You have purchased some medical equipment from Germany. Two of them are faulty. You have to communicate the problem to the company urgently. What appropriate communication channels can be used for the Business communication event? Choose the most appropriate one and give reasons for yours choice.
In this case we purchased faulty medical equipment and it is an urgent matter to replace them. The most appropriate channel to convey urgency of this matter would be a phone call. I would prefer placing a call and contacting someone in the company who can help me get the replacement equipment as soon as possible. If it’s a time of the day when the offices in Germany are closed, I would send an email and fax marked urgent.
The reason I prefer a phone call to get in touch with the company in Germany is that I would have better chances to get an immediate resolution. I would be able to emphasize the urgency of situation with my voice and tone. I would be able to negotiate over the phone about how I would get the equipment. Other methods of communication would delay the process because I would get in touch with them and I would have to wait for a response and then reply to what they said. It can result in to a back and forth communication loop and it will only delay the process.
Select an organization of your choice? (E.g. ADNOC, Tesco, or Microsoft etc.). Find out the customers for your chosen organization? How does your chosen organization communicate with customers? What can they do to improve their relationship with customers?
I choose AT&T to answer this question. I am an AT&T customer along with several of my friends. AT&T is one of the largest telecommunication service providers in the world and they have a very large customer base across the world. They mainly provide cellphone, internet and TV services which make them relevant to almost everyone.. The main channels that the company uses to communicate with their customers are advertisements through different media, print and non-print, emails, letters, texts, flyers, billboards and sponsorship events. The company uses almost every possible method to communicate with its customers.
The company puts forth a lot of effort to improve customer relations and customer service. They send out surveys to know how their company is doing and it definitely includes, how the company is communicating with its customers. Their emails, letters and customer service representatives are professional and always try to make the customer feel heard and looked after. One of the suggestions that I have for the company is that they should monitor their advertising efforts more closely and make sure a customer does not get offers that are meant for existing subscribers. They should also try sending emails to their customers to fill out forms after getting in touch with the company. They can improve their relationship with their customers by making their IVR simpler and manage their system in a way that the customer does not end up dreading communication with the company because it becomes a nightmare to be on the phone waiting, for so long.
Assume that you have a car company and your company has faced a criticism over its safety standards. Now if you want to present apology for your customers, which communication form will be appropriate so that you can express your ideas effectively?
If I owned a car company and it was being criticized for its safety standards I would make no delays in apologizing to the customers publicly. I would call a public conference and invite reporters from leading news media. I would make sure I extend my sincerest apologies to the customers affected by the safety standards my cars. If there were accidental deaths due to the safety issues in my cars, I would also issue a written statement to the public apologizing for it. IT would emphasize the degree of concern my company felt and that we took ownership for our fault. It is very important for a company to own their mistakes in a time like this because they risk losing the trust of their customers and they are bound to lose business and their value in the stock market can fall. One of the biggest positive sides to apologizing to the public can be prevention of huge law suits.
This type of incidence actually happened in 2009 when the largest car company in the world Toyota had to apologize for the compromised safety standards in the their cars. They ended up recalling a large number of cars and apologizing to the public through a lot of communication channels (NY times, 2009).
Prepare a questionnaire for a job interview and answer at least 5 questions in written.
Would you please walk me through your resume?
How would your past experiences help you perform better at this job?
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Would you describe yourself as a leader/team player? Why?
What should we hire you?
I can help your company meet its strategic goals due to my experience and my education. My prior experience in the same field as this job and it has equipped me with tactics that I can use for great performance. I can execute multitasking projects from beginning to the end. I am thorough with the software that essential for this job.
What are your strengths?
I am a problem solver and I thrive in fast paced environment. I am a quick learner and I am very adaptable to dynamic environment. I am committed to quality and make sure to maintain it even if it takes extra efforts on my behalf. I am good at multitasking and can work on multiple projects without compromising on quality.
Give me an example when you have done more than required in a course, project or a professional scenario?
I can give you an example from one of my classes in my last semester. It was a capstone course for my program and there were a lot of case studies. We had to omit 2 companies due to lack of time. I still analyzed the case studies for these two companies and submitted it for my Professors review. I did not want to miss on the opportunity to learn even when the score did not count towards my final grade.
Describe a time when you felt overwhelmed on a project or assignment. How did you deal with it?
I worked on a project recently where I felt overwhelmed because I felt that the rest of the team wasn’t pulling its weight. I did some initial research for the sections of the other team members, so that they would be able to hit the ground running. It actually worked. Everyone got a head start and started working on the paper and material for the training session.
Why did you choose this school for your higher education?
My friends were students at this school and they gave me detailed feedback on the program and the scholarships. I got a generous scholarship and it was one of the major decision making points for me. I feel I made the right decision and UWM did prove to be a great school.
Maynard, M., & Tabuchi , H. (2009, October 3). President of toyota apologizes. The NY times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html
Interview questionnaire guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.purdue.edu/hr/doc/Interview Questionnaire Guide.doc
Liker, J. (2011, February 11). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/02/toyotas_recall_crisis_full_of.html
Kupritz, V., & Cowell, E. (2011). Productive management communication: Online and face-to-face. Journal of business communication,48(1), 54-82.
Schramm, J. (2011, January 19). A model of consistency in communication. Retrieved from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/01/a_model_of_consistency_in_comm.html
