Effective Business Communication Strategies for Multinational Firms

This report examines the communication challenges of a multinational organization operating in Nigeria, Oman, Vietnam, and Australia. It addresses ineffective social media use, lack of quality customer feedback, and intercultural communication issues. The report analyzes the current situation, exploring the negative impacts of social media misuse, the importance of customer feedback mechanisms like surveys and CRM platforms, and the complexities of intercultural communication. It provides recommendations for improvement, including developing a strong social media strategy, implementing effective feedback collection and management systems, and fostering better understanding and trust in intercultural interactions. The report emphasizes the importance of business communication at all levels and suggests how to enhance employee and customer relationships for future success. It also discusses the importance of calculated risk-taking and continuous improvement based on customer feedback.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Effective Business Communication
Name of the student:
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Author Note

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Executive summary
A multinational organization is analyzed here to understand their problems in communications in
business. The situation is understood from examining different limitations and recommendations.
They include social media, customer feedback and intercultural communication.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction:......................................................................................................................................3
a. Description of the organization:.....................................................................................................3
b. Identification of the purpose of the report:....................................................................................3
c. Scopes and limitations of the report:.............................................................................................3
d. Report outcome:.............................................................................................................................4
e. Previewing of the structure of the report:......................................................................................4
2. Analysis of the present situation:.......................................................................................................4
2. a. Ineffective use of social media:.................................................................................................4
2. b. Feedback from clients:...............................................................................................................6
2. c. Issues of intercultural communication:......................................................................................9
3. Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................11
4. Recommendations:..........................................................................................................................11
4.a. Issue of Social media:...............................................................................................................12
4.b. Issue of getting quality feedback:.............................................................................................12
4. c. Issue of intercultural communication:.....................................................................................13
5. References:......................................................................................................................................15

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1. Introduction:
a. Description of the organization:
The study is done on a multi-national organization operating in different regions of Nigeria,
Oman, Vietnam and Australia. It has been manufacturing and distributing agricultural equipments to
various international and local clients.
b. Identification of the purpose of the report:
However, in recent days it is found that the organization is witnessing severe communication
challenges. This has been including misuse of social media like social networks, wikis and blogs for
supporting teams to share ideas. Further, there has been lack of quality feedback received from
clients to improve product quality and delivery of services. Besides, there have been lack of trust and
misunderstandings of trust regarding intercultural communication issues. The manger as asked to
develop various plans and strategies for improving communication at every level. Hence, the
purpose of the report is to review various academic literatures and case studies providing examples
and evidences.
c. Scopes and limitations of the report:
The scopes of the report are as follows:
 To establish communication in international relations
 To establish communication in publicity
 To establish communication in personal life
 To establish communication in industrial relation
 However there are various boundaries of the report:

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 The first one is the impersonal perception.
 The second limitation is that the report does not speak about security issues.
 The third one is that it has overlooked the difficulties to train employees.
d. Report outcome:
The scope of the report is so widened that it is unable to be expressed shortly. The study
intends to show that the business communication is at every place and it is highly needed for every
people and organization.
e. Previewing of the structure of the report:
The current situation is analyzed from the perspective of various issues. They are the social
media, customer feedback and intercultural communication.
2. Analysis of the present situation:
The business communication is a two-way method to speak and listen. It is of foremost
importance in every phases of regular business life. The business communication process is the
smartest way to engage with people such that the business goals are accomplished. However, there
has been no doubt that there are various steps that are helpful to develop the quality of business
relationships.
2. a. Ineffective use of social media:
Bargiela-Chiappini & Nickerson (2014) has argued that social media has equipped most of
people with 4 effective factors that have empowered bad behavior especially against companies.
This included no guilt, mob, relative anonymity and accountability. They provided the example of
McDStories disaster. There the customers have been sharing negative stories about McDonalds over
Twitter as an instance how social media has brought its adverse effect. The risks highlighted by then

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have been real in some cases. However, the risks has been not using social media has been much
higher. Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani 2015) mentioned that any successful business is unable to
lay in fear of risk. However, they have been embracing the rewards to achieve that. The brand
negativity that has been occurring tough the business has never logged to social network. However,
there is higher risk as the negativity is the only content that has been feeding the social proof across
the brand. The social media has emboldened haters, however, it has also provided new soapbox for
higher experiences. Further, social media has improved the significance to create positive customer
experience both offline and on. Moreover, social media comprises of the power to amplify every
effect. Like any technology, it is used both in good and bad way. Here, the key has been to build the
proper social strategy of the band. This has been not the “on size fitting all” solution of marketing.
This has been adopted in tailored and strategic way. As Nickerson (2015) has pointed out that the
case of #McDStories has been the result of improper planning that is combined with proper naivety
regarding the own brand perception.
Creation of social strategy has been taking time with proper attention. However, the point has
been it has been needed essentially. However, it cannot be denied that social media has been
building brand awareness such that no other form of media is able to reach customers who have been
otherwise unreachable. Ha and Riffe (2015) warns that social media is able to create poor customers
since it has been creating a guilt free and anonymous environment without any accountability.
However, social media has been an “online extension” for various personal identities. However, for
most of the people, social media has not been at all anonymous. Whether one has been agreeing with
the authors or not, the question suggested by them has been important. This included the risks and
compelling reasons for businesses to use social media. Under the world of new marketing, all
business is considered to be a media company. All the posts whether blog or Twitter handle, has
been the scope to tell story and engage their potential customers. Thus the advice of the above

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authors can be taken. Business must consider the risks related to social media and have the
compelling cause to use them. However, as every efficient business leaders know that taking risks
has been vital for progression. This has been all about the calculated risks that are taken.
The startups, small businesses and firms have been investment at content marketing
initiatives in an aggressive manner. It is identified from the writings of the above authors that
creation of quality content organizations are able to establish themselves as the though leaders. It has
included SEO optimization, competitive research and being aware of search rankings and keywords.
Further, the social and search has also been related here. This takes place as one sees more social
updates and various reviews showing up under Google search that the customers has been constantly
on. Here the true effect has been depending on the industry in which they have been present in.
Further, people are in the belief that there has been no industry that remains un-touched by social
and some have been still more affected by it than the others. Thus it every likelihood, business can
kill the future of business and brand.
Thus it is seen that social media has been changing the way people have been performing
business. More proactive the firms have been to establish, test and see the value for networks, the
more successfully they have been maintaining employee and customer relationships for the future.
Here every single method or technology has been working for every firm. However, the proper way
has been to figure out has been through tests and collaborations.
2. b. Feedback from clients:
Any business running or owing e-commerce sites, irrespective of their size has known the
importance of the customer feedback. Similarly, there has been difficulty in creating quality
customer feedback. Moshiri and Cardon (2014) stated that for all kinds of customer, who have been
complaining, 20% of them have been remaining silent. Till the experience is bad the customers have

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been not bothering to share feedbacks regarding experience that they have been never been meeting
the expectations. Here, instead they have decided that they never have decided to perform business
with the service providers. This has been a high cost to pay for the feedback that is lost. Data and
analytics have provided every kind of insights that is needed from the business. This has all about
customer feedback. It has helped in understanding the reason behind what people has been doing like
why one feature is used multiple times. While one has matching customers feedbacks to what one
have been seeing the analytics, one have been getting much clearer picture to what have been going
one according to Cardon and Marshall (2015). Some of the best ways to receive consistent and high
quality feedback from the customers includes, surveys, feedback boxes, reaching out directly, user
activities and usability tests.
Managing the feedbacks:
In order to manage customer feedbacks, one must have a centralized platform to gather and
manage that all. It is where the CRM or Customer Relationship Management Platform has been
coming into play. The CRM has been helping to keep track of what the customers have been doing
and determine what one needed their attention all the time. One must also utilize the data of CRM to
recognize patterns and trends. Here some of the CRMs have been integrating with other tools and
apps to gather the feedback in one place. With the feature of feedback one can assign and create
tasks for proper personnel. As per the article by Rubtsova et al. (2015) the customer service
problems have been automatically routed to the department of customer service. Thus usability can
also be routed to IT/development team and the questions of sales are routed to sales department.
Various automatic tasks have been keeping every employee apprised of what has been going on with
specific customer at any particular time. Here one track the response times to retrieve insights into
what the employees has been most productive for facilitating to reward then foe jobs to be done well.

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Using Feedbacks:
Using feedbacks from customers have been improving the current services and products. The
customers have revealed what they have needed. Hence they must be listened to find out how can
make additions and improvements for the offerings to assure to solve the problems for them. As it
has cost many times more to get new customers that to retain the current one, it has made sense to
use feedbacks to keep the customers happier. While customers turn out to be frustrated with services
or products and suspect the competition to serve them better, they might stop business with the
organizations according to Penrose (2015).
Using and monitoring feedbacks assures that one can adjust to keep their customers satisfied.
As the customers become happy with their experience with the company, they return back and can
more likely refer the business to others. In the rising competitive markets, one of the ways to
differentiate from the competition is to assure that customer experience has been stellar. They should
make more informed business decisions. As the feedbacks shows that the customers are frustrated
with the response times of emails, they must improve them. As the feedbacks have showed what has
been needed by customers with another channel communication, they must open one. Green, Jones
and Bean (2015) analyzed that the customers have been breaking and making the business. Hence
they have provided the best to provide them what they have needed. As per customer feedback is
concerned, they must improve the business, and must be shared around every departments. The
internal discussions of the employee feedbacks has been helping employees to learn the way in
which they can address the customer concerns more better. This is also helpful to reward valuable
customers for their loyalty. More importantly, the customer feedbacks have needed to be applied to
business such that the customers can see the feedbacks gets addressed to know what they have heard.

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2. c. Issues of intercultural communication:
Both the small and large business has been often having a global reach. As one have foreign
clients the raw materials must be purchased from aboard and lead the tours internationally. This
communication and cultural difference issues has been causing misunderstandings harming the
bottom line. Pearson (2017) investigated that here the intercultural communication has been a huge
topic. The employees should familiarize with the local customs and laws of any country they visit to
do job. Awareness of the potential challenges is helpful to communicate and grow the business
internationally.
Problems in appreciating cultural values:
Problems of communication are often derived from the basic difference in values taking
place in cultures. For example, Mediterranean, Asian and Latin American cultures have been often
communication as much through facial expression and different voice tone through words. Germanic
and English speaking people, on the other hand, have normally stated the intended meaning in an
explicit manner. Here, another difference among cultures has been a significant factor of emotion.
Here, for instance people of U.K. and Japan have tended to avoid the outward show of feelings. In
Italy, France and United States they have accepted a stronger show of emotions, also in business.
Dressing for achieving international success:
Some cultures possess strict code for their business. For instance, in Islamic nations, women
have been avoiding sleeveless tops short skirts and lower sized necklines. On the other hand in Japan
the conservative business suits have included dark colors needed to make the best impression. As
people move to a new culture, they must observe what have been worn by other people at business.

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Moving face-to-face:
One can cause offences unknowingly while meeting their foreign clients one by one. For
example, in Japan one can bow instead of shaking hand till the other parties have been offering their
hands. Exchange of business cards has been a primary necessity in various cultures. For example, in
Arabic nations, one must accept cards with their right hand. On the other hand, Japan and China has
been using both of their hands. Again, in China, at workplace, one can show respect by taking the
Chinese name. At Brazil business acquaintances have been standing out closely to create trust and
backing away have constructed a rebuff.
Understanding the difference in languages:
Darics (2015) showed that this has been a common stumbling stock for international
communication of business. As one party has been using a second language or translator, the
potential to misunderstand rises.
Providing gifts:
Providing etiquette has been a complicated topic that has been difficult to master. For
example in China they are the expected and norms. In other nations, different wrong gifts get
insulted.
Meeting various expectations:
Through following different local customs, better relationship can be created at the meetings
in business. For instance, people of Cana watches the clocks a lot and expect that every people
should be arriving on time. While the Japanese people in their meeting has been the only serious
person for every side talks, while the other people have been typically remaining silent according to
Mikkelson, York and Arritola (2015). The business dinners in China has been often including