Session 1 (July 5/6): Establishing a Framework for Business Communication

Effective Communication

• Communication helps organizations and the people in them achieve their goals.


• The ability to write and speak well becomes increasingly important as you rise in an organization.


• People put things in writing to
  ◦create a record
  ◦to convey complex data
  ◦to make things convenient for the reader
  ◦to save money
  ◦to convey their own messages more effectively

Establishing a Framework for Business Communication

Chapter 1 Learning Objectives

1. Define communication and describe the value for communication in business.
2. Explain the communication process model and the ultimate objective of the communication process.
3. Discuss how information flows in an organization (formally and informally; downward, upward, and horizontally; and through various levels).
4. Explain how legal and ethical constraints, diversity challenges, changing technology, and team environment act as a strategic force that influence the process of business communication.

Communication Channels

Selecting An Appropriate Communication Channel

Communication Process Barriers

• Differences in education level, experience, and culture


• Physical issues, such asnoise or room temperature


• Mental distractions, such as developing a response instead of listening

Flow of Information Within an Organization

Formal Network Flow

• Upward Communication (staff to supervisor)


• Downward Communication (supervisor to staff)


• Horizontal/Lateral Communication (among staff, teams)

Communication Systems

• Formal system


• Informal system

Levels of Communication

• Intrapersonal


• Interpersonal


• Group


• Organizational


• Public

Strategic Forces Influencing Business Communication

• Diversity Challenges


• Legal and Ethical Constraints


• Changing Technology


• Team Environment

Causes of Illegal and Unethical Behavior

• Excessive emphasis on profits


• Misplaced corporate loyalty


• Obsession with personal advancement


• Expectation of not getting caught


• Unethical tone set by top management


• Confusion about whether an action is wrong


• Unwillingness to take a stand

Examples of Illegal/ Unethical Behavior

Chapter 2 Learning Objectives

1. Explain how behavioral theories about human needs, trust and disclosure, and motivation relate to business communication.


2. Describe the role of nonverbal messages in communication.


3. Identify aspects of effective listening.


4. Identify factors affecting group and team communication.


5. Discuss aspects of effective meeting management.

Effective Listeners . . .

• Minimize distractions


• Get in touch with the speaker


• Show active involvement; do not interrupt


• Ask reflective questions

Bad Listening Habits

• Faking attention


• Allowing disruptions


• Overlistening


• Stereotyping


• Dismissing subjects as uninteresting


• Failing to observe nonverbal aids

Types of Communication

• Verbal
  ◦Face-to-face
  ◦Phone conversations
  ◦Informal meetings
  ◦Presentations
  ◦E-mail messages
  ◦Letters
  


• Nonverbal
  •Computer graphics
  •Company logos
  •Smiles
  •Size of an office
  •Location of people at meetings

Communication Purposes

• All business communication has three basic purposes
  ◦To inform (explain)
  ◦To request or persuade (urge action)
  ◦To build goodwill (make good image)


• Most messages have more than one purpose

Audiences

• Internal
  ◦Go to people inside organization
  ◦Memo to subordinates, superiors, peers


• External
  ◦Go to people outside organization
  ◦Letter to customers, suppliers, others

Benefits & Costs

• Effective writing
  ◦Saves time
  ◦Increases one’s productivity
  ◦Communicates points more clearly
  ◦Builds goodwill
  


• Poor writing
  ◦Wastes time
  ◦Wastes effort
  ◦Loses goodwill

Criteria for Effective Messages

• Good business writing meets five basic criteria:
  1.Clear,
  2.Complete
  3.Correct
  4.It saves the reader's time
  5.It builds goodwill

Eight Aspects of Business Communication

• All of these aspects are present in any business communication
  …but some might be more emphasized or obvious in certain typed of communication.


• These aspects are also highly interdependent,
  …but we separate them for clarification, discussion, and grading.

1. Task/Context:

• “Context” can be defined as…
  the “time, place, and situation” or
  the “big picture” for communication.
  


• Successful business communicators know that messages never occur in vacuums…
  but are viewed within the larger situations that surround them.

2. Audience:

• the recipient(s) of the message…
  whether that be an individual,
  a group,
  a market,
  or a public.


• “Audience” discussions include…
  analysis (what’s important about the audience)
  adaptation (how that affects the message)
  approaches to particular types of audiences

3. Channel Choice:

• A key consideration, given the proliferation of media and how different they are.
  ◦Effective communicators make wise choices, recognizing the need for…
  documentation,
  speed,
  direct contact,
  opportunities for interaction, etc.

4. Organization:

• Smart communicators ask themselves…
  “What goes where?”
  and the related question “What follows what?”


• When they do, they worry about…
  the order of elements they are working with
  the relationships among those elements (e.g. visual coherence or transitions).

5. Content:

• In business, “content” covers
  what is said…
  what is omitted
  how much of it to include about each point


• Many business communicators forget to consider the importance of amount for small and large areas.

6. Self-expression:

• awareness of the “self” you’re presenting is critical for any business student.
  The presenter’s
  credibility,
  confidence,
  reputation,
  appearance,
  attention to details


• …are all parts of self expression.


• “Selves” here are not just individuals,
  departments
  Organizations
  (A communicator often represents the “face” of an organization.)

7. Visual Impression/Format:

• “Organization” refers to the ordering of content,


• “Visual Impression/Format” treat its
  placement,
  depiction,
  proportions on a page (paper, PowerPoint slide, Web page, etc.).


• These considerations include conventions for formats like where the date is placed on a page (often specific to organizations), as well as aesthetic and functional design decisions.

8. Mechanics/Language use:

• Two discrete (though often blurred) aspects are at work here… conventions & style.


• “Conventions” (spelling, punctuation, grammar)
  are matters of “right and wrong” which can be corrected.


• “Style” (word choice and sentence structure)
  treats matters of effectiveness and
  is often more difficult to define.
  

---

Portions attributed to:

BCOM 3e, Lehman & DuFrene, 2012 Cengage Learning

Locker, Kitty O. and Donna Kienzler. Business and Administrative Communication, 8/e. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2008.

Walker, Robyn. Strategic Business Communication: An Integrated, Ethical Approach. Thomson, South-Western, 2006, adapted from Dr. Beth Hoger.

---