Managing_Communication._7.docx

Managing Communication 1 Managing Communication By [Name] Course Professor's Name Institution Location of Institution Date

Managing Communication 2 Contents Managing Communication ............................................................................................................. 3 Activity 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 An assessment of the benefits to shareholders, functional departments, and organizations of various communication channels ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 An analysis of the possible barricades to the effective exchange of information within and between organizations .................................................................................................................... 5 The factors that influence workplace communication ................................................................... 6 Activity 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 How an establishment's structure can influence workplace communication ........................... 6 2.3 The forms of management and leadership styles and the influence they have on workplace communication ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 The role that technology has in supporting workplace communication ................................. 12 2M1. what factors affect workplace communication in a named organization ........................... 13 3.1 A detailed description of a situation where own communication skills were used to communicate information effectively .......................................................................................... 14 3.3 A personal development plan that looks at your communication skills, including SMART targets ........................................................................................................................................... 16 SMART TARGETS ..................................................................................................................... 16 Activity 4 ..................................................................................................................................... 19 4.1 An analysis of external and internal communication channels within McDonalds ............... 19 4.2 An evaluation of the effectiveness of these channels ............................................................. 19 4.3 Recommendations to advance organizational communication based on the assessment ...... 21 4M1. Measures to evaluate the success of the proposals to improve workplace communication ..................................................................................................................................................... 23 References .................................................................................................................................... 24

Managing Communication 4 supports different decision-making procedures, this channel is best suited for internal stakeholder communication, like data flow from top management to lower-level staff. Telephone communication is another common method for exchanging information between stakeholders, particularly business suppliers. It allows for immediate discussion over the phone regarding any concerns the company may have with these parties. This method of communication has no distance limitations and enables the transmission of information in a clear and timely manner (Kumar, 2017). Telephone communication, like face-to-face contact, allows any misunderstandings to be sorted up, resulting in stronger connections with the company's stakeholders. Functional departments also use this method of communication to exchange information with one another so that they may rapidly handle any inter-departmental difficulties and ensure that information from the top is disseminated consistently across the organization. When it comes to delivering information both internally and internationally, email and letter communication are both excellent options. Emails are used in the business daily. For example, a company can frequently convey its performance to its employees in a monthly statistic distributed to all employees through email. Emails are useful for sending and keeping track of various important documents that can be sent to multiple recipients simultaneously, making information transfer easy and fast and preventing miscommunication (Business Case Studies, 2019). Emails also have a flexible response time, which means they can be used to notify stakeholders such as suppliers and customers when a problem arises, along with papers and instructions for resolving the issue. Letters are widely used to communicate information to stakeholders, such as financial institutes and shareholders, formally. Letters are commonly used to convey information such as the company performance and financial statements of the organization. According to Bose (2015), legal agreements are also communicated in letter format, which is usually the safest manner for receivers

Managing Communication 5 outside of the organization to obtain essential documents.

Managing Communication 7 communication

Managing Communication 8 channel, such as email, experiences a technological blackout, resulting in messages not being sent or received or information being received with errors, resulting in miscommunication or a complete lack of information. The company's structure might also be a source of a roadblock to the effective exchange of information within the organization; for example, in a small firm with only one or two layers of management, information can usually be easily spread from top to bottom, ensuring consistency. However, in larger organizations with many different departments and levels of management, information can be messy and miscommunicated, resulting in confusion and inconsistency. The structure may also only allow information to flow one way, meaning that top management levels may be able to communicate information to their subordinates, but the subordinates do not have a way to share information back, which can lead to demotivation and problems, which, if not addressed, can dramatically lower business performance (Altun and Anwar, 2021). A company's culture can influence communication channels. When an individual from one culture communicates with another from a different culture to transfer information, problems can arise, such as informal or formal communication. This occurs because each individual will have other habits, behaviors, and values, leading to one individual taking offense to another. Language barriers are probably the most common communication barrier, particularly for global organizations operating in multiple countries (Altun and Anwar, 2021). For example, when dealing with a customer inquiry, the business may encounter a language barrier, leaving the customer unsatisfied and damaging the brand image. However, there are various ways to get over this barrier with today's technology, such as using Google Translate to go beyond the language barrier. The factors that influence workplace communication Activity 2 2.1 How an establishment's structure can influence workplace communication

Managing Communication 10 managers from multiple departments to consult to work toward the same goal, boosting the uniformity of information throughout the company. However, because there are multiple communication paths through various management levels due to employees reporting to different leaders, it can be difficult to establish a direct communication line (Griffin, 2019)). This can be a challenge because information may not be communicated accurately, resulting in problems with communication in the workplace. This can also lead to slow transmission of information from individuals to others, resulting in inconsistent operation practices.

Managing Communication 11 2.3 The forms of management and leadership styles and the influence they have on workplace communication Management and leadership employees are required to maintain control over a company's activities (CMI, 2015). This ensures that the company runs smoothly and that its aims and goals are met. When hiring management, each company must determine which management and leadership style they will use, as there are a few distinct styles to choose from, each with its own set of perks and drawbacks that might affect workplace communication, as we've mentioned below. Autocratic management – this style of management allows business leaders and top- level management to make all business decisions unilaterally, which means that these higher leaders will not consult with anyone else in the business about the decisions other than discussing them amongst themselves (Lazzari, 2018). A board of directors is an example of this. Because information only flows one way, subordinates have no opportunity to voice their opinions, make suggestions, or ask questions in the decision-making process. This is all done by the organization's top leaders; this could further make employees feel as though they are not valued. Affiliative management focuses on emotional leadership in the workplace to develop and promote a peaceful, positive, and team-building culture (Blake, 2019). This is accomplished by forging bonds between workers and managers, building a trustworthy and transparent personal connection, and resolving disagreement fairly. As employees' needs and demands are genuinely considered by a management team member who cares about employee issues, this leads to more motivation from employees and less conflict in the workplace. As a result of these factors, staff motivation skyrockets as they feel like they are part of the team, enhancing communication between employees and management, effectively eliminating the potential communication barrier that might arise when employees get demotivated.

Managing Communication 13 Laissez-faire leadership – this leadership style is the polar opposite of autocratic leadership (Lazzari, 2018). It allows employees to take full control of their own decision- making needs and the freedom to have complete authority over their tasks. This gives employees responsibilities that enable them to manage their own time and tasks, improving their motivation in the workplace. It also forces employees to communicate with their managers to stay on track with their goals. Transformative leadership - this approach refers to a way that allows leaders to motivate, encourage, and inspire their people to be more innovative in their positions and generate ideas for changes that will help the company shape its future and have an impact on its success growth (Riley, n.d). This encourages employees to communicate effectively to achieve manager objectives, and management helps by making the workplace feel more like a community, where communication flows much more freely, and employees are less afraid to tell their managers about potential negative factors they have encountered while working. Transactional leadership focuses on managers encouraging compliance and greater performance by providing a variety of rewards and incentives to their staff and imposing specific sanctions on underperforming employees (Duggan, nd). This motivates employees because managers can outline exactly what it takes for employees to reach the point where they will be rewarded. It also means that employee and managerial communication can be improved because employees and managers will frequently communicate what is expected of each of them to achieve these targets and what they can do to improve their activities to reach their targets.

Managing Communication 14 2.4 The role that technology has in supporting workplace communication In the past, organizations relied on face-to-face communication as their primary communication channel because it was the most convenient way to send and receive information (Keijzer, 2018). However, technological advancements have drastically altered the business world, how businesses operate, and how they communicate internally and externally. Below, we will go over the effects of technology in terms of promoting workplace communication. Intranet, extranet and the internet can all be used to connect employees within a company (Melendez, 2019). Intranets are used within businesses to connect employees and other employees; they allow employees to communicate across the whole corporate organization by looking for and sharing information. The airline sector is a good example of how a corporation may use an intranet. An intranet website is used to convey essential information to and from planes to ground control, ensuring that the most up-to-date communication is delivered throughout the organization, assuring efficiency (Halliday, 2019). Extranets work similarly to intranets, except that they allow external members to access the company's intranet over the internet. This allows a company to engage with its stakeholders by exchanging information in documents and messages; however, this material must be securely shared within the extranet network to comply with data protection laws.) External stakeholders, such as suppliers, can access information such as stock without gaining access to other personal information held by the company, resulting in an effective form of flexible communication inside the workplace. The internet is a network that allows business information to be shared both internally and outside (Tripathy, 2017). Businesses utilize the network to develop their websites, sell their products and services, and provide information about their operations to the community. Stakeholders can also utilize the internet to share updates about the company that may affect them by sending information via email and video conferencing, both of which use the

Managing Communication 16 information between the company's functional areas. Because Asda has stores all over the UK, there are some cultural and socioeconomic differences, such as language barriers in communities where English is not a first language or income disparities between regions of the UK, which can cause communication problems due to misunderstanding and misinterpretation (Matusitz and Leanza, 2011). On the other hand, Asda has many personnel and customer support representatives that have been educated to deal with these situations, so to guarantee that lower-level employees grasp the information being presented, communication is supplied to top-level supervisors. Activity 3 3.1 A detailed description of a situation where own communication skills were used to communicate information effectively For this assignment, I will discuss the numerous methods and skills I used to effectively communicate information while working as a customer care agent at Belfast International Airport. According to Matric (2019), having a quick and accurate flow of information between departments is critical to meeting plane schedules and maintaining airport performance when operating in an airport. Checking in clients, dealing with customer inquiries and concerns, boarding customers into planes, and talking with ground workers about the quantity of luggage and customers each aircraft will carry on that journey are all part of my obligations as a customer service agent. I would communicate with customers at the register by calling for the next customer forward and asking them to provide me with their passport. After reading the nationality of their passport, I would determine their potential level of English and adjust my communication skills so that they could understand me. It was usually straightforward, but customers who spoke little or no English occasionally approached the counter, forcing me to connect with them through body language and slower, clearer phrases. If that did not work, we had a translation technology program at the customer service desk to display my sentences in their favorite language, which was a beneficial way of adequately communicating the

Managing Communication 17 information to these consumers. I could settle this matter at any moment by actively listening, speaking clearly and calmly, and knowing that there may be a language barrier. When communicating with gate agents and customer service agents, information was disseminated in a variety of ways. For example, staff at the gate used telephone communication to communicate any delays or problems that arose. The use of telephone communication was ideal because it meant staff did not have to physically leave the gate to inform another staff face to face. This meant that information was continuously transferred from each airport department, ensuring that each department was up to date on the airport's situations. This then provided customer service agents with the information they could give to customers, improving customer satisfaction. Written reports and internet communication were two more modes of communication that I had to employ. The written reports were to be provided to the ground workers, and detailed how many passengers and carry-on bags were being moved into the plane. This information was so important for the plane schedules that two different staff members would record it in the hopes that it would match when all passengers had boarded, increasing the accuracy of the records and alerting the ground staff to double-check the passenger numbers if any numbers did not match up. The staff estimates each jet's arrival and departure times to the ground, gate, and customer service employees through electronic communication, which is vital for the smooth operation of the airport. These methods of communication aid in the introduction, development, and improvement of each employee's motivation, problem-solving skills, and team-building abilities.

Managing Communication 19 shadowing other employees to see how they handle similar situations. I'm going to try to study and grow more about dealing with challenging situations while being cheerful. I'll develop these abilities through practicing with coworkers and consumers. Relevant – I set this goal to develop my communication skills in both my professional and personal life to successfully transfer information from one party to another, increasing customer happiness and improving my working environment. Time - The deadline will be a year, but it will be continuing because I will need to practice constantly to ensure that I can apply newly learned abilities and should maintain evaluating until I am satisfied that I can effectively communicate. However, after a year, I will evaluate my progress and setbacks. From there, I will establish new goals to continue to enhance my communication abilities. Goal-When speaking with numerous people, develop listening and focus skills. Specific - I can lose track of vital information in larger groups due to a lack of concentration, leading to confusion and miscommunication for myself and others with whom I am presenting the knowledge. This is a goal because there are many circumstances at work and at home where communicating with multiple persons is necessary. This will teach me how to do it effectively so that I may achieve in my career. Measurable - Assessing key areas to focus on to improve these skills based on inspections and feedback from the manager. In addition, I'm going to ask folks in my personal life for suggestions on how I might enhance this. I also want to conduct self-evaluations throughout my working life, pinpointing when I lose the most concentration to understand why. Achievable – I will achieve this by continually practicing with family, friends, and coworkers in small groups to check whether I have improved. In my meetings with several people, I also want to analyze each of my manager's reports and feedback and write everything down to enhance my focus levels.

Managing Communication 20 Relevant - I can learn how to speak with a variety of individuals and excel in my professional and personal lives. Time – Because this must be fixed as soon as possible, I will set a time limit of three months and ensure that it is significantly improved by then. Both of these objectives can be met within the time limit if these SMART targets are continuously monitored, and my personal development plan can then be updated with new ideas that I can improve on.