Business communication is the process of sharing information between employees within

and outside the company. According to Dr.Amy M .Corey (1987) Business communication is the
process of expression, channeling, receiving and interchanging of ideas in commerce and
industry. In simple words, Business communication is the process of sharing information
between people within and outside a company in order to promote an organization’s goals,
objectives, aims, and activities, as well as increase profits. ’ The term ‘Business Communication’
is derived from general communication which is associated with business activities. In other
terms, communication between business parties or people for business-related tasks is
considered as ‘Business Communication’. Business communication may make relations or may
break relations. Business communication asserts, sustains and animates business relations.
Moreover, it involves a regular flow of information and feedback is considered as a crucial and
important aspect of business communication. Due to different levels of hierarchy and
involvement of a huge number of people, business communication plays an important role in
different management functions i.e. planning, coordinating, organizing, directing, and
controlling.

Every type of organization whether small or big, public or private, communication plays a
vital role. It is said that “good communication is good business.” The efficient performance of
employees of an organization depends on effective communication within the organization.
Communication also facilitates effective planning According to Koontz and O’Donnell (19
90)“Effective planning occurs when everyone responsible for it has access to complete
information affecting areas of planning.” Thus, communication is required not only for effective
planning but also to ensure its better implementation. In an organization where various
employees are working at different level, the conflicts arise due to one or more reasons. Proper
communication reduces the conflict by developing understanding. Communication helps them
to know the views, problems, and thoughts of others.“ most of the conflicts in a business are
not basic but are caused by misunderstanding and ignorance of the facts, proper
communication between the interested parties reduce the point of friction and minimize those
that inevitably arise”. Communication is a vital force, it is an important aspect of effective
business organization. Modern business organization are following democratic system of
management. It requires good channels of communication so that employees, consumers and
other stakeholders share information and participate in discussion, consultation and decision
making. According to Dale Yoder(18 79) “Communication is at the very heart of the process of
organizing.” Thus, communication is important for effective organization as success or failure of
organization depends on it.

Communication helps in enhancing morale of the employees, because they are aware of
their role in business firm. It awakens a sense of security and encourages them to work. Effective
communication plays critical role in enhancing the motivation and morale of employees. Robert
D. Berth(19 86) states “It is impossible to have human relations without communication.” The
basic reason of disputes between the labour and management is communication gap. With the
help of effective communication sound relations can be maintained as it promotes mutual
understanding, cooperation and goodwill. Communicate what you are working on and what is
going well and not as well. Your peers may not report to you, but they can render valued
assistance and expertise. Inquire if there is anything you or your team is doing to keep them
back. If one department is doing well at the expense of others, the organization cannot improve
and loses traction. With this question about feedback, your peers may also ask you what they are
doing to hold you back. This criss-cross communication will assure you both have the
information needed to improve yourselves and your teams. Communication With Your Boss.

Determine what communication techniques your boss finds effective. Are they a reader or
a listener? Do they value verbal communication or hardcopy communication? Sending weekly
reports to a boss that understands more verbally will be ineffective for the both of you, as you’ll
keep writing and he’ll keep on deleting not knowing what to look for. Invite feedbacks: Discover
what you or your team could work on, what the priorities are and if there is any news that can
affect you or your team. For without direction, you will be mistaken. Your boss will most likely
ask the same question with feedback, part your insights and ask for possible answers for the
future. Once there is an understanding of what you and your manager need or do not require to
perform on key targets, the question that follows is always: “Why didn’t we share each other’s
feedback before?”. Success in an organization depends on all three spheres of communication:
your directs, your peers and your boss. Drawing these spheres closer to the Centre so they
overlap more and more with uninterrupted communication and improvement will result not only
in you being successful, but everybody around you.

There are 4 main types of business communication in any organization or business these
are Internal(upward), External, Internal (downward) and Horizontal/Lateral communication.
Internal Business Communication means communication that occurs within the members of the
organization. This communication includes both formal and informal communication. Also,
different departments that transmit communication by different means to employees come under
internal communication. Internal communication should be effective as it is a vital source of
viewing and representing organizational issues. Effective internal business communication may
increase job satisfaction level, productivity, the efficiency of employees by decreasing their
turnover and grievances and helps in increasing profits. This type of internal communication
involves the bottom to the top management approach. Here, the information flows from
subordinates to managers or any person that is up in the hierarchy level. Transmitting the
information from employees to top management also comes under this. In the absence of upward
communication, the management work system is void as they are unable to know if there is a
smooth flow of information or message throughout the organization or not. Upward
Communication acts as a source of communication to internal employees for: Exchange of
information, Presenting ideas or suggestions, Attaining job satisfaction level, Communicating
feedback. Most of the upward communication includes different forms, reports, written
documents, templates, etc. to facilitate employees in gaining required and detailed information

For example, employees of the HR department of an organization prepare an attrition report

and communicate the same to the HR Manager. The attrition report consists of information on
the monthly or annual employee turnover of an organization and reasons for the same. This helps
the HR Manager to understand the cause of attrition and to take corrective measures on time to
reduce employee turnover. The importance of internal business communication is Goal-oriented:
In any organization, employees are supposed to get familiar with their goals and the strategy or
activities to be done to achieve them. Internal communications facilitate keeping employees
motivated and value them by defining goals clearly. Moreover, it also includes communicating
or visualizing effective actions to be taken by employees to achieve those goals. Effective
internal communication keeps employees motivated for working towards achieving common
goals.

Increases brand value and customer satisfaction: Through internal communication with
frontline employees, organizations ensure to keep promises as expected by customers. This
results in better customer satisfaction and thus increases brand value. Goals that are
communicated and employees having up-to-date information result in brand loyalty. This
ultimately enhances revenue. Crisis management: Organizations can deal effectively with crisis
situations in both internal and external environment by timely and careful internal
communication. It helps in both short-term and long-term management of the crisis.

Short-term crisis management is related to a particular incident and addressing that but
long-term crisis management is more based on maintaining an organization’s reputation or brand
value and to take corrective measures for non-repetition of negative situations. Internal
communication facilitates this by making a balance in organizational structure, policies, etc.
before a crisis situation arises. Increases employee engagement: Effective internal
communication gives regular feedback that creates a healthy work environment and results in a
more engaged workforce.

This ultimately reduces employee turnover and also attracts better talent in an organization.
To be at a competitive market place, a well-organized internal communications system is
required by the organization to create an open environment and satisfied employees as it
increases brand value. Increases innovation: An internal communication system that is open,
smooth, and effective, creates a comfort zone in employees. When employees feel comfortable,
they can use their creativity and innovative ideas up to a maximum extent to achieve common
goals of the organization as dedicated resources. Also, through effective and well-managed
internal communication, employees can convey their suggestions or ideas for the organization’s
benefit. In the absence of effective internal communication, the potential of employees is not
completely utilized.

Efficient team building: Open and smooth internal communication results in a well-
integrated and efficient team by boosting employee morale. Once employees feel a sense of
belongingness because of proper information or communication about the organization’s values
and objectives, they tend to perform in a much better way. Moreover, they also feel job security
and overall there is an improvement in work ethics as well. Boosts transparent environment:
Organizations having an effective internal communication system experience more transparency
that results in increasing brand value through building trust in the brand and its product or
services. Also, smooth internal communication helps in implementing different new policies
easily. Effective employee management: Through internal communication, the employees are
well informed about their work areas and tasks to be done. It also helps in exchanging feedback
among employees and their superiors. Feedback is required for any improvements or changes in
the work culture of the whole organization ..Business communications can be internal, such as
when dealing with employees individually, in meetings or through written messages like emails
and memos. It can also be external in nature, such as when communicating with customers,
suppliers or other business owners. There are a number of important aspects to effective external
communication. These include the level of the communication's persuasiveness and the ability to
relate to customers.

Internal (Downward) Communication: In downward communication, the information

flows from the top-level management to the employees in an organization. This information is
related to passing on instructions to subordinates or employees to do their respective tasks.
Downward communication is being used by managers to communicate different goals,
procedures and policies, guidelines, decisions, instructions, etc. to their subordinates. The
process of downward communication in business includes passing on messages from the top
level to the lower level through the chain of hierarchy. This type of communication can be in oral
or written form. The written form includes different notices, manuals, news display in electronic
form, etc. whereas, the oral form of downward communication includes different face-to-face
conversations, telephonic communication, meetings, etc.

Lateral or horizontal communication is related to communication among co-workers i.e.

either verbal communication or written communication. This may include inter-departmental
communication or communication between cross-departments and can be between people of
the same or similar rank in a company. This is a crucial communication to achieve the desired
results. So, this communication happens among employees having an equal hierarchy level. To
achieve the functional effectiveness of different organizational units, horizontal or lateral
communication is required for seeking mutual cooperation and mutual help. For example, the
Marketing head of an organization is supposed to communicate about market trends, customer
needs and expectations, product demand scenario, etc. to a production head for production of
products accordingly. Similarly, the HR manager of an organization works with different
department heads for different functioning like hiring, training needs of employees,
performance appraisals, welfare activities, etc.
Horizontal communication introduces flexibility in organizational structure. It permits
people at the same level to communicate directly without going through several levels of
organization. It facilitates problem solving, information sharing across different work groups.

This type of communication is especially important for larger-scale enterprise. The

followings are the main benefits that can be derived from horizontal communication. Gaining
benefits of informal communication: Though horizontal communication is formal in nature, it
enjoys some degree of informality in exchanging information as the senders and the receivers
hold same position, status and honor. Distortion-free communication: Horizontal
communication is usually free form distortion. Since the sender and the receiver of horizontal
communication can exchange information directly, there is no possibility of distortion of
message. Bringing dynamism in workplace: Horizontal communication helps to overcome
misunderstanding and confects among the managers. It creates an environment of
cooperation, teamwork and team spirit. This brings dynamism in performing organizational
activities. Information through horizontal communication channel is inevitable for
organizational success. In the present complex business world, efficient functioning of a large
business organization mostly depends on effective horizontal communication.

External communication has different mediums of communication like email,

advertisements, brochures, newsletters, content marketing, etc. The purpose of external
communication is to have smooth between different organizations or entities. External
communication is broadly categorized as formal and informal business communication. Formal
External Business Communication: It is considered as the initial element in communication
building the appropriate corporate image.
This includes different formal letters, memos, reports, or presentations. The main
objective of external communication in business is to intimate the work and quality of products
or services of a business to its external environment. There are Different types of formal
external communication are as below:

Content of website and blogging: Different advertising strategies like developing useful
website content, Search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, etc. are also beneficial in
providing crucial information about the organization or brand. Websites play a great role in
building strategies of external communication as these act as a hub for a business’s other
activities related to building its brand. Similarly, through content marketing, organizations can
ensure the increasing visibility of their website on search engines. Moreover, by inviting
comments and people to contact businesses through the comment section and contact page,
organizations ensure two-way communication.

Effective external communication can persuade customers to take a certain desired action.
Your marketing strategy, for example, can influence customers to buy your products or visit your
place of business. An effective public relations campaign can make use of media to build the
image of your business in the local community. If your business is expanding and you’re in need
of additional employees, your recruitment efforts can persuade potential employees to consider
working for your company.

Conferences and live consorts: Different conferences or seminars and live events are
considered as one of the important types of factors to boost external communication in business.
Email and newsletters: One another type of external business communication is an email system.
It is used for both purposes i.e. to demonstrate new offers to customers, to increase sales and also
to build a long-term relationship with different stakeholders that are external to an organization.
Social media: Social media is considered as an advanced and the latest external communication
medium. Different social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. are
very much beneficial in interacting with external people of an organization. Press releases: Press
releases and press coverage also play a vital role in external communication as organizations can
improve their brand image and credibility through media outlets and press releases. Also,
connecting with different potential customers is possible through these. External communication
is not just about spreading your message or reaching out to others. Effective communication also
involves taking the time to listen to any feedback you receive.

A customer service survey gives customers the opportunity to tell you what is good and
bad about your business and lets them know that you care about what they think. Feedback from
other companies you do business with can indicate your company’s reputation in the business
community.

Examples of External Business Communication: Different organizations use external

communication mediums to communicate about the cost of their products and services. This
medium can be newspaper advertisements, broadcast on radio channels, the internet, etc. The
different promotion offers like coupons, bonus points, buy 1 get 1 free, etc. are designed by the
organization to increase sales, attract and retain loyal customers.E-mail messages are also
forwarded to customers to inform them about discounts, free samples, etc.

Informal External business communication: It is the one that is not in direct control of an
organization. For example, employees absorb and strengthen their knowledge about their work
and organization daily and when they discuss the same in the external environment of the
organization then it’s considered informal external business communication.

Importance of External Business Communication. Communicating news or

information: External communication is considered as a communicative tool for other
organizations and persons that operate in the external business environment. It facilitates
business in spreading any information and news related to organizations to its customers,
shareholders, suppliers or other people. Image building: The success of any business not only
depends on its sales but also its image perception in its customers and other stakeholders.

Through external communication an organization can establish its image, workplace

culture to its stakeholders through different communication mediums like newsletters, press
releases, media related stories, etc. Communication with Channels.By communicating with
customers through direct marketing channels, distributors or business partners, companies enable
sales and delivery of their goods and services in ways that end up providing benefits for each
party. Companies target partners and suppliers with offers of reduce prices using communication
mechanisms such as brochures, functional specifications and selling guides. Through external
communication documents such as requests for proposals or statements of work, companies set
up business relationships allowing them to prosper in a complex, global marketplace.

Product Training and Support. Companies present their products at trade shows and
events to demonstrate their personal or business use. They conduct training courses to show
people how to use product functions and certify personnel in product usage. Companies offer
instructor-led training, virtual events using Web conferencing software and self-paced courses to
meet the needs of busy professionals. During training events, instructors and company
representatives give presentations and communicate with participants to learn about individual
needs. Additionally, companies conduct surveys using online questionnaires to get feedback on
product usage and requirements for new product development. Promotional and Marketing
Literature
 Companies promote their products by communicating the benefits and features in printed
product or service literature. Functional specifications, reference manuals and other product
documentation enable customers to decide if the product meets their needs. Literature also
convinces potential customers that products provide a return on investment and an affordable
total cost of ownership. Promotional literature tends to include attractive photos, text and
descriptive language to describe product or service details. Using logos and slogans to build up
their brand recognition, companies develop a market presence.

Potential customers: Through different external communication mediums like

websites, social media sites like Facebook, Linkedin, etc. businesses can increase awareness of
their products or services to its audience as these are the convenient way to reach the target
audience and also cost-effective promotion strategies. External business communication is any
information the company distributes to the public, either about the organization itself or their
products and services. A well-thought out communications plan not only defines the target
audience, but also focuses on how to reach it effectively. Because the goal of external
communications is to promote the company and increase revenue, external communications are
an important part of an overall marketing plan.

In conclusion, business communication is the relay of messages from one employee,

organization, department or office to another. Effective business communication usually helps in
increasing productivity of the business because it relays ideas and decisions.