Business communication

Business communication has become a critical success factor for organizations in the 21st century. Good communication is essential in order for a business entity to function properly. “ People must communicate to plan products and services; hire, train, and motivate workers; coordinate manufacturing and delivery; persuade customers to buy; and bill them for the sale” (Locker & Kienzler, 2008). Managers are responsible for the work performance of their employees. For a manager to be able to properly motivate his employees the person must possess superb communication skills. It is important for managers to keep the lines of communication open at all times. Communication affects the day to day activities of all employees.
At my workplace communication affects my job performance and day to day activities. When I start work the first thing that I must do is grab my time card and punch it in a machine to communicate electronically the time that I arrived at work. The same routine is applied during lunchtime and at the end of my shift. Once I arrive at my workstation the first thing that I must do is report to my direct supervisor. The supervisor each day gives me a written memo upon arrival. I have to read the memo which displays my work tasks for the day. In the past the supervisor use to talk to a group of people prior to the start of work, but the company realized that the use of internal memos was a more effective way to transmit instructions. Communication influence my work day throughout the entire shift. I have to interact with my co-workers on a recurrent basis because the work that I perform is correlated and connected to the work other employees realize. I also utilize communication to interact with the customers of the company. One of my duties is to read and reply to customer emails. Communication helps me manage my daily activities because it allows me to transmit and receive messages from other people. Technology plays an integral role in the communication process. The company intranet is used by me and my colleagues to transmit messages internally. All messages send between employees are monitored and documented by the intranet system.
There are a variety of trends I notice are affecting communication in the workplace. One of those trends is the increase importance of diversity. In the United States diversity has become a driving force that is impacting the composition of the workforce. “ Workplace diversity is a people issue, focused on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization” (Cornell, 2010). I worked on a company three years ago that did not handle diversity adequately. This led to a lack of communication between the employees and to many interpersonal conflicts among the staff. Another communication trend that I noticed at my current workplace is focusing on the customer needs. The customer email policy of the company was reduced to reply to customer emails from within 72 hours to 24 hours. A third important trend that has improved communication at work is teamwork. A team is effective when all the members cooperate with each other and constantly maintain communication with each other. The company assigns me to a team project at least once a month. Most team projects are completed within one to three days.
These trends in communication illustrate a clear message that the workplace of the 21st century is changing the business world. The trend that has impacted corporations the most is technology. Technology has forced companies to become more responsive to the needs of the customers. The rise in mobile technology is also positively impacting business communications. Several of the salesmen at my workplace utilize a smartphone to transmit data from remote locations into the company’s information system. The internet connectivity of these devices created a new era in communications. It is important for companies to realize that face to face communication is still the most effective way to ensure messages are understood by the receptors. Managers should schedule recurrent meetings with their staff to communicate important information to them and to receive valuable feedback from the staff. Often the best ideas are hidden in the minds of the floor employees.
References
Cornell. edu (2012). Workplace Diversity. Retrieved April 21, 2012 from http://www. ilr. cornell. edu/library/research/subjectGuides/workplaceDiver sity. html
Locker, A., Kienzler, A. (2008). Business and Administrative Communication (8th ed.). McGraw Hill.