Business Communication For Managers

Introduction

Communication and its importance in various domains of life can never be underestimated. One

needs to understand the importance that is attached to making opinions, ideas, feelings and

challenges known to people that one is working with. In the contemporary business world,

communication is very important. The business sector utilizes various modes and forums of

communication for marketing, business expansion, reception and delivery of critical business

information and maintenance of flow within the supply chain. Communication in business

encompasses branding, marketing, human resource management, customer relationships and

research among other factors of interest. According to Kotler & Gary (2007), companies in

business should be able to add up a way of understanding the relationship between customers

and the business. The most important role of communication in business is the maintenance of

marketing strategy and the relaying of information. It is through communication that managers

and the entire organization achieve their set business objectives (Kotler & Gary 2007). In

business, communication tools may be personal or non-personal with the application of various

components of communication including the source, sender, channel and message among other

components. Business communication may be internal or external. Both types of business

communication have various branches, which seek to explain the channel of communication and

the flow of the message from one person or department to another. Essentially, business has

various components, some of which communication is critical for them to materialize. Managers

may use various methods to maintain communication within their organization. The most critical

methods include web-communications, presentations, board meetings and forums and reports

among others. For communication in business to be effective, various concepts have to be

applied, so as to promote the effectiveness of the process. What is needed is the understanding of

the intended message, proper venues, understanding of interpersonal relationships, and emotional

intelligence among other concepts. Business communication is facilitated by the awareness the

domain of success in the contemporary business world is guided by teamwork and no manager is

able to achieve the objectives of the organization on their own. Forming this introductory

understanding of business communication for managers, this paper is aimed at presenting the

ideologies of business communication, including self-awareness, emotional intelligence,

interpersonal relationships and other important aspects for effective communication for

managers. The paper will critically analyze these concepts with close relevance to class texts and

the presentation of scholars in the field. From the discussion, the paper will then delve into a

conclusion and summary of the important aspects.

Communication for managers in decision making and teamwork

It is the role of any manager in a business organization to guide the team and invoke the decision

making processes (Thornton 1992). For teamwork to materialize, the manager must ensure that

through effective communication of aspects, the team is focused, framed and well facilitated.

Facilitation is the process by which a process or meeting is made easy by the application of

processes that allow participants to have a common goal and flow towards it (McClendon, Burke

& Willey 2010). As aforementioned, one of the ways in which communication is achieved is

through meetings. In decision making, meetings must be held, so that the contributions of

various members are applied in the information of the final decision. A decision making meeting

involves several steps. The steps applied in the process of any decision making include definition

of the problem, collection and analysis of data, generation of alternatives; through

communication, evaluation of the alternatives, selection of the most favorable and agreeable

alternative and implementation of the decision made (Thornton 1992). As is expected in a

process that includes various people, it is common to have people argue and present different

opinions over the same issue. When such situations occur, it is necessary for the manager to

bring in a process of proper communication that prevents disruption of the process or the

neutralization of its importance. A framework presented by Thornton (1992) defines the proper

communication strategies for effective business managers in such decision making process

meetings. The process involves the following steps, which include questioning. During the

questioning period, the manager ought to ask questions that draw people to the meeting, gather

information and to clarify any unclear points or suggestions. Once questioning has been done

and the meeting is in order, the manager must probe the people that give opinions, in order to

gather information on what informed the opinion they hold. The managers must then apply the

extension technique where they ask the members to build on the opinions of others, so as to

create a credible network of information. At this stage, it is also possible for the members to

reason out opinions. Focusing and framing comes next, and in this stage, the manager is

supposed to keep the group focused to the issue at hand by asking more questions or asking for

opinions that are strictly related to the problem being discussed. Validation of the comments

made is then done followed by linking, in a way that all the suggested opinions are brought to the

table and discussed in relation to the problem. Feedback on the problem and the possible

decision is asked for by the manager, following which process a consensus of the most effective

decision if made.

Effective communication is important for the success of any meeting in a business organization,

even though not with the intention of decision making. The framework by Thornton guides the

understanding of what is applicable in any meeting. However, a process that involves many

people needs an understanding of emotional control and a possession of interpersonal skills.

According to Bonaccio et.al. (2016), non-verbal communication at the workplace is the most

effective way for managers to understand the true emotions and opinions of individuals on

various issues. Body language, according to Goman (2011) can enhance trust and facilitate a

negotiation process. Due to this fact, it is important for managers to understand and put into

practice the understanding of non-verbal language as an important form of communication at the

workplace. Non-verbal and verbal communication processes are related in various ways, in the

sense that a verbal communication may be enhanced or contradicted by a non-verbal cue

(Richmond & McCroskey 2004; Floyd 2006). Non-verbal communication is more internal, being

displayed only from the emotional perspective that an individual holds. For this reason, non-

verbal relation of information is more credible and honest than what a person actually says.

Bonaccio et.al., through an analysis of various literatures that relates to application of the non-

verbal communication phenomena at the workplace present that managers should be able to

understand the importance of this communication strategy while dealing with their employees in

business. The process also applies in the analysis and determination of customer opinion and

satisfaction on services or products.

Non-verbal communication codes for managers to observe

Communication involves various stages. In the same manner as verbal communication, non-

verbal communication also entails various codes. ‘Codes’ define the manner in which meanings

are encoded, transmitted and decoded in a process of communication (Burgoon et al. 2011).

Some of the codes applied in non-verbal communications that managers should pay attention to

include body codes, sensory codes, contact and spatiotemporal codes. Body codes include such

instances of communication as body movements. Posture, gait, facial expressions are among the

examples of kinesics that relate to non-verbal communication that could enable managers

understand the process of communication in their employees, even without asking. Haptics,

vocalics and olfatics are some of the sensory and contact codes that result into non-verbal

communication at the workplace. Haptics relate to the actions of touching other people as a form

of communication), vocalics relate to voice as a means of communication in terms of its pitch,

distance and pronunciation while olfatics relate to sense of smell and scent. The spatiotemporal

codes relate to personal space, dictation of culture, speed and environmental codes (Burgoon et

al. 2011).

Emotional intelligence and its importance in communication for managers

Emotional intelligence as described by Daniel Goleman involves the understanding of self-

awareness, social skills, empathy, motivation and aspects of self-regulation as relates to emotions

and composition of position. The concept of emotional intelligence enables individuals be aware

of their emotions and have ability to manage and control them. Management dictates that a

manager possesses qualities of a good leader. Emotional intelligence is an important

phenomenon when applied to guide effective leadership. According to Phips (2017), EI in

leadership and management has the following advantages. First, emotional intelligence

compliments all other interpersonal skills. It acts as a skill which comes in handy in the

application of any other skill such as self-esteem, self-awareness and decision making; in the

sense that an individual needs to understand and be able to manage their emotions to forge

forward. Secondly, EI enables for the achievement of feedback that is productive and relevant in

an organization. It is necessary that in the process of organizational management, the parties

involved understand the need to maintain their emotions at steady state and make decisions and

opinions that are independent from their personal feelings (Phips 2017). Emotional intelligence

is also important in communication and management in that it prompts creativity and allows for

better conflict management in organizations. Riasudeen & Fernandez (2017) suggest that

personality and emotional awareness and intelligence promote the success of any conflict

resolution process in an organization.

Conclusion

Marketing, goal and objective setting, resource management and any other domains of business

depend on the modes and process of communication applied in the process. As has been

presented by the paper, decision making and conflict resolution at the workplace depend on the

application of certain dictates of communication by the manager that controls the process.

Emotional intelligence, self-awareness and interpersonal skills that relate to understanding of

psychology are important factors that managers ought to consider in their endeavor to promote

employee performance and overall success of an organization. Essentially, communication is

wide with many linkages to the achievement of any organizational goals and objective. The

paper has presented the most critical aspects of communication in business for managers. From

the paper it is therefore possible to conclude that communication in business is as critical as any

other process in business development and managers should remain aware of this fact in the

leadership of any business oriented establishment.

References

Bonaccio, S., O’Reilly, J., O’Sullivan, S. & Chiocchio, F. 2016. Nonverbal behavior and

communication in the workplace: A review and an agenda for research. Journal of Management

42(5): 1044–1074

Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Manusov, V. 2011. Nonverbal signals. In M. L. Knapp & J.

Daly (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal communication: 239-280. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Floyd, K. 2006. An evolutionary approach to understanding nonverbal communication. In V.

Manusov & M. L.

Goman, C. K. 2011. The silent language of leaders: How body language can help or hurt how

you lead. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

Patterson (Eds.), The Sage handbook of nonverbal communication: 139-157. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Kotler, P. and Gary, A. 2007. Principles of marketing pearson, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2007

ISBN 978-0-13-239002-6, ISBN 0-13-239002-7.

McClendon, B., Burke, D. & Willey, L. 2010. The art of negotiation: What the twenty-first

century business student should know. Journal of Legal Studies Education. 27(2): 277-319.

Phips, S. 2017. Why emotional intelligence is necessary for effective leadership. Leadership

Excellence Essentials. 56-58.

Richmond, V. A., & McCroskey, J. C. 2004. Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal relations (5th

ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Riasudeen, S. & Fernandez, C. 2017. Negotiation and its Complexities: A case study of public

sector negotiation with vendors. Asian Journal of Management Cases. 14(2) 88–93.

Thornton, P. 1992. ‘Teamwork: Focus, frame facilitate.’ Management Review. 46-47.

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