To the world of Business

Taslima Akther
Assistant Professor
Department of Accounting & Information Systems
Jagannath University, Dhaka

limaais.du@gmail.com
Books Recommended
 Business Communication Today

CourtlandL.Bovee.John V.Thill, Abha Chatterjee

 Business Communication

◦ by Lesikar
 Business Communication Manual
◦ by ICMAB
◦ Lecture Notes
 Communication is the transfer of information from sender to a
receiver with a view to making it understandable to the latter.
It is the information exchange by words or symbols.
 There must be two parties ( sender &
receiver)
 There must be some information
 An attempt must be taken.
 Nature of Communication

1. Two or more persons

a)Sender
b)Receiver

2. Message
Facts, ideas, opinions, information or emotions
No message no communication

3. Verbal or non-verbal**
Verbal : written or spoken language or words
 Non-verbal: facial expression, gestural expression etc
4. Two way process
 At least two persons are needed

5. Formal and Informal**

 Formal communication: meeting, seminar, news
bulletin etc
Informal communication: conversation with friends
and peers, gossiping, grapevines etc.
6. Upward, Downward or Horizontal**

Structure of a business

Communication

Communication
Downward
Upward

Horizontal Communication
 7. Process of Exchange

Sender Message Media Receiver

Feedback

8. Regular Activity
 Continuously to create mutual understanding, trust,
credibility and implementation of decisions quickly

9. Different Media
 Electronic media
 Print media
 Audio-Visual Media
 Audio Media
 10. Feedback

Use of
How are you? Receiver
Sender Telephone
Message
Media

I am fine.
Feedback
 Communication, which takes place
between the parties concerned with a
view to exchanging information or
message relating to business, is called
business communication.
 Communication is important because it is
about how information is sent and received
within firms
 The way information is communicated is

often governed by how firms are

structured
 Entrepreneurial - decisions made centrally
 Pyramid - staff have a role, shared decision
making, specialisation is possible
 Matrix - staff with specific skills join
project teams, individuals have
responsibility
 Independent - seen in professions where
organisation provides support systems and
little else
 The Pyramid
Traditional
view of
organisations

Decisions pass
down formal Information flows
channels from up formal channels
managers to from staff to
staff management
 Entrepreneurial
Key Key
Quick to act but
worker worker
pressure on
decision makers

One or two
Most small Decision people make
businesses have this maker decisions
structure

Great reliance on
key workers
Key Key
supporting decision
worker worker
makers
 Matrix

Marketing Production Finance

Project A
Project teams Staff with
created specialist skills

Project B
 Independent
Not suited to most
Dr A businesses due to
lack of control Dr B

Support systems
to professionals
such as doctors

Dr D Dr C
 Managers keep control  Empowering and
motivating
 Decisions are made in
the interests of the  Freeing up senior
whole business managers’ time
 Costs can be cut by  Better knowledge of
standardizing those closer to
purchasing and so on
customers
 Strong leadership  Good staff development

Centralization Decentralization
 Describe the communication process

Develop idea
Encoding
Transmission of message
Reception
Decoding
Understanding
Feedback
Noise
 Noise

Thought Encoding Transmission

Transmission of
of Reception
Reception Decoding
Decoding Understanding
Understanding
Thought Encoding
message
message

Feedback
Feedback

Figure: The communication process*

*Source: Heinze Weihrich and Harold Koontz. Management: A Global Perspective

“Tenth ed.” New York; MacGraw Hill, 1994, p. 540.
Culture is an integrated
system of learned
behavior patterns that are
characteristic of the
members of any given
society.

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 Culture is learned, shared, and transmitted from
one generation to the next.
 Culture can be passed from parents to children,
by social organizations, special interest groups,
the government, schools, and churches.
 Culture is multidimensional, consisting of a
number of common elements that are
interdependent.

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High-context culture Low-context culture
 context is at least as  most of the information
important as what is is contained explicitly in
actually said words
 what is not being said  what is said is more
can carry more meaning important that what is
than what is said not said
 focuses on group  focuses on individual
development development
 Japan and Saudi Arabia  The U.S. is an example
are examples

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 By introducing new products or ideas and
practices, an international business entity
becomes a change agent.
◦ this may shift consumption from one product to
another, or
◦ it may lead to massive social change

 Many governments take action to protect

their culture-specific industries.

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 Language (verbal
and nonverbal) Religion
Values and
Attitudes

Manners and
Customs

Material Elements

Social Institutions Education Aesthetics

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 Differences in cultural lifestyle can be explained
by:
◦ individualism
◦ power distance
◦ uncertainty avoidance
◦ Masculinity

 Asian countries tend to have high uncertainty

avoidance and low masculinity.
 Western countries tend to have low uncertainty
avoidance and high masculinity.
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 Cultural training programs
should include:
◦ culture-specific information
◦ general cultural information
on values, practices, and
assumptions
◦ self-specific information that
identifies one’s own cultural
paradigm

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 Additional forms of training
include:
◦ mentoring
◦ area studies programs
◦ cultural assimilator programs,
in which trainees must respond
to scenarios of specific
situations in a particular
country
◦ sensitivity training
◦ field experience
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 Embrace local culture
 Build relationships
 Employ locals to gain cultural knowledge
 Help employees understand you
 Adapt products and practices to local

markets
 Coordinate by region

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