Ch 1: Achieving Success through Effective Business Communication
Achieving Success in Today’s Competitive Environment
Your ability to communicate will influence the perception that people have of you as a business professional. It plays
a key role in efforts to improve efficiency, quality, responsiveness, and innovation, your communication affects your
org’s success.
Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages- emailing, formal presentation, or
chatting.
Communication only considered effective when others understand your message correctly and respond to it
in the way you want them to.
Fig. 1.1 The Benefits of effective communication:
What Employers Expect from You
Organizing ideas and information coherently and completely.
Expressing and presenting ideas and information coherently and persuasively (not only organizing info, but
convincing audience)
Listening to others effectively
Communicating effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Using communication technologies effectively and efficiently.
Communicating in a civilized manner that reflects contemporary expectations of business etiquette.
Communicating ethically, even when choices aren’t crystal clear.
Characteristics of Effective Communication
Provide practical information - To be effective, business messages are practical.
Give facts rather than impressions
Clarify and condense information – concise
State precise responsibilities Persuade others and offer recommendations
Communication in Organizational Settings
Can be internal (within the org) or external (with others outside the org)
Internal Formal communication networks: ideas and info flow along the lines of command (hierarchical).
Flows in three directions:
Downward flow (executives to employees)
Upward flow (employees to executives)
Horizontal flow (lateral or diagonal communication between departments)
Internal Informal communication networks: a grapevine – when two or more employees are in contact
External can be both formal and informal
Fig 1.4 Forms of Communication
The Communication Process
1. The sender has an idea.
2. The sender encodes the idea (length, tone, organization and style)
3. The ender transmits the message through a communication channel (phone, letter)
4. The receiver gets the message
5. The receiver decodes the message
6. The receiver sends feedback (enables the sender evaluate the effectiveness of the message)
Understanding Why Business Communication is Unique:
Globalization and Diversity – the more diverse the workforce the more need to pay attention to
communication; a diverse workforce can yield a singnificant competitive advantage by bringing more ideas and
broader perspectives
Increasing Value of Information – Competitive insights (understand competitors’ strengths and
weaknesses); Customer needs; Regulations and Guidelines
Technology – Technology can help or hinder communication depending o how it’s designed and used.
Evolution of Organizational Structures – Organizations with tall structures may unintentionally restrict the
flow of information. Flatter organizational structures usually make it easier to communicate effectively. Corporate
cultures with an open climate benefit from free-flowing information an employee input.
Teamwork – Working in a team makes you even more responsible form communicating effectively.
Barriers –
Distractions (physical or emotional),
Information overload (too many messages),
Perceptual differences (the more experiences shared, the more likely you are going to share
perception and thus meaning),
Language differences (as soon as possible is 10 sec, 10 min or 10 days?),
Restrictive environments (often org with tall hierarchies)
Deceptive tactics (omit crucial info, exaggerate benefits, downplay risks)
Communicating More Effectively on the Job
Minimizing Distractions – reduce noise, visual clutter, and interruptions (common sense), send fewer
messages (set aside time to attend to messages all at once), informing receivers of your message’s priority.
Emotionally charged situations require extra care when communicating.
Adapting an Audience-Centered Approach – focusing on and caring about the members of the audience
helps ensure successful messages. Focus on needs of audience.
Fine-Tuning Your Business Communication Skills – lack of experience may be the only obstacle
between you and effective communication.
Giving—and Responding to—Constructive Feedback—Constructive feedback focuses on the process
and outcomes of communication (improvement), not on the people involved (personal criticism). Destructive feedback
delivers criticism with no effort to stimulate improvement. Try to react unemotional when given constructive feedback.
Being Sensitive to Business Etiquette – Respect, courtesy, and common sense.
Using Technology to Improve Business Communication
Businesses use a variety of communication technologies to ensure the effectiveness of their messages.
Voice Technologies – voice synthesis, voice recognition
Virtual Agents – limited form of machine intelligence, virtual operators that assist people that tend to ask
similar questions over and over.
Mobile Communication
Networking advances – IM, P2P, wireless networks, Short Messaging Service (SMS on mobile phones)
Keeping Technology in Perspective
Technology is an aid to interpersonal communication not a replacement for it.
Don’t let technology overwhelm the communication process.
Using Technological Tools Productively - Develop at least a working knowledge of the technology your
employer expects you to use.
Spending Time and Money on Technology Wisely – new technologies used in business communication
are often promoted as time savers and efficiency boosters, but such benefits don’t always materialize.
Reconnecting with People Frequently – Technological tools can’t always convey the necessary emotional
and nonverbal aspects of communication, which can cause unnecessary confusion and aggravation.
Making Ethical Communication Choices
Ethics- principles of conduct that govern a person or a group; knowing the difference between what you have a right
to do and what is the right thing to do.
Ethical Communication includes all relevant information and is not deceptive in any way.
Unethical Communication: plagiarism, selective misquoting, misrepresenting numbers, distorting visuals. (Anything
that misleads the audience).
Distinguishing Ethical Dilemmas From Ethical Lapses
Ethical Dilemma: involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut, they may all be ethical and valid.
Ethical Lapse: clearly an unethical or illegal choice. Knowing that something is wrong and doing it anyway.
Ensuring Ethical Communication
To ensure ethical business communication: ethical individuals, ethical company leadership, and the appropriate
policies and structures to support employees’ efforts to make ethical choices.
Code of ethics: help employees determine what is acceptable.
Ethics audits: monitor ethical progress and to point out any weaknesses that need to be addressed
Choices may be legal but unethical. In the absence of clear legal boundaries or ethical guidelines ask:
Have you defined the situation fairly and accurately?
What is your intention in communicating this message?
What impact will this message have on the people who receive it, or who may be affected by it?
Will the message achieve the greatest possible good while doing the least possible harm?
Will the assumptions you’ve made change over time? That is, a decision that seems ethical now seem
unethical in the future?
Are you comfortable with your decision? Would you be embarrassed if it were printed in tomorrow’s paper or
spread across the Internet?