Communication types in organisations

Communication is extremely important within a business and is what every good business should be built upon, giving a business the power to send a message to employees, prospective customers and the general public that they are one of the best at what they do. Communication makes a business grow and develop, it gives a company the chance to inform, educate or instruct. Both bilateral and downward communication is important within business. Bilateral communication allows businesses to send messages between people on the same level or position within a company, while downward communication sees messages sent from superiors to subordinates. Both of these communication types have a large role in the workplace. Internet The history of the Internet starts in the 1950s and 1960s with the development of computers.Communication is the most popular use of the Internet, with email topping the list of all the technologies used. Some of the types of communication technologies used also include email discussion groups, Usenet news, chat groups, and IRC. It is estimated that in 1993 the Internet carried only 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunication, by 2000 this figure had grown to 51%, and by 2007 more than 97% of all telecommunicated information was carried over the Internet Wikipedia The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks. When you connect your computer to the Internet via your Internet Service Provider (ISP) you become part of the ISPs network, which is connected to other networks that make up the Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW or Web for short) is the part of the Internet that you can access using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. It consists of a large number of web servers that host websites. Each website will normally consist of a number of web pages. A web page can contain text, images, video, animation and sound.

Benefits of the Internet Always available: The Internet is always available for you to use, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You don't have to wait for it to open or wait for someone to make it available. It is just there, when you need it and for whatever you need. Vast range of information: Think of any search term and type it into a search engine. We can pretty much guarantee that you will find web sites with information on that term. It doesn't matter what you want to know about, you will find something on the Internet that can provide the information you need.

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Easy to contact people: The Internet provides many ways to enable you to keep in contact with people at all hours of the day and night. These include email, forums, chartrooms, telephone calls and video conferencing. You are almost spoilt for choice. This ability has helped many companies grow from a small local company into a large multi-national organisation. Access to other cultures: The Internet enables you to look at sites about or written by people in other countries. You can look at photographs of where they live and read about their way of life. This enables you to get a unique insight into their culture, something that just wouldnt' be possible without actually visiting them in person. Up-to-date: One of the main advantages of the Internet is how fast things can be updated. When a news story breaks, the BBC website can have that news on its pages within a couple of minutes. They can keep adding more information as it becomes available. If that were a newspaper, you would have to wait up to a day to read about the news. Even news on the television takes longer to get to you than the Internet.

Bitesize Other technologies, including video and audio conferencing and Internet telephony, are also available on the Internet. They require more multimedia capabilities of computer systems and are more taxing of network resources than the others. They also are adaptations of other technologies to the Internet. Organisations would use the internet for every day tasks in business, for example when using email and video conferencing. Many Organisations use Fax Machines to send important documents which can only be done with internet access, also the internet has instant messaging which speeds up the rate of communication between people and other businesses. Internet telephony is also increasing in popularity in modern businesses as its a fast way of communication between people even if they are in different countries. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) EDI means Electronic Data Interchange. It is the transfer of data between different companies using networks, such as Internet. As more and more companies get connected to the Internet, EDI is becoming increasingly important as an easy device for companies to buy, sell, and trade information. In its simplest form, Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI, is the computer-to-computer exchange between two companies of standard business documents in electronic format. There are two key elements in basic EDI; First, electronic documents replace paper documents. Second, the exchange of documents takes place in a standardised format. Using these two basic concepts, any business can enter the world of EDI and begin taking advantage of the speed and economy of electronic commerce. This site will help you figure out the options available to you and what steps you need to take to implement EDI.

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Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the software or system used by companies to exchange information, files and documents. EDI has replaced the fax machine and mailing list when it comes to information sharing. Using EDI, sharing of data is much quicker and cost effective. How EDI Works The basic process is like this: a user places an order (i.e., a document) into the computer. The order goes through an interface program. The application edits the order and relays it to the intermediate EDI files. The purchase order is changed to the EDI standard format the application can decipher. The translation program can function with several programs, allowing the receivers system to interpret the order. The modem relays the order through a value added network. The network proceeds to take the order. From the EDI format it is changed back into the senders original format. This allows the receiver to read the document.

Benefits of Using EDI The system eliminates the need to use paper. This saves money and helps preserve the environment. This also reduces the odds of errors appearing in the documents. Information sharing becomes quicker and more effectual. The end result is increased productivity. Response times get quicker and management of information is simplified.

Disadvantages of EDI Trading Partners Involvement - Highly dependence on the participation of trading partners. It is extremely difficult to get a high level of supplier compliance. EDI will be a meaningless if your trading partner didn't get involve using EDI system effectively. Costly for smaller companies - Many small companies are facing resources problems in getting starter with the initial implementation of EDI system. It is beyond the resources these companies to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in setting and implementation costs, as well as weeks of personnel training, to get an EDI system running. Difficult to agree on standard used - Even though there are widely-accepted and widely-used standards, there are no ways to force trading partners to accept these standards. Cooperation between trading partners is needed in order to develop a common rules to avoid differ in interpretation. Although there are risks associated with the use of EDI, the benefits greatly outweigh these risks. EDI will lead to improvement in a companys overall performance. Email

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Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Today's email systems are based on a store-andforward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to an email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. An email message consists of three components, the message envelope, the message header, and the message body. Wikipedia Email is used in most workplaces today and has increased in popularity over the years. It helps increase internal communication within a business and its staff and is a free service. Email is a very low-cost communications tool that businesses are using to sell and advertise their goods and provide better customer service to work more effectively. Electronic mail or email is a means of sending messages, text, and computer files between computers via the Internet. There are two main types of email, client-based email and webmail. Client-based email is often used by business users and involves the email being downloaded from a server to an application (such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird) on the users computer. Webmail is accessed through a web browser and can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Client-based email requires software, e.g. Outlook To set up this type of email you need:

a computer an Internet connection an account with an ISP (Internet Service Provider) an email application, e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird or Entourage

Sending an email to someone is very easy; people need little training to learn how to do this. Advantages of using email are: o Emails are free to send -so long as you have an email account and a connection to the Internet. o Emails are usually received fairly quickly, most of the time a couple of seconds after they are sent o People don't have to be present to receive the email o Emails can be sent any time of the day or night, 365 days a year o Files and images can be attached to an email o Multiple copies of a message can be sent to a group of people o A carbon copy of an email can be sent to other people o You can request proof of receipt or proof of the email being opened

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o Messages can be prepared in advance and saved until you are ready to send them. o Messages can be encrypted making it possible to send confidential information

Both you and the person receiving the email must have an email address and access to a computer and the Internet. Disadvantages of email are that: Electronic Funds Transfer Electronic funds transfer or EFT is the electronic exchange or transfer of money from one account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, through computer-based systems. (Often abbreviated as EFT, Electronic Funds Transfer is the paperless act of transmitting money through a computer network) The term covers a number of different concepts:

If you don't know the email address of the other person then you can't send them a message Some people change their email addresses fairly often as they switch ISPs or jobs Spam is a big problem, up to two-thirds of mails sent are spam People can waste company time at work by sending emails to friends instead of working When you are on holiday, your email box can become full and extra messages might not get stored You may have to wait a long time to get a reply. Email attachments can contain viruses Some companies won't allow email attachments to be received There are a lot of email scams and it is easy to get fooled by them

Cardholder-initiated transactions, where a cardholder makes use of a payment card Direct deposit payroll payments for a business to its employees, possibly via a payroll service bureau Direct debit payments, sometimes called electronic checks, for which a business debits the consumer's bank accounts for payment for goods or services Electronic bill payment in online banking, which may be delivered by EFT or paper check Transactions involving stored value of electronic money, possibly in a private currency Wire transfer via an international banking network (carries a higher fee in North America) Electronic Benefit Transfer

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Wikipedia One of the most important features of EFT collection is that the money is automatically transferred on the due date as cash, not uncollected funds. The cost of collection via EFT is less than the cost of conventional methods of bill collecting, using statements, mail, postage, employee costs, etc. EFT costs are based on the number of transactions, regardless of the dollar size, and this cost with very large volume is negotiable. In conjunction with lower per transaction costs, there are lower charges for a bounced check. EFT is a Method of transferring funds automatically from one account to another by electronic ways, such as electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS), which provides for the automatic transfer of money from buyer to seller at the time of sale. For example, a customer inserts a debit card into a point-of-sale computer station in a supermarket, and telephone lines are used to make an automatic debit from the customer's bank account to clear up the bill. Advantages include: Manage delayed disbursements. Managing cash flow with cheques is difficult. Schedule electronic payments with Versa Pay and only pay when its due, but always on time.

Reduce administrative costs. Cheques are expensive: costs to order cheques, stamps & envelopes, trips to the bank, fixing mistakes, NSF fees. Electronic funds transfers require less labour and eliminate material costs. Integrate with financial software, automate recurring transactions, and batch bulk payments. Simplify reconciliation; see all payment requests with invoices attached. Transfer the burden of NSF fees to your customers. Get set up and add customers quickly. All you need is an email address.

Greater control over A/P. Decide who can create and who can approve payments by using the built-in segregation of duties feature. Require a password to issue payments instead of relying on a stamp.

Management information systems

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A management information system (MIS) is a system that provides information needed to manage organizations efficiently and effectively. Management information systems involve three primary resources: technology, information, and people. It's important to recognize that while all three resources are key components when studying management information systems, the most important resource is people. Management information systems are regarded as a subset of the overall internal controls procedures in a business, which cover the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures used by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Wikipedia The development and management of information technology tools assists executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the processing of information. MIS and business systems are especially useful in the collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for decision making. Applications of MIS With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, there's hardly any large business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems. However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable. MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide financial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually. MIS systems can also use these raw data to run simulations hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of what if questions regarding alterations in strategy. For instance, MIS systems can provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without MIS systems. The field of MIS can deliver a great many benefits to enterprises in every industry. Expert organisations such as the Institute of MIS along with peer reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly continue to find and report new ways to use MIS to achieve business objectives. http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/management-informationsystem.htm

Teleconferencing

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Advantages of Teleconferencing:

Reduce cost of group meeting is the major advantages of teleconferencing; the saving is primarily due to significant reduce in travelling cost. Teleconferencing allows people to participate in regional, national or worldwide meetings without actually leaving their local office. Greater communication and coordination between branches and worksite, as teleconferencing enables them to get in touch with each other closely. Meeting is more flexible as participants can join the conference whenever it's necessary. Conference can be scheduled minutes or hours ahead of time instead days or weeks.

Disadvantages of Teleconferencing:

The occurrence of technical failure when trying to establish a conference or during a conference. Difficult for complex interpersonal communication, such as negotiation or bargaining. Impersonal, less easy to create an atmosphere of group rapport. Lack of participant familiarity with the equipment, the medium itself, and meeting skills. Socializing is less than a face-to-face meeting. Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware. Videoconferencing differs from videophone calls in that it's designed to serve a conference rather than individuals. It is an intermediate form of video telephony, first deployed commercially by AT&T during the early 1970s using their Picture phone technology.

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Advantages 1. You can reach anyone you need to reach immediately, no matter what time of day it may be for anyone involved. Time differences between states and countries can be overlooked without anyone traveling long distances for the conference. 2. While a phone call may be enough for two people who need to have a short conversation, web-based conferencing allows large rooms of people at different locations to interact with one another effectively. You can interact with others who live in different countries and continents. 3. PowerPoint and other visual displays can be shared with everyone attending the conference at the same time, giving the feel of everyone being in one room and keeping everyone on task and focused. 4. It is possible, with some services, for everyone to gain access to another computer, seeing whatever is on that computer screen. With more advanced services, a document can even be changed and typed into directly from other computers connected into the conference. Businesses that require active teamwork on one project form can be greatly improved with this possibility. Disadvantages 1. The price may be the biggest drawback for some people, though there are very cheap options if you do not require the more advanced features. Usually, a business that can make good use of the more advanced features often finds that the money they save flying clients or employees around the country or world more than makes up for the cost of the service provider. As fuel becomes more of an issue around the world, the price becomes less of a disadvantage and more of an advantage. 2. There are some human ways of communicating that do not translate very well over a distance, such as eye contact. When you sit in the same room with someone and listen to a speech or presentation you will make eye contact and they will judge who is paying attention by looking around the room. Much of this contact is not easily delivered through a webcam.

Going Green Videoconferencing allows people in different locations to meet without travelling. In these green conscious times this is a vital, environmentally responsible use of technology, helping to lower organisational carbon output. Usage is likely to increase significantly, particularly in light of potential carbon taxation and initiatives such as the HEFCE consultation which may directly link funding with an institutions carbon reduction target. Videoconferencing can play a key role in reducing an organisations greenhouse gas emissions as well as drastically reducing the cost of travel. This may allow individuals to reduce their commuting carbon footprint on behalf of their organisation, maintain a better home/work life balance and reduce stress levels.

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Green benefits of videoconferencing include: Reduced environmental impact through less travel More productive use of time (eliminating wasted travel time) Reduced pressure, stress and fatigue from travel Better support for teleworking. Better Meetings Improvements in the quality of videoconferencing provide an environment where participants are not only able to hear the conversation, but can see each other's facial expressions and body language as well. A videoconference is far more engaging and productive than a telephone conference. Organisational benefits of videoconferencing include: Increased meeting attendance by participants who would otherwise be unable to join in Projects involving geographically dispersed colleagues managed more efficiently Strengthened relationships with remote colleagues Facilitating short notice meetings between individuals in distant locations Enabling decisions to be made more quickly Rapid resolution of urgent issues Greater access to experts/specialists (nationally and internationally) Sharing of presentations Greater accessibility Significant travel cost savings.

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