The Role Of Communication Within The Workplace: A Study Of Tesco Essay.

Part One: Secondary Research (Lecture notes, textbook, own academic research in journals/books)
Relevant topics and content covered in lectures and chapters of the prescribed textbook from 
Chapter One Communication theory and professional practice
Chapter Two Language and communication practice
Chapter Three Non-verbal communication: meanings without words
It is suggested the students pick up to ten (10) theories/concepts covered over the six week period
Students should then do further research in reliable databases for academic journals in the selected theory/concept. You will use this as evidence (as quotations andparaphrases) to support your argument position/hypothesis in the repor
Part Two: Primary Research
Students will examine how the selected concepts/theories operate in real-life within the selected employment/business context.
You may select to use one or more of the following primary research methods: observation – unobtrusive or obtrusive, surveys or questionnaires, interview to examine how the concepts or theories apply in the employment/business context.

Communication plays most important role in the organization as it supports in sharing ideas and information in an effective manner. Further, it is a well-known fact that when communication takes place through the proper medium, then it boosts the productivity of the company and in turn, brings favorable results in every possible manner (Addams & Allred 2015). Generally, there are two main forms of communication that involves verbal and nonverbal. It depends on every organization which communication mode to adopt for sharing information like email where messages are shared in written form.

Further, the written form of communication is considered to be more reliable as it contains proof of the message shared (Brink & Costigan 2015). The present study carried out is based on understanding the role of communication within the workplace where in part one different communication theories have been analyzed along with different modes. In the second part, the chosen is Tesco where it has been analyzed how communication takes place within the Tesco through survey technique.

• To assess the different methods of communication within the workplace and its effectiveness
• To analyze different communication models and theories

The entire study carried out is beneficial at both academic and corporate level. With respect to corporate level, it is beneficial for the businesses to know about the communication like what modes are undertaken for sharing information and ideas. In short, they can implement more effective strategies for communication purpose. The study will allow different companies to know the pros and cons of different communication channels.

For conducting the present study, both primary and secondary data has been taken into consideration. Further, secondary data linked with communication theory, model, etc. has been undertaken with the help of books, journals, and online articles. On the other hand, primary information has been collected with the help of survey that has been carried out within Tesco so as to know what medium is selected for communication purpose within the workplace. So, these are the two main sources adopted for carrying out the present study and for accomplishing the aim of the research.

In the modern era organizations have started to focus on the process of communication as it is associated with their performance (Ainsworth 2013). Further, mainly communication within the workplace takes place in the oral and written form, but it depends on every organization which mode to adopt with the motive to share ideas properly. Written communication takes place with the help of email, letters, reports, memos and another form of documents that are effective in every possible manner. Apart from this, it is a well-known fact that in the multinational organizations diversified workforce is present and this states that people speak the different language (Christensen 2014).

This sometimes acts as hurdle within the workplace and to resolve this issue one common language is chosen like English for sharing important information with one another. Another form of communication is oral where interaction takes place face to face for instance in large companies like Woolworths etc managers prefer to interact orally with other staff members and meetings are carried out in oral form (Cornelissen & Cornelissen 2017). The third type of most effective communication is nonverbal communication that is also employed by the companies, and in turn, information sharing takes place by using gestures and simple body movements that allow in understanding about the message shared.

Method of Research

Different types of nonverbal communication are present that takes into consideration body movements where hand gestures, shaking head and other elements are undertaken, the posture which highlights whether arms are closed, eye contact that supports in knowing the level of the trust and the physiological changes whose main elements involve sweating or blinking (Rathnayaka 2014). So, this highlights the effectiveness of different nonverbal communication techniques on the basis of which information is shared in between different employees within the workplace and in turn all the operations of the company are carried out efficiently.

One of the most crucial tasks is to decide which mode to adopt for sharing information so that receiver can understand the message shared in the proper manner (Molloy & Heath 2014). Generally, the process of sharing information starts with the sender as reflected in the above diagram encoding takes place where symbols and meaning elements are added into the message, information is further shared through appropriate medium and at last receiver receives the message, and it is decoded.

Interpersonal communication is regarded as the soft skill that highlights how the well different individual communicates with each other. It is also considered as one of the most significant skill for success in the workplace (Mikkelson, York & Arritola 2015). In the communication theory, six key components of the interpersonal communication are present, and they are as follows:

The communication: It is necessary that two communicators are involved in interpersonal communication

The message: It can be regarded as idea which is transmitted through speech, gesture, speech, etc

Noise: It indicates  the distortion in between the communication process (Manning et al. 2013)

Feedback: Response of the receiver

Context: It takes place when receiver properly receives message, and it is interpreted correctly

Channel: Appropriate mode such as oral, written, etc

In order to understand the significance of communication in the better manner, some effective models are present and they are as follows:

Shannon’s model

It is one of the earliest models that was introduced by Claude Shannon’s model in the year 1948. In this model, the information source typically refers to a person who basically shares the message with the assistance of transmitter. It is possible for the transmitter to use any device that involves the computer, phone or any convenient method (Du-Babcock 2013). Further, as per this model, the signals that are sent and received can differ on the basis of the technique of the communication. In between the communication process, some disturbances are present that can be regarded as noise. This also depends on the method of communication as in some mode very less disturbance is present. This model is quite easy in order to know about the entire process of communication.

Berlo’s model

It is also one of the effective models of communication where the relationship between person sending the message and the receiver is highlighted. As per this model, it is necessary that message shared must be properly encoded and decoded and the communication skills of both the sender and receiver must be up to the mark (Henderson, Cheney & Weaver 2015). The four main components of this model take into consideration source, message, channel, and receiver on which the entire communication process depends.  

Secondary Research

In order to understand the effectiveness of communication from the business perspective the communication process within Tesco has been undertaken. The survey has been taken in the internal departments of the business where operation and marketing department has been undertaken. Through survey, it has been found that written communication is the most preferred method adopted where email is selected as one of the modes for sharing information and ideas between one another. The company considers it as the most reliable method, and written proof is present. Apart from this, top executives prefer to share ideas with the help of meetings, and this has also proved to be beneficial for the entire company. Considering the communication theory in the entire communication process of Tesco i.e. written all the key components are present such as communication, message, noise, feedback, context, and channel. Moreover, some other methods of communication are also undertaken such as memo, letters, and it directly depends on the importance of the message that is being shared. Therefore, in this way, Tesco’s internal communication totally relies on written method.

With the help of primary and secondary study, it has been identified that communication plays the most integral role in the organization and it allows staff members to work efficiently within the workplace (Kernbach, Eppler & Bresciani 2015). Secondary analysis has shown the key components in the communication process that involves communication, message, feedback, noise, etc. Apart from this, primary analysis has shown that Tesco relies on written communication for sharing information within the workplace.

Communication is one of the most integral parts of the study where it starts with the sender who encodes the message and takes place with the help of appropriate channel where the receiver receives the message and decodes it. All these are the most important element and needs to be considered as significant.

Conclusion

The entire study carried out has supported in known the importance of communication within the workplace. Further, different types of communications have been known that involves oral, written and nonverbal. A company like Tesco relies on written communication method as written proof is present and in turn, all its employees can easily understand the message transmitted, and it enhances business efficiency.

On the basis of conclusion, there are some recommendations to Tesco and they are as follows:

• Tesco must focus on encouraging information sharing where staff members must be encouraged to share their ideas
• Creating open dialogue is another effective where communication can take plan in the form of bi-monthly newsletter or formal meetings that leads to better communication

References

Addams, LH & Allred, A 2015, 'Business communication course redesigned: All written and oral communication assignments based on building career skills', Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, vol 19, no. 1, p. 250.

Ainsworth, J 2013, ' Business languages for intercultural and international business communication: A Canadian case study. ', Business Communication Quarterly, vol 76, no. 1, pp. 28-50.

Brink, KE & Costigan, R 2015, 'Oral communication skills: Are the priorities of the workplace and AACSB-accredited business programs aligned?', Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol 14, no. 2, pp. 205-221.

Christensen, M 2014, 'Communication as a strategic tool in change processes', International journal of business communication, vol 51, no. 4, pp. 359-385.

Cornelissen, J & Cornelissen, J 2017, Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice., Sage, United Kingdom.

Du-Babcock, B 2013, 'English as Business Lingua Franca: A comparative analysis of communication behavior and strategies in Asian and European contexts', Ibérica, p. 26.

Henderson, A, Cheney, G & Weaver, CK 2015, 'The role of employee identification and organizational identity in strategic communication and organizational issues management about genetic modification.', International Journal of Business Communication, vol 52, no. 1, pp. 12-41.

Kernbach, S, Eppler, MJ & Bresciani, S 2015, 'The use of visualization in the communication of business strategies: An experimental evaluation', International Journal of Business Communication, vol 52, no. 2, pp. 164-187.

Manning, CA, Waldman, MR, Lindsey, WE, Newberg, AB & Cotter-Lockard, D 2013, 'Personal Inner Values–A Key to Effective Face-to-Face Business Communication', Journal of Executive Education, vol 11, no. 1, p. 3.

Mikkelson, AC, York, JA & Arritola, J 2015, 'Communication competence, leadership behaviors, and employee outcomes in supervisor-employee relationships.', Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, vol 78, no. 3, pp. 336-354.

Molloy, K & Heath, R 2014, 'Bridge discourses and organizational ideologies: Managing spiritual and secular communication in a faith-based, nonprofit organization. ', International Journal of Business Communication, vol 51, no. 4, pp. 386-408.

Rathnayaka, R 2014, 'Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Business Communication: Evidence from Sri Lanka', International Review of Management and Business Research, vol 3, no. 3, p. 1579.