Improving Workplace Communication: A Case Study of JKL Industries

This case study discusses how JKL Industries, an Australian-owned company selling forklifts and small trucks, improved their workplace communication through a communication plan. The plan included improving their internal network of Intranet/communication apps, improving their HR performance system, and implementing a grievance procedure. The target audience for the communication strategy was senior management and work teams. The proposed communication strategies included the use of email and intranet, regular meetings, feedback, and a coordinated system of communication with suppliers, providers, and customers.

RUNNING HEAD: JKL CASE STUDY 1
Assessment Task 1 Plan and present workplace communication systems
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
STUDENT’S NAME
COURSE
UNIVERSITY
DATE

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Part A: Communications planning portfolio.
SECTION 1
According to Sager (2017), communication is a necessary part of any business organization.
Hence a proper communication plan that effectively passes the message on to the recipient will
ensure the stake holders of any business are aware of what is going on and what action to be
taken at every situation.
SECTION TWO
Introduction
JKL is an Australian- owned company selling forklifts and small truck and spare parts to
industry. They also have division to leases forklifts and small track.
The company’s head office is in Sydney and has branches in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth,
Adelaide and Canberra.
Organization background
JKL industries in a market existing 12 years with selling and leases forklifts and small track.
After spent this year in the business company has negotiating the sales rights to a range of
medium and large truck from an oversize supplier.
Sales result over the past five years have indicated strong growth, but the rental has been
in decline for the past three years.

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OPERATIONALAND STRATEGIC PLANS
a) Company internal network of Intranet/communication apps
Improving internal communication is one of the primary targets to JKL industries. As JKL
industries is now lacking of modern communication technologies and social platforms, also
facing the problem of low employee engagement, empowerment and accountability for work
performance. It allows employees to know what’s happening at the office from wherever
they are, facilitating group conversations and instant communication, to ensure all staff
receives the same information and empowering employees to quickly access all the
information they need about products and services.
b) Improving of HR performance system.
Performance management has a major influence on how employees perceive the company they
work for and therefore on how they behave. It can be an important part of the process of weaving
organizational goals, ethic and value into the fabric of corporate performance system. Although
performance management system could not guarantee staffs’ behavioral change. but it is one of
the effective tools that can be used to support and reinforce the awareness of staffs.
What the organization does
The organization which call JKL Industries, it is an Australia-owned company, JKL Industries,
which sales small trucks, forklifts, and the spare parts of this industry. The company has
identified poor communication and an organizational climate of conflict between the employees

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that is increasing the risk in their business. Therefore, they need a plan to improve the situation,
which is explained here.
How it does it
It does it through:
 Developing an effective policy framework for managing internal communication and
consultation in accordance with organizational objectives, business ethics and compliance
requirements
 Communicating and building support for organizational initiative and objectives
 Managing information follow to:
 Provide managers and employees with at-hand information to perform
their work responsibilities
 Communicate ideas for improvement (top - down and bottom – up)
 Facilitate feedback both to and from employees and management on
relevant work performance and outcomes of consultation.
.
Goals and objectives
The company will reposition itself to focus solely on retail sales and services and exit the
rental market in which forces such as competition and consumer choice reduce potential
profitability. In accordance with the organization’s value JKL industries intends to recruit from
within the company and up-skill or re-skill existing employees presently working in rentals who
wish to remain with the comp

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Its stakeholders and customers
Mitsubishi is the dominant stakeholders in JKL industries. Other Costumers of JKL
industries are:
 Borg Manufacturing
 Winning warehouse
 BHP Billiton
 Rochford Wines
 Mildura Fruit Company

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SECTION THREE.
Communication Strategy Objectives
 Creating support for organizational initiatives and objectives
 Raise awareness of the changes that will result from implementation of the restructure
 Improve communication within organization
 Focusing on improving information flow base on bottom-up model
 Change behaviours of poor communication
(b) Target audience
The target audience of the communication strategy are:
(i) Senior management
(ii) Work teams
The communication strategy is intended at two key target audiences. The two key target
audiences for this strategy are senior management body and the workforce of the organization.
They are the two vital elements of the organization. There has to be effective communication
between these two audiences. In the absence of effective communication, the organization will
face hindrances in the operations of the organization.
Communication Methods
Face to face presentation allowing personal interaction.

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Request for ongoing feedback from affected employees to supervisors and via email to build
trust and sense of personal ownership of decision.
.
Provisions to facilitate bottom up consultation
Opening window to employees for grievance e.g. having meeting with management and
reporting complaints. Also, filing up of feedback forms from the employees once monthly can be
very effective.

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SECTION FOUR.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
1. HR meeting with manager (retail):
Discuss about the issues and steps how it is going to be avoided. Check whether the complaint
coincides with the policies and procedures of the company.
2. Meeting with the employee who has complained:
Full hearing of the employee who made the complaint who made the complaint, finding out the
issues and get a clear idea.
3. Meeting with the CEO in Sydney:
Report the main issues and explaining the grievance and then present the solution and ask for the
thinking and some other ideas.
4. General meeting with employees:
Explain the solution to everyone and open the window to the employees for grievance.
5. Collect feedback and make report:
Collect the grievance feedbacks from the employees.

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SECTION 5
INTERNAL MEMO
FROM: COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT MANAGER
TO: All team members
CC: senior manager
RE: CHANGES
This is to inform you that as a result of the poor organizational performance more so in
communication process, this is to notify all of you that there are new policies and procedures
regarding the same. Visit the company website and incase of any issues please post in my email
as in the organization journal.
Regards.

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PRESENTATION TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
As part of JKL industry ongoing changes towards becoming the number one provider of trucks
and fork lifts, we must ensure that communication is a top priority, so as to make it easier for all
our members and stake holders to accept and embrace these changes, promoting the cohesion
within the company. Need for communication is easily identified when addressing the problems
that were detected internally, such as slow responses to internal and external customer needs,
ineffective or no use of modern communication technologies and social platforms, poor sense of
employee engagementetc.
All of these issues, as well as others that have been identified, can be tackled and solved
using the proper communication tools. For instance, regarding ineffective use of modern
communication technologies, such issue can be solved by hiring a community manager to take
care and manage social media accounts and setting up an intranet to handle internal
communication through intensive use of the email.
According to Quinn (2018), implementing communication procedures requires relevant
regulatory and legal requirements which should be addressed and complied with. The
communication program should specially consider the; Disability Discrimination Act of 1992,
the work place Gender Equality Act2012, the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975., the Sex
Discrimination Act of 1984, the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, the safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act of 1988 and the Work Health and Safety Act of 2011.

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Complying with relevant legislations and regulations is one part of our goals, but the company
should also comply with ethical business requirements. This means acting according to ethics in
business not because we are being compelled to, but because it is the right thing to do. The
company should be respectful for diversity at its forms, such as sexual diversity and
multiculturalism issues that are an important part of modern Australia. Transparency is another
big key, we want our stake holders, workers, investors, customers and the general public not only
to know but to sense that we are transparent in the way we do business.
Proposed communication strategies will include; use of email and intranet, regular
meetings of senior management and staff, feedback from both sides and a coordinated system of
communication with suppliers, providers and customers that will ensure effective work
relationships.

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References
Quinn, R. E. (2018). Productivity and the process of organizational improvement: Why we
cannot talk to each other. In Public Sector Performance (pp. 9-19). Routledge.
Sager, T. (2017). Communicative Planning. In the Routledge Handbook of Planning Theory (pp.
105-116). Routledge.