Managerial Communication Methods at workplace

One of your employees is constantly late, leaving food and drinks at the work station, and you are forced to address the situation
The above issue would be addressed via direct communication. When doing so, the staff member in question would preferably be got in touch with at the work station in order to share the company’s concern. This choice of setting ensures a friendly, positive atmosphere is created. Speaking with the staff member at a supervisor’s or manager’s office would intimidate the individual and convey a negative mood. Direct communication represents an informal mode of verbal communication undertaken for the purpose of free interchange of opinions and fair weighing of one another (Adler, Elmhorst & Lucas, 2012). Consequently, the worker in question can offer a verified response and demonstrate adherence to the scenario. This communication mode works well for the aforementioned scenario as it encompasses the elements of encouragement, leadership, involvement, decision-making, motivation, answerability, focus, openness, and arriving at a consensus.
Advantages: Direct communication aids in developing credibility and cultivating trust. It facilitates the grasping of non-verbal indications and enhances productivity. An improved experience is created owing to better understanding of posture and body language.
Disadvantage: One might misinterpret body language, which may result in miscommunication (Stuart, Sarow & Stuart, 2007). A disadvantage common to verbal and direct communication forms is the intimate relationship between listener attention and communication efficacy.
You need to let all employees know about a company special event
This situation calls for a memo. Memos constitute a key component of formal organizational communications. Aimed at notifying company divisions or teams of group events or alterations, changes in employee benefits necessitating staff meetings, or any other ordinary transformation in the company, memos are mostly, in the modern business environment, distributed as emails for saving corporate resources, besides providing an environment-friendly content circulation method. A memo is normally developed for corporate managers by the admin department. This informal, non-gender-prejudiced document appears pleasing to anybody who reads it (DiSanza & Legge, 2016). In this instance, the memo’s adoption is justified owing to its aptness in informally informing organizational members of a key issue. The addressees will be the entire workforce and the mode of transmission of the memo will be email, for its cost-effectiveness and convenience.
Advantage: Through memos, messages can be conveyed to several individuals simultaneously. Messages may be both conventional and easily-understood high-effect ones. Memos offer the capability of devising precise messages, besides ensuring communication permanence for reference in the future.
Disadvantage: Memos offer one-way communication and succinctness, thus rendering feedback or the communication of complex issues hard.
You hear from a friend that a client is about to sign a contract with one of your present competitors
Two alternatives may be chosen from: email and telephone. Considering the issue’s sensitivity and nature, if one desires for instant communication, a phone call would be prudent in order to alert the rival of the fact that the customer they are entering into an agreement with is ours. The client could be phoned as well, for winning back his/her loyalty. For follow-up purposes, or if the customer or rival can’t be reached via the telephone, emails can be utilized. Despite the introduction of novel communication techniques, the telephone will continue to be a key element of business communication, as it provides a personal touch to the interaction, enabling effective real-time business integration (Stuart et al., 2007; DiSanza & Legge, 2016).
Meanwhile, emails, the other alternative, are being utilized on an increasingly larger scale for business communication and prove, on the whole, to be a very efficient instrument of communication. Emails can be sent free of cost, with the only requirement being connectivity to the web, which all companies already have. Despite the possibility of printing email messages, organizations usually allow them to remain in digital form, as soft copies allow for easy email archiving and retrieval. In this instance, utilizing emails would serve reference purpose should there arise any legal follow-up with regard to violation of antitrust laws (Adler et al., 2012).
Email- Advantage: Extremely speedy information delivery. Drafted message may be readily and instantaneously altered. The message may reach innumerable individuals simultaneously. Disadvantage: Might give rise to miscommunication if drafted in a vague manner.
Voice mail and telephonic conversations: Advantage: Cellphones allow for anytime, anywhere communication. Disadvantage: At times, telephonic conversations might prove inappropriate and lead to miscommunication.
You have three bids on a piece of equipment and you need to get a management decision on purchasing
This scenario necessitates a consultative board meeting; hence, videoconferencing is the ideal mode of communication. Communications and wireless technological advances enable countless contemporary businesses to make the most of videoconferencing for one-on-one, real-time conversations anywhere, anytime. All organizations seeking success are aware that promoting communication enables cooperation and empowerment. Further, information sharing ought to be a major strategy (Adler et al., 2012), and videoconferencing, which facilitates real-time conversations that enhance peer and superior-subordinate relationships, proves beneficial.
Advantage: This technique is cheap, enables direct interaction, and forges relationships. Further, videoconferencing can improve efficacy and yield owing to its ability of decreasing unproductivity resulting from long-distance travels, checking delays in meetings, ensuring increased message reach, and organizing briefer, more structured conferences (Stuart et al., 2007). Lastly, it facilitates the inclusion of more participants. With other communication modes, it usually proves tough to make sure information reaches every participant simultaneously.
Disadvantage: Technical issues may arise which could cause delays, pauses, or altogether prevent the videoconference from occurring.


References
Adler, R., Elmhorst, J. M., & Lucas, K. (2012). Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business and the professions. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
DiSanza, J. R., & Legge, N. J. (2016). Business and professional communication: Plans, processes, and performance. Pearson.
Stuart, B. E., Sarow, M. S., & Stuart, L. (2007). Integrated business communication: In a global Marketplace. John Wiley & Sons.