Business Communication Questions & Answers

ANS.1

The interactive model of communication portrays communication as a sequential process in which one person is a sender and another is a receiver (Wood, 2010). Transmitting a message by the sender follows a route of a communication channel, upon receiving of a clear message it is replied with receiver’s feedback.

Manual mode of communication was being practiced in Rural Retreat. Housekeeping staff was given task through cards and once the task was accomplished the staff gave his feedback on the same card that was then racked in the front desk counter. The system was working well but it was time consuming. The guest registration and booking system was inducted to save the time and reducing the communication gap making the system more effective.

The new system was newly introduced to the staff who were previously used to the manual system. There was no proper training provided to the staff for using the new system. The new system was designed to link each floor with the front desk. It worked like, as soon as a guest checks out, the front desk attendants (sender) transmits the room information via internet (channel) to the floor in charge (receiver), the message the sender (front desk) is sending should not be affected by the (noise) i.e., he should type complete room details in a clear understandable language. When the concerned staff receives the message a confirmation reply (feedback) will be sent. The problem aroused, when a proper feedback was not sent to the front desk. The communication between a sender and the receiver depends on their knowledge and skills of using the computerized system, this is called field of experience. The problem was in the field of experience as the floor staff was not properly trained and couldn’t handle the new system. 

Reference:

• Wood T. J (2010), Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, USA, Cengage.

ANS.2. (b)

The power distance in a corporate environment may disrupt the performance of the employees or managers. Every individual worker in an organization is investing his share in the form of his work in the company, and seeks a portion of power to be shared with him. Individuals in small power distance corporate cultures tend to value equal power distributions, symmetrical relations, and a mixture of positive and negative messages in feedback sessions, and equitable reward and cost distributions based on individual merits (Deardorff, 2009).

As in the case of Rural Retreat, the manager Tom Murphy was enjoying all the powers. Though he was very friendly and humble with the guests but with his staff he was more dominating. As a single manager exercised many powers, a communication gap developed between the managers and the staff. Thus, affecting the staff’s performance and their confidence in the management.  

As stated by Clegg & Kono (1998) that the social and power distance that exists in an organization determines the quality and quantity of its communications and the extent of its members co-operation in decision-making and in implementation. There was a negative impact on the working environment of Rural Retreat, as the staff had no decision powers and they were not allowed to share their ideas or comments. Even a communication gap between the staff members is also witnessed in Rural Retreat.  In many successful organizations managers and employees have a relationship on the basis of equality where consensus on both parts is required for making decisions. The working environment could improve and perform much better if the staff members are also considered as part of the team.  

The power distance environment in Rural Retreat has restricted the manager in engaging in two-way communication with the staff, creating hurdles in enhancing the performance level. The hotel’s working performance could be improved by removing the factor of power inequality.

Reference:

• Deardorff K. D. (2009), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence, USA, SAGE.
• Clegg S. & Kono T, (1998). Transformations of Corporate Culture: Experiences of Japanese Enterprises, Berlin, Walter.

ANS.3.

Non-verbal behavior and body language usually conveys the message in a polite manner. It has a deep impact on the listener or a group of individuals (employees). Effectiveness of nonverbal behaviors in the workplace can have a significant impact, for better or for worse, on the business and its employees. Nonverbal behaviors include facial expressions, body movements, choice of clothing, tone of voice, eye movements, and any other signals that people send and might be interpreted correctly or incorrectly (Brislin, 2008).

In a workplace we are constantly communicating using our body language, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. The impact of conveying a message without using a vocabulary, instead using body language, is not confirmed, either the receiver understands what is being conveyed or he takes it in the wrong direction.   

Considering the case of Rural Retreat, when Tom passed by the front desk, where Joan and Sandra were discussing over the new system, he gave a deep glance to them. Though Tom didn’t care about the staff members chatting with each other, but only when they are not ignoring the guests. In this instance he didn’t want them to chat on the front desk, as the front desk is the first impression one gets upon entering the hotel. 

The second instance was when Joan puts her hands on Sandra’s, as it was their first meeting and Joan was sharing a personal comment about Tom, she wants to be more friendly and wanted to keep her comment confidential between them.

The third instance was when Joan told Sandra about the employees meeting that are often called by Tom. The impression what Sandra conceived about Tom was that he is very particular about time consumption and for the same purpose he opted for the new booking and housekeeping system. But when Sandra learned about the staff leaving their part of job and attending the meeting, she considered it as wastage of time and she gave a meaning full eye expression, saying, “Aren’t the staff wasting productive time in attending the meeting?”     

Reference:

Brislin R. (2008). Working with Cultural Difference, USA, Praeger.

ANS.4.

Explain how an individual in the case study experiences communication barriers with a fellow employee. Analyze the individual experience and explore how these issues may be related to organizational practices and problems.

Communication is a continuous process of transmitting messages. The communication process is affective only if the message reaches its destination (receiver) in the same shape as it is being sent. If any distortion is experienced in the communicating process, the message will lose its value. No matter how good the communication system in an organization is, unfortunately barriers can and do often occur (Muema, 2012).

Referring the case of Rural Retreat, the manager is not in favor of, face to face communication among the staff. He is keener on conveying the messages and notices, through the computer system, that mainly comprise of emails, fax, voice calls or text messages. Moreover saving the productive time of the staff members, he doesn’t like the staff to chat with each other, which sometimes can be productive for the organization. The staffs are always on their toes as manual system is being practiced in the working process of the hotel, so they have to make sure that they read the notice board on the regular basis and keep updated about any new meetings coming up.

Many organizations realize that improved communication is a key to better employee performance and increased productivity (Ciletti, 2011). Communication is one of the important factors for the success of any business. In the presence of communication barriers the staffs are unaware of the issues the company might be facing and as a result they may not be able to present improved performance within the organization. Bringing any kind of change in the management is a big issue especially when the management is not willing to bring in the change that might be important for the organization performance. For effective performance and achieving results on time with ease it is very important that the flow of communication from both ends is not only smooth but at the same time it should be encouraged to have face to face communication on regular basis, to avoid any miss communication at either end.

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Reference:

• Muema, T. (2012). Effects of Poor Communication in an Organization, Germany, Grin.
• Ciletti, D. (2011). Marketing Yourself, USA, Cengage.