Business Communication Report: TESCO PLC Business Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business communication, focusing on the case of TESCO PLC. It begins by exploring different types of business information, including internal and external sources, and analyzes their relevance to strategic decision-making. The report then delves into the presentation of complex internal business information using written documents, verbal presentations, and PowerPoint, followed by an examination of corporate communications and external communication strategies, evaluating their effectiveness. The analysis extends to legal and ethical issues, such as the Data Protection Act, and operational issues, including information security and business continuity. The report also covers electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information. Throughout, the report uses TESCO PLC as a practical example, offering insights into its communication practices and challenges within the retail industry.

BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
P1 Different types of business information ................................................................................3
M1. Analyse different types of business information and their sources......................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P2. Present complex internal business information using written document, verbal presentation
and power point as appropriate in the context.............................................................................4
P3. Produce corporate communications for your chosen organisation........................................5
P4. Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or service.............5
D2. Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as key
contributors to the success of an organization, using examples to illustrate your points............6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
P5. Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information...............6
P6. Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.......................6
M2. Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of business
information, using appropriate examples.....................................................................................7
M2. Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of business
information, using appropriate examples.....................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7. Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information,
using examples for different types of audience...........................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
A business needs accurate and relevant information from internal and external sources in
order to operate profitably. Proper collection of data creates an environment where informed
decisions can be taken for the benefit of the business (Arnold and Boggs, 2015). In order to
manage information effectively, there must be good communication systems within the
organisation. Staff must possess good verbal and written skills in order to communicate and
share information. Gathering relevant information from a range of sources is a skill that needs to
be developed using electronic and non-electronic sources. The below report is based on the
business communication measures of TESCO PLC UK that is operating in the retail industrial
sector of UK.
TASK 1
P1 Different types of business information
Every business needs information to help it succeeds. A combination of internal and
external business information resources can provide the background necessary to evaluate
current performance and plan future progress (Bargiela-Chiappini and Nickerson, 2014).
Knowing the types of information resources that are most critical to business can help companies
plan for capturing, analysing and using that information most effectively.
Internal
The first source of information that businesses should turn to is the information they
already have. Every business will have the ability to gather information about employees, about
sales and about customers. Setting up systems and processes for gathering the right information
can help business owners track, trend, analyse and act upon business that gives them clues into
such issues as what drives employee satisfaction, the products most demanded by customers,
areas of employee and customers satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
Competitive Information
No business is without competition and gathering information about competitors is
critical. Fortunately, this is easier than ever to do with the advent of the Internet. Through search
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and through participation in social media--sites including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn--
businesses can gain competitive intelligence about what others are doing (Crowley and Heyer,
2015).
M1. Analyse different types of business information and their sources
 Company information – this can be obtained from the company websites.
 Market information – this can be obtained from statistics, data and surveys on the UK
market.
 Product/industrial information – this can be obtained from the various industrial
magazines.
 Financial information- This is obtained from the annual reports of organizations.
D1. Evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make strategic decisions
It is appropriate is because it was based on the sales, benefits and loses information the
financial department obtained from their on-screen data. Marketing What types of information
the marketing department requires? This department within TESCO needs all sorts of
information including on-screen information, written information, verbal information etc. The
marketing department of TESCO mostly requires types of information such as how effective the
business?s marketing activities are on their target customers and the general public (Guffey and
Loewy, 2010).
TASK 2
P2. Present complex internal business information using written document, verbal presentation
and power point as appropriate in the context
 TESCO has had a difficult financial year (2014-2015).
 The prices of shares have continually fallen over the past few years, starting when Sir
 Terry Leahy stepped down as CEO in 2010.
 The share prices didn’t start to properly fall until towards the end of the 2011-2012 tax
year.
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 In April 2012 the profits fell 1% for the first time in 20 years
 Share prices began to recover towards the end of the 2012-2013 tax year
 The share prices hit a low in the middle of the 2014-2015 tax year
P3. Produce corporate communications for your chosen organisation
Corporate content is everywhere nowadays. Whether it's website copy, blog posts, tweets
or emails, digital communications represent your company to the online world, and are an
important component of its branding strategy. Following are the tips to help brands improve their
corporate communication strategy (Kaul, 2014)
Define your voice- Today's brands are expected to communicate with customers through a wide
range of channels. Identifying and defining an authentic brand voice will ensure that all
communications are consistent, no matter who's creating them.
Avoid industry jargon- Every industry has its own specialized terms, especially in the rapidly
growing tech sector. While using "technospeak" (or your industry's language) is fine for internal
messages, the use of jargon in your newsletters, Web pages, social media posts and other
communications meant for customers will likely only confuse them
Learn from social media- It has been noted that companies often try to figure out how to apply
their brand voice to social media. In some cases, it's actually more beneficial to work backward
and look at it from the opposite perspective.
P4. Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or service
External communication strategies underpin how a business connects with stakeholders
outside of the organisation. These messages influence external stakeholders opinions about a
brand and its products or services Enterprise’s external communication strategies are focused on
its customers, potential customers, potential recruits and local communities Enterprise’s
customer base can be divided into business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C)
customers. B2B customers require rental vehicles for employees whereas B2C customers have
individual vehicle hire needs (Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani, 2015). Enterprise uses a different
communication strategy for B2C (communication with retail customers) compared to B2B
customers (communication with other businesses).
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D2. Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as key
contributors to the success of an organization, using examples to illustrate your points
Organization use information systems to achieve its various strategy as well as short-term
and long-term goals. Development of information systems was to improve productivity and
business effectiveness of organization. Success of information systems is highly dependent on
the prevalent organization structure, management style and overall organization environment .
With correct development, deployment and usage of information systems, organization can
achieve lower costs, improved productivity, growth in top-line as well as the bottom-line and
competitive advantage in the market. The readiness of workers into accepting the information
systems is the key in realizing the full potential of them.
TASK 3
P5. Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information
Data of protection Act 1998 This act has been created to protect the personal information
of customers and stop them from being wrongly used. This Act concerns any business who keeps
the personal data of their clients (Koprowska, 2014). It is very important for businesses who
keep these sorts of information to * Acquire them lawfully * Make sure they are used for what
they say they were going to use it for * Make sure the information acquired is correct and
accurate * Make sure the information are kept up to date * Make sure information are processed
in line with the customers rights. It is also important because it protects the personal information
of computer users stored on computers Codes of practices The codes of practices are usually
installed in companies to make sure that business ethics on various matters are maintained and
respected The code of practice at TESCO regarding the use of internet states that Individuals
cannot or are not allowed to: * Publishing, transmitting, linking to, disseminating or making
available in any way any unlawful, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar,
obscene, racist or otherwise objectionable material (Moshiri and Cardon, 2014)
P6. Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information
Security of information, is when a organisation has to make sure that all information held
at the origination is safe and not accessible by unauthorized personnel, if it is accessed by
unauthorized personnel than the organisation is liable The way that this relates to TESCO PLC is
through the following, TESCO PLC are a organisation that holds information about their
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customers and suppliers and in order to protect the information they have security procedures
that help TESCO PLC protect the information being accessed by unauthorized personnel
Backups (Shwom, and Snyder, 2015). In information technology, a backup, or the process of
backing up, refers to the copying and archiving of computer data so it may be used to restore the
original after a data loss event The organization is in charge of such continuance plans, the
organisation can provide guidance and instructions to employees, they communicate this through
training and emails or meetings Business continuance (sometimes referred to as business
continuity) describes the processes and procedures an organization puts in place to ensure that
essential functions can continue during and after a disaster (Berkhof and et.al., 2011). TESCO
PLC as have such procedures, in case of an emergency one of their backup is their backup station
as it has a copy of the information that might have been destroyed in the disaster.
M2. Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of business
information, using appropriate examples
The more sophisticated the system is the more and extra training the staff will require in
order to operate the new system. The new sophisticated system will impact TESCO PLC as they
would have to pay for the training of the new staff, TESCO PLC will have to also take into
consideration how they will make the changes occur, if TESCO PLC will make the new system
affective straight away or transitionally (put in the new system 100 stores at a time) (Arnold, and
Boggs, 2015)). any new system will have to be implemented through making the least disruption
to the organization Through the impact of the new system it will benefit TESCO PLC as they
will have an efficient this will also increase the financial benefits for TESCO PLC More trained
personnel: Trained personnel is when a organization trains personnel to be able to do the job that
the organization requires them to do, This also relates to TESCO PLC as they also have to train
personnel so they have sufficient knowledge and understanding in order for them to do the role
effectively and sufficiently (Bargiela-Chiappini and Nickerson, 2014).
M2. Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of business
information, using appropriate examples
The more sophisticated the system is the more and extra training the staff will require in
order to operate the new system. The new sophisticated system will impact TESCO PLC as they
would have to pay for the training of the new staff, TESCO PLC will have to also take into
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consideration how they will make the changes occur, if TESCO PLC will make the new system
effective straight away or transitionall ysystem will have to be implemented through making the
least disruption to the organization (Crowley and Heyer, 2015). Training it holds information
that will benefit the employee in future roles, the training also provides information about health
and safety procedures This also relates to TESCO PLC as they also have to train personnel so
they have sufficient knowledge and understanding in order for them to do the role effectively and
sufficiently.
TASK 4
P7. Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information,
using examples for different types of audience
Electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information I am
going to outline the different types of electronic and non-electronic methods of communicating
business information, using examples for different types of audience. Younger people respond
more to videos, images and PowerPoint presentations, whereas older people might prefer to read
reports etc (Guffey and Loewy, 2010). Age, gender and ethnicity Interacting with the audience
by reflecting on their ethnic background, gender, interests and their experiences is an effective
way to illustrate your explanations. Mobile Phones This communication is available on the
move. This method can be used to send a text message to the customer to remind them about
there next payment.They can also contact customers or their boss if they are running late for a
business meeting etc. WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) this technology is used by portable
communication devices.
CONCLUSION
One of the major problems faced by the employers relating to interpersonal problems is
'communication'. This problem of communication can be solved by trying to understand the
communication process first and afterwards trying to improve it. This would provide the
managers with a skill for communicating more effectively. Identifying the relevant barriers to
communication is always the vital first step in order to minimize the impact that they may have.
"It's not always easy and often takes a lot of determination. But making an effort to remove the
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obstacles - tangible and intangible - that stand in our way can be the key to building relationships
that really work."
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arnold, E.C. and Boggs, K.U., 2015. Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication
skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bargiela-Chiappini, F. and Nickerson, C.R., 2014. Writing business: Genres, media and
discourses. Routledge.
Berkhof, M. and et.al., 2011. Effective training strategies for teaching communication skills to
physicians: an overview of systematic reviews. Patient education and counseling. 84(2).
pp.152-162.
Crowley, D. and Heyer, P., 2015. Communication in history: Technology, culture, society.
Routledge.
Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2010. Business communication: Process and product. Cengage
Learning.
Kaul, A., 2014. Effective business communication. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Kernbach, S., Eppler, M.J. and Bresciani, S., 2015. The use of visualization in the
communication of business strategies: An experimental evaluation. International Journal
of Business Communication. 52(2). pp.164-187.
Koprowska, J., 2014. Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Learning Matters.
Moshiri, F. and Cardon, P., 2014. The state of business communication classes: A national
survey. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 77(3). pp.312-329.
Shwom, B.G. and Snyder, L.G., 2015. Business communication: Polishing your professional
presence. Pearson.
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