NAMA

NEILSON GODFREY YULIP

ID NO.

D20112056068

COURSE

PPB3043 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

GROUP

UPSI01 (A142 PJJ)

Assignment

Discuss the goals of business communication and identify

which is the most important.

Lecturer Name:

AHMAD BIN MAHMOOD

Business communication
Business communication (or simply "communication", in a business context) encompasses topics
such

as marketing, brand

advertising, public

relations,

management, customer
corporate

relations, consumer

behavior,

communication, community engagement, reputation

management, interpersonal communication, employee engagement, and event management. It is

closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication.
Media

channels

for

business

communication

include

the Internet, print

media, radio, television, ambient media, and word of mouth.

Business communication can also refer to internal communication that takes place within an
organization.
Business communication is a common topic included in the curricula of Undergraduate and
Master programs of many colleges and universities.
There are several methods of business communication, including:

Web-based communication - for better and improved communication, anytime

anywhere ...

video conferencing which allow people in different locations to hold interactive meetings;

Reports - important in documenting the activities of any department;

Presentations - very popular method of communication in all types of organizations,

usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared
inMicrosoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;

telephone meetings, which allow for long distance speech;

forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location;
and

face-to-face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written followup.

suggestion box: It is primarily used for upward communication, because some people
may hesitate to communicate with management directly, so they opt to give suggestions by
drafting one and putting it in the suggestion box.

The main goal of business communication is to influence, to control our audience's responses in
the way we had intended, so that we can fulfill certain aims for ourselves and our organizations.
Effective business communication, of course, results in our eliciting the response we desire both
in the short term, such as having our audience obey an order, and in the long term, such as
having our audience continue to follow the spirit of the policy. Secondary goals such as selfexpression, social relationships, and career advancement also involve producing change in
knowledge, attitude, or action. With all these complicated variables going on in the
communication process, no wonder communication is imperfect.

As a business example of this imagine everyone in a company receiving a copy of the annual
report. An accountant may concentrate only on one footnote in the financial statement; a sales
person may look at nothing but the marketing charts; and a public relations officer may respond
only to the quality of the brochure itself. Each reader received the same data; each reader
perceived them differently. So communications tend to influence different due to different
perception of people working in the same organization.
Communication is not just important for business. It is essential for the very existence and
operation of any business or any other organized effort.
Business managers spend most of their time communicating, that is talking, listening, writing
and reading. Higher the level of management, greater the time spent on communicating. The
ability to communicate well is essential for their success. Peter Drucker, one of the greatest
management thinker of our time says:
For managers in big organizations ... this ability to express oneself is perhaps the most important
of all the skills a person can possess.
Communication is essential to people who work cooperatively and need to coordinate their their
activities. It is essential for transfer of knowledge from one person to another.

Communication is used to exchange understanding and knowledge on various issues like jobs to
be performed, methods to be used, responsibilities, suggestions, agreements, situational factors,
and work status.
While communication has always been very important in business, it becoming increasingly
important because of various trends like (1) widening of interaction among people including
globalization, (2) Use of increasingly varied assets and processes in industry and business, (3)
Increasing pressure on efficient utilization of resource because of higher consumption levels
induced by growing population and rising aspirations of consumes., (4) Use of more complex
decision making processes, and (5) accelerating pace of change in business that demands ever
increasing need for motivating people obtaining their cooperation.
Different people may have different ideas about what the goals of business communication are.
Here is one way of looking at it that envisions four goals of business communication. They are:
1.

That the recipient will understand the message. In other words, the communication
must convey the message that it is meant to convey. It must not be unclear or give the wrong
idea to the one who receives it.

2.

Getting a response. The communication should be worded in a way that makes it

easy to respond to.

3.

Establishes or improves a relationship with the recipient. Communications are meant

in part to make the recipient feel positively about the sender. This will help them work
together in the future.

4.

Making the recipient feel good about the sender's organization. This matters in
particular when the recipient is a customer. The communication in that case is meant to help
make the recipient like the firm that sends it and want to do business with them.

Business communication goals are established based on considered objective of communication.

Communication falls into two categories: internal and external. Business internal communication
is realized with support of newsletters, team meetings, memos. Business internal communication
is realized with support of sells materials, press releases, PR statements. Usually, keeping the
comprehensive communication at an elevated level is the purpose of any business. The internal
messages should be very clear and interpretations need to be eliminated as much as possible. In
this way, the levels of sails can be raised and productivity can be increased.
Avoiding confusing communication, both internal and external, a company may create the proper
and successful environment for it's business.
Here are just a few communications approaches that will help you effectively reach your
employees and encourage behaviors that advance your strategy and improve your results.
1. Keep the message simple, but deep in meaning.
Most organizations have a deeper meaning as to why they exist. This tends to influence strategy,
decision-making and behaviors at executive levels, but often isnt well articulated for employees.
What you call it doesnt matter, your purpose, your why, your core belief, your center. What does
matter is that you establish its relevance with employees in a way that makes them care more
about the company and about the job they do. It should be at the core of all of your
communications, a simple and inspiring message that is easy to relate to and understand.
Strategy-specific messages linked to your purpose become tools to help employees connect their
day-to-day efforts with the aspiration of the company.
2. Build behavior based on market and customer insights
For employees to fully understand how your strategy is different and better than the competition
they need to be in touch with market realities. The challenge is in how to effectively convey
those realities so that your people can act on them. By building internal campaigns based on
market and customer insights, you bring your strategy to life for your employees through this
important lens. Package your content so that it can be shared broadly with all departments in

your organization, but in a hands-on way. Expose managers first then provide them with easy-toimplement formats for bringing their teams together, with toolkits that include all the materials
theyll need. The purpose is to encourage their teams to develop department-specific responses,
and to generate new ideas and new behaviors based on what theyve learned.
3. Use the discipline of a framework.
Not all messages are created equal. They need to be prioritized and sequenced based on their
purpose. I suggest using an Inspire/Educate/Reinforce framework to map and deliver messages
on an annual basis.

Inspire. Messages that inspire are particularly important when you are sharing a
significant accomplishment or introducing a new initiative that relates to your strategy.
The content should demonstrate progress against goals, showcase benefits to customers,
and be presented in a way that gets attention and signals importance. The medium is less
important than the impression that you want to leave with employees about the company.
Whether youre looking to build optimism, change focus, instill curiosity, or prepare
them for future decisions, youll have more impact if you stir some emotion and create a
lasting memory.

Educate. Once youve energized your team with inspiring messages, your explanations
of the companys strategic decisions and your plans for implementing them should carry
more weight. To educate your teams most effectively on the validity of your strategy and
their role in successful execution, make sure you provide job-specific tools with detailed
data that they can customize and apply in their day-to-day responsibilities. It is most
important for these messages to be delivered through dialogues rather than monologues,
in smaller group sessions where employees can build to their own conclusions and feel
ownership in how to implement.

Reinforce. It isnt enough to explain the connection between your companys purpose
and its strategy and between that strategy and its execution once. Youll need to
repeat the message in order to increase understanding, instill belief and lead to true
change overtime. These reinforcing messages need to come in a variety of tactics,
channels, and experiences and Ive highlighted some approaches below. Ultimately, they

serve to immerse employees in important content and give them the knowledge to
confidently connect to the strategy. Youll also want to integrate these messages with
your training and your human resource initiatives to connect them with employee
development & performance metrics. Recognize and reward individuals and teams who
come up with smart solutions and positive change.
4. Think broader than the typical CEO-delivered message. And dont disappear.
Often corporate communications has a strictly top-down approach. Ive found that dialogue at
the grassroots is just as important, if not more so. Employees are more likely to believe what
leaders say when they hear similar arguments from their peers, and conversations can be more
persuasive and engaging than one-way presentations. Designate a team of employees to serve as
ambassadors responsible for delivering important messages at all levels. Rotate this group
annually to get more people involved in being able to represent the strategy inside the company.
And when the message comes from leadership, make sure its from your most visible, wellregarded leaders. Another mistake is the big launch event and disappear approach. Instead,
integrate regular communications into employees daily routines through detailed planning
against the messages mapped in your Inspire/Educate/Reinforce framework.
5. Put on your real person hat.
And take off your corporate person/executive hat. The fact is, not many people are deeply
inspired by the pieces of communication that their companies put out. Much of it ignores one of
the most important truths of communication and especially communication in the early 21st
century: be real. Corporate speak comes off hollow and lacking in meaning. Authentic
messages from you will help employees see the challenges and opportunities as you see them
and understand and care about the direction in which youre trying to take the company.
6. Tell a story.
Facts and figures wont be remembered. Stories and experiences will. Use storytellingas much as
possible to bring humanity to the company and to help employees understand the relevance of
your strategy and real-life examples of progress and shortfalls against it. Ask employees to share

stories as well, and use these as the foundation for dialogues that foster greater understanding of
the behaviors that you want to encourage and enhance versus those that pose risks. Collectively
these stories and conversations will be a strong influence on positive culture-building behavior
that relates to your core purpose and strategic goals.
7. Use 21st-century media and be unexpected.
The delivery mechanism is as important and makes as much of a statement as the content itself.
Most corporate communications have not been seriously dusted off in a while, and the fact is, the
way people communicate has changed tremendously in the past five years. Consider the roles of
social media, networking, blogs, and games to get the word out in ways that your employees are
used to engaging in. Where your message shows up also says a lot. Aim to catch people
somewhere that they would least expect it. Is it in the restroom? The stairwell? On their mobile
phone?
8. Make the necessary investment.
Most executives recognize how important their employee audience is. They are the largest
expense to the company. They often communicate directly with your customers. They singlehandedly control most perceptions that consumers have about the brand. So if this is a given,
why are we so reluctant to fund internal communication campaigns? I suggest asking this
question: What am I willing to invest per employee to help them internalize our strategy and
based on that understanding, determine what they need to do to create a differentiated market
experience for our customers? Do the math and set your hoped-for ROI high whether it is
financial performance or positive shifts in behavior and culture. If you choose not to invest be
certain of the risk. If you dont win over employees first, you certainly wont succeed in winning
with customers, as they ultimately hold that relationship in their hands.

The Goal of Business Communication

The goal of business communication is to inform employees, shareholders, departments and
customers about a company's goals, financial status and products, respectively. Thus, the goal of
business communication varies depending on whether it is transferred inside or outside the
company. Additionally, communication goals can be transferred via email, reports, oral
communication or advertising. The proper channel of communication is important for ensuring
the effectiveness of communication.
Training
o

One internal goal of communication is to train employees. Most companies have

training manuals or policy guides that teach employees what is expected of them on their jobs.
Additionally, some training programs include classroom instruction from professional trainers.
Managers of a restaurant, for example, may meet for a week to learn about company
management strategies. Experienced employees may communicate with new employees on how
to work various equipment. For example, a shift manager may teach a new retail store cashier
how to operate the store's cash register.
Supervisor-Employee Communication

Supervisors use both written and oral communication to manage, instruct and
assign tasks and projects to employees. For example, executives dictate letters to secretaries or
ask them to set up meetings. Communication between supervisors and employees is often
frequent. Supervisors must keep their employees on schedule with various tasks so they can meet
project deadlines. Many supervisors use project logs, or lists of projects and due dates, to keep
employees apprised of the status of projects. Supervisors also use communication to reprimand
employees of inappropriate activity or behavior.
Inter-Departmental Communication

Various departments communicate with each other to keep their companies

operating as a unit. For example, marketing departments keep finance departments apprised of
projects for budgetary purposes. Similarly, business development or engineering departments
seek input from marketing departments on product features that customers desire. Companies

that introduce new products often work in teams. For example, a consumer products company
may have brand, finance, advertising and production managers working together to introduce a
new soap product to the market. Inter-departmental communication keeps all managers and
employees working toward the same goals. Otherwise, departments may pursue divergent goals,
which could be costly to their company. For example, the advertising and marketing research
departments of a small restaurant company may both track the company's advertising, which
wastes resources.
External Communication
Companies must advertise their products and services to attract the interest of

customers. External communications can include newspaper and magazine advertisements, direct
mail, radio and television commercials or email marketing. Companies often use the AIDA
(attention, interest, desire, action) formula when advertising their products, according to
marketing expert Dave Dolak. In addition to attracting attention, advertisements are designed to
build the consumers' interest and desire until they are compelled to act or buy products.
Companies must also communicate information to suppliers and government agencies when
necessary.

There are four goals of business communication:

Goal 1

To ensure receiver understanding

Goal 2

To ensure receiver response

Goal 3

To ensure a favorable relationship between sender and receiver

Goal 4

To ensure organizational goodwill

Goal 3 To Ensure A Favorable Relationship Between Sender And Receiver

Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a message from a sender to a
receiver in an understandable manner. The importance of effective communication is
immeasurable in the world of business and in personal life. From a business perspective,
effective communication is an absolute must, because it commonly accounts for the difference

between success and failure or profit and loss. It has become clear that effective business
communication is critical to the successful operation of modern enterprise. Every business
person needs to understand the fundamentals of effective communication.
Effective communication is the most critical component of total quality management. The
manner in which individuals perceive and talk to each other at work about different issues is a
major determinant of the business success. It has proven been proven that poor communication
reduces quality, weakens productivity, and eventually leads to anger and a lack of trust among
individuals within the organization.
The communication process is the guide toward realizing effective communication. It is through
the communication process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and the
receiver takes place. Individuals that follow the communication process will have the
opportunity to become more productive in every aspect of their profession. Effective
communication leads to understanding.
The communication process is made up of four key components. Those components include
encoding, medium of transmission, decoding, and feedback. There are also two other factors in
the process, and those two factors are present in the form of the sender and the receiver. The
communication process begins with the sender and ends with the receiver.
The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates the communication. This source
is initially responsible for the success of the message. The sender's experiences, attitudes,
knowledge, skill, perceptions, and culture influence the message. "The written words, spoken
words, and nonverbal language selected are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the
message as intended by the sender" (Burnett & Dollar, 1989). All communication begins with the
sender.
The first step the sender is faced with involves the encoding process. In order to convey
meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which means translating information into a message in
the form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts. This process translates the ideas or
concepts into the coded message that will be communicated. The symbols can take on numerous

forms such as, languages, words, or gestures. These symbols are used to encode ideas into
messages that others can understand.
When encoding a message, the sender has to begin by deciding what he/she wants to transmit.
This decision by the sender is based on what he/she believes about the receivers knowledge and
assumptions, along with what additional information he/she wants the receiver to have. It is
important for the sender to use symbols that are familiar to the intended receiver. A good way for
the sender to improve encoding their message, is to mentally visualize the communication from
the receiver's point of view.
To begin transmitting the message, the sender uses some kind of channel (also called a medium).
The channel is the means used to convey the message. Most channels are either oral or written,
but currently visual channels are becoming more common as technology expands. Common
channels include the telephone and a variety of written forms such as memos, letters, and reports.
The effectiveness of the various channels fluctuates depending on the characteristics of the
communication. For example, when immediate feedback is necessary, oral communication
channels are more effective because any uncertainties can be cleared up on the spot. In a
situation where the message must be delivered to more than a small group of people, written
channels are often more effective. Although in many cases, both oral and written channels should
be used because one supplements the other.
If a sender relays a message through an inappropriate channel, its message may not reach the
right receivers. That is why senders need to keep in mind that selecting the appropriate channel
will greatly assist in the effectiveness of the receiver's understanding. The sender's decision to
utilize either an oral or a written channel for communicating a message is influenced by several
factors. The sender should ask him or herself different questions, so that they can select the
appropriate channel. Is the message urgent? Is immediate feedback needed? Is documentation or
a permanent record required? Is the content complicated, controversial, or private? Is the
message going to someone inside or outside the organization? What oral and written
communication skills does the receiver possess? Once the sender has answered all of these
questions, they will be able to choose an effective channel.

After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the message enters the decoding stage of
the communication process. Decoding is conducted by the receiver. Once the message is
received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign some
type of meaning to it. It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding. The receiver begins to
interpret the symbols sent by the sender, translating the message to their own set of experiences
in order to make the symbols meaningful. Successful communication takes place when the
receiver correctly interprets the sender's message.
The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. The extent to
which this person comprehends the message will depend on a number of factors, which include
the following: how much the individual or individuals know about the topic, their receptivity to
the message, and the relationship and trust that exists between sender and receiver. All
interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills,
perceptions, and culture. It is similar to the sender's relationship with encoding.
Feedback is the final link in the chain of the communication process. After receiving a message,
the receiver responds in some way and signals that response to the sender. The signal may take
the form of a spoken comment, a long sigh, a written message, a smile, or some other action.
"Even a lack of response, is in a sense, a form of response" (Bovee & Thill, 1992). Without
feedback, the sender cannot confirm that the receiver has interpreted the message correctly.
Feedback is a key component in the communication process because it allows the sender to
evaluate the effectiveness of the message. Feedback ultimately provides an opportunity for the
sender to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood message. "Feedback plays an
important role by indicating significant communication barriers: differences in background,
different interpretations of words, and differing emotional reactions" (Bovee & Thill, 1992).
The communication process is the perfect guide toward achieving effective communication.
When followed properly, the process can usually assure that the sender's message will be
understood by the receiver. Although the communication process seems simple, it in essence is
not. Certain barriers present themselves throughout the process. Those barriers are factors that
have a negative impact on the communication process. Some common barriers include the use of

an inappropriate medium (channel), incorrect grammar, inflammatory words, words that conflict
with body language, and technical jargon. Noise is also another common barrier. Noise can occur
during any stage of the process. Noise essentially is anything that distorts a message by
interfering with the communication process. Noise can take many forms, including a radio
playing in the background, another person trying to enter your conversation, and any other
distractions that prevent the receiver from paying attention.
Successful and effective communication within an organization stems from the implementation
of the communication process. All members within an organization will improve their
communication skills if they follow the communication process, and stay away from the different
barriers. It has been proven that individuals that understand the communication process will
blossom into more effective communicators, and effective communicators have a greater
opportunity for becoming a success.

Conclusion
Business Communication is neither transmission of message nor message itself. It is the mutual
exchange of understanding, originating with the reciever. Communication needs to be effective
in business. Communication is essence of management. The basic functions of management
(Planning, Organizing,Staffing, Directing and Controlling) cannot be performed well without
effective communication. Business communication involves constant flow of information.
Feedback is integral part of business communication. Organizations these days are verly large. It
involves number of people. There are various levels of hierarchy in an organization. Greater the
number of levels, the more difficult is the job of managing the organization. Communication
here plays a very important role in process of directing and controlling the people in the
oragnization. Immediate feedback can be obtained and misunderstandings if any can be avoided.
There should be effective communication between superiors and subordinated in an organization,
between organization and society at large(for example between management and trade unions). It
is essential for success and growth of an organization. Communication gaps should not occur in
any organization

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(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/effective-communication.html)

http://www.ehow.com/info_7748753_goal-businesscommunication.html