Methods of Communication

Question 1

Electronic Communication - E-mail

Answer 1

allows for group to be set up so e-mails can be sent quickly to groups of individuals at the same time, documents can be attached for everyone to see, no guarantee employees will check their e-mails

Question 2

Electronic Communication - E-dairy

Answer 2

used to invite possible meeting attendees at the same time and they can accept or decline, other diaries can be checked before entering a date, meeting documentation can be attached, recurring meetings only entered once

Question 3

Electronic Communication - Social Media

Answer 3

used to communicate with customers, used to alert customers of problems/issues, informal way of communicating and messages have to be short, no guarantee all posts will be seen

Question 4

Electronic Communication - Virtual Learning Environments

Answer 4

require users to log in to secure areas to access resources and tools to support their learning, users can work through materials at their own pace before submitting for checking and tracking, GLOW is an example of a VLE

Question 5

Electronic Communication - Instant Messaging

Answer 5

a way of communicating in real time/instantly, can be sent to anyone who is online at the same time, replies can be sent immediately, two or more people can join in a conversation at the same time. useful for colleagues to have a quick conversation when they are working on the same project but located in different areas of the office, can be saved for future reference

Question 6

Electronic Communication - One Drive

Answer 6

allows multiple users to share and update files, team members can take responsibility of own area of a task and update the file when finished

Question 7

Electronic Communication - Teams

Answer 7

allows teams to share files with one another, have discussions via instant messaging, arrange meetings and give each other feedback on tasks, also available as an app so can be accessed from anywhere

Question 8

Communication Methods
Face to Face Communication
Presentation advantages

Answer 8

Slides can be timed/automated to avoid a presentation overrunning.

Notes space on slides can aid speaker.

Presentation can be e-mailed or uploaded to intranet/online platforms for future reference.

Use of SmartArt/bullet points/designs/tables can avoid information overload

Question 9

Communication Methods
Face to Face Communication
meetings

Answer 9

allow people to gather together, in small groups mostly, to share info and discuss ideas.

can be formal or informal

formal meetings will have records kept of discussions (minutes) so the folk who attended and those who were absent can review what was discussed and agreed.

Question 10

Written Communication - Letters

Answer 10

used to send important and confidential information such as offers of employment, changes to a policy, or answering a complaint, can be referred to at a later date, no guarantee people will read the information

Question 11

Written Communication - Reports

Answer 11

prepared internally to present research and findings on a particular issue, permanent record for future reference, often extensive and lengthy - employees may find language confusing and may not read the full report

Question 12

Written Communication - Memos

Answer 12

internal messages sent within the organisation, used to send the same message/information to a group of individuals, mainly used when attached to tasks for completion by staff, not used as often now due to use of ICT

Question 13

Written Communication - Posters

Answer 13

cheap and easy way to communicate information, displayed on walls or noticeboards to attract attention, key pieces of text and graphics to highlight key message, may be ignored meaning key messages are missed

Question 14

Oral Communication - Audioconferencing

Answer 14

a number of people can speak to each other at the same time from different locations, useful if a face-to-face meeting is not needed, cannot see body language/facial expressions, can be difficult to organise due to time differences, language barriers can pose problems.

Question 15

Oral Communication - Telephone

Answer 15

use of mobile phones helps with instantaneous communication between employees, allows easy accessibility as employees can answer whilst working away from office, conversations may be forgotten - best used for communicating short pieces of information

Question 16

Oral Communication - VoIP

Answer 16

Voice over Internet Protocol (phone service over the internet, eg Skype), allows conversations to take place anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection, free, documents and pictures can be sent, requires a reliable internet connection, some calls may lag, delay or disappear altogether

Question 17

Barriers to Communication - Noise

Answer 17

when the full message is not able to be heard due to a number of potential factors, external noise - could be work going outside people could be talking while a message is being delivered leading to distractions

Question 18

Barriers to Communication - Technical Issues

Answer 18

there may be instances when connection errors mean that you cannot communicate the message you were looking for, system crash or loss of signal can occur with mobile/video/audioconferencing.

Question 19

Barriers to Communication - Jargon

Answer 19

when there are too many complicated technical terms used in communication, listeners begin to switch off as they have a lack of understanding of what’s being communicated

Question 20

Barriers to Communication - Information Overload

Answer 20

giving an audience too much information at the one time can result in them switching off - may miss important information, recipient can be tired and confused as a result

Question 21

Barriers to Communication - Language

Answer 21

speaker may have a strong accent and it may be hard to understand the message being delivered in its entirety, there may be limited common language - especially if it is a multinational, meeting - cultural/language barriers could result in attendees, misunderstanding discussions

Question 22

Barriers to Communication - Lack of Interest

Answer 22

the audience may not engage with the topic or presenter, leading to them being bored and not paying attention

Question 23

Impact of Poor Communication

Answer 23

Employees may become demotivated - leading to higher rates of absenteeism.

Employees may not understand the task and therefore waste time, leading to low productivity.

Deadlines may be missed, which could result in reduced sales/profits.

Poor customer service can damage the image of the company.

Question 24

Features of Reliable Sources of Information

Answer 24

Up-to-date - information that is recent and current.
Accurate - Information that does not contain errors.
Available - Information that is easy to access quickly.
Cost-effective- Information where the benefits of having it outweigh the costs
Relevant - Information that is suitable for the user/reader
Non-biased - Information that is impartial and fair