Assessment Report: Business Communication at Sport Love, London

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business communication challenges faced by Sport Love, a London-based sports and leisure center. The report begins with an introduction to business communication and its importance, followed by an assessment of the communication barriers within Sport Love, including physical, language, attitude, and status barriers. It then explores strategies to overcome these barriers, such as adjusting meeting times, providing language training, improving employee motivation, and involving employees in decision-making. The report also examines the influence of culture on communication, emphasizing the need for awareness of cultural differences in a multinational environment. Furthermore, it analyzes the principles and purpose of communication strategies from an HR director's perspective, including completeness, conciseness, consideration, clarity, concreteness, courtesy, and correctness. The report also discusses the characteristics of effective listeners and speakers during meetings, highlighting the importance of active listening, information gathering, conflict reduction, maintaining prestige, and active participation in decision-making. Finally, the report evaluates the strengths and weaknesses in oral and written communication. The report concludes with recommendations for improving communication within Sport Love to enhance organizational integrity, competence, and commercial benefit.

BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
ASSESSMENT 1.............................................................................................................................1
1. Common challenges and barriers to effective communication..........................................1
2. Strategies to overcome barriers to communication............................................................2
3. Awareness of cultural influences on communication.........................................................3
ASSESSMENT 2.............................................................................................................................4
1: Analysis of principles and purpose in a communication strategy......................................4
2. Characteristics of effective listener and speaker during meeting.......................................5
3. Evaluate strengths and weakness in orally and in writing..................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Business Communication refers to sharing information within a company as well as
outside it so to achieve their business objectives. The agenda of communication is to enhance
organisational integrity, competence, ease in daily activities as well as acquisition of commercial
benefit to the company. The following report is based on communication problems of Sport
Love, which is a London-based sports and leisure centre. The report covers barriers in
communication, strategies to overcome these barriers as well as ways in which culture influences
communication. It also covers principles and purposes of HR director while considering
communication strategy. The report includes characteristics of participants to be effective
listeners and speakers and evaluation of own strengths and weaknesses in terms of oral and
written communication.
ASSESSMENT 1
1. Common challenges and barriers to effective communication
Sport Love is in a very bad shape when it comes to communication. It is a process of
exchanging information or messages between two or more than two people or group through
verbal, sign or behaviour. In other words it is a way of communicating with other so to express
themselves. Interpersonal messages will only failed when there is a hindrance while
communicating or when receiver does not interpretate the messages which have sent by the
sender. Barriers which affects smooth communication is explained below with functional
example,
 Physical barrier: It is uncontrollable barriers which occurs due to natural conditions
which includes technological problems, timing, call disconnection etc. For instances,
Sports love is conducting there meeting at 7:00 am in the morning due to which there
employees were not interested in getting any feedback from their owners. Apart from that
meetings were held infrequently due to which they were least interested in participating
(Physical Barriers to Communication, 2018).
 Language barrier: It refers to when both the parties i.e., sender and receiver don not
share common language for communication then it makes communication inappropriate.
As in the case of Sports love, management and staff were multinational and English was
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not their first language due to which they do not communicate properly and make
communication ineffective.
 Attitude barrier: It is a behaviour or perception in the mind of sender or receiver that
prevents from communication properly. It includes relationship among parties, emotional
status of parties, perception towards seeing things etc. In sports love, staff were not
interested in communicating with top management or customers. This is the reason due to
which customers were not reviewing their membership with sports love. Customer
engagement were not up to the expectations as employees do not seems to care about any
grievances customer faced during their visit.
 Status barrier: This barrier arises due to position held by the sender or receiver in same
organisation. Superior only try to contact with the if they have to disseminate some
information to their employees and on the other hand subordinates prefers to convey only
those messages which would appreciate their performance. Same goes in sports love as
subordinates were not contacting their management due to lack of time or pressure of job
which were affecting company's profitability over time.
2. Strategies to overcome barriers to communication
Communication plays an important part in the success of any organisation. If there is any
problem while communicating with other parties then it would affect company's efficiency and
effectivity in a negative way. Strategies which Sport love can make to overcome barriers are
discussed below,
 Physical barrier: This type of barrier is easy to find or spot as parties can sense the
challenged which they are facing while communicating. Due to uneven time of meetings
all the staff members would not able to attend it due to which information can not be
shared with all the staff at the same time. Company should conduct meetings according to
the shift timings and employees comforts with fix time period which help management to
convey their information clearly and properly.
 Language barrier: This happened due to different in language between both the parties.
Company should give training for English language to their employees as all the staff
members are not familiar with language. If proper skills and knowledge is inculcate to the
members then it will increase their motivation which will leads to better performance
while working.
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 Attitude barrier: Employees were not interacting with their management due to low
motivation among employees or their personal reasons. Grievances faced by customer
were not communicating to their management due to which customers were not renewing
their membership with them. Management should talk to their staff so that problem faced
by them would be resolved without wasting any time
 Status barrier: There were no communication between employees and staff due to lack
of time or status barriers. Management should involve employees in the decision making
process through which their motivation will increase drastically which would improve
overall productivity of Sport love.
3. Awareness of cultural influences on communication
Cultural directly impact the process of communication as if both the parties have
different culture then it won't be able to communicate their messages properly due to difference
in language, perception, values, beliefs, religion etc. On the other hand if both the parties have
same culture then there will be smooth communication between them. In Sport love,
management and staff were multinational due to which they could not be able to convey their
information properly. Even a small hurdle in communication might affect the interpretation of
messages which would be harmful for company's performance.
For instance,sports love is UK based company and in countries like UK people share
their ideas and views openly and loudly but some countries like Japan, where people speak
slowly and softly and are peaceful in making proposal. In this way language has a influence on
communication when people interact with each other from different culture which will lead to
lower efficiency.
Due to globalisation, people of different cultures and their businesses are connected with
each other all over the world. If making an international phone or video call then sports love
should take care of time differences and should interact at a time which is favourable to all other
parties. If all other parties could not connect then it will have adverse effect on sports love
company which in turn can affect growth, profitability and customer dissatisfaction. For
instance when Indians are in mid of a business hours, UK has a morning at that time.
Even members of individual language group experiences conflict and misunderstanding
through the expressions of tone of voice, glimpse or movement. Cultures have protocols about
suitable behaviour in certain situations including verbal and non verbal communications.
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ASSESSMENT 2
1: Analysis of principles and purpose in a communication strategy
There are 7 principles which should be considered by HR director of Sport love before
making communication strategy which is given below,
 Completeness: When making strategy or policies in the company, HR should
disseminate all the information to their information so that they can work accordingly.
Main aim of this is to convey full messages to other so that receiver can not interpretate
wrong meaning (Csikósová, Antošová and Čulková, 2014).
 Conciseness: Message sent by the sender should be concise in nature. It means that no
extra information should be there in the message as it can create confusion in the mind of
receiver. HR director should convey their message in least words so that it will be easy
for employees to understand it.
 Consideration: HR director should send their message in the language which is easy for
employees to understand. It will help them to understand information which is sent by the
management.
 Clarity: Information or messages should be clear in nature so that recipient would easily
interpretate it. Ambiguity in the message will arise confusion between the parties which
is not good of communication.
 Concreteness: It means putting actual facts and figures to simplify the messages so that
receiver will easily understand information and then act accordingly (Nikić, Mitrović and
Travica, 2014).
 Courtesy: Sender needs to respect the receiver as if they does not then chances of
conflict is high. Message should be full of etiquettes, avoid favouritism etc.
 Correctness: Correct language should be use by sender which includes proper language,
no grammatical or spelling mistakes, well timed etc. Meetings would be conducted by
HR director and clear language should be use by them so to remove unclearness.
Purpose which HR direction needs to consider in a communication strategy is explained below,
 Enhancing customer experience: Customer engagement will only improve if they are
satisfy with the services employees are giving. Customer retention will increase if
customers are happy with the product and services Sport love is providing. Other than
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that, regular feedback and grievances of customers should be addressed by company so to
satisfy their needs and demands.
 Clear flow of information to employees: If all the information dispersed by
management is coming to employees without any hurdles then it will automatically
increase performance of employees as now they will work according to the guidelines
given by the management. It will help company to improve their quality of products they
are offering to customers (Fearn-Banks, 2016).
 Utilisation of resources to its fullest: If clear information is conveyed to the employees
then it will help them to improve their performance resulting in better utilisation of
resources.
2. Characteristics of effective listener and speaker during meeting
For every organisation, it is very important and essential to have effective listeners and
effective speakers for smooth and barrier free functioning of business. Verbal communication
involves both listening and speaking. Effectiveness in communication will not only lead to the
healthy relationship between people in business environment but will also lead to growth of the
organisation.
Characteristics of good listeners
Good listeners are the one who show active interest in all business issues and discussions
and show an interest in whatever is communicated. Characteristics of good listening in a meeting
is given below,
 Gain information: Good listening helps an individual to gain information about the facts
and figures in the meeting. This will lead to increase in knowledge of individuals while
attending meetings. It is very important for employees to increase their performance
while communication with customers which will results in better customer experience
(Fill and Turnbull, 2016).
 Reduce conflict : Good listening skills helps to minimise conflict between employer and
employees while working together as they have common purpose and goals to achieve in
future. On the other hand if one is good listener then customer problems can be easily
tackled. This will help to minimise the chances of misunderstanding which in turn will
reduce conflict..
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 Maintaining prestige: For maintaining reputation of the organisation, it is very
important to have a good listening skills because if the person is good listener then
customer complaints and employer information can be handled wisely. But if individual
lacks this skill the it will increase dissatisfaction among employees which will decrease
their performance while working. Low performance of Sport love will force their
customers to switch their brand to other company which will decrease their profitability
(Killian and McManus, 2015).
Characteristics of good speakers
Good speakers is one who shows active participation by sharing thoughts and actions in
business and will ensure that communication is not one way process and by responding it ensures
its a two way process.
 Active involvement in decision making process : Its very important and crucial for
good speakers to play vital role in business meetings by their active participation in
decision making process. Sitting and listening in business meetings is just not enough
until and unless an individual shows an active involvement (Trevino and Nelson, 2016).
 Better solution : Good speakers are the one with active mind and they can provide with
adequate solutions which are faced by the employees while performing their assigned
task. If employees are solving their issues with the help of senior then it will increase
overall productivity of company.
 Clarity : Speaker should always be clear with their thoughts. They should only speak on
the respective ongoing discussion and should not speak anything that has no link with
organisation. Clarity in thoughts and actions are very important as it judges the interest
and knowledge of an individual. Person with good knowledge will leave a good
impression on employees and this will also increase company's goodwill.
3. Evaluate strengths and weakness in orally and in writing
Communication includes oral and verbal messages which helps sender to communicate
their information to receiver. My strengths and weakness are described below,
Strengths in Oral communication:
 It is easy for me to give presentation or speech in front of hundreds of people as am
always confident while speaking.
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 Due to good vocabulary and fluency it is easy for me to communicate my messages to the
audiences so engagement between people and me would generate.
Weakness:
 While speaking I usually distracts from the main topic and start speaking on other topic
which breaks the flow of people. While speaking my relevancy on the topic is low which
is suggested by my friends and mentor.
 Am comfortable while speaking in front of not more than 100-200 people. If the
headcount is more than that then I get panicked which affects my performance in a
negative way.
I have assessed myself few days back due to which I get to know my strengths and weakness
related to oral communication. Now its my responsibility to remove weakness with the help of
proper training by communication expert and self practices. It would take 2 months to remove
my weakness and become an expert in oral communication.
Strengths in written communication:
Written communication is important for me as I have to communicate with employees
through mail or messages. I have assessed myself and found strengths and weakness which is
discussed below,
 Am good in writing concise and clear report to my manager within deadlines as am
equipped with fast writing.
 The facts used in my reports are factually correct and relevant to the information that is
required as per the guidelines of my report. I tend to avoid irrelevant information to add
up to the report which could cause ambiguity in the structure and would make it
ineffective.
Weaknesses:
 One of my biggest weakness is flow of information. My reports lack continuity and I
cannot properly conclude my previous topic which breaks the flow in the structure of my
reports.
 I am yet to acquire a perfect grip on the language which is another major flaw in my
reports. My grammatical references as well as language is not up to point which causes
the reports to be quite inefficient and adds up to the ambiguity.
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Conclusion
Business communication is an important part in attaining the competitive advantage over
others. If proper communication flow is followed by company then it will help employees to
work under guidelines given by management which will reduce their extra work resulting in
increase in overall productivity of company. Seven principles should be follow by
communicating as it will help the receiver to understand messages which is sent by sender.
Effective listening and speaking is an essential part of individual as it promotes clear
communication which will reduce conflict among employees in the workplace.
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References
Books and Journals
Csikósová, A., Antošová, M. and Čulková, K., 2014. Strategy in direct and interactive marketing
and integrated marketing communications. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences.116. pp.1615-1619.
Fearn-Banks, K., 2016. Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S. L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Killian, G. and McManus, K., 2015. A marketing communications approach for the digital era:
Managerial guidelines for social media integration. Business Horizons.58(5). pp.539-
549.
Marnewick, C., 2014. Information and communications technology adoption amongst township
micro and small business: The case of Soweto. South African Journal of Information
Management.16(1). pp.1-12.
Nikić, G., Mitrović, M. and Travica, V., 2014. The quality of business communications
depending on attachment style, social emotional competences and personality traits.
Industrija.42(4). pp.79-97.
Ruff, P. and Aziz, K., 2016. Managing communications in a crisis. Routledge.
Schawbel, D., 2014. Douglas Stone: The importance of feedback in business communications
[Web log post].
Trevino, L. K. and Nelson, K. A., 2016. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Online:
Physical Barriers to Communication. 2018. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/physical-barriers>.
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