Business Communication

This report discusses the challenges of business communication faced by Whittaker's, a leading chocolate brand. It explores the communication methods used, competitive profile, and identifies communication issues. The report also provides a recommended response plan and implementation strategy. The main focus is on conflict management and leadership issues.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Business communication
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Identification of the communication methods.................................................................................2
Determination of the competitive profile........................................................................................3
Identification of the communication issues.....................................................................................5
Recommended response plan..........................................................................................................6
Implementation plan........................................................................................................................7
Determination of the communication methods................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
In the current business scenario, there are various challenges being faced by the business
organizations based on different factors. One of the areas of emergence of issues for the business
organizations is the communication. This is due to the reason that in the current business
scenario, stakeholders are more diverse and cannot be managed by standardized communication
strategy. This challenge of communication is more for the large scale business organizations.
Whittaker’s is one of the leading chocolate brands from New Zealand and is considered as the
second largest chocolate brand in the country (Ward, 2018). As of now, they are having the
presence in Malaysia beyond the national boundary of New Zealand. The product portfolio of
Whittaker’s includes different types of chocolates including specialty, chunks and slabs.
Moreover, the chocolates are available in different forms and flavors catering to different to
customer specifications.
This report will discuss about the competitive business profile of Whittaker’s along with
the major communication related issues being faced by them. In addition, the response and
implementation plan in regards to the identified issues will also be discussed in this report.
Identification of the communication methods
There are different communication methods being used by Whittaker’s in terms of
communicating with their internal and external stakeholders. One of the major communication
methods being used by Whittaker’s is the social media platforms due to the reason that with the
help of the social media platforms, direct engagement and communication can be initiated
between the brand and the customers. In the current business scenario, taste and preference
pattern of the customers is changing with time (Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2016). Thus with the

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help of the social media communication, these changes are getting identified and Whittaker’s can
be able to cope up with these changes. Relationship marketing is also being initiated by
Whittaker’s with the customers through their social media handles. Online click marketing is
also being used by Whittaker’s in communicating with their customers. This refers to the process
of putting the online banners in different sites, which link the potential customers directly to the
official website of Whittaker’s. This is helping them in having the maximum presence and
exposure in the market. Traditional communication process is also being used by Whittaker’s
including print and television media. This is helping Whittaker’s in gaining the maximum market
reach in the target market and communicating their new launches to the customers. Thus, it can
be concluded that different communication methods are being used by Whittaker’s in terms of
communicating with their different types of stakeholder groups (Stieglitz & Dang Xuan, 2013).
However, on the other hand, it is also identified that communication strategies of Whittaker’s in
terms of their internal stakeholders are not extensive in nature. There are no specific
communication methods for the internal stakeholders being identified. This is a major gap
identified in the existing communication process of Whittaker’s.
Determination of the competitive profile
There are number of competitors operating in the business sector where Whittaker’s is
currently operating in New Zealand. Some of the major and close substitutes of Whittaker’s are
the Cadbury, Wellington and Schoc. All these brands are having their extensive presence in the
market of New Zealand and offering different types of chocolates. Thus, it can be concluded that
Whittaker’s is facing intense competition in the confectionery market of New Zealand. All these
brands especially Cadbury is the major competitor for Whittaker’s (Gallo, Antolin-Lopez, &
Montiel, 2018). This is due to the reason that Cadbury is the market leader in New Zealand and

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Whittaker’s is competing to gain the market leadership status. Moreover it is also identified that
New Zealand is having number of craft chocolate brands, which are operating in the niche
segment and offering specialty products. For example, Schoc is a craft and specialty chocolate
brand in New Zealand. The major challenge for Whittaker’s from these craft brands are the
higher product quality and high market penetration (Barrientos, 2014). This is due to the reason
that majority of these chocolates are being manufactured manually against the automated
systems of Whittaker’s and Cadbury. Thus, the attention to details is more, which is further
attracting the local customer segments.
It is also identified as of 2017; Whittaker’s is holding approx 40 percent of the total
market share in New Zealand. This denotes that Whittaker’s is having a considerable market
share in New Zealand. The intensity of the competition is high for Whittaker’s due to the reason
that they are competing with the mass market brands such as Cadbury as well as with the craft
chocolate brands such as Schoc. This is due to the reason that Whittaker’s is having both mass
market chocolate products as well as specialty products. This is further increasing the
competition for Whittaker’s (Poelmans & Rousseau, 2016). On the other hand, there are numbers
of trends being identified, which are having the influence in affecting the profitability of
Whittaker’s. One of the major trends is the change in the taste and preference pattern of the
customers. For example, if the preference pattern of the customer changes from dairy based
chocolates to dark chocolates, then it will affect the profitability of Whittaker’s because their
majority of the products are dairy based chocolates. Hence, their sales volume will get reduced
and will affect the average profitability. Another major influencing trend is the awareness and
consciousness of the customers. This refers to the fact that in the current time, customers are
more aware about the health and consumes chocolate accordingly (de Andrade Silva et al.,

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2017). Thus, with the increase in the health consciousness of the customers, the sales volume of
Whittaker’s is getting determined and influenced.
Identification of the communication issues
One of the major communication issues being faced by Whittaker’s is related to the
conflict management. This is due to the fact that they are having ineffective process and
approach of internal communication process. Effectiveness of the conflict management depends
on the efficiency of the communication channels between the internal stakeholders. However, in
the previous section, it is discussed that there are no specific communication channels being
identified for Whittaker’s (Saeed et al., 2014). In the case of the emergence of conflict among the
internal stakeholders, lower level employees cannot get communicated with the upper level
management. This is causing delay in the resolution of the conflicts and also having negative
impacts on the business performance of Whittaker’s. This is due to the reason that absence of
proper communication channel is not only reducing the flow of information between the
stakeholders but also the upper level management is not being able to gather information from
the lower level. This is reducing the business effectiveness of Whittaker’s (Spaho, 2013). The
long term impact of this issue will be in terms of maximization of the gap between the internal
stakeholders. If the lower level employees cannot communicate their issues and feedback to the
upper level managers, then they will be demoralized in their workplace. Thus, the average
organizational performance of Whittaker’s will be affected.
On the other hand, it is also identified that leadership is another major issue for
Whittaker’s due to the fact that ineffective leadership approach practiced in the workplace. It is
identified that the management of Whittaker’s is driven by the vision of Whittaker family and is

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managed as a family business. However, the corporate objectives and family business
approaches are not same and this is reflecting in their inability in gaining the market leadership
status. It is reported that even after the negative branding of Cadbury in New Zealand for their
closure of manufacturing facility, Whittaker’s is not able to gain the market leadership status
(Schlaerth, Ensari & Christian, 2013). The business strategies followed by Whittaker family are
not contributing in their business growth and this is affecting their long term viability. The
existing leadership roles in Whittaker’s are not appropriate with the current competitive scenario,
which is affecting their business performance in the market.
Recommended response plan
In the above sections, there are two major issues being identified for Whittaker’s and
based on these issues, a response plan will be designed. There will be two separate response plan
for the two issues. It is identified that conflict management ineffectiveness is one of the major
issues for Whittaker’s. Thus, on the basis of this issue, it is recommended that Thomas Kilmann
model will be used. According to this model, collaboration approach will be the most effective
due to the reason that more collaboration between the internal stakeholders will increase the flow
of information between them (Prause & Mujtaba, 2015). Collaboration also refers to the process
of consensus based approach in the decision making process, which can help in proper flow of
the information between the internal stakeholders. Thus, the root causes of conflict will be more
identifiable in the long term process. Implementation of this plan will involve the engagement of
the employee. At the initial stage, they should be communicated and engaged in having their
views in the decision making process. This should be stated with a certain group of employees
and should be implemented based on phased manner (Altmäe, Türk & Toomet, 2013).

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Implementation in phases will ensure that the potential shortcomings in the new approach and
modifying them prior to the vast implementation.
It is also recommended that the existing style of leadership followed by Whittaker’s
should be changed and situational leadership style should be implemented. This is due to the fact
that with the help of the situational style of leadership, the management roles in Whittaker’s will
be able to change their leadership approach according to the business situations. In the current
global market state of affairs, the business growth strategies can also be initiated by the leaders at
Whittaker’s with the help of the situational style of leadership (McCleskey, 2014). In
implementing the change in the leadership roles, it is recommended that the feedback from the
employees should be taken. This is due to the reason that the employees should be comfortable
enough in accepting with the expectations of the situational leadership style. Based on the
feedback from the employees, the design and the approach of the leadership style should be
initiated.
Implementation plan
Implementation of the above recommended plans will have multiple benefits for
Whittaker’s. One of the major benefits will be the increase in the organizational efficiency due to
the reason that increase in the effectiveness of communication process among the internal
stakeholders will increase their average level of performance. The challenges and issues being
faced by the lower level employees will get mitigated in more effective manner and forms. In
addition, the upper level managers will also be benefited from the process because their vision
and strategic intent will be properly communicated to the lower levels. Thus, the effectiveness of
the entire process of employee management will get enhanced with the implementation of the

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collaboration approach. On the other hand, implementation of the situational style of leadership
will also have a few positive impacts for Whittaker’s with one of them is proper management of
the employees. With the help of the situational style of leadership, the business of Whittaker’s
will be success driven because of the fact that the employee management approach will be on the
basis of the business situations. For example, during the business turbulence for Whittaker’s,
directive style of leadership will be followed that will enable in swift and faster decision making
process and the democratic style of leadership during the favorable business situations. This will
enable in designing the future and long term strategies for the business. It should also be noted
that initiation of the situational style of leadership will have favorable impact in terms of the
employee motivation and engagement also. This is because of the fact that the connection
between the leader and the subordinates will be more in this case. If the employees can be lead
based on their situations, then they will likely to have positive impression towards their
workplace. Thus, it can be concluded that the entire business process of Whittaker’s will get
enhanced and efficient.
Determination of the communication methods
It is identified that the employees are the most important group of stakeholder for
Whittaker’s. This is due to the reason that currently Whittaker’s is facing issues in terms of the
employee management and communication only. However, it should also be noted that employee
is one of the most important and crucial for Whittaker’s because their expertise, skill and
productivity determines the extent to which the organization will be effective in the market.
Whittaker’s is operating in confectionary sector and thus the skills of the employees influence
the product quality and customer satisfaction. Hence, it is important for Whittaker’s to focus

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more on their employees and communicate and engage with them. The more effective will be the
communication process for the employees; the lower will be their issues and challenges.
It is identified that the most effective mode of communication with the employees will be
email. With of email communication, all the involved stakeholders will be involved and each of
them can be treated in personalized manner. This should be noted that email communication is
personalized in nature and it is effective in discussing the employee issues. Moreover, email
communication will be effective in communicating the detailed information to the employees
and with the help of its two ways approach, the feedback from the employees can also be
analyzed. It is recommended that in the initial step, the target employee group should be
identified and each of them should be sent email in regards to the issues. In this case, the
employees will also feel comfortable in giving the feedback due to the personalized approach.
The content of the message will be informative in nature that will include the major
issues identified and the recommended strategies to mitigate them. Inclusion of both the issues
and recommended steps will be beneficial in providing the clear scenario to the employees.
Based on the identified issues and mitigation strategies, the feedback from the employees can be
gathered and will help in redesigning the strategic approach. Thus, it can be concluded that the
content and the communication mediums will be appropriate for Whittaker’s.
Conclusion
This report concludes that in terms of the business factors, Whittaker’s is operating in an
intensely competitive market scenario. This includes a number of competitors offering the same
level of value proposition to the customers. It is also identified that social media and other
traditional mediums are being extensively used by Whittaker’s in communicating with their

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customers. However, the internal communication process of Whittaker’s is not that effective.
This report has also identified the two major communication based issues being faced by
Whittaker’s and both these issues are having adverse long term implications. A response plan
and implementation plan is also identified and discussed in this report. It is recommended that
Whittaker’s should follow collaboration approach and situational style of leadership in
mitigating the identified issues. Email communication is recommended for Whittaker’s in
communicating with their employees regarding the identified issues.

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