Communication in business

COMMUNICATION in BUSINESS

Objectives:

become familiar with notions and importance of non verbal communication in business

learn and use specific vocabulary

adopt and perform appropriate tone and attitude

Communication is important to the point that without it an organization cannot operate. Its activities require human beings to interact, react, and communicate.

If you can communicate effectively in speaking and writing, you are highly evaluated. Managers and top-level executives are concerned with the need for better communication. Business executives usually rank the ability to communicate in the first place among the personal factors necessary for promotion within management, and business communication ability is considered one of the most useful.

Oral communication obviously preceded written communication. The ancient Greek and Roman world depended heavily on oral communication especially in government assemblies and in the law courts.

A school of teachers called sophists taught ancients to speak well, for to defend one and to speak eloquently were marks of a learned person. More formal instructors were called teachers of rhetoric and taught ideas: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian.

During the Medieval and Renaissance period the oral tradition continued. But writing became more and more important as a permanent record of communication, and authors and books on written communication principles appeared. Desiderius, Erasmus, Richard Sherry, Angel Day are the forerunners of those associated with our modern principles of written communication. Some of today's principles of writing are a mixture of ancient oral and written traditions. Business communication is one offshoot from an earlier world where communicating well was a foundation of learning.

Correspondence is essential in establishing and confirming conventions in business activity. Typed or produced on a word processor, it is a mirror of the writer and of the business itself. Therefore what is written and how it is written expressed is as much a part of a business education as accountancy and economics.

On the other hand, information is power. Speed and efficiency in written business communication depend on a great extent on how the organization handles information. As an employee, manager, owner or supervisor, in a rapidly changing business environment you will need to understand to use the technology of today's information age, to create, transmit and store information.

Nowadays thousand of hours are devoted daily to interviews, conferences, memos, report, employee manuals, letters, advertising, news, articles, bulletins, newsletters and other messages. They require the time of executives and assistants for researching, thinking, planning, organizing, dictating, typing, editing, revising, proofreading, mailing (the written), presenting (the oral), and filing records. That is why it is to be considered the wasteful cost of unclear, incomplete, inaccurate inconsiderate and unduly long or late letters. Poor messages are more expensive because they destroy goodwill, waste time, and alienate the customers. Successful messages help to enhance efficiency, goodwill, safety, productivity, profits and public credibility.

Many surveys and articles confirm that effective communication is essential for a successful career and promotion in business. Top, middle and operation managers confirm that business communication skills influence the advancement to executive positions. Like any other worthwhile activity the quality of the individual attitude and preparation affects communication. The personality, the image and culture of a company are the extension of the many personalities and traditions of its employees. Any of them, whether an executive or a new clerk, is responsible for this image, for building the goodwill. Most people can learn to communicate effectively for business and build the goodwill attitude by developing intelligent, sound judgement when choosing ideas and facts for each message. The integrity of the writer, backed up by a valid code of ethics, a reasonable facility with the English language and applied knowledge of the communication process and principles are also important for a successful and effective communication skill.

Appearance conveys a non-verbal impression that influences the recipients' attitude toward the message even before they read it. As for written messages, the envelopes overall appearance size, color, weight, postage may impress the receiver as important, junk or routine mail. The letter report or title page communicates nonverbally even before its contents are read. The appearance of the messages stationery and its length, format and typing is meant to lead to a certain attitude and impression of the receiver. The enclosure quantity and attractiveness (charts, graphs, pictures) also give nonverbal impression.

Whether when speaking to a person face to face, or to a group in a meeting, personal appearance conveys nonverbal stimuli that influence attitudes, even emotions, towards spoken words.

Clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, cosmetics, fingernails, neatness, and stature represent parts of the appearance. They convey opinions regarding occupation, age, sex, nationality, social and economic status, job level and good or poor judgment.

Aspects of surroundings that communicate include room size, location, furnishing, machines, architecture, wall decorations, floor (carpeted or bare) lighting, windows and other aspects.

The body language also communicates by facial expressions, gestures postures, smell and touch. Sometimes, they are more meaningful than words. They are also important for special occasions, interviews, speeches, etc.

The eyes' expression can make the receiver understand hidden emotions anger, annoyance, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, hatred, joy, love, interest, sorrow, surprise, and uncertainty. They can sometimes even contradict verbal statements sometimes Direct eye contact is desirable when people have a face-to-face conversation. Eyes that drop or shift away from the listener may show a shy, dishonest or an untrustworthy person.

Continual gestures with arms while speaking may reveal nervousness, or they also may distract listeners attention from the spoken words. One's handshake can also show firmness or limpness, promptness attitudes.

Legs position can reveal certain nonverbal attitudes for a man sitting with legs stretching on top of this office during an interview, or a standing person shifting weight from one leg to another in a rhythmic motion while humming or pacing back and forth while speaking.

Confident executives may have a relaxed posture and yet stand more erect than a timid subordinate. Interested persons may lean forward toward the speaker, while those who are bored or annoyed may slump as well as yawn and repeatedly glance at their watches.

Touching people in different ways and places can communicate friendship, love, approval, hatred, anger or other feelings. A kiss on a cheek, pat on the shoulder or slap on the back is prompted by various attitudes and emotions. Various odors and artificial fragrances on human beings can sometimes convey emotions and feelings better than spoken words.

Different meanings can also be conveyed by the rate, pitch and volume of the voice. Speaking fast can reveal nervousness, but a soft voice soothes and calms. Even silence can determine serious hard feelings, loss of business or profits.

Time is also an important conveyor of nonverbal communication. Being on time for appointments, for work every day, and for deadlines communicates favorable messages in our culture.

Human sounds communicate non-verbally such as clearing the throat, sighing, laughing, etc. The ability to communicate and understand the messages is an important business skill that that is to be developed.

Advantages of Using Electronic Technology in Business Communication

Information now doubles every six years, causing managers to spend an increasing amount of time receiving, absorbing, creating and distributing information. The abundance of information is called information overload .It is forcing managers to look for ways to reduce the amount of paperwork. They realize that information is an extremely valuable resource only if received in a timely, concise and accurate manner. Thus, control becomes a key factor in the management of information. Using electronic technology is highly recommended because of the advantages it offers:

- elimination of monotonous routine tasks

- cost effectiveness

- Greater accessibility of data (information)

- The accuracy and quality of output

- The ability to forecast outcomes

People are interested in work that is satisfying and enjoyable. Routine tasks such as formatting, editing, filing, copying, calculating and mailing mean drudgery to many people. With a word processor or a personal microcomputer most of these tasks can be handled electronically. By pressing one or more special keys, you can convert a draft into a finished text, print it immediately at high speed or store electronic data for later use. Because of the worldwide competition, all businesses are interested in ways to help employees accomplish more output in less time. In integrated office system computers, word processors telephones, facsimile devices, scanners, printers and copiers linked together accomplish numerous tasks in a semi or fully automated fashion. In such an environment executives can feed information into the system or check the electronic mailbox for messages via a phone line or terminal, whether in or out of the office. The decreasing cost of computers and peripherals (equipment tied to the computer) will continue to make technology a cost-effective tool in the future.

A New Era of Bright Hopes and Terrible Fears

When we try to comprehend something as vast, amorphous and downright scary as the Internet, it's no wonder we grope for familiar historical precedents - the railway, the interstate highway system, the telephone network. But none of those really captures the Internet's earth shaking impact on the business world. Out of this primordial technological swamp called the Internet are emerging new companies, business models, corporate structures - even new industries. It's a time of such tumult and confusion that no one can agree on what's happening now, much less on what's coming next. Unknown upstarts with head scratching labels such as vertical portals, e-markets threaten to hijack the leadership of countless industries, from plastic to financial services. Some of the most innovative corporate companies are likely to prove the commercial equivalent of mammals, which started out small and rodent like but proved swift and highly adaptable.

Consider how the Net differs from microprocessors or other disruptive technologies that have gone before. It's a readymade marketplace essentially $1 trillion worth of network connections, computer power, and limitless database full of information. And it is largely free to anyone with a phone line and a personal computer, wherever he may be in the world and anytime, day or night. In short, the Net offers an entry point to all comers in every market and industry. And business people know that the Net is no laughing matter. The Internet economy already amounts to $301 billion if you include on-line sales of industrial and consumer goods and services as well as the equipment and software to support e-commerce. With growth like that in just five years, the commerce on the Net will be as perilous for many businesses - and entire industries - as it is profitable for others. There's hardly an industry that isn't undergoing an upheaval in how it deals with customers and partners, organizes itself, or defines its essential purposes.

All of these consequences flow from one inescapable fact: The Net puts the customer in charge as never before. Until the Net, buyers faced huge obstacles to extracting the best prices and services. Research was time-consuming, and everyone - from producer to retailer - guarded information just like the crown jewels.

Interactive TV (ITV) is the television that can offer from online shopping, e-mail personalized news and entertainment to T-banking. This is possible by

combining TV with Internet. Still at its beginning in Europe, ITV is expected to become soon an everyday reality. In 1996 Television Par Satellite became the first broadcaster in the world to launch fully digital interactive services via satellite. The subscribers have access only to informational and e-commerce sites offered by TPS commercial partners who have paid for the privilege. Soon a new generation of satellite decoders is expected to enable viewers to switch from TV and movies to full Internet browsing via a single set-top box. Specialized companies offer interactive games plus ability to exchange e-mails while watching films. Online auction channel and full Internet access are planned for later. Some of them offer already interactive personal programming thanks to digital video recorders that customize your TV schedule by learning your viewing habits and automatically recording your favorite shows. New competitors keep entering the fray, starting to roll out interactive services which include full Internet access, video and audio on demand, enhanced sports programs and channels with content partners.

To make sound decisions, relevant information must be available when needed. Information sharing is one of the most effective tools of today's information society. Large databases (stockpiles of information by subject and type) make tens of millions of pieces of information available within minutes. You can broaden or narrow your search from relevant information by specifying one or more categories of key words.

To ensure accuracy of information, computers can be programmed to perform a number of important functions, relevant to business communication, such as grammar checkers, programs to generate forms, maintain calendars and produce schedules.

These programs (software packages) are extremely beneficial and can be purchased rather inexpensively.

The ability to take past data and chart future business operations, on the basis of trends and conditions is essential in today's ever-changing economic environment. Goals are important for success. By taking data generated in recent weeks, months and sometimes even years, managers plan budgets, produce schedules, control inventories, determine pricing and plan for the best use of their resources. With computerized operations, information that once took weeks or months to obtain can now be available in a matter of hours.

EXERCISES

I. Match the following terms with their definitions about the new technology in business: 1) computer conferencing; 2) desktop publishing; 3) facsimile; 4) communication satellites; 5) CD-ROM; 6) electronic meeting; 7) electronic messaging; 8) access to on-line data bases; 9) audio conferencing 10) electronic mail.

a) Makes possible the extension of basic communication and broadcasting services throughout a country or region, including the most remote islands and villages. They can be used to provide basic telephony as well as radio and television networks with multiple sound tracks for local languages, where appropriate.

b) A means of communication via computers as an immediate exchange of information. Messages can be sent from one computer to another through a host computer equipped with communications and message-processing software including so-called mailboxes for subscribers. These services are cheaper than voice communications and overcome the differences in tie zone that hinder real-time communications.

c) Interaction of many users through a central host computer. Each member can share ideas with others and respond to their comments. Participants may log on at their convenience, thus avoiding the need to accommodate different schedules at time zones.

d) Microcomputers are now enhanced with graphic capabilities to produce newsletters and other printed material without typesetting.

e) Facsimile transmission and electronic mail may be particularly viable alternatives to sending hard copies of correspondence and documents through the mail in areas where service is often slow and unreliable. The technologies can also be used to link staff in the field with one another and with headquarters.

f) Managers, development experts and project staff may now stay in touch electronically rather than through face-to-face meeting. It allows group members to interact at their convenience by reading and contributing

g) A technology with widespread development applications that enables any type of hard copy, including print, graphics and handwritten messages to be transmitted over a telephone line. It can also be transmitted from a personal computer.

h) A thin route service by which several sites can be linked together through a bridge at as watching point or through a common frequency assigned on a satellite audio channel. Used for holding meetings, tutor students in rural areas or train staff in the field.

i) Information in the form of databases, full texts of journals, video images, and other graphics stored on a compact disk and retrieved with a relatively inexpensive reader attached to a microcomputer. It has a vast storage potential, low cost, durability and ease of use.

j) Users of a computer terminal and modem can dial into a database and search for information using key words or phrases. Relevant information is then displayed as a citation, abstract or sometimes a complete text of documents. Users can then select the relevant information and download it into their own computer or print it out.

II. Re-arrange the following characteristics under the separate titles:

1. Short sentences; 2. Possibility of review; 3. Immediate feedback; 4. More detailed, technical information; 5. More conversational sentences; 6. Focus on interpersonal relations; 7. Possibility of detailed documentation; 8. Less colloquial quality; 9. Less spontaneity; 10. Highly contextual nature; 11. More slang and contractions; 12. More involved sentence structure 13. Less detailed technical information; 14. More personal pronouns; 15. Possibility of review; 16. Useful for permanent record; 17. Prompter action; 18. Greater linguistic emphasis; 19. Later action; 20. Delayed action; 21. Focus on content; 22. More imperative, interrogative, exclamatory sentences; 23. useful for permanent record

III. Give examples of non-verbal communications that can contradict spoken words.

IV. Look at the following images. Make a written description of each item and of the way they work.