BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION
Ch 14
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Communication
External
Internal- People / workers within the organisation
• Supplier details of next supply order • Employees employment contracts, training
discount requests programs,, annual pay increases, performance
appraisals, new working practices, new work
queries regarding incorrect
products supplied schedules, , workplace problems

• Customer safety warning

• Managers coordinating activities with
different departments, reporting to senior
 info about new products
management, passing decisions & instructions to
  special offers or promotions subordinate managers, expressing opinions.
• Shareholder  date of AGM
latest dividend payment
Election of new directors
Latest reports & accounts

• Government
• Pressure groups
Communication methods

Communication methods
Spoken

Written

Electronic

Visual
Spoken communication

Interviews, appraisal sessions, group meetings,, team briefings

Allows for two-way communication & feedback  encourages
motivation(Herzberg-frequent feedback-powerful motivational factor)
Itis instantaneous as there is no delay between sending & receiving
the message
Evidence can be kept regarding who attended the meeting & has
received the message.
Immediate clarification if any point is not clear
Allows the sender to reinforce the message with appropriate body
language
Spoken communication

 Somespoken communication can be ambiguous, in a large group,

some receivers may be reluctant to ask for further details
 Nowritten record of what was said- so message cannot be referred to
again
 It
might not be appropriate for complicated & technical matters, which
would be better sent in written form
 Spoken communication can be time consuming (esp. if one-to-one
basis)
Written communication

Letters, memos, notices on boards, reports, minutes of meetings,

diagrams for technical matters, house plans
Can be referred to more than once to aid’s receivers understanding
Allows detailed information, figures and diagrams to be sent
Provides permanent record for future reference( i.e. employment contact
for legal use)
Written communication
 Non-verbal communication cannot be used to support the message
 Doesnot allow for immediate feedback – clarification of the message
cannot be received quickly
 Evidence that the message has been sent- NO evidence if the message
has been received or understood
 Electronic communication

Email, instant messaging, websites, blogs, text messaging, voicemail,

video conferencing & video messaging
• Messages are transmitted rapidly – few seconds to communicate electronically
• Global coverage is possible as the internet allows communication with potentially, many
millions of receivers all over the world
• Low cost-once the hardware & training costs are covered- saving time & money as compared
to traditional methods(video conferencing rather than bringing delegates to one place)
• Allows for instant exchange of feedback
• Improves of information for managers-enabling them to control , globally spread businesses
i.e. multinationals
• Emails are now considered as legal proof of contracts and transactions in most legal systems
around the world.
Electronic communication
• May require employees to be trained (young are more proficient than older employees)
• Reduces social contact – creating a sense of isolation (an important need goes
unsatisfied)
• Employees may use company time to send personal messages
• Direct interpersonal contact is lost & most electronic communication does not allow th
use of body language to convey messages
• Security & technical issues with computer technology & hard copies of important
messages are often kept in case of a virus
• Information overload  preventing important communication from being acted upon
 also causing a feeling of overwork & employee stress
 Visual communication

Maps, charts, posters, graphic design, animation, short films, diagrams,

pictures, charts & other computing images.
• Effective for receivers with poor skills in language-especially when exchanging information
with people from several different countries
• Supports spoken communication, becomes meaningful with graphs, pictures and diagrams-
creates impact.
• Simple way of presenting complex information, such as org. chart
• Easy & quicker to understand messages presented in this form.
 Visual communication
• Costly & time consuming to produce (i.e videos)
• Cannotbe the only method used when detailed technical data or accounting
information needs to be transmitted
• Do not allow for non-verbal communication such as body language
• Visualmessages can be dramatic, deflecting the receiver’s attention away from
the key message.
Communication channels

• One-way or two-way communication

• Vertical and horizontal
One-way or two-way communication

One-way Two-way
• Safety notices on machinery • Telephone, video conferencing
• Messages pinned on noticeboard • In person & council meetings

Receiver cannot question message Allows worker participation  increased motivation

No discussion between sender & receiver Allows receiver to contribute to the debate
Not sure if message received, understood & acted uponby democratic leaders
Used
Usually associated with authoritarian managers
Two way communication
• Time consuming-employees have to stop work to attend meetings
• Inappropriate for some messages – that require no argument or discussion ie
telephone extension numbers
• Not suitable when making unpopular decisions like redundancies.

• Motivation leads to effective communication- listen –respond-accurate

information-better decisions
• Two way communication leads to motivation – employees feel involved &
receive constant feedback
• Shorter channels reduce remoteness from the top management  motivates
workers
Vertical & horizontal communication
Problems with vertical communication
• Always down the organization(senior managers to production employees)
• Used by authoritarian managers
• Message might become distorted as many intermediaries in the chain
• Message takes time to be received by the final person in chin

However,
• Gives the leader control
• Allows overview of the system from the top of the organisation
Horizontal communication
• Between people who have the same status but different areas of
responsibility
• Meetings with equals bring either compromised solutions or disputes
over allocation of resources

• Problems with horizontal communication:

• Different
departments may not understand the culture, ways of
working, objectives, problems or technical language
• Theoutlook & objectives of different departments could conflict- ie
spending on advertising campaign which the finance department feel is
unnecessary
Barriers to effective communication

• ANY FACTOR THAT

PREVENTS A MESSAGE
BEING RECEIVED, OR
CORRECTLY
UNDERSTOOD, IS A
BERRIER TO
COMMUNICATION
Reasons why barriers occur
• Noisy factories
Physical reasons • Geographical distance

• Sender is not trusted/unwilling to listen or read carefully

• Unmotivated or alienated workers become poor receivers
Poor attitude of •
sender or receiver Intermediaries may not pass on the message
• Sender may have a poor opinion of the receiver-makes no
effort to ensure a clear message is sent & is understood

• Inappropriate method
• Lengthy details
Failure in one of the • Misleading/incomplete message
stages
• Excessive use of technical language
• Too much information being given out
Failure in one of the stages
• Inappropriate method- explaining flow charts over a mobile phone.
• Lengthy details given through a verbal message-ie verbally speaking out the
company policy during a meeting
• Misleading or incomplete message – ‘send the goods soon’
• Excessive use of technical language or jargon esp if language difference when in a
multination employees interact with other in a different country
• Too much information being given out – information overload  leading to
‘noise’ prevents receiver from grasping important elements of the message
• Long channel of communication  messages are slow to reach/get distorted
Overcoming communication barriers
• Ensure the message is clear & precise but adequately detailed
• Use the shortest possible communication channel
• Ensure channels of communication are understood by all involved
• Ensure feedback-so problems with receiving or understanding can be checked quickly
• Establish trust between sender & receiver – create a culture
• Ensure physical conditions are appropriate(message can be heard/seen)
Role of management - facilitate communication
Informal communication
 Help create important feeling of belonging and social cohesion
 Can be used by management to test new ideas
 Reduces barriers between departments- encourage development of new ideas

 Could take up valuable working time

 Used to spread gossip & rumors – can be unsettling  feeling of insecurity
 Informal groups band together to resist management decisions – even if not
officially communicated.
External communication –
Impact on business efficiency
• Suppliersdeliver the right products at the right time 
reducing chances of halting production
• Support from local community – ie on expansion plans
• Creditors(A/Cpayable) know when they’ll receive payment 
hence encouraged to supply on credit
• Debtors(A/C receivables) know when they should pay 
helps improve liquidity
• Investors/
Lenders- confident – if regularly informed of
performance
Internal communication –
Impact on business efficiency
• Increases employee motivation & labour productivity
• More & better ideas are generated- assists in problem solving
• Increasedspeed of decision making – by providing up to date
information
• Increased
speed of response – regarding market changes- can be
conveyed to Operations department
• Reducesthe risk of errors – incorrect understanding of poorly
expressed messages  incorrect response
• Improves
coordination between departments – horizontal
communication
 Improving communication
• Importance of written record – for legal contracts
• Importance of employee participation – discussing employee shift
• Cost – electronic media – quicker & cost effective
• Speed – quick feedback using electronic media
• Quantity of data to be communicated – details – written methods
• Whether more than one method is required – telephone call to follow up
on a letter/order etc
• Size & geographical spread of business – regular meeting by managers
of various regions
• Actual content of the message – may require more than one method
Problems due to poor communication

Lack of direction
for the entire
organisation

Bad relations
Demotivated staff
with suppliers

Poor customer
service

Uncoordinated
departments