H

ASSIGNMENT
Effective Communication Channels
Hamza Bhatti

Introduction
British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered
in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the worlds five largest tobacco companies.
BAT has a market-leading position in over 50 countries and operations in around 180
countries. Its four largest-selling brands are Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Kent and Pall Mall, with
others including Benson & Hedges and Rothmans.
BAT has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100
Index. As at 6 July 2012 it had a market capitalization of 65.6 billion, the sixth-largest of any
company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange.

Process of Communication
The main components of communication process are
Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be
physical, social, chronological or cultural.
Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of
symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required
response.
Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the
response of recipient.
Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must choose
an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed to
the desired recipients.
Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended / aimed
/ targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various
factors such as knowledge of recipient
Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender
to analyze the efficacy of the message.
Objectives of Communications:
Communicate corporate projects, events, achievements etc.

 Provide counseling service for cross Functional teams for communicating projects,
events, achievements etc.
Generate positive shift in employee comprehension of company objectives and
directions.

Importance of communication process:

British American Tobacco believes that empowered and motivated employees are the
prerequisite for creating a winning organization. To this end, it is necessary that employees
have the right information and it is Internal Communications that facilitates the information
flow. It provides the employees with sufficient information to perform their roles and it aligns
them with the company vision and directions. This enables informed decision making and
promotes cohesiveness among the business units. Thus Internal Communications helps ensure
that the employees at all levels have all , understanding of tile business and are able to engage
and inspire individuals around them to deliver winning performance.
Internal Communications also plays a catalytic role in upholding the guiding principle Open
Minded. This guiding principle requires that one listen actively, communicate openly, value
feedback, foster a climate of support, encourage creativity, and constantly challenge the status
quo.

Types of Communication:
Internal Communication at BAT is conducted in 3 ways:
Branded two-way: These tools are designed to get feedback of the things communicated. Like
Road show
Skip level meeting
Open Forum
Branded one-way: The name suggests that these tools do not get feedback. These tools include:

Magazine/Newsletter

BAT news

SMS (Instanews)
Contingency communication: These tools are designed when some need arise. Like, recently,
when the company decided to increase the price of their products, a video was made to educate
the brand promoters and the people in the field.
Objectives of Internal Communications:
Communicate corporate projects, events, achievements etc.

 Provide counseling service for cross Functional teams for communicating projects,
events, achievements etc.
Generate positive shift in employee comprehension of company objectives and
directions.
Importance of communication process:
British American Tobacco believes that empowered and motivated employees are the
prerequisite for creating a winning organization. To this end, it is necessary that employees have
the right information and it is Internal Communications that facilitates the information flow. It
provides the employees with sufficient information to perform their roles and it aligns them with
the company vision and directions. This enables informed decision making and promotes
cohesiveness among the business units. Thus Internal Communications helps ensure that the
employees at all levels have all, understanding of tile business and are able to engage and inspire
individuals around them to deliver winning performance.
Internal Communications also plays a catalytic role in upholding the guiding principle Open
Minded. This guiding principle requires that one listen actively, communicate openly, value
feedback, foster a climate of support, encourage creativity, and constantly challenge the status
quo.
Internal Communication Tools and processes:
The company has to decide what to communicate and how to communicate it and British
American Tobacco has a portfolio of tools for the purpose of communication to words its
employees. Depending on the number of people infected and the importance of the
communication a particular tool or a combination of tools is selected. All these tools are designed
to meet specific needs and together they provide a comprehensive communication with no gaps.
For each tool the following are detailed Target audience for that tool
Core contents to be communicated
Frequency of communication
Language and tone
Tool name each tool usually has branded name
Production budget

Tools of Internal communication are:

Focus (Quarterly Magazine):
Focus is a magazine published for the exclusive consumption of the employees. The contents of
the communication are less formal and are people oriented. If an employee were to have shown
excellent performance by driving a project, his success would ideally be thought the Focus
Magazine.
BATB News (Video news):
The publication of BATB News or may not coincide with that of Focus; however, these two tools
serve distinct purposes in the overall IC portfolio. While Focus contains more people news and
in-depth features, BATB News covers project news and events.
Outstation
A day after BATB News is uploaded; CDs are mailed to the managers in various locations who
share the video with their team members during the monthly meeting. Other than the manager
who has the CD, the other employees thus get to watch BATB News once and on a laptop screen.
Alaap (Monthly meeting for non-mgt employees):
This tool communicates news on Business performance, Strategic Initiatives and projects. It is a
focused, interactive tool targeted towards the non management employees to create greater
understanding and retention at that level, It recounts detailed news such as Sales, Brands, Market
Share, production, Wastage levels, Quality (RQI) and important corporate news such as Annual
General Meeting, Corporate social Responsibility activities etc. The need for this tool arose as
exposure to other tools is limited at the factory floor.
Baithak (Internet site):
All the workstations of BAT across the globe are connected to networks based on the internet but
accessible to only members of BAT. This internet is referred to as he Interact site and is used by
all BAT companies.
Email or Lotus Notes:
Lotus Notes is an email tool which is used to communicate with managers (from one to-one
personalized to mass level communication). This tool is used on an ad hoc basis,
Notice board:

Notices that placed on the electronic bulletin board are communicated to the non management
employees in Dhaka through a print version of the notice place on a notice board at the Dhaka
Factory premises,
Open Forum:
This tool has been introduced recently this tools is supposed to be more informal and give the
employees, both management and non management, a better opportunity to place their demands
and give suggestions or talk about problems.

Conclusion
British American Tobacco Company is using its channels of communication effectively for both
internal and external stakeholders in order to keep them updated about the operating in a highly
controversial and sensitive industry and working with more than thousands of employees,
communication is very important to facilitate decision making and making them able to face the
stakeholders.

References
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/components-of-communication-process.htm
https://www.essays24.com/Business/Hr-Communations-In-Batb/29830.html
http://bbaworldwide.com/2014/12/01/report-effectiveness-internal-communication-part-2/