All Weather Case Running head

Running head: BUSINESS AND ADMISTRATIVE COMMUNICATION 1

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Courtney Dotimas

Timothy R. Durfield, J.D., MBA

California Baptist University

5/12/2017

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CHAPTER ONE: SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

Question 1: What is business and administrative communication? Why is it important to a

manufacturing company such as All-Weather? Why is it important to Doug and his team

in the HR Department?

– Business and administrative communication refers to the process in which information

that are aimed at running an organization is shared between different stakeholders of that

organization.

– Business and administrative communication are important to manufacturing companies

such as All-Weather. First, it increases employee engagement and commitment (Locker

& Kienzler, 2015). According to Mahan Tavakoli (2015), the employees of a company is

the most important investment of a company and it has the ability to determine its success

or failure. Engaged employees are more dedicated and committed to the objectives of the

company (Tavakoli, 2015). Another importance of Business and administrative

communication it increases the employee retention rate (Locker & Kienzler, 2015).

Employee retention is very important to any company (Son, 2016). According to Sabrina

Son (2016), companies that frequently lose their employees spend a lot of money

replacing them. Moreover, employees gain more skills when they stay longer within a

company, which benefits the company in the long-run. Another importance of

communication to a manufacturing company is that it increases the productivity of

employees (Locker & Kienzler, 2015). High productive employees enables a company to

achieve its goals easily (core, n.d).

– Business and administrative communication is important to Doug and his team in the HR

department for several reasons. First, it improves their relationships with employees.

Health relationships with employees ensures that a positive environment at workplace

(Management Study Guide, n.d). It also increases the chances of employees achieving

their goals. Another important of communication to HR teams is that it improves

employee’s satisfaction. Employee’s satisfaction is key to their productivity. Unsatisfied

employees are less productivity than satisfied employees. Communication also enables

the HR department to easily solve conflicts with employees. Conflicts are common

occurrence in many organizations. Solving such conflicts is critical to the performance of

an organization. With good communication, the HR team can reduce employee’s

grievances, hence, motivating them to be more productivity.

Question 2: why is poor communication problematic? List possible consequences that

Doug and his team in the HR department might face because of poor communication or

lack of communication.

– Poor communication is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it escalates or

generates conflicts. Most conflicts in organizations result due to poor communication

(Conflict Research Consortium, 1998). This is because poor communication leads to

misunderstandings amongst individuals within an organization, which generates conflicts.

Poor communication is also problematic as it leads to high employee turnover (Allan,

n.d). It is costly to any organization to lose it employees, especially after investing on the

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development of their skills. Studies have shown that good communication reduces the

rate of employee turnover by up to 50% below the market level (Allan, nd).

– The possible consequences that Doug and his team in the HR department might face due

to poor communication or lack of communication include;

i. Lost good will

ii. Legal problems

iii. Strained relationship with employees

iv. Low morale level of employees

v. Increased absenteeism

vi. Low productivity

vii. Increased uncertainty

viii. Increased rumors, suspicions, gossip and resentment amongst employees.

Question 3: what are some of the advantages of improving ones communication skill? What

might Doug say to members of his young audience to persuade them to work on improving

their communication skills?

– There are many advantages of improving ones communication skills. First, it helps in

improving relationships with others. This is because our relationships with others is based

on our understandings with each other. Individuals with good communication are easily

understood, and, hence, easily to associate with them. Improving ones communication

skill is also important for exchanging of ideas. After ideas have been generated, they

need to be passed to others. Excellent communication skills, according to Shirley Taylor

(2014), is necessary for successful promotion of ideas. Improving ones communication

can also improve someone’s presentation (Taylor, 2014). Individuals who are able to

communicate well are confident, which may boost their presentation.

– Doug can persuade members of his young audience to improve their communication

skills by saying the following;

“Communication skills are necessary for all aspects of life, ranging from professional

life to school life. Without having a good communication skill, then it will be hard for

you to perform your duties”.

Question 4: In addition to the stories, what else could Doug do to make his presentation

more interesting for teenagers?

– Other ways in which Doug can make the presentation more interesting to teenagers

include;

a. Adding videos in the presentation. In the current digital era, videos are the best way to

make a presentation interesting. According to Chelsi Nakano (2016), Videos are a great

tools when giving engaging presentation. The main reason why videos makes

presentation more interesting is because they have the ability to elicit emotions which are

difficult to evoke.

b. Using ice-breaks in the presentation. According to Chelsi Nakano (2016), makes the

audience to be ready for the presentation as it shows that the presentation will be

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interactive. For example, Doug can asks the teenagers to highlight some of the questions

that they need to be addressed by the presentation.

c. Ask questions in the course of the presentation. Asking questions enables one to maintain

the attention of the audience, which according to Chelsi Nakano (2016), drops to zero

after just 10 minutes of presentation. Asking questions creates soft breaks within a

presentation which enables one to get the attention of his/her audience back.

Question 5: how does one know if one has communicated effectively? How might Doug

know whether his presentation was received with interest?

– There are several ways in which one can know if he/she has communicated. Some of the

methods that one can use to know if he/she has communicated effectively;

i. By asking questions about the subject matter. Asking questions is the best way to

gauge the effectiveness of communication. If the audience correctly answer the