Recent Trends in Business Communication - Research Paper Example

Recent Trends in Business Communication Introduction Success in today’s work environment is dependent on the effectiveness of business communication(Lehman, 2007). Business communication can be defined as a process in which there is transfer of information and coordination of the different people and parts of the business organization. Various media and modes are used in communication exchange. According to Kushal (2010), communication should be a dialogue not a monologue and it should be concerned with a dual listening process. Business communication has two major functions; internal and external functions. The major internal functions of business communication are information to management, information to employees, and improvement in morale. The major external functions of business communication are to make relations with the suppliers, sales of goods and services, report to owner-shareholder, report to government, and to create goodwill for the business (Kushal, 2010). Technology is shaping the mode and means of business communication around the world. Offices are adopting new methods of communication that are paperless and the distance between businesses is getting smaller with each new day. Communication in the past was characterized by writing business letters and sending memos. With the advancement in technology, business workforce interacts through teleconferencing, emails and videoconferencing (Kaur, 2010). Technology is advancing at a very fast rate and it is already changing the business communication trends. Innovations happening are geared towards dealing with the complexities of the business communications in the global economy (Scudder, 2010). Among the newest innovations in business communication is the use of electronic tools. Devices and software programs are being developed and at the same time entering the market at a significant rate. However, a lot of capital investment is required to acquire these technologies and assist the workers master them. Productivity is increased by tools such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), wikis and teleconferences. These tools also improve the way the business communicates with the customers. Use of these electronic tools may be cumbersome for the business professionals, thus, their effective use requires training, time and capital (Business-Telephone-System.org, 2010). Recent Trends in Business Communication in the Last Five Years In business communication, there are recent technological advancements that have shaped the way businesses communicate around the world. The most dominant form is the use of email and more recently the use of teleconferencing and videoconferencing. Technologies affecting business communication can be summarized into specialization, portability and selectivity. These trends increase the control of consumers’ means of communication. They also bring new ways of collaborating and working in the business environment (Krizan et al., 2007). Wireless and Internet Communication Contact with customers and employees on a 24/7 basis is made possible through the use of email, cell phones and instant messaging. Depending on the urgency of the message, an advance notice is given to the recipient to ensure that instant messaging device or the cell phone is turned on or the email is read immediately (Krizan et al., 2007). Receiver’s time is very important before sending the message. When using these technological tools, it is important for the sender to refrain from making business contacts during off-work hours unless it is a valid emergency. Email is the most preferred method of communication to fellow clients and workers. Information overload is possible if email is overused (Hunt, 2010). Business meeting minutes, paper memos and other official communications are being replaced by email. While this is happening, it is imperative for the users of emails to know the trends and follow the principles of emailing. Before hitting the send button, it is crucial for the sender to check the email communication formatting and content (Kaur, 2010). There are specialized cell phones that can operate specific services such as in getting sports news update or in making cheap overseas calls. For example, in Japan, the cell phones contain a short range radio chip that beams debit and credit information to a vending machine or a store register. This type of technology is called mobile wallet and it is finding its way into the United States market. Bluetooth technology is also used by some business, and they allow their customers to download product codes and other important information from their kiosks through Bluetooth enabled cell phones. The transfer of information and management of email files between computers regardless of their type have been made possible by the use of Bluetooth (Krizan, 2007). Changes in Advertising Media Changes in marketing are affected by the changes in the technological trends. Services such as TiVo and electronic devices allow for the selective television shows recording. This reduces the large audience for the regularly programmed television commercials. Podcasts are also been offered by major networks and they are aimed at reaching new customers. These podcasts are offered by networks such as NBC and ABC, National Public Radio, Business Week and Forbes online magazines, and local music outlets. Podcasting gained popularity when Apple Computer Inc. enabled the purchase of podcasts on iTunes through the company’s online music store. These programs enable consumers to download what they want from the internet to their digital media players. The downloaded items can be listened to any time and place convenient for the user. Other programs that offer consumer choice include vlogs, instant messaging and blogs (Krizan, 2007). Online marketing strategies such as viral advertising are becoming popular in the contemporary world. The strategy involves the use of an entertaining online marketing message. The aim of the strategy is to make the message more appealing so that the viewers can download it from the internet to their handheld devices. The message is shared with others, thus, spreading the message like a virus. For this concept to work, the message must be useful, entertaining and interesting (Krizan, 2007). Videoconferencing Face to face meetings are slowly getting replaced with videoconferencing. In other words, videoconferencing is becoming an alternative to face to face meeting. The participants in videoconferencing are capable of seeing the body language and facial expressions and thus enable them to interpret the spoken message. This is not possible with phone conferences. Videoconferencing is used in a number of business sectors and serves various functions. For example, the technology is used by companies with overseas satellite offices as sales representatives, mobile employees who do their job away from the home offices, and sharing of medical expertise in distant locations between the physician and the healthcare provider. Improvements in videoconferencing are due to the broadband internet connections, high definition video and television quality. Effective videoconferencing requires high definition videos and high speed transmission; they improve picture and sound quality (Krizan, 2007). Interactive whiteboards, high quality sound systems, large plasma screens and group software can be used to equip the video conference room. Media images, notes, and drawings are captured and displayed by the whiteboards through linkage to the internet, and made visible to all the participants. Videoconferencing is gaining popularity because of the improvements in quality internet videoconferencing, the rising costs of fuel and the desire to save travel costs and time (Krizan, 2007). Hoteling Production, delivery and marketing are kept on the move by off-shoring operations and business outsourcing. A mobile workforce and an expanded market trigger the demand for new workspaces that are outside the home office. The idea is called hoteling; it is also called office hoteling. Hoteling is defined as a practice of giving an employee office space on a need basis. The practice minimizes the space required for the normal square footage of a regular office by giving an alternative office room for the mobile worker. Hoteling supports both the mobile worker and the telecommuter. Telecommuting is referred to as working from a different location other than the place of work where business is normally conducted. The term telecommuter covers people who communicate with the office from a public telephone, car, client’s office, hotel and those who work from home. Telecommuters have access to data and they communicate with their colleagues, clients and supervisors through electronic means (Krizan, 2007). Mobile employees are also referred to as telecommuters. The term mobile employee specifically refers to the individual who spends most of his or her time commuting to various work locations. The hoteling system comprises of the mobile employees and business demands and it maintains the reserved space to meet the business demand. The space, which is available by reservation is located virtually anywhere and serves the purpose of a remote office that has computer ports and capability of communicating. The space may be a special room that has been designed for hoteling. The room has chairs and tables and can also include conference room and food service availability. The mobile employees are allowed to maintain their own mail box and telephone number extension (Krizan, 2007). Hoteling can be an option or an assignment for the employee. Not all businesses are adaptable to the hoteling system. Hoteling system is mostly practiced by real estate agencies, flex time workers, consulting firms, sale or marketing staff, and manufacturer representatives. Virtual office is the idea of sharing an office through the reserved space. It is also referred to as HotDesking (Krizan, 2007). Intranets and Collaborative Projects Intranet is used for internal communication in most businesses; a business only computer network. The local network gives the employee the capability to transmit information, discuss strategy, and exchange ideas within the room electronically without the need to use the internet. Intranet affords the company security of protecting its information from outside hackers, intruders and other people with destructive motives; firewall offers the necessary protection (Krizan, 2007). With the utilization of cross-functional teams, employees may collaborate at times to write reports, projects and proposals. Group writing is facilitated by collaborative writing software. The software offers the users the capability of working on the same document rather than on an email attachment or on a printed copy. The process of collaborative writing may be synchronous (interactive) or asynchronous (independent). In interactive collaborative writing, the work is done on the same document by two or more people and the changes are seen as they are created. In asynchronous writing, the individual is capable of working on the document at different times. Groupware is a type of software that assists the functioning of collaborative projects. Synchronous collaborative writing software is part of the groupware. Groupware is usually available through subscription or a onetime use at a given price. Software options in the groupware include; coordination of online web group meetings such as sharing of calendars, files, projects or schedules. It also involves working in a collaborative manner on the document in real time and approving the changes. These software packages (collaborative writing software) utilize the web as the host site and the invited collaborators are capable of accessing the site and review or edit or add any information to the document on the host site. The sessions in collaborative writing resemble meetings in that they require prearrangement. Another key thing about interactive software is that the host can access the document between the sessions. The following are examples of software that allow the interactive collaboration; WebEx, Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Conferral (Krizan, 2007). In independent collaborative writing, the document in the computer is accessible by anyone in the writing team. Most of the groupware software resides on the web location. This type of collaboration permits the writers to work on the document at their own convenient time. The document has to be checked periodically to see what changes have been on the document by the coauthors. Because of this, the writers mostly rely on redline and strikeout techniques, and shading to mark the changes done. The following are examples of software that allow independent collaboration; Quickbase and Projectplace. There are other collaborative writing sites that are and they include Writeboard and Web Collaborator. Independent collaborative writing can be completed by using the reviewing tool in Word, a word processing feature. The tool allows the deletion or addition of information and marking any changes. Copies of the changed document can be attached to an email and sent to the other writers for review, changes, and comments or posting of the same document in the company’s intranet site for easy access by the multiple employees (Krizan, 2007). Cloud Computing It is a type of technology that employs the use of shared infrastructure that creates links between the large pooled systems in the private or the public networks for provision of information technology services. The arrival and the application of Web 2.0 has created enough space for the adoption of architecture that is service oriented and it has allowed the thriving of cloud computing in an environment where open collaboration, mobile commerce and social networking is encouraged. The infrastructure environment needs management as a unified cloud in order for it to manage the ever increasing needs of the users (in the government, public, business or private). Cloud computing is advantageous in that it relieves the IT professionals of the daily scheduled tasks of information technology. Cloud computing allows the IT professionals to devote most of their time adding value to the IT services in their particular areas of specialization, become available regardless of their location, the ability to provide tangible benefits to the company like adding more consumers through horizontal market expansion, quick offering of marketing services, and customer maintenance (Scudder, 2010). Book Reader Book reader allows the conversion of a text document into an audio file. The technological tool follows this process; (a) the book, magazine or any other document is first scanned, (b) character recognition is applied, (c) text-to-speech software plays the text document on a portable device or the user’s computer with a voice quality that is human like. The technology is patented as Shadow Elimination Element (SEE) and it has an exceptional hardware design that matches its objective. The converted documents can be stored in PDF or RTF formats. The gadget is very useful in businesses because it is capable of handling graphic features and letter like documents (Scudder, 2010). Customer Relationship Management 2.0 (CRM 2.0) The previous tool Customer Relationship Management (CRM) had limited capabilities as it only functioned in the interaction between the client facing functions and back office functions. The new tool CRM 2.0 is more interactive and provides competence in the business. CRM 2.o is based on tools from blogs, social networking sites, community forums and wikis. The tool benefits all types of business because of the input from all stakeholders whether it is in the procurement, research, delivery or design (Scudder, 2010). PowerPoint Presentations PowerPoint presentation is another common tool that has found its extensive usage in the presentation of issues in business conferences. This tool has helped in better understanding of issues in these conferences and its impact is quite big in such scenarios (Scudder, 2010). Telephones Telephones play an integral part in modern business communication. Telemarketing is getting its way into many business enterprises. With telemarketing, the businesses are capable of making sales enquiries and at times close sales. EPABX systems offer teleconferencing services where two persons are capable of interacting and thus share information (Scudder, 2010). Social Media Networking and Other Web Technologies Social media networking has become the order of the day. Many business enterprises are utilizing these social media networks like Facebook to persuade and attract more customers. Customers’ queries can be handled by the various call centers regardless of the time zone. Web technology is getting refined each day and many business enterprises are creating interactive websites that offer online business communication. These websites also offer enquiry or order forms to quicken the business enterprise transactions. Online marketing is getting popularity among the consumers and most of them prefer the use of internet to order their goods and services. This is because of the convenience and comfort that the internet offers to them (Scudder, 2010). Conclusion The advancement in technology is affecting the way businesses are conducted around the world. Adoption of these technologies has had their positive and negative impacts. Some of these technologies are quite expensive to adopt and implement them in the business organizations. However, it is imperative for business organizations to adapt them because of the many benefits associated with them. Effective business communication is the key to success in the contemporary business world. Without effective business communication, the survival of that business empire is minimal. It is important to note that businesses are overwhelmed by communication overload. Thus, it is crucial for the businesses to provide the required training, time and capital to avoid communication overload. References Business-Telephone-System.org. (2010, Aug. 24). Current trends in business communications. Retrieved from http://business-telephone-system.org/cost-of-telephone-system/current-trends-in-business-communications/ Hunt, J. (2010, May 12). Current trends in business communications. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2989018/current_trends_in_business_communications.html Kaur, M. (2010, Feb. 14). Business communication tools. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/business-communication-trends-a201953 Krizan, A. C., Logan, J. P., Merrier, P. & Williams, K. S. (2007). Business communication. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Kushal, S. J. (2010). Business communication. New Delhi: FK Publications. Lehman, C. M. (2007). Business communication. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Scudder, R. (2010, Sep. 14). Latest in business communication trends. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/86925.aspx Read More