business Question GBA feedback 1

Why is poor communication problematic? List possible consequences a business might face because of poor communication or lack of communication.

Writer 1

Poor communication can be problematic not just for businesses but for personal relationships as well. If you cannot communicate with others then you are not able to function in the everyday life. When you work for a company you have to either be able to talk to your peers or upper management. If you are not clear in what you say and how you say it, it could either cause you to not have a job or look dumb. For the most part you have to deal with internal audiences and external audiences at your place of employment. Internal audiences are others people in the same organization: subordinates, superiors, and peers. External audiences are people outside the organization: customers, suppliers, distributors, unions, stockholders, potential employees, trade associations, special interest groups, government agencies, the press, and the general public (Locker 2013).

Lack of communication in the workplace can occur on a large scale, such as between management and employees, as well as on a smaller scale between individual employees. When companies send out messages to one another or even their customers the messages needs to be clear. A receiver who has to guess what the sender means may guess wrong. A reader who finds a letter or memo unconvincing or insulting simply would not do what the message asks. Whatever the literal content of the words, every letter, e-mail or report serves either to build or to undermine the image the reader has of the writer (Locker 2013).

Writer 2

Poor Communication in Business

Poor communication can be problematic in many ways. Poor communication can come from many channels, internally and externally. Within a business, it may be in the form of emails, memos, reports or even face to face meetings. A poorly conveyed message may come off as stiff, selfish, or too vague. Misused words or having the point of the message buried between other information may also cause the message to be ineffective. An ineffective message can lead to undesired results. Sometimes the cost may only be the individuals’ time and efforts. Other times, it may be devastating to those involved or to the company as a whole. An example of this is the Ford Motor Company’s lack of effective communication with Firestone in regard to the Ford Explorer’s specifications and requirements. (Locker & Kienzler, 2013) This caused handling issues with the Explorer, ultimately causing the S.U.V. to rollover. Families lost loved ones and Ford incurred high financial payouts due to their negligence in conveying important information to Firestone.

Loss of goodwill is another way poor communication may affect a company or individual. When goodwill is lost, reputations are quickly damaged. A disgruntled customer’s opinion will travel even faster than a happy customer’s. As an example, a small local company was recently involved in a merger. The small company had a very good reputation in its area, the larger company that took over made very poor choices. They did not communicate with the current employees and in fact let everyone in the small office go. They also did not inform their customer base of the merger and that they would no longer have an office at that location or the one on one care that created the good reputation. There was almost an immediate backlash from the customers, causing a substantial financial loss.