Hi Could please advise me how following essay be structured. What should be the
ID: 328862 • Letter: H
Question
Hi
Could please advise me how following essay be structured.
What should be the main focus? Is it overcome the dress code issue or analyzing business communication theories?
What does publics of a company means here?
Business communication essay
Essay Question
Managers in organisations often need to communicate difficult information on several levels, to staff who are working under them or to report unpleasant news upwards to directors or board members.
You work as a manager at a business advertising company. There is a change in the senior management at your company and using a top-down hierarchal decision-making process, the new business policy is to implement a uniform dress code at all levels of the company. This includes all staff members wearing company logo shirts for the entire duration of their work hours.
This new decision has caused a lot of informal issues at your company but the senior management is not willing to overturn their decision. Critically analyse how you would use business communication theories to “convince” the publics of your company to adhere to the new business policy.
Explanation / Answer
Hi
The publics of the company here means nothing but the subordinates of the concerned manager. Since the company follows a top-down hierarchal decision-making process, it makes clear that a manger has to convince the entire staff that works under him.
It is a very intelligent thought that whether the main focus should be communication theories or the practical problem at hand. I would suggest that both the techniques can be followed but in the end it should communicate what will the manager do (it would also depend on what your professor or mentor prefers to see as the answer). Of course when the main focus is problem-solving, the answer is more accurate, and I would try to help you structure the essay accordingly.
1). First of all the employees need to know that the dress code is not being forced on them because the senior management believes that they are not disciplined or to excercise their control. Since there has been an entire chage in the senior management, it might be just their personal choice. It's exactly similar to the fact that some schools and colleges have uniforms, and others don't. This can be explained through cognitive dissonance theory. It is just an idea in their mind that wearing uniforms corresponds to autocracy, as in military. But autocracy is not always destructive. Because military operations are highly sophisticated and efficient as well. So the employees must understand that one similarity doesn't make their leaders autocratic.
2). Then the employees should be made aware of the positives. That is not easy, but in the end we can find positives in a uniform dress code. For example, there will be no further issues for any individual's clothes on any day. Also, the logo shirts will serve as a prestigious reminder that they belong to a very reputed company. This can be explained with Organizational Information Theory. It means that there should be no ambiguity when transferring information in an organization.
3). Uncertainly Reduction Theory is also applicable as the employees are clearly uncertain about the behaviour of their senior management. So simple sessions between the management and staff to clear their doubts will be helpful.
4). Cultivation Analysis: the mediating factor of communication is important. So instead of announcing through mail or on the notice board, maybe communicating the same in a weekend office party or some other celebratory event would be better.
Such activities would support the decision of implementing a dress code. Along with this, it will also depend on the culture in an organization. A place where the staff members have more faith in the senior mangement, it will be much easier to get the employees do something which for they are not 100% agreeable.