LECTURE 02

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATING SUCCESSFULLY IN
AN ORGANIZATION
OBJECTIVES
 Describe how organizations share information externally
 Identify the role of Marketing & Public relations
department
 Discuss crisis communication and the role of PR
department during crisis
 Discuss the 6 characteristics of effective communication

 Explain process of communication and identify

communication barriers
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

 Tall structure
Tall structures have many layers of management between the
lowest and the highest positions. Sometimes they can suffer
communication breakdown and delays as messages are passed
up and down through multiple layers
 Flat Structure

With fewer layers communication generally flows faster and

with fewer disruptions and distortions
 CORPORATE CULTURE

“Corporate culture is the mixture of values, traditions

and habits that give a company its atmosphere or
personality; it affects the quality & quantity of the
information exchange.”
 ROLE OF MARKETING & PUBLIC
RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

A group of individuals whose sole job is to create and

manage flow of messages to the outsiders.
 MARKETING DEPARTMENT
 Background
 Specialized in Marketing
 Responsibilities
 To find out who customers are & what they want
 To develop products that satisfy their needs
 To get those products in customers’ hands

 Functions
 Advertising, distribution & selling products
 Product development
 Market research
 Customer service

 Marketing Messages
 Generally openly sponsored and paid for by the company
 Communication tools
 TV & radio commercials, ads, product brochures, mail order catalogs etc
 PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
 Background
 Specialized in HR or journalism
 Responsibilities
 To manage organization’s reputation with various groups including
employees, customers, investors, general public & government agencies.
 Functions
 to disseminate news about the business to the organization’s
audience & crisis management
 PR Messages
 Generally carried by media
 Communication tools
 Press/news release, lobbying programmes, special events,
booklets and brochures internal publications etc
 PRESS RELEASE
 Written or recorded communication directed at members
of the news media for the purpose of announcing
something ostensibly newsworthy. Typically, they are
mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors at
newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television
stations, or television networks.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_release
 CRISES COMMUNICATION
DOS
 Be prepared for crisis
 Get top management involved as soon as crisis hits

 Set up a news centre for company representatives & the

media, well equipped with electronic tools for preparing
news releases
 Tell the whole story openly, completely and honestly.
Apologize if you are at fault
 Demonstrate company’s concern by your statements &
actions
 CRISIS COMMUNICATION
DON’TS
 Blame anyone for anything.
 Speculate in public about unknown facts.

 Decline to answer questions.

 Release information that can violate anyone’s

right of privacy.
 Use crisis to pitch products or services.

 Play favourites with media representatives.

 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
1. Fostering an open communication
2. Committing to ethical communication
 Ethical dilemma & ethical lapses
 Legal considerations
 Moral considerations
 Organizational consideration
3. Understanding difficulties involved in intercultural
communication
4. Becoming proficient in communication technology
5. Using an audience centre approach to communication
6. Creating lean & efficient messages
 Reduce the number of messages
 Speed up the preparation of messages
 Train the writers & speakers
 COMMITING TO ETHICAL &LEGAL
COMMUNICATION

 Plagiarising
 Omitting essential information

 Selective misquoting

 Misrepresenting numbers

 Distorting visuals

 Failing to respect privacy or information security

needs
 ETHICS

Acceptable principles of conduct that governs

behaviour with in a society
ETHICS/ ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 Ethics
Principles of conduct that govern a person or a group

 Ethical Communication
Communication that is truthful, relevant & devoid of
deception in every sense is called as Ethical
Communication
 ETHICAL DILEMMA & ETHICAL
LAPSES

 Ethical dilemma
It involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut or
are equally ethical and valid.
“ knowing the difference between what you have a right to do
& what is the right thing to do”
Potter Stewart-former supreme court judge

 Ethical lapses
Unlike ethical dilemma it is about making a clearly unethical or
illegal choice.
AUDIENCE CENTERED APPROACH

Keeping your audience in mind at all time while

communicating.
It involves understanding, respecting and meeting the
needs of your audience members.
It is also called as adopting ‘ YOU ATTITUDE’
 NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF
COMMUNICATION

Meanings sent are not always meanings

received. No two minds have identical filters/
storehouse of words, gestures/ facial
expressions, any other symbol. Meaning is in the
mind not in the words/ symbols used, receiver
looks for the meanings he intended.
 COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

Communication is fruitful only if the message

sent by the sender is interrupted with the same
meaning by the receiver. Any kind of disturbance
that blocks or affects the flow of communication
is called as communication barrier