Gadgets Co. Struggles: BOLDFlash Case Study Finds Internal Challenges

Introduction

The international Gadgets Company is facing a series of challenges when running their day to day activities, particularly in the mobile division area. Following these developments, the BOLDFlash case study seeks to find out the various challenges in the various functional activities throughout the organization (Beer & Shelton, 2012). The threats that affect the business are as a result of a weak internal business process present in the organization. Marketing, manufacturing, sales and product development are the four main components of the company. The introduction of Dr. Roger Cahill as the new Vice President aims at helping the organization to overcome the different problems that face the company currently. The implementation of an active communication channel for the entire department in the organization is the main task handed to Dr. Cahill.

Technical communication takes place in BOLDFlash as a collaborative environment. For the efficiency of the company in its day to day operations, the various divisions within the organization should work together and stay organized to maintain productivity (Beer & Shelton, 2012). The company can approach the development of products as a team if they manage to do away with any potential conflicts arising by using effective communication channels. To ensure that all the teams are in sync with the development process, the involvement of all communication and collaboration artifacts by the technical service communication will come into play.

According to the new Vice President, to compete with other rival companies as well as achieve their stated goals as a company, they need an effective and productive communication process and strategy. With a better approach, communication across departments would improve, leading to a better collaboration. Also, the other crucial area is the Internal Business Process alongside Technical Service Communication as well as the Product Documentation. All the above aspects show the essence of having a proper communication framework, a training plan, and implementation of the pieces of training for the International Gadgets Company to thrive again.

Part 1: Training

Target Audience

The BOLDFlash Technical Mobile Division management team of department directors is the target audience for the internal business process, which is my area of focus. When aligning the priorities of the organization, the departmental heads play a vital role in making essential strategic decisions affecting the company (Beer & Shelton, 2012). Their knowledge outside the department is limited even though they share a common jargon specific to all the BOLDFlash employees because the audience is low tech and interdepartmental. The low tech audiences would benefit a lot if with additional details such as background information and definitions (Carter, 2019). These developments therefore depend on the clarity, relevance as well as the conciseness of the message.

Message Needed

From the findings of the case study, both the internal and external communications lack the required discipline and focus, and the management agrees that all these aspects need immediate improvement. For these responsibilities to become more transparent, relevant, and concise to their intended and specific areas, they will require technical communications with the management (Garfinkle, 2019). The specifics on what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it will pass through a message that is easy to understand and timely communicated. Additionally, the necessary information needed by the managers on implementation progress and its effectiveness of the procedure is an essential inclusion of the internal business process memo.

Message Critique

The 'product enhancement' marketing memo is leading in terms of potential for development. Miscommunication in technical communication leads to loss of credibility regardless of the audience. For this reason, it's essential to ensure the clarity and conciseness of the message passed. Also, there is improved readability as well as making the messages memorable when they are kept brief but comprehensive. In inter-technical communications, there is no need to write long wordy notes since they consume a lot of time to read and comprehend an aspect that may lead to misinterpretation. These particular messages should be short and precise written to express but not impress. Again the confusion may come about when the language of the message does not provide enough action for the audience or details required (Gerson & Gerson, 2013). Sometimes the message may contain a sense of urgency but missing out on the crucial parts such as the deadline or when to act. These exclusions, in most cases, leave the readers wondering their role in the whole operation and why they appear in the message. The reader's role in the communication process will become clear if the message sent will contain a call to action as well as a specified timeframe.

Part 2: Adaptation

Strategies for an Effective Technical Communications

Capturing and retaining the attention of your audience will not only make the information useful but also hasten any required action. So the most critical strategy is to identify the intended audience for every type of communication (Grossman, 2018). The miscommunication arises from any confusion or irrelevant interactions in technical writing. The reason for fully understanding your audience is to ensure that there is a successful passing of the message in a clear, relevant, and concise manner.

Identifying Information

It is essential to determine the kind of information the target audience will need for them to quickly identify the message delivered to them (Gerson & Gerson, 2013). The primary cause of friction and confusion to the audience is to trust the users with a high-level task when they haven't completed a low-level job, yet even after understanding them at this point. The determination of the best communication methods to be used by technical communication comes after fully understanding the needs of the audience (Wroblewski, 2018). Also, it is essential to answer the questions, 'who, what, when, where, and why' in the message passed to the target audience. This one of the best ways to ascertain that technical communication is reaching and addressing the needs of the intended addressees. The above five W's questions help one provide an excellent framework while in revision, considering not all the messages can or should answer all the questions. The importance of the review is to make sure that the message delivered is clear and concise because the procedure is valuable in communication.

New Communication Artifact and Explanation

Analyze the Audience

The first important step is to identify the target audience. According to the information provided in Part 1, the low tech audience that needs actionable information includes the departmental heads or the management. So when drafting a memo, instead of going for content that is too generic without outlining the expectations of the message, the technical communications should provide a subject line with clear understanding.

Identify Information

After a thorough analysis of the audience, the next phase is to identify the message. In this section, the clarity, conciseness, relevance, and actions of the message are very important. These particular aspects aid in acting on the message quickly. With the management, the various ways to communicate effectively include the provision of background information, defining specific actions to be taken as well as the terms. All the parties involved in the new process, the different steps are taken, and the various terms defined in progress are to be made aware of the relevant management. Enough information to complete the task should be provided by clearly defining the action items. The provision of a summary form is one of the simplest ways of including both instruction and detail.

Choose the Channel

The other essentials step is determining an excellent method of communication for our message. When dealing with internal communication, especially the process documentation, it is better to use a memo since it is a secure and familiar method (Gerson & Gerson, 2013). When comparing a memo to an email, most employees receive lots of emails; hence sorting them out is difficult, therefore making this technique less effective.

Write and Revise

This particular step is vital in the communication process. At this point, the technical communication knows the audience, the actual message as well as the required timeframe. The revision comes in after drafting the memo. The essence of revising is to improve the clarity of the message as well as maintaining its relevance. The main aim of the memo is to express rather than impress; hence the use of flashy language and idioms should be avoided. The provision of enough details and context is necessary since the audience, as stated previously, is low-tech. For the intended audience to make effective decisions, the presentation of the information should be done in a problem/solution set up to aid in the provision of more background data. Also, further details about the next steps are vital in helping the audience understand their roles. Additionally, to improve on the credibility and provision of means for collaboration, the message should state how to receive more information about the process.

Conclusion

The lack of a clearly defined business process within the BOLDFlash organization's communication environment leads to an unproductive and unnecessary interdepartmental conflict. Both sides have various assumptions because they lack clear definitions concerning the multiple responsibilities within the department. Also, there are significant gaps, as well as the use of ambiguous language within the internal business processes and communication. Creating a culture of communication, having a clear discussion of framework, and also standardizing information across all the departments are some of the ways of becoming more productive. Working under such an environment not only helps in generating new ideas and challenging assumptions but also aids in fostering trust between different departments. In the second part of this case study, we have proposed a new framework aimed at breeding a new culture of collaboration since it is an essential aspect of the organization for it to achieve its goals. Analyze the audience, identify the information, choose a channel, and Write and Revise are the four essential steps making up this communication framework. Once the employees at BOLDFlash follow these steps, the organization will have successful technical communication.

References

Carter, M. (2019). Why Audience Analysis is Essential in Technical Writing. Retrieved from https://www.writingassist.com/resources/articles-3/why-audience-analysis-is-essential-in-technical-writing/

Garfinkle, J. (2019). Seven Steps to Clear and Effective Communication. Retrieved from https://garfinkleexecutivecoaching.com/articles/improve-your-communication-skills/seven-steps-to-clear-and-effective-communication

Wroblewski, M. (2018). List & Explanation of the Five kinds of Audiences in Business Communication. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/list-explanation-five-kinds-audiences-business-communication-20944.html

Grossman, D. (2018). 6 Steps for Effectively Connecting with your Audience(s). Retrieved from https://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/blog/6-steps-for-effectively-connecting-with-your-audiences

Gerson, S.J., & Gerson, S.M. (2013). Technical Communication: Process and Product. Pearson.