The case involves a communication process carrying a descriptive explanation of characteristics that would improve the messages including the descriptions of the purpose, environment, sender, receiver, technology, technology, feedback and noise. The author has written a B2B message to ABC Company asking to establish a relationship with Company XYZ.
Three Business to Business Messages that we will take for analysis are:
1. ABC Company asks to create a working relationship with XYZ Company
2. XYZ Company reverts back denies the working relationship. Reason: Credit & Prices (Financial Reasons)
3. ABC responds to the doubts / objections reassuring XYZ that they will be taken care of& how.
Let’s begin with the Communication process for the first message:
Since the “Purpose” is clear & defined, ABC Company may choose to respond using the non-verbal i.e. written message. This written Message will be the “encoded” part which will be generated by the Gen. Mgr. & typed by his / her Secretary. The Medium for the message should be Posted or Couriered, i.e. hand-delivered since it is a formal communication. This part is the Tools & the Channel. We will discuss the receiver in the analysis section as below.
Let’s analyze the various components here:
The written message is the best option since the XYZ Company realizes the seriousness of the proposition. A phone call may not be that affirmative in nature, but a written down request is.
The encoding part is handled by the Gen. Mgr. If he is unaware of the salutations to be used, it can be considered the first hurdle or “Noise”. Secondly, the secretary is typing the message. Hence grammatical or typographical errors or the incoherent speech of the Gen. Mgr. are the various forms of “Noises” that can creep in.
The company has chosen to “Courier” the letter as the “Tools” of Communication. Since it’s a typed letter, chances of dilution / misinterpretation of the intent & content is eliminated.
Let’s consider the letter itself. Since it is an initial proposition, it may not have in-depth revelations about the terms & conditions of the working relationship. Hence it can be considered as an incomplete message (Though it has to be).
The receiver in the message may be unclear, to the ABC Company since it’s a first communication. Hence it may be directed to the Gen Mgr. (in general). Here we can consider the second part of the “Noise” at the receiver’s end. Since ABC does not know whom to address, the letter may lie unopened for lack of clarity to whom exactly is the letter meant, especially, if there are multiple Gen. Mgrs., whose hierarchy is totally unclear to ABC Company. One of the other “Noises” could be the delay in reaching the mail to the recipient. This is a time-based event & the delay could result in loss of the importance or relevance of the letter depending on the nature of the business& products.
The response:
Since the “Message” has reached without dilution, the interpretation & subsequent feedback becomes easier to offer. The Receiver, now ABC, will receive the Feedback from XYZ Company. XYZ will express their concern about the financial policies that ABC Company usually follows.
Let’s assume XYZ Company too, chooses to respond in a written letter to ABC. The Gen. Mgr. (Now it gets clear, who is the concerned person) similarly, asks his sub-ordinate to type out a letter confirming receipt of the letter & expressing thanks for the expression of interest. However, he further adds his concerns about the financial policies that the company enforces. He even mentions which Policies he finds concerning: Credits & Prices.
Once the letter is drafted (assuming the letter is checked for errors), it is send via “Courier” to the recipient i.e. Gen. Mgr. XYZ Company. Since by now, both the concerned parties are aware of the people that are responding, there will be clarity as to how the next communication is to be drafted & or sent. In this case the Managers might, by now, feel that e-mail or phone conversation should be enough to alleviate the concerns & objections. Let’s consider both the Tools & Channels of Communication.
However, a simple observation is needed about “How did XYZ come to know about the financial policies of ABC?” For the time being let’s assume it is easily accessible. But there are two inferences that can be drawn here. First the XYZ is actually interested in working with ABC, but is facing problems accepting only the financial policies OR, the company simply wants to refuse working with XYZ citing the policies as the reason. This interpretation of the message is unclear at this stage & adds to the “Noise”.
Choices of Communication:
Phone-Call: Since Phone call is the fastest means of communication, let’s assume ABC Company’s Gen. Mgr. decides to give a call to his counterpart in XYZ. The first noise is the device of communication & the other technological parameters. They have to work flawlessly so as to ensure whatever is said i.e. the message, is transmitted without disturbance / dilution of the contents. Secondly, human speech & words are sometimes difficult to decipher such as Three & “E” & similar sounding words such as Nice & dice etc. Under such circumstances the chances of misinterpretation are very high & the message might not get transferred as intended.
E-mail: Electronic mail or message sent through internet are the second fastest medium of communication & has the advantage of speed as well as written communication to avoid misinterpretation. Further, the e-mail can contain pictures, presentations & other multimedia content.
However, the formatting of the message is a concern. E-mail communication may lack the formal nature. The second “noise” is the sheer volume of emails that the people receive every day. Hence this mail may be relegated to the “To-Do” box & may be responded late.
For the time-being let’s assume the feedback was received by ABC Company about the objections & hence wishes to address those & establish working business relationship.
Since the intent is very clear, the Gen. Mgr. of ABC can & will formulate a response that will address the concerns positively & ensure the XYZ Company is convinced to have a working relationship with ABC.
The Noises that can hinder the transmission of the Intent & content of the message are either “over-analysis” or “under-analysis” of the message since written communication lacks other non-verbal cues that indicate whether the concerns are genuine or they are expressed merely to deny having a working relationship. To get clarity on this issue it is vital to go beyond written or telephonic conversation. Here the Gen. Mgr.’s. people skills come in handy to judge the difference between the intentions of raising the objections.
Hence at this stage of the communication, it is best advised for the two Gen, Mgrs. to meet in person (face-to-face) with facts & figures to eliminate the concerns & forge a working relationship between ABC Company & XYZ Company.
