BUS101 Business Communication: Structured Reflection on Key Topics

This report presents a structured reflection on organizational communication, a topic within the BUS101 Business Communication course. The student begins by defining organizational communication, emphasizing its contextual nature and importance in achieving organizational goals. The report then delves into the student's personal interest in the topic, highlighting the distinction between formal and informal communication and the different flows of communication (downward, upward, and horizontal). Finally, the student discusses the practical application of these concepts in their future professional career, emphasizing the establishment of effective communication channels, the encouragement of informal communication, and the monitoring of communication processes for improvement. The assignment utilizes at least three academic sources to support the discussion.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Business Communication
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Table of Contents
Organizational Communication.......................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 1..................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 2..................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 3..................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Organizational Communication
Answer to Question 1
We have discussed about many topic under the subject Business Communication.
However, among all of the subjects, I have found the topic called Organizational
Communication most interesting. The following discussion provides a short description about
this topic:
Organizational Communication can be defined as the receiving and sending of message
among different individuals of the organizations in order to achieve the organizational goals and
objectives. For this reason, organizational communication is regarded as highly contextual and it
highly dependent on organizational culture (Christensen and Cornelissen 2013). Organizational
individuals transmit the organizational massages through written communication, face-to-face
communication, mediated channels and others. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the
organizational communication has significance importance within the organizations as it helps in
the accomplishment of organizational tasks related to specific roles and responsibilities. In
addition, organizational communication assists the employees to achieve the organizational goals
and objectives by complying with the policies and procedures of the organizations (Kramer
2014).
The main focus of organizational communication is to build relationship among the
internal organization members with the help of interaction. For this reason, it order to be
successful, business organizations must have competent communication. The study of
organizational communication indicates towards the reliance of the organizations on effective
communication and effective communication skills of the members of the organizations

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(Christensen and Cornelissen 2013). For this reason, organizational members must possess the
skills of oral as well as written communication for implementing effective organizational
communication. Due to all these reasons, organizational communication is regarded as one of the
vital aspects for the success of the companies. It is the responsibility of the senior management
of the business organizations to effectively establish the mechanism of organizational
communication for the smooth flow of communication within the organizations (Spaho 2013).
Answer to Question 2
The above discussion provides a short description about the aspects of organizational
communication. In this context, I would like to mention about some of the aspects of
organizational communication that has made the topic interesting to me. They are discussed
below:
The first interesting factor in organizational communication is the segregation of this
aspect into two major categories; they are Formal communication and Informal communication
and both of them are the part of organizational communication. I have found it interesting to
observe the presence of two different types of communication process in the organizations. The
association of formal communication can be seen with the formal organizational structure of the
businesses. Under the process of formal communication, one can observe smooth flow of
communication on accurately as well as timely basis with the help of proper communication
channel (Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani 2015). For example, the dictation of the senior
management for the communication flow from one department to another department can be
presented. Some of the most common form of formal communication are meetings, performance
reviews, company newsletters, conferences, telephone calls, faxes and others. On the contrary,
the major components of informal organizational communication are casual meetings, office

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outings, social and personal messages and others. Some of the interesting mediums of informal
communication in the organization are grapevine, person to person meetings and others (Cardon
2014).
Another interesting factor to me in organizational communication is the presence of
downward, upward or horizontal communication within the organizations. It is interesting for me
to observe the different flow of communication in the same organization. The flow from
downward communication can be seen from superiors to subordinates and it involves orders and
instructions. In upward communication the flow of commutation can be seen from the
subordinates to the superiors and it includes feedbacks, suggestions, business reports and others.
In horizontal communication, the flow of communication can be seen among the people in the
same department or position (Grunig 2013). All these aspects are of great interest to me.
Answer to Question 3
Based on the above discussion, I can say that I have large scope for the application of the
above-discussed factors in my future organization. For the application of organizational
communication, my first step would be to set proper communication channel in my organization
as it is the most essential factor for establishing effective communication within the organization.
Some of the major communication channel that I would establish in my future organization are
face-to-face communication, communication through broadcast media, mobile communication,
communication through various electronic channels like email, fax and most importantly written
messages (Men 2014). The establishment of these communication channels will lead to the
smooth communication of messages between the subordinates and supervisors. Another
important aspect that I would like to establish in my future organization is the process of taking

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feedback related to the functioning of the organizational channels as it will boost the
organization communication (Cornelissen and Cornelissen 2017).
After this, I would try to encourage informal communication within the organization as it
is a major mean of organizational communication. In addition, the presence of informal
communication helps in the development of cordial relationship between the supervisors and the
subordinates. At the same time, I will be majorly responsible for observing and addressing the
changes in the process of organizational communication so that the loopholes and negative
aspects in the communication process can be identified, if any. These are the major aspects for
the establishment of formal as well as informal communication along with upward, downward
and horizontal communication within my future organization (Lin 2014).

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References
Cardon, P.W., 2014. Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Christensen, L.T. and Cornelissen, J., 2013. Bridging corporate and organizational
communication: Review, development and a look to the future. In Organisationskommunikation
und Public Relations (pp. 43-72). Springer VS, Wiesbaden.
Cornelissen, J. and Cornelissen, J.P., 2017. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and
practice. Sage.
Grunig, J.E. ed., 2013. Excellence in public relations and communication management.
Routledge.
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.
Kramer, M.W., 2014. Managing uncertainty in organizational communication. Routledge.
Lin, C.A., 2014. Communication technology and social change. In Communication Technology
and Social Change(pp. 17-30). Routledge.
Men, L.R., 2014. Strategic internal communication: Transformational leadership, communication
channels, and employee satisfaction. Management Communication Quarterly, 28(2), pp.264-284.
Spaho, K., 2013. Organizational communication and conflict management. Management: journal
of contemporary management issues, 18(1), pp.103-118.