8/19/2016

Assignment on Business Communication

Topics: Role of Digitalization of

Business Messages

Section: B, Group: 3 DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, JAGANNATH UNIVERSITY

Prepared For:

Nafisa Rownak

Assistant Professor

Department of Finance

Jagannath University

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Summary

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another. In the era

of business communication is a necessary tools. People often communicate with their business

partners, stake holders, employees, customers and any related parties.

The communication process and channels are significantly changes in the way social, technical

and global changes occurs and social agents produce, distribute and consume information,

knowledge and culture. One of the main reason of this changes is the fundamental shift from an

analog system to a digital one in transmitting business messages.

We will begin by looking at the characteristics of the digital means as opposed to the analog one;

we will analyze the ways in which that digitation influences the way we transmit business

messages and we will conclude by assessing the limitation and advantages of the digitation of

transmitting business messages.

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Objective of the Report:

The primary objective of this report is to use the theoretical concepts, gained in the classroom in

analyzing real life scenarios. This program is designed to conduct a real life research and gaining

some real life experiences, so that it adds value to the knowledge I have learned in Business

Communication subject.

The objectives are stated below:

1. To review my knowledge on Business communication.

2. To identify the advantages of digitalization of business messages.

3. To fulfill my academic requirement.

Methodology:

Methodology refers to the overall procedure of the report. To achieve the specific objective of this

study, data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. In addition, interaction with

the clients and traders of the company was an extremely effective source of retrieving information.

Primary Sources:

1. Data were collected by observation

2. Communication process of Royal Capital Ltd.

3. Transition of business messages of RCL.

Secondary Sources:

1. Websites

2. Articles

3. Books

4. Jurnals

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Limitations:

It is observable that almost all studies have some boundaries. During performing my work, we had

to face some unavoidable limitations. Some of the major limitations of our study are stated below:

Rush hours and business is another reason that acts as an obstacle while gathering data.

As it is a wide range of studies, to prepare this report our tenure was not enough to prepare

a report.

Upgraded data will make differences in the performance analysis of this report.

Lack of enough materials like books, journals and other papers capture me for severe

brainstorming during working this report.

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Introduction

In general, communication is a means of connecting people or places. Two-way process of

reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange (encode-decode)

information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning.

Business Communication

Business communication is the sharing of information between people within and outside the

organization that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. It can also be defined

as relaying of information within a business by its people.

There are various categories of communication and more than one may occur at any time.

The different categories of communication include:

Spoken or Verbal Communication: face-to-face, telephone, radio or television and other

media.

Non-Verbal Communication: body language, gestures, how we dress or act - even our

scent.

Written Communication: letters, e-mails, books, magazines, the Internet or via other media.

Visualizations: graphs and charts, maps, logos and other visualizations can communicate

messages.

The desired outcome or goal of any communication process is understanding.

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The Communication Process

1. A message or communication is sent by the sender through a communication channel to a

receiver, or to multiple receivers.

2. The sender must encode the message (the information being conveyed) into a form that is

appropriate to the communication channel, and the receiver(s) then decodes the message

to understand its meaning and significance.

3. Misunderstanding can occur at any stage of the communication process.

4. Effective communication involves minimising potential misunderstanding and overcoming

any barriers to communication at each stage in the communication process.

5. An effective communicator understands their audience, chooses an appropriate

communication channel, hones their message to this channel and encodes the message to

reduce misunderstanding by the receiver(s).

6. They will also seek out feedback from the receiver(s) as to how the message is understood

and attempt to correct any misunderstanding or confusion as soon as possible.

7. Receivers can use techniques such as Clarification and Reflection as effective ways to

ensure that the message sent has been understood correctly.

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Communication Channels

Communication theory states that communication involves a sender and a receiver (or receivers)

conveying information through a communication channel.

Communication Channels is the term given to the way in which we communicate. There are

multiple communication channels available to us today, for example face-to-face conversations,

telephone calls, text messages, email, the Internet (including social media such as Facebook and

Twitter), radio and TV, written letters, brochures and reports to name just a few.

Choosing an appropriate communication channel is vital for effective communication as each

communication channel has different strengths and weaknesses.

For example, broadcasting news of an upcoming event via a written letter might convey the

message clearly to one or two individuals but will not be a time or cost effective way to broadcast

the message to a large number of people. On the other hand, conveying complex, technical

information is better done via a printed document than via a spoken message since the receiver is

able to assimilate the information at their own pace and revisit items that they do not fully

understand.

Written communication is also useful as a way of recording what has been said, for example taking

minutes in a meeting.

Encoding Messages

All messages must be encoded into a form that can be conveyed by the communication channel

chosen for the message.

We all do this every day when transferring abstract thoughts into spoken words or a written form.

However, other communication channels require different forms of encoding, e.g. text written for

a report will not work well if broadcast via a radio programme, and the short, abbreviated text used

in text messages would be inappropriate if sent via a letter.

Complex data may be best communicated using a graph or chart or other visualisation.

Effective communicators encode their messages with their intended audience in mind as well as

the communication channel. This involves an appropriate use of language, conveying the

information simply and clearly, anticipating and eliminating likely causes of confusion and

misunderstanding, and knowing the receivers’ experience in decoding other similar

communications. Successful encoding of messages is a vital skill in effective communication.

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Decoding Messages

Once received, the receiver/s need to decode the message. Successful decoding is also a vital

communication skill.

People will decode and understand messages in different ways based upon any Barriers to

Communication which might be present, their experience and understanding of the context of the

message, their psychological state, and the time and place of receipt as well as many other potential

factors.

Understanding how the message will be decoded, and anticipating as many of the potential sources

of misunderstanding as possible, is the art of a successful communicator.

Feedback

Receivers of messages are likely to provide feedback on how they have understood the messages

through both verbal and non-verbal reactions.

Effective communicators pay close attention to this feedback as it the only way to assess whether

the message has been understood as intended, and it allows any confusion to be corrected.

Bear in mind that the extent and form of feedback will vary according to the communication

channel used: for example feedback during a face-to-face or telephone conversation will be

immediate and direct, whilst feedback to messages conveyed via TV or radio will be indirect and

may be delayed, or even conveyed through other media such as the Internet.

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Interpersonal Communication Skills

Interpersonal communication is the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and

meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages: it is face-to-face communication.

Interpersonal communication is not just about what is actually said - the language used - but how

it is said and the non-verbal messages sent through tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and

body language.

When two or more people are in the same place and are aware of each other's presence, then

communication is taking place, no matter how subtle or unintentional.

Without speech, an observer may be using cues of posture, facial expression, and dress to form an

impression of the other's role, emotional state, personality and/or intentions. Although no

communication may be intended, people receive messages through such forms of non-verbal

behaviour.

Elements of Interpersonal Communication

The Communicators

For any communication to occur there must be at least two people involved. It is easy to think

about communication involving a sender and a receiver of a message. However, the problem with

this way of seeing a relationship is that it presents communication as a one-way process where one

person sends the message and the other receives it. While one person is talking and another is

listening, for example.

In fact communications are almost always complex, two-way processes, with people sending and

receiving messages to and from each other simultaneously. In other words, communication is an

interactive process. While one person is talking the other is listening - but while listening they are

also sending feedback in the form of smiles, head nods etc.

The Message

Message not only means the speech used or information conveyed, but also the non-verbal

messages exchanged such as facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures and body language. Non-

verbal behaviour can convey additional information about the spoken message. In particular, it can

reveal more about emotional attitudes which may underlie the content of speech. See our page:

Effective Speaking for more on how you can use your voice to full effect.

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Noise

Noise has a special meaning in communication theory. It refers to anything that distorts the

message, so that what is received is different from what is intended by the speaker. Whilst physical

'noise' (for example, background sounds or a low-flying jet plane) can interfere with

communication, other factors are considered to be ‘noise’. The use of complicated jargon,

inappropriate body language, inattention, disinterest, and cultural differences can be considered

'noise' in the context of interpersonal communication. In other words, any distortions or

inconsistencies that occur during an attempt to communicate can be seen as noise. See our page:

Barriers to Effective Communication for more information.

Feedback

Feedback consists of messages the receiver returns, which allows the sender to know how

accurately the message has been received, as well as the receiver's reaction. The receiver may also

respond to the unintentional message as well as the intentional message. Types of feedback range

from direct verbal statements, for example "Say that again, I don't understand", to subtle facial

expressions or changes in posture that might indicate to the sender that the receiver feels

uncomfortable with the message. Feedback allows the sender to regulate, adapt or repeat the

message in order to improve communication. Our pages: Clarification and Reflecting describe

common ways to offer feedback in communication, our page: Active Listening describes the

process of listening attentively.

Context

All communication is influenced by the context in which it takes place. However, apart from

looking at the situational context of where the interaction takes place, for example in a room,

office, or perhaps outdoors, the social context also needs to be considered, for example the roles,

responsibilities and relative status of the participants. The emotional climate and participants'

expectations of the interaction will also affect the communication.

Channel

The channel refers to the physical means by which the message is transferred from one person to

another. In face-to-face context the channels which are used are speech and vision, however during

a telephone conversation the channel is limited to speech alone.

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The Information Age/The Digital and ICT Revolutions

The digital revolution

Technological breakthroughs have revolutionized communications and the spread of information.

In 1875, for example, the invention of the telephone breached distance through sound. Between

1910 and 1920, the first AM radio stations began to broadcast sound. By the 1940s television was

broadcasting both sound and visuals to a vast public. In 1943, the world’s first electronic computer

was created. However, it was only with the invention of the microprocessor in the 1970s that

computers became accessible to the public. In the 1990s, the Internet migrated from universities

and research institutions to corporate headquarters and homes.

All of these technologies deal with information storage and transmission. However, the one

characteristic of computer technology that sets it apart from earlier analog technologies is that it is

digital. Analog technologies incorporate a combination of light and sound waves to get messages

across, while digital technology, with its system of discontinuous data or events, creates a universal

model? to represent information that is expressed by almost anything using light and sound waves.

To use an analogy, a digital world is a world united by one language, a world where people from

across continents share ideas with one another and work together to build projects and ideas. More

voluminous and accurate information is accumulated and generated, and distributed in a twinkling

to an audience that understands exactly what is said. This in turn allows the recipients of the

information to use it for their own purposes, to create ideas and to redistribute more ideas. The

result is progress. Take this scenario to a technological level all kinds of computers, equipment

and appliances interconnected and functioning as one unit. Even today, we see telephones

exchanging information with computers, and computers playing compressed audio data files or

live audio data streams that play music over the Internet like radios. Computers can play movies

and tune in to television. Some modern homes allow a person to control central lighting and air-

conditioning through computers. These are just some of the features of a digital world.

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The ICT

ICT is short for information and communications technology. It refers to a broad field

encompassing computers, communications equipment and the services associated with them. It

includes the telephone, cellular networks, satellite communication, broadcasting media and other

forms of communication.

The relationship between the digital revolution and the ICT revolution

The digital and ICT revolutions are twin revolutions. To understand their relationship, let us look

at the history of voice telephony. According to Robert W. Lucky, The crux of [Alexander Graham]

Bells invention of the telephone in 1875 was the use of analog transmission—the voltage

impressed on the line was proportional to the sound pressure at the microphone. The growth of the

telephone was relatively slow; it was not until the 1920s that a national telephone network was

established in the US. In the late 1940s, an alternative to analog transmission of voice was

considered with pulse-code modulation (an encoded signal of pulses). This marked the start of

digitization in telecommunications.

However, it was only in 1961 that the first digital carrier system was installed. Digitization meant

the widespread replacement of telephone operators with digital switches. In 1971 the first fiber

optic cables suitable for communications were made, leading to efforts to send communications

signals via light waves. (Light wave transmission systems are inherently digital.) By about 1989,

ones and zeros had become the language of telephone networks in the US. Digitization was a

critical development because with digital transmission noise and distortion were not allowed to

accumulate, since the ones and zeros could be regularly restored (i.e., regenerated) by a succession

of repeater sites along the transmission line. The outcome was clearer communications over longer

distances at lower costs.

Today, voice is translated into data packets, sent over networks to remote locations, sometimes

thousands of kilometers away, and, upon receipt, translated back to voice. Even television is not

immune to digitization. In the near future, television signals and television sets will be digital. It

will also be possible to use the television to surf the Internet. The digital TV will allow people

from different locations to chat with each other while watching a program. With everything

becoming digital, television, voice telephony, and the Internet can use similar networks. The

transmission of hitherto different services (telephony, television, internet) via the same digital

network is also known as convergence.

Cairncross observes that once the infrastructure and the hardware, be it a computer or a telephone

or another device, have been set in place, the cost of communications and information exchange

will be virtually zero. Distance will no longer decide the cost of communicating electronically.

This explains why, for example, a three-minute transatlantic call that costs $0.84 today would

probably have cost nearly $800 in today’s money 50 years ago!

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The main characteristics of digital technology

Media Integrity

Data stored in analog formats cannot be reproduced without degradation. The more copies made,

the worse the copies get. Digital data, on the other hand, do not suffer such deterioration with

reproduction. For instance, movies, videos, music and audio files in digital format can be copied

and distributed with a quality that is as good as the original.

Media Integration

One of the major limitations of many conventional technologies is their inability to combine media

types. Telephones, for example, can send and receive only sound. Similarly, you can watch

television and expect a character to answer a question you pose. However, with digital data, it is

easy to combine media. Thus, phones with video, or interactive sound with pictures, become

possible. Hence the term multimedia.

Flexible Interaction

The digital domain supports a great variety of interactions, including one-on-one conferences, one-

to-many broadcasts, and everything in between. In addition, these interactions can be synchronous

and in real time.

Transactions

The ability to combine the transactional capability of computers and computer networks with

digital media is another interactive advantage of the digital domain. Placing an order and finalizing

a transaction becomes as easy as filling in an electronic form and clicking a button. Movies-on-

demand (where you pay for movies that you choose to watch on your TV screen) is just around

the corner.

Tailoring

Software developed for digital communications and interaction is designed so that users may tailor

their use of the tool and the media in a manner not possible with conventional analog technologies.

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Editing

The conventional alternatives for manipulating text, sound, images, and video are almost always

more cumbersome or limited than the new digital tools. Years ago, Francis Ford Coppola said that

the day would come when his young daughter will take a home video camera and make films that

would win film awards. Coppola’s prediction is fast becoming a reality. Computers with the right

software and minimal hardware can do today what thousands of dollars’ worth of film and video

editing equipment did in the past decades.

Internet

The Internet is a network of networks. It is a global set of connections of computers that enables

the exchange of data, news and opinion. Aside from being a communications medium, the Internet

has become a platform for new ways of doing business, a better way for governments to deliver

public services and an enabler of lifelong learning.

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Importance of technological revolutions

New technologies transform our lives “by inventing new, undreamed of things and making them

in new, undreamed of ways, says the economist Richard Lipsey.

Imagine what will happen when the cost of a long distance telephone call becomes as low as the

cost of a local call? Or, when you can get a driving license at a time and place of your own

choosing? Or, when you can bank from the comfort of your own living room? In some countries,

ICT is already making these happen. Many believe that the current technological revolution may

in time exceed the Industrial Revolution in terms of social significance.

Lipsey, who studies the relationship between technological change and economic development,

suggests that the introduction of new technologies can have the following effects on society:

1. Initial productivity slowdown and delayed productivity payoff from the new technologies

2. Destruction of human capital (as many old skills are no longer wanted)

3. Technological unemployment (temporary but serious)

4. Widening disparities in the distribution of income, which tends to be temporary until the

supply of labor catches up to the new mix of skill requirements

5. Big changes in regional patterns of industrial location (globalization)

6. Big changes in required education

7. Big changes in infrastructure (e.g., the information highway)

8. Big changes in rules and regulations (intellectual property, antimonopoly, etc.)

9. Big changes in the way we live and interact with each other

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Are there any advantages of analog communication over digital communication

which is preventing the complete digitization of all communication networks?

Reliability

Analogue systems are still likely to work, or at least easy to fix even if individual components fail.

Graceful signal degradation

They still use AM in avionics because of this: in bad weather, you can still hear something.

Lifetime

New analogue systems are designed not to become obsolete. Additionally, it can always be

interfaced to a DSP chain if need be. You can usually upgrade replace analogue components with

better offerings, but you are stuck with digital ICs...

Simplicity in use

No fancy LCDs and touch screens. -- though this is bad in large systems- few/expensive integration

options

Rugged

Analogue components can be made rugged to ridiculous lengths nowadays, surviving

temperatures, radiation and other condition few IC packages can offer. once an IC develops a fault

due to environmental reasons, it is forever faulty. An analogue system may still decide to work,

even if badly. (note: does not apply to all analogue components)

Low-tech

All you need is some wire and polish to make RLCs. May come useful in desperate situations.

Supreme reason

everything is analogue. 'digital' is just a convention of analogue signals. To this extent, any digital

system needs at least an analog buffer and converter to exist. Analog = real world.

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Conclusion

Business communication is a very important and most used tools in today’s business world. Every

organization is heavily dependent on communication. Effective communication leads to a business

success. As the technical advancement is coming the communication is also updating its process.

Now business messages are more attractive, flexible, time efficient, cheaper and storable, all this

is being possible just because of digitalization of business messages.

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Bibliography:

1. https://en.wikibooks.org/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/

3. https://academia.edu

4. Business Communication by Lesikar, 12th Edition.