Popular Business Communication 1

Popular Business Communication

Shawn Stecher
Florida State College at Jacksonville
GEB3213-Business Writing
Fall 2013
October 13, 2013
Popular Business Communication 2

Table of Contents
Page
Type of personal communication ..............................................................................4
Written Communication .......................................................................................4
Face to Face ..........................................................................................................4
Types of technology communication .........................................................................5
Email .....................................................................................................................5
Text/IM .................................................................................................................5
Conclusion .................................................................................................................7
References ..................................................................................................................8
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Abstract
Communication is a necessity to a businesss survival. Communicating to consumers,
advertising a product or service, and with fellow coworkers with work related messages or a job
well done, is vital to how a business functions. Over the years, communication has taken many
different forms. In this paper, I would like to convey the different types of communication that
has become popular in the business world, what has become more popular with the updates in
technology, and how some types of communication can be more harmful than helpful.
















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Introduction
Business communication has evolved immensely throughout the years. Communication
has many different mediums from verbal communication to email communication. The
advancements in technology have led to more people using an electronic based communication
as opposed to personal communication. As technology grows and is more widely used by people,
the communication through technology grows, therefore leading to the need for businesses and
people to become more familiar with technological communication.
Popular Business Communication
Business communication may vary from the size of the business to the years in existence, but
Communication is important to keep employees well-informed about an organisations business
vision and strategy as well as to help every individual in the organisation to working together
with a common purpose (Lee, 2010) and should be used efficiently in every organization.
Written Communication
One type of communication is traditional written communication. For example, a company may
be mailing out employee pay checks/stubs, sending interoffice mail, and hand delivering memos
to employees to deliver their information. Written communication has been in business
communication for a number of years and is still used today. When you see brochures, journals,
or newspapers at the newsstand, this is a prime example of written communication for businesses
to communicate to consumers who have declined the electronic option of receiving information.
Face to Face Communication
Another communication type is face to face communication. This communication is usually used
in more important and formal types of settings, such as kickoff meetings for a project or a job
interview, assuming the hiring manager wants to know more about you after reading your
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resume. If the meeting does not require problem solving, brainstorming, or input from
employees, use an alternative way to share or distribute information. When the information
distributed is merely FYI, a face-to-face meeting isn't warranted. Consider sending out a group
voice mail, an e-mail, or a memo. At the most, schedule a conference call, and ask participants to
submit project status in writing two days prior. (Stack, 2013) Face to face communication
requires two types of communication. Verbal and nonverbal. While a meeting is being held, the
speaker will likely receive reactions from the crowd in nonverbal methods or body language. A
speaker may know when the audience is actively listening by the nodding of their head in
agreeance or disagreeance, or the lack of attention will likely mean the audience is not interested
in the presentation. Body language plays a large roll in face to face meetings as it is the tell tale
sign of the audiences participation.
Electronic Communication (Email, IM, and Text)
The last type of communication is electronic communication. This area is one that I am more
familiar with since my work day is surrounded by computers. Most of my communication is done
through email, IM, and text messaging. Email communication is popular and used when multiple
recipients must be delivered the information. So rather than interoffice snail mail or calling each
individual, one can send a single email, address it to multiple coworkers and include a brief
message, attach documents, and presentations. IM (Instant Message) is a computer based text
messaging system that allows coworkers to instantly message somone in the organization for a
quick message or reply to someone else. As cellular phones become more poplular with their
capabilities, many companies use text messages to commuciate with their team for projects even
consumers can recieve special promotions via their cell phone for discounts on products or
services.
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Importance of Business Communication
Business communication is and has always been important to an organization. Effective
communication is an essential part of a smoothly running business organisation. Communication
involves the transmission of information from a source (or a number of sources) to receivers.
(People theory, 2013) Choosing the right type of medium to communicate with your audience is
just as important as what is in your message. If a messaage is urgent or time sensitive, then
picking up the phone is more than likely going to have a quicker response time then sending an
email and waiting for a response. Calling someone in the event of having to deliver bad news is
also a better method due to the tones used in a persons voice when showing empathy.
If a project is heading in the wrong direction, a phone call could be good if you only need to
communicate with one person. Though the project manager will most likely want to meet with
the entire team and therefore want to schedule a face to face meeting to use both verbal and
nonverbal methods of communication. These meetings will likely resolve the project scope creep
with the use of brainstorming and conflict resolution techniques.
If a business is trying to reach a younger demographic, they will most likely use the eloctronic
method of communication. I myself rely on text message and email as my main source of
communication. Even my parents had to adapt to text messaging because it is the simplest and
quickest form of communication to reach me. Many organizations are expanding into text, email,
and social networking as a way to advertise to consumers who would rather receive electronic
information than traditional paper methods.
In my experience I see many downsides to each type of communication. For example, if a
business relies solely on electronic advertising, then they may miss potential customers who are
not familiar with electronic ads and vise versa. I know the Jacksonville newspaper prints and
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delivers The Times Union to customers who are accustomed to reading their phyical newspaper
and they also reach out to their customers by posting the same articles on their website. If a
company relies on one or the other, then many oppurtunities could be lost. In the office, if I send
an email to a coworker, they may not read it or reply back within a reasonable amount of time.
Then I am waiting on the response before work can proceed or I may have to back track when I
do receive a response.
Conclusion
In my conclusion, business communication has always been and always will be a critical staple in
the success of an organization, whether it is face to face meetings or IM. In order for
organizations to be successful, they should have the capabilities to use all types of
communications. As the younger generations of employees start to fill the open positions in the
corporate world, the use of electronic communication will grow due to the growth in technology
and pace at which it is going. Organizations and people should be well versed in the
communications styles so that we know how to communicate with each other in more ways than
one.


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References
People theory. (2013). Retrieved from The Tmes 100 Business Case Study:
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/
Kouremetis, D. (2013, January 28). Choosing Communication Methods Wisely for Your Small
Business. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/
Lee, C. (2010, November 2). Face-to-face Versus Computer-mediatedCommunication:
Exploring EmployeesPreference of Effective EmployeeCommunication Channel.
Retrieved from Acamedia.edu: http://www.academia.edu/
Ober, N. &. (2012). Business Communication In Person, In Print, Online. Cengage Learning.
Stack, L. M. (2013). Choose the most productive communication channel for your message.
Retrieved from Office.com: http://office.microsoft.com/