I predict that HAF will use a variety of communications, both internally & externally. The communications medium will often be used for more than one purpose. For example, the telephone & e-mail can both be used internally & externally. Also, they should be easy to use, so as little training as possible is needed to use them. I think that the communications systems in place should be of reasonable quality, as the company seems to run quite smoothly & effectively. There should have been a reasonable amount of money spent on communications.

However, I do not think that they will have very high-tech communications media – video conferencing for example. I acknowledge that people occupying different roles within the business will use different communication methods to other people. I predict that people in office-based jobs will use a lot of written communication – using email in particular, though the telephone will also apply to them. On the other side of the spectrum, I think that those working in the factory will use a range of oral communication – from conversations to the telephone.

Advantages of primary research are it is quick & cheap if you do not have to interview many people. It allows generalisation to a larger population. Also, you can verify the information by re-questioning the interviewees or respondents. However, if you have to interview a lot of people it can be time-consuming. Respondents to the questions may interpret the questions differently, making comparison of the answers difficult. You are not able to check whether the people are responding the questions honestly. I will be doing most of this report using primary research techniques.

This will mean producing questionnaires for employees to answer, and interviewing various members of the business. I will still be using secondary research skills to research the company on the Internet in order to get base details. I think that the business will use various methods of communication. As they are a medium sized business; I think that HAF will use the ‘usual’ methods of communication; email, telephone, facsimile, memos. Having seen their website, I know that they have an ordering page already set up, as well as general information on the company and products.

On the next page, there is a sample of the questionnaire I sent to HAF. I have outlined questions to find out more about the company’s communication systems. Findings Part A: The need for communication in business In business, communication is essential without a doubt. Without it, the business could not function properly. In fact, all people have the need to communication. Communication is not just emailing and posting letters, it can be as basic as just conversation. In fact, even in the most sophisticated businesses, the same form of communication is used as it would be a thousand years ago.

The postal system, although readily available, cheap and (relatively) fast would have had a primitive equal in the last millennium. Also, no business can function without face-to-face conversations. Of course, new innovative technology has been introduced, such as the telephone and facsimile. There are even newer additions to these, such as emailing and video conferencing. Businesses use a whole range of communications media, whether for inter-house communication (internal), or communicating to other companies (external).

Within these two groups, there are more subdivisions: whether written or done orally going on to whether the communication media is personal, to a personalised wider distribution or to the widest division. All of these are outlined in the table above. You will notice that some of these will be used in more than one category. Firstly, I will explain the uses, advantages, disadvantages of internal communication media. Firstly, I am to explain about the e-mail, networks ; the internet.

Email is a means of sending messages, text, and computer files between computers via the telephone network. Because the telephone network covers the whole word, email enables you to communicate world wide. It enables you to send long messages globally in seconds for next to nothing, effectively free when using a broadband system (as more and more of us are now, and certainly businesses will be up to date with this technology). All sorts of files can be sent, such as text, graphics ; sound, in condensed attachments. You can also send multiple messages.

Finally, it is available all of the time, and wherever you are in the world, if you have access to the internet. Unfortunately, emails can only be sent to those who have access to the internet, and even if they do they will only pick it up when the user logs in ; checks their mail. All business should ; will have access to the internet and email, and HAF is no exception. They can be used for quick notices/reminders in the work place, and you can send large documents or forward emails to a colleagues computers; just some of their internal uses. Externally, they enable

communication outside of the business with other companies. You can use it for general communication, or you can also send ‘attachments’, these can include files, graphics ; sound. Without a doubt, this sort of communication media will be used at HAF. The internet is another widely used method of communicating. The vast majority of competitive companies will have an internet connection, mostly having something called a broadband connection (or ASDL ; cable). This offers very fast connection speeds, without the waiting that is implied with ISDL (dial up).

Most companies will have their own websites, in which they describe what they are doing/selling. They make also have notice boards on the web pages, so that members of the company can log in ; view what’s going on. As well as using the internet as a way of communicating & selling their product, businesses can also browse through other companies on the internet who they may be interested in buying/selling products from/to. Having access to the internet can be expensive to some companies, though this cost is becoming less and less and broadband is now available at a very cheap competitive rate.