Unit 16 Managing Communications Information and Knowledge Solution

Task 2

Introduction

The managing communications, information and knowledge solution report has its main focus on the typical decisions which are taken by Sainsbury supermarket in UK. The report covers the current processes of communication and the existing approaches for collection, storage and dissemination of the information and knowledge within the supermarket. The new and improved ways will be designed for increasing the appropriateness of the existing communication process of the supermarket. For integration of communication systems in the supermarkets, new strategies will be implemented with a timeline. The task is based on the scenario given in which Sainsbury is trying to improve its communication processes by making the use of their communication and information systems so that its overall performance can be enhanced. This will help Sainsbury to improve its productivity, profitability, motivation of employees and it’s also contributed in its value creation.

1) Report on the current processes of communication and existing approaches to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge.

Communication is considered as the flow of information, knowledge, ideas, emotions and views between two parties which helps in the effective transfer of information and reduces the chances of errors and misinformation in the company. Here, a sender and receiver communicate with each other with a suitable medium (Bovée & Thill, 2012). In Sainsbury different levels of management communicates with each other so that effective communication leads the supermarket to the competitive position in the industry. The existing processes of communication in Sainsbury are explained below:
Verbal communication: the company uses verbal communication methods which include meetings, one on one session, interviews, employee surveys face to face and other processes in which different levels of the management communicates with each other through words. The senior store managers delegate duties to the workers which have to be done as allocated. The verbal communication also takes place when new employees are recruited through interviews. Feedbacks taken by employees and meetings conducted with all the employees also follow verbal communication. The advertisements on radio and television also follow verbal communication (Dwyer, 2009).
Written communication: Written communication in Sainsbury business takes place in the form of emails, official messengers and written memos which helps in carrying on the normal operations of the business. Sainsbury displays the offers on the posters and hoardings which are placed outside the stores to communicate the promotions to the customers and to boost up the sales. The emails are circulated within the employees for providing any information to them. Emails are also sent to the regular customers to intimate them about any offers or new products of Sainsbury (Simmons, et. al., 2011).

2)Design ways to improve the appropriateness of the current communication processes and explain how you will carry out the appropriate changes to improve the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge

The existing approaches to collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge in Sainsbury is done through many sources. It is not easy to manage the huge data in the organisation as there are no. of stores and no. of transactions. Sainsbury collects the information and then analyse it whether it meets the objectives of the organisation or not. After collection, the classification of the information takes place through Data Management systems and then this information is used whenever the organisation needs it. The information collected or any other information is disseminated by the organisation through various channels like mouth publicity, electronic media like television, internet radio, etc.whichever suits to the situation and meets the objective of the company (Lickiewicz, et. al., 2013).
Communication in Sainsbury can be made appropriate by using various methods. For e.g. Sainsbury can ensure that the communication in the organisation is done horizontally which involves all the organisations and different departments can communicate with each other so that the flow of information can be maintained and the disruptions cannot hamper the speed of the work. The store managers should encourage the employees to provide genuine feedbacks which will help him to bring improvements (Simmons, et. al., 2011). For increasing the appropriateness, the messages can be repeated in the organisation so that everybody is made clear about the message. Training can be provided to the workers to improve their communication skills. Active listening should be developed within employees so that the message is better understood by the employees and it will definitely reduce the mistakes created by the employees. Communication should be done with the main objective of resolving the misunderstandings and after considering the cultural backgrounds of people so that everybody could understand the message (Dunning, 2012).
To improve the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of the information and knowledge, it is important for Sainsbury to develop the processes systematically. Sainsbury should use both the traditional and modern methods of collecting the information like it can use newspapers, magazines, library, etc. as traditional sources of information and knowledge and can use internet, digital libraries and databases as modern sources of knowledge for collecting information. The information once collected should be stored in the systems like Database management systems systematically so that the information is secured and arranged properly (Dwyer, 2009).
Whenever Sainsbury needs to access the data it can find it from the web data and databases created by the organisation itself. It speeds up the processes and provides right information at the right time. This information can be used for specific purposes and it can be disseminated to the public through many methods like different media sources and traditional methods. A combination of both could create more effectiveness and provide better results to Sainsbury. It is very important to have proper coordination and collaboration among the employees so that the information stored and collected can be used effectively for the benefits of the organisation. This would lighten up the burden on the managers (Dwyer, 2009). For achieving this and for bringing improvements, the employees have to be trained for using the new methods and database management systems. This would save the time of the organisation, once the investment is done on training the employees for the same. The data collection should be unbiased and should be high in value which could actually provide any benefit to the organisation and can be used for the decision making of the organisation. Electronic means of storing information can also provide the benefit of creating backup of data of the organisation. The data stored can be accessed through mobile phones, Personal computers, laptops, etc. so that it could be easy for the employee to share the information within the limited accessible people to make the processes easier(Laudon & Laudon,  2015).

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3)Propose improvements to ensure greater integration of communication systems and implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge to others.

Communication refers to the proper and effective flow of information between the sender and the receiver and it is very important for an organisation to plan for an effective communication. A proper communication plan can bring effectiveness in decision making, create focus among the employees, can create opportunities, bring challenges and provides ways to meet the challenges. It also helps in evaluating and monitoring the results (Schiuma, 2012).
When the communication system is not proper among the various departments of the organisation, it poses a serious threat to the company. The effective communication makes systems and procedures worth and important and also removes the hurdles or complexities. For the integration of communication systems, Sainsbury could take regular feedbacks from its customers and employees so that it could get to know about the real progress of communication and the need of any improvements in the communication system. The employees should be given fair and equal chance to share their problem with the manager of the store so that he can resolve it and this shows the example of an effective communication (Lickiewicz, et. al., 2013).

The communicating plan of Sainsbury includes:

• Identification of the present situation in which both the external and internal situations are analysed.
• Determine the goals and objectives of the business and business strategy, where Sainsbury will focus on the questions like what, when, why for different situations (Lickiewicz, et. al., 2013).
• Select the target audience: Sainsbury has to determine its audience which is to be targeted for communication. It can be employees, customers, suppliers or anyone else.
• Select the message: selecting the key message is very important because it frames the correct idea of the message and it should be simple and clear so that it can be understood by the people/ audience.
• Communication strategy: It is important to select a proper communication medium or strategy through which the messages or contact of communication can be communicated
• Evaluation of message: it is important to evaluate the message communicated once it is delivered that it is actually understood by the people or not (Laudon & Laudon, 2015).

Sainsbury collects its information from various traditional and digital channels and stores it online on the database Management systems which is accessed anytime and store huge amount of data by classifying it so that it does not become complex for the employees to search for the data and understand it (Schiuma, 2012). The data nowadays is also stored on cloud which is a system of online data storage and can be accessed anywhere and anytime. The data on cloud is secured with the passwords which make it safe from the unauthorised access by anyone. Communication is vital for every organisation and for carrying on day to day operations the information which is communicated within the organisation should be easy, easily accessible and updated so that the employees and customers do not remain out-dated. The company should maintain a system where they can gather the feedbacks and suggestions so that the systems can be improved (WHITE, 2014).
The senior management of Sainsbury should hold on training programs so that the employees can be trained to communicate effectively and to understand what is being communicated to them. It also includes the training related to the interpersonal skills which helps in improving the communication skills. Sainsbury can hire external experts or consultants which can provide their advices on formulating effective strategies for the company so that better communication can be made. It would definitely boost up the sales of the company and the revenue would also improve.

Timeline

The timeline to implement strategies toimprove access to systems of information and knowledge to others is given below:

• Jan 2017- the data will be collected and the existing communication methods will be analysed for checking their effectiveness.
• Feb 2017- Once the effectiveness is checked, the needs will be measured and then the gaps between both the existing systems and the gaps will be evaluated. It will be analysed that how the existing communication systems are not able to meet the objectives
• March 2017- May 2017- the externals are hired and the internal management will cooperate to build up the strategy for effective communication for the company (Laudon & Laudon, 2015).
• June 2017- strategic advertising for Sainsbury will take place and different promotional campaigns will run. External experts will be hired for providing training to the employees for effective communication at the workplace. They will be taught about the usage of different systems which will be used for storing and retrieving the information and knowledge.
• July- August 2017- Sainsbury will hold some local events to attract the customers and for employees, it will install new and updated software’s and systems which helps in gathering, storing and retrieving the information and knowledge
• September 2017- the strategies once implemented will be monitored and evaluated to see whether they are creating any change and ringing development in the communication systems of the company or not (WHITE, 2014).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that Communication is the lifeline of any business because it determines the flow of information and knowledge within the organisation. Sainsbury, here can have smooth flow of operations if there will be appropriate methods and ways of communication with each other and between different stakeholders. It helps in meeting the goals and objectives of the firm. The company can combine the traditional and modern systems for bringing improvements in the communication systems and to meet the objectives of the firm. A timeline has been developed to show how Sainsbury can implement strategies for effective communication in the organisation within the stakeholders of the organisation.

References

Dunning, M. 2012, "Communication plan should be in place before a crisis hits", Business Insurance, vol. 46, no. 20, pp. 6.
Lickiewicz, J., Serednicki, W. & Zasada, E. 2013, "Breaking bad news—How to improve communication?", Resuscitation, vol. 84, pp. S64.