Business Communication Report: Tesco's Internal & External Comm

This report examines the business communication strategies of Tesco, a major UK-based multinational retailer. It analyzes various types of business information, including verbal, written, on-screen, multimedia, and web-based communication, and their interrelation. The report delves into complex internal business information, focusing on the use of presentations to convey key data to different audiences. It explores corporate communication components like branding, identity, responsibility, and crisis communication, and how Tesco manages external communications to maintain brand recognition. Legal and ethical issues in using business information are addressed, including data protection and ethical practices like whistleblowing. The report also covers operational aspects, such as information storage and backup, and compares electronic (email, social media, video chat) and non-electronic (memorandum, invoice, flowchart) communication methods. The conclusion highlights the importance of effective communication in modern business practices.

Business Communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.....................................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Kinds of business information.......................................................................................................................3
TASK 2.....................................................................................................................................................................4
P2 Complex internal business information.........................................................................................................4
P3 Collection of internal business information...................................................................................................5
P4 External corporate communication................................................................................................................6
P6 Operational issues in use of information.......................................................................................................7
TASK 4.....................................................................................................................................................................7
P7 Electronic and non-electronic methods of communication...........................................................................7
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Business communication is the nervous system of an organisation. It keep the
members of the organisation informed about the internal and external happenings which are
relevant to a task and is of interest to the organisation (Alshare, Lane and Miller, 2011). The
present report is based on the company Tesco. It is a UK based company dealing in a retail
market. It is a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer who is the third largest
retailer in the world measured by profits and ninth largest measured by revenues.
TASK 1
P1 Kinds of business information.
There are five types of business informations such as verbal, on screen, written,
multimedia and web based information (Bovee, 2010).
Verbal- This performance can be in the form of performance feedback regarding a
recent training provided to the employees regarding enhancing leadership skills. Its objective
is to transfer message to more than one recipient. CEO and management is the source of
collecting information.
Written- It could be in the form of manuals and handbooks of employee that are
prepared in order to educate or provide information to the employees. Its purpose is to inform
someone in that way so that they can easily read and understand the message. The sources of
gathering information is human resource department of an organisation.
On-screen- This form of communication is used by the finance department in the
form of graphical illustrations to present the financial performance of the company. Its
objective is to communicate a message to large number of people. Finance department is the
source of collection of this information.
Multimedia- The human resource department can use a PowerPoint presentation to
inform and educate the new employees regarding the missions, values, and policies of the
organization. Its main object is to communicate a message to large number of people. Human
resource and marketing department is the source of gathering information.
Web-based- It means to establish a website developed by marketing department, for a
new product that is being launched by the company. Its basic goal is to communicate a
message to large number of people and its source of communication is marketing department.

M1
The different kinds of information is interrelated to each another. A simple example
of this relationship could be a management decision to launch a new product. The
management will verbally communicate to the R&D department to create a new product.
After the development stage is complete the R&D department will present a detailed
information about the products fulfilling the needs of the management. Then the marketing
department will develop a plan for the marketing of the product, and present it in front of the
management in the form of multimedia and on-screen presentations (Conrad and Newberry,
2012). Finally after these phases are complete the company might launch a new website for
competent marketing of its product. All these forms of information are helpful for the
business, and enable the business to make accurate decision based on the knowledge.
D1
Strategic decisions are the decisions which are taken by the top level of management
such as the CEO, Directors or the Board of members. They describe the long term objective
of the business (Du, Bhattacharya and Sen, 2010). For this study we have selected retail
business offering various products and service to its customer. The decisions taken by
business includes:
Enlarging customer base by entering new geographical markets that includes going
overseas into the Asian markets, and reaching new channels of distribution.
Having mergers with other big retailers in order to make the operations efficient for
the generation of huge profits for the business.
TASK 2
P2 Complex internal business information.
The methods that I am going to use to present Tesco's internal business information is
presentation. To plan my representation I need to list my objective, audience and remit then I
require to figure out my main points and supporting information. By working on these points
I will successfully talk about the internal business information.
Its objective is to ensure that I explain the complex internal business information at a
level that my audience will understand.

My audience is a group of journalists. They want to know about internal business
information in general but not of Tesco and not to the standard of business analyst and also
they don't need the details that the business directors need.
Main points-
 Tesco had a difficult financial year (2014-2015)
 The prices of shares continuously fallen over the past few years, starting when
Sir Terry Leahy stepped down as CEO in 2010.
 the share prices didn't start to properly fall until towards the end of the 2011-
2012 tax year.
 In April 2012 the profits fell 1% for the first time in 20 years.
 Share prices began to recover towards the end of the 2012-2013 tax year.
 The share price hit a low in the middle of the 2014-2015 tax year.
P3 Collection of internal business information.
Corporate Communication is a set of activities involved in managing and
orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating favourable point of
view among stakeholders on which the company depends (Guffey and Loew, 2010). It is the
messages issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its audiences, such as
employees, media, channel partners and the general public. Organizations aim to
communicate the same message to all its stakeholders, to transmit coherence, credibility and
ethics. Components of corporate information are as follows-
Corporate branding- It is the perception of a company which unites a group of
goods or services for the public under a single name, a shared visual identity, and a common
set of symbols. The purpose of a corporate branding initiative is to generate a positive halo
over the products and businesses of the company.
Corporate and organisational identity- These are the two approaches for identify.
There are four types of identity that can be differentiated such as perceived identity, projected
identity, desired identity and applied identity.
Corporate responsibility- It form an organization's respect for interests of society,
demonstrated by taking ownership of the effects its activities have on key constituencies
including customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and the environment, in all parts
of their operations.

Crisis communication- It is considered as a sub-speciality of the profession of public
relations that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization
facing a public challenge to its reputation.
P4 External corporate communication.
External business communication is the exchange of information and messages
between an organization and its external customers outside its formal structure (Guffey and
Loewy, 2012).
The corporate communication from Tesco are very simple, simplicity comes in the
fact that they only include their logo, strap-line and some pictures. It could be the most
important part of success of it because it get straight to the point and people won't come away
from seeing them.
The purpose of these communications are to keep Tesco in mind of the people. Brand
identification is imperative for the success of a business. And it has to continuously ensure
that they do not forgotten about (Madlock, 2012). They do not just want people to know them
but also the customers to want to buy groceries from them instead of a other shop.
D2
A business requires a good communication and information management that will
help them to apply their different strategies and reach their goals and objectives. Tesco is big
business that has excellent communication and information management system within their
organisation. They use communication method efficiently in the way they operate and that is
why they are one of the biggest retailers in the UK. Methods of written communication Letter
Tesco uses letters as a form of written communication, to get in contact with various types of
people who include staff members from the other stores, customers or staffs who are not able
to attend work for health issues (Rogerson-Revell, 2010). An advantage of using letters is that
they can easily reach and communicate with their customers about financial issues or bills. A
disadvantage of using letter is that the letter might not get delivered to the specific place you
want it or on time, this could cause problems.
TASK 3
P5 Legal and ethical issues in using business information.
Legal issues- All personal information related to the business is highly confidential.
Thus, misuse of this information is strictly prohibited. It is necessary that the business uses

various acts such as Data Protection Act 1998, which states that all the employees must
obtain the information related to the business lawfully. The information can only be used for
a particular purpose that is stated at the time of permission. Another important Act is the
Computer Misuse Act 1990, which prohibits the activities such as misuse of computer
software, or having illegal access to the company protected files.
Ethical issues- It is very important to deal with ethical issues using organizational
codes of practice and policies in the form of e-mail, internet, and whistle blowing. The
business should tell its people the rules and limit them doing something that is unhealthy for
the business. An important ethical issue an organizations today is whistle blowing, practice in
which an employee raises queries in front of the management relating to an unethical practice
which is being carried out in the company.
P6 Operational issues in use of information.
Every organization requires to store a large amount of information that is important
for the effective management and functioning of the organization (Sweeney and Hua, 2010).
Thus, it is immensely important to secure this information and take some serious measures to
prevent its misuse. Creation of back-ups for the stored information is another aspect
associated with the operational issue. Thus, it is necessary for the businesses to use various
programs in order to minimize the risk of losing vital information that is stored on its servers.
TASK 4
P7 Electronic and non-electronic methods of communication.
Electronic methods of communications-
Email- It is one of the oldest forms of electronic communication used in business, due
to its versatility e-mails can be used for various purposes such as sending and sharing
information, business proposal, passing of documents. The intended audience in the email
could be employees of office or even the boss depending on the type of e-mail.
Social Networking Media- It has emerged as a new frontier in the field of marketing
and business networking. With the help of this marketing businesses can make promotions in
order to draw the attention of their consumer. General public is the intended audience of it.

Video Chat- It is a technique of communication that has established its place with a
fast pace in the business communication, because of the fact that it provides proximity to a
conversation. Senior Officers, Managers are its intended audience.
Non-electronic methods of communication-
Memorandum- This is similar to written message that is used in business, it is much
shorter than a letter, and is focused on one practical subject. It is used to Communicate
between different departments of an organisation.
Invoice- It comprises of a detailed list of products and services that are provided with
a statement of the sum dues to bill. Finance department use this.
Flow chart- It is a diagrammatic illustration for showing the sequential movement of
the project flow that is used by project manager and management.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that business communication is an important
part of becoming successful in today's business world. There is no profession which can be
run without the use of technology to increase their proficiency. An effective communication
is one of the building stone for establishing and maintaining a business as successful. The
importance of understanding the task, conditions and standards cannot be measured in words
in business. Therefore, communication technology is a dominated factor that must be studied
and understood by small, private and corporate businesses to get success in today's market. In
fact successful communication is the bed rock of ground and pleasant relationship between
the seniors and sub ordinates, between the workers and the management, between the
customers and the sellers good and efficient system of communication helps in better
coordination and efficient control. It results in clear understanding, good production, healthy
climate within the organization willing cooperation among the various levels, if businessman
can communicate effectively and successfully.

REFERENCES
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communication skills for graduate business education.Journal of Education for
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Du, S., Bhattacharya, C.B. and Sen, S., 2010. Maximizing business returns to corporate
social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication.International Journal
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Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2010.Business communication: Process and product. Cengage
Learning.
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Madlock, P.E., 2012. The influence of power distance and communication on Mexican
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through:<http://www.managementstudyguide.com/business_communication.htm>.
[Accessed on 6th June 2017].
business communication. 2017. [Online]. Available
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communication.html>. [Accessed on 6th June 2017].