Introduction

Cdr Emran Rashid Khan PN

 MBA (L&MM), BUKC - (CGPA 3.6)
 MSc (Maritime Studies), NDU Islamabad – (CGPA-3.4)
 One Year Diploma in Office Automation, Web Designing & Development,
Computer Hardware/Networking & Software Development – 2010
 Certification in Leadership from BUKC – 2013
 Various Certifications from PIMS
 7 levels of Change Management – 2015
 Transforming Organizations from Traditional HR to Talent Management – 2015
 Supply Chain Management – 2016
 Problem Solving & Decision Making Skills – 2016
 6 years Teaching Experience
 Qualified Diver from USA & Para, Motor & Hang Gliding Instructor
 Swimming & Golf
Objective: The main objective of this lesson is to make the students learn on the subject
matter of the business communication vis-à-vis its nature and importance
 WHAT IS
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
 Importance of Communication
 Communication skills are critical for job placement,
performance and organizational success
 Businesses do not want spellbinding storytellers; they
want people who can communicate clearly, concisely
and effectively
 Good Business Communication skills are guarantee
for career advancement
 Importance of the subject makes this course vital for
your future therefore needs focused attention
throughout
 Exchanging or transferring information from one
part of the business to another that leads to some
outcome, changed behaviour or practices

 An idea, no matter how great, is useless until it is

transmitted and understood by others

 Communication can also be termed as the

exchange of thoughts between two or more
people, groups or organizations, orally, through
symbols, or in writing
 Most people think at a rate of 400 - 500 W/M, speak
at only about 125 W/M and write at even slower
space 25 to 30 W/M
 Business needs people with best communication skills
for going up the ladder

 Surveys show Communication ranks top of business

skills needed for success
 Top Business executives survey ranked, oral
communication, team work, professionalism, work
ethics, written communication and critical thinking as
very important skill for job applicants
 Job outlook survey from years have rated
communication as most valuable soft skill after team
work and analytical skills
 You need to request information, discuss problems,
give instructions and interact with clients
 You will need to be able to “think”, “take initiative” and
“solve problems”
 Nothing puts you in the Poor Leader category more
swiftly than inadequate communication skills
 Unfortunately areas needing improvement in business
world are efficiency and communication skill
 Poor communication costs businesses millions of
dollars every day in the form of wasted time,
misunderstandings, eroded customer loyalties and lost
business
 Data indicates that a business with 100 employees on
the average spend down time of 17 Hours a week on
clarification which translates into annual cost of
$ 0.524569 Million
 Executive use written and oral communication
messages to conduct business, manage company
operations and perform strategic planning
 Sale persons receive instructions, submit orders and
regular reports of their contacts with customers
 Production supervisors receive work orders, issue
instructions and receive status reports
 Marketing professionals gather market information and
propose new directions for company production
 Research specialists receive problems to investigate
and report their findings
 Public relations professionals use various media tools
for building company brands
 INTERNAL OPERATIONAL – Communication that occurs in
conducting work within a business like management
discussions about goal and processes, instructions of
supervisors to employees and oral exchange of information
amongst employees about work

 EXTERNAL OPERATIONAL – Work related communication that

a business does with people or groups out side the business.
Communication with suppliers, service companies, customers,
government agencies and general public (sale letters, emails,
phone calls, company website, Advertisement etc)
 PERSONAL – Personal Communication helps make and
sustain relationships upon which business depends

 Exchange of information and feelings

 Being a social animals humans always like to talk

• Organizations can’t function without open and
effective communication
• Exchange of information is must for effective
individual and collective performance at all levels
• Internal Communication Downward, upward &
horizontal / lateral
• External Communication Effective communication with
external stakeholders can help create a good
reputation, and have a positive impact on business
organization’s ultimate success
• Time is a major factor in exchange of information
 Downward
 Communication that flows from one level of a group to a
lower level (Managers to Project Teams)
 Its purpose is to assign goals, provide instructions,
communicate policies and procedures and provide
feedback
 It does not have to be face to face or an oral
communication
Upward
 Communication that flows from lower to higher levels
 Provides feedback to high-ups, progress updates and
relays current problems e.g. performance (reports
prepared by lower management), suggestion boxes,
employee attitude surveys etc
Lateral
 When communication takes place among members of
the work group and among managers
 Lateral communications are often necessary to save
time and facilitate coordination
 However, it can create dysfunctional conflicts
when the formal vertical channels are
breached, when members go above or Downward
around their superiors to get things
done, or when bosses find out that
Lateral
actions have been taken or decisions
made without their knowledge.
Upward
 Conflict which obstructs the achievement of the goals of

a group is dysfunctional conflict

 Aftereffects of DC are Increased tension, High rate of

employee turn over, Increased dissatisfaction, Distrust,

Distraction from organizational goals etc

 Most dysfunctional conflicts are unhealthy and stem

from emotional or behavioral origins

• Verbal Communication Communication through words
whether Written or Oral.

 Written Letters, memos, notices, bulletins,

employee manuals etc.

 Oral Announcements, speeches / sermons,

counseling, demonstrations / explanations etc.

• Non-Verbal Communication Communication through

various means other than words – appearance, body
movements, facial expressions, gestures, smell &
touch, Voice, silence etc.
 Type Merits Demerits
► Verbal
Quick transmission Greater potential for
o Oral
Quick feed back distortion

o Written Permanent, Tangible Takes more time

and Verifiable record Lack of feedback

o Electronic Relatively low cost Problems of security

media

► Non-Verbal Conveys meanings Can be misinterpreted

fast
 Quicker problem solving
 Stronger decision making
 Increased productivity
 Steadier work flow
 Stronger business relationships
 Clearer promotional materials
 Enhanced professional image
 Improved stakeholder response
 Customer Loyalty/ delightedness
 CEO / President

VP
VP VP VP VP
Human
Production Marketing Sales Resources Finance

Sales Sales Sales Sales

Manager Manager Manger Manager
East A B International

District District District

1 2 3
Manager Manager Manager

Sales Sales Sales Sales Sales

Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep
 General public,
potential employees, Subsidiaries Unions Employment
customers, stockholders agencies

Special
Professional services
interest group
(auditions,legal,etc)

Customers
Suppliers,
clients
vendors
The
Trade association, Distributors,
Competitors,
Corporation
Wholesalers,
other businesses, Franchisees,
and industries Retailers, agents

Legislators,
The Stock holders Foreign Government
media Investors Governments The courts agencies, regulation
and lenders and offices Offices
Communication Process includes following steps
1. Sensing a communication need
2. Defining the situation
3. Considering possible strategies
Sender
4. Selecting course of action
5. Composing message
6. Sending the message
7. Receiving the message
8. Interpreting message Receiver

9. Deciding response
 Context
(Stimuli)

Message
Sender / Receiver/
Encoder Decoder

Medium
(Verbal/
Nonverbal)

Feedback
(Verbal/
Nonverbal)
 Context
 Circumstances that form the setting for an event,
statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be
fully understood and assessed
 Includes country, culture, organization and internal /
external stimuli; all have separate conventions for
processing and communicating information
 Internal stimuli have complex influence on how to
compose & send a message. Understanding of the
sender’s own and the receiver’s attitude, emotions,
experience, likes/dislikes all influence the way
communication is generated
 Especially important is the sender’s ability to analyse
the receiver’s culture, viewpoint, needs, skills, status
and expectations
Sender/Encoder
 Sender encodes the messages in the form of
words, graphs, charts etc. to facilitate the receiver
in correct understanding and suitably reacting to
the message

Message

 The core idea that sender wants to communicate.

While composing a message, sender must decide
what is the main point of message and what other
information is to be included
Medium
 Medium may include Memo, Letter, Notice board, Fax,
Telephone, E-mail / Internet, Face to face, Body
language, Video / Video conferencing

Receiver/decoder
 The message receiver is the decoder who interprets,
understands and then responds to the message.
Receiver/decoder is influenced by context and by
his/her own mental filters.
Feedback

 Feedback is the ultimate impact of the message that

compels the receiver to act / react in a particular way or
keep quiet. It could be oral or a written message.
Sender wants feedback to learn about the impact of
the message and the extent to which message has
achieved desired results / behaviour.

 Feedback helps the sender to know about the weak

points of his/her message and further improve it.
 Nonverbal Communication

• Often expresses feelings more accurately than spoken

or written language. (Appearance, Body-language,
Silence)

• How Appearance Communicates (written Message)

Format, neatness of language and presentation all send
a nonverbal message to the receiver. (envelop size,
color, weight even postage stamp, courier indicate
urgency, Title page, length, format and language)
 Nonverbal Communication
• How Appearance Communicates (Oral Messages)
• Clothing, hairstyle, neatness, jewelry, cosmetics
posture
• How appearance of surroundings communicates
• Room size, location, furnishing, decoration, lighting
etc
• How Body Language Communicates Facial
expression, gesture, posture and movement, smell,
touch, voice (Paralanguage) - all influence the recipient/
audience.
• Paralanguage includes voice, volume, rate,
articulation, pitch etc
Appearance Communicates
Posture has Impact
Neutral Surprise Happiness

Fear Sadness Anger

 Nonverbal Communication
• How Silence, Time & Space Communicate Concept
of time & space are culture-specific. Effective
communicators adapt to receiver’s expectations

• Silence Keeping silence for an immediate oral

request or not responding to a letter indicate the
attitude of the receiver; taken as not accepted
• Time Waiting for a response from the recipient for
an important request creates negative feelings
• Space Where you stand in the group; how much
space you maintain from others. (US 18”, ME <18”,
Scandinavia > 18”)
 Need to Expand media Literacy
 Email Revolution (1980) – speed, large number of
receivers simultaneously
 Email is most heavily used media in BC
 Instant text Messaging, Blogs, Tweets, Podcasts, Social
media, Virtual meetings, Videos, Animation is collectively
called New Media
 Borderless Group Collaboration requires
employees to be highly conversant with digital
world
 Multisource information has broken down
hierarchal structure of organizations
 Increasing globalization and workplace diversity
 Increased need of strong analytical skills
 Computational Thinking (data, data patterns, data base
decisions, use data to design for desired outcomes
 Interpretative Skills
 Increased focus on ethics

 Obstacle in a workplace that prevent effective

exchange of ideas or thoughts. Such barriers
include (1) status differences, (2) gender
differences, (3) cultural differences, (4) prejudices,
and (5) the organizational environment
• Diversified culture and language

• Capabilities/ knowledge of both sender and receiver

• Fast technological advancements – IT boom

• Ever changing communication demands of

customers

• Hostile competition
 Minimize distractions

 Consider/ understand the audience – empathy (Ability to

understand and share the feelings of another)

 Improve your skills

 counter the propaganda of rivals

 Give and get feedback

 Apply business etiquettes & ethics