Business Communication: Types, Sources, and Purposes

BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASKS ............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Different types of business information, their sources and purposes....................................1
P2 Present complex internal business information using three different methods.....................2
P3 Produce corporate communications.......................................................................................3
P4 Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or service..............4
P5 Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information...............4
P6 Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.......................5
P7 Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information,
using examples for different types of audience...........................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Communication is the exchange of ideas, opinions and information through written or
spoken words, symbols or actions. Communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact,
communication is more concerned with a dual listening process (Cardon and Marshall, 2015).
For communication to be effective, the message must mean the same thing to both the sender and
the receiver. The sharing of information between people within an enterprise that is performed
for the commercial benefit of the organization. In addition, business communication can also
refer to how a company shares information to promote its product or services to potential
consumers. The present report is based on the business communication of Cadbury plc. In this
project, different types of business information, their sources and purposes are explained.
TASKS
P1 Different types of business information, their sources and purposes
This report will contain different types of information used in The Cadbury, it will consist of
verbal, on-screen, multimedia, web-based and written information, I will also describe where this
information came from as well as their purpose. I will also analyse these pieces of information
and examine each part in detail (Bargiela-Chiappini, Nickerson and Planken, 2013).
 Verbal : It can be argued to be the best way to communicate because it makes sure that
everyone has a full understanding of the information because questions can be asked and
the information can be discussed (Laster and Russ, 2010). The problems with verbal
communication is that it is time-consuming and in certain situations may be difficult to
tell the masses. Cadbury uses verbal information to communicate, when they are coming
up with new advertisements for the business. Cadbury would need to have meetings with
people that are writing the advert and may use focus groups to determine what customers
want from the bank.
 Written: Written communication allows businesses to communicate developments,
expectations and legalities to employees and contracts in the outside world. It is the
symbols of verbal communication. Written communication involves any type of message
that makes use of the written word. It is the most important and the most effective of
business communication. An advantage of written communication is there is no need for
1

personal contact, you can tell an employee he or she has to work overtime through an
email rather than wasting time and doing it face to face.
However there are some disadvantages to written communication, which can mean there
can sometimes be a delay and it can take a while to get to the recipient. It is important everyone
in the business can develop effective written communication skills. Written communication is
most commonly used in a formal way, for example dealing with customer complaints or serious
issues they may be having, apart from complaints written communication may also be used as a
way of advertising through newsletters etc. There are various types of written communication
such as letters, emails, text messages and even monthly newsletters. Emails or letters could be
used when asking coke for annual and financial reports which can then be sent to the public, as
they are cadbury plc should provide their stakeholders with all the information they may need
and is possible to acquire (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2011). The written
communication advertising is effected by the target audience just like most of the advertising, the
newsletters would be amended in order to appeal to the customers but at the same time advertise
their products which need to be sold. A business may also occasionally send text messages to
customers that chose to be involved in such a service allowing them to be informed of the latest
news and promotions available. Besides emails the second most popular and professional way of
written communication is through business letters. Business letters should be written
professionally and to the point, they are most commonly used when dealing with complaints and
staff recruitment.
 On-screen : This is where information may be produced on screen. For example, this
could include a multimedia clip, a power point, a video, or an email. All of this is
available on screen, and can be made easy to read and clear. This is a fast and effective
way of collecting information. For example if Cadbury needed to train someone in a
specific area. They may use a power point, as this is an effective and quick way of
training them. On screen communication can also have disadvantages a lot of things on
screen or over the internet is false
P2 Present complex internal business information using three different methods
Three different methods the Oyster Card is marketed:
• Web-Based
2