SIDI MOHAMMED BEN ABDELLAH UNIVERSITY- (USMBA )

LAW, ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

presented by: Prof. Mounim LAKHAL

“ Take advantage of every opportunity to
practice your communication skills so that
when important occasions arise, you will have
the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and
the emotions to affect other people.”

- JIM ROHN
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
TARA BENSON, CEO:
Communication is a vital part of life. I use it during
most of my waking hours without really
CONSIDERING it. I use the media to determine
how to dress for the day, to decide which road to
take to work, and to learn what’s making headlines
around the globe. I use oral and written
communication to share ideas, knowledge and
messages with others at work and home. Nonverbal
communication helps me display thoughts and
emotions.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
➢ Business communication is the process of establishing a
common understanding between or among people
within a business environment.
➢ An organization has internal and external communication.
➢ Because it is used extensively, communication is one
of the most skills you can and should develop. How
well you read, listen, speak and write will affect your
personal relationship and your career.
➢ The number and types of communication activities in which
a person engages depend on his field and level of
responsibility.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
1. Receiver understanding
2. Receiver response
3. Favorable relationship
4. Organizational goodwill

The sender must take responsibility for

achieving theses goals, every time he/she initiates
or responds to a message.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
RECEIVER UNDERSTANDING
➢ It is the most important goal.
➢ The message must be so clear that the receiver
understands it as the sender means it to be understood.
o Example: in 1999, NASA lost $ 125 M on an orbiter, because
engineers in their plans used meters, while the firm used inches
and feet in their measurement.
➢ For communication to be successful, the sender and
receiver must achieve shared meaning.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
RECEIVER UNDERSTANDING
➢For a communication to be successful, the sender
and receiver must achieve shared meaning.
o Example: a supervisor sends a message to a worker :
“no one plans for a meeting like you do”. Should the
worker react with pleasure or disappointment? Is the
supervisor praising or criticizing the worker’s attention
to details?
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
RECEIVER UNDERSTANDING
➢To develop a clear message, the sender should
consider:
1. Receiver characteristics
2. Message form and content
3. Receiver feedback
4. Communication barriers
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
RECEIVER RESPONSE
➢The receiver response may be positive, neutral or
negative. It may be conveyed through words,
actions or both.
o Example: a supervisor distributes a memo announcing a
meeting. Those who receive the memo may act in one of
these ways: 1- notify the supervisor that they will attend, 2-
notify that they will not attend, 3- attend without previous
notification or 4- miss the meeting without previous
notification.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
RECEIVER RESPONSE
➢ The sender should assist the receiver to respond, and
the wording of the message should encourage to respond.
➢ In a face to face conversation, the sender (speaker) can ask
the receiver (listener) if he understands the message, or can
ask directly for a specific response.
➢ In a written message: you can encourage for a response
by asking questions, enclosing a reply envelop, asking the
receiver to telephone…
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
FAVORABLE RELATIONSHIP
➢ This goal focuses on the people involved in the
communication process. Sender and receiver must
create and maintain a favorable relationship.
➢ Both sender and receiver will benefit from a favorable
relationship:
o The sender is a manufacturer: job satisfaction, increased sales,
more profit…
o The sender is a customer: continued source of supply, better
prices, assistance in case of a problem…
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
GOALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
ORGANIZATIONAL GOODWILL
➢ Stresses the benefits to the organization. The goodwill of
customers is essential to the organization.
➢ It means more confidence, more willingness to buy the
company’s products, enhancing reputation.
o Example: a customer is complaining about a product. You should
change it very fast, you should solve the problem quickly, you
should offer the client other choices. So the client feels that his
interests and needs are important for the company.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
➢To achieve the goals of BC, communicators send
and receive messages that are internal and
external to the organization. Some messages are
formal, others are informal. Some are work
related others are personal.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
➢ Within an organization, communication can flow vertically,
horizontally or through a network.
o Vertical communication: messages flow upward (reports and
proposals) or downward (policy statements, plans, directives,
instructions). It follows the chain of command.
o Horizontal communication: between workers when sharing
data or coordinate efforts. It is between workers or units of
comparable status.
o Both are the traditional pattern in BC.
o Network communication: message flow freely between or among
members. It is not affected by unit or organizational level.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
MANAGER

SUPERVISOR SUPERVISOR
A B

WORKER WORKER
WORKER WORKER B2
B1
A1 A2

WORKER WORKER
A3 TRADITIONAL PATTERNS OF B3
BC
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
WORKER
A2

WORKER
SUPERVISOR A5
A

WORKER SUPERVISOR
B4 B

NETWORK PATTERN OF BC
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
➢Formal communication: it is business related.
Between you and your supervisor. It can be written
(memo, reports…) or oral (speech, meeting…).
➢Most organizations keep records of formal
communication.
➢It is planned by the organization, flows in all
direction and is essential for the effective operation
of the business.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
➢Informal communication: consists of both
business related and personal information.
➢Rumors about the new president, or discussion
about yesterday’s football score.
➢Most of informal communication is oral.
➢It is not planned by the organization, flows in
all directions, and develops and maintains positive
human relationships.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
➢Flows between the organization and the entities
with which it interacts.
➢Customers, suppliers, competitors, media,
governmental agencies…
➢Can be written: letters, reports, invoices,
webpages...
➢Can be oral: telephone calls, advertisements over
radio or TV…
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
➢ Any factor that interferes with the success of the
communication process, and prevent the reception of the
message.
➢Word choice: words that are too difficult, too technical
or too easy for your receiver can be a communication
barrier. The receiver may not understand the message, or
may be bored or insulted.
➢ Grammar, spelling, punctuation: incorrect grammar
and poor sentence structure may affect the receiver
understanding of a spoken or written message.
 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
➢The sender may lose credibility, because errors
suggest that the sender either does not know the
basics of the language, or is too careless to correct.
Neither explanation creates a positive impression.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
I READ THAT YOU
GUARANTEE SAME-
DAY DELIVERY?
AAH. THAT WAS AN
ERROR. IT’S SOME
DAY DELIVERY