Unit 4 Business Communication (GC01615)
Table of Contents
P1 (1.1): explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes.
P2 (1.2): present complex internal business information using three different methods appropriate to the user’s needs [IE, CT].
P3 (2.1): produce corporate communications.
P4 (3.1): evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or service.
P5 (4.1): explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business information.
P6 (4.2): explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.
P1 (1.1): explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes
Business information comes from a wide variety of sources and an effective business person will research information from a range of sources before making decisions. Business information is one of the three main segments of the information industry (Guest, 2017). The other two segments are scientific, technical and medical, and educational and training content.
Types of information
Verbal information is literally faced to face which is seen as the best way to communicate. This way there is less scope for misunderstanding and it allows for verbal and nonverbal messages. However, with the constraints of time and budgets in business, it is not always possible or practical to meet in person. Telephone conversations are always another seen way to communicate well (Harris, 2016). The range in which people can communicate verbally is enormous. Speech enables complex ideas to be expressed and discussed. For most people, talking is the most comfortable method of expression (Hooley, 2016).
Written information is the use of physical symbols to represent words. Words are sounds that makeup speech. Other forms of physical representation, such as diagrams, graphs and charts are also types of visual representation. Written information may come from a wide variety of sources including newspapers, books, trade journals and government publications (Gueest, 2016).
On-screen information may be produced on-screen. This can be seen in multimedia TV and CD-ROMs that combine text, graphics, animation, audio and video.
Multimedia information can be text, graphics, audio, animation, video, data and many more. It is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance (Hill, 2016).
Web-based information is an information system that uses internet web technologies to deliver information and services, to users or other information systems/applications. Reliable and valid information is essential to all businesses and organizations. An organization without any information is pretty much pointless as they haven’t a clue where they are going or what they’re doing (Beich, 2016). Organizations can use the information for a variety of purposes that include: updating knowledge, informing future developments, strategic direction and SWOT analysis, offering competitive insight, communicating sales promotions and inviting support for activities.
Internal sources of information and their purposes
This type of information could come from a variety of sources within the organization. Some of the main departments are as follows. • Finance will have a wealth of information relating to company performance. • Sales departments will often store information about customers, as well as sales records for the organization’s existing products and services • Human resources can provide information about the staffing and training within the organization, such as staff turnover. • Production will be able to give details of production costs, along with past and possible future levels of production. • Marketing can give information about the results of research undertaken by the company., the success of previous marketing campaigns and promotional activities. • Customer services can tell you what customers think about the business and give you information on how customers respond to certain things (Rugman, 2016).
External sources of information and their purposes
External data exists in the form of published materials, collected by someone else outside the company. Government sources are supplied by, among others, the office of national statistics, the department of trade and industry and the organization for economic development.
Trade groupings are groups of businesses from the same industry or marketplaces that provide a service to representatives of their industry (Moriris, 2016). They can act as pressure groups to imitate positive change for their industry. They also publish trade journals, which are a very useful resource. Commercially provided databases come with many private research organizations that specialize in building up databases of people who are known to have an interest in certain products and services. Research in the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge (Hooley, 2016)……….
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