Business Communication Issues - Coursework Example

Business Communication Topics Summary Student’s Name Institution Date Business Communication Topics Summary Topic 1 Summary There are different channels through which different messages in a firm are passed through to their target recipients. Groups and teams are formed in many organisations to enable employees to perform their duties more effectively. There are different groups in business firms which are mainly defined by their size and functions they are required to perform. Some groups are small or large depending on the number of members they have. Other groups are also official or unofficial based on the level of authority they have been given in their firms. There are other groups which are permanent or temporary based on the specific duration they are expected to perform certain functions. Some groups are also defined by the task they are expected to perform or by relationships members have with each other. There are many benefits which a firm stands to gain from various employee groups (Communicating in groups 2013). A group enables a firm to make quality decisions because all group members are able to propose different solutions to a problem. Groups encourage unity and cohesion in a firm because all individuals are involved in making decisions which makes them more satisfied with their duties. However, in some instances, some group members put in less efforts compared to their colleagues, which makes them take credit for achievements they have not contributed to. There are various norms which are observed in groups which guide the way members operate to ensure they achieve good outcomes in different tasks. Group members need to have effective risk assessment procedures to pre-empt any problems that are likely to divide members. There are five main stages of group development namely forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. All stages of group development have an impact on the way members understand and perform their responsibilities. As a result, this determines the level of success they are likely to register in their duties at work (Communicating in groups 2013). Topic 2 Summary Meetings can either be formal or informal and they have standard rules of procedure which are observed by all participants. There are specific agendas are discussed in different meetings to ensure all participants understand what they are expected to achieve. Business firms need to put in place specific guidelines to be followed by all participants invited to attend a meeting. They also need to have feedback systems through which attendants can contribute their own opinions regarding meetings they have attended to improve the way future meetings are organised. Meetings serve as forums through which different changes in a firm are proposed and enforced (Effective meetings 2013). Other members also propose some amendments to various changes to make them more suitable in a firm. Abstention is the act by a participant in a meeting to refuse to participate in voting. Acclamation is a situation where a decision is endorsed unanimously through cheering or clapping by a majority of members in attendance. An adjournment is a situation when a meeting is stopped to be continued at a later date. In camera meetings are confidential sittings in which only important guests participate. A chairperson facilitates the meeting by informing all members of the agenda to be discussed and helping them focus on the meeting. He also allows members to discuss different issues that bring conflicts between them to ensure all of them reach consensus. Meetings need to be well planned to ensure all members stick to the agenda outlined to achieve positive outcomes (Effective meetings 2013). All agenda items should have time limits to enable all members debate them in a clear and focused manner. Topic 3 Summary Oral communications in many public firms are done through speeches, work presentations and motivational talks. For a person to have good oral skills, he needs to understand how to appeal to his audience to make people more interested in his message. He also needs to understand backgrounds of people in a specific audience to find out the specific mode of communication that appeals to them. Some audiences prefer to be spoken to by people who have authority who are able to take strong decisive action. An oral communicator also needs to find out if there are any decision makers in his audience who are influential in their respective industries and disciplines. He needs to know how to control his audience to ensure people in attendance do not treat him with hostility (Oral presentations 2013). Before attending any public speaking function, a speaker needs to have a plan that will enable him satisfy expectations of all people attending a function. He needs to prepare a presentation of the main topics he intends to speak about. A speaker also needs to rehearse to understand the tone and gestures he is going to use to emphasise different ideas he seeks to pass across to his audience (Oral presentations 2013). A speaker should also assess the quality and quantity of content he intends to pass across to his audience within a specific timeline. This will ensure he has enough material to last the entire speech without deviating from his main topic. A speaker needs to understand how to create rapport with his audience to enable him sustain the interest of all people in attendance. In his speech, he can include an interactive segment where members in the audience can ask various questions regarding different topics he has spoken about. Topic 4 Summary Negotiation plays a crucial role in business communication. It involves one person conferring with another person to reach an agreeable decision that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved. All participants negotiate to achieve a positive outcome to ensure all parties involved benefit from the process. In many instances, the main parties have to make concessions to achieve common understanding with other parties involved. This allows them to focus on sticky issues that cause them to disagree to find out constructive approaches that can be used to come up with good solutions to the problem. Negotiations enable different parties to resolve their differences in an amicable way to help them move forward in a progressive manner. All parties have a responsibility to honour the terms to the agreement to avoid any likelihood of conflicts arising in future (Negotiation 2013). A business firm needs to take note of various outcomes it is likely to achieve out of a negotiated process. If there is a better outcome that may be achieved through an alternative process, it is advisable to opt for the alternative. However, if the alternative process is likely to result in a worse outcome, then a business firm should not opt for it. In any negotiation, there is a bottom line beyond which parties involved are not willing to go. If a party goes beyond its bottom line, then it is likely to lose more ground to the other parties it is negotiating with. In a distributive bargaining, parties involved in a negotiation concede very little but seek to gain more than their counterparts out of the process. In integrative bargaining all parties involved are willing to make more concessions to gain a mutually beneficial settlement out of the negotiation process (Negotiation 2013). Topic 5 Summary Employment communication involves the formulation of different types of messages used by employers and job seekers to communicate with each other. Job seekers look for jobs to change their lives for the better to improve their social and economic status. They look for employment opportunities to help them advance their skills and abilities to gain professional benefits. Employers are always looking for people who have the required sets of skills to hire them to perform various responsibilities in their firms. They hire employees who are flexible, organised and knowledgeable in their duties. They also hire employees who are experienced in various positions they are applying for to benefit from their skills. Job seekers need to present their skills in a manner that interests their prospective employers to make them more interested in hiring them. They need to communicate effectively through written and oral media to leave a positive impact on their prospective employers (Means 2010). Job seekers need to have well written cover letters, resumes, academic certificates and other valuable documents that show their qualifications. Cover letters are used by job seekers to apply for open vacancies which have been advertised or to inquire about open jobs in various firms. Cover letters help job seekers to communicate with their prospective employers about their professional skills which make them suitable candidates to perform specified roles. Résumés are also used by job seekers to display their personal, educational and professional information in a well organised format. A résumé helps a prospective job seeker to show an employer specific skills he possesses that make him the ideal candidate to work in a particular firm. A job seeker need to be adequately prepared for a job interview to give a good impression of himself and what he has to offer to his potential employer. He needs to have adequate background information regarding the firm to ensure he answers questions directed at him appropriately (Employment communication 2013). References ‘Communicating in groups 2013’, Lecture 8 Business Communication. ‘Effective meetings 2013’, Lecture 9 Business Communication. ‘Employment communication 2013’, Lecture 12 Business Communication. ‘Negotiation 2013’, Lecture 11Business Communication. ‘Oral presentations 2013’, Lecture 10 Business Communication. Means, TL 2010, Business communication, Cengage Learning, Mason. Read More