The major goal of any form of business communication is to attain the various goals of any organization. The parties involved in business communications are both internal and external; with the external parties being referred to as external audiences and the internal parties being referred to as internal audiences. Internal audiences include people in the same organization who may include: subordinates, superiors, and peers. The external audiences to business communications include people who are outside the organization and may comprise customers’, brokers, and the government among the other stakeholders to the organization (Robert, 1994). Communication is a critical factor for the efficient operation of any organization; it serves the purpose of informing, requesting certain services, and is responsible for creating valuable goodwill of the company to all the stakeholders.
To attain the efficient and effective functioning of any organization, effective communication plays a significant role. Thus, it is critical for the employees of any company to develop their verbal and non-verbal communication that greatly enhances effective communication in any organization or business environment (Herbert & Jane, 1997). The major focus of business communications is on three crucial communication types: inter-personal, intra-personal, and inter-cultural communication. These communication types are critical in helping the employees of an organization to understand the behaviors and attitudes of different people and thus, the communication of messages more effectively becomes easier.
The management of any company should establish a communication strategy that effectively promotes the communication of the superiors and their subordinates. Failure to establish such a communication strategy would result in increased absenteeism from the employees, a decrease in productivity, and the tendency of workers to regroup into counterproductive scuttlebutt networks. Effective communication by the management of any company is very critical for the success of any company: it facilitates the understanding by the employees of what is required of them thus promoting efficiency in the company. Any company is required to adopt two-way communication. The management of the company is required to establish personal contacts with their junior staff. They should establish a channel that promotes the communication of the organization’s goals and policies to the employees and promote the sending and receipt of employees’ feedback on various issues to the management. The aim of any organization’s management should be to develop such a system as it would be crucial in eliminating communication breakdowns that lead to numerous costs to the company.
Organizations should create a communication channel that promotes employees’ feedback. Communication feedback plays a significant responsibility when it comes to the communication process in any business environment. It facilitates the evaluation of the message delivery; i.e. if the message was properly sent and comprehended by the message recipient. The feedback mechanism is critical in promoting open communication. Open communication promotes effective performance and raises productivity levels in the company.
A management system that promotes effective communication is very useful in promoting effective communication between the senior management and the junior staff of a company. This is a critical factor in promoting the effectiveness of the company in achieving its goals. Effective performance of the staff is very important in increasing the employees’ devotion for their work which leads to increased efficiency and consequently an increase in profits which is the main goal of any business.
The major types of communication in any organization are internal and external communication. Internal communication in the form of communication that exists between subordinates and their superiors in the same organization. It is important for promoting job satisfaction, increasing the employees’ productivity levels, and boosting the company profitability. The two forms that internal communication can adopt include formal or official communication and informal or casual communication. Internal communication can adopt two major forms: vertical communication which is further subdivided into downward and upward communication and horizontal communication. Upward communication is mainly the communication between employees and management (Narula, 2006). To be updated on the daily happenings in the organization, the subordinates need to constantly update their superiors on the activities of the organization.
Downward communication is the complete reverse of upward communication. Information flows down from superiors to subordinates. Through downward communication, employees are told what is expected of them by their superiors. This form of communication is critical in enabling the giving of instructions by superiors, increasing effectiveness, and providing motivation and cooperation among employees. Horizontal communication is critical for promoting effective communication between people of the same rank in an organization. It is critical for problem-solving, enhancing team work, increasing efficiency, and a faster accomplishment of tasks in the organization.
The other type of business communication is external communication; this form of communication entails communicating with parties who are not members of the organization such as customers, creditors, and suppliers. It is very critical in promoting a good corporate image of the company, improving the sales of the company, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
In conclusion, communication has to exist in order for the effective running of any business. Communication within or outside the company is essential for the smooth running of the organization. There is no company nowadays that does not put importance on effective communication. Both external and internal communications are very significant in the promotion of a better understanding of the organization and in the creation of a peaceful work atmosphere. Successful communication means being kind, understanding, paying attention to your fellow employees, sending a clear message and controlling your body language. Any persons that are interested in working for the big corporations need to develop a command for their communication skills. In the end, communication with others comes naturally, and we do not even notice it. In our organizations we provide special courses and lessons for improving employees communication skills both internally and externally. Knowledge and experience is obtained only through work. Being a part of many programs, getting involved in all kind of projects, communicating with others is very helpful in improving business communication.
References
Herbert, W.H. & Jane P.T. (1997). Effective Business Communications. (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Robert, L.H. (1994). Management of Corporate Communication: From Interpersonal Contacts to External Affairs. New Jersey, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Narula, U. (2006). Business Communication Practices: Modern Trends. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd.