Effective Communication of Scientific Information - Essay Example

The person sending the message is the encoder in this case the management. Staff members who will receive the message are the decoder while the channelling could be through word of mouth or a written memo. Once the staff members receive the message, they may relay back some feedback to management. In this paper, the most effective ways Alex and Sons fashion limited could use to help solve structural and coordination problems it is currently facing will be outlined. The paper will identify the exact coordination problem that faces this business. Further, it will formulate a work plan on the best way forward.

Alex and sons fashion limited faces a few coordination/communication problems. The marketing department feels that the human resource people are not recruiting the right talent to drive sales upwards. They also feel that the finance department is not allocating enough funds to enable it to carry out promotions and marketing operations. The marketing department also has a query with the people in the logistics and operations unit (O'rourke, 2009, p.23). They believe that this department is taking too long to deliver inventory such that once it arrives on the trading floor, it is no longer fashionable and customers will not buy.

The operation department feels that their suppliers are being lured by more attractive incentives from the competitions and as such are not as responsive to their supplies team. They also feel that the marketing department is not motivating their people with incentives such as bonuses and commissions to help drive sales upwards. Further, they believe that the finance department is not allocating enough resources to recruit better designers. The finance department in turn thinks that if all departments could work together, they could meet the company’s goal that is to maximize profit. The result of this will in turn mean that they have enough funds to disburse to different departments.
The staff members also have issues with the management team. As a result of remarks made by Alex recently in an interview, the staff feel threatened and have issued a strike notice and gone ahead to strike. They want their job security and the temporary workers want to be employed on a permanent basis with benefits. To solve this myriad of problems, the following communication techniques can be employed.

Bringing in an expert in communication can be a very effective way to solve some of these problems. The expert may organize seminars, training or lectures on communication. Timely advice on the best way forward and a detailed action plan would be drawn by the expert. The guru could work on a consultancy basis and will be coming in to monitor how effective the techniques suggested are coming through (Fielding, 2005, p.34). There are several firms involved in communication, most charge a few hundred pounds to several pounds depending on the duration they will be involved with a firm.

One of the best ways to improve communication in an organization is to solicit feedback from each member on how effective they think each member communicates. A&S fashion limited could organize weekly meetings solely dedicated to this. At these meetings, members would solicit feedback and further ask for suggestions on the best communication techniques they think would apply to them (Coghill & Garson, 2006, p.54). In addition, the weekly status reports should be organized. During this meeting, what has been accomplished during the past week would be established and plans laid out on what to be done in the days or weeks to come.

Members of the management team should try to improve their personal communication skills. One way to do this could be developing good speaking and listening capability. Listening to others is one of the most important techniques anyone can learn. Listening is more than just understanding or hearing the word from your subject. It also involved offering effective body language (Collins, 2009, p.42). A firm handshake, eye contact, and occasional node often are a sign that someone is interested in your point of view. When a person feels that they are being listened to, often they tend to return the favour. Also, good preparation before a meeting, a predetermined conversation with a staff member or a conference can go a long way in helping the management communicate effectively. Any good communicator will outline key points on areas they intend to highlight during their talk. They also avoid reacting to a situation; before the presentation, often they would anticipate almost all scenarios and how they would respond.

Another aspect of effective communication the management could employ is having direct communication. Whenever a message is passed between several intermediaries, distortion is inevitable. Also, feedback takes a long time to reach the encoder. The head of operations should have a one on one daily or weekly meeting with the head of marketing to iron out issues. This should happen to all concerned departments. The strike by the workers is because of a “grapevine” in the work environment (Agarwal, 2010, p.21). Typically, it occurs whenever there is a lack of information. Alex should address this by holding a meeting with the workers and communicating effectively on the way forward for the business.