BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Lecture # 1
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN BUSINESS What
is Business English or English for Business? Why has the English language played a large part of a significant role in the world business today?
Read the excerpt then answer these questions: What have NICs done in the world of business? Do you think that what NICs have done in the world of business is logical, reasonable and practical? Which of these countries fare well in the business world—Singapore or the Frenchspeaking African countries? Explain why.
English: The Global Language (The Story of English, by Robert Mccrum et. al. 1992) The
richest vocabulary The most widespread mother tongue. The most widespread second language. The official international language of the Third World. The language of communication and telecommunication. The language of Science and Computers.
English: The Global Language (The Story of English, by Robert Mccrum et. al. 1992) The
language of the world. The language of the airwaves. The preferred language of Europe. The official language of Europe.
The Need for Business English English has contributed much in the world’s production, trade and communication. D. Whitehead and G. Whitehead commented, “in life, economics is king, and everything else— literature, music, art and even education—is only made possible by the business activity in the economic life of the world.” The relevance of Business English as a subject should not be ignored. We all see the need to use English in business situations—whether in everyday business life or during our employment.
The Subject Areas of Business English
Business English, the language of the international business world is simply ordinary English related particularly to business use. Business English is not theoretical but a practical one at that. You need to learn to speak lucidly and convincingly in everyday business conversation in the workplace, over the telephone, or in many other different business situations—in the public address system, television camera, conferences, meetings, etc.
Components of Business Communication (Refer to the diagram)
The Basic Forms of Organizational Communication Directions: Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence’s thoughts and ideas.
______ communication is the process of communicating without words. The most basic of communication, it consists of gestures, _____ expressions, spatial relationships and attitudes. From primitive times to the present modern time, we have used nonverbal communication to express different emotions like love, anger, dislike and other feelings. There are limits to what we can communicate without the use of words so we also use the other form of communication--_____ that consists of words arranged in meaningful patterns. We arrange words according to the rules of _____ in order to create thoughts. We transmit messages in spoken or ______ form as we anticipate that someone will either hear or read what is said or stated.
Business Organizational Communication
Business people manifest preference to oral communication channels than the written ones. For sharing information on a daily basis, business people rely more heavily on oral than written communication. Communication is said to be the “glue” that binds the organization together. Without communication, the organization will not just grow but will surely perish. It is very vital that the members of any specific organization transmit the right information to the right people at the right time.
Business Organizational Communication For
the success and maintenance of an organization, organizational communications take place through external and internal communication channels, which may move either downward or upward.
Features or Organizational Communication EXTERNAL
COMMUNICATION INTERNAL COMMUNICATION FORMAL COMMUNICATION NETWORK INFORMAL COMMUNICATION NETWORK HORIZONTAL INFORMATION FLOW UPWARD INFORMATION FLOW DOWNWARD INFORMATION FLOW