The sender
transmits the
message using a
suitable medium
The recipient
receives the
message and
replies
Communication methods
Verbal communication,
meetings, telephone
conversations and radio
adverts.
Written communication.
leaflets, letters, emails, text
messages and brochures
Visual communication,
diagrams and photographs.
Multimedia
communication, this
combines any of the
other methods
Internal communication
External communication, this is any communication
between the business and individuals outside it
Private communication, this is not designed to be
received by anyone other than the intended recipient
Public communication, this is any message that
does not restrict who receives it.
Factors affecting choice of
method for communicating
How complicated is the message?
Does a permanent copy of the
message need to be made?
Does the sender require feedback?
How many people will receive the message?
Is the message confidential?
How quickly does the message need to be delivered?
Internal business communication
Internal written communication
memorandum
Newsletter
Can keep many employees
informed however is very
expensive to produce
Business report
Email
Useful for sending lots of messages to lots of
people however people must have access to their
emails t view them.
Notice board
Anyone can view the messages, however the
documents may become damaged and people may
not see them.
Intranet
Internal verbal communication
Telephone
Video conferencing
Meetings
External business communication
Individual letters: the main
benefits of this are: the
business can keep a
copy,the receiver can also
keep a copy. A drawback is
the time taken to deliver the
letter, as well as the cost to
deliver it.
Personalised
mailshots(mail merge) The
benefit of this is that the
method for creating them is
straightforward. A drawback
is that it makes it easier to
send junkmail
Flyers, leaflets and brochures:
They can be distributed to loads of
people however they are often
throw away.
Internet and email: this is a good method fo providing
customers with information bout the company and to
sell the business's products or services. However
emails are often considered junk and thrown away.
External verbal communication
Face-to-face meetings with
customers: The main benefit of
this is that the sales staff can get
instant feedback from customers.
However these meetings can be
very time consuming.
Telephone: The main benefit of this is that
more customers can be dealt with, but the two
people cannot see eachother
Communication devices
Facsimile machines (fax) The benefits of using
fax are: visual information can be sent, using fax is
quicker than post. The drawbacks are: it can be
expensive to send and can be read by anyone
who is standing nearby the machine.
Mobile phones: The benefits are: the business can
contact employees who are away and visa versa and
employees can contact other employees, but mobile
phones are still expensive to buy and employees may feel
under pressure to take calls at bad times.
Video conferencing: this I useful
because it allows the two callers to
see each other and people don't
have to travel to hold a face-to-face
meeting. However it is expensive to
pay for the equipment and
interactions are still not as good as
face-to-face meetings.
radio-frequency
identification
systems(RFID) This
reduces the costs of
manually recording the
location of an object.
Stakeholders
The main
stakeholders are:
Owners, employees,
customers,
suppliers,
communities,
government
What causes poor communication?
Attitudes, the mood of
the people taking part
can cause problems.
Language and cultural
issues, this can cause
barriers because people
misunderstand eachother
Organisational issues, the
messages sent might be
misunderstood and there might be
consequences of this.
Poor choice of medium,
employees might fell that a different
method of communicating was
necessary.
Stakeholder impact of poor communication
Employees: they might feel
very distant from the decision
making and not fell like their
opinions matter. They also
might make mistakes.
Customers: they
might choose to buy
from a competitor.
Suppliers: thy might
deliver the wrong
product and might
stop selling to the
business.
Changing business communications
Factors affecting the success or failure of an ICT-based system
Easy-of-use: this requires less training for staff
Fitness for purpose: the system
must do what it is designed to do.
Security: the system must have measures to keep the data secure
Health and safety: the system must be safe to use
Environmental sustainability: the system
should be designed to have a minimal impact
on the environment.
New systems
System life cycle: Set
objectives, this is what you
want the system to achieve,
next create an action plan,
this sets out how the new
system will be created, then
design the system, next build
and test the system, refine it
and finally introduce it to the
organisation and evaluate
the impact
Potential impacts
Financial impacts: the
system could have been
very expensive and how
much money will it save
you?
Training
implications,
staff may
require training
in how to use
the system, this
will be
expensive.
Changing job roles:
employees may need new
skills or fin that their skills are
no longer needed.
Changing working practises: the new
system could lead to a change in
working patterns and could lead to redundancy.
Benefits and drawbacks of working from home: less time spent
travelling, the worker could be less tired, the business need less office
space and workers could be distracted by things at home.