To start - people revision

Communication

IGCSE Business Studies

Today’s lesson
● To explain what is meant by effective communication and
how it is achieved.
● To discuss why communication is important to businesses
● To understand different methods of communication
● To understand barriers to effective communication
Quick mind map
Think of all the people you have had communication with
today - mind map each person.

Branch off in a different colour and identify HOW you have

communicated with them.
Types of business communication
Internal External

Employees communicate with Communication with people

each other (colleagues, or organisations outside
supervisors, managers, the business
subordinates etc. within
departments
Discuss and suggest what
could be examples of internal
and external communication.
Try to come up with two
suggestions per category
Types of business communication
Internal
Employees communicate with
each other (colleagues,
supervisors, managers,
subordinates etc. within
departments
Giving/receiving
information, discussing day
to day business activities,
meetings, discussing ideas
for products, sales,
budgets, objectives etc
External
Communication with people
or organisations outside
the business
Selling goods or services,
complaints from customers,
placing orders with
suppliers, the media,
negotiating with trade
unions etc.
Communication methods
Verbal Written
Communication Communication

Communication
Methods

Electronic Visual
Communication Communication
Communication methods
Verbal communication e.g.
two way, meetings, phone
calls.
Good for discussions, share
ideas and in situations
where you need to make sure
receiver understands.
Written communication e.g.
letters, orders,
memorandum, invoices,
minutes of meetings etc.
Allows a permanent record,
formal.

Will get feedback

immediately.
Communication methods
Electronic communication Visual communication e.g.
e.g. fax, emails, text business presentations with
messaging, video graphs and charts, pictures
conferencing. and illustrations.

Fast, received instantly, May be easier to

reduce the need to travel communicate a complicated
concepts
Communication types/methods
In pairs work through each scenarios given, write down what
communication types are evident in each scenario. Consider:
- One-way/two-way communication
- Internal/external
- Verbal/written/electronic/visual (be specific).

Once you have attempted each scenario, turn to another pair

of students and share your answers one scenario at a time.

Write down on whiteboards any scenarios which you have

differing responses on. Share in class.
Choosing the best way of communicating
● How urgent the message is
● Length and complexity
● How many people need to receive
it
● How far away the receiver is
from the sender
● How important it is that all
receivers receive the message
at the same time.
Benefits of effective communication
● Reducing risk of mistakes
● Enabling faster decision
making
● Enabling quicker responses to
market changes
● Improving coordination
between departments
● Improving morale and
motivation of the workforce
● Improving customer
relationships
Fill in the worksheet

Which way of communication would be most appropriate?

1. A warning to a worker about poor quality of work

2. A promotion opportunity to be recruited internally
3. Some new fire fighting equipment has been installed. How
would you make sure everybody knows how to use it?
4. Ten production workers who are to be made redundant
5. You have to cancel a meeting at short notice with another
organization?
6. A customer has sent an email asking for your range of
products
7. The marketing manager wants an assistant to provide her
with the past sales data.
Communication barriers
Main causes:

Problems with the channel of

communication (e.g. telephone
to explain something complex).

Problems between sender and

receiver e.g. lack of trust or
demotivation)

Problems with the physical

environment e.g. too much
noise.
The impact of barriers to the business
- Tasks not completed or done
incorrectly
- Damaged reputation
- The level of morale and
motivation falls
- Higher risks of accidents
(health & safety)
- Poor sales - if advertising or
promotional activities not
effectively communicated
solutions
- Appropriate language
- Shorter channel
- Feedback from receiver
- Appropriate medium
- No noise
- Trust and respect
Overview
● Internal / external
● Media (letters, leaflets, text messages,
video-conferencing, face-to-face etc.
● Types of communication:
○ electronic (email, texts, skype,
video-conferencing, websites)
○ verbal (one-way / two-way)
○ written - formal communication
○ visual (graphs, charts, videos,
photographs)
● Barriers
Key terms
Communication Media - the methods used (letters,
emails, leaflets, video-conference etc)

Feedback - the receiver’s response

Effective communication - information passed with

feedback from receiver that it has been understood

Two-way communication - The receiver responds and the

sender listents.
HOme learning
Google classroom
Effective communication?
● Each group has an envelope containing various
colours/shapes
● Name each person 1,2,3 or 4
● Number 1 – come and look at my screen to see the
finished masterplan for 30 seconds. Then number 2,
3 and 4
● Rules – only one person can see the master plan per
group at a time and for a max 30 seconds
● Can you recreate my master plan?