Importance of Effective Communication in Business Organizations: A Case Study of Woolworths Limited

This essay discusses the importance of effective communication in business organizations with a case study of Woolworths Limited. It sheds light on the concept of communication and the various problems which the business organizations face on the score of ineffective communication. It also discusses the three kinds of communication processes used by Woolworths Limited to communicate with its employees, stakeholders, and customers.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Professional Business Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
“An organization with excellent internal communication will run smoothly, allowing its
members to progress toward a mutual goal, which will ultimately affect the quality of
external communication.”
The above quoted lines of Scribendi from his famous work “Effective Business
Communication” speak volumes about the importance of the process of communication in the
various business organizations. Communication can be defined as the process by means of
which of which a particular piece of information is conveyed to other another person
(Broadbent 2013). The process of communication generally consists of three entities, namely,
the sender, the medium and the receiver (Broadbent 2013). The concept of communication is
utilized by the business organizations to convey the required information about the policies as
well as the strategies used by them to their respective stakeholders and also to convey the
necessary information about the job roles which the various employees need to perform to the
various employees of the business organization concerned (Lutgen-Sandvik and Tracy 2012).
Furthermore, the process of communication is also used by the various business organizations
to effectively convey the requisite information about the business organization concerned and
also the recently launched products as well as the services to the customers of the business
organization concerned (Broadbent 2013). This particular essay will shed light on the concept
of communication and the various problems which the business organizations on the score of
ineffective communication.
Woolworth Limited is a company which was formed in the year 1924 by “Percy
Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams”
(Woolworths Limited 2018). This particular company is the third largest retail company in
the nation of Australia on the basis of the revenue which it generates on a yearly basis
(Woolworths Limited 2018). The company serves the various needs as well as the
requirements of the customers in the retail sector. Furthermore, the company has its branches

2PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
in 69 different locations in the nation of Australia and also in the nation of New Zealand
(Woolworths Limited 2018). In addition to that, the company among has a world rating of
19th position in terms of the largest retail companies of the world on the basis of the net
revenue which they generate on an yearly basis (Woolworths Limited 2018).
The company Woolworths Limited uses three kinds of communication for the
effective functioning of their business organization (Woolworths Limited 2018). The
company under discussion here takes the help of internal communication to convey the
necessary information regarding the job roles and also the aims as well as the objectives of
the company to the employees in the most effective manner (Andriof and McIntosh 2017).
Furthermore, the process of internal communication also helps the company to convey the
new strategies as well as the policies implemented by them to the employees to bring about
the overall growth and the development of the company (Lutgen-Sandvik and Tracy 2012). It
is significant to note that to the company uses various methods for this particular kind of
communication. The use of electronic media to convey the desired information is one of the
most used methods. In addition to that, the company also conducts regular meetings as well
as seminars with its various employees from the diverse parts of the nation to convey most
effectively the goals as well as the objectives so that they are in sync with the individual
goals of the employees (Andriof and McIntosh 2017). The effective conveying of this kind of
information also helps in the process of improving the organizational performance and also
the individual performance of the employees and thereby helps in the overall growth as well
as the development of the company concerned (Andriof and McIntosh 2017). It is significant
to note that if the goals as well as the objectives of the business organization are not
conveyed in the most effective manner to the employees then the employees will not be able
to perform as per the desired expectations of the company or the business organizations
concerned (Hammersley and Reid 2014). This is one of the common problems of ineffective

3PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
communication which most of the business organizations face. Therefore, to avoid this
particular kind of ineffective communication the company Woolworths Limited depends has
devised various strategies like taking the help of the feedback system after the deliverance of
the message, the repetition of the message which is being delivered to the employees, the
avoidance of too many technical terms or jargon and others (Hammersley and Reid 2014). In
addition to these, the company also takes the help of face-to-face interaction with the
employees in a bid to deliver the messages to the employees in the most effective manner
(Hammersley and Reid 2014).
The company concerned also uses another form of communication for the
communication of its messages to the various stakeholders as well as the shareholders of the
company. The communication with the various shareholders as well as the stakeholders
forms an important part of the overall communicational plan of the various business
organizations (Bremer et al. 2014). It is significant to note that the various shareholders as
well as the stakeholders of the business organization are the individuals and the business
organizations which have not only invested their capital but also other resources into the
concerned business organizations (Bremer et al. 2014). Therefore, it would be apt to say that
the primary interest of the various shareholders as well as the stakeholders is not only on the
overall growth and the development of the concerned business organization but also on the
increase in the amount of the net profit earned by the concerned business organization on a
yearly basis (Bremer et al. 2014). Thus, the company Woolworth Limited conducts regular
meetings, conferences as well as seminars with the various shareholders and the stakeholders
of the business organizations to convey the progress made by the business organization
within a particular period of time. In addition to that, the business organizations also needs to
convey the various strategies as well as policies formulated by them to the diverse
stakeholders and the shareholders of the business organizations in a bid to keep them updated

4PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
about the strategies and the policies of the concerned business organization (Bremer et al.
2014). Furthermore, the concerned business organization also needs to take the approval of
the various shareholders as well as the stakeholders of the business organization in order to
keep them updated about the various developments of the business organization concerned
(Bonaccio, et al. 2016). Thus, the role of the process of effective business communication
becomes of paramount importance in this particular context. Therefore, the concerned
business organization takes the help of various effective strategies to achieve the process of
effective communication with the various shareholders and also the stakeholders (Bonaccio,
et al. 2016). This process involves the use of seminars, meetings and seminars to convey the
relevant information to the shareholders and the stakeholders. Furthermore, the concerned
business organization also takes the help of the various platforms belonging to the electronic
media (Bonaccio, et al. 2016). It is significant to note that an ineffective communication with
the various shareholders and stakeholders would lead to a lot of confusion and would also
lead to an effective relationship with the stakeholders and the shareholders. Thus, the
concerned business organization takes special care to ensure that it maintains a stable
relationship its various stakeholders and shareholders through the process of effective
communication (Bonaccio, et al. 2016).
The third kind of communication process which the business organization uses is to
communicate with its various customers in the most effective manners. It is significant to
note that the various customers form the most important part of the business organizations
and it is them that the business organizations should place their primary focus on as they are
the source of the primary revenue which the business organization earns (Neuliep 2017).
Therefore, the various business organizations should focus on the process of effective
communication with the customers. In addition to that, the concerned business organization
also needs to convey relevant information about the new products as well as services

5PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
launched by them to the customers in a bid to influence them to buy or take the help of the
services offered by them (Neuliep 2017). Furthermore, the concerned business organization
also needs to convey relevant information about their existing products as well as the services
offered by them to the customers (Neuliep 2017). Thus, to achieve this particular stage the
concerned business organization takes the help of various effective strategies. The first
strategy which the concerned business organization uses is the use of electronic media to
convey the necessary information to the customers (Neuliep 2017). It is significant to note
that the company has effective social media and various brand pages over the internet which
helps them to convey the relevant information to the customers. Furthermore, the concerned
business organization even indulges in various kinds of promotional as well as social events
through which they communicate the necessary information to their customers (Haslam et al.
2014). In the opinion of many people, the process of communication is very essential to
convey the required information about the products and the services offered by the company
(Haslam et al. 2014). It is often seen that the various business organizations do not indulge in
the process of effective communication and therefore fail to perform better in the competitive
market. Thus, the various business organizations should try to achieve the process of
effective communication with its various customers as that would lead to an overall growth as
well as the development of the concerned business organization (Haslam et al. 2014).
Intercultural communication is another form of communication which the various
business organizations need to take into consideration (Ting-Toomey 2012). Intercultural
communication can be defined as the kind of communication which the various business
organizations often take the help of when they are dealing with people or other business
organizations belonging to different cultural as well as social backgrounds (Ting-Toomey
2012). It is significant to note that the concerned business organizations in the course of its
business operations with its various customers and business organizations from other cultural

6PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
and social backgrounds needs to take into consideration the various precepts of the
intercultural communication (Habermas 2015). Thus, the various employees of the concerned
business organization are given regular training about the various precepts of the concept of
intercultural communication in a bid to provide them with the necessary skills which will
help them to communicate better with the people belonging to the other cultural as well as
social background (Habermas 2015). This kind of communication will not only help the
concerned business organization to serve its various diverse customers in a much better
manner but will also enable them to reach out to a wider customer base. It is often seen that
the various business organizations fail to take into consideration this particular aspect of the
process of communication and thus fail to reach out to a larger section of the population
(Certo 2015).
To conclude, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the concept of
communication is one of the most important ones in the business operations of the various
business organizations. Therefore, it is seen that the business organizations take the help of
effective communication strategies to not only communicate better with its various diverse
entities who form an important part of their overall business organization but also to bring
about an overall growth as well as the development of their entire business organization. It is
significant to note that these business organizations use the concept of communication not
only to convey the relevant information about their products as well as services to the
customers but also to convey the relevant information to the various stakeholders as well as
the shareholders of the concerned business organization. Furthermore, the process of internal
communication is also used by the various business organizations to convey the goals as well
as the objectives of the concerned business organizations to the various employees.

7PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
References
Andriof, J. and McIntosh, M. eds., 2017. Perspectives on corporate citizenship. Routledge.
Bonaccio, S., O’Reilly, J., O’Sullivan, S.L. and Chiocchio, F., 2016. Nonverbal behavior and
communication in the workplace: A review and an agenda for research. Journal of
Management, 42(5), pp.1044-1074.
Bremer, K., Roberts, C., Vasseur, M.T., Simnot, M. and Broeder, P., 2014. Achieving
understanding: Discourse in intercultural encounters. Routledge.
Broadbent, D.E., 2013. Perception and communication. Elsevier.
Certo, S., 2015. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Eunson, B., 2012. Communication in the Workplace. John Wiley & Sons.
Habermas, J., 2015. Communication and the Evolution of Society. John Wiley & Sons.
Hammersley, R. and Reid, M., 2014. Communicating successfully in groups: a practical
guide for the workplace. Routledge.
Haslam, S.A., Van Knippenberg, D., Platow, M.J. and Ellemers, N., 2014. Social identity at
work: Developing theory for organizational practice. Psychology Press.
Lutgen-Sandvik, P. and Tracy, S.J., 2012. Answering five key questions about workplace
bullying: How communication scholarship provides thought leadership for transforming
abuse at work. Management Communication Quarterly, 26(1), pp.3-47.
Neuliep, J.W., 2017. Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications.
Ting-Toomey, S., 2012. Communicating across cultures. Guilford Press.

8PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Woolworths Limited 2018. Woolworth Limited. [online] Available at:
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/ [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].