1. The communication process consists of two phases.

In the transmission
phase, information is shared between two or more individuals or groups.
In the feedback phase, a common understanding is assured. In both
phases, a number of distinct stages must occur for communication to take
place. Starting the transmission phase, the sender, the person or group
wishing to share information with some other person or group, decides on
the message, what information to communicate. Then the sender
translates the message into symbols or language, a process called
encoding; often messages are encoded into words. Noise is a general term
that refers to anything that hampers any stage of the communication
process. Once encoded, a message is transmitted through a medium to the
receiver, the person or group for which the message is intended. A
medium is simply the pathway, such as a phone call, a letter, a memo, or
face-to-face communication in a meeting, through which an encoded
message is transmitted to a receiver. At the next stage, the receiver
interprets and tries to make sense of the message, a process called
decoding. This is a critical point in communication.

- In the encoding process, culture can affect this step through nonverbal
communication. Nonverbal communication share information by using
facial expression (smiling, raising an eyebrow, frowning,…), body
language (posture, gestures, nods, eye contact,…), and even dress style
(casual, formal, informal, trendy, conservative,…). For example, an eye
contact can be considered as friendly or respectful communication in
some country, however, it is seemed as disrespectful in Japan to maintain
eye contact in communication. Another step effected by culture is
medium. In the medium process, organizations choose kind of medium to
transmit messages due to its culture. In administrative company, they
prefer use email to communicate. However, people tend to meet face-to-
face in restaurant culture to communicate.

2. The first and most important is the level of information richness that is
needed. Information richness is the amount of information a
communication medium can carry and the extent to which the medium
enables the sender and receiver to reach a common understanding.20 The
communication media that managers use vary in their information
richness. Media high in information richness are able to carry an
extensive amount of information and generally enable receivers and
senders to come to a common understanding. The second factor that
managers need to take into account in selecting a communication medium
is the time needed for communication, because managers’ and other
organizational members’ time is valuable. Managers at AXA, a global
financial services company, drastically reduced the amount of time they
spent by using video conferencing instead of face-to-face communication,
which required managers to travel to locations around the world. The
third factor that affects the choice of a communication medium is the
need for a paper or electronic trail or some kind of written documentation
that a message was sent and received. A manager may wish to document
in writing, for example, that a subordinate was given a formal warning
about excessive lateness.

3. Four factors determine the usefulness of information to a manager:

quality, timeliness, completeness, and relevance.
QUALITY Accuracy and reliability determine the quality of information.
The greater its accuracy and reliability, the higher is the quality of
information. Modern IT gives managers access to high-quality real-time
information that they can use to improve long-term decision making and
alter short-term operating decisions, such as how much of a particular
product to make daily or monthly.
TIMELINESS Information that is timely is available when it is required
to allow managers to make the optimal decision—not after the decision
has been made. In today’s rapidly changing world, the need for timely
information often means information must be available on a real-time
basis—hence the enormous growth in the demand for mobile computing
devices such as smartphones. Real-time information is information that
reflects current changes in business conditions. In an industry that
experiences rapid changes, real-time information may need to be updated
frequently.
COMPLETENESS Information that is complete gives managers all the
information they need to exercise control, achieve coordination, or make
an effective decision. Managers rarely have access to complete
information. Instead, because of uncertainty, ambiguity, and bounded
rationality, they have to make do with incomplete information. One
function of IT is to increase the completeness of managers’ information

RELEVANCE Information that is relevant is useful and suits a manager’s

particular needs and circumstances. Irrelevant information is useless and
may actually hurt the performance of a busy manager who has to spend
valuable time determining whether information is relevant. Given the
massive amounts of information that managers are now exposed to and
their limited information-processing capabilities, a company’s
information systems designers need to ensure that managers receive only
relevant information.
4. The business world has been completely transformed by technology.
Previously manual procedures are now automated, and electronic
communication is now widely used in offices. The advent of technology
has completely changed how businesses operate today. Information
systems have been around for a while, but as they develop, they
constantly feel "new" and present a wide range of opportunities. A
computer system for information systems is much more than just a set of
hardware and software; it is a tool. This tool has a variety of applications,
and how a business chooses to use it will determine how valuable it is.
Although many businesses today are aware of the potential of their
technology, they may not fully appreciate all of its advantages. Once
strategic knowledge is realized, the potential is endless. Installing
automation merely for the sake of having it ensures that it will be just an
ordinary and expensive business asset; however, the real value lies in
understanding how it can be used. The secret to gaining a competitive
advantage in the use of information systems is strategic planning.
Managerial decision-makers do not want to invest in new systems for the
upgrade unless a strategy is in place to make the most of them.