Final Report: MGMT1201 Business Communication Skills Assessment

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business communication within an organization, focusing on the impact of effective communication on overall performance and employee development. The report begins with an introduction defining business communication and highlighting potential challenges. Part 1 includes a diagnosis and reflection on two professional interactions, identifying communication deficiencies such as lack of documentation and inefficient use of memos, leading to financial losses and communication breakdowns. Part 2 offers a literature review, emphasizing the increasing importance of business communication and suggesting modes of communication. Part 3 outlines an action plan for improving communication skills, including enrolling in skill-based courses, attending business meetings, reading business literature, and maintaining a personal journal. The report concludes by summarizing key findings and recommendations, emphasizing the significance of implementing appropriate communication strategies for different business situations and providing an action plan for skill development.

Business Communication
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part 1- Diagnosis and reflection.................................................................................................4
Part 2- Literature review............................................................................................................6
Part 3-Action plan/ Recommendation........................................................................................7
Conclusion/ Summary................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The main objective of this report is to identify the impact that business communication could
have on the overall performance of a business organization as well as the internal
development of the employee. This report will define business communication along with
difficulties that might be faced by a business organization in such situations. A company
needs to make sure that communication channels in a particular business organization are
developed effectively so that effective communication can be established among different
departments of a business organization (Botha et.al, 2016). This report will also help in
developing an action plan that will help a particular employee in an organization to develop
their skill sets to be successful in the industry.
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Part 1- Diagnosis and reflection
Following are the two professional interactions that I had in the past 12 months along with
issues that I have identified in such communication process-
Communication with the purchasing department
One of the primary deficiencies that I have identified while working with my current
organization is that there is a lack of documentation in communication with the purchasing
department. It is the responsibility of the purchasing department to ensure that raw material is
purchased by the organization at a regular interval of time so that there is no deficiency at the
time of production. There have been various cases in the past where wrong orders have been
made by the organization due to the lack of a formal chain of communication (Willcocks,
2018).
One of the incidents happened with me 3 months ago. Employees working in the production
and Manufacturing department are instructed to communicate requirements concerning raw
material to the purchasing department every month through telephone. At the time I was
given such responsibility and I communicate with the order of 300 units of raw material for
January. This order was miss hurt by the employee of the purchasing department and he
ordered 200 units of raw material which is generally a requirement every month (Heo & Lee,
2018). This communication resulted in a financial loss for the company as management was
supposed to purchase 100 units of raw material from outside suppliers where the price per
unit was higher as compared to the current supplier.
This situation could have been easily avoided if management established formal channels of
communication and proper written communication would have provided to the purchasing
department.
Communication through memos
Communication strategy used by the organization through memos is also conducted an
inefficient method that results in poor communication. Memos are distributed by the top
management four communication of every information which reduces the efficiency of the
use of memos. This is because employees of the company have started to ignore this memos
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as they are distributed on every information whether such information is important or not.
The figure below showed the flow of recommended flow of memos for the company-
Business management needs to understand the importance of business communication and
the mode of communication that can be very effective in a particular organization. In
February management of the organization communicated important information through
memo but only 80% of the employees responded such memos due to decreasing efficiency of
this method of communication (Ghosh, 2019).
This could have been easily avoided by top management by marking of memos as
confidential or general. In addition to that management of the organization can also ensure
that information that does not have any relationship which core business operations of the
company should not be communicated through memos. Such communication can be done
through departmental communication.
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Part 2- Literature review
After conducting detailed research it can be said that the importance of business
communication in business organizations has increased over the period as information has
become a very important asset for any business organization. Primary issues that have been
identified in the previous section are related to the efficiency of the mode of communication
(Uhl & Gollenia, 2016). Different type of communication requires a different type of modes
of communication to increase the efficiency of information.
In the first scenario, it was very essential for the organization to ensure that important
information that requires communication of numerical data is communicated through formal
channels of communication. This is because a lack of communication instruction is you can
result in a financial loss for an organization. It is recommended in the given scenario that
management should be used evening and memos to communicate numerical data from one
department to another department (Leblanc, 2018).
The second issue in the given scenario is concerned with the efficiency of a particular mode
of communication if such mode of communication is used very frequently. An organization
needs to understand that if a particular mode of communication is used very frequently for
less important information that there is a probability that employees will tend to ignore such
mode of communication. It is recommended in the given scenario that the management of the
organization could have used the communication of only important and relevant information
for communication through memos (O'Rourke, 2019). It will help in improving the efficiency
of communication channels established in the company.
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Part 3-Action plan/ Recommendation
Following is an action plan that will help me to develop my communication skills over the
period and in competitive advantage as compared to other employees in the company-
 First of all enrolment in a skill-based come business communication course will be the
most appropriate method of learning about business communication and its technical
nature (Burns and Dewhurst, 2016). There are various courses available through an online
platform and a particular course can be chosen based on its specifications.
 Attending business meetings like annual general meetings, board meetings, departmental
meetings, etc. will also help in improving communication. This type of communication
will be very essential to undertake for any employee that is seeking to develop in a
particular industry. This type of communication strategy helps to understand how these
meetings are conducted and methods of communication in such meetings (Bovée, Thill &
Raina, 2016).
 Reading is also an essential method that can be used to develop vocabulary as well as
developing command on business language. Reading business books will be the most
essential method that can be used to develop vocabulary and language. Reading general
books or novels will not be helpful in the given scenario. In addition to that business,
books will also help in increasing the basic knowledge about business and field of
expertise in which a particular employee wants to indulge.
 Maintenance of a personal journal that will help in keeping track of different business
communication methods acquired during a particular period will also help in the given
scenario (Coffelt, Baker & Corey, 2016). This will help in making sure that a particular
employee can acquire important knowledge concerning business communication in a
fixed period.
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Above flow chart provides details regarding the action plan recommended to develop
communication skills. Factors of planning and time management should be used in order to
make sure that all the skill associated with the above steps can be gained.
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Conclusion/ Summary
On an overall conclusion of this report, it can be said that there are various modes of
communications that are generally used by the business organization but it is very essential
for an organization to ensure that appropriate modes are implemented in appropriate business
situations. This report has identified issues that have arrived in the past 12 months concerning
communication in the company. After analysis of these issues, the proper recommendations
have been provided with the help of the literature review. Action Plan has also been
developed in this report which will help in making sure that the required knowledge and
skills concerning business communication have been acquired over some time.
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References
Botha, T., Van Rensburg, M., Du Toit, G. S., & Motlatla, M. D. C. (2016). Introduction to
business management. B. Erasmus, J. W. Strydom, & S. Rudansky-Kloppers (Eds.). Oxford
University Press Southern Africa.
Bovée, C. L., Thill, J. V., & Raina, R. L. (2016). Business communication today. Pearson
Education India.
Burns, P. and Dewhurst, J. (2016). Small business and entrepreneurship. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Coffelt, T. A., Baker, M. J., & Corey, R. C. (2016). Business communication practices from
employers’ perspectives. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 79(3), 300-
316.
Ghosh, M. (2019). Business Communication Skills. Pearson Education India.
Heo, M., & Lee, K. J. (2018). Chatbot as a new business communication tool: The case of
naver talktalk. Business Communication Research and Practice, 1(1), 41-45.
Leblanc, R. K. (2018). Research Intensive Business Communication Course.
O'Rourke, J. S. (2019). Management communication: A case analysis approach. Routledge.
Uhl, A., & Gollenia, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). A handbook of business transformation
management methodology. Routledge.
Willcocks, L. P. (2018). Global business management foundations. SB Publishing.
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