Business communication and information technology
Domain 8: Business communication and information technology
The exam tests the communication process, appropriate channels, barriers, and how IT changes business operations and customer service.
Core rules
- The communication process: sender → encoding → message → channel → receiver → decoding → feedback. Noise is anything that distorts the message.
- Formal channels follow the organisation structure (reports, notices, meetings). Informal channels include gossip and social contact; they can spread rumours but also support teamwork.
- Choose the channel by audience, urgency, cost, need for a record and complexity: email for records, phone for urgency, video call for discussion, notice board for staff-wide messages.
- Barriers include jargon, poor listening, cultural differences, distance, information overload and technical failure.
- IT in business: e-commerce, online banking, inventory systems, customer databases, social media marketing, video conferencing and cloud storage. Benefits include speed and reach; risks include cybercrime, data loss, cost and digital exclusion.
Worked example
A manager emails a complex new pricing table to staff in five languages, using technical jargon and no chance to ask questions. Sales staff misapply the prices. The failure is not the email itself but encoding (jargon), channel choice (complex table by email alone), and lack of feedback. A short meeting with a translated summary and a question-and-answer session would improve decoding and allow feedback.
Traps
Do not label feedback as noise. Do not assume email is always best because it is written. Do not list IT benefits without a risk. Do not confuse formal communication with good communication - formal messages can still be unclear.