Transcript business communication

PURPOSE OF
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
1. For instruction
 The instructive function unvarying and
importantly deals with the commanding
nature. It is more or less of directive nature.
 Under this, the communicator transmits
with necessary directives and guidance to
the next level, so as to enable them to
accomplish his particular tasks. In this,
instructions basically flow from top to the
lower level.
2. For integration:
 It is consolidated function under which
integration of activities is endeavored.
 The integration function of communication
mainly involves to bring about interrelationship among the various functions of
the business organization.
 It helps in the unification of different
management functions.
3. For information
 The purposes or function of communication in an
organization is to inform the individual or group
about the particular task or company policies and
procedures etc.
 Top management informs policies to the lower level
through the middle level.
 In turn, the lower level informs the top level the
reaction through the middle level.
 Information can flow vertically, horizontally and
diagonally across the organization. Becoming
informed or inform others is the main purpose of
communication.
4. For evaluation
 Examination of activities to form an idea or
judgement of the worth of task is achieved
through communication.
 Communication is a tool to appraise the
individual or team, their contribution to
the organization.
 Evaluating one’s own inputs or other’s
outputs or some ideological scheme demands
an adequate and effective communication
process.
5. For direction:
 Communication is necessary to issue
directions by the top management or
manager to the lower level. Employee can
perform better when he is directed by his
senior.
 Directing others may be communicated
either orally or in writing. An order may be
common order, request order or implied
order.
6. For influencing
 A complete communication process is
necessary in influencing others or being
influenced.
 The individual having potential to influence
others can easily persuade others.
 It implies the provision of feedback which
tells the effect of communication.
7. For teaching:
 The importance of personal safety on the
job has been greatly recognized. A
complete communication process is required
to teach and educate workers about
personal safety on the jobs.
 This communication helps the workers to
avert accidents, risk etc. and avoid cost,
procedures etc.
8. For image building:
 A business enterprise cannot isolate from the rest of
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the society.
There is interrelationship and interdependence between
the society and an enterprise operating in the society.
Goodwill and confidence are necessarily created among
the public.
It can be done by the communication with the
different media, which has to project the image of the
firm in the society.
Through an effective external communication system, an
enterprise has to inform the society about its goals,
activities, progress and social responsibility.
9. For employees orientation:
 When a new employee enter into the
organization at that time he or she will be
unknown to the organization programs,
policies, culture etc.
 Communication helps to make people
acquainted with the co-employees, superior
and with the policies, objectives, rules and
regulations of the organization.
10. For decision-making
 Effective decision-making is possible when
required and adequate information is
supplied to the decision-maker. Effective
communication helps the process of
decisionmaking.
 In general, everyone in the organization has
to provide with necessary information so as
to enable to discharge tasks effectively and
efficiently.
Internal and External
Communication
 Internal
 Day-to-day exchange among employees
 External
 Flows between an organisation and the
entities with which it interacts
Business Communication is
Transactional
Give-and-take relationship
between sender and receiver in
order to establish a common
understanding
 The role of organisational communication in
modern organisation is vital to its growth and
prosperity. It is through the process of
observation and understanding how
people communicate with each other
through
words,
symbols
and
behaviors that we are able to
improve the daily activities in
organisations. May it be in work settings or
others, an understanding of how individuals
behave, why they behave as they do and how
human interaction can be improved are
essentials for organisational success.
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE ORGANISATIONAL
COMMUNICATION?
 Require addressing a host of situational &
historical factors.
 Does not remain constant – varies by
company/industry, people involvement,
culture, etc.
 What work in one organisation does not
mean it will work on another.
 Pattern of interaction – due to change as the
world progress  changes in jargon,
technology and nature of the industry.
 Organization + communication = synergistic
communication effect
 It is a chain reaction as a result of
organization and its involvement.
CHARACTERICTICS OF THE
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
 Communicators simultaneously
send and receive
 Communication is a process
 Communication is irreversible
There are seven essential
elements to successful
business communication:
1. Structure
2. Clarity
3. Consistency
4. Medium
5. Relevancy
6. Primacy
7. Psychological Rule of 7±2
1. Structure
 How you structure your communication is
fundamental to how easily it is absorbed and
understood by your audience/customer.
 Every good communication should have
these three structural elements: an opening,
a body, and a close.
2. Clarity
 Be clear about the messaqe you want to
deliver, as giving a confused message to your
audience only ends up with them being
confused and your message being ignored.
3. Consistency
 As well as consistency amongst multiple
messages, be aware that inconsistency within your
message can be just as deadly to audience
comprehension.
 At the risk of sounding like the Grouchy
Grammarian, please make sure that your tenses
remain the same, that your viewpoint doesn't
wander between the 1st and 3rd person and back
again (unless you deliberately want to create a
linguistic or story-telling effect — be careful with
this!) and that your overall 'theme' or message
doesn't change.
4. Medium
 Choosing the right medium or media is
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obviously critical
with the greatest accuracy
with the largest likelihood of audience
comprehension
at the lowest fiscal cost
at the lowest time cost
5. Relevancy
 The psychological reality is that sometime the
audiences are felt bored with your messages.
 Which means that if you force them to attend to your
message you will actually turn them against you and be
even less likely to receive their attention in the future.
 If your business communication needs to touch on
several areas that might not be of interest to your
entire audience, let them know of alternative resources
that more fully address each of these additional areas.
 You can do this by, for example, providing them with an
easily-remembered and written link to a webpage
where a greater depth of information can be stored.
6. Primacy/Recency
 Psychologists call the effect of remembering the first
few items presented as a 'Primacy Effect'. Similarly,
they call the effect of remembering the last few items
presented to you as a 'Recency Effect'.
 Since individuals differ in which Effect is the most
dominant for them, it is best to 'cover your bases' and
make an effort to have both a powerful and memorable
opening and a powerful close.
 A powerful opening can be anything that captures the
audience's attention:
 a quote, a joke, a loud noise, a preposterous statement.
7. The Psychological Rule of 7±2
(seven plus or minus two)
 Psychologists have long known that the human
brain has a finite capacity to hold information in
short-term or 'working' memory.
 The brain is also structured to retain information in
'clusters' or groups of items. These clusters average,
across the whole of mankind, at seven items, plus or
minus two.
 If you want your key points to be remembered even
five minutes later, it is essential that you limit your
business communication to between just five and
nine key points.
Internal Communication
Patterns
 Vertical
 Horizontal
 Network
Formal Communication
 Is business related
 May be written or oral
 Is planned by the organisation
 Flows in all directions
 Is essential for effective operation of the business
Informal Communication
 Referred to as “the Grapevine”
 May be either business or personal
 Is not planned by the organisation
 Flows in all directions
 Develops and maintains positive human
relationships
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
 Formal Channels – follow an organization’s
hierarchy of command.
 Official information among workers typically flows
through formal channels in three directions :
 Downward
 Upward
 Horizontal
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
Continued…
 Downward Flow – Information flowing downward
generally moves from decision makers,including the
CEO and managers,through the chain of command
to workers. The information includes job plans,
policies and procedures.
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
Continued…
Problems:
 Lack of Awareness
 Insufficient or Unclear Message
 Message Overload
 Bad Timing
 Distortion
 Upward Flow – Occurs when messages flow from
subordinates to superiors. Information flowing
upwards provides feedback from non management
employees to management.
Problem with Upward Communication :
 Risk
 Distortion
 Status Differential
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
Continued…
 Benefits:
 It gives feedback on how accurately downward
messages have been received
 It indicates how well management decisions are
being received
 It can increase acceptance of management
decisions
 It can prevent new problems and diagnose old ones
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
 Horizontal Flow – Laterals channels transmit
information horizontally among workers at the same
level. Enable individuals to coordinate tasks, share
information, solve problems, resolve conflict and
build rapport.
 Obstacles : poor communication skills, prejudice,
ego involvement and protecting one’s interest.
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN
ORGANISATIONS
Continued…
 Informal Channels – the transmission of
information through non-official channels
within the organisation
 The Grapevine – an informal
communication network that supplement
official channels
OF
FI
CE
PO
LI
TI
CS
Office Politics
The competitive
environment that exists
within the corporate culture
Communication Process Model
The You-Viewpoint
The sender gives primary
consideration to the
receiver’s point of view when
composing and sending
messages.
Analysing the Receiver
 Knowledge
 Interests
 Attitudes
 Emotional Reaction
Communication Barriers
Any factors that interfere with
the success of the
communication process
1. Poor structure to the
communication
 It doesn't matter whether that audience is an
audience of one or one million, good
structure is essential if a communication is to
be 'heard' amongst the advertising and
marketing 'noise' of today's business
environment.
2. Weak delivery
 Several businessman who are extremely
confident in the public's gaze, very happy to
be in front of an audience.
 But because their presentations and
communications lack a suitable structure,
they 'lose' their audience within minutes, the
audience becoming increasingly confused
and eventually frustrated by not being able to
understand clearly and easily what on earth
these businessmen are on about.
3. The use of the wrong medium
 When considering which medium to use for which type of message you wish
to communicate, it is wise to analyze the following:
 What is the fixed cost of production? Are there ad agency fees, broadcast
or print fees that must be paid, irrespective of the number or volume of
items produced?
 What are the variable costs -- such as cds, dvds, audio cassettes, printing
costs?
 How long will it take to write, edit and produce your communication in your
chosen medium?
 What percentage of your target audience are likely to have access to your
chosesn medium at the time you choose to publish/play/present it?
 What percentage of your target audience will be likely to pay attention to
your chosen medium?
 Is your message a complex one? Would your message be more easily and
readily comprehended through auditory, tactile or visual (e.g reading or
images) modalities?
 How quickly do you need your audience to comprehend and take action on
your message?
4. A mixed message
 It is very hard for an audience -- whether an audience of 1 or 1
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million -- to understand your communication if you
unnecessarily obfuscate.
If you deliberately, or otherwise, confuse them. A HUGE barrier
to business communication is the ability of 'business-speak' to
confuse and alienate its audience.
It does this in two ways:
1. By using terms and phrases that are 'jargon', the meaning of
which are possibly recognized but probably not fully understood
2. By trying to 'save time/paper' by rolling several different
communication messages into one.
5. The wrong audience
 Topics is not equal to the type of audiences
 Bad attention
 Chatting around during presentation.
6. A distracting environment
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your voice not being strong enough
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too many others talking in the room at the same time
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police and ambulance sirens outside the venue
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too many phone calls coming in to their office while they're trying to read your memo
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interruptions while they try to read your report
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incoming emails keep popping up while they are reading your web-based communication
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their minds are full of other pressing matters
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they are supposed to be somewhere else at that moment
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their mobile phone keeps ringing, or vibrating if they've set it to 'silent' instead of switching it off
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their internet connection is slow
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their internet connection keeps dropping out
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there are too many interesting people to look at while they are on the bus trying, in vain, to
concentrate on your report (which is what is happening to me as I sit here on a bus trying to write
this -- there is a 'domestic' happening between a married couple and it makes for fascinating, if
voyeuristic, watching!)
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the room's air-conditioning is not working and the room is hot and stuffy
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the room's heating is not working and the room is cold and clammy