Essay About New Age Business And Smart Communication

Smart Communication: The Key to Managing Your New Age Business
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Smart Communication: The Key to Managing Your New Age Business 27
Smart Communication:
The Key to Managing Your New Age Business
The great management guru Peter Drucker once said, “Business
communication is all about understanding what has not been said.” His
statement explicitly covers the essence of communicating in an
organizational setting. In business communication, it is not only important
to express effectively what is known, but also what is under wraps. With
growing business complexities, achieving success in todays workplace
is closely tied to the ability of employees and managers to communicate
effectively with each other and with people outside the organization.
Communication in modern day workplace is all about being smart with
your words, and organizations are constantly on the lookout for people
who are masters of this art, since the value it adds to the organization is
immense. The following article is an attempt to throw light on those striking
issues and trends that are revolutionizing business communication for
the Internet generation, the major among them being: advances in
technology, globalization, an increasing culturally diverse workforce and
the adoption of team-based organizational structures. The future of
business communication rests on them as all these trends are here to stay
for long.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Garima Bardia*
* Research Scholar, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.
and Visiting Faculty, R. A. Podar Institute of Management & Bhavans College of Communication &
Management, Jaipur, India. E-mail: [email protected]
Introduction
The dawn of the new millennium has ushered in a new era of development and growth
for the generation. Never before has the world been looked upon as a Global Village
in the real sense. Though, literally speaking, countries are still miles apart, the way
in which the surge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has removed
many of these gaps is simply staggering. This technology revolution has not only made
our lives easier but has also made our workplace much better. The corporate offices
of today are going paperless, green and more technology-friendly with each day. Not
only this, the current workforce comprises people of varied color, creed, race and
cultures, making the businesses truly global.
However, every new transformation brings with it a number of risks, uncertainties
and doubts. Today, the organizations are constantly on the lookout for that magic formula
28 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. IV, No. 4, 2010
that can ensure success and growth in these turbulent times. Besides monitoring the
basic rules of the game, i.e., strengthening the 4 Ps, these are also vital ingredients
that are to be added to this recipe for success for any organization. However, the
seasoning that makes the dish stand apart from others is provided by such tools as
soft skills and people skills that are often overlooked by majority. In the challenging
business environment of today, communicating in an effective, yet proper manner
following business decorum becomes extremely important. With the rules of business
undergoing a major upheaval, the importance of smart and effective business
communication is being felt more than ever before.
The question that pops up in mind at this point is: Why is communication so
important in business? Why cant businesses just concentrate on recruiting, developing
and retaining skilled people who know how to do their job well? Well, the answer
lies in the question itself. Smart communication is essential because businesses are made
of people. Even when two people are working together on a common task, the outcome
depends largely on how compatible they are and how well they are able to express
themselves effectively to the other person. In a business organization, where so
many people work together to achieve the organizational goals, the importance of
communication and its effectiveness cannot be understated. As Robert Kent, former Dean
of Harvard Business School, has said, “In business, communication is everything.” In
an organizational setting, there are different kinds of communication–between people
at the same level, between superiors-subordinates, with clients, suppliers and other
external agencies, etc. Therefore, this aspect, i.e., handling so many networking
requirements of a business, needs to be carefully dealt with. No business can think
of sustaining in the long run if it does not ensure that the soft skills of its workforce
are highly developed.
However,