Business communication

Business communication is the process of sharing information between employees within and outside a company.[1]

Overview

Business communication encompasses topics such as marketing, brand management, customer relations, consumer behavior, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, community engagement, reputation management, interpersonal communication, employee engagement, and event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication.

Media channels for business communication:

• Internet
• Print media
• Radio
• Television
• Ambient media
• Word of mouth.

Business communication focuses primarily on achieving goals/aims and, in the case of a public company or organization, increasing dividends of shareholders[2]

Business communication is a common topic included in the curricular of Undergraduate and Master's degree programs at many colleges and universities.

Categories of business communication

• Marketing[3]
• Brand Management[3]
• Customer/public relations[3]

Methods of business communication

• Web-based communication;
• Video conferencing: allows people in different locations to hold interactive meetings;
• Reports: important in documenting the activities of any department;
• Presentations: popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;
• Telephone meetings: which allow for long distance speech;
• Forum boards: which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location;
• Face-to-face meetings: which are personal and should have a written follow-up;
• Suggestion box: primarily for upward communication, because some people may hesitate to communicate with management directly, so they can give suggestions by drafting one and putting it in the suggestion box.
• Letters;[4]
• Memos: letters to members of a company or organization;[4]

Directional business communication

• Top-down communication
  • Communication within the business that is passed down from the top of the business hierarchy to the bottom, the amount of information passed from one level to another relies on a "need to know" basis.[5]
• Bottom-up communication
  • Communication within the business that is passed up through the business hierarchy from the bottom up.[5]
• Horizontal communication
  • Communication with those who are on the same level in the business hierarchy as one, very little information moves up or down the chain of command.[5]

Organizations

• Founded in 1936 by Shankar is the Association for Business Communication (ABC),[6] originally called the Association of College Teachers of Business Writing, is "an international, interdisciplinary organization committed to advancing business communication research, education, and practice."
• The IEEE Professional Communication Society (PCS) is dedicated to understanding and promoting effective communication in engineering, scientific, and other environments, including business environments. PCS's academic journal,[7] is one of the premier journals in Europe communication. The journal’s readers are engineers, writers, information designers, managers, and others working as scholars, educators, and practitioners who share an interest in the effective communication of technical and business information.
• The Society for Technical Communication is a professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication. With membership of more than 6,000 technical communicators, it's the largest organization of its type in North America.
• The International Business Communication Standards are practical proposals for the conceptual and visual design of comprehensible reports and presentations.

References

1. "BUSINESS COMMUNICATION | Handy Answer: The Handy Communication Answer Book - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
2. Reinsch, Lamar (Fall 1991). "Editorial: What Is Business Communication?". Journal of Business Communication. 28 (4): 305–310. doi:10.1177/002194369102800401. S2CID 145256651.
3. "BUSINESS COMMUNICATION | Handy Answer: The Handy Communication Answer Book - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
4. Damerst, William (1966). Resourceful Business Communication. Harcourt, Brace & World. pp. 6–7.
5. "BUSINESS COMMUNICATION | Handy Answer: The Handy Communication Answer Book - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-09-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication