Enhancing Business Communication Strategies at Asda Retail

This report provides an analysis of business communication strategies within Asda, a British supermarket retailer. It examines internal and external communication processes, emphasizing the importance of a strong communication network for effective operations. The report explores strategies to improve communication with suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders, such as implementing supplier relationship management software and enhancing public relations efforts. It also highlights the managerial skills necessary for maintaining effective communication, including listening, speaking, interpersonal, and presentation skills. A personal plan for developing communication skills is included, focusing on verbal, technical, group working, managing, and presentation abilities. Furthermore, the report discusses the importance of data collection and dissemination for informed decision-making within Asda, recommending methods for securing and utilizing business information effectively. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools and solved assignments.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
Business needs to communicate its actions in order to accomplish their operations and processes.
The actions are to be communicated with the workforces and management team of the
organisation. It is necessary that connectivity should be strong and accurate with the person
whom the action or the message has been communicated. A business should have a proper
communication network and all the factors that are chains of the network should have effective
skills and methods of communicating the message (Arvidsson, 2012). The report is covering
information about benefits and methods of developing communication processes, along with
this, the ways of improving the systems that are related to information and knowledge.
The report is providing brief knowledge for useful processes and methods of business
communication in the context of Asda. It is British founded supermarket retailer that is dealing
with various products and offering different types of services. The company is also caters
services in financial market and owns a mobile phone company with the network of
EE(Everything Everywhere).

TASK 3
3.1 The internal and external processes of
communication
It is examined that an organisation needs to have proper network of communication in
order to function effective operations and processes throughout the business. For this,
the organisation needs to develop a better network and improve the set of
communication skills present in the managers and other workforces. Considering this
aspect with Asda industries, it has been evidenced that the company uses effective
methods of communicating the actions and commands among the internal and external
sources (Barker, Valos and Shimp, 2012). The individuals that are working within
Asda forces efforts on reducing all the barriers to communicate in a proper and
effective manner. The internal communication method is based on flow of messages
from the sender to receiver without the guarantee that the person who receives the
message would understand the content or not. The project groups of Asda aiming for
identifying such issues and implementing changes in order to overcome these issues.

Contd.
The external process of communication is also important for Asda for
conveying messages and information to their receivers and
stakeholders. It helps them to notify or inform their changes in legal
policies, regulations and other organisational framework (Blanc and
Bouillon, 2012). For this, the management needs to implement better
and effective communication skills among their managers and
employees. They are using the ways of communicating the messages to
their individuals by the method of mails, advertisements, website
blogs, public releases, etc. By these methods, Asda convey the useful
information to their external sources

3.2 The strategies to improve communication with suppliers,
customers and other stakeholders
It is evaluated that an organisation needs to adopt an effective
communication network to connect with the different sources and
essential elements of the organisation. In that case, it is essential for
Asda to implement better communication network among their
suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. It would be beneficial in
properly executing their business operations and implementing the
action plans to achieve the organisational objectives (Chakravorti,
Daniels and Lassar, 2015). For this, the management of Asda can
consider various strategies to improve their communication network
with the suppliers, potential customers and other stakeholders like
investors and shareholders. The effective strategies in that context are:

Contd.
For developing communication network among Suppliers
Supplier relationship management software – The organisation could invest their capital in
adopting the SCM software from the market or could develop itself as per their usage and
functioning. This type of software has various valuable features and attributes to perform
many tasks related to the supplier's management (Choo, 2010). It includes activities like
managing the supplier's profile, updating them regularly, monitoring their performance and
techniques for distributing the products, identifying new suppliers from the market. Its main
aim in regard to Asda is to maintain the level of inventory and stock in the company. It tracks
all the functions and supplies made by the suppliers, improvize them as per their results.
Build up better communication line – It is important for every organisation to build up better
communication and relationship network with their suppliers (Edenius and Borgerson, 2013).
For this, the company could adopt various strategies like organising meetings, managing
business events and parties, etc. in order to share information about the new products and
building up better relations.

Contd.
For developing communication network among Customers
Share information through public relations - The customers are termed as the most significant
member of an organisation. The continuity of the business of an organisation is directly
linked up with the relation and communication network with them. In that scenario, the
organisation should implement better network from their targeted customers and related
market in order to accomplish all the desired objectives (Fill, 2015). The organisation could
use the strategies to improve their customers relation by using the methods of social media
interaction, online forum to resolve the conflicts or issues, feedback blogs on websites, etc.
Customer care emailing and phone calls – The management team of Asda needs to implement
strategies like developing a medium of connecting with their customers. For this, the method
for communicating with the customers are emails and telephonic conversations. This gives
both the parties to convey their views, issues, suggestions and assumptions for the company
and their products.

Contd.
For developing communication network among other Stakeholders
Considering the current method of Asda to communicate the information to their targeted
audiences are through four websites. Their aim is to promote and publicize new
range of products and maintain a perfect relation with all the stakeholders
(Grönroos, 2014). The four websites are focusing on various aspect and that are:
 A company's website that provide information about the business and their annual
reports which is beneficial for all the investors and shareholders.
 Supermarket website where the consumers can place their orders.
 A website that provides information about a products and services offered by the
company.
 A promotional website, which supports the products and drive the attention of
customers towards the benefits of the products.

3.3 The managerial skills among the managers to ensure effective
communication is maintained
Managerial skills to ensure effective communication
The managers of the company are required to have a high level of
communication skills for communicating better messages and
information to the subordinates and the board of directors (Hugstad
and Durr, 2015). For this, the skills which are to be present in
managers are:
 Listening and speaking skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Presentation skills
 Linking the management with the workforces

Contd.
The importance for improving communications
It is necessary for Asda to develop the specified set of skills among their managers in order to
build an effective communication network within their business and management. The
importance for improving such communication skills are:
Listening and speaking skills – The managers are the individuals that are responsible in
generating better results from all the business operations. For this, the managers needs to take
several actions and decisions which are beneficial for the organisation (Kadlec, 2012). In that
case, it is essential that manager should listen to their subordinates and other staff members
for identifying the best decision.
Interpersonal skills – They are termed as the behaviour and attitude which are present in the
managers. The managers should develop a formal as well as the informal way of
communication among the management members. For this, the managers should concern
various aspects like emotional intelligence, creating humour, treating people equally,
resolving conflicts, maintain a positive attitude and smile on the face, as all such perspective
develops better relations with the members.

Contd.
Presentation skills – The managers are responsible to motivate and improve the workforces
working in the company (Khosrowpour, 2011). It that case, the person should have better to
present itself, minimize the stress, encourage the confidence level and motivate them for
better functioning.
Linking the management with the workforces – In an organisation, managers are determined as
the link between the top level management and the lower level of management. Thus, they
work as a connecting source within the company (Lee‐Foster, 2010). For this, the manager
needs to implement skills to manage activities at both the level, communicating message in
difficult situation and dealing with criticism.