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Business Communication & Its Types
Business Communication & Its Types
Business Communication & Its Types
Communication
“Any ac t by which one person gives to or rec eives from another person information about t hat
person’s needs, desires, percept ions, knowledge, or affec tive st at es. Communic at ion may be
int entional or unint entional, it may involve c onventional or unconventional signals, may t ake linguistic
or non- linguist ic forms, and may occ ur through spoken or other modes.”
Or in simple words;
Communic at ion is t he exc hange of ideas, opinions and information through writt en or spoken words,
symbols or ac tions.
Communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact , c ommunic at ion is more conc erned with a
dual listening process. For c ommunic at ion t o be effective, t he message must mean t he same thing t o
both the sender and the rec eiver.
Business Communication
Business Communic at ion is any c ommunic at ion used to promote a produc t, service, or organizat ion –
wit h the objec tive of making sale.
In business, c ommunication is considered core among business, int erpersonal skills and etiquette.
Historical Background
Thousands years ago, people use to communicate orally. Greeks use a phonetic alphabet writ ten from
left t o right . Aft er that , many books appeared on writt en c ommunication princ iples. In a result of this,
Greek started her very first library.
When c ommunism was ruling China, c ommunic at ion had bec ome the biggest c hallenge within the vast
government as well as between government and people. 1st in China and t hen in Rome postal servic e
was launc hed. After that paper and print ing press was invent ed in c hina that made communic at ion
easier.
Henc e, today’s princ iples of c ommunications are founded on a mixt ure of ancient oral and writ ten
traditions.
Organization
The arrangements between individuals and groups in human soc iet y that st ructure relationships and
ac tivities (Business, Political, Religious or social).
In ot her words,
A group of people ident ified by shared int erests or purpose, for example, a “Bank”.
Lifeblood of an Organization
Communic at ion is t he lifeblood of an organizat ion. If we c ould somehow remove communication flows
from an organization, we would not have an organization.
It is needed for:
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When c ommunic at ion stops, organized ac tivity c eases to exist. Individual unc oordinated ac tivit y
ret urns in an organization. So, Communic at ion in an organizat ion, is as vital as blood for life.
1. Internal Communication
2. Ext ernal Communication
1. Internal Communication
Communic at ion within an organization is c alled “Internal Communication”.
It inc ludes all c ommunic at ion wit hin an organizat ion. It may be informal or a formal func tion or
department providing communication in various forms to employees.
Effect ive int ernal c ommunication is a vit al mean of addressing organizat ional c oncerns. Good
c ommunic ation may help t o inc rease job sat isfac tion, safety, product ivity, and profit s and
dec rease grievances and t urnover.
a) Upward Communication
b) Downward Communic at ion
c ) Horizontal/Literal c ommunication
a) Upward Communication
By definition, c ommunic ation is a two-way affair. Y et for effec tive two- way organizational
c ommunic ation to occ ur, it must begin from the bottom.
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b) Downward Communication
Information flowing from t he top of the organizat ional management hierarc hy and t elling people
in t he organization what is important (mission) and what is valued (polic ies).
Downward c ommunication generally provides enabling informat ion – which allows a subordinate
t o do somet hing.
Downward c ommunication comes after upward communications have been suc cessfully
est ablished. This type of c ommunic at ion is needed in an organization to:
Both Downward & Upward Communications are collect ively c alled “Vertic al
Communication”
c) Horizontal/Literal communication
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Horizont al communication normally involves c oordinat ing informat ion, and allows people with the
same or similar rank in an organizat ion t o cooperate or c ollaborat e. Communication among
employees at t he same level is c ruc ial for the ac complishment of work.Horizontal
Communic at ion is essential for:
Solving problems
Ac complishing tasks
Improving t eamwork
Building goodwill
Boosting efficiency
2. External Communication
Communic at ion with people outside the company is c alled “ext ernal c ommunication”.
Supervisors communic at e with sources outside the organization, such as vendors and
c ustomers.
It leads to bet ter;
Sales volume
Public c redibility
Operat ional effic ienc y
Company profits
It should improve
Overall performanc ee
Public goodwill
Corporate image
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