VUSSC/Content/Entrepreneurship/Business Communication/What is Business Communication?
8.1 What is Communication?
In any business enterprise, the entrepreneur will need to be confident and develop a level of expertise in the skills of speaking, listening, and at times writing to customers workmates and supervisors. The entrepreneur also needs to estimate and calculate with numbers, working out quantities, volumes, percentages, and fractions. He/she may also need to devise graphs and charts, using graphic illustrations to explain information. This might involve using computer-based and telecommunication equipment such as PCs, photocopiers, scanners, telephone systems, faxing equipment, etc. Indeed the core skills of communication, application of number and information technology have become so important in business that there is justification for you as an entrepreneur to make a conscious effort to learn communication fundamentals.
In your enterprise, you are likely to have employees under your leadership, as well as members working in other departments of the business. When conflicts arise, they need to be solved through conscious and effective communication. Meetings are a normal feature of the workplace, and these are accomplished through communication. From this, you will note that more communication situations have been offered rather than giving definitions. Let us summarise this discussion with a definition of communication.
| What is Communication? In our opinion, communication is a process in which information is shared and exchanged. It is a two-way interaction in which the entrepreneur, and whoever is being interacted with, are active participants in the attempt to solve a problem through the use of language as the proper channel of communication. |
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As you work your way through the materials you may wish to do some checks and balances by asking yourself the following questions:
Now, revisit what we have already discussed in this section and see if you can come up with your own definition. |
