Managing Communications,

Knowledge & Information

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
..1
TASK 1- UNDERSTAND HOW TO ASSESS INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE
NEEDS
1.1 A) Discuss the range of decisions for the
department...............2
B) Examination of the information and knowledge for effective decision
making5
C) Assess the internal and external sources of information
D) Justify recommendations for improvement

TASK 2 - CREATE STRATEGIES TO INCREASE PERSONAL NEWORKING

2.1 A) Identification of existing stakeholders and ones to be included for decision
making process
11
B) Making contact and maintaining them 14
C) Strategy to improve
contacts,
16
TASK 3 - BE ABLE TO DEVELOP COMMUNICATION PROCES
3.1 A) Report communication process existing in the selected
company19
B) Design a proposal for developing communication
process..21
C) Implement the
developments
..22
3.2 Create a personal plan to improve communication
skills..24
TASK 4- BE ABLE TO IMPROVE SYSTEMS RELATING TO INFORMATION AND
KNOWLEDGE
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Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
4.1 A) Report the existing methods used in the
company26
B) Carry out suitable changes for
improvement...29
C) Implement a plan for improving access to information
systems....30
CONCLUSION
.31
REFERENCES
..32

INTRODUCTION
Managing Communication, Knowledge and Information is to provide the fundamentals of the
ongoing activities that are undertaken by a company in order to ensure a strong public image.
Managing communications knowledge and information activities include helping the public to
understand the company and its products and can be conducted via the media e.g.
newspapers, television, magazines, etc. It also recognizes the fact that communication does not
take place in organizations effectively. This implies that both information and knowledge is
inefficient in the decision-making process. Managers are required to focus on communication
processes as well as improving their communications skills.
This assignment looks into different aspects of managing communications, knowledge and
information through four tasks, to gain more insight into this topic.

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

TASK 1
UNDERSTAND HOW TO ASSESS INFORMATION AND
KNOWLEDGE NEEDS

1.1 Prepare a brief report covering a few areas as given below

A) Range of decisions for the selected department.

A decision is a choice made between 2 or more available alternatives. Decision Making is the
process of choosing the best alternative for reaching objectives Decision-making is a crucial
part of any business. At any organization, appropriate decision taken at the right time has led to
the success of the organization over the years. Decision-making increasingly happens at all
levels of a business. In this report, the marketing department is chosen. Following are the few
types of decision making.

1. Strategic decisions:
Strategic decisions are major choices of actions and influence whole or a major part of business
enterprise. They contribute directly to the achievement of common goals of the enterprise. They
have long-term implications on the business enterprise.
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Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

They may involve major departures from practices and procedures being followed earlier.
Generally, strategic decision is unstructured and thus, a manager has to apply his business
judgment, evaluation and intuition into the definition of the problem. These decisions are based
on partial knowledge of the environmental factors which are uncertain and dynamic. Such
decisions are taken at the higher level of management

2. Tactical decisions:
These decisions relate to the implementation of strategic decisions. They are directed towards
developing divisional plans, structuring workflows, establishing distribution channels, acquisition
of resources such as men, materials and money. These decisions are taken at the middle level
of management.

3. Operational decisions:
These decisions relate to day-to-day operations of the enterprise. They have a short-term
horizon as they are taken repetitively. These decisions are based on facts regarding the events
and do not require much of business judgment. Operational decisions are taken at lower levels
of management. As the information is needed for helping the manager to take rational, well
informed decisions, information systems need to focus on the process of managerial decision
making.

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

The two types of decision making are Programmed decisions and unprogrammed decisions.

Programmed decisions

Unprogrammed decisions

Concerned with relatively routine problems.

They are structured and repetitive.

Concerned with unusual or unique problems.

They are unstructured, non-repetitive and illdefined.
Such decisions are relatively complex have a
long-term impact.

Such decisions are relatively simple and have

a small impact.
The information related to these problems is
readily available and can be processes in a
pre-determined manner.
It takes very little time and efforts, as there are
pre-determined decision rules and
procedures.
Taken at lower levels of management.

The information related to these problems is

not readily available.

Eg: Personnel coming in late habitually.

Eg: Expansion of business

They demand a high degree of executive

judgment and deliberation.
Taken at higher levels in the organization.

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

The basic principles of marketing management are analysis, planning, implementation and
control. Planning is the most important part of marketing management and marketing managers
need to make the right plan for a durable success. Good plans denote decision making. Here I
am discussing about the major marketing decisions what requires for a successful campaign
and what marketing managers need to know for making the decision1. Marketing objectives: Setting up the objective is the first task done by the marketing
managers. For running a successful marketing campaign it is very essential that what
the team is going to do. Here making the right decision is the key to achieve the goal.
Managers should do SWOT analysis and then what requires to develop the present
market or how to increase the present value of the company. Then everything should
go through in a proper way by the analysis and make the objectives from the
requirements or opportunities from the above analysis.
2. Marketing strategies: Strategies is the means of the process that objectives are
achieved. Objectives means what is to be done and strategies means how is to be
done. Marketing strategies of the company is the important thing by which the
operational decisions are made and the marketing and corporate objectives achieved
within the time periods specified for the plan.
3. Product & market scope, segments, targets etc.: Actual condition of the companys
marketing program is come from the actual research of marketing mix including
product, price, place and promotion. The product and the market scope come from
the incisive SWOT analysis. An incisive SWOT analysis is very much important for a
successful marketing campaign. Finding out the scope of the products and the
market is such a way by which the marketing manager makes the decision.
Segmenting the market helps for decision making because it shows what is needed
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Managing Communications,
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and what is not needed. Target market helps to find out the existing and potential
customers who are more specific and more dynamic.
4. Company targets: Every company have some target that what things they are going
to do and what things they are not going to do. There have specific goals for every
country that they must need something for that planning year. In these cases setting
up the target in every sector of the company is very essential like sales target, market
target, organizational target, corporate target etc. This will help to make the right
decision.

B) Examination of the information and knowledge for effective decision making.

Information is the vital component for the decision making. In fact the success or failure of
decision rests on the information on hand. Situations in which a manager has full information
regarding the problem is called certainty and where the range of information is neither perfect
and neither imperfect it is called risky decision making while the situation where the decision
maker have no information regarding the problem on hand is called uncertainty.
While starting up new business in the retail sector, the senior level managers should be aware
about firms goals and objectives. They also need to be aware of the future plans. The middle
level managers should ensure that they have knowledge of functioning of various departments.
This will help them in giving targets to respective employees. The coordinators should ensure
that they are in constant touch with departmental heads for bringing coordination in activities.
Also they should have information regarding the short term plans and problems that the
employees face. This would facilitate in better functioning of teams.
The employees should have knowledge regarding their weekly targets. They should also be
aware of the overall planning of works that are undertaken by the firm. The lower level workers
should be aware of their responsibilities and duties
For making sure that the decision is right and pertinent, manager must have
certain information which could be evaluated into three distinct levels including strategic,
tactical as well as operational information. To have an effectual decision, the firm should
have proper information regarding the opponents, market as well as consumers.
Information needed to boost decisions taking:

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
Strategy decision should be future demand estimates, new product development plans,
competitor analysis, forecast sales growth, profitability and market share, population
demographics and expected government policy, and public attitudes. The information
characteristics are unscheduled, infrequent, summarized, forward looking, external, and wide
scope.

Tactical decision would be information on variance analysis and stock turnover, resources
uses and customer satisfaction rating. The information characteristics are prespecified,
scheduled, detailed, frequent, historical, internal, and narrow focus.

Operational decision should be material and labour used and stock levels, customer waiting
time and individual customer feedback, staff timesheets, and banking documents. The
information characteristics are also prespecified, scheduled, detailed, historical, frequent,
internal, and narrow focus.
Knowledge and information in an organization should be properly managed with knowledge
management techniques in areas of Improving existing business processes, new products
and services development and strategic position improvement. This can be achieved by
developing knowledge which are unique, apply the knowledge to innovate, competitive
position strengthening, organizations continuity safeguard, flexibility improve, attractive work
environment creation and individual employees knowledge enhancement.

C) Assess the internal and external sources of information

Nowadays, organizations need information and knowledge to make decisions and run activities.
Therefore, the source of information is very important for manager to collect them. From the
information, the manager can have solution or idea to make the right decision. A modern
organization always required two sources of information consist of external and internal. All of
them usually is primary, secondary data.
Sources of information have been collected from books, experience or survey results where we
can make references and in the business case, every business needs information to help
it succeed. A combination of internal and external business information resources can provide
the background necessary to evaluate current performance and plan future progress. Knowing

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
the types of information resources that are most critical to business can help companies plan for
capturing, analyzing and using that information most effectively.
Internal information is necessary for all management levels, in every function in the
organization. It will relate to activities or transactions performed within the organization, such as
administrative tasks, the production of production of products and services, or the sale of those
products. Often these activities generate cost and revenues and so a lot of the internal data
collected will be quantitative.
Internal sources include:

The accounting ledgers which are used for predicting future events, budgeting, and
analyzing the stock control system, speed of delivery, and quality of supplies.

Personnel and payroll system are used for costing a project and ascertaining the
availability and rate of pay of levels of staff and also for keeping detailed record of time
spent on various activities.

Production departments are a source of information on machine capacity, fuel

consumption, and work in process, maintenance requirements and the movement
of people.

Marketing department provide information on opinions and buying habits of customers

and potential customers.

An external source of information is concerned with what is happening beyond the boundaries
of the organization. This covers any documentation relating to a subject area produced as a
summary or detailed report by an agency external to an organization. Such information may be
obtainable from government agencies or private information providers. Examples might include:

census figures

telephone directories

judgments on court cases

computer users yearbook

legislation, for example

Gallup polls the Data Protection Act

National opinion polls.

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
In addition, companies have many ways to collect information and date. When manager want to
get a lot of information from people quickly, he or she can organize the questionnaire and
survey. This method is easy to analyze and compare data. Another method is manager can
create a focus group with ten people then they can discuss together. The information from this
group is a useful resource for manager. A good sources information is also depend on the
structure of organization. A large organization will have many level of management. In the
strategic management, managers usually use more of external information to make decision
and create planning more than lower level. In the hierarchy structure, decision maker always
require good information from different department for taking decision. In conclusion, the
effective of information depend on the quality of sources and the skill for sender to collect and
analyze data. Exact information can be taken from the correct data it provides. To take the
efficient decision the person should have the best knowledge of from where the information to
be taken. Nowadays, there is much external information of websites, media, newspaper or
journal has been used. External information may not trustful as internal information, but an
organization can check it and refer about review articles.

D) Justify recommendations for improvement in the selected department

In order to meet strategic objectives in domestic and foreign market, the marketing department
must have strategic and decisive decision. Nevertheless, prior making any decisions,
management of the organization must find and analyze information carefully to minimize the
ratio of inappropriate decisions made. There are many different types of useful tools which can
help the organization to work with information: Transaction Processing Systems (TPS), Decision
Support Systems (DSS), Executive Information Systems (EIS), Management Information
Systems (MIS), Knowledge working systems (KWS), and Expert Systems. Approach information
is important because it affects directly to activity of the company. In any organizations,
managers must seek accurate information, be careful to be able to make the right decisions and
complete tasks. Additionally, information collected from internal and external are also essential.

Managing Information System (MIS):

MIS provides information that is needed to manage organizations efficiently and effectively.
Management information systems are not only computer systems - these systems encompass
three primary components: technology, people (individuals, groups, or organizations), and data /
information for decision making. (Study Mode, n.d) Management information systems are
distinct from other information systems in that they are designed to be used to analyze and
facilitate strategic and operational activities in the organization. MIS is considered as the most
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significant and effective tools for all level of management in a company. The information and
data can be collected, processed, and stored effectively and sufficiently.

Decision support system (DSS)

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a specific class of computerized information system that
supports business and organizational decision-making activities. A properly designed DSS is an
interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information
from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve
problems and make decisions. (Information builders, N.d)
DSS serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to
make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance. DSS
include knowledge-based systems. A DSS designed based on business models to identify and
solve
problems
and make
decisions.
These
tools are
extremely
useful
which
supports
for
managers
good base
to make
final
decisions. They can be appropriate for strategic and tactical level of management of the chosen
department.

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Knowledge & Information

Executive information system (EIS)

Early executive information systems were developed as computer-based programs on
mainframe computers to provide a companys description, sales performance and/or market
research data for senior executives. However, senior executives were not all computer literate
or confident. Moreover, EIS data was only supporting executive-level decisions but not
necessarily supporting the entire company or enterprise.
Current EIS data is available company- or enterprise-wide, facilitated by personal computers
and workstations on local area networks (LANs). Employees can access company data to help
decision-making in their individual workplaces, departments, divisions, etc.. This allows
employees to provide pertinent information and ideas both above and below their company
level.
The typical EIS has
telecommunication.

four

components:

11

hardware,

software,

user

interface

and

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

TASK 2
Create strategies to increase personal networking to widen
involvement in decision-making process
2.1 Prepare a personal plan
A) Identify stakeholders you already have and whom you would like to include for
decision making process
According to Foster and Seidman personal networking, "is the outcome of each individual's
"social decisions" - that is the outcome of a set a set of "choices" by each individual in the
population". By using the social network an individual working at decision making position in an
organization is better able to make decision due to the variety of information that are at the
disposal of decision maker. When a manager who is responsible for making key decision takes
the input of various individual through his personal network he is better able to make sound
decision due to input from the various people that form his personal network.
For example a manager is making decision that involved issues related to workforce diversity. If
he reject a candidate that he think is not fit for the job, he can sue the organization as well as
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Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
the manager for violating laws related to equal employment opportunities. In this case if the
manager who makes the decision took the needed input from a lawyer who is a member of his
personal network the situation could have been vary change as the one that has been
experienced by the manager.
Stakeholder is any individual or group who interest in or affected by some way of organization.
The stakeholders can be divided into two types are internal and external stakeholder.
Internal stakeholder are individual or group affect inside activities of organization for example:
employees, manager, shareholder and so on. External stakeholders include the government,
local authorities, customer and supplier. Stakeholder is an important factor that affects the
making-decision process in company. Thus, the company should improve contact with
stakeholder who influence highly influential. Identifying stakeholders and examining their
respective interest is an essential part of the overall decision-making process they influence the
effective business of company.

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Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information
Internal stakeholders:
Internal Stakeholders are those parties, individual or group that participates in the management
of the company. They can influence and can be influenced by the success or failure of the entity
because they have vested interest in the organization. Primary Stakeholders is the second
name of the internal stakeholders.
Internal Stakeholders are dedicated in providing services to the company. They are highly
affected by the decisions, performance, profitability and other activities of the company. In the
absence of internal stakeholders, the organization will not able to survive in the long run. That is
why they have a great impact on the company. Further, they are the ones who know all the
secrets and internal matters of the entity. The following are the list of internal stakeholders:
Employees: Employees are the group of people who work for the company, for
remuneration.
Owners: The individual or group who owns the organization. They can be partners,
shareholders etc.
Board of Directors: They are the group of individuals who governs the incorporated entity.
They are elected by the members of the company at the AGM (Annual General Meeting).
Managers: The person who manages the entire department is known as Manager. For
example Sale Manager, General Manager etc.
Investors: The individual or groups who invest their money in the organization are investors.
Internal stakeholders are included in the decision making process at different levels.

External stakeholders:
External Stakeholders are those interested parties, who are not a part of the management, but
they indirectly affected by the work of the company. They are the outside parties which form part
of the business environment. They are also known as Secondary Stakeholders. They are the
users of financial information of the company, in order to know about its performance,
profitability, and liquidity.
External Stakeholders, do not participate in the day to day activities of the entity, but the actions
of the company influence them. They deal with the company externally. They have no idea
about the internal matters of the company. Given below is the list of external stakeholders:
Suppliers: They provide inputs to the organization like raw material, equipment etc.

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Managing Communications,
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Customers: They are considered the king of business because they are the one who are
going to consume the product.
Creditors: They are the individual, bank or financial institution who provides funds to the
organization.
Clients: They are the parties, to whom the company deals and provides its services.
Intermediaries: They are the marketing channels that create a link between company and
customers like wholesaler, distributors, retailer etc.
Competitors: They are the rivals who compete with the organization for resources and the
market as well.
Society: A firm has its responsibility towards society as well because the enterprise uses its
valuable resources.
Government: A firm is guided and controlled by government rules and regulations like it has
to pay taxes and duties that are levied on the business.
External stakeholders have to be considered in the decision making process but are not
included in it.

B) Make contact with the above all and build your relations to involve the ones who help
you in making career decisions
Contacting stakeholders requires careful planning by the new business. In the retail sector, the
new business can contact the customers via telephone, internet and mail. For contacting
employees, officials meetings could be held in the company itself and future plans could be
discussed. A press release can be used to contact shareholders, analysts, investors and press.
This will help in notifying the present standing and future plans to the firm. Another way of
contacting shareholders is during general meetings.
Volunteers and coordinators could be appointed for contacting the community around the new
business in the retail sector. Suppliers can be contacted by searching online and using address
directory.
Take the time to identify all stakeholders before starting a new project. Include those who are
impacted by the project, as well as groups with the ability to impact the project. Then, begin the
process of building strong relationships with each one using the following method.

Identifying stakeholders: identifying stakeholder is the process of identifying the

people, groups or organizations that could impact or be impacted by decisions, activity or
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outcomes of the project analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their
interest, involvement, interdependencies, influence and potential impact on project
success.
The key benefit of identifying stakeholders process is that it allows the project manager to
identify the appropriate focus for each stakeholder or group of stakeholders. Find out what
motivates them, as well as what provokes them. Define roles and level of participation, and
determine if there are conflicts of interest among groups of stakeholders.

Plan stakeholder management: plan stakeholder management is the process of

developing appropriate management strategies to effectively engage stakeholders
throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis of their needs, interest and potential
impact on the project success.
Analytical techniques include comparison of the current engagement level of stakeholder to
the planned engagement levels required for successful project completion. Stakeholder
engagement throughout the lifecycle of the project is critical to project success.
The engagement level of the stakeholder can be classified as follows:
Unaware: unaware of the projects and its potential impacts on them.
Resistant: aware of the project yet resistant to change.
Neutral: aware of the project yet neither supportive nor resistant.
Supportive: aware of the project and supportive of change
Leading: aware of the project and actively engaged for project success

Fig: 5: Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

Manage stakeholder engagement: manage stakeholder engagement is the process of

communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their need/expectations, address
issues as they occur, and foster appropriate stakeholder engagement in project activities
throughout the project life cycle.

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Managing Communications,
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Control stakeholder engagement: control stakeholder engagement is the process of

monitoring overall project stakeholder relationship and adjusting strategies and plans for
engaging stakeholders.

Keep stakeholders involved: Dont just report to stakeholders. Ask for their input. Get
to know them better by scheduling time for coffee, lunch, or quick meetings. Measure each
stakeholders capacity to participate and honor time constraints.

Keep stakeholders informed: Send regular status updates. Daily may be too much;
monthly is not enough. One update per week is usually about right. Hold project meetings
as required, but dont let too much time pass between meetings. Be sure to answer
stakeholders questions and emails promptly. Regular communication is always appreciated
and may even soften the blow when you have bad news to share.

These are the basics of building strong stakeholder relationships. But as in any relationship,
there are subtleties that every successful project manager understands such as learning the
differences between and relating well to different types stakeholders.

All stakeholders should be allowed to participate in decision making of the organization to reach
a consensus decision through decision making process. Shared decision making between the
organization and the stakeholders are important to collaborative projects. This helps
stakeholders to better understand the situation of the organization and Involvement of external
stakeholders such as societal organizations for decision making of the company provide positive
feedback to take corrective decision with corporate social responsiveness. Increased influence
of citizens such as through citizen charters and citizen panels as new types of participation
increases the influence of community on decision making of the organization according to public
policies. By involving the stakeholder groups in decision making can diminish the veto power of
societal actors because they are involved in decision making to improved decisions. Quality of
decision making can be improved by participation of different stakeholders in decision making
by bridging the perception of each stakeholder with the overall perception.

C) Design a strategy to improve (add) contacts and give names of 5 such new contacts
you have made using the plan

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Stakeholders
Definition
group
Board of
A group of individuals that
director
are elected as, or elected to
act as, representatives of
the stockholders to
establish corporate
management related
policies and to make
decisions on major
company issues.
(investopedia, 2016)
Related
Specialized functional area
department
of an organization or a
division such as accounting,
marketing, planning, etc.
Every department in the
organization has its own
manager and difference
roles.
(businessdictionary.com,
2016)
Employees
A person who is hired to
provide services to a
company on a regular basis
in exchange for
compensation and who
does not provide these
services as part of an
independent business.
(investorwords, 2016)
Supplier
A party that supplies goods
or services. A supplier may
be distinguished from a
contractor or subcontractor,
who commonly adds
specialized input to
deliverables. Also called
vendor.
(businessdictionary.com,
18

Decision influence
This stakeholder is most
influence to Steve decision
any ideas and decision of
Steve must be passed and
considered by the director,
they have to evaluate that
is possible, the budget and
resource must be enough
and suitable then they will
make the last decision.
This stakeholder also
have the important role in
process of making plan of
Steve includes financial,
marketing, designing and
producing.

Employees and Steve share

the ideas together, they
would contribute to Steve in
create and develop plan for
the new product. Therefore,
this stakeholder is
important for Steve

Choose the best suppliers

for develop the new product
is the most important work
that Steve need to do.
Because the best material
and good quality provide
from good suppler will
decide to lead the good
quality of this product.

Managing Communications,
Knowledge & Information

Customers

2016)
An individual or business
that purchases the goods or
services produced by a
business. The customer is
the end goal of businesses,
since it is the customer who
pays for supply and creates
demand. Businesses will
often compete through
advertisements or sales in
order to attract a larger
customer base.

They are the final

stakeholder that Steve must
consider; they will decide
the success of this product.
Steve usually finds out and
makes survey on customer
to decide for a new product
every year.

As an organizations main target is to do the right thing they also have to manage their
stakeholders very efficiently. Following are some strategies in managing the stakeholders and
some proposals for improvement.

Customers-good shopping experience, fairly and honestly, healthy and affordable,

evaluate changing customer needs by Customer Question Time. They can give eco-friendly
product range, evaluate customer complains to be more effect full.

Employees- Are provided with Fair terms and conditions, respect, opportunities, health
and safety. Staff gives feedback in annual Viewpoint survey. They can have exit interviews with
employees

Communities-Employment and support to community. Exhibitions, Public consultations,

Consumer panels, Charity work. An organization can develop eco-friendly product range and
charity to stop pollution.

Suppliers- fairly and honestly, growth, opportunities, Long-term relationships, Supplier

Viewpoint currently follow. A supply chain management system can implemented with quality
assurance systems

Governments-Compliance legal, job opportunities, training, tax-paying, etc.

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TASK 3
Be able to develop communication process
3.1
This report on communication is done taking an example of Spinneys Qatar W.L.L. Spinneys
Qatar operates hypermarkets and supermarkets in Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan. Its
hypermarkets and supermarkets offer food, cleaning and personal care products, and chilled,
frozen, pet food, non-food, and general merchandise products. Spinneys Qatar WLL was
founded in 1924 and is based in Doha, Qatar.

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Managing Communications,
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A) Report communication processes existing in the selected company

Communication plays key role in the success of a manager. How much professional knowledge
and intelligence a manager possesses becomes immaterial if he is not able to communicate
effectively with his subordinates and create understanding in them. Directing abilities of a
manager mainly depend upon his communication skills. That is why organization always
emphasizes on improving communication skills of managers as well as employees.
The word communication has been derived from the Latin word communis which means
common which consequently implies common understanding. Communication is defined in
different ways. Generally, it is understood as a process of exchange of ideas, views, facts,
feelings etc., between or among people to create common understanding.
Communication has been defined as a process. This process involves elements like source,
encoding, media/ channel, receiver, decoding, noise and feedback.
The elements involved in communication process are explained below:
1) Sender: Sender means person who conveys his thoughts or ideas to the receiver. The
sender represents source of communication.
2)

Message: It is the content of ideas, feelings, suggestions, order etc., intended to be

communicated.

3)

Encoding: It is the process of converting the message into communication symbols such
as words, pictures, gestures etc.,

4)

Media: It is the path though which encoded message is transmitted to receiver. The
channel may be in written form, face to face, phone call, internet etc.,

5)

Decoding: It is the process of converting encoded symbols of the sender.

6) Receiver: The person who receives communication of the sender.

7)

Feedback: It includes all those actions of receiver indicating that he has received and
understood message of sender.

8) Noise: Noise means some obstruction or hindrance to communication. This hindrance

may be caused to sender, message or receiver.

Some examples of noise are:

Ambiguous symbols that lead to faulty encoding.
A poor telephone connection.
An inattentive receiver.
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Managing Communications,
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Faulty decoding (attaching wrong meanings to message).

Prejudices obstructing the poor understanding of message.
Gestures and postures that may distort the message

Encodin
Decodin
Messag
g
g Recieve
Sender
e
Messag
Messag r
Channel
e
e
Noise

Message
Channel

b) Design a proposal for developing the communication process

The following is a proposal to develop the communication process in Spinneys Qatar W.L.L.
a) Use Multiple Channels for Organizational Communication:
One of the most effective ways to ensure that people get the message is to send it
across multiple channels. Some of the more effective channels include meetings, faceto-face talks, e-mail, faxes, telephone conversations, bulletins, postings, and memos.
The key is to make sure that multiple methods are employed to disseminate the
message, and never rely only on a single channel.
b) Make Important Messages Repetitive:
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In addition to using multiple channels, one can improve organizational communication by
repeating important messages from time to time, so that all employees give most
efficient results.
c) Focus on Listening:
This is vital during individual (i.e., one-on-one) communication. The biggest reason that
most of us are poor listeners is that we dont take the time to actively listen. You can do
this by utilizing reflective listening skills (paraphrasing what your speaking partner has
said to confirm understanding), using good nonverbal behaviors and body posture (e.g.,
face your communication partner with an open stance), and focusing on your partner by
making a conscious effort to listen first instead of trying to get your message across
first. Do this by saying to yourself, for the next three minutes, I am only going to listen.
d) Get the message across:
After listening and fully understanding the communication partner, one must make sure
that you can get your message across in the exact way it is intended. To do this, speak
openly and honestly, and be as straightforward as possible (i.e., no beating around the
bush),speak inclusively and use terms that will be understood and respected by a
diverse array of individuals, and check for understanding to make sure your message
has been received accurately.
e) Use of modern technologies:
Using of new technologies like multimedia, email, video conferencing etc. are important
ways of conveying message.
f) Handle Communication Problems:
Techno Blue must become more effective at managing the communication problems that
will inevitably arise during human interaction. Such problems include conflict, difficulty in
resolving problems, misunderstandings, dealing with difficult people and managing
cultural differences.
(1)
c) Implement the developments for better combination of communication systems

The barrier to effective communication exists in the organizations to a greater or lesser degree.
An organization keen on developing effective communication should adopt suitable measures to
overcome the barriers and improve communication effectiveness.

Clarify the ideas before communication: The problem to be communicated to

subordinates should be clear in all its perspective to the executive himself. The entire
problem should be studied in depth, analysed and stated in such a manner that is clearly
conveyed to subordinates.

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Communicate according to the needs of receiver: The level of understanding of

receiver should be crystal clear to the communicator. Manager should adjust his
communication according to the education and understanding levels of subordinates.

Consult others before communicating: Before actually communicating the message,

it is better to involve others in developing a plan for communication. Participation and
involvement of subordinates may help to gain ready acceptance and willing cooperation
of subordinates.

Be aware of languages, tone and content of message: The contents of the message,
tone, language used, manner in which the message is to be communicated are the
important aspects of effective communication. The language used should be
understandable to the receiver and should not offend the sentiments of listeners. The
message should be stimulating to evoke response from the listeners.

Convey things of help and value to listeners: While conveying message to others, it
is better to know the interests and needs of the people with whom you are
communicating. If the message Directing relates directly or indirectly to such interests
and needs it certainly evokes response from communicate

Ensure proper feedback: The communicator may ensure the success of

communication by asking questions regarding the message conveyed. The receiver of
communication may also be encouraged to respond to communication. The
communication process may be improved by the feedback received to make it more
responsive.

Communicate for present as well as future: Generally, communication is needed to

meet the existing commitments, to maintain consistency, the communication should aim
at future goals of the enterprise also.

Follow up communications: There should be regular follow up and review on the

instructions given to subordinates. Such follow up measures help in removing hurdles if
any in implementing the instructions.

Be a good listener: Manager should be a good listener. Patient and attentive listening
solves half of the problems. Managers should also give indications of their interest in
listening to their subordinates

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3.2 Create a personal plan to improve your own communication skills

Communication is one of the most important skills in our life. It is communication which conveys
our ideas and feelings to other people. Some people are naturally good communicators, but
some others will not be. They can develop their communication with daily practice. There are
many techniques that can make you to become a good communicator. My personal plan to
improve communication skills are as follows:
Listening: listening is the more important to develop effective communication. This is one
of the most difficult things to do for many people. Most people forget that they actually
have two ears. Learn to listen more if you want to be a better communicator. Sometimes
listening to the sound of your own voice can teach you to be a little more confident with
yourself and to say the things you believe in with conviction.

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Humility: we all make mistakes. While we communicate and sometimes we
mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means. But rarely use it only
to impress listeners. So in group dont be afraid to ask if youre saying the right word.
From mistakes only you learn the correct one and if you have any doubts dont hesitate
to ask and get the correct one.
Eye contact: try to keep an eye contact for better communication. Some people struggle
to make eye contact with others, which is a basic component of social interaction. Failing
to make eye contact suggests to some that youre shy, to others in indicates rudeness or
boredom or youre trying to hide something. Just look directly at the person in a relaxed
manner.
Smile: keep smile always when you mingle with others. It gives an impression that you
are more close to them. You can better express what you are saying when you smile.
Use gestures: make you whole body talk. Use smaller gesture for individual or small
groups. The gestures should get larger as the group that one is addressing increase in
size.
Develop your voice: use dynamics. While you speak you can modulate your voice by
using high or lower pitch. Your volume should be soft and loud. This voice modulation
adds more charm to your speech and it seems more professional.
Use appropriate volume: use a volume that is appropriate for the setting. Speak more
softly when you are alone and close. Speak louder when you are speaking to larger
groups or across larger space.

Slow down: people will perceive you as nervous and unsure of yourself if you talk fast. If
you speak fast, the listener cannot grasp what you hve told. Try to slow down your
speed while you talk with others.
Pronounce your words correctly: people will judge you competency through your
vocabulary. If you arent sure how to say a word, dont use it. If youre not sure of the
meaning of a word, dont use it. Start a program of learning a new word a day. Use it
sometime in your conversation during the day.
Practice, practice and practice: practice is the best way to improve your communication skills.
The more you do it, the easier it will get. Keep in mind practice makes you perfect.

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TASK 4
Be able to improve systems relating to information and
knowledge
4.1
A) Report the existing methods used in the company
The common approach in any business to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination
of information and knowledge is through the use of Management Information Systems (MIS),
which is an organized approach to the study of the information needs of an organization's
management at every level in making operational, tactical, and strategic decisions. Its objective
is to design and implement procedures, processes, and routines that provide suitably detailed
reports in an accurate, consistent, and timely manner.

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In a management information system, modern, computerized systems continuously gather
relevant data, both from inside and outside an organization. This data is then processed,
integrated, and stored in a centralized database (or data warehouse) where it is constantly
updated and made available to all who have the authority to access it, in a form that suits their
purpose.

Transaction
Processing
System

Office
Automation
System

Knowledge
Work
System

Manageme
nt
Information
System

Decision
Support
System

Executive
Support
System

a) Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

A transaction process system (TPS) is an information processing system for business
transactions involving the collection, modification and retrieval of all transaction data.
Characteristics of a TPS include performance, reliability and consistency. Also known as
transaction processing or real-time processing.
An example of a transaction processing system commonly used in business are the
systems employed by major credit card companies found in almost every retail store.
b) Office Automation Systems (OAS)
These are configurations of networked computer hardware and software. A variety of
office automation systems are now applied to business and communication functions
that used to be performed manually or in multiple locations of a company, such as
preparing written communications and strategic planning. In addition, functions that once
required coordinating the expertise of outside specialists in typesetting, printing, or
electronic recording can now be integrated into the everyday work of an organization,
saving both time and money.
This helps to increase the productivity of data workers in the organization. Example:
Microsoft Outlook express.
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c) Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
Knowledge workers perform three key roles that are critical to the organization and to
the managers who work within the organization:
-

Keeping the organization current in knowledge

Serving as internal consultants regarding the areas of their knowledge
Acting as change agents

Knowledge workers rely on traditional office systems but often require highly specialized
knowledge work systems with powerful graphics, analytical tools, and communications
and document management capabilities. These systems require great computing power,
access to external databases, easy-to-use interfaces, and optimization for the specific
tasks to be performed.
d) Management Information Systems (MIS)
Information systems at the management level of the organization that serves the
functions of planning, controlling and decision making by providing routine summary and
exception reports. Example: Tally.
e) Decision Support Systems (DSS)
A properly designed Decision Support System is an interactive software-based system
intended to help decision makers compile useful information from raw data, documents,
personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make
decisions.
For example: a national on-line book-seller wants to begin selling its products
internationally but first needs to determine if that will be a wise business decision. The
vendor can use a DSS to gather information from its own resources (using a tool such as
OLAP) to determine if the company has the ability or potential ability to expand its
business and also from external resources, such as industry data, to determine if there is
indeed a demand to meet. The DSS will collect and analyze the data and then present it
in a way that can be interpreted by humans.
f) Executive Support Systems (ESS)
Executive support systems are intended to be used by the senior managers directly to
provide support to non-programmed decisions in strategic management.
These information are often external, unstructured and even uncertain. Exact scope and
context of such information is often not known beforehand. This information is
intelligence based:
-

Market intelligence
Investment intelligence
Technology intelligence

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Managing Communications,
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Example: Market reports, Government policies, external databases etc

B) Carry out suitable changes for improvement

Collecting data: An organization must build and design the standard of communication process
among people together. The general rules are organization has a formal form of report for all
level departments. In addition, manager should remove the barrier among department to
support employees collect information easily. Company is also equipping the modern LAN
network to connect all departments. A strong system can support company to improve the
effective information. Finally, company must organize training event for new staff about how to
collect data.
Formatting data: Designing the standard format for current systems is vital to ensure the
effective process. Company should conduct the formatting to keep information short and clearly.
Storing information: Improving database system to help organization have larger space for data
storage. With the advantages of technology, organization has more storage choices from flash
memory to network-area storage. The best solution is company may create a single central data
warehouse where keep all-important data about customer, supplier or financial of company.
Each staff member will have personal ID to access data without affecting the use of operational
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systems. In order to succeed, organization is also investing the higher speed network access to
support database system works smoothly.
Disseminating information: There are a various file sharing system online such as Dropbox, Sky
Drive and Google Drive for uploading information on internet. This platform will allow any
member of company access information from anywhere whether it is personal computer (PC),
Smartphone even tablets. Depending the level of management can access file is support for
improving disseminate within company. Using E-mails update to the companys intranet
and provide electronic signature for each employee to protect secret information.
Managers in case want the information is effectively stored, collected and formatted then they
have to follow certain strategies like: they could research the better available tools and
equipment that could be utilized for the storing of information. Before passing on the
information, they should check and re-check the information so that the knowledge spread is
correct. Checking the authenticity, validity and reliability of the data and information that is
collected and application of new and advanced ways in terms of technology for the information
formatting, collection and the dissemination like internet of the company.

C) Implement a plan for improving access to related information systems

An organization need to design a strategy to improve and minimize the negative from outside
effect on performance. The main key is focused on determining what information
and knowledgemust be provided because it is organizational resources. The fluency in
information management and analytics will be vital for successful organization.
Organizations need to employ enterprise search strategies and technologies that help
employees easily access data, knowledge, and expertise that is directly related to their work
from across the silos of information stored in a companys IT network infrastructure. This
information should be delivered based on each employees work and that of their workgroups.
Workers should be able to interact with the information to gain exactly the knowledge the skills
needed to address their current needs. The following is a plan to increase access to MIS
systems in an organization:

There can be different MIS systems for the various departments which can increase the
ease of use and access to information.

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Employees must be given proper and continuous training so that they become familiar
with the MIS systems used in the organization.
Information systems infrastructure should be familiar with all employees in the
organization.
Benchmarking of the best system design and usage can be done to increase the
efficiency and access.

By providing access to the organizations information, knowledge, and expertise, employees are
better able to create new work rather than re-doing existing work. Employees become more
engaged and efficient, and are able to adapt quickly to change while maintaining a focus on
innovation.

CONCLUSION
In todays competitive world there is a huge necessity of management of information and
knowledge for an organization. The company need to find out the sources from where the
information could be extracted so that it is later supported and utilized for the effective decision
making process. Communication process should be improved in each and every organization so
that the sender as well as receiver is able to know the kind of information that is passed
between them. The barriers that exist in the communication channel should also be removed so
that the information is effectively utilized and applied.
Activities need to be properly managed with respect to knowledge, communication and
information. This is especially important due to the changing scenario of the work all over the
world. Starting up a new business involves a number of decisions which require both
information and knowledge. Hence proper techniques in the management of communication,
knowledge and information facilitate decision making capabilities and stimulate cultural change
and innovation.
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REFERENCES

Books:
Alistair Mutch (2008), Managing Information and Knowledge in Organisations: A literacy
approach, UK, Taylor & Francis
Ronald Maier (2013), Knowledge Management Systems, second edition, New York, Springer
Articles:
Belason, A. T. (2000). Leading the learning organization: communication and competencies for
managing change. Albany, N.Y., State University of New York Press.
Johnson J. D. (2009). Managing knowledge networks. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University.
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Managing Communications,
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Leonard-Barton, D. (2011). Managing knowledge assets, creativity and innovation. Singapore.
Canary H. E. & Mcphee, R. (2011). Communication and organizational knowledge:
contemporary issues for theory and knowledge. New York, Routledge.
Other:
1. Reference from a friend.

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