Communication is the passing of information between two people.
All organisations and places of work need to be able to communicate with other people within the organisation.
The most successful companies throughout the world are those who encourage two-way communication.
Communication can only take place if it is a two or more people passing information.
What is Communication?
Communication is the passing of
information between two people.
Processes
When a message has been delivered for it to be effective communication you are required to receive feedback to know that the message has been understood, otherwise it is one-way communication which means there is no feedback from the message which has been delivered this can cause the message to be misunderstood by the person who is receiving the message.
Channels
Communication channels are also known as the “grapevine”. This means the message has been passed on by word of mouth between members of the organisation but the advantage of this is that a message can reach a certain person or colleague quickly, but there are also disadvantages such as people may not receive the correct information as it will be secondary information and the will be no written evidence of the message.
Method:
I attained this information by:
- Using textbooks - to find out different methods of communication
- Internet websites - to find out electronically what is available on communication
- I spent one week on work experience at Blythwood Veterinary Group
- I completed a booklet on communication in the work place at Blythwood Veterinary Group
- I interviewed a work’s colleague (Supervisor)
To complete my report I:
- Talked to staff at Blythwood Veterinary Group
The Work Place
My work experience placement was at Blythwood Veterinary Group which is located in Bushey High Street in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Four vets and three veterinary nurses work at the practice. The Group performs consultations, inoculations, operations, looks after the general health of pets and wild animals in the area and sells prescription animal food, toys and animal hygiene products. When working at Blythwood Veterinary Group I saw how they communicated with other branches, suppliers and customers. Staff within the work place also used many forms of communication such as written and spoken. All employees worked well together and communication was vital. If there was a lack of communication amongst the staff this could result in serious consequences, such as, the animals welfare being at risk.
Survey
The following question was asked to 10 companies to find out what form of communication is used mainly between employees, customers and suppliers.
What is the main use of communication within your workplace?
The following companies use written communication:
- Nortel Networks
- University Hospitals of London
The following companies use verbal communication
- Blythwood Veterinary Group
- Harebreaks Pre-School
- Polaron Grouped Companies
- Self employed servicemen
- Partition Graphics
- Watford General Hospital
- John Radcliffe Hospital
The following companies use visual communication
The results of my survey tell me most companies use verbal communication.
See graph on page 6
Conclusion based on the analysis of my research
When working at Blythwood Veterinary Group I saw that to keep the business running efficiently communication was very important between customers, staff and suppliers. Whilst working at Blythwood Veterinary Group there was a communication problem due to the computer system breaking down. The Blythwood Group in Bushey could not access patients’ records/appointments. This was a serious breakdown in communications. The Bushey Group had to contact the Stanmore practice to find out this vital information. I found it easy to communicate with customers because everyone was polite.
Recommendation
My recommendation to Blythwood Veterinary Group would be to install a backup system or a stand alone computer that would hold patients’ records and appointment for the day, so that if the computer systems failed again, they would have a copy of patients’ records/appointments at the Bushey surgery and thereby not having to waste time contacting other surgeries in the Group.
By Holly Minter-McIntyre
Centre No: 17603