Effective Business Communication Strategies for AGCO Corporation

This report examines effective business communication strategies within AGCO Corporation, an agricultural equipment manufacturer operating globally. It identifies key communication challenges, including timely information dissemination, feedback mechanisms, cross-cultural barriers, and the integration of social media. The report explores good communication practices, such as horizontal, downward, and upward communication, and their impact on organizational change and productivity. It then analyzes various theoretical frameworks to address these challenges, including the Cybernetics Theory for feedback, the SMCR model for resolving feedback issues, Busch Cultural theory for managing cross-cultural conflicts, Socio-Linguistic Theory to overcome language barriers, and social media integration strategies. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of proactive communication strategies to enhance organizational performance and suggests practical implications for AGCO's future.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Effective Business Communication: AGCO
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EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Good Practices.................................................................................................................................3
Organizational Communication...................................................................................................3
Feedback as part of effective communication.............................................................................3
Horizontal communication..........................................................................................................3
Downward and Upward Communication....................................................................................4
Communication in organizational change...................................................................................4
Communication and organizational productivity........................................................................5
Social media in business communication....................................................................................5
Cross culture and language barrier..............................................................................................6
Future Strategies..............................................................................................................................7
The Cybernetics Theory for communication breakdown and timely communication................7
The SMCR model to resolve feedback related issues.................................................................8
Busch Cultural theory to resolve cross cultural conflicts............................................................9
Socio-Linguistic Theory to overcome language barrier............................................................10
Social media integration theory.................................................................................................11
Conclusion and Implication...........................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................................13

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Introduction
Every organizational structure is based upon few important aspects like products,
services, infrastructure, investors and employees and productive communication among them. .
AGCO Corporation is a significant example of successful organizational structure. The
determination and vision of Robert Ratliff guided the company to grow as an internationally
recognized brand with 14 product lines (Agcocorp.com, 2017). AGCO is one of the largest
agricultural equipments manufacturing companies in the world. This multinational manufacturer
operates in countries like Australia, Oman, Vietnam, India and Nigeria. The agricultural
equipments produced by the company covers a large amount of local and global market. The
company serves to 1 million consumers globally and there are 8000 employees working for the
company. However the past organizational success has been greatly affected by various inter
organizational communication challenges it has been experiencing recently.
The report tries to identify the challenges like the timely communication among the employees
and the customers, the breakdown of front line communication and vice versa from the
leadership to the employees. The management is also facing difficulties in receiving effective
feedback from the customers and partners to improve the services and product quality,
understanding and communicating in local languages, the cross cultural conflicts, implementing
digital advancements in certain business areas and effectively using social media in the
marketing. The identifying and analysis of the problems will help the management to find
solution to prevent such issues and improve their productivity.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Good Practices
The following section will be focusing on various existing literature in order to identify
and understand the need and success of effective communication in the organizational structure.
Organizational Communication
According to Shockley-Zalabak (2014) the organizational communication is a continuous
process that works in various levels like the intra-individual level. The communication is
expressing one’s ideas and makes others understand those. The organization works successfully
if the communication among the various departments and employees are active and effective. In
order to act the communication effectively the time matters.
Feedback as part of effective communication
Peter (2015) explains that effective communication works two ways. It is not just that the
sender sends information and receiver receives it, it also includes the receiver’s giving feedback
as the sender intended. If the receiver fails to decode the sender’s message within the information
it results in an ineffective communication. The feedback helps the communication to achieve the
expected result. The transaction of ideas between the sender and receiver in written or oral form
and guides the communication in way that the receiver gets the message in a way that the sender
intended (Guffey & Loewy, 2010).
Horizontal communication
Banihashemi (2011) states that the relationship, based on the effective communication is
channeled from the top management to all departments. He believes that effective
communication is a basic requirement for active organizational function. The organizations
build coordination and integration in various parts of the organization through effective

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
communication. The organizational communication can be of different forms, it can be
horizontal, upward or downward.
The horizontal communication is based on flow of information in various functional areas of the
same level (Kaul, 2014). The sharing of information, solving problems and conflict resolution
becomes more efficient through horizontal communication as collaboration gets much
importance here. It relates work units, divisions and tasks of various departments within the
organizational structure. Zappos has broken the traditional upward communication and
established a horizontal communication that results in generating more profit (Priestley, 2015).
Downward and Upward Communication
The downward communication is the flow of information from the higher to lower levels. This is
based on the authority line that acts between the superior subordinate relationships. This is
effective in providing the job rationale and connecting various organizational tasks. The
organizational practices and procedures are delivered by the downward communication (Spaho,
2013). In this process the leadership shares his or her feedback to his subordinates. This is
especially effective in communicating to the employees about the organizational mission, vision
and goals. In the upward communication the information flows from the lower level of
employees to the higher level of the hierarchy (Voinea et ao., 2015). This is effective when the
employees identify an ethical or legal breach that requires attention from the higher authority.
Communication in organizational change
Kibe (2014) examines how certain organizational strategies affect or improve the organizational
performance. He has conducted a study where 132 employees were given a questionnaire

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
consisting communication related questions. The results demonstrated that for any organization
to perform effectively it is important to build an open and free communication environment
within the organizational structure (Ifeoma, Ngozi & Scholarstica, 2015). The successful
building of an organizational environment encourages the employees to express their ideas, share
criticism and feedback which eventually help to increase the organizational productivity.
According to Husain (2013) during any organizational change the communication plays a
significant role. The management can not only plan a change and implement it successfully; the
employees are the key drivers who can successfully materialize the planned changes.
Communication and organizational productivity
Otieno et al. (2015) examined how effective communication influences the organizational
productivity in the horticulture sector of Kenya. A flower farm was chosen for the study. The 14
organizations were chosen from the Kenya Flower Council in 2013 from Naivasha. 1888
employees responded to the study. The result highlights that effective organizational
communication enhances the operational efficiency by facilitating opinion and information and
finally improve the organizational performance. It showed that the organization prefers strong
communication and believes that it is a significant determinant for organizational performance
Social media in business communication
According to Valeecha and Reza (2013) the impact of social media in Pakistan’s telecom
industry is highly potential. They conducted a survey which included 8 social network media
agencies, 5 big telecom companies of the country and 108 social network users (Valeecha &
Reza, 2013). The result highlighted the need of social network in effective communication for
the companies. The clients expect that the companies must increase their visibility by being

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
present on various popular social media platforms. The telecom organizations implement online
marketing strategies to engage with their customers successfully.
Bashar, Ahmad and Wasiq (2012) conducted an empirical study in thousands of
consumers in Delhi, which focused on the use of social media as a marketing tool in various
organizations. They NPS or non probability sampling method was applied by the authors
(Ritchie, Lewis & Elam, 2013). The result highlighted that through social networking the
organizations provide precise information to its customers in a timely manner. The gap between
the customer’s expectation and his satisfaction always creates a problem for the companies to
achieve more profit. Social media platforms help the companies to bridge the gap. The social
relationship should be preferred by the company over their transactional relationship in order to
achieve more productivity.
Cross culture and language barrier
The report by The World Business culture states that there are 300 Nigerian ethnic groups
with their own dialects and languages (Udegbe et al., 2012). The organizations often faces
communication gap in the regions where Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa dominate. In the country, the
citizens prefer to call others by specific terms or sir but not by first names. The employees tend
to involve personal issues in the professional business communication. From firm handshake to
other certain communication plays significant role in effective business communication (Karin
Andreassi et al., 2014). The companies are successfully implementing English as an official
common language that can be used by all ethnic Nigerian communities (Yamao & Sekiguchi,
2015).

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Future Strategies
The Cybernetics Theory for communication breakdown and timely communication
‘The Cybernetics Theory’ can be implemented by the company in order to address and
resolve issues related to communication through feedback (Ruesch, 2017). Norbert Wiener and
Ross Ashby developed this theory is focused on communication based on mathematics theory
and regulatory feedback based control system (Adamson et al., 2015). The organization can
experience various feedbacks from the employees or from the customers. If the desired result is
achieved the management will receive positive feedback, if it is not then negative. There can be
instantaneous feedback or feedback that is delayed. Feedback highlights the effective exchange
of the information between two or multiple parties. The Cybernetics study of communication
works in organizations, organisms and machines (Schwaninger, 2015). The theory demonstrates
how biological, mechanical or digital aspects control the individual behavior and issues related to
information and how changes can be achieved for better performance. AGCO should apply this
theory in order to receive useful feedback from the customers and the employees. This will help
the company to communicate effectively among the various departments and the responsible
people. The management of AGCO should not just limit itself by sending instructions, messages
or memos but also encourage the employees to give feedback. The employees should be
informed personally about the new innovations or policies so that they can inform the company
about their concerns. The Cybernetics theory is effective in the organizational feedback
mechanism that is capable of improving the employees’ attitude towards work that enhances the
productivity.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
The SMCR model to resolve feedback related issues
The ‘Source-message-channel-receiver’ model or SMCR model can be effective for the
company in building a productive organizational communication (Reddy, 2014). David Berlo
this model of communication is based on the mathematical model by Warron Weaver and Claude
Shannon. He focused on the channel through which the information is delivered and the eye of
the receiver as the source of the perception.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
(Source: Communicationtheory.org, 2017)
The SMCR model highlights the sender-receiver relationship as a significant variable in
organizational communication and gives importance to individual characteristics. The top
management must possess great communication skills to have an impact on the subordinates.
However he should not continue speaking for a longer period, he checks whether his messages
are getting delivered effectively. He should take care of his accent during the communication.
His knowledge and attitude towards the subordinates also play important role in the
communication. The message the management delivers should comprise clear content and they
should be able to serve the purpose successfully. According to Berlo the communication
becomes effective if the speaker and the receiver are on the same level (Turaga, 2016). AGCO
can apply SMCR theory in order to build a close relationship with the employees. The top
management can learn and apply the strategies related to communication breakdown and timely
communication to express the company’s principles to the employees in an easy and
understandable way.
Busch Cultural theory to resolve cross cultural conflicts
The constructivist management of conflicts is essential for the organization to achieve
maximum profitability. If the cultural conflicts are not managed properly the organizational
performance will get affected greatly. The conflicts in the management and inter personal
communication influenced by cultural identities develops the cross cultural conflicts. The
cultural theory proposed by Dominic Busch can be applied to manage the cross cultural conflicts
within the organization (Busch, 2015). He developed a synoptic model which is analytical and
offers various ranges of forms. He used empirical data to understand individual’s subjective
perception of culture within the organizational structure. AGCO works in multiple countries so

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
cultural conflict management could be challenging for the company. However by applying
theories developed by Busch can help the company with necessary tools to identify cultural
conflicts within the organization and come up with effective solutions.
Socio-Linguistic Theory to overcome language barrier
Socio-Linguistic Theory can be helpful to identify the language barrier within the
organizational and to resolve those immediately (Brannen, Piekkari & Tietze, 2014). Though in
western countries a language is seen as just a tool of communication but in Europe or Asia it
related to the nation’s national identity. The ‘Anxiety and Uncertainty Management Theory’
highlights that language competency is related to uncertainty of inter personal communication
and this uncertainty results in trusts issues which influences them not to interact with other
members (Nishida, 2016). AGCO’s organizational structure depends on multilingual group
performances, so language barrier can prove to be harmful for the company.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
(Source: Harzing & Pudelko, 2014)
Social media integration theory
AGCO can profit a lot from integrating social media integration theory. Implementation of this
theory involves high activity on the social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter and engage with the customers more directly and easily (Moreno-Munoz et al., 2016).
The company will offer direct assistance to its customers and help them to understand the
company services in depth. They will engage in word of mouth publicity caused by the social
network activity by the company. This strategy does not cost much for the company and it can
reach to its global partners and clients easily. Social media can prove to be greatly effective in
building the company’s brand and communicate its mission, vision and principles to its
customers effectively and will result in sustainable customer efficiency (Cornelissen &
Cornelissen, 2017).
Conclusion and Implication
Business communication has proved to be significant determinant for many successful
organizations. For any company, the communication must have to be effective in order to bring
the desired success. The management must establish a close relationship among the employees
and its partners. The management must evaluate the organizational practice and address the key
issues in the communication. The communication is more than just delivering information is the
subordinates but also receiving feedback from the receivers. The company must engage in a
communication that is proactive.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
The detailed analysis of communication strategies and theories in the report highlights
that effective communication is necessary for a company AGCO in order to improve its
productivity. Effective communication ensures efficiency and success in the organizational
workforce. The company must implement certain communication programs within the
organizational structure to make the employees perform better. The company can achieve its
organizational goal by integrating communication strategy as part of the management strategies.
The theoretical approaches are effective in order to understand and examine the practical
scenario. The Cybernetics theory, socio linguistic theory or SMCR model is highly influential in
developing an effective organizational communication culture. However the theoretical
approaches must be transformed into practical methods which involve active participation from
the consumers and employees. Open environment of understanding and cooperation is created by
certain communication techniques. By effective strategies based on such theories and models
help the employees to get informed and perform better.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
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