Business Communication and ICT Assignment Report - October 2019

This report examines crucial aspects of business communication and ICT. It begins by analyzing the advantages of electronic mail (e-mail) in modern business, detailing its impact on efficiency, global reach, and advertising. The report then explores effective email etiquette, emphasizing the importance of diction, information arrangement, and the use of graphics. Secondly, it explores the role of visual aids in enhancing communication, discussing various types like electronic presentations, charts, and models, along with their appropriate applications in different settings. Finally, the report provides a sample business letter, a letter of inquiry for school admission, demonstrating professional communication standards. The report integrates relevant references to support its findings.

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT 1
Business Communication and ICT

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
Contents
Answer 1................................................................................................................................ 3
Answer 2................................................................................................................................ 5
Answer 3................................................................................................................................ 7
References............................................................................................................................. 9

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
Answer 1
Electronic mail or email is the most used communication method by businesses in the present
day. The development of e-mail technology bore fruit in the 1970s when the first email was
sent across through ARPANET. With the emergence of the Internet, soon Ray Tomlinson
invented the form of email popular at present times. The invention of the email is one of the
most revolutionary inventions that have affected businesses. It has made businesses efficient,
dynamic and productive than ever (Jakobson and Rueben, 2015).
Email services and facilities have brought businesses closer. It is the fastest way to
communicate with a partner or client. One does not need to coordinate according to time
zones or arrange telephone calls according to availability. One can communicate through
emails according to one's own convenience. It has made possible for smaller businesses to
approach the big fishes in the market, without taking any appointments. Email technology has
reduced the time lag in business activities significantly. The use of email has shrunk the
corporate world for good and opened opportunities on a global level (Banerjee, 2019).
In most of the companies, emails are preferred over telephonic calls as they are not only
faster but the sender and receiver can have a copy of the conservation for future reference.
Along with the memory aspect of email, this approach gives ample time to the sender to
frame his proposal or argument and present himself with the best of the ideas and words. Use
of appropriate verbatim significantly increases the scope of cracking a deal or communicating
efficiently. The use of emails has helped professionals to get rid of one of the major oratory
hurdles in business communication, the 'slip of the tongue' (Smit, Bond-Barnard, Steyn and
Fabris-Rotelli, 2017).
Emails are an extraordinary way of advertising. Businesses can target its audience and send
emails according to customer preference. Sending customer centric emails results in a higher

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
viewer to customer conversion. Moreover, it is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to
advertise their goods or services. Many businesses spend on conducting surveys of public
interest to identify their target audience. One of the most prized possessions of businesses
these days is the database of emails of people who might be interested in their services.
Emails have become an integral part of businesses (Dorsey, et al 2017). They enhance
productivity and help in saving the extra expenditure of communication and advertising.
Businesses need not worry of spending money and human resource on posts and mails.
Similarly, businesses need not rent billboards and television commercials to advertise their
product. They can use the saved money and resources in more productive activities. The
communication performed with emails than that performed with posts or telephone is much
easier to conduct. Since many of the emailing software these days are automated and need not
need a person at the desk every time, it sheds a heavy amount of load from the communicator
(Brezina and Smith, 2017).
Emails are a bane and can do wonders for a business. The only condition that decides the
success of the former statement is the etiquette in writing emails to have good business
communication. While drafting emails, one must consider the kind of verbiage one employs.
An email with a poor diction may not leave a desired effect one the client. However, a
heavily loaded email with business jargon may leave an even worse mark on the client. The
email writer should focus on achieving a balance between formality and informality,
information and shallow content (Andrade and Doolin, 2016). On the other hand, email with
a friendly gesture and too much of it may offend the receiver. The email composer must keep
in mind the targeted receiver or group of receivers and compose the email accordingly. For
instance, a business proposal should be impressive yet highly informative. On the other hand,
an advertising email should be highly impressive yet less informative. The former may

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
include business jargon. While, the latter should be free from the same and can hold a casual
and friendly verbatim (Fraenkel, et al 2018).
Another important etiquette that an email composer must focus upon is the arrangement of
information in the email. Unlike letters and posts, emails can offer from a single picture to a
thesis length of content. However, on a practical note, none of them may please a general
client or consumer. As we live in a fast paced world, the email of current times should be
crisp in nature. One must employ information in tabular form, preferably in data format to
say more in fewer words. One must keep in mind to go about the information in an orderly
manner, preferably by giving information that the receiver would want to know in the
beginning. Other emails like promotions and offers, one should resort to graphics as they
convey more in an attractive and impressive manner (Shabiralyani, Hasan, Hamad and Iqbal,
2015).
In business communication, email is a tool that can break or make a business. If used wisely,
it can lessen resource burden and increase productivity exponentially. However, if not used
with etiquette and a planned approach, it can ruin the name of a business in front of more
than the audience it has been sent to. The choice of words portrays the personality and virtues
of a business and email is the conveyer of those reflective words (Macwan, 2015).
Answer 2
Visual Aids are supplements that enhance the effectiveness of words by including graphics in
them. They leave a stronger and long lasting impact on the audience and help others to
understand what the person on the mic is explaining. Businesses use visual aids whenever
they need to grab attention or leave an impact, for instance, in client pitching and
advertisements, respectively. In the former, businesses use charts, polls, diagrams and
colorful elements to attract the viewer. In the latter, the business would use attractive and

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
alluring videos, pictures and present a lucrative experience on the screen so that the viewers
also invest in their product to experience the same (Tezel, et al 2015).
Visual aids insight the optical senses of a person and enables them to understand better as the
more the senses engage in analyzing a thing at hand, the better is the understanding. There are
certain things that cannot be explained in words or may require a hefty amount of time and
effort to frame the specific words to convey the exact meaning. In such a case, pictures or
graphics come handy, as a picture says a thousand words. However, it is important to note
that one must use the proper visual aid at a given time to make the most out of it. For
instance, when there is a requirement to display a three dimensional objects, a model would
serve better than a projector screen (Ortiz and Park, 2018).
There are several types of visual aids that a business uses, namely, props, models, charts,
posters, electronic presentations, graphs, etc. Electronic presentations are the most frequently
used visual aids in meetings and conferences. Such a visual aid requires a suitable
environment for the projector to work, including, electricity connection, a projector, a screen
and a presentation. The advantages of using electronic presentations are that one can make as
many changes as desired and include graphics in it effortlessly (Craft, 2018).
Another type of visual aid used in business meetings is charts and posters. Charts and posters
are one of the most efficient ways to present data and trends in a meeting. They do not
require a hefty investment of money, unlike electronic presentations and can be presented
with minimum apparatus. However, they cannot be edited or improvised as they are
handmade.
Models are another kind of visual aid that provide with a three dimensional sensory input to
the viewers. They present real life like prototypes of a product, landscape, etc. They are the
most effective visual aids as one can feel them with skin as well, hence incorporating another

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
sensory experience, leading to a deeper understanding. There are many themes that cannot be
described in presentations or charts, for instance, a township project, a landscape, the
building plan of a mansion, etc., hence these themes require a model for better understanding.
Some of the drawbacks of a model are that they are expensive and require a hefty amount of
time to make them. Also, they are used for limited meetings and are purposeless afterwards.
Room A, large hall, with a capacity of 70 would require multiple screens like a table tablet or
iPad (Lim, 2018). It would be appropriate for such a situation as a common visual aid cannot
cater to such a large crowd. In these meetings, everyone would need their own visual aid in
order to understand the conference and stay focused in a crowded meeting.
For Room B, training room of capacity of 20 people would require a projector and a screen as
a single visual aid of a wall size can cater to this situation. In training environment, the trainer
can hold command of the visual aid and project graphics to stimulate ideas into the minds of
the trainees for better training.
For Room C, a classroom with tables and chairs and capacity of 30, charts and models would
be appropriate as they would be cost effective according to a classroom theme and would be
able to permanently demonstrate important data that the students can visualize multiple times
in a day, hence imprinting it on their subconscious minds (Ortiz and Park, 2018).
Answer 3
Mary Chen
21B Baker Street Nashville
Australia 100011
Date: September 30, 2019
The Principal

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
Springdale Public School
12 Green Street Nashville
Australia 100009
Subject: Enquiring for admission to Grade 6
Dear, Mr Edward
This is in reference to your advertisement in the local daily regarding the opening of
admission for Grade 6. I wish to say that I have been transferred to this town and looking for
a school for my son, Dolan Chan that can provide him education in a holistic environment.
My son has been the gold medalist of the Grade 5 Science Olympiad 2018. Along with
Science, he has immense interest in literature and arts. He is a bright student and has brought
laurels to his previous school.
All the children from my nearby residences are enrolled in your school; hence I would like to
enquire about a few of my concerns. It would be of great help to me if you could inform in
response to this letter that whether your school provides scholarships for meritorious students
like him. Also, kindly share the details of the transportation facility available for Baker Street
students.
The quality of education provided by your school in entrusted by many in my neighborhood,
but I would like to ensure the same by meeting the teachers and counselors of the Elementary
classes. If you could organize a meeting or invite me to the admission counseling session, I
would be at ease in deciding a good school for my son.
Looking forward to a positive response from your end
Yours faithfully
Mary Chan

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
References
Andrade, A.D. and Doolin, B., 2016. Information and communication technology and the
social inclusion of refugees. Mis Quarterly, 40(2), pp.405-416.
Banerjee, P.S., 2019. Impact study of Hapa and its multiple uses in Bankura District. Gates
Open Res, 3.
Brezina, M. and Smith, A., Yahoo! Inc, 2017. Presentation of organized personal and public
data using communication mediums. U.S. Patent 9,584,343.
Craft, A. ed., 2018. International developments in assuring quality in higher education (Vol.
6). Routledge.
Dorsey, J., Andersen, R., Lee, B., Grassadonia, B., Byttow, D.M. and Broyles, A., Square
Inc, 2017. Transferring money using email. U.S. Patent 9,536,232.
Fraenkel, L., Reyna, V., Cozmuta, R., Cornell, D., Nolte, J. and Wilhelms, E., 2018. Do
visual aids influenced patients’ risk perceptions for rare and very rare risks?. Patient
education and counseling, 101(11), pp.1900-1905.
Jakobson, G. and Rueben, S., 2015. Method and system for processing and displaying email
thread information. U.S. Patent Application 13/987,074.
Lim, D., 2018. Quality assurance in higher education: A study of developing countries: A
study of developing countries. Routledge.
Macwan, H.J., 2015. Using visual aids as authentic material in ESL classrooms. Research
Journal of English language and literature (RJELAL), 3(1), pp.91-96.
Ortiz, C.A. and Park, M., 2018. Visual controls: applying visual management to the factory.
Productivity Press.

Running Head: Business Communication and ICT
Shabiralyani, G., Hasan, K.S., Hamad, N. and Iqbal, N., 2015. Impact of Visual Aids in
Enhancing the Learning Process Case Research: District Dera Ghazi Khan. Journal of
Education and Practice, 6(19), pp.226-233.
Smit, M.C., Bond-Barnard, T.J., Steyn, H. and Fabris-Rotelli, I., 2017. Email communication
in project management: A bane or a blessing?. South African Journal of Information
Management, 19(1), pp.1-10.
Tezel, A., Koskela, L., Tzortzopoulos, P., Formoso, C.T. and Alves, T., 2015. Visual
management in Brazilian construction companies: taxonomy and guidelines for
implementation. Journal of management in engineering, 31(6), p.05015001.