Business Communication Report: TESCO Case Study, Methods, Issues

This report provides an in-depth analysis of business communication, specifically within the context of TESCO. It begins by defining communication and its importance within an organization, then explores various types of business information, including verbal, written, on-screen, multimedia, and web-based formats. The report then examines legal and ethical issues related to business communication, such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and their impact on TESCO. Operational issues related to business information are also discussed. The report further delves into the methods of communicating business information, differentiating between non-electronic methods like letters and memos, and electronic methods such as email, text, and Skype. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of effective business communication for organizational success, highlighting the need for strong stakeholder relationships and a comprehensive communication plan. The report includes a detailed table of contents, and a comprehensive reference section.

Business Communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Different types of business information............................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P2 COVERED IN PPT...........................................................................................................2
P3 Corporate communication.................................................................................................2
P4 External corporate communication...................................................................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
P5 Legal and ethical issues related to business communication............................................3
P6 Operational issue related to business information.............................................................4
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................4
P7 Methods of communicating business information............................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Communication is the nervous system of an organisation. It keeps the members of the
organisation informed about the internal and external happenings relevant to a task of the
TESCO. It co-ordinates the efforts of the members towards achieving organisational objectives.
It is the process of influencing the action of a person or a group. It is a process of meaningful
interaction among human beings to initiate, execute, accomplish, or prevent certain actions.
Communication is, thus, the life blood of an organisation (Bovee, 2010). Without
communication, an organisation, an organisation is lifeless and its very existence is in danger.
The term communication has been derived from the Latin word ‘cmmunis’ that means ‘common’
and thus, if a person effects communication, he establishes a common ground of understanding.
Literally, communication means to inform, to tell, to show, or to spread information. Thus, it
may be interpreted as an interchange of thought or information to bring about understanding and
confidence for good industrial relations. It brings about unity of purpose,interest, and efforts in
an organisation. This report studies about the types of business information and mode of business
communication followed in TESCO.
TASK 1
P1 Different types of business information.
Type of
information
Example Description Purpose Source
Verbal HR department
giving feedback
to employees
regarding staff
training.
It is the sharing
information
between different
individuals
through speech.
Its purpose is
relaying of a
message to more
than one recipient
CEO and
Management of
TESCO.
Written Memos, reports,
and employee
manuals.
It is the any type
of information
that involves the
use of words.
The purpose of
written
communication is
to inform
someone in way
HR Department
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Type of
information
Example Description Purpose Source
that they easily
read and
understand the
message.
On-screen Presentations,
Graphical Charts
It is a form of
electronic
communication in
which the
information to be
communicated is
displayed through
a screen.
Its purpose is to
communicate a
message to large
number of people.
Finance
department
Multimedia PowerPoint
presentation
It is the
presentation of
digital
information in the
form of images,
sound, and
motion graphics.
Its purpose is to
communicate a
message to large
number of people.
HR Department
and Marketing
department
Web-based E-mail, Online
webinars
Sharing
information or
ideas over the
internet.
Its purpose is to
communicate a
message to large
number of people.
Marketing
Department
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TASK 2
P2 COVERED IN PPT.
P3 and P4 COVERED IN POSTER.
TASK 3
P5 Legal and ethical issues related to business communication.
Legal issues refer to different legislation to protect the TESCO information from various
source of hackers. The legislation which exits are as follows:
Data Protection Act 1998 is the data Protection Act controls how your personal
information is used by organizations, businesses or the government. Everyone responsible for
using data has to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. In this case TESCO
follows all data protection principles to keep every bit of information safe and guided so nothing
goes wrong within the business or outside of the business (Guffey and Loewy, 2010).
Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public access to information held by public
authorities. It does this in two ways: public authorities are obliged to publish certain information
about their activities and members of the public are entitled to request information from
public authorities. This act would also affect TESCO because the firm would not want all their
personal information to spread outside of the business.
P6 Operational issue related to business information.
Legal, ethical and operational issues all contribute to the overall success or failure of
Tesco. The legislations set in place by the government is the law and must be followed otherwise
firm could fall under many legal problems resulting in the closure of the organisation. The many
various acts are there to not only prevent company from performing illegal acts but also to
protect them as well, as this ensures that they are not falsely accused and protects entity from any
other individuals or organisations who have violated any legal areas against firm.
Within the Legal, Ethical and Operational Issues, Tesco has complete intentions of
putting them into practice. Company does train their staff to high standards and they are put
through various training before they are allowed to operate any new machinery and systems
(business communication. 2017). If the management of firm regularly keep on top of the policies
within organisation they can update, introduce or change any which are not appropriate or are
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required at various times. While looking at the Tesco Annual Report I can clearly see that
company have a strong customer base and their sales have increased by 8.1% in the past year.
TASK 4
P7 Methods of communicating business information.
Non-electronic methods: There are many non-electronic methods that can be used to
communicate business information, these methods include letters, memorandum, fax, invoice,
flow charts and publicity material.
A letter is a formal piece of documentation which can be used when Tesco is informing
or responding to someone outside the organisation. The letter has to be clear and concise because
people outside the organisation are reading it and will judge the organisation depending on how
well the letter presents itself (Okoro, Washington and Cardon, 2011). Company will need to
make sure that the letter is printed in a big enough size or Braille if a person has sight issues.
Memorandum is more informal than a letter is, they are often referred to as memos.
They can be used by Tesco to write down information within departments if the person it is
being written to will not be seen face-to-face or sent to different departments which is easier than
going over to the different departments and finding the right person to tell the information. An
example of when company uses fax is for people to contact them if they have an issue with their
Tesco.net internet services (Sigmar, Hynes and Hill, 2012). Fax isn’t as commonly used as it
used to be due to the increasing use of email, email may not be as easily used by older people.
Electronic method: electronic methods of communication are using the computer to
communicate with some one half around the world e.g.- electronic mail(e- mail) also Facebook
chatting with others via the use of the internet or as simple as using your cell phone to
communicate with others.
Method Description
Email Mail typed and sent electronically within and out the TESCO
using email addresses. It also a system for sending and
receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as
between personal computers.
Text An electronic message sent over a cellular network from one
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Method Description
cell phone to another by typing words.
Skype People can have a spoken conversation with (someone) over
the Internet using the software application Skype, frequently
also viewing by webcam.
CONCLUSION
Business communication is vital in business success. For communication to be effective
it should embrace good relationships with major stakeholders of a business. One has to establish
the weakness in business communication, address these weaknesses and allow room for
listening. Communication plan of TESCO means more than just giving out messages; it involves
speaking, listening, sending and receiving messages. Listening simply means holding back one's
judgement and allowing answers to come from outside.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Bovee, C. L., 2010. Business Communication Today, 10/e. Pearson Education India.
Cardon, P. W., 2010. Using films to learn about the nature of cross-cultural stereotypes in
intercultural business communication courses. Business Communication Quarterly.
73(2). pp.150-165.
Decarie, C., 2010. Facebook: Challenges and opportunities for business communication students.
Business Communication Quarterly. 73(4). pp.449-452.
Dyrud, M. A., 2011. Social networking and business communication pedagogy: Plugging into
the Facebook generation. Business Communication Quarterly. 74(4). pp.475-478.
Fall, L.T., and et. al., 2013. Intercultural communication apprehension and emotional
intelligence in higher education: Preparing business students for career success.
Business Communication Quarterly. 76(4). pp.412-426.
Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2010. Business communication: Process and product. Cengage
Learning.
Okoro, E. A., Washington, M. C. and Cardon, P. W., 2011. Eportfolios in business
communication courses as tools for employment. Business Communication Quarterly.
74(3). pp.347-351.
Sigmar, L. S., Hynes, G. E. and Hill, K. L., 2012. Strategies for teaching social and emotional
intelligence in business communication. Business Communication Quarterly. 75(3).
pp.301-317.
Usunier, J. C. and Roulin, N., 2010. The influence of high-and low-context communication
styles on the design, content, and language of business-to-business web sites. The
Journal of Business Communication (1973). 47(2). pp.189-227.
Online
business communication. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/business-communication.html>.
[Accessed on 20th July 2017].
Communication. 2014. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/people/communicationrev1.shtm>
. [Accessed on 20th July 2017].
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