Communication is the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver
FORMAL COMMUNICATION takes place when official means of communicating are used within an organisation. Examples of these are letters, memos, faxes, official meetings and reports
INFORMAL COMMUNICATION may be a conversation during a break or at a social event.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION takes place between people who work in the same organisation
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION takes place between someone within the organisation and someone outside – customer, supplier etc.
METHODS OF COMMUNICATION
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Face to face discussions, voice mail, tannoy announcements, telephone,
presentations, lectures, video conferencing.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Letters, memos, reports – including images - faxes, emails, leaflets
Lastly do not forget the impact of new technology:
- Office software, including presentation software- The Internet and Intranet
These mean that presentations can be very professional, databases can be used to store information, spreadsheets can be used for accounts, work can be shared on the Intranet (like this document) and information can be found on the Internet. Working from home has increased reducing travel time and costs.
Machines can break down, however, there are health risks (RSI) involved with excessive computer use and home working can cause social isolation.