It is time to draft the employee communication plan for your company. Using the

It is time to draft the employee communication plan for your company. Using the information that you gathered from Weeks 1–3, include the following information in your strategic plan:
Company synopsis: This is a snapshot of the company, what it sells, and the number of employees.
Management’s philosophy on employee communication: An example of a management philosophy could be that any important communication about the company’s activities are shared internally before being shared externally on the Internet or in a news release.
Goals of the communication plan: One possible goal could be to help employees be more productive by establishing a clear and effective employee communication plan. The plan can be viewed as an organizational diagnostic that provides employees with consistent, accurate, and regular information about the company\’s business goals and objectives.
Target audience characteristics: The plan should take into account cultural, gender, and linguistic differences to help employees understand the goals of the organization.
Communication tools: These can include various deliverables, including e-mails, newsletters, e-blasts, brochures, reports, conferences, employee meetings, and more.
Communication channels: Communication channels include internal and external Web sites, public relations venues, visits or speeches from management, and more.
The materials found in the MUSE may help you with this assignment such as the article Communication and Multimedia Platforms.
Also, include information on crisis communication. Develop a policy of 200–300 words the describes how the company will communicate negative information about employees or other organizational concerns.
Provide 4–5 sources from outside of your textbook to support your answer. Use APA style for citations.
Below are Copies of Information gathered in Units 1 – 3 :
(1).Unit 1 DB 2 Interpersonal Communication and Dynamics
Communication is an important aspect of day-to-day life. It is fundamental to the existence and the survival of humans and organizations as it enhances coordination among departments and workers within an organization and fluent working. Additionally, through communication, decision-making is possible. Therefore, every organization must embrace effective communication strategies for improved efficiency, motivation, cooperation, coordination among employees, and enhanced decision-making (Sanchez, n.d.). Communication is an essential part of the current world, being applied every time in businesses, sports, pleasure, and many other significant situations.
Communication Definition
My understanding of communication is that it is the process by which individuals exchange information, ideas, or message through symbols, signals, behavior, or talking.
Two Components of the Communication
There are various components of communication. This includes the source, receiver, message, and feedback. All these components are vital in the communication process; however, the two components that can be emphasized are the source and the message. In the communication process, the source is the originator of the communication (Nordquist, 2019). The source or sender is the individual who initiates the communication process; therefore, it would not exist without the source of the message. For example, the sender in the communication process can be a speaker or a writer attempting to pass their views to receivers who may be an audience in a show. Moreover, the sender is responsible for determining how the receivers receive the message (Nordquist, 2019). This implies that, for effective understanding of the message, the sender must employ significant aspects and features such as friendliness to
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ensure that the audience understands the message as intended. Therefore, the sender or source is a vital component in the process of communication.
The second component that I believe to be important is the message. In the communication process, the message is the information conveyed through words, signs, and symbols. The message conveyed verbally, or nonverbally is the content of the communication process. In this regard, the source initiates a conversation with the aim of conveying the message to the audience. Therefore, the source would likely have nothing to convey without the message, and the audience would have nothing to listen to. Therefore, the message is also a vital element of communication as it determines the need for the source to communicate and the audience to listen.
Miscommunication
Miscommunication describes the failure to pass a message or the lack of clear communication. This implies that the audience often fails to understand the message since it has not been communicated appropriately. Miscommunication is a common occurrence in daily human life and can be spotted when there is a lack of understanding of a message resulting in behaviors contrary to issued instructions. An example of miscommunication is a case where a message is left for an individual, and the message is not recorded appropriately. Further, miscommunication can also be explained by a protest in an organization by employees who have no clear understanding of the culture of the organization. Nevertheless, it is important to note that miscommunication causes increase stress levels, delays, and failure to complete projects and missed performance goals (Wroblewski, 2018). Therefore, it is important to mitigate the effects of miscommunication.
Conclusion
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Communication is fundamental to the day-to-day activities in organizations, business, and human relations. It is the process by which humans share ideas, opinions, facts, views, and feelings to ensure a common ground. Therefore, receivers need to understand the message as intended by the source. Miscommunication, however, occurs when the message is not decoded or received as intended primarily because of the source\’s fault of not using the right means or the receiver\’s incapability to decode. Nevertheless, it is important to remove all barriers to communication to ensure effectiveness in relationships and the accomplishment of organizational goals.
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References
Nordquist, R. (2019). What is the sender in the communication process? ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/sender-communication-1691943
Sanchez, N. (n.d.). Communication process. https://web.njit.edu/~lipuma/352comproc/comproc.htm
Wroblewski, M. T. (2018). Examples of miscommunication at the workplace. Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-miscommunication-workplace-11507.html
(2).Establishing Team Communication Guidelines
Team communication relies on cultural diversity to promote interpersonal development and social relationships based on empathy and tolerance. Language differentiation promotes synchrony in behavioral skills and high-performance outcomes, while cultural values optimize acceptance and tolerance. Multicultural teams require language and cultural diversity considerations to promote empathetic communication and overcome possible conflict.
Considerations of Working on a Multicultural Team
Multicultural team management requires culturally competent approaches that align with language and cultural values. Language promotes effective communication in the team, mutual understanding of social codes, and personal and professional communication (Nardon, 2018). Moreover, cultural tolerance promotes communication openness and empathy in multicultural groups and overcome conflicts (Brett et al., 2018). Diverse cultures interpret communication gestures, body language, and contact differently; moreover, language affects personal abilities and interactions with technology to improve productivity. Cultural awareness builds inclusive relationships because the team members understand how and why the others are different.
In-Person and Virtual Communication Differences
In-person communication differs from virtual communication in terms of emotional expressions and social cues, such as body language. A team should use appropriate media approaches that integrate social standards and norms into virtual communication through technological designs that capture homogeneity and diverse cultural values (Nardon, 2018). Moreover, the user interface design should have core functionalities that align with international standards to promote cultural sensitivity (Brett et al., 2018). Teams that adopt user-centered designs promote participation among the members to sustain innovative development. Therefore,
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teams should adopt socio-multicultural interfaces, such as different languages and translation bots, to promote fluid communication.
Cultural Differences Issues
Multicultural teams experience differences in communication, opinions, perceptions, values, and interpersonal styles due to cultural symbolism, time, and personal space differences. Brett et al. (2020) argue that the western culture perceives time qualitatively in a logical, present-focus, and sequence that builds the future while the Eastern culture perceives time as an unraveling boundary in a polychromous approach. The personal space differences can spur conflicts in decision-making among the team members because the people have a different degree to which they feel as masters of their lives and as subjects to external factors (Folger et al., 2021). Cultural symbolism causes conflicts through the different significance levels that people attach to symbols about their heritage. These differences occur because people\’s cultural beliefs affect their knowledge structures since the social interaction codes, values, and norms, as programed into their minds, define their behaviors.
Conflict Resolution
Multicultural teams face group and individual conflicts in decision-making and interpersonal feelings that develop cognitive and affective clashes. Effective communication facilitates individual and group conflict management through empathy in verbal communication and cultural competence in silent language (Folger et al., 2021). Moreover, ethnocentric assumptions express cultural needs and unleash conflicts backgrounds to secure diverse problem-solving (Brett et al., 2018). Multicultural teams need a formal conflict management guideline with communication strategies and ethnocentric reservations to inform all team members that none of their decisions are right or wrong; however, an integrated decision is appropriate. This
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the strategy addresses cultural biases that may arise from the environment due to the dominant and minor cultural representation factors.
Conclusion
Efficient multicultural teams incorporate language and cultural value differences to represent each member\’s opinions, social codes, and communication cues. Multicultural environments operate with in-person and virtual communication; thus, strategic technological designs primarily support cultural diversity. Multicultural teams face cognitive and interpersonal conflicts due to time, cultural symbolism, and personal space perspectives; thus, effective conflict management strategies should capture empathetic verbal and silent communication, as well as ethnocentric perspectives, to promote cultural competence.
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References
Brett, J., Behfar, K., & Kern, M. (2020). Managing multicultural teams. In. M. Di Domenico, S. Vangen, N. Winchester, D. Boojihawon & J. Mordaunt (Eds.), Organizational collaboration: Themes and issues (pp. 155-164). Routledge.
Folger, J. P., Poole, M. S., & Stutman, R. K. (2021). Working through conflict: Strategies for relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.
Nardon, L. (2018). Working in a multicultural world. University of Toronto Press.
(3).Walmart Stores\’ Internal Communication Strategy
Background
Our company always looks to create a responsive, highly motivated and diverse workplace. We are always focused on improving our employee communication and development because it ensures that our stakeholders and customers receive the best services our store can offer (Harrison, 2019). By improving corporate communication, we will create a suitable work environment for our staff that provides great opportunities making it the best workplace.
According to Men and Yue (2019), the strategic internal employee communications plan provides a roadmap to achieving our organization\’s goals and remaining true to our mission. The plan will develop and adjust as Walmart\’s leadership implement new initiatives to improve internal communication and encourage employee engagement.
Goal
To ensure that staff within the organization can access all required information to make informed decisions and increase their performance (Walmart, 2021).
Objectives
To ensure that all staff are aware of the stores\’ values, vision and mission.
To enable staff to give feedback to management via formal channels.
To ensure that all board and management decisions are communicated effectively to the staff.
Key Messages
Senior management is always listening to staff and is implementing new initiatives and making adjustments based on the staff feedback.
Collaboration and information sharing between senior management and staff are of great importance.
The senior management encourages open and honest decision making.
Audience
The strategic internal employee communications plan applies to all the senior management and staff working in Walmart Stores.
Tools and Tactics
Objective #1: Ensuring that all staff are aware of the stores\’ values, vision and mission.
The human resources department will include the organization\’s background, including mission statements, values, and goals in all new employee induction packages. Additionally, the communications department will plan an annual workshop where employees can discuss the organization\’s mission, goals and values and how they are connected to their work. The staff in different stores will be included through teleconferencing.
Objective #2: Enabling staff to give feedback to management via formal channels.
The organization will also plan monthly meetings where staff can offer their opinions on suggested developments. Moreover, the senior manager will inform the employees about the agenda of the upcoming board meetings to allow them to give their feedback on the topic. The human resources department will also plan the election of an employee representative to advise senior management on board meetings.
Objective #3: Ensuring that all board and management decisions are communicated to the
staff effectively.
To make sure that all board and management decisions are communicated to the staff effectively, the executive director\’s office will oversee the distributions of the minutes from board and management meetings to all employees via email. Moreover, the senior management representative will summarize the main Board decisions at the monthly staff meetings.
Implementation plan
Tactic
Responsibility
Timeline
Objective 1
Including the organization\’s background, mission statements, values, and goals in all new employee induction packages.
Human Resource Manager
Completed by 10 January
An annual workshop where employees can discuss the organization\’s mission, goals and values and how they are connected to their work.
Communication Manager
The first workshop is on 20 February and yearly after that.
Objective 2
Ensuring that staff are allowed to offer their opinions on suggested developments.
Human Resource Manager
At each monthly meeting
Informing the employees about the agenda of the upcoming board meetings.
Senior Manager
One week before the meeting.
Election of an employee representative to advise senior management on board meetings.
Human Resource Manager
Election to take place on 20 January
Objective 3
Distributions of the minutes from board and management meetings to all employees via email
Executive Director\’s office
One week after each meeting
Summary of the main Board decisions at the monthly staff meetings
Senior Management
Summary to be presented at first monthly staff meeting following each board meeting
(4). Walmart Stores Communication Plan
Good communication is arguably the most critical aspect of today’s business. Excellent communication can help reduce confusion and build robust relationships among staff members. However, communication styles are highly influenced by one’s sex. Learning about how sex affects communication can assist in managing confrontations, finding solutions to conflicts, and facilitating goal achievement.
Verbal and Non-Verbal Differences Between Males and Females
The primary nonverbal difference between males and females is how each sex utilizes eyes during communication. Research shows that females are more likely than males to maintain eye contact when speaking or listening to others (Point Park, 2021). Chiefly, females use eye contact to demonstrate that they are engaged and attentive to their peers. Conversely, males are more likely to avoid eye contact during communication.
Males and females also differ considerably on their non-verbal cues. One significant difference between the two is the style of communication used. Research shows that males are likely to adopt “report talk,” while females gravitate towards “rapport talk” (Rochester Rising, 2018). Report talk means communication that is highly driven by exchanging facts to solve the issues at hand. Report talk is usually direct to the point and tends to avoid personal anecdotes. Further, report talk has little to no emotional connotations. Essentially, males use “report talk” to build relationships through solving the issues at hand. The drawback of this type of communication is that males tend to dominate conversations and speak for extended periods (Rochester Rising, 2018). Conversely, females are more likely to adopt rapport communication, which usually includes experiences and personal feelings. Rapport communication also
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emphasizes listening and equality among all members engaged in the conversation. These verbal and nonverbal differences could severely affect communication in many ways.
Communication Plan
The verbal and nonverbal differences between males and females discussed above are essential in developing a robust communication plan at Walmart. As outlined, males are more likely to dominate conversations and have less eye contact than females. The first approach to creating the most productive meeting possible is to educate all the 12 members on how their sex impacts communication. Specifically, educating these staff members about communication differences helps reduce the chances of confrontation with each other and promotes engagement. For example, men will be taught the importance of allowing all members to contribute equally. Notably, some members might be highly introverted, meaning that letting a few dominate the conversation could negatively affect engagement.
The next step will be allocating equal time slots for each member. Allocating time for the members will help ensure that all members have a chance to speak. Further, members will be advised not to interrupt their peers. Notably, if one has a question or wants to add information, they will do so after the presenter has contributed. Further, members will be encouraged to share their experiences and even how they feel about an idea. As illustrated initially, males might be inclined towards report talk, which could affect how they interact with others. Thus, encouraging every member to share what they feel will help ensure more honest conversations. Moreover, such a process will promote better relations with their female counterparts. Healthy relations at the workplace are critical to problem-solving and conflict resolution (UTexas, n.d.). Since Walmart is a highly diverse organization, building better relationships between men and women
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will improve productivity and subsequently promote innovations.
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References
Point Park. (2021). Gendered communication: Differences in communication styles. Point Park University Online. https://online.pointpark.edu/public-relations-and-advertising/gender-differences-communication-styles/
Rochester Rising. (2018). Gender communication differences: What can we learn? https://rochesterrising.org/main/gender-communication-differences-what-can-we-learn
UTexas. (n.d.). Problem solving information and tips. The University of Texas at Austin. https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/problem-solving
References
Harrison, V. (2019). Legitimizing Private Legal Systems Through CSR Communication: A Walmart Case Study. Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
Men, L. R., & Yue, C. A. (2019). Creating A Positive Emotional Culture: Effect of Internal Communication and Impact on Employee Supportive Behaviors. Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101764.
Walmart. (2021). Walmart.com | Save Money. Live Better. Walmart.Com.
(4). 1
Business Communication Plan
Annie Thedford
Interpersonal Communication Dynamics
Unit 3 Discussion Board
Professor Paul Helmreich
1/1/22
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Business Communication Plan
In a business framework, individual communication involves consecutive contact
between two people, while in groups, it entails passing messages to more than two people.
Consequently, group and individual communication differ. One person chooses the
communication channel and process in individual communication. In contrast, multiple players
determine the channel and communication process. Managers in large corporations must
understand different considerations for communicating with individual employees and groups in
organizations. Walmart will utilize custom emails, face-to-face communication, and social media
platforms to introduce the Urgent Care Clinic services to individual employees, groups, and the
larger organization.
Employee Messages
Individual Message
We are proud to announce the opening of Urgent Care Clinics across all our stores. The
growing business size and COVID-19 threat have necessitated caring for our employees and
customers. This message is to notify you of the free service for emergency cases. Conditions
managed at the clinic include fractures, lacerations, chest pain, breathing difficulties, depression,
sore throat, cough, fever, flu, and eye irritation. The clinic will also offer diagnostic services,
including X-rays and clinical laboratory testing.
We have recently experienced cases of delayed medication attention in our stores. The
Urgent Care Clinics will promote timely response for all conditions requiring medical attention.
We value your immense contributions to the company; hence, you are the priority client in the
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clinic. Seeking services will help you attain optimal health and sustain performance in your
workstation.
Liaise with your team leader to understand your service implementation requirements and
assist customers. Employees can access additional product information on the company website.
Additionally, you must all participate in marketing the service.
Group Message
The company has introduced Urgent Care Clinics across all our stores. The clinic will
address minor medical emergencies for employees and customers. Additionally, all employees
should contribute to supporting customers’ access to the clinic. Team leaders will respond to
questions raised in their teams. They should also collect and report user feedback and
recommendations to improve the clinic’s services. We expect all employees to participate in the
program and support the service implementation.
Considerations for Individual and Group Communication
Individual and group messages do not have broad differences. The messages are focused
on communicating the new product to employees. Besides, the message script targets informing
the individual about their roles and contributions to the product implementation. On the other
hand, the group message promotes collaboration and teamwork. Therefore, a manager may
consider the message contexts or purposes while writing to an individual or a group.
Communication Channels
Communicating with individuals in the organization can involve emails. Walmart’s
vastness and dispersion affect face-to-face interactions between employees and leaders. Email
communication helps address the complexity. New technologies enable large corporations to
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remain competitive and streamline operations. The email communication channel has replaced
formal, informal organizational communication channels. Emailing is effective for formal
negotiations because emails can be followed up with a face-to-face meeting or phone call
(Machili et al., 2019). Email communication is invaluable in organizations. Therefore, the
channel is an effective tool for informing individual employees about the new product.
Face-to-face communication is ideal when communicating with groups in the
organization. The Walmart company employees comprise diverse teams formed across multiple
departments. Managers will use team leaders’ groups to message the rest of the employees in the
organization. Using face-to-face communication is important for improving cooperation in
groups. The manager will identify verbal and non-verbal elements that may affect the new
production. Additionally, the players can agree on strategies for promoting product adoption in
the organization (Behrens & Kret, 2019). Face-to-face communication fosters cooperation in
organizational teams. Therefore, using the communication channel for group communication will
enhance engagement with the new product.
Delivering messages to the larger organization to reach all employees can be challenging.
Managers in larger organizations can communicate with their employees through company
briefing meetings. The regular meets are used to inform employees about organizational changes.
They also help explain workers\’ contributions to the organization’s long-term strategic plan.
Consequently, applying the channel will promote support for the new product in the company.
Cross-communication platforms, especially social media, promote message delivery.
Social media networks provide peer information sharing for employees. The platforms assist in
creating brand awareness and sharing knowledge. The integration of social media in
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organizations boosts employee performance, communication efficiency, and employee
motivation (Myddleton & Fullwood, 2016). Social media can facilitate organizational
communication and management. Therefore, integrating social media use at Walmart can
enhance message reception among its employees.
Conclusion
Individual and group communication have similar considerations in their applications in
organizations. Managers must understand the purpose and effect of the message on their
employees. Additionally, they must evaluate the effectiveness of a communication channel for
information dissemination. Promoting cross-communication helps reach all employees.
Knowledge of communication protocols in an organization is important for optimal performance.
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References
Behrens, F., & Kret, M. E. (2019). The interplay between face-to-face contact and feedback on
cooperation during real-life interactions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 43(4), 513-528.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-019-00314-1
Machili, I., Angouri, J., & Harwood, N. (2019). ‘The snowball of emails we deal with’: CCing in
multinational companies. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 82(1),
5-37. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2329490618815700
Myddleton, J., & Fullwood, C. (2016). Social media impact on organisations. In Applied
Cyberpsychology (pp. 216-235). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137517036_13