Riordan Manufacturing: Evaluating Business Communication

Evaluating Business Communication
• How well did the communication convey the intended message?
I think that the communiqués that we used as a team did convey the intended message. The overall team’s perception of the situation being presented was that Riordan Manufacturing did not have enough supporting facts to continue with the acquisition of JJJ. This opinion was expressed through the four different communication methods used by each team member.
• Would another type of communication have been more appropriate? Why?
I personally agreed with the interoffice memo, but did not like the idea of using text messages to communicate in this type of business environment. Specially, to communicate something that has to do with acquiring a company. I thought that it was very informal. On the other hand, I would probably use inter office emails as a communication method in this type of environment.
• Is the communication at the appropriate level for the intended audience?
Overall I would say yes. On the other hand, it is hard to answer to this question when the writing skills level differs amongst the team members.
• How did the leadership styles in the scenario affect the communication within the group?
I do not think that the leadership styles in the scenario affect the communication within the group.
On the contrary, I personally believe that having different leadership styles is a positive thing in the business environment. In this particular case, is good to have an authoritarian leader who is very bottom-line oriented, like William, who will delegate and make sure that things are being done in benefit of the company, but at the same time is good to have a faire leadership style, whose focus is on policies and procedures, like Laissez´s, who will make sure that things are not only being done, but they are being done under the company’s rules and regulations. This will ensure business
compliance.
• What changes would you recommend to improve the communiqué?
Like I said before, the only part of the communiqué that I did not like was the text message used by John (an accounting staff) to communicate with Dana, the market manager. Other than that, maybe more supporting data, like numbers or diagrams, but maybe it would be more of a report than a communiqué.
• What are the ethical implications of the communication being shared?
Ethical implications could be, mismanaging the information and losing credibility and trust between the parties involved. However, between companies like the ones cited in the team assignment, there has to be some type of written confidentiality agreement in place. This by the way does not ensure that unethical things will not occur.
• Does the communication share too much information?
I do not think so. In my opinion, the accounting scenario offers more information on the characters involved than the transaction itself.
• Does the communication share to little information?
Yes. I would have liked to have more numbers and facts on JJJ and Riordan.
• How does considering the ethical implications affect your evaluation?
At this point, I do not see any ethical implication involved. The information seems to be being handled professionally and for the purpose of evaluating the acquisition of JJJ, unless I am missing something.
• Identify at least three sources of professional values and ethics?
The company’s code of conduct, government regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and every individuals own values and ethical practices.
• Describe how professional values and ethics can influence career success?
I believe that values and ethics are two of the biggest elements to be successful in any career or business. Unfortunately, this is something that if the individual does not have on the personal level, it can not be taught by the employer or any books at the school. Values and ethics have to be part of our corporate culture; otherwise we will continue seeing big scandals such as the Enron and Maddoff, to cite a couple.