Introduction
Business communication is a very essential tool in the corporate world as it helps in building reputation and credibility. In a business organization, communication has to take place both internally and externally. Communication is a very important tool which should be broadly embraced in a business setting. Basically, communication is a core function of management where the employers have to communicate with employees. In order to achieve its purpose, communication should be effective so as to achieve positive end results. Through communication, a business organization is able to rebuild its reputation in case its name was tarnished. The objective of this paper is to analyze the ‘Martha Stewart Case’ and discuss the communication skills that she used. In order to achieve this, the paper is divided into five sections where the first one will address the profile of Martha Stewart. The second paragraph will discuss the importance of business communication in a business. The third section will discuss the types of business communication. The fourth section addresses the importance of effective communication in relation to Martha Stewart Case. Finally the fifth paragraph will be a conclusion of the paper.
Information about Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business entrepreneur who was born and grew up in New Jersey City. Stewart was well known for her modeling which she was doing while she was in school. She is also known for her good cooking. She went to Barnard College where she studied history and met her husband. Her modeling career ended when she gave birth to their born as she thought of having a career change. Stewart joined a brokerage company after which she left when her family had relocated to another town.Later she started her own business by the name Martha Stewart Inc in which she was the CEO. Stewart became successful in running her business which was boosted by her previous modeling job. Her modeling was a back up in her television career because as it gave her a better media appeal. Stewart became an international television and magazine celebrity and hosted a show called ‘Martha Steward Living’ while her magazine was having a similar name. With her television appearance, she decided to become a lifetime consultant in a company which was dealing with products and décor. She therefore signed a deal with Kmart, who was the owner of the company. Alongside Kmart’s company, Steward continued running her company as she also published books and magazines. Steward became more successful although she was having problems with her marriage life which eventually ended (Richman, 2).
The Martha Stewart Case
Unfortunately for Stewart, her successful business faced a major economic blow in the year 2002 when It faced a stock management scandal. Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnipedia, Inc, was charged for conspiracy and security hoax for the sale of InClone Stock.The Company’s stock had reduced by 60% and greatly affected her publications, television and entire company operations. That was a major scandal for Stewart as it completely tarnished the image of company. The situation was become worse because of the fact that the company was registered by Steward’s name. She had lost her reputation and so using her name for the company would degenerate the problem. The corporate name for the business was under scrutiny and there was need to rebrand the name which was impossible. Ultimately, Stewart was found guilty of crime in 2004. The scandal led to the imprisonment of Stewart where she served a five months jail term. After her release, Stewart did not hesitate to start the journey of rebuilding the name of her company which was completely stained. This mattered a lot because she had to convince her customers, suppliers, TV funs whom she was bound to lose.
She embarked to her company with efforts to sort out her problems and make a successful business. She did not fear facing the public and instead went ahead to make up for her mistakes. She used the media to create a positive name for herself although it was not easy. Stewart mainly used the media as a channel with the public as she used television and the newspaper to reach the public. Apart from TV and newspaper, she also used the internet as she created new websites where she clarified issues to the public. On the web, Stewart demonstrated to her TV funs how she was making progress in her business and how she would achieve her goals. By doing that, she managed to win the trust of some funs. There was a great need for her to give credible explanations to people who were customers, shareholders, suppliers and other investors.
Types of Business Communication
Communication is vital in an organization as it determines the relationship among people in the corporate world. Business people often relate to several people who contribute to the success of a business. Good communication is therefore important for a business to maintain lasting relationship with such people. Mainly, there are two types of business communication which are oral and written communication. Oral communication involves word of mouth while written communication is where written materials are used. Employers normally use both oral and written communication when relating to their employees and customers. Oral communication can either be face to face or the use of telephones. Written materials include internal and external memos, resignation letters, application letters and tender letters. With the development of technology, there is a rampant use of electronics for business communication. The most commonly used electronics are emails and fax machines which has enhanced the communication world. Body language is also another form of communication which can be misinterpreted in a business set up. Body language is very important because it can show the willingness of an employee to work. These body languages include gestures that people often make in response to something. In a business set up, people should always be careful with their gestures because it may lead to misinterpretation.
Importance of Business communication
Effective communication is important to a business because promotes smooth running of a business. Effective communication also motivates employees of a company to continue working effectively. Communication will always facilitate good relationship between workers and employers. Both internal and external communication is essential in running a business. Employers should ensure that they maintain good relationship with their employees. In relation to the Martha Steward case, business communication is a fundamental aspect for one to run a business. Stewart’s scandal required an external communication in order to put her in a position of public visibility. Her business had a bad reputation which affected sales of products and services. She had to build a good public relation with the public so that she could regain her once successful business (Jan, 6).Once an organization’s name has been tarnished, it becomes so hard to convince the public who already have a negative perception. This is a clear indication that business communication is very important to the corporate world. In other words, a business can not run effectively without internal and external communication. The business world is diverse and involves very high people in the society including the politicians. Stewart was at stake because she was dealing in not only one kind of business but several of them. The corporate world is rather a delicate world because any mistake can lead to destroy the functioning of an organization. People fear taking risks therefore they would not dare associating with companies like Stewart. (The importance of business communication, 6).
Conclusion
Business people should always strive to adopt effective communication skills as it is an avenue to success. It is also advisable for a business to have public relation officers who can guide the communication process. They also help in rebuilding the image of an organization when a scandal occurs. Although a company may not succeed in rebuilding a tarnished image, it is important to have early preparation for any kind of scam. For Stewart, she had to act so fast before the situation went out of hand. This is just a reason why there should be readiness when it comes to building a company’s image. Business skills should be used at all cost as it shows responsibility on the side of employers and employees.
Works Cited
Business Communication: The importance of business communication. 2003. Web.
Jan, Susan “The Important Role of Public Relations.” 2006.EzineArticles.com. Web.
Richman Shelon, the Martha Stewart Case. 2004. Web.