Business Communication - Essay Example

MANGEMENT COMMUNICATION STUDENTS NAME: INSTITUTION: INSTRUCTORS NAME: DATE: Management Communication In May 2014, Apple Company encountered an incident that tarnished its image. The incident occurred as result of a customer who sued the company for tweaking the messaging system of her iPhone to block sent messages from other android phones. Apple Company argued back that it was a technical problem that would be fixed. However, the case attracted attention from other competitors who argued that Apple Company did that intentionally to prevent customers from switching to other android smart phones for example Samsung. The incident occurred when Apple Company was releasing a new phone with a unique features. It, therefore, resulted in the company encountering losses since its competitors overlooked the issue and created an environment of doubt among iPhone customers. It is through management communication that the company had to solve the issue. Communication is the act of passing information from one person to another. There are three components that complete communication process; these components are the sender, the receiver, and the message. Communication is an essential element in aspects that deal with day to day life. When it comes to management communication, it is the process of conveying a message from one person to another so as to achieve goals. Management communication involves wide ray of aspects that deal with management and how the manager will be able to pass information to employees so that they can work as a team and achieve the common goals (Thill, & Bovee, 2004). According to O'Rourke, 2007, communication helps in the passing message and this is important for performance in every organization. The manner in which the message should be passed is also important such that a manager should be able to first understand the information to be passed before communicating it to employees. Taking a look at the case of Apple Company, it is obvious that they had to manage the way they would approach the issue since it was a global concern. Management comprises communication as the major component such that good management is based on the quality of communication. According to Quinn et al (1991), a manager who is not able to communicate and practice quality communication will often find it challenging to undertake his managerial duties. Management is about the allocation of responsibilities and oversees that these responsibilities are accomplished, therefore, communication is essential. There are ways in which a manager should be able to communicate effectively and efficiently to employees and to the public. Responding to crisis When there is a crisis in a company, the best way to respond is through efficient communication. Most companies have been in the situation whereby they are under pressure to give feedback to the public. Taking the case of Apple Company, the management communication had to be instilled in the issue since it was a crisis that needed an immediate response. The manager should create a rapport whereby the public will feel at ease when communicating. This will help people to understand and to ask for clarity where they cannot understand (Vandenberg, et al 2006). The Company has invested in an appropriate way to handle such issue and the best way is a response through communicating the challenges and the strategies intended to mitigate such situation. In an organizational context, it is expected of a manager to be able to analyze and understand various situations that call for attention. This will help when conveying a feedback message because the manager will be able to find a way in which he will ensure that the situation is handled appropriately. Managing crisis through communication is important because the company was able to respond well to its customers. It is obvious that the company was under pressure to give a response as to why the iPhone had a technical issue. The fact that the company is facing rivalry from Samsung, communicating was more important since it was a situation that resulted in customers untangling themselves from using Apple products. This was a crisis that resulted in loss in the company, and therefore the company had to find a way to convince customers that it was a technical problem. Use of presentation has been an effective way of conveying a message that needs deeper analysis and understanding. Take for example communicating to stakeholders on how the technical problem caused a crisis for the company. This required the management team to develop a means of ensuring that there was a clear understanding on what befell the company. This helped in making decisions that resulted in building back the image of the company. Responding to the crisis is complex especially for big organizations like Apple, this is because it creates global concern and everybody would want to have clear information on what is happening. When the company was sued, it attracted global attention and at this state, the rival company took advantage by influencing customers to use android Smartphone other than iPhones. The company has hired competent public relations officers who are responsible for handling communication during such crisis. Many companies run at a loss at the expense of poor quality reports since the manager is under much pressure to deliver according to expectations and they end up giving reports that are not of quality. Management communication involves adhering to the quality of information conveyed such that honesty should be embraced while conveying or reporting (Hargie et al 1996). Aspects considered by Apple Company when responding to the incident The company ensured that the public relations officers spoke with one voice; this is where the message to be passed is consistent. Public attention demanded that they should know the reason as to why the messaging system of iPhone was altered such that it could not receive a message from other android phones. The company responded that it was a technical error; this was consistent information because the company could not risk having any other factors that resulted in the incident because it would result in more damage. The company was assertive in conveying information about the incident. The company focused mainly on making the public understand the information and respond well or rather positively towards it. It involves aspects such as persuading, informing and directing. According to Worley and Doolen, (2006) it is obvious that when responding to the public crisis the whole company and its employees are involved; therefore the manner in which information is passed should convey consistency. This, therefore, involves communicating internally so that employees would not convey different information to customers, other than the already communicated. Management communication was important because this was a crisis that needed internal and external communication. There are employees who would tarnish the image of the company through conveying wrong information especially when there is an incident. It is important to conduct internal communication so as to pass the right information to employees and prevent propaganda. Critical information that requires public attention should only be left to management communication and public relation officers of the company. For the case of Apple Company, the case was only handled by the public relations officers, this is because they are competent and they delivered information appropriately. In such cases, most companies find it difficult to control information flow because there is no specific unit that handles a crisis that attracts public attention. In this case, you will find the company experiencing difficulty to convey the exact information because it is not handled by a single unit. When there is a crisis, there should be only one unit that deals with the response, and not everyone in the company, this will prevent further damages because there will be a confusion on the exact information. When communicating, the best way to ensure that the message is conveyed is through response. The response gives one the satisfaction that what he is conveying has been paid attention to. The company ensured that public responded to their information by providing a platform for responding. It is obvious that for such a big organization, there are platforms where customers could give feedback on the service provision. On such incident, the company ensured that they pay attention to all critics in every platform. This was a way of ensuring customer satisfaction since a customer will feel contented when their responses are considered. It is obvious that we communicate to seek attention and understanding and hence respond. Therefore it is important for good management communication to embrace these aspects of response which are: questioning, listening and summarizing. All the aspects need to be taken into consideration while looking for a response from the person to whom information is passed. Hiring appropriate spokesperson is another aspect that the company considered when responding to the incident. It is obvious that not all the public relations officers are competent especially when it comes to responding to a crisis that has resulted in global attention. A spokesperson is competent because he knows how to persuade and convince people, he has mastered the language of convincing people to believe in what he says. Apple Company used a spokesperson that convinced the public that the incident was as a result of technical problems and that it will not occur again. He convinced people to continue using Apple products because they are assured of quality products. A spokesperson wins people's heart through his words and this is important especially when trying to convince people to make a choice. Apple faces stiff competition from Samsung and therefore any technical problem encountered in products of Apple is a threat to the company since it gives an opportunity for the rivals to venture into convincing people that their products are not disappointing like those of Apple. The incident called for someone who would stand up and speak to people about making a choice on considering giving the company a second chance to make it right. Choice of communicating channel is also important for the purpose of managing an incident. Apple Company has a platform in the internet whereby people can post comments on any issues with Apple products. The best way to minimize too much global attention is by quickly responding to issue in communication platform. The Internet has resulted to quick spread of information globally. Where the incident occurred, social media was one of the platforms used to criticize Apple Company and therefore it attracted global attention. Since the company is well prepared when it comes to handling such risks, they have several social media platforms where people can air their views; the quick response is also another advantage that the company has embraced (Gibson, and Cohen, 2003). It is important to choose the best communicating channel where the company can reach many people and social media is the best. Responding to the public through social media is a way of calming down the situation since the response will have a great impact on many people. A company that does not respond to its customers on social media during the crisis will encounter more damage because it will be considered as not responsive to public demand. Customer’s complaints and views should be taken into consideration because that it where they find satisfaction and the company will benefit from their loyalty. Responding to media and press is also another challenging aspect when it comes to handling an incident is any business. Big organizations have often been subjected to pressure when it comes to responding to the media. It is obvious that when there is a crisis, especially for an organization like Apple, media would fill Apple offices demanding for response to whichever crisis that the company is experiencing. Therefore it is important to have a spokesperson and a lawyer who will be able to respond positively to the media and press. At this point the company will instruct all the employees not to respond to the media until they are well prepared to respond, this is for the purpose of consistency in the information to be communicated to the media. Apple Company responded well to the media by sticking on the fact that the iPhone had a technical error, their statement was consistent all through even at the court, and the company also compensated the accuser and promised the public that it will not happen again. Good communication with the media helped the company to regain its reputation and image and hence it is important to embrace appropriate communication strategies when under a crisis because it will determine the direction of the company (Ting-Toomey and Chung, 2005). References Allen, T.J., Lee, D.M. and Tushman, M.L., 1980. 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