Business communication systems

Business communication methods
1. The steps in communication
  1. The message is constructed
  2. A method is decided upon to deliver the message
  3. The sender transmits the message using a suitable medium
  4. The recipient receives the message and replies
2. Communication methods
  1. Verbal communication, meetings, telephone conversations and radio adverts.
  2. Written communication. leaflets, letters, emails, text messages and brochures
  3. Visual communication, diagrams and photographs.
  4. Multimedia communication, this combines any of the other methods
3. Internal communication
  1. External communication, this is any communication between the business and individuals outside it
  2. Private communication, this is not designed to be received by anyone other than the intended recipient
  3. Public communication, this is any message that does not restrict who receives it.
4. Factors affecting choice of method for communicating
  1. How complicated is the message?
  2. Does a permanent copy of the message need to be made?
  3. Does the sender require feedback?
  4. How many people will receive the message?
  5. Is the message confidential?
  6. How quickly does the message need to be delivered?
Internal business communication
1. Internal written communication
  1. memorandum
  2. Newsletter
    1. Can keep many employees informed however is very expensive to produce
  3. Business report
  4. Email
    1. Useful for sending lots of messages to lots of people however people must have access to their emails t view them.
  5. Notice board
    1. Anyone can view the messages, however the documents may become damaged and people may not see them.
  6. Intranet
2. Internal verbal communication
  1. Telephone
  2. Video conferencing
  3. Meetings
External business communication
1. Individual letters: the main benefits of this are: the business can keep a copy,the receiver can also keep a copy. A drawback is the time taken to deliver the letter, as well as the cost to deliver it.
2. Personalised mailshots(mail merge) The benefit of this is that the method for creating them is straightforward. A drawback is that it makes it easier to send junkmail
3. Flyers, leaflets and brochures: They can be distributed to loads of people however they are often throw away.
4. Internet and email: this is a good method fo providing customers with information bout the company and to sell the business's products or services. However emails are often considered junk and thrown away.
5. External verbal communication
  1. Face-to-face meetings with customers: The main benefit of this is that the sales staff can get instant feedback from customers. However these meetings can be very time consuming.
  2. Telephone: The main benefit of this is that more customers can be dealt with, but the two people cannot see eachother
Communication devices
1. Facsimile machines (fax) The benefits of using fax are: visual information can be sent, using fax is quicker than post. The drawbacks are: it can be expensive to send and can be read by anyone who is standing nearby the machine.
2. Mobile phones: The benefits are: the business can contact employees who are away and visa versa and employees can contact other employees, but mobile phones are still expensive to buy and employees may feel under pressure to take calls at bad times.
3. Video conferencing: this I useful because it allows the two callers to see each other and people don't have to travel to hold a face-to-face meeting. However it is expensive to pay for the equipment and interactions are still not as good as face-to-face meetings.
4. radio-frequency identification systems(RFID) This reduces the costs of manually recording the location of an object.
Stakeholders
1. The main stakeholders are: Owners, employees, customers, suppliers, communities, government
2. What causes poor communication?
  1. Attitudes, the mood of the people taking part can cause problems.
  2. Language and cultural issues, this can cause barriers because people misunderstand eachother
  3. Organisational issues, the messages sent might be misunderstood and there might be consequences of this.
  4. Poor choice of medium, employees might fell that a different method of communicating was necessary.
3. Stakeholder impact of poor communication
  1. Employees: they might feel very distant from the decision making and not fell like their opinions matter. They also might make mistakes.
  2. Customers: they might choose to buy from a competitor.
  3. Suppliers: thy might deliver the wrong product and might stop selling to the business.
Changing business communications
1. Factors affecting the success or failure of an ICT-based system
  1. Easy-of-use: this requires less training for staff
  2. Fitness for purpose: the system must do what it is designed to do.
  3. Security: the system must have measures to keep the data secure
  4. Health and safety: the system must be safe to use
  5. Environmental sustainability: the system should be designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.
2. New systems
  1. System life cycle: Set objectives, this is what you want the system to achieve, next create an action plan, this sets out how the new system will be created, then design the system, next build and test the system, refine it and finally introduce it to the organisation and evaluate the impact
  2. Potential impacts
    1. Financial impacts: the system could have been very expensive and how much money will it save you?
    2. Training implications, staff may require training in how to use the system, this will be expensive.
    3. Changing job roles: employees may need new skills or fin that their skills are no longer needed.
    4. Changing working practises: the new system could lead to a change in working patterns and could lead to redundancy.
    5. Benefits and drawbacks of working from home: less time spent travelling, the worker could be less tired, the business need less office space and workers could be distracted by things at home.

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Business communication systems

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	Created by willo118_murphy about 11 years ago