Business Communication Trends Paper

Business Communication Trends Paper

Tierney S. Kennedy

COMM 285

August 2, 2010

Jim Bingel

1
Business Communication Trends Paper

Business Communication Trends Paper

In today’s business world, communication is one of the most important factors in determining a

company’s longevity. Communication is a means by which people transmit their thoughts and ideas or

exchange information. A successful company or organization uses various means of communication

among all coworkers. Regardless of titles, job descriptions, or education, all members must

communicate. The current business trends have changed along with the advancement of today’s

technology. The current business trends affecting business communications today are technological

changes, focus on quality and customers’ needs, entrepreneurship, teamwork, diversity, globalization

and outsourcing, legal and ethical concerns, balancing work and family, job flexibility, and rapid rate of

change. These trends along with the role of business communication in my firm will be outlined in this

paper.

Role Business Communication Plays in Day to Day Activities and How It to Manage It

Business communication plays a huge role in the day to day activities at my workplace. As a

financial and billing assistant for the finance department in a rather large law firm, communication is

very important to all aspects of my job. My key role is to communicate to other offices and billing

attorneys’ information on billing goals, providing backup for payments made and received, and also

assist in preparing invoices to meet monthly goals and deadlines. The use of email plays an important

role in communicating most information in my position. Email is very useful in communicating between

departments, other offices in other states, and with clients in various locations throughout the world.

Through our emails we are able to send important goal information and records of any archived

information needed to assist with billing. We are able to send scanned copies of documents through

email which is also great with keeping a paper trail of things that are communicated. Being able to

2
Business Communication Trends Paper

effectively communicate important information the first time, being clear and concise, is also very

important. Time is saved in not having to resend or rewrite information and efforts are more effective

when answers are more accurate and done in a timely manner. Leaving out valuable information can

cause a lot of confusion and waste unnecessary time. As one can imagine, business communication

plays a pertinent role in the success of the department.

Trends in the Workplace

Trends in business communication are changing rapidly within companies. Within my firm, the

trends that I have seen being used are technology, focus on quality and customers’ needs, teamwork,

and diversity. Through technology, our firm has implemented new software and hardware programs to

help with navigation and communication techniques. The new programs have helped us with compiling

our information more accurately, quickly, and easily. This is all allowing for better communication and

customer service. Other technologies used within the firm are blackberries for management and the IT

department, and telepresence for videoconferencing with other offices and clients. Through these

technology changes, it allows for us to have better customer service. We are a team that prides

ourselves on customer service not only to the people we offer service to but also to our co-workers and

management team. Through the customer service to our co-workers we develop a great sense of

teamwork. Working together as a team to reach our monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals is very

important to the success of our company. We also value how diverse of firm we are and how we

commit to working with people with different backgrounds and learning how to effectively

communicate with being educated on those differences. We have training programs and seminars that

emphasize the importance of being diverse and well rounded. With having these trends within the firm,

we are an organization in which business communication has been successful in the many years of

operation.

3
Business Communication Trends Paper

Conclusion/Summary

Communication has multiple purposes, to inform, to influence, to express one’s viewpoint and

to meet other social expectations. Communication is what unites and utilizes all departments within an

organization. Without good business communication, the probability of an organization to have

complications and failure is high. Current trends in communication are changing at a fast rate. The

rapid change in technology is a large component for the different programs implemented with corporate

communication. Focus on quality and the customer’s needs, teamwork and diversity each individually

determine the method of communication used. These trends have changed the way my firm does

business with customers (co-workers or clients), vendors, business partners, and the technology needs

of everyone to better communicate thus having a successfully functioning business.