Free Essay: The Characteristics and Roles of the Communications Team

I am writing this memo to inform you of the attributes that my team members will have as well as the duties that the team aims to accomplish. Firstly, individuals must know or at least have experience in multicultural communication since the team will handle communication matters across IG's global offices. Thus, this team will comprise of individuals from at least every region where IG has a presence, including the United States, United Kingdom, and other European markets, China, Vietnam, and Brazil. The rationale behind this inclusion criterion is that multiculturally-competent employees have knowledge of the language or nonverbal cues that people from particular regions apply, and thus, they will likely mitigate misunderstandings that the company has experienced in recent years (Tutar, Altinoz & Cakiroglu, 2014). Besides, such experts can effectively inquire about relevant events of their local markets and communicate that information in advance to avoid derailment in operations due to alterations of economic policies or conditions of one region like it was the case when Switzerland devalued its currency.

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Additionally, team members need to have previously demonstrated accountability, commitment, openness, honesty, and collaboration (Wrench, 2013). These traits are pivotal if a team is to accomplish its objectives. An honest and accountable individual will always make sure that communication reaches different stakeholders, even if it means sending the same message severally. The attributes will mitigate miscommunication cases like the one experienced between Detroit Manufacturing and the sales department. Openness, commitment, and collaboration support the team's cohesiveness and pursuit of a common purpose. For instance, an individual with openness is receptive of diverse ideas and encourages every member of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. Commitment is essential since coordinating communication between different departments, especially those located in different geographical regions, is likely to be tedious. As such, it necessitates committed people.

Specific Roles of the Team

In general, the team intends to strengthen communication between different offices, departments, and stakeholders and among employees. Specifically, it will manage IG's communications, including websites, social sites, and blogs. As part of that management, the team will translate vital information into different languages so that stakeholders located in different regions can fully understand the message (Lambert & Bruneliere, 2016). Such will be possible because the team is set to comprise of employees from different nations. For instance, messages directed to China-based suppliers and customers will be translated into Chinese to augment the understanding of the parties involved, and thus, optimize communication.

More fundamentally, the team will craft a communication plan to avoid miscommunication issues that IG has experienced recently. In the plan, it will collaborate with the management to avail and install communication optimization technology tools. In that regard, it intends to implement company-wide emails that will deliver messages across all internal stakeholders in all regions. Additionally, the team will install channels such as Skype and video teleconferencing tools, all of which will enable departments or offices to communicate with stakeholders located in different regions more effectively (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). Skype, for example, allows departments to communicate with suppliers of inventory to avoid miscommunication that can arise if the department depends exclusively on email. Video teleconferencing will enable the management to hold frequent meetings with different offices to ensure that every managerial team is updated on current issues. Lastly, the team will install customer management software to ensure that the communications department remains connected with customers and can handle complaints promptly (Baran & Galka, 2013). With all these approaches, I am hopeful that our communication will continue to get streamlined.

References

Baran, R. J., & Galka, R. J. (2013). CRM: the foundation of contemporary marketing strategy. Abingdon: Routledge.

Hamilton, L., & Webster, P. (2012). The international business environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Lambert, J., & Bruneliere, J. F. (2016). From Translation to Organization to International Business: an Academic No Man's Land. Cadernos de Traducao, 36(2), 15-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7968.2016v36n2p15

Tutar, H., Altinoz, M., & Cakiroglu, D. (2014). A study on cultural difference management strategies at multinational organizations. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 345-353. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.023

Wrench, J. S. (2013). Workplace Communication for the 21st century: Tools and strategies that impact the bottom line. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.