Business Communication at Marks & Spencer

This solved assignment delves into the crucial role of communication within businesses, focusing specifically on Marks & Spencer. It examines the various communication tools employed by the organization to bridge the gap between itself and its customers, encompassing both electronic and non-electronic media. The analysis also highlights legal and ethical challenges faced by organizations in their communication practices. The report draws upon information gathered through diverse methods such as verbal, nonverbal, written communication, and online sources.

BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1) Types of business information, their sources and purpose of information .........................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P2) Internal business information using three different methods .............................................2
- Covered in ppt. .........................................................................................................................2
P3) Corporate communication....................................................................................................2
P 4) Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product............................3
P5) The legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information..........................3
P6) The operational issue in relation to the use of business information ..................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
.........................................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Business communication is information sharing between people within and outside an
organization that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. It can also be
defined as relaying of information within a business by its people. Mark and Spencer is the
major British multinational retailer company, it specialises in the selling clothing, home
products, and luxury food products (Guffey and Loewy, 2012). The main purpose of this
organisation is to establish a better communication channel between the customers and business.
This channel help them to identify the need and want of the customers and try to fulfil them.
TASK 1
P1) Types of business information, their sources and purpose of information
Verbal Verbal information is literally face to face which is seen as the best way to
communicate. This way there is less scope for misunderstanding and it allows for verbal and
non-verbal messages.
Written information is the use of physical symbols to represent words. Words are sounds
that make up speech.
Other forms of physical representation, such as diagrams, graphs and charts are also types
of visual representation (Okoro, Washington and Cardon, 2011).
On screen On screen information may be produced on-screen. This can be seen in
multimedia TV and CD-ROMs that combine text, graphics, animation, audio and video.
Multimedia Multimedia information can be text, graphics, audio, animation, video, data and
many more. It is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms.
Web-based information is an information system that uses internet web technologies to
deliver information Types of information used by Mark and Spencer plc Verbal- Mark and
Spencer information Written- On screen- Mark and Spencer plc uses on screen Communication
with employees and customers for example on Mark and Spencer plc.? website, they have a blog.
The purpose of business information need to provide more information of what the
organisation is about and what they are going to do in the future. This is can be set out in many
ways for example written information, Verbal information, Multimedia information and Web-
based information.
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The purpose of business information is can be informing future development to their
organisation for example Mark and Spencer plc uses the media to communicate to other people
about development such as introducing the new ?Mark and Spencer bank box insurance? that
tracks driving behaviour to encourage responsible driving and help a better chance to get a
cheaper insurance for people (Sigmar, Hynes and Hill, 2012).
TASK 2
P2) Internal business information using three different methods
- Covered in ppt.
P3) Corporate communication.
The cooperate communications of two companies are evaluated below.
On evaluating Mark and Spencer and Asda while comparing and contrasting the two
organisations on their corporate communication with their customers and the differences in the
how the two organisations communicate with their audience and which organisations corporate
communications is most effective. 1. Advertising ? This is a form of promotion where a business
will advertise to let people know about their product whether it is on TV, leaflet or email. This
form of corporate communication is directed at customers or potential customers.
Advertising can be used to show promotional offers or new products and even when a company
is introducing a new service. So if Asda and Mark and Spencer?s advertise would be to promote
their products, introduce a new service, and to pro+mote new offers. These are leaflets form the
two organisations Mark and Spencer and Asda.
They are very similar in how the two organisations have set them out in due to them
being similar businesses and more or less providing the same service as each other they are
similar in design (Robles, 2012).
The style of the Asda is simple whereas the Mark and Spencer one looks completed by having
irrelevant images and not picture/animation of actual salt. The layout is better on the Asda one
because it is less clustered unlike the Mark and Spencer one. 1. Livery on vehicles ? The liver on
a vehicle of company represents the whole company and if that person has not seen the company
their first impression will be on the livery alone so it needs to be effective.
It is clear to see who the vans belong due to both of them using their corporate colours
and both are very bright and the structure of both of them is organised and neither are clustered
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and completely unreadable. The designs meet the purpose which to allow people to know that
they deliver to your home and that is what it says on the van. The format on the Mark and
Spencer one is better because if the van is moving people are still able to read that and the Asda
one people cannot that easily read it.
P 4) Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product
External business communication is the exchange of information and messages between
an organization and its external customers outside its formal structure.
One way Mark and Spencer communicates to its external customers is their website. There are
many different methods used by the company’s website and these are: the use of images, the use
of fonts, Packaging and the page layout ( Toth, 2013).
The use of images can enhance a communication to audience, as we tend to remember more of
what we see than what we hear, therefore showing images is a better way of communicated
audience about the existing products and services.
Marketing communications and graphic designs are applied to the surface of the package and the
point of sale display.
this is a communication tool that is a basic need to building a brand and communicating with the
target audience. Logos are a necessary part of a company’s image and the key to their marketing
success.
P5) The legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information
Legal issues refer to different legislation to protect the business information from dierent
source of hackers. The types of legal law that exists are data Protection Act 1998, freedom of
information act 2000, Computer Misuse act 1990, Human Right Act 1998 and Privacy Act 1974.
The main three legal issues that I'll be discussing in detail will be Data Protection Act, Freedom
of Information Act 2000 and Computer Misuse Act 1990. Data Protection Act 1998 is the data
Protection Act controls how your personal information is used by organizations, businesses or
the government. Everyone responsible for using data has to follow strict rules called ‘data
protection principles’ (Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani, 2015).
They must make sure the information is used fairly and lawfully used for limited,
specially stated purposes used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive accurate kept
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for no longer than is absolutely necessary handled according to people’s data protection rights
kept safe and secure not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection In this case
Mark and Spencer follows all of these data protection principles to keep every bit of information
safe and guided so nothing goes wrong within the business or outside of the business. Mark and
Spencer collect personal information such as names, email address, billing address, delivery
address, telephone number, credit card details and this is all kept for the customer database.
Ethical Issues
Business ethics are moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by
businesses. Codes of practice exist in organisations to maintain business ethics on:
Use of email✓
Internet✓
Whistle-blowing✓
Organisational policies✓
Information ownership✓
Picture✓
P6) The operational issue in relation to the use of business information
The operation issues in relation to the use of a business, it will also state what they area
and why they are important and also the benefits of doing it well Security of information:
Security of information, is when a organisation has to make sure that all information held at the
origination is safe and not accessible by unauthorised personnel, if it is accessed by unauthorized
personnel than the organisation is liable The way that this relates to Mark and Spencer PLC is
through the following, Mark and Spencer PLC are a organisation that holds information about
their customers and suppliers and in order to protect the information they have security
procedures that help Mark and Spencer PLC protect the information being accessed by
unauthorised personnel Backups: In information technology, a backup, or the process of backing
up, refers to the copying and archiving of computer data so it may be used to restore the original
after a data loss event This relates to Mark and Spencer PLC as they do hold information about
suppliers and customers and other organisational information and in case of a disaster they have
to have multiple backup storage facilities, these facilities can be on and off (Hynes, 2012).
Mark and Spencer PLC have set rules and policies that will make sure that the employees
ensure it occurs Business continuances plan: The organisation is in charge of such continuance
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plans, the organisation can provide guidance and instructions to employees, they communicate
this through training and emails or meetings Business continuance referred to as describes the
processes and procedures an organization puts in place to ensure that essential functions can
continue during and after a disaster. Mark and Spencer PLC as have such procedures, in case of
an emergency one of their backup is their backup station as it has a copy of the information that
might have been destroyed in the disaster (Okoro, 2011).
P7) Electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information.
TYPES OF ELECTRONIC METHODS
Mobile Phones Mobile phones are smartphones that are used by Thorpe Park to communicate
with customers and employees. This is done using instant messages and phone
calls which does not require special hardware. Both males and females can
have access of mobile phones.
Internet The Internet is a valuable business tool for research and for comparing
products, supply and prices. Under internet, Thorpe Park uses social media
like YouTube, Facebook, twitter etc to communicate information. Customers
are to give reviews on this social medias for instance if a customer enjoys a
SAW ride at Thorpe Park, he or she will give a review out of 5 (Jones, 2011).
Video
Conferencing
This is when the Thorpe Park uses web cameras at different locations.
Video conferencing can be done by 2 people and above therefore travelling
cost is minimises for the business since i.e the meetings of the business is
done through webcam. This can be done by all genders and the age range of
any employee.
Non-electronic- Letter: Mark and Spencer PLC uses letter to contact their suppliers with
invoices, they also use letters to contact employees to inform them about personnel matters,
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Mark and Spencer PLC also use letters to contact their customers if they are replying about
queries or complaints (Robles, 2012).
Memorandum: Memorandum have now largely been replaced by e-mail and SMS Fax: Mark
and Spencer PLC would use faxes in order to send through invoice sheets to their suppliers, they
would use faxes to message or contact their internal or external customers.
CONCLUSION
As per the above report it has been concluded that the communication is very important
in every business organisation. Mark and Spencer is using various communication aids for
establishing better communication channel between organisation and customers. Electronic and
non-electric media helpful in reducing the gap between firm and its buyer. Some legal and
ethical issues are faced by the every organisation. The firm generate its information through
various methods such as verbal, non verbal, written information and web.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Alshare, K. A., Lane, P. L. and Miller, D., 2011. Business communication skills in Information
Systems (IS) curricula: Perspectives of IS educators and students. Journal of Education
for Business. 86(3). pp.186-194.
Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2012. Essentials of business communication. Cengage Learning.
Hynes, G.E., 2012. Improving employees’ interpersonal communication competencies: A
qualitative study. Business communication quarterly. 75(4). pp.466-475.
Jones, C.G., 2011. Written and computer-mediated accounting communication skills: An
employer perspective. Business Communication Quarterly. 74(3). pp.247-271.
Kernbach, S., Eppler, M. J. and Bresciani, S., 2015. The use of visualization in the
communication of business strategies: An experimental evaluation. International
Journal of Business Communication. 52(2). pp.164-187.
Okoro, E. A., 2011. Academic integrity and student plagiarism: Guided instructional strategies
for business communication assignments. Business Communication Quarterly. 74(2).
pp.173-178.
Okoro, E. A., Washington, M. C. and Cardon, P. W., 2011. Eportfolios in business
communication courses as tools for employment. Business Communication Quarterly.
74(3). pp.347-351.
Robles, M. M., 2012. Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s
workplace. Business Communication Quarterly. 75(4). pp.453-465.
Sigmar, L.S., Hynes, G.E. and Hill, K.L., 2012. Strategies for teaching social and emotional
intelligence in business communication. Business Communication Quarterly. 75(3).
pp.301-317.
Toth, C., 2013. Revisiting a genre: Teaching infographics in business and professional
communication courses. Business Communication Quarterly. 76(4). pp.446-457.
Online
what is business communication. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/business-communication.html>.
[Accessed on 5 June, 2017].
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