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1STYEAR DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS ACADEMIC YEAR:2012/2013FACULTY OF MARKETING 1ST SEMESTER

LECT. UNIV. DR.ROXANA CIOLNEANU

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Basics of Business Communication

COURSE DESCRIPTION1

Communication plays an increasingly central role in todays business, which is in permanent change and

evolution. The course is intended to give students an overview of business communication and its role in

functioning effectively in English speaking environments, both outside and inside the company. The

various types of business communication are covered, from writing to speaking. In the first semester,

the course will focus on the fundamentals of communication as a two way process, both at

interpersonal and organisational level.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course (1st semester), students should:

understand the fundamentals of communication;

establish the similarities and differences between communication in general and business

communication in particular;

distinguish among various types of communication;

appreciate the nature and importance of effective communication within and beyond

organisations;

overcome communication barriers;

identify and explain various persuasion techniques used by organisations in relation to boththeir audience and their employees;

become familiar with the concept of emotional intelligence and its influence over the process

of communication;

be familiar with various types of organisational structures and hierarchies;

be aware of various challenges that interfere with the traditional concepts of organisation and

organisational communication.

METHODS OF EVALUATION

Homework: 25%

Test: 75%

1These lecture notes are not the scientific contribution of the lecturer. The teacher has the only merit of

organising the information.


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Lecture 1

OUTLINE:

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

JAKOBSONS MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

o VERBAL COMMUNICATION

o NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATIONo WRITING

OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION


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WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure yourealize that what you heard is not what I meant.

Robert J. McCloskey, former State Department spokesman

(taken from Business Communication for Success by Scott McLean)

Communication is the process of understanding and sharing meaning (Pearson & Nelson 2000:

6). People share ideas, information, opinions and feelings through speaking, writing and body

language. This sharing process may contribute to the operations of teams and the work of

individuals.

Communication is a two-way activity between two or more people. It is an encoding and

decoding process. Generally speaking, encoding is processing the information that the sender

(person/entity) wants to share with the receiver (someone else/other entity). After encoding,

the message is sent through a spoken or written channel to the other end, where it is

interpreted. The process of interpreting is called decoding. The receiver should confirm the

receipt of the message and respond to it in order to close the communication loop.

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

1. SENDER the addresser, the initiator of the communication process, encodes the

message.

2. MESSAGE the information meant to be transmitted.

3. CHANNEL spoken channels (face-to-face conversation, telephone conversation,

meetings, speeches, voice over Internet protocol VOIP etc.); written channels (letters,

memos, reports, e-mails, blogs etc.)

4. RECEIVER the addressee, the final point of the communication process, decodes the

message and gives feedback.

5. FEEDBACK the message(s) the receiver sends back to the sender. The feedback plays

two roles: on the one hand, shows if the message was received accurately or

inaccurately; on the other hand, gives the receiver the possibility to ask for clarification,to agree or disagree.

6. CONTEXT age, region, sex and intellectual abilities of the recipient + the setting of the

communication process. Context is of outmost importance in intercultural

communication.

7. INTERFERENCE anything that blocks or modifies the intended message (e.g. noises,

emotions, external conditions etc.).


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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Each and every communication process results in some effect. If the effect is the desiredand the expected one, than we can talk about effective communication. Effective

communication also ensures that the message is not distorted during the

communication process.

Effective communication takes preparation, practice, and persistence. It is also a

reciprocal process that includes active listening. Active listening requires eye contact,

objective processing and feedback to the speaker. It may also involve various strategies

(e.g. clarifying questions or restatements) in order to make sure that the message was

correctly and accurately understood.

The goals of effective communication range from transmitting and, respectively,acquiring information to creating a common perception and even changing perception

and behaviour.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS1. LISTENING SKILLS/ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listening is essential in effective communication. Listening skills show the

involvement of the recipient in the communication process and his/her

responses can improve/modify the content of communication. The responsesmay take the form of verbal and non-verbal reflections (the recipient indicate

message comprehension), attention feedback (minimal responses cues which

signal attention and comprehension, e.g. making eye contact) or commentary

(responses that communicate listeners own beliefs, opinions etc. about the

speakers utterances) (Trower, Bryant&Argyle 1978:200).

2. ASSERTIVENESS/I STATEMENTS

Assertiveness is a fundamental communication skill, which involves being direct

and respectful without being aggressive. It relies on mutual respect and the idea

that you have the right to express your opinions, feelings and needs. I

statements help a person sound direct, without being accusatory. Saying no in

a polite yet firm manner is another component of assertiveness.


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3. BODY LANGUAGE

Also called nonverbal communication, body language includes posture, position

of hands and arms, eye contact and facial expression.

4. OPEN-MINDEDNESS

Effectiveness in communication is accomplished when there is empathy and

tolerance, and judgements and criticism of communicated messages are

avoided. The recipient do not have to agree entirely with the other persons

opinions and beliefs, but he/she should respect them and should make the effort

of understanding the situation from the senders position.

5.

REFELECTION

The recipient validates the thoughts and feelings of the person speaking by

reflecting back what he/she has communicated. This can be accomplished by

summarising what has been said, e.g. You feel like you have tried several

options and are not sure about what step to take next. This communication skill

helps the speaker feel like he/she is being understood and gives him/her the

opportunity to clarify and add more detail if necessary.

6. COMPROMISE

When a problem exists, both parties involved must collaborate to formulate a listof potential solutions as well as trade-offs that they will agree to.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONBusiness communication can be looked at from two perspectives:

1. Type of communication that encompasses topics such as: marketing, brand

management, advertising, public relations, corporate communication etc.2. Type of professional communication that covers a wide range of specialised

communication forms, from oral performance (presentations, meetings,negotiations, video conferencing etc.) to written performance (reports, letters,

memos, notes, e-mails etc.)

Business communication may also refer to internal communication, which is vital in

company because a poorly transmitted message could lead to employees lack of trust

or even hostility.


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FORMS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Presentations Meetings

Negotiations

Letters

Reports

Proposals

Memos

Emails

Etc.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Verbal Com municationVerbal communication is when a person puts across a message by speaking. The message can

be sent to an individual, a team or a group.

The message can be sent in person, via an intercom, over the phone, email etc.

The person sending the message should express the message clearly so that the receiver is able

to understand and act, if required, on the message.

The receiver of the message should be able to understand what was said. Many times the

message may not be received as the sender intended, due to a range of factors including lack of

attention or interest.Verbal communication breakdownCommunication breakdown occurs when the sender's message does not get through to the

receiver or the receiver misunderstands the sender's message.

The following are examples of communication breakdown.

1. Inattention:

The receiver is not concentrating or is not interested in the sender's message.

2. Physical barriers:

The message is not received due to noise, poor eyesight / hearing etc.


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3. Poor expression:

The sender has expressed himself / herself poorly therefore the message has not been

interpreted as intended.

4. Premature evaluation

The receiver only hears part of the message, then jumps to a conclusion about the

remainder of the message rather than listening to it.

5. Emotions:

When the message is expressed with strong emotions, whether it be angry, fearful etc,

the meaning of the message may be misinterpreted

6. Gatekeeper:

The sender/receivers message is communicated through a third party which may result

in breakdown or misinterpretation of the message.

7.

Communication chain:The message is sent via a number of parties and relies on the message being unchanged

by these parties, e.g. A sends message to B, which sends it to C, which sends it to D.

8. Denial:

The receiver does not want to hear the message, therefore there could be a barrier to

the sender's message. The receiver may be fearful of change, they may not want to do a

task etc.

9. Lack of questioning:

The receiver does not understand the message and does not ask the sender for

clarification etc.

Non-verbal CommunicationThere are numerous ideas, thoughts and feelings that are communicated without words. Only

one third of a message is sent in a person-to-person exchange in words alone. People have the

ability to read non-verbal cues. These cues are learnt from the environment and through

culture and can therefore be misinterpreted.

The following are examples of non-verbal communication;

yawn

tears

frown

crossing arms

averting eyes

Silence can be a type of non-verbal communication.


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Types of non-verbal communicationThere are six types of non-verbal communication.

1. Body language

Body language is the way that we communicate by the use of the body.

The parts of the body associated with body language are the face and part of the

face, the whole head (with face expressions), hands/fingers/arms/ touching,

legs, feet and sitting position.

The face is the most commonly used channel of communication. A raised

eyebrow means surprise, lips pursed means anger. The face is used to encourage

or discourage feedback.

The whole head can be used to communicate. A nod means agreement, moving

the head up and down communicates interest to the speaker.

Legs are often crossed to communicated discomfort, feet may act as pointers to

the person we are communicating with.

2. Physical appearance

Body shape and size have influence on the way people are perceived by others

and can be inaccurate. Hair, clothing and personal style also send a message

about who we are and what we are.

3. Voice

The way words are said contribute to the message being sent. There are four

vocal cues

qualifiers - tone, rate, pitch and volume of speech

fillers - words used to fill conversations i.e. 'okay', 'well', 'um', 'ah'

differentiators - vocal sounds that help us communicate i.e, giggles,

yawn, sighs

qualities - the way the voice is used i.e. husky, firm, questioning etc.


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Whatever the reason for writing, the message will be more effectively sent if the text is clear,

readable and business like.

The following are six steps to help when writing workplace documents:

The purpose

Why is the text being written?

What does the reader need to know/do?

How does the reader need to feel?

The plan

Jot down key points to be made in logical sequence.Gather facts that will be included

Draft

Write the documents with particular people in mind

Natural language should be used

The text should be readable and flow naturally

Edit

Read through the document to make sure it is clearWords should be familiar and sentences should be short

Final draft

Arrange final draft on computer

Check

Check the document carefully and give it to others to read for

errors and readability

Make changes

Make sure the documents looks professional so that it is

appealing to read


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OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERSPersonnel in a workplace communicate with peers, managers, supervisors, members of thepublic, suppliers and others.

Barriers to communication can cause problems and misunderstanding with effective

communication.

Some barriers to communication are:

jargon

disabilities

age

status

lack of empathy

stereotyping

unclear or incomplete messages

distance

lack of time

poor spelling - inaccurate sentence structure.

Steps to overcome communication barriers should be put in place.All personnel should be interested in overcoming barriers to effective work practices in anorganisation.

The following list outlines points to consider in relation to overcoming communication barriers.

feedback - enables communication to become a two way process with both the sender

and the receiver trying to achieve mutual understanding

consider the words used - long complicated sentences and unfamiliar words confuse

people. Communication should be clear, complete, concise, concrete, correct and

courteous.

use repetition - repeating messages several time using different examples can help

others to understand the messages being sent

use empathy - seeing a situation from another person's viewpoint and trying to

understand others opinions concerns and attitudes makes better communicators

timing - poor timing can result in messages not being received effectively

being positive rather than negative helps make communication more effective - what is

wanted not what isn't wanted


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select the best location - talk somewhere that will encourage open communication not a

noisy shop floor or a busy office

listening reduces communication

check written communication for spelling errors and ensure the sentences are clear,

concise and not ambiguous.

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION

Starting point: the receiver must have some freedom in responding to persuasive messages,

and an underlying ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Persuasion is an

interactive process, involving all parties in a negotiation of meanings.

Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts

(Public statement by Nelson Mandela, Feb. 1985)

Ways in which persuasive communication operates in organisations:

Advertising

Public Relations and lobbying

Interviews

Business meetings and negotiations

AdvertisingPersuasive techniques are used to secure the attention of a target audience and to increase its

subsequent recall of the message.

Publi c Relations and lobbyingPublic relations is mainly concerned with managing the links between an organisation and the

people outside, including customers, local communities and journalists.

Lobbyingmeans presenting an organisations case to the key decision makers.

I nterviewsJob interviews involve persuasion efforts from both sides. Candidates are seeking to convince

the panel that they are the right person for the job, while the organisation is trying to attract

the strong candidates to accept job offers. Employers also want unsuccessful candidates to

leave with a positive impression of their organisation. Persuasion can also be a factor in other

types of interview, e.g. an employee performance appraisal.


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Business meetings and negotiationsPeople have to work very hard to persuade others to accept their novel or controversial ideas

and proposals.

Main issues to be addressed by a message that is intended to be persuasive:

1. The nature of the audience What previous experience do they have, either of you as an individual, or the

organisation that you represent?

What do they already know, and how do they feel about the subject matter of your

message?

What do you know about their personality and their current state of mind?

Are you trying to persuade one individual or a large number of people?

Are they able to act independently, or are they playing the role of representatives or

agents of another organisation?

What other factors that might be persuading them in the opposite direction?

2. The message Content:

Does it comprise facts, ideas, opinions or a mixture of all three?

Is it simple or complex?

Is it likely to be surprising, or unwelcome or threatening to your audience

or to those they represent?

+

The emotional aspects

Objectives:

Changing facts and ideas = if senders have access to relevant supporting evidence, which

they are capable of presenting in a straightforward manner, receivers will be persuaded to

change their minds.


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Changing beliefs and values= though they contain facts and ideas, a persons beliefs and

values are bolstered by other powerful factors, such as self-image, cultural background and

pressure exerted by a peer group.

Changing actions and behaviour= full-scale persuasion arises when the receiver has an in-

built resistance towards the proposed action or change in behaviour (e.g. efforts directed at

discouraging people from activities such as smoking or drug abuse).

3. The context Is it happening within an organisation or in the outside world?

The timescale

The activities of other parties

PERSUASIVE PRACTICES

Addressing people by name

Posing questions

Being provocative

Using different forms of persuasive communication (music, taste and smell, direct

action)


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Lecture 2

OUTLINE:

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

o FORMAL STRUCTURES

o HIERARCHIES

o ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

o INFORMATIONAL GRAPEVINE

EMERGING CHALLENGES

o DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

o BLURRED ORGANISATIONAL BOUNDARIESo THE RISE OF STAKEHOLDER THINKING


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ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

FORMAL STRUCTURES Help managers allocate tasks and responsibilities between defined functions

Provide the basis for a clear chain of command

Are presented in the form of an organisational chart, showing the upward, downward

and lateral connections between named individuals, job roles or departments.

Factors associated with the structures selected by organisations

Size of organisation

Technology used

Type of activity

Goals or objectives

Competitive environment

An organisations structure should fit the functions it carries out and the environment in which

it operates.

Types of structures:

a. The functional structure:

prioritises internal operations efficient ways of organising production

less flexible in responding to changes in the market


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2. a matrix structure, where functional and product reporting lines are

combined in a cross-hatched pattern.

The choice of formal structure contributes to distinctive patterns of internal and external

communication managers need to consider the potential trade-offs arising from their

structuring decisions.

HIERARCHIESDistances between people in organisations can be:

vertical: a measure of the degree of hierarchy, the number of levels in an organisation

structure

horizontal: relates to the number of groupings at a particular level in the hierarchy.


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a) Tall hierarchies: many layers of management and relatively few staffreporting to the managers at each level.

b) Flat hierarchies: few managerial levels

Delayering: cutting out levels of management with the aim ofreducing operating costs and

improving information flow.

Problems created by aggressive delayering: loss ofessential tacit knowledge, over-burdened

managers with too many lines of communication to subordinates.

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Organisations tend to develop distinctive cultures that are both signified and

reproduced through communication practices.

Organisational cultures cross-cut the national differences and are to a large extent

reflected in the companies operations around the world.


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Cultures include self-perpetuating structures, leading like-minded people to be recruited

into organisations, while encouraging those unsuited to move on.

Various departments and occupational groupings are also likely to display their own

distinctive norms, values and communication practices: sub-cultures.

Key-challenge: how to manage the interface between organisational cultures and

subcultures in order t facilitate better internal and external communication.

INFORMAL GRAPEVINE Unofficial communication channel

Consists of overlapping, informal networks of friends and colleagues who circulate

information around an organisation, often during lunch breaks or social events.

They are effective because: they are faster than conventional routes, are more likely to

gain the employees attention, require no investment in communications infrastructure

Managers sometimes make use of grapevines to release their official messages, byplacing rumours that prepare the ground for a subsequent formal, officially-sanctioned

announcement.

They can also be counter-productive, e.g. in a time of uncertainty, such as restructuring

or redundancy, harmless gossip is often replaced by misinformation. In these

conditions, grapevines tend to distort and exaggerate messages as they are passed

around.

EMERGING CHALLENGES

A. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: e.g. mobile phones, iPhones, e-mails, iPods and other forms of datatransfers.

Benefits:

They created new and more flexible ways of working, which have suited particular

lifestyles

They increased managerial control over employees through computer-enabled

monitoring of work activities.

They intensified the pace of work in many situations

Employees can obtain real-time access to corporate intranets in many locations,

including their home-based offices.

It has also become cost-effective for organisations to provide their staff with theequipment needed to enable remote working; additional costs are more than offset by

the substantial reduction in corporate office overheads.

Home workers are able to spend more time with their families at important times of the

day.


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Communication challenges

Cultural change the traditional, hierarchical management systems found in many

large organisations are difficult to change.

Removing the employees from a managers line of sight can lead to a perceived loss of

power and status.

The remote workers can feel that they are distanced from the organisation and that

leads to loss of direction, motivation and of sense of belonging.

Informal face-to-face communication and networking cannot take place in the home

office.

There is no technologically-mediated substitute for face time (a term that is itself a

product of the virtual era).

How should organisations address these communication challenges?

A programme of training and cultural adjustment for managers and all those involved in

remote working that should include: time management, arrangements for supervision,

reporting progress, and obtaining additional support when needed; a code of conduct

an agreement of what is expected by both parties.

Regular visits to the office provide access to informal channels and help reinforce a

sense of belonging.

The communication issues become rather more complex in the case of virtual teams,

where there is a need for intensive multi-lateral communication, requiring co-ordination

of several people in different remote locations.

B.BLURRED ORGANISATIONAL BOUNDARIES

Examples of factors that lead to blurred boundaries:

The privatisation of public utilities

Outsourcing of non-core activities

Strategic alliances

Joint ventures

Various types of inter-organisational network


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C. THE RISE OF STAKEHOLDER THINKING

The concept ofstakeholder thinking was popularised by the North American writer, R.Edward Freeman, in a book calledStrategic Management: a Stakeholder Approach.

A stakeholder in an organisation is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by

the achievement of the organisations objectives (Freeman 1984:25)

Freemans central argument was that an exclusive focus on a corporations shareholder

value (i.e. a financial indicator based on the income yield and growth of its share

capital) provided an inadequate guide for determining strategic direction. It contributed

to negative outcomes for other stakeholders, including employees, consumers, local

communities and the natural environment (i.e. poor working conditions, sub-standard

products, damage to local economies, atmospheric pollution).

Increasing concern over these effects has been reflected in an intellectual debate

regarding the appropriate relationship between business and society.


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REFERENCES:

Blundel, Richard. 2004. Effective Organisational Communication. Perspectives, Principles and

Practices. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Jakobson, Roman. 1987. Language in Literature (Pomorska & Rudy, trad.).The Jakobson Trust.

Leeds-Hurwitz, Wendy. 1992. Communication in Everyday Life. A Social Interpretation. New Jersey: Ablex

Publishing Corporation.

McLean, Scott. 2012. Business Communication for Success. Flat World Knowledge.

Moore, Ian. 2005. Does Your Marketing Sell? The Secret of Effective MarketingCommunications. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Nahaveandi, Afsaneh.1997. The Art and Science of Leadership. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000).An introduction to human communication: understanding and sharing.

Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Rawlins, William K. 1987. Gregory Bateson and the composition of human communication. In Research

on Language and Social Interaction. Vol. 20, issue 1-4. Routledge. p. 53-77.

Thill, John V., Courtland L. Bovee. 1999. Excellence in Business Communication. New Jersey:Prentice Hall.

Trower, Peter, Bridget Bryant & Michael Argyle. 1978. Social Skills and Mental Health.

Edinburgh&London: T&A. Constable Ltd.

Varey, Richard J. 2002. Marketing Communication. Principles and Practice. London: Routledge.

***

Barbara Brown, What is Effective Communication?, available online:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/69309-effective-communication/(3 November 2012)

Ripa Ajmera, Types of Effective Communication, available online:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/81160-types-effective-communication/(3 November 2012)
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Stacey Mozel, List of Effective Communication Skills, available online:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/148322-list-of-effective-communication-skills/(3 November

2012)

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http://www.livestrong.com/article/82418-examples-effective-communication-skills/(3

November 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_communication(3 November 2012)
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