Assignment:
Communication Audit Report
Purpose
Your goal in this assignment is to research an organization's communication channels, including internal and external, formal and informal, oral and written. Present the results of your study in a short report form at the end of the semester. Address the report to a high-level decision maker in the organization. You will act as the VP of the organization. In the report, describe current communication channels, evaluate their effectiveness, and suggest ways to improve the flow of communication around the organization.
Company/Organization
Step 1 is to identify the organization in which you will conduct your research. You may choose your employer, a family member's or friend's employer, or any other organization you have access to. You may audit a professional association, a fraternity/sorority, social club, neighborhood association, church organization, school, or similar organization that you are affiliated with.
Research
a. Primary Data Collecting
Arrange for an interview with someone who works in the organization. Choose someone who is in a position to know about all the communication channels in place. Typically, such people are in the Human Resources Department, recruiting, or management. If you decide to interview your supervisor, be sure that the supervisor knows significantly more than you do about communication networks. If not, move up the hierarchy.Alternatively, you may decide to ask questions of several people. In this case, a written survey may be more efficient. Be sure to provide informed consent opportunities for all your respondents.
In the survey or interview, ask questions about formal and informal channels for communicating internally--upward, downward, and laterally. Also include questions about formal and informal channels for communicatingexternally-- to customers, the media, vendors, shareholders, regulatory agencies, and suppliers.Ask respondents to describe them as they exist and also to evaluate their effectiveness. Finally, ask for recommendations for improving communication.
You must submit your data collection instrument(s)--interview questions and/or survey--for comment and grading before you collect your data.
b. Secondary Data Collecting
Next, collect information from at least three secondary sources such as company documents, a business magazine article about the organization or the company's website or intranet.Try to get their annual report if it is a publicly held corporation. You can also use references such as Sorkins Directory to find out more about the company and its products/services, size, and structure. You should also use secondary sources to determine best practices in business communication.
Report Parts
After you have collected your data, you are ready to compose your audit report. Begin with a draft. Then revise and edit it according to the principles of contemporary business writing that we have studied in this course. Follow the guidelines for short report structure in Chapter 6 of Managerial Communication: Strategies and Applications.
Whether your report is internal or external, include each of the following elements:
• Title page
• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Findings (with subsections for each type of communication you analyzed)
• Conclusions or summary
• Recommendations
• References
• Appendixes (optional)
Use headings for each section of the report.
Use visual aids such as tables, flowcharts, and bulleted lists to increase readability. At least one visual aid is required.
Audience
Your intended reader should be an executive of the organization who is in a position to adopt your recommendations for improving the communication flow. Thus, you should directly address your reader by saying "you" and "your company" or "we" and "our organization," rather than "they" and "the company" in your report. You are not composing a term paper.
Length
About 10 pages, double-spaced. Be sure to edit and proofread carefully.
What to Hand In:
• Report