Business Communication

1. one
chapter
© 2015 McGraw-Hill Education.

2. communicating in the workplace
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chapter one
Communicating in the
Workplace

3. Learning Objectives
Explain and/or describe the following:
 importance of business communication
 current challenges
 three main categories
 formal vs. informal networks
 business communication contexts
 communication as problem-solving

4. Importance
Communication was
rated the most valuable
soft skill in business.
National Association of Colleges and
Employers Job Outlook Survey, 2011

5. Need
Employers list
communication and
efficiency as the top
skills to be improved
in the workplace.
-NFI Research

6. Challenges
• Media literacy
• Increased globalism
• Analytical skills
• Ethics
• Social responsibility

7. Diversity

8. Categories
 Operational
- Internal
- External
 Personal

9.  Formal network
- Well-established along operational lines
- Depends on certain established forms or
“genres” in the company
- Planned and managed
 Informal network
- Complex
- Dynamic
Networks

10. Formalvs.InformalNetworks

11. Communication Factors
• Nature of the
business
• Size and
complexity
• Industry
environment—
stable or volatile?
• Geographic
dispersion
• Organizational
culture

12. Problem Solving
Most business
communication
problems are ill-
defined and need:
 Research
 Analysis
 Creativity
 Judgment

13. Communication Model

14.  The larger context
• business-economic
• sociocultural
• historical
 The communicators’
relationship
 The communicators’
contexts
• organizational
• professional
• personal
Communication Contexts

15. The sender . . .
– senses a need to
communicate
– defines the situation
– considers possible
solutions
– selects the best one
– composes the message
(medium, content,
structure, style, form)
– sends the message
Communication Process
The receiver . . .
– receives the message
– interprets in
– decides on a response
considers
– replies (becoming a new
sender)