The receiver must
still be able to understand the message and give
the desired reaction.
Not as easy or as simple as it sounds!
ACTIVITY1 & 2
• http://www.learnpremium.co.uk/learnpremi
um/Busine~00/keystage4/busine~00/busin
e~00/activity1/default.aspx
REVISION NOTES
• All communication must be effective, it must result in the desired
reaction or response.
• There are four elements in communication: a sender, message,
medium and a receiver.
• Feedback is when the receiver shows that he has understood the
message from the sender.
• A business communicates internally with staff members (colleagues
and subordinates).
• A business communicates externally with customers, suppliers, the
public and shareholders.
REVISION NOTES
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A sender's timing, method of communicating, tone and purpose could affect
the way he gives his message and could mean that the receiver will not
respond in the way that the sender had hoped.
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A receiver's understanding, attitude and capability could affect the message
he receives and this could lead to him not taking the required action.
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There are three methods of communication that can be used internally or
externally:
– spoken: at meetings, on the telephone, in interviews and presentations
– written: letters, memorandums, reports, trading documents, staff magazines
– electronic: computers, videos, fax machines, mobile phones, modems
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