AN INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Communication is essential and touches every aspect of human activity. All forms of man interactions are done through communication. In the business world also, nothing can be done effectively without effective communication (buying, selling, administration, process of employment, contractual agreement, etc).
Communication is the life blood of every business. It is the lubricant that keeps the machine of the organization moving. Business managers required the art and process of conveying information effectively for decision making. Any member of an organization should be able to share in an effective manner and to express their clear recommendations towards the company.
WHAT IS BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
The word communication is derived from the Latin word 'communist' which means ‘common’. However, communication incorporates the concepts of commonality, transfer, meaning and information. The meaning of communication varies with the background of the user and of the concept. As a result, the need to look into the meanings of communication from different viewpoints of users of the word communication is important.
Communication can be defined as the process through which two or more persons come to exchange ideas and understanding among themselves. Communication is learned, some people are born with the physical ability to talk, while some people need to make special efforts to develop and refine their communication skills.
Communication is the ability to convey in the simplest form, information or idea which the recipient can easily understand and the ability of the recipient to reciprocate in such a way that he can easily be understood. The definition conveys the ability of managers to make information simple for better understanding and interpretation for decision making.
Little (1977) defines communication as the process by which information is passed between individuals or organization by means of previously agreed symbols. Here, attention is placed on no-verbal aspect of communication in which two persons must agree on one meaning of a symbol.
Communication is defined as the flow of information, perception, understanding and imagination among various parties.
Business communication is a process which involves the transmission and accurate replication of ideas ensured by feedback for the purpose of eliciting actions which will accomplish organizational goals. This definition highlights four imperative points:
The process of communication involves the communication of ideas.
The ideas should be accurately replicated (reproduced) in the receiver's mind, i.e., the receiver should get exactly the same ideas that were transmitted. If the process of communication is perfect, there will be no dilution, exaggeration, or distortion of the ideas.
The transmitter is assured of the accurate replication of the ideas by feedback, i.e., by the receiver's response, which is communicated, back to the transmitter. Here it is suggested that communication is a two way process including transmission of feedback.
The purpose of all communications is to elicit action.
Business communication exist to solve business problems and cover subjects like advertising, external relations, branding, event management, marketing, and any other topic related to organizational structure of the organization.
SOURCES OF BUSINESS INFORMATION
Business data and information comes from multiple sources. The main sources of information are:
Internal information: information created by the operation of an organization that includes sales, purchase, order and transactions in inventory instead of the data being created by independent study or database. Accounting records can be taken as prime source of internal information. The details transactions of the past which may be used as the basic of planning for the future.
External information: the information obtained outside the business is called external information which can be used as a major source of planning and forecasting. This information can be sourced through print information, television and radio media information, online information, suppliers’ information, customers’ information etc.
Note that this information serves as source of communication which can be use for effective decision making within a business organization.
ELEMENTS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Communication involves six basic elements. They are:
Message: this is the subject matter which is transmitted or passed by the sender to other party or group of persons. This might be opinion, order, suggestion, attitude, feelings, views etc.
Sender: is the person who intends to make contact for passing information and understanding to other person.
Receiver: is the person to whom the message is meant for.
Channels: this is the way in which information is transmitted. Information can be transmitted through the following ways: radio, television, telephone, email, letter, facebook, whatzapp, etc.
Symbols: they are words, signs, and actions passed on by the sender while communicating with the receiver.
Feedback: when the receiver acknowledges the message of the sender and responds back, feedback takes place. Without feedback, communication is incomplete.
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
The word process refers to series of things that are done in order to achieve a result. The activities are done in form of chain that at the end of the events, the result is tested to know whether ideas and thoughts were communicated effectively or not. If not, the stage where there is problem will be identified and rectified on continues basis. Relating this to the process of communication, what are those things that are done in order to pass information from the sender to the receiver effectively?
Communication processes are certain stages through which information is passed from one staged to another until result is achieved.
THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
The communication process involves the following stages.
Sender: this is the first stage of communication process. It is the stage where idea is born or a need arises for someone to make an encounter. The person who initiates the move to convey the message to others is known as the sender. The sender selects his idea from his personal data bank, encodes it and transmits it to the receiver in form of a message. The sender wants his message to be understood and acted upon. Hence, the idea and thought of the sender must be crafted with the receiver’s background in mind so that it can give meaning to the individual or group of persons outside the mind of the sender.
Encoding: this is the act and process in which idea is translated into a proper format that will be understood by the receiver. In this stage, the sender responds to the idea and begins to exchange. Here, the sender must establish mutuality in meaning with the receiver by choosing the appropriate signs, symbols, words and language that has meaning and can clearly be understood by the receiver. To make the encoding stage complete, one need to know who the receiver is, what they know and what they expect to know to form a complete message.
The message: this refers to the idea, thought, attitude or need which the sender wants to pass to the receiver. As long as people continue to have needs, they will continue to send messages and as long as people exist there is likely to be communication. For a message to be transmitted successfully, it should be direct, clear, simple and appropriate for the person, place, purpose, time, and channel.
Channel: the channel is the tool, apparatus, and or instrument through which the sender wishes to convey the message to the receiver. Channel is also the means through which the sender or receiver pass or receive information. Prior to the composition of the message, the medium should be decided. Medium is the form of passing the message. The medium of communication could be oral/verbal, written or non-verbal. When an encoder decides to speak his message, he has chosen oral medium. If he decides to put it down in written, he has opted for written. If he decides to use body language to convey his message, he has chosen the non verbal medium. Messages are transmitted through channels of communication. For instance, if a person wants to use the oral medium, he can select radio, TV, face-face, voicemail, telephone calls etc. if he decides to put it in written, he may chose either letter, report, memo, email, telegram etc. An artist will prefer to use non-verbal medium like drawing or painting to deliver his message. Anything which carriers your message across to your receiver is a channel.
Decoding: decoding is the process of receiving the message accurately and requires that the receiver has the ability to read, observe and listen to understand the information to its right meaning. This is the first stage where the receiver or decoder has control over the message. The message is not longer under the control of the sender. It is the stage where the interpretation and translation of a message into its actual or real meaning takes place. If the message is written, then the receiver should be a good reader to read and interpret very well. If it is verbal, the receiver should be a good listener and ask questions where necessary. And if it is non-verbal, receiver should be good observer to watch and observe the signs and symbols very well so as to give it a well defined interpretation.
Receiver: Decoder also known as the receiver is the person whom the message is intended. The intended audience or the person, or the group who receivers and responds to the message is the receiver. The decoder must receive the message and decide whether he is ready to participate in the conversation or not. Every message is meant for someone and if the person is not there, then the message gets stuck and communication intention remains unfulfilled. The receiver must be a good reader if the message transmitted is written, a good listener where the message is verbally transmitted and a good observer if the message is non verbal.
Feedback: effective communication takes place only when there is feedback. Feedback is a responds to a message or a reaction to a message. The feedback process of communication goes back through the same communication process. This is usually done to improve the effectiveness of the ideas and thoughts that were transmitted by the sender to the receiver. Feedback is important in the smoothening of communication floor. It helps to ensure that message is received and understood as intended. The receivers’ reaction will help to improve the acceptability of the message. Communication without feedback is one way communication.
Noise: noise is anything that confuses, disturbs, distorts, interfere, etc with the transmission of information from the sender to the receiver. Noise could be internal or external. It is internal when the receiver is not paying attention; it is external when the message is distorted by elements within the environment. Noise could be found at all stages of the communication process. However, the noise mostly affects the encoding and decoding stage of communication.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Effective communication is essential for the success and growth of every organization. Unlike everyday communication, business communication is goal oriented. Effective business communication is how employees and management interact with each other to reach organizational goals which are more aligned with the core values of the company.
Types of Effective Business Communication
There are two well established types business communication found in every organization. These are formal and informal system of business communication.
Formal business communication
The formal system of communication is the officially recognized route for task related messages. Formal communication is divided into internal and external form of communication.
Internal form of communication
These are layers of authority within an organization through which all verbal and written communication must flow. Communication may take any direction, from top to the bottom and from bottom to the top. We refer to it as upward, downward or horizontal flow of communication.
Upward flow of communication: is the flow of information from subordinates to superiors, or from employees to management. It is more of feedback which supplies information about how people have related or responded to the communication passed to them by the manager.
Downward flow of communication: information flowing from the top of the organizational management hierarchy and telling people in the organization what are important mission and what is valued policies. Downward communication generally provides information which allows a subordinate to do something.
Horizontal flow of communication: this refers to the exchange of messages, ideas, and information between workers and colleagues on the same rank about a task which they perform within their organization.
External form of communication
External business communication is the type of communication that leaves the organization. These are information that is passed to customers, vendors, partners or prospective investors. The information is usually on sales, market share, product etc, with the aim of increasing sales and inviting investors into the business.
Informal Business Communication
Informal system of business communication is usually non-official type of communication. Informal communication refers to any joined personal activity without conscious joined purpose. Bazza (2006) defines informal communication as any means by which information for decisions are communicated using grape vine and rumors informal channels of communication. It is determined by mutual interactions based on individuals with similar interest, values etc in the organization. The main channel of informal communication systems are grapevine and rumor.
Grapevine: work related information flow from all directions for enhancing the productivity of employees. Grapevine has an origin which is founded but the person who gives out the information is not easily found nor will any person owns to it originator. It is usually accurate though incomplete, it cannot be easily controlled nor shaped. Grapevine comes from new information, excitement, loyalty or insecurity.
Rumor: refers to unofficial and unconfirmed information sent through interpersonal channel. It is often inaccurate, fabricated and often malicious. The best way to deal with such situations is for managers to get to the root of the matter.
IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Communication is essential to the survival, functioning and achievement of organizational goals. Effective exchange of information for business transaction and administrative functions is necessary. Hence, internal and external communication is considered valuable in some of the following:
Business activity has become extremely complex. In this age of specialization, planning, production, sales, stores, advertising, financing, account, welfare etc are handled by different departments. If these departments could not communicate with one another effectively as well the management, there will be no coordination among them, which may lead to shortage of supply or finished products and embarrassment.
Effective communication promotes the spirit of understating and cooperation. Effective communication between the management and the employees will bring about atmospheres of mutual trust and confidence. The employees will know what is expected of them and the management is aware of the potentialities and limitations of the employees to exploit or make up for.
Goals and objective setting. Since organizations have general and specific goals for their existence which may be formal or informal objectives, the need to communicate the importance of the goals and objectives to employees is essential, so they can work toward actualizing them.
Decision making. Decision making involves the art and process of making a choice from two or more alternative courses of action. Whenever good decisions are made, the need to communicate them for effective implementation is necessary. This is because it is only when decisions are communicated that they can be implemented.
Modern business is highly competitive: Effective communication is important when it comes to dealing with distributors, retailers and individual customers, government agencies etc. Each product of common consumption is available in hundreds of brands, not all of which sell equally well. Organizations that can communicate better can sell better. Organizations need communication skills for tactful negotiation with government agencies such as custom authorities, tax officials etc.
Communication skills in job requirement and promotion: some areas like personnel, public relations, marketing, sales, and labor relation calls for exceptional communication skills. Professionals like editors, writers, teachers, advocates; researchers etc. need a highly developed ability to communicate. Executives are also expected to make speeches, prepare pamphlets, brochures, souvenirs, and give interviews to the media in order to project a favorable image of the organization. Thus the ability to communicate effectively has become a very important job requirement and promotion.
METHOD OF TRANSMITTING INFORMATION
Communication takes place between managers and non-managers to make decision. The means by which ideas, thought are passed from the sender to the receiver is the method of transmitting information.
Individuals, groups and organizations have various methods available for transmitting information as they carry out their formal and informal responsibilities within and outside the organization. Having this in mind, it is important for communication managers to note the instrument to be used for transmitting information effectively and efficiently for decision making. Usually there could be variety of methods. The communication manager may use one, two, or utilize a combination of the methods of transmitting information depending on the circumstances before the organization and the manager concerned. The methods of transmitting information are as follows:
Verbal/ spoken words method
Non-verbal/ symbols method
The written/ word method.
Verbal/ spoken Word Method
Verbal or spoken method of transmitting information is a means of passing information from the sender to the receiver through the use of the voice. The voice is the greatest instrument for effective transmission of information within and outside the organization.
The manipulation of the voice determines the impact of the (positive/negative) of the transmission and the understanding of the information by the receiver. This is because, when information is encoded, they become the actual message. The actual message is just like a final product or service ready for purchase by the customers for consumption. If they are spoken, it is expected that they can be heard and understood by anyone outside the mind of the sender.
This method involves speaking and listening. Managers adopt this method because of people that cannot read nor write or people that cannot effectively use the written or non-verbal method.
Advantages of verbal method of communication
Interpersonal relationship: the surest device for establishing good interpersonal relationship is talking things over to reduce tension in offices, houses and in every sensitive situation.
Immediate feedback: the nature of a decoder’s response to a message sent to him alert the encoder as to what action to take next, either to continue with the encounter or to modify his message.
Message clarification: another advantage is that the encoder will be able to explain and clarify his points on spot to reduce misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
Reinforcement: in face to face communication, the encoder may use gesture, facial expression to stress his message. This is an advantage since the receiver will be able to hear and see the glimpse of the speakers’ feelings.
Disadvantages of verbal method of communication
Distortion: oral communication has no permanency. Under normal circumstances, we can no decode everything that was said hence, communication can be easily forgotten or misunderstood and cannot be use for future reference.
Impractical: it is often neither impracticable nor convenient to reach and convey with high level officials in oral communication encounter.
Imprecision: in oral communication, the encoder may tent to be less precise with his message.
Errors and mistakes: oral communication does not allow us time to eliminate errors before we speak or withdraw unpleasant words after alteration.
An oral communication is inferior to written communication and cannot be used in the court of law.
Written word method:
This is the the translation of oral message into alphabetic symbols which can be hand written, typed and printed words. Written communication involves writing and reading. Writing is the process of organizing symbols together to convey ideas and information between those who participate in communication. It is used when complex message is send. Writing is the basic requirement for effective communication and efficient performance of task in an organization. it is more difficulty to write then to speak because you have to get your message correct. It must be precise and carefully arranged in detail to give correct meaning.
The instrument used for a written communication is paper and ink. Individuals and organizations transmit written messages through letters, memos, reports, records keeping, queries, circulars etc. development in technology has brought emails, fax, text messages, whatsapp message and telegram to pass speeding information which is a key to successful written communication. Reading on the other hand involves understanding and interpretation of written symbols. We read memos, letters, business transactions etc
Advantages of written method of communication
Written messages tent to be more accurate because more time is normally spend to think and compose them.
In business, written communication helps us to confirm our transaction and commitment made orally.
Writing is a permanent means of storing and keeping records.
Written message serves as a more formal means of communication and it carries weight of authority.
The receiver of a written message can read it over and over to clarify doubt and ensure full understanding of the message.
It is more uniform in it application.
Disadvantages of written method of communication
Feedback is not immediate. The decoder may not respond in time.
It lacks flexibility. Once a message has been send, you cannot charge it.
It is expensive and time consuming.
It makes high demand on the linguistic skills of both the sender and the receiver.
NON-VERBAL METHOD
Non-verbal refers to those messages expressed by other means than linguistic means. They don’t involve writing or speech. Non-verbal means are sometimes more clear, accurate and effective as compared to verbal communication because they are internationally used and understood. It involves the use of agreed signs and symbols to pass information. Body movement that is easily understood by both the sender and the receiver is effective in non-verbal method of transmitting information.
Aspects of Non Verbal Method of Communication
Non verbal communication is divided into three categories:
Appearance: personal appearance of a speaker may communicate who a person is, sex, age, occupation nationality, social, economic and job status. For example, a banker dress in suit and neck tie to look cooperate and confident. Appearance also affects the quality of a written and spoken message. In a written message, the envelope’s overall appearance size, color, weight, postage and the letter’s overall length, stationary, enclosures, layout, etc may convey significant information and impressions.
Body language: it is possible to convey information, ideas, feelings, and attitudes through the position of our body as well as the movement of some parts of it. These include facial expression, gesture, posture, smell, touch, voice etc. facial expression involves the use of eye, eye brown, mouth or forehead to express the hidden emotion of anger, fear, joy, love, surprise, interest etc. Pasture is the way you carry your whole body eg the way you sit on your desk at work can express something about your attitude. Gesture is the movement of heads, fingers, legs and feet. Eg, shaking of head may mean betrayal may mean impatient and clenched fists mean anger. Smell may express situation eg an oil or gas leakage may mean danger and a perfume express emotion and feelings. Touching people in different ways may communicate friendship, love approval or feelings.
Silence, time and sound: silence express serious feelings and emotion eg death of a relation. Waiting for a long time for indicate interest and giving a short time means urgency. The tone of a voice may mean a lot eg anger, happiness etc.
BUSINESS WRITING
Business writing is a professional communication written in form of memos, reports, letter etc. it is a purposeful pieces of writing that convey relevant information to the reader in a clear, concise and effective manner.
Business writing is distilled into four based on it objective. These are instructive, informative, persuasive or transactional business writing.
Instructional: this type of business writing is directional and aim at guiding the reader through the steps of completing a task. Example of such type of business writing is memo
Informational: informational business writing records business information accurately and consistently. It is an essential document that explains the core functions of business for tracking growth, outlining plans, and complying with legal obligations. This involves financial statement, minutes of a meeting, report writing.
Persuasive: the goal of persuasive writing is to impress the reader and influence their action or decision. It conveys relevant information to convince them that a specific product, service, company or relationship offers the best value. It involves proposal, bulk sales emails and press release.
Transactional: Day to day communication taking place in an organization falls under the transactional communication. This communication can be by email, letters, forms and invoices.
PRINCIPLE OF BUSINESS WRITING
Good business writing must be with a clear definition of audience and purpose. To make your writing attractive, understandable and useful to your organization, you must polish your writing with the following Cs:
Completeness: a complete message contains all the facts that the reader needs for the reaction desired.
Conciseness: concise means brief. The message to be communicated should be as brief as possible. Most managers in business do not have the time to read ramble thoughts and stories. They prefer short, precise and straight to point issues that go to the heart matter.
Clarity: clarity means getting the message across so that the reader will not misunderstand the sender or get confuse about what has been conveyed. It also means getting the reader to interpret the words with same meaning as intended by the sender.
Consideration: this means that in every message, the sender should put himself in the readers place in order to fine the precise combination which will stimulate the desired response from the reader and show respect to the reader.
Concreteness: concreteness reinforces confidence. Concrete and specific expressions are to be preferred in favor of vague and abstract expressions.
Courtesy: courtesy improves relationship; it shows consideration for the needs and feelings of the receiver. It means expressing the message with kindness. It means prompt response to message.
Correctness: correctness requires the writer to use a proper level of language which will include accurate facts and figures acceptable for good writing.
Consistency: your writing must include stability. There should not be many ups and downs that might lead to confusion in the mind of the receiver. Stands and conditions should be observed with ease.
Coherent: the content of the letter must be in order for the reader to easily understand.
Credibility: the content must be SMART. Stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound.
BUSINESS REPOERTS
Report is a written document providing an account of something witnessed or examined or investigated with conclusion arrived out of the result obtained. That is a report is seen as an output from some activity witnessed such as meeting, minutes of meeting, or conversation or an investigation of a problem or situation. Business reports are a type of assignment in which you analyze a situation either real or a case study and apply business theories to produce a range of suggestions for improvement. Typically, it does not come with a single correct answer but with several solutions, each with their own costs and benefits to the organization. it is their costs and benefits that you need to identify and weigh-up.
PLANNING A REPORT
Report needs to be planned putting the audience into consideration. Pausing and answering the following will help a writer to develop an effective plan for a report:
What is the purpose of the report: knowing the reason behind writing a report is very important for a report writer to bear in mind as it’s a factor needed to decide on the type of report needed. The purpose of writing a report may be to inform, analyze or implement a decision. If a writer has been asked to prepare a report on whether his company should set up a new branch that involves considerable initial expenditure or he is to advice the company on merger and collaboration with another company, these are matters of vital issues that require careful analysis and implementation where necessary.
Who will read the report: what are the interest and values of the reader. The writer should consider the audience background and preference and the information needed. If the report is going to be a research, it ought to contain a detailed step by step account of the investigation carried out along with findings, conclusions and recommendations.
Which format will be most effective: short reports are usually informal while longer reports are formally written where conclusions are drawn after presenting evidence and sound objectives.
TYPES OF BUSINESS REPORTS
On the basis of legal formalities, a business report can be classified into two (2) formal and the informal business reporting.
Formal reports: This are usually prepared in a prescribed form and is presented according to an established procedures to a prescribed authority.
Informal reports: informal reports are usually in the form of a person to person communication.
THE STRUCTURAL FORMAT OF A REPORT
Title page: identifies the report, identifies the writer, address with attractive layout for easy retrieval.
Table of contain: this list the main topics of the report cover and page on which information may be found.
Executive summary: the main points of the report are summarized here such as the topic, the data obtained, the data analysis methods, and the recommendations. Depending on the size of the report, the executive summary could be as short as a paragraph of as long as four pages. It is usually written after the main part of the report has been written.
Introduction: sets out the aims and objectives of the report and provides background information on why the data in the report was collected.
Main body: the body of the report describes the problem, the data that was collected, how the data was collected and discusses the major findings. The body may be broken into subsections with subheadings that highlight the specific points to be covered. It should be clearly and logically fashioned.
Conclusion: this explains how the data described in the body of the document may be interpreted or what conclusions may be drawn. It suggest how to use the data to improve the business hence, it should be fair and unbiased.
References: all works consulted by the writer is provided in this section. References provide proof for your points and enable readers to review the original data sources themselves.
Appendix: the appendix is optional and may include additional technical information that is not necessary to the explanation provided in the body and conclusion but supports the findings such as charts or pictures.
Glossary: provides the meaning of technical words used in the report.
MEMOS (MEMORANDUM)
Memo usually written as the short form of memorandum is a written message or other information sent by one person or department to another in the same business organization. Memo is normally used for communicating policies, procedure, or related official business within an organization.
Memo is the most widely used form of written communication in many organizations and are primarily use for:
Memos are used to announce information and make request such as announcing meeting, giving instructions etc.
Persuasive memos are used to influence a decision in favor of the writer. It may be a proposal for improvement, recommending a procedure, motivating people etc
MEMO FORMAT
Most organizations have their own memorandum format and often used especially printed form. The use of the same format is also encouraged to bring uniformity to the organization’s operation and communication flow. A memo has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are. It also contents the title, date and subject lines, and then followed by message that contains a declaration, discussion and summary.
FORMAT FOR MEMORANDUM
In a standard writing format, we might expect to see the following elements:
Title line: the title line identifies the communication as an in house message.
Receiver line: it may be individual or group eg to all staffs or to all students.
Sender line: identifies the originator of the memo eg VC, DVC, MD.
Date line: the date of writing the memo.
Subject line: it provides brief summary of the subject matter
Copies: copies must be printed and send to the necessary departments to avoid obstruction.
BUSINESS LETTER
Organizations survives and prospers by continuous exchange of information with their outside public, suppliers, stockholders, press, regulatory body, community etc. Most of this exchange is achieved through business letter hence, manager must demonstrate skills at composing effective letter.
Business letter refers to any written communication that begins with salutation, ends with a signature and whose contents are professional in nature. Business letter is also defined as a letter from one company to another or between such organizations and their customers, clients or other external parties. A business letter is useful because it produces permanent written record, and may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other form of communication.
TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
Business letter could be informative, sells/persuasive, and tactful or resolve letter.
Informative letters: informative letter could be in form of request, reply, complain, adjustment, acknowledgement and purchase order. It must be accurate, complete and clear.
Sells/persuasive letters: This type of letter is written to influence the attitude, feelings, and or beliefs of others. Buyers have often been persuaded to buy a particular article available with the seller in place of the one they actually wanted to buy. A sells letter could be a claim, collection or sale letter.
Tactful/ resolve letter: letters that pass negative impact or message to the reader are said to be tactful letter. This type of letter affects the individual that receives them. They could be resignation, rejection, retrenchment, query, etc.
FEATURES OF BUSINESS LETTER
Use appropriate stationary that is richly textured.
Appropriate format should include heading, inside address, salutation, main-body, complimentary and close signature.
The tone of the letter codes great deal of establishing a positive relationship with the reader.
The writer tone calls for courtesy or sympathetic understanding of the reader.
Business letter should sound business like.
LEGAL ASPECT OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Certain areas of business communication are strictly regulated by law that could lead to potential harmful civil litigation. When we communicate with integrity and honest consideration for our readers with a golden rule, then we are safe. Understanding the legal framework in which business communicators work is essential for entrepreneurs, managers and front line employees, knowing full well that ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
Legal aspect of business communication refers to the selection of words used in business communication so as to ensure their conformity with rules and regulations laid by the country’s business law, failure to which may cause a person to be up against legal actions.
Some of the legal aspects to be considered in business communication are defamation, invasion of privacy, fraud, credit collection and employment, and other areas of caution.
Defamation: is the un-consented and unprivileged publication of a false idea which tends to injure the reputation of a person in the society. Un-consented is without agreement while unprivileged means un-rightful.
Invasion of privacy: is the intrusion into individual private life or using a person’s name or identity for a commercial purpose without permission.
Fraud: is an intentional misrepresentation by one party to a contract of a material fact which is relied upon by the other party to his injury.
Credit collection and employment: to recover from debt and bad debtors, do not show your anger and be honest when making recommendation about any employee. Know your true responsibility to your applicant, addressee and yourself.
Other areas of caution: be honest and fair in your business dealings, do not copy a prohibited document and do not copy a copyright without permission.
