Advantages and disadvantages of various communication methods

Advantages and disadvantages of various communication methods
One of its advantages is that it facilitates immediate feedback since an individual gets the opportunity of asking a question and getting a reply immediately. However, it has the disadvantage of having less time to reconsider the response because an immediate reply is required (Guffey & Loewy, 2010).
Telephone and voice mail
This is a convenient way of receiving calls and it becomes less possible to miss an important or an urgent call. However, in a case where a customer may be calling regarding a product that they purchased, it would be very inconvenient for them to call and be re-routed to a voice mail messaging system (Koekemoer & Bird, 2004).
Meetings
In a meeting, the manager or the supervisor gets the opportunity to communicate with the employees who also have the chance to discuss the issue. However, meetings are time consuming since they take much time as the ideas contributed are analyzed and a specific one settled upon.
Video conferencing
This provides one of the best ways of reducing company expenses through reduced travel expenses (Gilmore, 2012). However, this method may be challenging for the company at first because it takes significant resources to set up.
Special events
These events help in bringing knowledge to the organization implying that creativity benefits from special events. However, these events take a significant portion of company’s resources to host.
Application of communication methods in real life situations
If an employee is repetitively behaving in a way that is against the organization’s culture, then as the manager, I would use face to face communication since immediate reply from the specific employee is essential. In addition, as the manager, I would have to show the employee that the continuous irresponsibility would not be tolerated in the organization. Therefore, it would make a greater impact if I would address them directly.
If I want to ensure that the employees are well aware of an existing company event, it would be effective if I would pass this information during the meetings. This is because all employees attend these meetings. In addition, this eliminates the expenses that would be incurred if other methods such as telephone were used.
If one of my clients were considering signing up with a competitor, I would telephone call to deal with the case. This is because such issues are critical because they could expose the company’s competitive advantage compromising its ability to remain competitive in the market. Therefore, I would call the customer and request for a reason behind the change of mind so that I could help in improving the company and possibly retain the client.
On the other hand, if I had several bids on a piece of equipment and needed a management decision on its purchase, I would result to using video conferencing to deal with the current case. This way, I would get an opportunity to speak with all individuals involved in the company’s managerial practices without having to leave the company. Through this method, I would get ideas from other members which would help me in making a well informed decision; one that would not affect the management negatively since I would involve all of them in the decision making process.
References
Gilmore, G. D. (2012). Needs and capacity assessment strategies for health education and health promotion. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2010). Business communication: Process and product. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.
Koekemoer, L., & Bird, S. (2004). Marketing communications. Lansdowne, South Africa: Juta Academic.