Bank Trust Examination

The main purpose of this article is to discuss what types of communication used and Best Trust Bank, and how their methods could be improved..  The sender and receiver skills described in this case are oral communication, such as face-to-face discussions, individual coaching, telephone conversations, and formal presentations and speeches, written communication, such as email, memos, letters, reports, computer files, and other written documents, and electronic media, such as teleconferences and video-conferences.

Paul was instrumental in adapting the communication system as he moved up through the ranks.  He used every means, from Oral communication to Written communication to the use of Electronic Media, to reach out to his employees knowing that he would not be able to speak to each employee physically by themselves. Paul admits that a weakness he sees with his employees is their abilities to communicate through written channels and that possible real problems or even good ideas are missed because of this lack of writing ability.  According to  Vijayasarathy, “Among 26 specific communication skills identified as being essential for new hires, “writes clearly and precisely” and “prepares documents that are concise, accurate, and supportive of the subject matter” ranked second and fourth in importance respectively, but 26th and 19th in satisfaction with skills respondents felt new hires had.  

Communication of all types is vital to any organization to make it successful and run smoothly.  According to Bateman et al, some of those types of communication are downward communication, where the flow of information comes from the top of the organization down, and coaching which is when managers give performance reviews to their direct reports or to assist with helping the employee reach their full potential.  There is also upward communication where the flow of information rises from the lower ranks of the hierarchy which can be obtained by MBWA or management by wandering around.  Two other types of communication are horizontal, such as communication between equals at work, and the grapevine which can contribute to the effectiveness and moral, which is an unofficial form of communication.  

Paul believes that being in constant communication with the customer, whether internal or outside, is import so that the health of the organization is judged properly and adjustments made as needed.  This author believes that Paul takes for granted that the rest of his organization is also committed to staying close through communication and that his employees know that the Best Trust Bank organization is a “Boundaryless Organization where communication flows freely from any direction (Bateman et al, p 489).”  

Paul provides Videos that are recorded four times per year on varying topics for the general human resources population.  He is also instrumental in creating an Intranet where he and other management members hold Town Meetings where employees can watch and even ask questions and have them answered real time.  This author would suggest a Survey website for employees to voice what issues they may be experiencing with communication, possibly through “Survey Monkey”, to help employers know what types of classes the employees might want to help improve their written communication.  Once the weakness of the staff is determined, a one day classroom workshop on business writing techniques would be offered as a mandatory class for Supervisors but an elective for lower level staff who are considering moving into high positions.  Another idea might be for an app for employees input on how the customer is doing and what could be changed, etc.