For Mars, EPOS would be used when one of their products is being sold over the counter, it is recorded that the product has been sold and therefore this indicates what chocolates are popular in different branches. EPOS is conducted by the retailer and it helps understand the demand.
Computer Aided Design will help Mars as the organisation can use it to design a new structure of a product or of packaging. Computer Aided Manufacturing is used to make the product, computers will control the follow of production.
Businesses need to communicate with a range of individuals and organisations. This includes their customers, their competitors, their suppliers and their own employees. The efficient communication of information is important for organisations that operate in competitive markets. Accurate information is needed to manage efficient production, marketing, distribution and cost control.
All people in an organisation are part of an information flow, each person is involved in providing and receiving information but there are three main levels that require information:
- Operation level – this is where customer service is provided
- Middle management – they need to know how efficiently work at the operational level is being carried out and any resources under their control are being used to achieve the organisations objectives.
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Senior management – at this level information from internal sources has to be supported by information collected from external sources.
There are four types of communication networks, circle, Wheel, Y and organisational chain.
Circle- There is no one in charge
Wheel- One person co-ordinate filters the information you are need to know.
Y- This focuses on the centre and then pass the information on.
Organisational chart- This has a chain of command and everyone has to do what the person above them on the chart says.
The most effective out of all of these types of communication is the wheel. This is because the person in the middle tells the other people on the out side what to do him self so the information is clear and directThis means there is very little chance of communication break down. The next efficent is the Y and then the circle. Finally it is the Organisational chart. The organisational chart is last because the information has to travel a long way to go from the top to the bottom and through a lot of people. This will mean that the information will be unclear and it will take a long time to get there. Mars use models like this to determine how they will use authority and who should provide it within the company.
2.6b Communication between departments.
The different departments have to communicate with each other so that the every day to day running of the business can go on. They have to tell each othe what they need to happen with in the business so that the business can be a success and meet its objectives. For example the finance department has to tell all the other departments how much budget thay have to spend so that they do not go over the limit. If this information did not get across then the business could go bankrupt.
Mars has a well detailed and accurate organisational chart that is efficiently updated if any changes are made. It is important for large companies to keep an organisational chart, such as Mars. It would make it hard for a company to communicate without an organisational chart, because there are so many departments within Mars. If Mars had no organisational chart it would make it hard for the firm to communicate and bond well.
However Mars may have disadvantages with their organisational chart, as it is not an exact description of how the organisation operates, it does not show an exact job description. Employees may feel inferior within the organisation, resulting in low morale and motivation. Employees may do the opposite and feel superior leading to bullying.
2.6c Downward information flows
This is concerned with internal communications as part of a formal communications channel. A downward information flow describes the information by a superior to a subordinate. A downward information flow can cover:
- Issuing instructions on the tasks that have to be carried out by a subordinate and setting objectives
- Getting information from the area of work that subordinates are responsible
- Communicating the organisation’s procedures, working methods and practices and the rules and regulations
- Giving feedback on a subordinates performance in relation to their objectives
- Motivating people to raise productivity and improve quality
Information will not come from an employee’s superior but from other parts of the organisation.
Mars vertical channels of communication relates to information which is passed both up and down the organisation, from senior manager through to middle manager and then passed down to the workers. Information can then be passed back up to the workers to senior managers.
Mars may pass down employee’s information or decisions they have made by senior managers.
2.6d Upward information flows
An upward information channel is from a subordinate to a superior. Feedback could come from a downward flow or come directly from the subordinates. This type of flow covers:
- Responding to a superior’s request from a subordinate
- Subordinates informing managers about their own performance or problems
- Passing on information about other employees in the subordinate’s section
- Giving ideas on improving working methods
In most organisations including Mars, subordinates are expected to report formally through their supervisor, however in a situation such as a grievance, they are likely to go directly to a senior manager. Mars are democratic, the middle managers and workers all have some input to decisions, so an upwards chain of communication can also help decision making within Mars.
2.6e Informal and Formal communication
Within Mars’ organisation, if people are not sure whom they should be receiving information from, then this can lead to the growth of information flows which are not part of the formal system. If there are two information flows running at the same time, this can become confusing and create a fall in productivity. Informal systems can generate alternative sources of information; therefore management may receive inaccurate or conflicting information.
Many tasks in Mars cannot be completed if only formal communications are used. There may be an urgent matter or a clash of personalities affecting communication and it may be necessary to shortcut the formal system. All organisations including Mars have a grapevine, which communicates information informally through personal contact between employees. The grapevine can be a quicker way of communicating information to the whole workforce, as it is likely to operate by word of mouth. It can be used to pass on information before an official announcement, if feedback is generated then the announcement can be changed. The only problem with using the grapevine is that information can get exaggerated.
2.6f External and internal Communications
External communications:
Mars’ external communications are vital and they must communicate externally with:
- Customers and clients
- Suppliers of materials, parts, machinery and other business services
- European authorities that deal with taxation, planning, permission, environmental protection, competition law, investment grants, trading standards and health and safety
- Groups concerned with environmental matters and consumer welfare
- The media and the general public
Mars must ensure that the quality of their external communications is as high as possible; they must ensure they maintain effective communications with their customers.
Mars also communicate outside of their company this includes their stake holders, fore example; the share holders need company reports and notifications of meetings, the customers need to be shown advertisements, products and special offers, the government need statistics on Mars business and PR materials, the community need audits sent out by Mars and the suppliers send out enquiries, orders and payments.
Mars have to communicate with functions outside of the business for example a day to day trading function to make orders, and also an information function to provide various groupings with essential information about the company such as tax records and Inland Revenue.
Mars uses various types of methods of communication to communicate outside of the organisation such as the telephone, interviews, business letters, facsimiles, and emails.
2.6g Internal communication:
Internal communication is communication that takes place within an organisation, while external communication takes place between the organisation and the outside the world.
The three main ways of communicating information inside an organisation are verbal, written, and electronic.
Both internal and external communications have been transformed by rapid developments in information and communications technology, the modern organisation may have;
- A linked internal communication system-an internal network.
- links with customers, a system for e-commerce
- links with other businesses
Together with these links create a networked economy, which vastly increases the potential of business to connect with employees, customers, other business, and shareholders.
The types of internal information that would go through Mars would be confidential information such as payroll data and development plans, and information that only concerns people within the organisation such as departmental meetings. Most of Mars internal communications internally are made face to face, by email, telephone, memos or walky talkie’s.
2.6h Open and restricted channels of communications
Mars want to provide some information to all of their employees e.g. health and safety regulations, this downward information flow from the top of the hierarchy would be open to all.
However, some information and channels of communication may be restricted. There could be some information that if becomes known may create internal or external problems. Reasons for a communication channel being restricted include information dealing with:
- Results of interviews by superiors to subordinates at Mars
- Grievance procedures
- Personal details of staff in Mars
- Information that could give advantages to competitors, such as financial and technical information, such as Nestle or Cadbury’s
- Proposals for relocating Mars
- Information on a likely merger
2.6i Information and Communication Technology
Internal and external channels of communication are increasingly supported by information technology, by computers managing information flows. A computer-based management information system provide, the means to communicate, collect, store, summarise, analyse and present information in a way that suits the controlling needs of different managers. Information received by one department or section can be further processed before it is passed onto other departments through the organisation’s computer network.
Computer systems can help Mars in a variety of ways; they can react to changes in the business environment, can process complex information and provide administrative support, Mars can increase job satisfaction, Mars can collect information at source, and Mars can communicate via the Internet and intranet.
Mars can react quickly to changes in its environment will strengthen its competitive position. Cutting down time lost through slow communications, lost messages and time consuming searches through traditional filing systems to retrieve information reduces reaction time. Computers also save time automating the production and analysis of complex documents.
Mars have a computer based management system this allows the organisation to communicate, collect, store, summarise, analyse, and present all types of information.
When mars receive information in one department they can process this information and forward it to other departments through their computer network system. Mars computer network system allows the company to communicate as whole and also helps them to do the following:
React to changes-Mars can react quickly to any changes in the business environment, which will strengthen their competitive position. Mars can cut down on lost time through slow communication, or any time consuming searches such as file searching.
Process complex information-computers in Mars process and communicate complex information. They quickly identify departments within the organisation that could threaten the business objectives. Mars can easily analyse the market opportunities or problems caused by changes in the government’s economic policies. The earlier these problems and changes are found, the earlier Mars can take action upon them.
Administrative support-Mars can increase their productivity with the use of electronic word processing and specialist software packages for purchasing, stock control, orders and a range of accounting procedures. Computer communications reduce time taken to communicate through departments and therefore, able Mars to meet customer requirements more efficiently. Mars computerised administrative system also helps reduce errors made in communications.
Increase job satisfaction-this is by reducing the amount of time spent by Mars employees on repetitive and routine processes to communicate information. All employees data can be assessed by computer and also wider areas of information needed.
Collecting information at source-computer technology allows Mars to collect information close to the source of an operation. Mars use computers to manufacture and process information in stock control e.g. monitoring levels of material and if it is low, orders can be automatically triggered. Mars can communicate through their various offices around the world.
Communicating via the internet-Mars uses the internet to communicate with its consumers. Mars have a number of websites world wide, which includes much of their product information and new launches.
Technology methods make communication within Mars more reliable, more targets are achieved, quicker and more accessible, more convenient and more versatile.
Internet-every computer within Mars is connected unto the net and therefore can communicate with anyone around the world. This is a vital piece of technology for Mars as they operate as a business globally and need to communicate with all of their sites. As Mars is a large company it has a specialised dedicated line that is connected to the line all of the time and is very fast.
Intranet-Mars have their own private, internal website. It is the same as the internet and relies on the same technology but is not accessible to the rest of the world. Mars intranet is customised to serve the interests of the company and is directed to help employees perform their tasks more efficiently.
Email-An email involves and receiving a message by the means of a computer. Mars employees have a user identity and a password when assessing the account to keep mail secure and confidential. The user of their account is likely to log in and then read emails that they have received. The messages can be saved, deleted, forwarded to others or replied.
It is easy to identify and locate areas for improvement or where cost saving could be made. It is useful to pinpoint poor communication and can identify where the problem is and repair the weakness in the communication chain. Mars are consistently trying to improve efficiency and productivity and setting new targets for themselves. Therefore, they can easily pinpoint on the chart where the changes need to be made in order to improve in their designed areas. If changes are to be taken place in Mars, the structure can keep all employees fully informed through updated versions so they are aware of any new working relationships, if they given any new relationships or their level of hierarchy has altered. When Mars introduce new employees they can use the chart to give them a clear overview of the company and their own position within the structure illustrating their authority. It shows new employees their relationship with other employees and their level of responsibilities.
2.6j Flaws of communication:
Though a message flows from sender to receivers, there is no guarantee that the receivers will either receive the full message or even understand it. This is because the process may involve communication problems. These communication problems are known as ‘noise’ and this may weaken or destroy the message being sent. The following are known as ‘noise’:
Language problems-the language used may not be fully understood, particularly if a receiver comes from a different background from the sender or has considerably less knowledge, technical or otherwise. Mars have to be able to cope with this and have customers and different phone numbers for each country.
Jumping to conclusions-the receiver might reads into the message what he or she expects to see rather than what is actually there. Mars should read clearly and carefully and ask any questions necessary.
Lack of interest-the receiver may not be prepared to listen to the message. The message has to be designed to appeal to the listener. Mars do not want to lose the interest of a consumer or an employee so it has to be interesting and knowledge that is important.
Competing environment-background sales or interference from other activities in the work environment may influence the message, particularly if it is long or complicated and requires concentration by the receiver. Mars should break down the knowledge into simple terms for all to understand while keeping a clear phone line by using digital phones.
Channels of communication-effective will be hampered if the means chosen to pass on the message is poor.
Cultural differences-we all have different perceptions of the world according to our backgrounds and experiences, and this may result in our interpreting a new message in different ways.
Steps in the message-if there are too many stages in the message, it may not be properly understood, e.g. if it is too complicated.
2.6k Communication and the achievement of business objectives:
Mars have created excellent communications channels within the business and outside the business which, enables them achieve its business objectives effectively. This makes sense in meeting a range of Mars objectives for example building strong relationships with customer, becoming the leading market leaders, developing a reputation and to maximize sales and revenues.
Tesco are continually communicating with different groups of people, these communication performs a number of functions:
¨ A public relations function – to present a good image of the Mars.
¨ An information function – to provide various groupings with essential information about the company.
¨ A day to day trading function – to transact the business’s daily commercial relationships.
Mars needs to create the communication channels that most effectively enable it to achieve its business objectives. In some instances downwards communications channels may be most effective particularly where clear instructions need to be followed. It is however widely recognised that upwards communications are also helpful. Empowerment of people at the base of an organisation will enable good ideas to be produced. People at the base of an organisation are used to making all sorts of decisions in their daily routines; they are the sorts of people who should be trusted by the organisation to come up with and to develop ideas. Many organisations including mars therefore, give greater impact to open channel, multi directional communications in the organisation, based on self managing teams.
This makes sense in Mars meeting a range of objectives e.g. building strong relationships with customers, becoming a market leader, developing a reputation for excellence, being able to adapt in flexible markets, to maximise sales and revenues.
2.6l The advantages of communication
The internet has been a development which is growing vastly every second it is a great information database available to all including business and the public, it is a way of advertising, getting research and performing questionnaires. The use of radio and television are also forms of giving out information and advertising their products. This will lead to mass consumption and then mass production because they reach a wider audience. As the internet increases so will the knowledge of revolution.
Information and communication technology make a company easy to communicate internally and externally this lead to decision making easier. Given this vital role it is essential constantly to appraise the effectiveness of the systems to ensure they provide the maximum possible benefits for the organisation. Giving the employees work satisfaction and employee motivation.
It takes Mars little time to process an order this means that the customers will be satisfied and they will return to repeat other orders and will tell others of the quality and efficiency of Mars. The system they have is strategic and will have competitive implications.
The communication is user friendly and communication systems deliver what they say will with easy and efficiency. If communication is not the customer, employee, or anyone related to Mars will be dissatisfied and will tell others of their dissatisfaction leading to a bad reputation. Information processing affects the way in which Mars competes, and effective system should create genuine competitive advantage.
Information and communication processing systems mute be developed that best support Mars in meeting its objectives. The information and communications system should help to provide solutions and not create problems.
Cost ahs a clear influence upon the design of an information and communications processing system. If the budget is too restrictive it can make it difficult to develop a system that undertakes activities as efficiently as originally required.
The most important element is that the communications design is that it should eventually result in the maximisation of benefit in relation to cost. There are a many savings made by having new effective technology, such as fewer staff, less paperwork, and reductions in cost.
The most important element of any system is its capacity to generate output. A good information system will have the right information available when required and in the form of a specific user.
Any system must take into account the requirements of the Data Protection Act and other legal requirements such as health and safety.
If data or a programme security is important a system must ensure unauthorised people do not access it. Security features may include electronic controls such as passwords and data encryption to ensure that the system is kept secure.
Communication (ICT) and the achievement of business objectives
Mars have created excellent communications channels within the business and outside the business which enables them achieve its business objectives effectively. This makes sense in meeting a range of Mars objectives for example building strong relationships with customer, becoming the leading market leaders, developing a reputation and to maximize sales and revenues.
Mars are continually communicating with different groups of people, these communication performs a number of functions:
¨ A public relations function – to present a good image of Mars.
¨ An information function – to provide various groupings with essential information about Mars.
¨ A day to day trading function – to transact the business’s daily commercial relationships.
How has ICT improved the running of Mars and if they didn’t have technology, how would it affect Mars?
If Mars, or any other organisation didn’t have technology then the whole production function would be so much slower, and the quality of the products Mars are producing will be a lot lower quality.
Mars would be limited to what they could make and how they could package their products. The product would be made by hand, or very basic machinery and so the product would have a low shelf life and wouldn’t be able to be kept for any length of time.
Raw materials would not be able to be delivered as quick as Mars would like because of no Internet, because they wouldn’t have computers and also there would be a small amount of telephones and if there were then they may not have voicemail to get the messages if there is no one to answer the calls.
Most letters would have to be hand written or typed on a typewriter, this takes a lot of time and also when mistakes are made the writer must start again from the beginning, making sure they make no mistakes.
There would be no mobile phones, fax machines, e-mails, PowerPoint, video conferencing and many other forms of communication and technology and so jobs would be so much harder to do and communication would be a lot harder and slower, there would be no or very little research because there would be no internet to research from.
Electronic point of sale is a benefit that Mars has but with out technology then they would not know how much of a product they had sold, which is what EPOS tells you.
The overall strengths of having technology involve quicker production and easier communication and also the transfer costs would be a lot less.
Weaknesses of having technology, even though it is needed to run a business successfully, however it is not always reliable and it can be expensive to use all the technology needed.
2.6m Communication in Mars and the analysis of ICT upon the internal and external communications.
Within the Mars organisation, both downward information flows and upward information flows are used. This is because everyone can make suggestions, whether they are a subordinate or a senior.
External communication is also used. External Relations is responsible for creating and maintaining positive attitudes amongst selected targets in order to increase opportunities for selling their brands. It supports the activities of functions inside the business that can use External Relations to add value to the work they do and manages communications with groups and individuals outside the business, including the media, so they have a positive opinion of Mars and their products.
ICT is very important within Mars Ltd. There is an entire ICT division, though this is not based in the Slough location of Mars. All office desks are equipped with computers and databases are often used to store figures. People working in the Mars organisation mainly communicate through e-mails; this is both for communicating externally and internally. To ensure staff are being regularly updated on events within the organisation an internal magazine is distributed to all staff. Mars externally communicate through a booklet that is distributed to all the traders. It includes any new launches of products as well as simple statistics on sales. There is an example of this booklet overleaf.
ICT has a great impact within the communications in Mars both internally and externally. It has a number of benefits for Mars such as increased efficiency and effectiveness, ICT is more stimulating and is more satisfying for Mars employees, This frees them from routine mundane work this enables them to learn new skills. ICT gives better customer service as communications are faster and more efficient. ICT gives better feedback and responsibility for individuals within Mars. ICT increases flexibility within the workforce and can respond to change within the confectionary market.
Mars have quality communication with their competitors as they have to know what they competitors are selling and they need to have a product which is similar or can outdo it. There competitors are Nestle, Cadburys and Jacobs. Mars have to have frequent quality communication with them to make sure they do not sell the same product at the same time, also if special offers are available they have to compete so they do not lose market share.
Mars have quality communication with their suppliers so that they can make sure that orders are made on time and at the right quality and to make sure that they do not make mistakes with paperwork or delivery.
Mars have to have quality communications with employees, suppliers, and competitors to ensure they do not lose market share, or loss of profit due to lack of communication and information, Mars will not meet their objectives if they do not have quality communications.
I.T. has caused the way in which Mars communicate to become more formal and impersonal. This usually makes people feel weary because they don’t ‘know’ who there talking to and this then causes the communicators to be very precise in the conversation. Although Mars tries to destroy these formal views by giving as much of a personal approach to Internal and External communications, by using Ecommerce as much as possible to ‘get to know’ people, they do have situations where communication is wanted to be kept formal. For example debtors because they have a formal approach, the debtors feels obliged to pay because the call is usually ‘Anonymous’ and have a stern approach with language. Its gives business opportunities from speed (Communicating over long distances in a small time) to the chance of accessing a wider range of communication (More chances to get in touch with different markets, suppliers and customers). Although its caused a greater cost on businesses because of the initial cost and upkeep of the systems. But these costs clearly are not outweighed by the advantages.
If a Mars produces a good communication network people are inspired to have more confidence in the company because a good communication network means everyone will know what’s happening and are all able to answer questions. However if the internal communications breaks down it will show in the external communications because people won’t be informed and so can’t answer questions and customers will be discouraged from Mars. Although in any company there is the “Grapevine” where slight whispers of any news is spread but this is usually distorted from person to person and usually several rumours will come from one whisper. These whispers can even make shares fall dramatically). So any company that informs people well will also have the benefit of decreased rumours spreading.
Mars’ communication network is very good it uses all communication methods, which means the best quality of transferring information with the least number of mistakes and fatal errors incurring that. Mars has offices all over the world so communication tools a vital and all appropriate ones are used by Mars if there were no communication methods available for overseas translation Mars cost would rise since the need of people to travel over there would increase and the timescale would be manipulated since they’d have to wait for the person to reach there to give the information then take the reply back. An obscene thought in modern business so Technology and proper Communications have allowed Mars to be a global company. Externally Mars’ communication uses have provided all there customers with a better way of finding out what happens to the service and also provides more business for Mars because more customers can get in touch.
ICT has affected Mars incredibly because its a business services company and nearly all business are on some kind of computer and a network this provides a easy method of communication and a way to transfer data very quickly from office to office or business to business with no mistakes on a correctly working network. The benefit of this is that the data is correct and immediately sent to the wanted place with no people in-between to create transcription errors. There is also no time used to input the data into their system because the customer has already done this. The personnel segment has a big need for this because they have a recruiting area, which has a need to find suitable employees fast, and could not do this with a terrestrial filing system. Without ICT systems the personnel segment of Mars would not exist, or there would only be the training part of Mars who just run courses in business needs. Externally the Impact of ICT for Mars has not been such a big thing for them, obviously they have increased sales slightly because of websites but the full use of external communication using ICT is that the customers have more ways to contact them and keep up-to-date with the service. Telephones have meant all segments are linked and that the people in Sales can easily talk to those in the Warehouse. This means mistakes can easily be corrected or that the orders can be implemented efficiently. The main impact of ICT is the time saving that has meant they are able to do more and the free time they have saved is used in processing more orders, which has meant an increase in sales and profit margins.