Introduction
According to Richards (2010) mentioned that Business communication refers to a range of activities by which an organisation shares information appropriately within and outside of the organisation for the purpose of communicating with stakeholders. The principal objective of this report is to demonstrate how business information is collected and managed. Besides, the writer has focused on the successful communication of information that determines the future prosperity of an organisation.
1. Understand different types of business information
1.1 Different types of business information, their sources, and purposes
They have different types of business information, and that information has other sources and goals. The purpose of different kinds of information is that it is used for the company’s future development.
Written Information
The written information is presented in written form from diverse sources such as newspapers, books, trade journals and government publications. It can be in the form of words, diagrams, graphs, and charts.
Verbal Information
Verbal information is the most helpful way of communication that can solve immediate problems. Tesco provides lucrative information on the oral form (Tesco, 2016). Verbal information is provided formally.
On-Screen Information
On-Screen Information is produced with a combination of text, graphics, animation, audio and video. The onscreen information is presented using a multimedia channel like TV, display network.
Web-Based Information
The advancement of technological devices permits people to stream content from anywhere in the world. The company is also focusing on website development to get competitive advantages.
1.2 Appropriateness of business information to make strategic decisions
Information is the most powerful tool in the business world. The management of a company formulates its strategic decision based on the information available to it. So, the information must be reliable and appropriate. The competitors’ information helps the company analyse its activity and take the initiative to get an advantage over the competitors. Therefore, it is evident that a company will not make a strategic decision without appropriate information.
1.3 Present complex internal business information using three different methods
In this section, the author will describe the three different methods of presenting complex internal business information.
Television
Television is an effective method of representing information of the business. For example, Tesco presents information about its product on Television. Television is the non-personal paid form of giving information through which Tesco provides audio and visual messages to the general people.
On-Screen Presentation
Tesco produces on-screen information and presents it on the screen. Tesco provides written report for the educated people (Tesco, 2016). On the other hand, video and audio clips are popular methods of presenting information that attracts educated and illiterate people.
Web-based Presentation
Tesco has developed its website to lure people to visit the website information again and again. Tesco produced good content for the website and presented a report in an organised way.
1.4 Different types of business information and their sources
The internal information can be acquired from different departments like Finance, Production, Marketing, Human Resources, and Customer Services. Conversely, external communication is gathered from numerous sources outside of the organisation. For example, Tesco collects external information from market research to determine their markets, consumers, and employees’ views. An organisation gathers information from different government sources that include ONS, the DTI, and the OECD. At last, the other organisations are working to collect and provide information in exchange for money.
2. Be able to present business information effectively
2.1 Produce corporate communications
Corporate communication refers to the types of communication that are accomplished among the stakeholders of the company. Corporate communication involves all internal and external communication consisting of activities held to develop a good company perception. The company’s mission statement creates a message about the company’s corporate culture shared and communicated among stakeholders. The mission statement also describes the purpose of the company that corresponds with the world. The logo, design, package, sign symbol also message the audience about the corporate culture. For example, Apple’s logo creates a brand image and communicates with customers (Argenti, 1998). The writer has found out that different verbal and non-verbal methods produce corporate information and share it with the various stakeholder groups from the above discussion.
2.2 Effectiveness of business information and its communication
Business information and its communication play key roles in the success of the business. Tesco utilises verbal communication methods while meeting with employees. Verbal communication helps the company to resolve the problem quickly. As there always are questions and queries, this method is effective for Tesco (Tesco, 2016). This method also helps the organisation to share business information and increases the level of customer service. The business information and practical communication skills made Tesco one of the successful companies in the world.
3. Understand the issues and constraints about the use of business information
3.1 Corporate communications of an existing product or service
For completing this section, the author has selected EasyJet. One of the major corporate communication methods the company uses is multimedia technology. The advertisement of this brand is shown through TV, radio, display network, and online advertisement. The most common and useful ways of communication of audio and visual message are the advertisements broadcast on TV. Television is a medium through which EasyJet can communicate with a mass of people at a time. Besides, the images given on the billboard and posters create a picture of the product in customers’ minds. EasyJet produces clear, concise information and provides it through visual media that has a long-lasting impact on consumers. Therefore, EasyJet generates a comprehensive and powerful message shortly and shares and communicates the product’s letter to the stakeholders (Argenti, 1998).
4. Know how to communicate business information using appropriate methods
4.1 Legal and ethical issues about the use of business information
According to Bevan (2010) stated that different laws and regulations protect the use of business information that the author has described in the following:
Data Protection Act 1998
The private company collects the personal information of customers for a different purpose. In some cases, the company misuses that data without the concern of people. The Data Protection Act safeguards data held about consumers from being abused.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act permits individuals or organisations to give applications to the public authority to get information. The public administration is bound to provide valid and reliable information to the public.
Computer Misuse Act 1990
The computer misuse act is endorsed to restrict the misuse of computer data, such as hacking into other publics’ systems, misusing software or aiding an individual to gain entrance to secured files on somebody else’s PC (BBC News, 2016).
4.2 Legal, ethical and operational issues to the use of business information
In this section, the writer has selected Tesco to evaluate its ethical, legal and operational issues about the use of business information. In the case of legality, Tesco collects data from the customers through the feedback form. Besides, the company also collects information through an online survey. When collecting data from the public, they are taking permission from the customers. According to the Data Protection Act 1998, the company follows the proper approach to collect the data and gives the highest priority to secure that data (Lowe, 1999). In ethical issues, the author has found out that Tesco sends the appropriate policies to send emails to the general people. The company also provides the maximum advantages to the employees for their work. It also ensures workplace security and follows organisational policies. The company protects against crime, fraud and other illegal practices within the organisation that may damage the organisation’s reputation.
4.3 Operational issues about the use of business information
In this case, the author has evaluated the operational issues workers take into attention when communicating with business. Information is the heart of a company, and it is vital to store information. The company collects and manages a wide range of necessary and unnecessary information. The management of the company has to ensure two fundamental issues to control the operation of the office. The first is that the company receives the information it requires. The other issue is that the proper member of personnel gets the information. For example, Tesco has to follow some policies and procedures to manage information properly, including security, backup, and information policies. Tesco is conscious of data security, and the management deals with preserving the reliability and accessibility of organisational information and knowledge. Most companies are storing data on a Hard disk (Robbins, 2001). But, there is still the risk of data being violated by malicious attacks and viruses. Thus, an organisation needs to protect the data and follow appropriate policies for using business information related to daily operation.
Conclusion
After completing this assignment, the author has found out that each organisation needs to understand the strategy of business communication to communicate among business. In this assignment, the author has illustrated the different types of business information, their sources, and their purposes. The second part of this report presented business information effectively. In the third section of this report, the writer has described the corporate communications of a brand. In the last part, the writer has discussed the business organisation’s goal, ethical and operational practice (Davies, 2005). Thus, the author wants to conclude that business communication is essential for each to communicate appropriately.
References
Argenti, P. (1998). Corporate communication. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
BBC News. (2016). Business – BBC News. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/business [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016].
Bevan, J. (2010). BTEC level 3 business. London: Edexcel.
Davies, C. (2005). Finding and knowing. London: Routledge.
Lowe, M. (1999). Business information at work. London: Aslib/IMI.
Niederst Robbins, J. (2001). Web design in a nutshell. Beijing: O’Reilly.
Richards, C. (2010). BTEC level 3 national business. London: Edexcel.
Tesco.com. (2016). Tesco.com – online shopping; bringing the supermarket to you – Every little helps. [online] Available at: http://www.tesco.com/homepages/default/variants/a/ [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016].
