Posted: September 13th, 2017

managing communication, knowledge and information

managing communication, knowledge and information

To achieve this unit a learner must:
1. Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs
2. Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision making process
3. Be able to develop communication processes
4. Be able to improve systems relating to information and knowledge
Outcomes
To achieve each outcome a learner must demonstrate
the ability to:
LO 1 Understand how to assess information and knowledge
needs
LO 1.1 discuss the range of decisions to be taken
LO 1.2 examine the information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking
LO 1.3 assess internal and external sources of information and understanding
LO 1.4 justify recommendations for improvement
LO2 Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision making process
LO 2.1 identify stakeholders for a decision-making process
LO 2.2 make contact with those identified and develop business relationships
LO 2.3 involve those identified in the decision making as appropriate
LO 2.4 design strategies for improvement
LO 3 Be able to develop communication processes
LO 3.1 report on existing processes of communication in an organisation
LO 3.2 design ways to improve appropriateness
LO 3.3 implement improvements to ensure greater integration of systems of communication in that organisation
LO 3.4 create a personal plan to improve own communication skills

Produce a report with. The report must be written in professional manner and properly referenced. The report should comply with the word count of 1000 with +/- 10% margin. You may use tables and diagrams to support your report to illustrate the text. The report must be submitted as a printed copy.
Starting up a new business can be both demanding and rewarding, and for those looking to establish themselves in the world of retail, the choice can present unique challenges. There is the initial decision over whether to establish the business as either a bricks-and-mortar operation, or whether to go completely online. Then there is the competition – the retail sector is tough and it is worth bearing in mind that any business no matter how unique, is going to have to compete, not just with similar retailers but with a wide variety of different shops for the consumer spend.
For this first assignment you are required to develop a report which will guide the reader through the process of setting up a business. Your report should include the following.
? A discussion of the different decisions to be made and an examination of the information and knowledge required to make the decisions in relation to starting up a business (LO 1.1, 1.2)
? List of internal and external sources of information and understanding. Assess these sources and justify their suitability and reliability in relation to the business start up. (LO 1.3)
? Recommend any improvements in the methods used in the selection and analysis of information needed for business start ups. (LO 1.4)
For the second part of the report you are required to develop strategies to increase your personal networking skills and to increase your involvement in the decision making process.
Assessment Type: Individual
BTEC Higher National Diploma in Business
Unit 16: Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Regent College
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Your report should include the following.
? A list of stakeholders for the decision making process in relation to starting up above mentioned business. (LO 2.1)
? A selection of professionals and other stakeholders you should make contact with.
? A discussion on ways to make contact with these individuals.
? Which methods you would use to develop a business relationship with these selected individuals. (LO 2.2)
? A plan to involve the identified people in the decision making process for example price strategy and location strategy applicable for this business start up. (LO 2.3)
? Your plan should include a strategy for future improvements in this process. (LO 2.4)
BTEC Higher National Diploma in Business
Unit 16: Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Regent College
7

You are required a produce a report on following points relating to the case study you were given.
? Identify the existing processes of communication in the given case study and explain the different communication processes available to a small voluntary organisation. (LO 3.1)
? By comparing the different communication processes explain how a the voluntary organisation cited in the case study can improve appropriate communication and how they can ensure integration of systems of communication. (LO 3.2, 3.3)
? Identify and recommend improvements to the organisation’s existing approaches to collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge (LO 4.1, 4.2)
? Recommend and explain methods by which this organisation can improve its access to systems of information and knowledge (LO 4.3)
Assessment Type: Individual
BTEC Higher National Diploma in Business
Unit 16: Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Regent College
8
? If you are given the opportunity work as the volunteer supervisor in this case study, explain, using a personal plan how you would improve your own communication skills (LO 3.4)
Case Study for Unit 16 Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Assignment 02
ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Introduction
The organisation chosen for this case study on organisational communication is a small political activists’ organisation for which the writer of this paper once volunteered. The organisational communication problem encountered was that the volunteer supervisor did not have projects ready during the scheduled volunteer time slots, and despite a thorough interview process to determine skill-need matches and prior verbal scheduling of volunteer times, this problem persisted for months. With the lack of a communication plan, the consequence was a diminished enthusiasm for the cause and growing level of frustration causing this writer to cease volunteering for the organisation despite having a true belief in its mission.
Knowledge
The major problem in this case study was that the volunteer supervisor was engaged in so many projects that she did not invest the time to communicate projects to delegate to the volunteer. Most volunteers for this organisation worked on updating databases, solicitations, and mailings. This writer’s volunteer emphasis was on writing and doing special projects.
Therefore, it was only through horizontal top down communication from this particular supervisor that these special projects could be delegated. Because the volunteer work was so different than the other volunteers, there was no real value to vertical communication. In Organisational Communication, Kathryn Baker, contends many communication theories are not so relevant in today’s service world as well as today’s technologically globalized world. (Baker, 2002) While many organisational communication principals would apply, this organisation operates locally and nationally, and falls into Baker’s description of ‘the service’ organisation. What the supervisor could have done was implement time saving communication systems, such as writing memos, e-mails, and other written communication methods to delegate tasks to be done within that specific time frame. If this was done, the task(s) often were so simple that they did not take all the volunteer time, and she was left scrambling to find another volunteer project.
Sensitivity
The person that appears to be most responsible for the problem was the volunteer supervisor. However, she was being asked to do more than supervise volunteers; she was
BTEC Higher National Diploma in Business
Unit 16: Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Regent College
9
an assistant to the Marketing/Communication Director and was involved in a very extensive public awareness campaign which required a lot of hands on work on her part. Additionally, the communications department seemed at odds with other parts of the organisation, and other departmental managers often were putting demands on this supervisor as well. Her lack of time resulted in her being a poor communicator, and even though this volunteer’s skills could have helped ease her work load, she couldn’t slow down enough to implement a concrete communications strategy.
Skills
The writer of this case study looks to Carter McNamara’s Basics in Internal Organisational Communications (McNamara, 2007) who suggests a communication plan. This plan can involve verbal or written communications that would cover how to effectively manage a non-traditional volunteer. As cited earlier, this supervisor dealt mostly with people with specific tasks, not project skills, and therefore did not need a one-on one short session with them during their volunteer time. They also had the value of communication with one another to help them out when they ran into a specific problem.
Values
The value of the frustrated volunteer was the desire to create some quality work and be included within a network of volunteers for this cause. The value of the supervisor was to impress her managers. The values of the volunteer and supervisor were not mutual. If the goals had been mutual, it might have created an environment that would have made it more conducive for the supervisor to take the time to communicate special volunteer projects of value. It’s rather ironic that during the initial volunteer meeting, how the writer of this paper could assist the cause was a major point of discussion. This paper does acknowledge that as with many political activists’ organisations, things happen on the spot, and there is a great deal of crisis management, and not a lot of pre-planning. Additionally the communication focus for this organisation was external, not internal. This organisational culture spilled over into the communication methods of this writer’s volunteer work, and was a cause of a great deal of frustration. Alternative Solutions The volunteer supervisor should delegate another volunteer to hand out the written instructions for the volunteer time block, and because of the nature of the work, keep the volunteer time appointment in her appointment book, not just on the general volunteer log. This would have eased the frustration and allowed the writer of this paper to feel like a valuable contribution was being made to this particular cause.
Above case study is extracted from,
Booth, T. A. (2008). Organisational Communicatio. Business Intelligence Journal , 120-122.

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