To best understand how the structure of a business letter is built, it is necessary to study examples that are the basis of high-quality communication in this area. In this assignment, the letter is a text that aims to create a foundation for cooperation between the two companies. This business letter was sent by the British company RadFlight, which is engaged in the production of drones. Thus, the letter’s primary purpose is to offer a mutually beneficial partnership that will potentially be beneficial to both parties (Hamrakulova, 2020). However, it should be noted that this letter has several errors and shortcomings that can negatively affect the establishment of relationships between companies.
The most important task of this type of letter is the desire to identify its activities and what the company produces to create a basis for discussions with the other party in negotiations. The main mistake of this letter is that RadFlight insufficiently establishes the basis for establishing trust and partnership relations through an equal dialogue with a Chinese company. The fact is that John Smith builds his letter in such a way that the main topic becomes the requirements and needs of RadFlight regarding the partnership. However, in such a case, there is a feeling that a Chinese company should, in any case, agree that they have no other choice; that is, there is no desire to understand the opinion of the other party regarding the establishment of partnerships (Kádár, 2019). Therefore, this business letter does not imply the designation of value orientations for a Chinese company, so they have no desire for cooperation.
Another mistake is that John Smith does not provide enough information, which may create some obstacles. To establish partnership and trust relationships, it is necessary to provide complete information about the company and its representative. This is especially important for Chinese culture, which is built on the principles of trust (Kádár, 2019). The letter itself only casually mentions that RadFlight is engaged in the production of drones, without going into details about the person who writes, as well as the merits and values of the company. Although the letter meets the requirements, its purpose is indicated in it. However, on the other hand, in the future, it was necessary to propose and indicate what the benefits of the Chinese company from cooperation with RadFlight would be. In this case, the letter does not seek to outline the details of their potential cooperation and, for the most part, focuses only on the interests of the company itself.
The third problem is that there is no desire in the letter to use questions or other tactics to establish partnerships. This is important to create an opportunity for dialogue, due to which it will be possible to get to know each other better (Ruziyeva, 2020). However, John Smith himself writes in a rather aggressive manner, talking about those things that can affect the image of RadFlight. Thus, the Chinese company has no motivation to engage in an equal dialogue. When communicating with representatives of Chinese culture, a mixture of positive and negative face strategies should be used (Kádár, 2019). John Smith is too direct in this case, he should use more formal language and talk more about the partner.
Status is the most significant determinant of human potential and employee motivation. Company leaders who want to influence the behavior of others should pay more attention to reducing status threats. Thus, the simplest way they can do this is to give feedback, not encroach on the status of employees, or reward positive feedback in the presence of others (McHale, 2022). In this video, the deputy manager quite well indicates an employee’s position in the company and notes the fact that he has good feedback from customers. Consequently, the woman does not seek to explain that the employee is not good enough, but he has several problems that should be solved. In addition, the deputy manager supports the employee’s status by assuring him that none of his colleagues will find out about the conditions offered to him. An excellent way to raise the status is to provide an opportunity to improve, to learn (McHale, 2022). The deputy manager also emphasizes this fact, as the employee is provided with new opportunities to pass the missed training sessions.
Significant uncertainties, for example, when an employee does not know what to expect from the boss or the job is outside the comfort zone, are very exhausting. People have a mental map of places where they experience ease and protection (Vats, 2020). Moreover, it is worth noting that any significant changes create uncertainty. Thus, it is essential for employees to clearly understand what is required of them in situations when their work is dissatisfying (Vats, 2020). In this video, the deputy manager warns the employee and says that the company does not seek to get rid of him but only provides an opportunity to improve. The woman also discusses with the employees a plan of action that he will have to go through so that they can verify their competence. However, it is worth noting that the answers were rather evasive, which does not give the employee a clear understanding that he will not be fired.
Loss of control over one’s life and surrounding events increases stress, which changes the functioning of the body. In this video, the deputy manager slightly violates the employee’s autonomy, saying that his performance will be monitored. Regarding relatedness, it can be noted that the deputy manager seeks to reassure the employee about the conflict with a colleague in such a way that his character traits are not criticized. In addition, providing an employee with a trial period will be hidden from colleagues. Consequently, his interests will not be violated, and the relationships in the team will not be changed.
The sense of justice is a very subtle characteristic, and, perhaps, most of all, these levers depend on subjective perception (Savaneviciene and Girdauskiene, 2020). There are enough different attitudes toward employees to make the organization begin to feel threatened. Therefore, increasing transparency in the team increases the level of fairness (Savaneviciene and Girdauskiene, 2020). In this case, the deputy manager honestly provides the employee with information that all people who have received a warning go through a similar procedure in the company. Thus, a woman competently creates a sense of fair treatment of an employee. Thus, the chosen SCARF method is suitable for this type of presentation with an explanation of the duties and values.
Corporate communication is a management function responsible for monitoring and coordinating the work carried out in the field of communications in various areas, such as relations with the media, socio-political communications, and internal communications. Thus, it is possible to define corporate communication as a management function that creates the basis for effective coordination of all internal and external communications (Cornelissen, 2020). In this case, the overall goal is to create and maintain a favorable reputation among stakeholders, on which the organization’s success depends. In this video, Romanoff Renovations clearly defines the company’s goals regarding various groups.
It mentions the value of the client and what the company is about its services. In addition, examples are given of how Romanoff Renovations create favorable working conditions for their employees through technology. The value of partners is also determined, which is an essential component of the company’s activities (Frandsen and Johansen, 2018). The presentation of the company’s values itself was coherent and clear, as techniques were used to separate the company’s interests relative to different groups.
Furthermore, in the video itself, there is a presentation of the company’s main advantages, which are accompanied by positive feedback from employees and excerpts from the company’s non-working life. The general idea is that the sustainability and success of a company depend on how key stakeholders see it, and communication plays a vital role in creating, maintaining, and protecting the company’s reputation (Budi Eko, 2020). The speaker in this video is the creator of Romanoff Renovations himself. He describes the history of the company’s creation in a reasonably accessible manner and talks about its goals and interaction with various stakeholders. Rapport with the audience is established in this video by demonstrating the frames of the company’s work, accompanied by satisfied customers. In addition, as already mentioned, positive feedback from employees also creates a positive image of the company. With a promising image and reputation, actual and potential customers will purchase goods and services. Community members will appreciatively allocate the organization from its environment, and investors will provide it with financial resources.
Corporate communications can also be viewed as a set of information flows within the company — vertical (boss-subordinate) and horizontal (between employees of the same hierarchical level). All this also connects it with the outside world, with persons interested in its activities and products (stakeholders). Information is a strategic part of a business, and to manage it effectively, a company needs a well-thought-out system that operates both inside and outside the corporation (Michaels and Grüning, 2018). This should happen within the socio-economic environment where the company interacts with the outside world. A corporation that loses its initiative in the information field will not be able to respond to crises and will find itself in a risk zone, instability with unpredictable consequences for its development (Michaels and Grüning, 2018). Consequently, the Romanoff Renovations presented in the video demonstrates its corporate culture and identity. Thus, the chosen style is suitable for this type of presentation. Therefore, the effectiveness of this video is relatively high, but it should be noted that the factor of editing and the overall picture may not meet modern standards a little.
Reference List
Budi Eko, S. (2020) The effects of corporate identity management, internal brand, and corporate culture on employee brand support behavior (study of halal-oriented SME employees in east Java). Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 560, pp.446–453.
Cornelissen, J.P. (2020) Corporate Communication: A guide to theory and practice. 6th ed. S.L.: Sage Publications.
Frandsen, F. and Johansen, W. (2018) Corporate communication. The International Encyclopedia of Strategic Communication, pp.1–10.
Hamrakulova, G. (2020) Politeness theory in language. Mental Enlightenment Scientific Methodological Journal, [online] 2(17), pp.151–157. Web.
Kádár, D.Z. (2019) Introduction: Advancing linguistic politeness theory by using Chinese data. Acta Linguistica Academica, 66(2), pp.149–164.
McHale, L. (2022) Two useful models from neuroleadership. Neuroscience for Organizational Communication, pp.55–64.
Michaels, A. and Grüning, M. (2018) The impact of corporate identity on corporate social responsibility disclosure. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 3(1).
Ruziyeva, N. (2020) Face concept in the category of politeness. European Journal of Humanities and Educational Advancements, [online] 1(4), pp.15–20.
Savaneviciene, A. and Girdauskiene, L. (2020) Leadership in ensuring positive socio-psychological experiences of employees. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, pp.629–635.
Vats, R. (2020) The neuroscience of employee engagement. Contemporary Social Sciences, [online] 29(1), pp.146–153.