Business leaders all over the world are increasingly using writing to communicate the agenda of the organization to stakeholders, demonstrating that written communication has a substantial significance in contemporary business world (Management Study Guide, 2013).
There exist several reasons why writing is important in communicating across the organization and externally to customers, suppliers, distributors and other stakeholders. This section illuminates three such reasons, namely flexibility, power and clarity of thinking.
Flexibility
unlike verbal communication, writing allows readers some form of flexibility in that they decide when and how much they want to read.
Not only do managers perform optimally when they are allowed to read at their own convenience, but they also become increasingly receptive to written communication due to the flexibility it provides.
Such an orientation can only drive the company forward in achieving and maintaining competitive advantage. For example, a manager in a construction site may want to deal with written communication due to the unfavorable conditions for verbal communication in the project site.
Power
Written communication has a huge influence over individuals, groups and organizations. Writing has a staying power over people and the organization in that a proposal or policy document done several years ago can be retrieved from the filing system and used to deal with an emerging issue.
This cannot be achieved in verbal communication as nothing is stored for future perusal. Equally, writing has a travelling power in that good proposals and reports done by junior staff often find their way to the upper echelons of management, leading to a speedier promotion for the writer.
For example, it is common knowledge that junior employees of many companies have scaled their career ladder to become personal assistants of CEO’s and senior management due to their superior writing capabilities.
Clarity of Thinking
Writing encourages logical and coherent form of thinking, providing writers with the opportunity to clarify issues and arrange them accordingly.
This means that writing provides fundamental assistance to thought processes. An accountant trying to explain to the management why sales volumes are plummeting may find refuge in trying to balance figures on paper.
Occasions where Writing is the Best & Proper Communication Method
There exist myriad instances where writing is thought to be the best and proper communication method in an organization.
Writing is the preferred mode of communication when employees or managers are doing proposals and technical reports that are not only expected to be clear and coherent, but can also be swiftly digested by a varied group of readers (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011).
The management also uses written communication to draw memos that are concise and that motivate employees, distributors, customers, suppliers and other interested parties, to do what is necessary without the need for further explanation (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011).
For example, most organizations use writing to draw memos to communicate operational, structural or strategic changes to employees.
Such memos are an authority unto themselves as they represent the company policy. Employees are therefore expected to follow this form of written communication without the need for further clarification.
Writing comes across as the best and proper communication method when business managers want to dispatch to stakeholders emails that look and sound professional (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011).
Formal communication with customers, suppliers, distributors and other shareholders requires a certain level of etiquette which can only be achieved through writing.
For example, it would be implausible for a company’s production manager to announce to a supplier the cancellation of a tender document through verbal communication; rather, a professionally written email is a more befitting method of communicating such information to the supplier.
Lastly, written communication is most preferred when management is doing “sales and customer service letters that strengthen relationships by imparting the right image” (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011 p. 4).
The act of building a company’s image and reputation is an expensive one and demands all players to act in a formal and dignified manner.
Consequently, communication channels between and among concerned stakeholders should assume a formal approach for purposes of image building and maintenance, but more importantly for the cardinal objective of record keeping (Drew, 2013). These twin objectives can only be achieved through written communication.
Differences between Writing & Other Types of Communication
There exist several differences between written communication and other types of communication, such as visual communication, verbal communication, and non-verbal communication.
First, writing is a more unique and formal approach of communication than both verbal and non-verbal communication.
Extant literature demonstrates that “effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition of sentences” (Management Study Guide, 2013 para. 1). This is not usually the case in visual, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.
Second, writing is more valid and reliable than visual, non-verbal or verbal forms of communication (Management Study Guide, 2013), not mentioning that it is objective and non-retractable.
It should be remembered that Enron auditors and managers were taken to court for financial misappropriation and effectively convicted on account of written statements of accounts and emails.
It could have been difficult for the jury to convict the offenders in the absence of valid and reliable paperwork that demonstrated how billions of dollars were siphoned off for personal gain.
Enron’s story demonstrates that, “the storage of business email has become increasingly important as email has become equally admissible in court as formal paper documents” (Drew, 2013 para. 4).
Third, written communication is effected with greater deliberation and thought than both verbal and non-verbal types of communication (Aarti, 2013).
Verbal communication is fraught with cultural and sometimes racial expressions which may give way to misrepresentation of facts and unhealthy communication systems within the organization.
While written communication is planned and deliberate, thereby providing an enabling environment through which to drive the organization’s agenda forward, verbal communication is spontaneous, conversational, indirect and highly subjective (Aarti, 2013).
It is common knowledge that business communication requires objectivity and clarity of thought to be able to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers and other stockholders.
Indeed, written communication can be substantially more precise and concise considering the capacity of the writer to select words with greater deliberation and thought (Castro & Pena, n.d.). Verbal and non-verbal forms of communication provide no such capability.
Lastly, in writing, the writer always have the option of re-reading the content and correcting errors to ensure the final product communicates exactly what it is intended to deliver (Castrro & Pena., n.d.).
No such opportunity exists in verbal or non-verbal forms of communication as they are spontaneous and non-retractable.
Disadvantages of using Writing to Communicate in an Organization
Written communication has some obvious disadvantages when used within the organizational context.
Written communication causes delay in response as it takes time for the readers to provide feedback (Management Study Guide, 2013). As such, it may not be the preferred mode of communication in situations that require immediate intervention.
Lack of immediate feedback may become a source of frustration and indecision in business situations that require a swift response from the other party (eNotes, 2013).
For example, a fast food outlet requires a swift response when contacting suppliers for food items that need to be replenished. In such a scenario, written communication is at a distinct disadvantage.
Additionally, “written messages often take more time to compose, both because of their information-packed nature and the difficulty that many individuals have in composing such correspondence” (eNotes, 2013 para. 6).
Another disadvantage of using writing to communicate comes in terms of costs as organizations must train employees on the use of the acceptable format in business communication (Webster, 2013).
It is common knowledge that many employees have poor writing styles and therefore require comprehensive training to be able to communicate effectively through writing.
Additionally, extremely rigid standards associated with writing business content may inhibit employees from entirely articulating the message or their intentions in an easily comprehensible manner (Webster, 2013).
Lastly, research demonstrates that strict standardization of the business writing process may hurt employee creativity and innovation (Webster, 2013).
Creativity and innovation are spurred by constant interactions, implying that written communication, which is rather objective, planned and deliberate, may hinder the development of these valuable organizational and personal attributes.
References
Aarti, R. (2013). Four types of communication. Web.
Castro, M., & Pena, M. Differences between oral and written communication. Web.
Drew, B. (2013). What is written communication in business? Web.
eNotes. (2013). Written communication. Web.
Management Study Guide. (2013). Written communication – meaning, advantages and disadvantages. Web.
Mind Tools Ltd. (2011). Written communication. Web.
Webster, A. L. (2013). Advantages & Disadvantages of using standardized written communication in organizations. Web.