Business

Communication
Course Code: MBA
507
Jeta Majumder
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka
Introduction to
Business
Communication
Course Outline
Introduction to the course
What is Business Communication?
Resources
Core Textbook:
 Lesikar’s Business Communication: Connecting in a
Digital World by Kathryn Rentz and Paula Lentz,
13th Edition, McGraw-Hill International Edition.
Recommended Textbooks:
 Business Communication (7th Edition), A.
C.“Buddy” Krizan, Patricia Merrier, Joyce Logan &
Karen Williams (Thomson)
 Business Communication Today (10th Edition),
Courtland L.Bovee, John V.Thill & Abha Chatterjee
 Business and Administrative Communication by
Kitty O. Locker and Donna S. Kienzler, 10th Edition,
McGraw-Hill International Edition.
 Business Communication- Building Critical Skills by
Kitty O. Locker and Stephen Kyo Kaczmarek, 4th
Edition, McGraw-Hill International Edition.
Participative Learning
Interactive sessions
Participative
discussions
Critical focus
Communication
It comes from Latin word “communis” that means
“common”
It tells us that communication is something
involving with common things.
It represents a common platform of
understanding upon which one can act together
or live together.
Communication is the ability of conveying
information. It requires a sender and a receiver. It
refers to sharing of ideas and information.

Sender Channel Receiver

 Business Communication
The exchange of information or
ideas in the field of commerce and
industry.

The process of exchanging ideas,

thoughts and news related to
business activities with other people
to achieve objectives of business.
The Role of Communication in
Business
 Since communication is the major part of the
work of business, business will require
sufficient and efficient communication to
prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.
Examples include-
 Communication and decision making
 Communication and execution of plan
 Communication and elimination of rumors
 Developing industrial relationships
 Creation of image
 Motivation
The importance of
communication skills
 Nothing puts you in the ‘poor leader’ category
more swiftly than inadequate communication
skills.- An International Business Consultant
As a result-
 Think for yourself
 Take initiative
 Solve problems

So why communication skills?

 To secure an interview
 To get the job
 To do your job well
 To advance in your career
Eventually effective communication
skill will provide-
 Stronger decision-making and
problem-solving
 Increase in productivity
 Convincing and compelling corporate
materials
 Clearer, more streamlined workflow
 Enhanced professional image
 Sound business relationships
 Successful response ensured
 Nature of
Communication
The extent of business The company’s
communication depends organizational plan
on the nature of (centralization or
business, its decentralization) also
organization and the
affects the volume of
people involved.
Some
communication.
business
Finally the people
(insurance companies)
has a much greater (personality type)
need to communicate who make up the
than do others organization also affect
(manufacturing the volume of
companies). communication.
COSTS OF POOR COMMUNICATION
Poor communication can cost billions of
dollars.
Not all communication costs are so dramatic,
however. When communication isn’t as good
as it could be, you and your organization pay
a price in
-wasted time,
-wasted effort,
-lost goodwill, and
-legal problems.
Example: A Form Letter That Annoyed Customers
Why?
Current Challenges for Business
Communicators
1. The Need for the Expanded Media Literacy
 New media (e.g., SNSs)
 Knowledge worker (Example: programmers,
physicians, pharmacists, architects, engineers,
scientists etc.)
 Social intelligence (the ability to quickly assess
the emotions of those around them and adapt
their words, tone, and gestures accordingly)
2. Increasing Globalism and Workplace
Diversity
 Global social networks
 Cross-cultural competency
 Generations
3. An Increased Need for
Strong Analytical Skills
 Computational thinking (the
ability to interact with data,
see patterns in data, make
data-based decisions, and
use data to design for
desired outcome)
 Interpretive skills (extends
beyond interpreting
numbers, e.g. Sense
making)
4. An Increased Focus
on Ethics and Social
Responsibility
 Avoiding ethical scandals
 Corporate social
responsibility
 Main Categories of Business
Communication

There are three broad categories of

communication.

Internal operational
communication
External operational
communication
Personal communication
Main Categories of Business
Communication…
Internal operational communication
It consists of the structured communication within the
organization that directly relates to achieving the
organizational goals.
For example: to construct building, to manufacture
goods, reports.
External operational communication
This is structured communication with people outside the
organization in an effort to accomplishing work goals.
For exp.: personal selling, telephoning customers, and
advertising.
Personal communication
This is non-business related exchanges of information
and feelings among people.
For example: chatting with friends.
 Types of Business Communication

Business communication can be of

two types.
Oral communication
Written communication
Types of Business Communication :
Written Communication
The message that is encoded and transmitted in
written form is known as written
communication.
It is the presentation of thoughts, ideas,
opinions, feelings that are meant to be read.
Media:
o Management bulletin
o Management news letter
o Formal management report
o Supervisor`s hand book
o Complaint box
o Leaflet
 Advantages
Written Communication…
Disadvantages
 It is useful where  Cost involved
record maintenance  More time consuming
is required. as feedback is not
 Effective written immediate.
communication  It requires great skill
develops and and competencies in
enhances language and
organization‘s image. vocabulary. Poor
 Legal defenses can
writing skills and
quality have a negative
depend upon written impact on organization’s
communication as it reputation.
provides valid records.  Too much paper work
and email burden is
involved.
Types of Business Communication
:
Oral Communications
Expression of ideas through the spoken word.
It takes place in face to face conversation,
group discussion, telephone calls in which the
spoken word is used to express meaning.
Media:
o Group discussions
o Counseling
o Formal training course
o Conference
o Prize giving ceremony
o Inspection of factory and office
Oral Communications..
Advantages
Disadvantages
There is a high level of Relying only on oral
understanding and communication may
transparency in oral not be sufficient as
communication. business communication
There is flexibility for is formal and very
allowing changes in the organized.
decisions previously Oral communication is
taken. less authentic.
The decisions can be It is not easy to
made quickly without maintain.
any delay. It requires
Saves money and attentiveness.
efforts.
 Grapevine Communication
Grapevine is an informal channel of business
communication. It is called so because it
stretches throughout the organization in all
directions irrespective of the authority
levels.
Man as we know is a social animal. Despite
existence of formal channels in an organization,
the informal channels tend to develop when he
interacts with other people in organization.
It exists more at lower levels of organization.
Grapevine Communication
Grapevine generally develops due to various reasons.
One of them is that when an organization is facing
recession, the employees sense uncertainty. Also,
at times employees do not have self-confidence due to
which they form unions. Sometimes the managers
show preferential treatment and favor to some
employees giving a segregated feeling to other
employees. Thus, when employees sense a need to
exchange their views, they go for grapevine network
as they cannot use the formal channel of
communication in that case.
Generally during breaks in cafeteria, the subordinates
talk about their superior’s attitude and behavior and
exchange views with their peers. They discuss rumors
about promotion and transfer of other employees. Thus,
grapevine spreads like fire and it is not easy to trace
the cause of such communication at times.
Examples of Grapevine Network of
Communication
Suppose the profit amount of a
company is known. Rumor is spread that
this much profit is there and on that
basis bonus will be declared.
CEO may be in relation to the
Production Manager. They may have
friendly relations with each other.
Advantages of Grapevine
Communication
Grapevine channels carry information rapidly. As soon
as an employee gets to know some confidential
information, he becomes curious and passes the details
then to his closest friend who in turn passes it to other.
Thus, it spreads hastily.
The managers get to know the reactions of their
subordinates on their policies. Thus, the feedback
obtained is quick compared to formal channel of
communication.
The grapevine creates a sense of unity among the
employees who share and discuss their views with each
other. Thus, grapevine helps in developing group
cohesiveness.
The grapevine serves as an emotional supportive
value.
The grapevine is a supplement in those cases where
formal communication does not work.
Disadvantages of Grapevine
Communication
The grapevine carries partial information at
times as it is more based on rumors. Thus, it does
not clearly depicts the complete state of affairs.
The grapevine is not trustworthy always as it
does not follows official path of communication and
is spread more by gossips and unconfirmed report.
The productivity of employees may be
hampered as they spend more time talking rather
than working.
The grapevine leads to making hostility against
the executives.
The grapevine may hamper the goodwill of the
organization as it may carry false negative
information about the high level people of the
organization.
Verbal and Non-Verbal
Communication

VERBAL COMMUNICATION: Verbal

communication means such a
communication that takes place by means
of a language or words. It includes the
following contents.
a. Oral communication
b. Written communication
NON VERBAL
COMMUNICATION
It means communication without the
use of language or words. It
includes appearance, body language,
silence, etc.
1. Facial Expressions:-
Face and eyes are helpful means of
nonverbal communication. They
reveal hidden emotions such as anger,
confusion, enthusiasm, fear, joy etc.
2. Gestures, postures &
movement:-
Gestures means the
language primarily
composed of hand and
fingers. Communication of
deaf people and signal
given by traffic constable
are the example of gesture.
Postures and body movement
also indicate many things.
Shaking hand with
firmness indicates a warm
relationship, moving back
and forth reveals
nervousness.
Flow of Communication
Horizontal/Lateral
Communication
Vertical Communication
Downward
Upward
Diagonal
External
Horizontal/Lateral
Communication
It occurs between workers at generally
equal levels in an organization.
Information flows between persons of
equal status in organization.
Production

Purchase
Sales

Accounts Public relations

Administration
Vertical Communication
1. Downward Communication
Flow of information from the top management to
middle or lower level of managers is called downward
communication.
superior to subordinate.
o involves direction, instructions, order, advice.

Top level mgt

Middle level mgt

Lower level mgt

Employees'/workers
Vertical Communication
2. Upward Communication

Flow of information from the bottom to top level

management is called upward communication.
subordinate to superior. Top level mgt

Middle level mgt

Lower level mgt

Employees'/workers
 Diagonal Communication
Communication that takes place between a
manager and employees of other workgroups
is called diagonal communication.
It generally does not appear on organizational chart.
For instance - To design a training module a training
manager interacts with Operation personnel to
enquire about the way they perform their task.

External Communication
Communication that takes place between a
manager and external groups such as -
suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes etc.
For instance - To raise capital the Managing director
would interact with the Bank Manager.
Process of Business
Communication
Communication simply means exchange of ideas
& information between two persons.
A person sends a message to another person and
gets the response from the receiver on the
message. This whole phenomenon can be
explained as under.
1. Sender’s thoughts:-
The very first step in the process of communication
is generation of thought in the sender’s mind.
These thoughts may be about a request, order,
inquiry production or any other such activity.
2. Encoding / Message:-
The thought generated in the mind of sender is
ambiguous and unable to be communicated unless it is
put into a receivable form. This step is known as
encoding where the sender converts his thought into a
message by means of a language. For example, a
sender thinks about having a job. Now, he will put his
thought on a paper. That is called job application. In his
way, his thought becomes a message.
3. Transmission through media:-
Once a thought is converted into message, it should be
transmitted to the receiver through a suitable medium.
This media might be electronic media as T.V., E-mail,
radio etc. or it may be print media like newspaper,
magazines, letters or merely sound that is transmitted
through the medium of air.
4. Noise and Barriers:-
While transmitting the information to the receiver,
the sender faces lots of barriers. These noise and
barriers are explained as under:
(i) On sender’s side:- Noise and barriers may
take place during the process of encoding. Some
of them may be caused by distraction, lack of
concentration, typing mistake, poor language etc.
(ii) In the medium:- Some barriers are caused by
medium such as poor transmission on T.V. and
radio misprinting in newspapers etc.
(iii) On receiver’s side:- The receiver can also
create certain barriers to the receiving of
message such as poor reading ability, emotions,
lack of concentration etc.
5. Decoding by Receiver:-
Having received the message from the sender, the
receiver attempts to understand and interpret the
message. This process of converting the language of
message into thoughts is known as decoding. For
instance, the receiver, having received job application,
reads the application and understands the message
conveyed by the applicant.
6. Idea Received:-
As soon as the process of decoding is finished, the idea
given by the sender is received by the receiver. It
means the thought that was generated in the mind of
sender has been transmitted to the mind of receiver. In
our example, the sender wanted to inform the receiver
about his thought of having a job. Now the receiver has
got this idea.
7. Feed back:-
Process of communication is incomplete until
the receiver responds to the sender. This
response may be negative, positive, or for
further enquiry. It means when the receiver of
job application welcomes or regrets the
sender, the process of communication is
deemed to be complete.
This whole
Sender’s process
Thought can be depicted
Encoding through
Transmission through mediathe
following diagram.
Noise Decoding

Idea
Feedback
Received
7 C’s of Effective Communication
The 7 C’s provide a checklist for making sure that
your meetings, emails, conference calls, reports,
and presentations are well constructed and
clear - so your audience gets your message.
According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be:
• Completeness
• Conciseness
• Consideration
• Clarity
• Concreteness
• Courtesy
• Correctness
 Completeness
 The communication must be complete. It should convey
all facts required by the audience. The sender of the
message must take into consideration the receiver’s
mind set and convey the message accordingly.
 Every communication must be complete and adequate.
Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, create
misunderstanding and delay actions.
 Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the
required facts.
 For example, when factory supervisor instructs workers
to produce, he must specify the exact size, shape,
quality and cost of the product. Any assumptions
behind the messages should also be clarified.
 While answering a letter, all the questions raised in the
letter must be replied.

46
 A complete communication has following
features:
 Complete communication develops and enhances
reputation of an organization.
 Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial
information is missing and no additional cost is
incurred in conveying extra message if the
communication is complete.
A complete communication always gives
additional information wherever required. It
leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.
 Complete communication helps in better
decision-making by the audience/ readers/
receivers of message as they get all desired and
crucial information.
 It persuades the audience.
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 Conciseness
Conciseness means expressing or covering
much in few words, i.e, communicating what
you want to convey in least possible words
without forgoing the other C’s of communication.
Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication.
Concise communication has following features:
– It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
– It underlines and highlights the main message as
it avoids using excessive and needless words.
– Concise communication provides short and
essential message in limited words to the audience.
– Concise message is more appealing and
comprehensible to the audience.
– Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

48
Communicating what you want to convey
in least possible words.
o Wordy :At the time
o Concise: Now
o Wordy: Due to the fact that
o Concise: Because
 Consideration
• Effective communication must take the audience into
consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points,
background, mind-set, education level, etc.
• Make an attempt to visualize your audience, their
requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that
the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their
emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to
suit the audience’s needs while making your message
complete. Features of considerate communication are as
follows:
– Give emphasis on “you” approach.
– Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the
audience. This will stimulate a positive reaction from the
audience.
– Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on
“what is possible” rather than “what is impossible”.
Lay stress on positive words such as committed, thanks,
50 warm, healthy, help, etc.
 Clarity
Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific
message or goal at a time, rather than
trying to achieve too much at once.
Clarity in communication has following
features:
 It makes understanding easier.
 Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas
enhances the meaning of message.
 Clear message makes use of exact,
appropriate and concrete words.
51
 Concreteness
Concrete communication implies being
particular and clear rather than
fuzzy and general.
Concreteness strengthens the
confidence. Concrete message has
following features:
 It is supported with specific facts and figures.
 It makes use of words that are clear and that
build the reputation.
 Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

52
 Courtesy
 Courtesy in message implies the message should
show the sender’s expression as well as should
respect the receiver. The sender of the message
should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective
and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following
features:
 Courtesy implies taking into consideration both
viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the
message.
 Courteous message is positive and focused at the
audience.
 It makes use of terms showing respect for the
receiver of message.
 It is not at all biased.

53
 Correctness
• Correctness in communication implies that there
are no grammatical errors in communication.
Correct communication has following features:
– The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
– If the communication is correct, it boosts up the
confidence level.
– Correct message has greater impact on the
audience/ readers.
– It checks for the precision and accurateness of
facts and figures used in the message.
– It makes use of appropriate and correct
language in the message.

54
 Communication Barriers
Communication is a process beginning with a
sender who encodes the message and passes it
through some channel to the receiver who
decodes the message.
Communication is fruitful if and only if the
messages sent by the sender are interpreted
with same meaning by the receiver.
If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of
communication, the message will be destroyed.
Due to such disturbances, managers in an
organization face severe problems. Thus the
managers must locate such barriers and take
steps to get rid of them.
Communication Barriers…
There are several barriers that affects the
flow of communication in an organization.
These barriers interrupt the flow of
communication from the sender to the
receiver, thus making communication
ineffective.
It is essential for managers to overcome
these barriers.
The main barriers of communication are
summarized below.
 Main barriers of
communication
Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception
is generally how each individual interprets the world
around him.
All generally want to receive messages which are
significant to them. But any message which is against
their values is not accepted.
A same event may be taken differently by different
individuals. For example : A person is on leave for a
month due to personal reasons (family member being
critical). The HR Manager might be in confusion
whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate
manager might think of replacement because his
team’s productivity is being hampered, the family
members might take him as an emotional support.
 Main barriers of
communication…
The linguistic differences also lead to
communication breakdown.
Same word may mean different to different
individuals.
For example: consider a word “value”.
What is the value of this Laptop?
I value our relation?
What is the value of learning technical skills?

“Value” means different in different sentences.

Communication breakdown occurs if there is
wrong perception by the receiver.
 Main barriers of
communication…
Information Overload: Managers are surrounded
with a pool of information. It is essential to control this
information flow, else the information is likely to be
misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result
communication is less effective.
Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only
hear.
For example, a traveler may pay attention to one
“NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over
the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive
messages should be ignored for effective
communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed
in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his
problem, the superior may not get what he is saying
and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.
 Main barriers of
communication…
Time Pressures: Often in organization the
targets have to be achieved within a
specified time period, the failure of which
has adverse consequences.
In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal
channels of communication are shortened,
or messages are partially given, i.e., not
completely transferred. Thus sufficient time
should be given for effective communication.
 Main barriers of
communication…
Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected
a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions
are also there such as, poor lighting, uncomfortable
sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication
in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers
interferes with communication.
Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of
time also affects communication. If the receiver
feels that communicator is angry he interprets that
the information being sent is very bad. While he
takes it differently if the communicator is happy and
jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be
good and interesting).
 Main barriers of
communication…
Complexity in Organizational Structure:
Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more
the number of managerial levels), more is the
chances of communication getting destroyed. Only
the people at the top level can see the overall
picture while the people at low level just have
knowledge about their own area and a little
knowledge about other areas.
Poor retention: Human memory cannot function
beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is
being told specially if he is not interested or not
attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.
Overcoming
communication barriers
Understand others see things differently to
you. Try to predict the feelings and attitude of the
receiver. What will their expectation be? What about
their state of mind when you are communicating?
What prejudices might they have? If you know these
things before communicating, you reduce the risk if
misinterpretation.
Get feedback from the receiver. Don’t just ask,
‘Do you Understand?’. They will more often than not
say ‘yes’ because they see things in the way they
want to understand it. Ask instead what their
understanding of the message is, and how they see
it.
 As often as possible, speak face-to-face.
This will allow for questions and, most
importantly, allow you to see the body language,
which will convey much more meaning than over
the phone or through email.
Use language that fits the audience. Don’t
try to impress by using language and words that
may be distorted by the listener(s). It simply
makes them confused and inadequate. Plus,
they won’t be listening to you while they try to
work out what on earth you are on about.
Use the right communication channel.
Don’t send an email if it’s quicker to pick up
the phone or go and talk to the person. Use
email for its proper purpose. We are rapidly
losing the art of conversation…don’t add to
that by using the wrong channel.
Have integrity and honesty in your
communications. If you are seen as being
someone who lacks integrity, this will
immediately be noticed and even more barriers
will be built up between you and the listener.
Make it easy for others to listen to
you. Make your communication style that
one of a conversationalist, one who is able
to make a point quickly, succinctly and with
conviction. If your key message is lost in
the morass of a thousand words, people
will wonder what you mean and what the
purpose is.
The importance of
communicating effectively
Getting jobs you want: Effective communication
will make it possible for you to design a powerful
résumé, compose a persuasive application letter,
interview with poise and confidence, and get the job
you want.
 Gaining Promotions: Moving ahead in your
career depends on communicating your technical
competence to others and maintaining effective
relationships with them.
 Providing Leadership: Your ability to motivate
and help others achieve rests on your
understanding of human nature and on mastering
communication skills.
Being Productive on the Job: Work
performance is enhanced by your ability to listen
effectively, speak clearly, and write competently.
Relating Positively to Others: Successful
business and personal relationships depend on
mutual trust and respect; communicating ethically,
with concern and compassion, is essential.
Assuring the Success of Your Organization:
Your organization will succeed only if it has the
support of its constituencies—support that comes
from effectively communicating with customers or
clients about the organization’s products or
services.
Goals of Business
Communication
Effective business communication involves
both the sender and the receiver, but the
sender must take responsibility for
achieving the four basic goals of business
communication:
1. Receiver understanding
2. Receiver response
3. Favorable relationship
4. Organizational goodwill
Receiver Understanding
The first goal of business communication,
receiver understanding, is the most
important.
The message must be so clear that the
receiver understands it as the sender
means it to be understood.
For communication to be successful, the sender and
receiver must achieve shared meaning. Suppose a
supervisor sends an e-mail to a subordinate saying,
“No one plans for a meeting like you do.” Should the
worker react with pleasure or disappointment? Is the
supervisor praising or criticizing the worker’s
attention to detail? The message is too vague to
guarantee receiver understanding. If one worker
says
to another, “Will you join me for lunch today?” the
sender and receiver might have different ideas about
who will pay for the receiver’s meal.
 
It is a challenge for the sender to achieve
the goal of receiver understanding. To
develop a clear message, the sender must
consider the following four issues
• Receiver characteristics
• Message form and content
• Receiver feedback
• Communication barrier
Receiver Response
The second goal of business communication is receiver
response. The receiver response may be positive,
neutral, or negative. It may be conveyed through words,
actions, or both. The situation will determine what is
appropriate.
If the chair of a committee distributes a memo
announcing the time and date of a meeting, those who
receive the memo may act in any of four ways. They
may
 (a) notify the chair that they will attend,
 (b) notify the chair that they will be unable to attend,
 (c) attend without having notified the chair in advance, or
 (d) miss the meeting without providing advance notice.
The first three actions achieve the goal of receiver
response; the fourth does not.
Because this goal is achieved when the receiver
demonstrates his or her understanding of the message
by providing an appropriate response, a sender should
assist the receiver to respond. The wording of the
message should encourage response. In a face-to-face
conversation, the sender (speaker) can ask the receiver
(listener) if he or she understands the message.
Further, the sender can ask directly for a specific
response.
When written messages are used, the sender can
encourage a response by asking questions, enclosing a
reply envelope, including an e-mail address, asking the
receiver to telephone, or using any one of many other
possibilities.
Favorable Relationship
The third goal of business communication—
favorable relationship—focuses on the
people involved in the communication
process. To establish a strong business
relationship, the sender and the receiver
should relate to each other in three
important ways: positively, personally, and
professionally. They must create and
maintain a favorable relationship.
Both the sender and the receiver will benefit from a
favorable relationship. If the sender manufactures goods
or provides services, a favorable relationship might mean
job satisfaction, increased sales, and more profits. If the
sender is a customer, a favorable relationship could lead
to a continued source of supply, better prices, and
assistance if problems develop.
The sender should assume primary responsibility for
creating and maintaining a favorable relationship. Some
of the ways the sender can do this include the following:
• Stressing the receiver’s interests and benefits
• Using positive wording
Doing more than is expected
Organizational Goodwill
The fourth goal of business communication stresses
benefit to the organization. The goodwill of
customers or clients is essential to any business or
organization. If a company has the goodwill of its
customers, it has their confidence and often their
continued business. The more goodwill a company
has, the more successful it can be.
Message senders have a responsibility to try to
increase goodwill for their organizations. They do so
by ensuring that their communications reflect
positively on the quality of the company’s products,
services, and personnel.
The way in which an employee handles a returned
merchandise situation can be used as an example of
how to build organizational goodwill. If store policy
dictates that employees should accept returned
merchandise even when the customer doesn’t have a
receipt, the employee could say: “Would you prefer a
refund or a replacement?” After the customer has
chosen, the employee should complete the transaction
quickly and courteously. Doing so might lead to repeat
business for the company and enhance its reputation.
This behavior allows the employee to generate
goodwill for the store and achieve the fourth goal of
business communication—organizational goodwill.