BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Dr. Sushila Shekhawat

 Chapter outline
• Introduction
• Functions of communication
• Roles of a manager
• Communication basics
• Communication networks
• Informal communication
• Tips for effective communication
• Miscommunication
• Effectiveness in managerial communication
• Strategies for improving organizational communication
 Read the following case and answer the questions that follow.
• The Marudhara group of companies had several divisions and hundreds of employees.
The company was family owned, family managed and completely family -oriented. The
owner, his brothers, their sons and daughters -in-law managed all the affairs of the
company. The heads of department contacted the directors(owners) for any decisions
that needed to be taken. One of the directors was always present in the office, and at
hand, to hand out decisions on critical or not so critical matters.
• It was a norm to take decisions unilaterally without consulting the rest of the family
members. Sometimes employees were scolded for their acts and it was later found that
they had merely followed orders given by one of the directors. Departmental heads
started taking advantage of this functioning style. They knew which boss to turn to for a
particular wish to be granted. This type of functioning divided the staff into favorites
and non-favorites of one or the other of the directors. A major decision was made by one
of the directors. As it was beginning to be implemented another director made a
decision opposed to the one being implemented. This lead to an enquiry by each about
what was going on. It also led to a slowdown between employees first and the directors
later. The slowdown became a big issue and needed to be sorted out by the chairman,
the original promoter of the company.
• The bitterness among the employees and the directors started to spread to
the operational areas of the company and hence the performance of the
company started suffering. Unable to trace the reasons, for this
deterioration, the chairman decides to call up a meeting of all the
divisional heads. The divisional heads could not help him arrive at a
solution. They mentioned nothing about how they approached different
directors for getting different things. The communication channels
remained blocked and things come to such a pass one day that young
directors asked for a division of the factory which came as a big blow to
the chairman.
i)Provide any two reasons for the failure of communication.
ii)How can a proper communication channel lead to better handling
of situation
 Introduction
⚫ Definitions of communication:-
1. The process by which information and feelings are
shared by people through an exchange of verbal and
non-verbal messages.
2. The successful transmission of information through a
common system of symbols, signs, behavior, speech,
writing or signals.
3. The creation of shared understanding through
interaction among two or more agents.
 Mehrabian model
• 7% of meaning is in the words that are spoken
• 38% of meaning is paralinguistic.
• 55% of meaning is conveyed through facial
expressions.
(memos,e-mails,telephonic conversations,
written communication)
 Business Communication
• Specialized branch of communication used to relay
information within the business or deal with legal and
similar issues or promote a product, service, or
organization.
• Organization
• Coordination, integration of various activities
• Effective communication system is mandatory
• Process which allocates and supervise the work of others.
• Differences between general and business communication.
• Different activities of business-internal, external
Internal

• maintaining and improving the morale of employees

• giving orders to workers
• prescribing methods and procedures
• announcing policies and organizational changes
• keeping the management informed
 External Activities
• Relate to sale and purchase of goods and
services
• Reporting to the government and the
shareholders on the financial condition and
business operations
• Creating a favorable business climate
 Communication
General Purpose Business
• Structure flexible • Rigid
• Content (any)
• Business,
• Layout (flexible) industrial technical
• Audience (not always
specific) • Rigid
• Nature (not always • Only to specific
objective) • Mostly objective
 • Main features:-
1. Deals with various commercial and industrial
subjects.
2. Characterized by certain formal elements, such as
commercial and technical vocabulary, the use of
graphic and audio-visual aids, and conventional
formats.
3. Impartial and objective as extreme care is taken to
convey information accurately and concisely.
4. Entails complex writing techniques and
procedures.
Effective business communication
• The use of effective language to convey a clear
business message to achieve a predetermined
objective.
 Characteristics of Business
communication
• Continuous process.
• Needs proper understanding .
• Leads to the achievement of the
organizational objective.
• Dispels misunderstanding.
 Skills of a Manager
• Managers Varied Job requires
• Some important skills
• Technical-
• Human-ability ot work well with other people
individually as well as in group
• Managers with skill to inspire,motivate and lead
• Conceptual