Communication at Workplace - Woolworths Case Study

The assignment discusses the importance of communication at the workplace through the case study of Woolworths. It highlights the issues related to management and lack of communication, which led to a decrease in morale among employees and turnover. The assignment recommends the incorporation of effective brand messaging and communication mediums to improve communication and build trust among employees and clients. It also emphasizes the importance of good communication in creating better client relationships and mitigating conflicts.

Running head: COMMUNICATION AT WORKPLACE
Communication at Workplace
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1COMMUNICATION AT WORKPLACE
Introduction
Business Communication is the vital element which assists the business individuals in
taking the proper kind of decisions by supplying the right kind of information at the
appropriate time to the accurate individuals who are involved in it (Wahyuni, Masih, &
Rejeki, 2018). Through enforcing proper communication, it will be suitable in generating
mutual understanding and cooperation between the employees as well as management for
bringing the atmosphere of mutual respect and confidence (Thomson, Outram, Gilligan, &
Levett-Jones, 2015). In the respective assignment, the main aim is to understand the main
management problem in a respective company and in the respective scenario, Woolworths is
the company wherein there has problems related to lack of communication between the top-
level management and the employees and it led to the turnover among employees and
decreased morale among the employees as well.
Summary on Woolworths Supermarket
Woolworths Australia is one of the Australian grocery stores which is headquartered
at Australia and it was found in the year 1924. The number of locations in which Woolworths
is serving is more than 995 locations and the revenue which has been earned by the company
has increased to A$56.726 billion till the year 2018 (Woolworths.com.au, 2019). Lastly, there
are different kinds of employees from various cultures are employed and it is the diverse
culture which can create different issues and it affected the business growth of the company
in the past as well.
Issues Related to Management at Woolworths
The main issue which has been seen in the case of Woolworths is issues and lack of
communication regarding the change management process. The top management of the

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company had increased the pricing of the various products and services without prior
information provided to customers. Due to the respective issue, it has affected their
confidence and faith on the company and they shifted their focus to the other companies
which were the main competitors of Woolworths such as Coles or Wesfarmers (Financial
Reviews, 2019). The main fault of management of Woolworths was the fact that the company
did not bother to inform their target customers regarding the same. The main viewpoint of
management was to gain profitability and increase in revenues, however it went against their
favor as the customers did not like the technique of Woolworths of not informing them and it
affected their growth negatively (Ritter, Small, Mortimer, & Doll, 2018).
From the respective instance, it can be learnt that the main issue due to the change
management in Woolworths was the lack of communication wherein the management did not
inform and communicate the aspects with the clients. It made the customers unhappy and due
to which it negatively impacted their revenues and profitability (Back, Steinhauser, Kamal, &
Jackson, 2018).
Recommendations- Communication Is the Key Element in Workplace
From the analysis of the issue of Woolworths, it can be seen that communication is
the most vital element which needs to be incorporated by the companies for maintaining
efficiency and growth-related aspects in a successful manner. In the changing business
environment, every company is to keep close to their social organizations and citizen action
groups as to run the business. The proper business communication helps the companies in
establishing the proper relationship with various quarters (Rapp & Yoon, 2016).
In case of Woolworths, there can be incorporation of the effective brand messaging
which is the effective element that is needed to be incorporated. Through the same, it will be
apposite for them in communicating the different changes in the internal structure of the

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company or the pricing strategy to their customers and make them informed regarding each
and every decision of the company (Odewale, Rani, Migiro, & Adeyeye, 2019). The prior
notice can be provided though the social networking sites or the advertisements through
brochures which will make them effective (Cameron et al., 2018).
In addition, being able to communicate in an effective manner, it will be suitable for
improving the productivity of the company. The managers of the company need to
understand the different kinds of queries of customers and solve them by providing them with
the appropriate solutions (Norouzinia et al., 2016). For instance- In Woolworths, the
management of company needs to provide the pricing strategy to the customers beforehand as
this would have made them aware regarding their viewpoints and the changes could have
been done appropriately (de Souza Almeida, Becker, & Villanueva, 2019).
The good kind of communication is helpful in creating better client relationships and
effective in mitigating and resolving the conflicts appropriately. The understanding of the
needs is the most suitable element which helps the customer feel understood and present the
new information in such a manner which makes the clients more receptive in nature
(Merckaert et al., 2015). Through the incorporation of the different verbal and written
communication skills, Woolworths can be successful in the near future while making the
changes internally or externally. The internal and external communication with employees
and clients is the two most crucial elements which needs to be managed by the companies as
it will make them more innovative and the create better relationships between the managers
and buyers in the market as well (Linton et al., 2016).
The bottom line of the communication aspect is that good kind of communication can
be accurate in concisely presenting the different information and mitigating the various
conflicts that can be affecting the relationships between the buyers and the company

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(Jackson, 2016). From the case of Woolworths, it has been seen that the mitigation of conflict
can create positive team environment and it is the integral part of the sales and marketing and
improvement in the culture of the company as well (Douglas, Bracy, & Snow, 2016). The
loyalty of the customers will be increased when there will be face to face proper
communication as it will make the customers feel that they are integral part of the company
and they will be loyal towards the efforts which are being put in by the company for gaining
trust and loyalty from the customers.
Conclusion
Therefore, communication is the most vital and key element which needs to be
incorporated by the different organizations for mitigating the conflicts and create an
innovative environment wherein the employees will be happy to work and gain
competitiveness. The defining of the objectives and roles are required to be clear for
achieving the goals which will be helpful in communicating the same with the employees and
gain trust among team members, employees and the different customers. The choosing of the
communication medium in a proper manner will be effective for building trust among
employees and the clients who are the most integral part of the company.

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