Different Types of Business Information and Their Sources Essay

Merseytravel uses a lot of different communications to communicate with people, which includes; verbal, written, on-screen, multimedia and web-based communication. Using these five different types of communications, Merseytravel can communicate with other people using different ways to communicate which includes technology and face-to-face. Verbal Communication in Merseytravel Verbal communication in Merseytravel can be used several ways, like advisory panels, telephone or face-to-face to verbal communicate. Verbal communication is very important for the reason being that you are dealing with a variety of people through out the day. In some cases you may deal with people who have different culture, ages and with different levels of experience. An important verbal communication that Merseytravel use frequently is; Advisory panels. Advisory panels are used by Merseytravel which acts as meetings where each of the five district councils come together and have a verbal meeting which includes; Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral. Meetings of the advisory panels are held on a quarterly basis, which in the meeting include verbal communication about how Merseytravel can improve. The main objective of the advisory panels is when verbal communicating to each other they can update each others knowledge, like how their markets are developing, what the eco nomy is doing and what new laws are being passed that might affect the way they operate. The source of the verbal communication is Merseytravels meeting room where the advisory panels take place. The reason why advisory panels take place is so Merseytravel can get together and discuss on how to improve them-selves. Advantages of verbal communication: It’s easier to communicate verbally than any other way because you get to understand every detail that is being spoken by the other person. In Merseytravel customers communicate with the staff members this is an advantage because they get to ask questions if they don’t understand the instructions clearly. Disadvantages of verbal communication A disadvantage for this type if communication in Merseytravel is when a language barrier occurs, if one person does not understand the other due to the fact that he or she does not speak English or does not cope with the accent so that will cause a poor communication between the staff member and the customer like on the ferry service etc. Overall, verbal communication is important in Merseytravel as they can get together like in their advisory panels and discuss to each other about Merseytravel and how they can improve etc, which using verbal communication, it easy to get information across to each other than using of communications like web-based. Verbal communication in Merseytravel is internal as the advisory panels are just to do with Merseytravel but other verbal communication in Merseytravel is external when a customer wants to be a stakeholder. Web-based communication in Merseytravel Web-based communication is communication over the web. Web-based communication includes E-mail, Train alerts and bus alerts etc. Web-based applications are used on Merseytravels website which includes the train alerts etc. Web-based communication is good because people can access the web from wherever they are now days because people have mobile broadband. Train alerts are an important web-based communication in Merseytravel. For people travelling around all the time, web-based communication can be important to them. For example, if the person is out travelling and wants to see that the trains are running fine, then they can access web-based communication by going on Merseytravels website and clicking on the hyperlink on the side leading to the train alerts and can find out the information they wanted to know all using web-based communication. The source of web-based communication is a hyperlink from the side of Merseytravels website, called: ‘Train alerts’. The reason why Merseytravel have a hyperlink to ‘Train alerts’ is because people can check the train alerts if they are outdoors and need to get a train somewhere and so can easily access train alerts and check to see if the train they need is running fine and on time. Advantages of web-based communication The public can access Merseytravels web-based information wherever they are to find out on Merseytravels latest information like, get up to date on the latest train and bus alerts etc. Disadvantages of web-based communication: Not everyone can access the web because they may not have broadband, therefore cannot get the latest news on Merseytravel etc. Overall, Web-based communication is a good way to communicate to the public as a lot of people can access the web wherever they are and can get update on Merseytravel’s latest information wherever they are which is very mobile, although people who don’t have the access to the web cannot access this information which is a disadvantage to Merseytravel. Written communication in Merseytravel Written communication in Merseytravel can be used several ways like giving out surveys and leaflets to the customers. Written communication can be just as important as verbal or non-verbal communication. You can’t take back what you say, but you also can’t take back what you write. People ten thousand miles away from me right now may also be reading this very thing I’m reading about the Merseytravel leaflet, so written communication in Merseytravel is very mobile and people far away can read it. Merseytravel uses written communication when researching community views. Merseytravel wants new passengers and wants to promote their services to the public and so frequent passenger surveys are provided to the customers which are written communication and the customer filling out the survey can put their feedback on it in written communication so Merseytravel can improve. The source of these surveys may be given out to passengers on the train to get the customers feedbacks on how Merseytravels train are operating to see if they need improving etc. The reason why the surveys are giving out on the trains is because Merseytravel want the customer’s feedback on what they feel about their trains and since they are on the train they are more likely to get better feedback than if Merseytravel was to ask people to fill in a survey about their trains who where just walking in the town centre. Advantages of written communication †¢ Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running of an organization. †¢ It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is required. †¢ It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. While in case of oral communication, it is impossible to fix and delegate responsibilities on the grounds of speech as it can be taken back by the speaker or he may refuse to acknowledge. †¢ Written communication is more precise and explicit. Disadvantages of written communication †¢ Written communication does not save upon the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery and the manpower employed in writing/typing and delivering letters. †¢ Written communication is time-consuming as the feedback is not immediate. The encoding and sending of message takes time. †¢ Effective written communication requires great skills and competencies in language and vocabulary use. Poor writing skills and quality have a negative impact on organization’s reputation. Multimedia communication in Merseytravel Multimedia communication in Merseytravel is used on their website a lot. On promotions and attractions on Merseytravels website they have are attractions around Merseyside, and if you click on one like the ‘u-boat story’ it shows a multimedia context. When you click on the ‘u-boat story’ a presentation slide comes up and flicks through all pictures of the ‘u-boat story’. This presentation slide communicates to the public through pictures which is a multimedia way of communication and can give the public a good insight to what the’ u-boat story’ is about by just viewing the pictures. The source of this information is on Merseytravels website there is a link to promotions and attractions and then a link to the ‘u-boat story’. The reason why the u-boat story is on merseytravels website is because people who tend to use their website will be tourist wanting to find out how they can travel somewhere and so having promotions and attractions on their website, will encourage them to click on it and find out about local attractions and by merseytravel allowing the u-boat story to be a multimedia communication, people on the website viewing it can get a good feel of what it is like which will encourage them to go see it more than if it was just written communication as it would seem boring and you would not know what it would be like. Advantages of multimedia communication in Merseytravel †¢ Enhancement of Text Only Messages: Multimedia enhances text only presentations by adding interesting sounds and compelling visuals. †¢ Improves over Traditional Audio-Video Presentations: Audiences are more attentive to multimedia messages than traditional presentations done with slides or overhead transparencies. †¢ Gains and Holds Attention: People are more interested in multimedia messages which combine the elements of text, audio, graphics and video. Disadvantages of multimedia communication †¢ Expensive †¢ Not always easy to configure †¢ Requires special hardware †¢ Not always compatible Overall Multimedia communication in my opinion is a very good way to communicate, because people like to watch presentations and videos as it is a lot more interesting than verbal communication where you just listen to someone speak or written communication where you just read as it is very boring and so multimedia communication will make people watch it as it’s more interesting. On-screen communication in Merseytravel On-screen communication involves communicating from a screen, like a TV, computer screen etc. In Merseytravel there are several ways they communicate using on-screen communication. When standing on the platform at the train station, there is a screen on the platform which is on-screen communication as on the screen it tells you the train times, therefore it is communicating to you through on-screen information because your are getting the train times from the screen. The source of this on-screen information will be on the train station platform where the public can see what the train times are when waiting for the train. The reason why there are train times on the platform is so the public can see when waiting for the train how long they have until the train comes. The train times are on-screen because they can easily be updated electronically for the wait time of the train. Advantages of on-screen communication †¢ A large number of people can watch the presentation for example, and receive information from it. †¢ Can easily be updated †¢ The text can be easily understood because it’s electronic Disadvantages of on-screen communication †¢ May not work if there is a power-cut etc. †¢ You will have to keep referring back to the source to find out the information rather than a beneficial paper based copy for you personal viewing. Going back to the screen may prove time consuming. Overall on-screen information is a good way to communicate in my opinion because it can easily be updated and easily understood and will be more reliable than a piece of paper with the times on as the on-screen information can easily be updates if the train times get delayed etc.