Business Communication Report: Legal, Ethical, and Operational Issues

This report provides a comprehensive overview of business communication, covering various aspects essential for effective business operations. It begins by defining and explaining different types of business information, including verbal, written, and electronic communication, along with their source...Read More

Business Communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1Explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes....................1
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P3 Produce corporate communications..................................................................................2
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
P5 Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information..........3
P6 Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information...................3
P7 Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Communication is an exchange of ideas and opinions. When communication stops, it
leads to exist of a business. Then here we are going to understand about various different types
of business communication systems, modes and methods of communication available in today’s
world (Fall and et.al., 2013). In this research project Cadbury organisation has chosen, which is a
second largest confectionery brand across all over the world.
TASK 1
P1Explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes.
Verbal information: A way where one person transfer information to another person of
the businesses orally is called as verbal communication. Examples of verbal communication
includes: telephone conversations, discussion in meetings, video conferencing, etc. These types
of business communication have a limitation when companies are willing for their global
presents. This limitation includes: language barrier, time differences, culture barrier, etc.
Cadbury required that to use this information in order to make their decision more effective
which help to attain its aims and objectives.
Written Information: When communication between two or more parties takes place
through writing is called as written communication. In such types of business communication,
receiving party need to acknowledge receipt of message and also need to respond in specified
timeframe. Example of written communication includes: formal letters, posters, bulletin boards,
etc.(Robles, 2012). Written communication has great significance in today’s business world. It is
an innovative activity of the mind. Effective written communication is essential for preparing
worthy promotional materials for business development. Speech came before writing. But
writing is more unique and formal than speech. Effective writing involves careful choice of
words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition
of sentences.
Various new types of business communication are developed with the development of
technologies. An organization or a business can create multiple electronic channels to target
different geographical markets. Example of electronic communication includes: social media,
online chatting, text and email communication, websites, blogs, etc. Recent research on the role
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of corporate communication managers says; business communication of fortune 500 tends to
have an average of 4.5 years in the company. Almost half of them (48%) work directly with the
CEO of your company. They say that 42% of their work is strategic and tactical is 58%. Over the
years, they will focus more on corporate social responsibility, the media, and reputation.
P2 Present complex internal business information using three different methods appropriate
Covered in PPT
TASK 2
P3 Produce corporate communications.
Corporate communication is a management function or department, like marketing, finance, or
operations, dedicated to the dissemination of information to key constituencies, the execution of
corporate strategy and the development of messages for a variety of purposes for inside and
outside the organisation. In today’s global corporation, this function serves as the conscience of
the corporation and is responsible for the organisation’s reputation. Previously called “public
relations” or “public affairs,” corporate communication has taken on new importance in the 21st
century as a result of corporate scandals or crises at companies like Enron and Toyota.
The department usually oversees communication strategy, media relations, crisis
communications, internal communications, reputation management, corporate responsibility,
investor relations, government affairs and sometimes marketing communication. The person
running the department is the chief communications officer of the firm, and reports directly to
the chief executive officer in many of the top global organisations due to the critical importance
of the function today.
P4 Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or service.
Many businesses have departments that handle their communications functions. These
departments may be responsible for everything that pertains to communications—marketing,
advertising, employee communications, public relations, investor relations and
community/government relations. In most organizations, the chief corporate communications
officer will reside at the top of an organization chart, with the division heads—marketing,
advertising, PR—reporting to that person. It can also be referred to as business communications
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or financial communications (Decarie, 2010). Therefore, Cadbury required that to use corporate
communication to make their relation with stakeholders in an effective manner.
Cadbury distinguish their audiences as internal or external; employees are an internal
audience. The types of communications that are used for addressing employees include
personnel handbooks, Intranets (websites that are private and for internal company use only),
announcements of personnel changes or benefits, important news such as financial reports or
organization wide changes (Kankaanranta and Lu2013).
TASK 3
P5 Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information.
There are various laws and legislation which having large influence on business and its future
performance.
Data protection act 1998: While the provisions of the Data Protection Act are fairly
expansive, the Information Commissioner’s Office’s outlining of two key data protection and
information security principles in particular have a direct impact on the retention and handling of
private and confidential information. Excerpts from the outline state that “personal data
processed for any purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for those purposes,” and
that “organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of
personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
Freedom of information Act 2000: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("the Acts") came into full force on 1 January 2005, giving
individuals a statutory right for the first time to see a huge amount of information held by
Government departments and public bodies. The Data Protection Act ("DPA") has traditionally
provided individuals with a right of access to information held about themselves, the new Acts
extend this right to cover information about third parties as well as any other information that
may be held by the public authority (Yu, 2010). Cadbury required that to follow all these rules
and regulation in an appropriate manner.
P6 Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.
There are following operation and other issue for various information in business which can be:
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Security of information: Define information security in an organisation, one must
understand its business objectives, identify stakeholders and link them to information protection
attributes. Organisations have to be trusted to achieve customer acquisition and retention, which
directly affect their revenue
Business integrity: Each business decision is conducted as described in its official literature. It
is fair to the customer and inspires trust. Information integrity (avoiding data manipulation) is a
key information security component related to customer trust.
Customer asset protection: Customers need to be confident that their money, credit card
numbers and bank account numbers are safe, especially in online transactions, where their funds
are essentially electronic (Fall and et.al., 2013). Customers need to trust an organisation to secure
their financial assets; confidentiality, integrity and availability are crucial security parameters.
P7 Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business information
Electronic communication can be achieved by finding the right tool for communication. Moving
from paper to electronic communications can actually help your business connect easier, while
saving time and money. Email, instant messaging, websites, blogs, text messaging, voicemail
and video messaging are a few examples of electronic communication. Electronic
communication has changed the way businesses communicate with each other. Electronic
communication can be very beneficial if used effectively. Knowing the strengths and
weaknesses will help businesses conduct effective electronic communication.
Entrepreneurs, young and old, are all jumping their presence online every day. Every other
investor or entrepreneur one meets in a seminar or conference hands over his business card,
which details the said person’s social media handle (Laster and Russ, 2010).
Use of social media:
Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects
and customers. Your customers are already interacting with brands through social media, and if
you're not speaking directly to your audience through social platforms like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and Pinterest, you're missing out! Great marketing on social media can bring
remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand advocates and even driving leads
and sales.
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Email: Among the Various types of communication, email remains popular in the
business world for its efficiency and professionalism. Email reduces expenses and paper clutter,
and can be less invasive than phone calls. In addition to its cost effectiveness and capacity for
customization, email communication makes it easy to document business correspondence
without wasting valuable office space (Robles, 2012) Email can also be an effective marketing
tool, and simplifies interoffice communication.
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report it has been concluded that business communication
integral part for every business enterprise. It helps to provide the relevant information for their
stakeholder and other interested parties. This report explained about the different types of
business information and its sources in order to meet long and short term guidelines.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alshare, K. A., Lane, P. L. and Miller, D., 2011. Business communication skills in Information
Systems (IS) curricula: Perspectives of IS educators and students. Journal of Education
for Business. 86(3). pp.186-194.
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.
Hynes, G.E., 2012. Improving employees’ interpersonal communication competencies: A
qualitative study. Business communication quarterly. 75(4). pp.466-475.
Kankaanranta, A. and Lu, W., 2013. The evolution of English as the business lingua franca:
Signs of convergence in Chinese and Finnish professional communication. Journal of
Business and Technical Communication. 27(3). pp.288-307.
Laster, N. M. and Russ, T. L., 2010. Looking across the divide: Analyzing cross-disciplinary
approaches for teaching business communication. Business Communication Quarterly.
73(3). pp.248-264.
Robles, M. M., 2012. Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace.
Business Communication Quarterly. 75(4). pp.453-465.
Toth, C., 2013. Revisiting a genre: Teaching infographics in business and professional
communication courses. Business Communication Quarterly. 76(4). pp.446-457.
Yu, H., 2010. Bring workplace assessment into business communication classrooms: A proposal
to better prepare students for professional workplaces. Business Communication
Quarterly. 73(1). pp.21-39.
Online
Business Communication & Information Systems, 2017.[Online]. Available through:
<http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/as-and-a-level/applied-business-
8610/subject-content/unit-5>. [Accessed on 19th August 2017]
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