caw assignments

8/9/2019 CAW Assignments

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Acknowledgement

The information regarding the communication technologies used by HSBC was actually

attained from a face to face interview with the Brand and Communication Manager of

HSBC Iftekhar Hasan . I am extremely grateful to him for

taking time out of his busy schedule to make the interview possible. I also thank him for

providing me with all the necessary information on the communication technologies used

by bank to help me with my assignment. I would also like to thank Farhana Islam

, the Primary Administrator of International School Dhaka

(ISD). It was through her, I was able to conduct my research on ISDs communication

technologies and do my assignment efficiently. I would also like to take this opportunity

to thank my Business Communication lecturer Anna Rahman who guided me to prepare

this assignment.

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Technology has advanced to such a great extent over the last few years that it has created

wonders in the business world. It has made many complicated issues become less

intricate. One of such concerns is Communication. Enhancement in technology has made

it extremely easy for business organisations to communicate information between the top

management levels, lower management levels and the employees. Even informing and

getting in touch with your respected customers has been made simple. In other words,

internal and external communication has never been so easy. As a result of the

improvement in communication technology the structure, management and functioning of

most organisations has been influenced.

Now the question is what is communication technology? The answer to it is quite simple.

This is basically the electronic system used to get and be in touch with individuals or

groups. It facilitates interaction between people or groups of people who are not

physically present at the same location (Guffey, 2001, p 43). Communication

Technologies are of different types and forms such as-

Telephones and Mobiles

Fax

Telex

Internet- email, intranet, websites, blogs, electronic data interchange

Audio and video conferencing

Call centres (to a certain extent)

(Thill & Bovee, 2007, p 20-23)

In this essay, we will look into the different kinds of organisations in order to get aninsight in what kind of communication technology they tend to use and how has its

implementation helped in the growth of the business by bringing about a change or even

improvement in the system they used to follow and how it has increased their efficiency,

productivity, sales and even profit figures. The organisations being discussed in this

paper are-

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HSBC- one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the

world

International School Dhaka, ISD- Empowering the learning journey!

HSBC defines communication technology as modern and enhanced ways of collecting,

sharing and analysing information and data within the organisation as well as with other

organisations. Being a global financial institution, it needs to meet all ends, meaning it

has to have the right information at the right time and therefore using various

technologies to communicate is essential for them.

Normally it is expected, especially from the worlds local bank HSBC, to communicate

using a great deal of paper. However, HSBC is a global financial institution that is carbon

neutral. This signifies the fact that they are environmentally responsible organisation that

believe in the 3R protocol- reuse, reduce and recycle. Therefore, they try and minimise

the amount of printouts they have to make and if it is necessary to use paper then they

tend to use the recycled ones. As a result of being a green organisation, HSBC has had

to adapt to different electronic systems to communicate with different groups of people

with whom they need to be in a frequent interaction with. The groups being-

Employees and staff- internal communication

Customers- external communication

Third parties, for example suppliers- external communication

(Thill, J & Bovee, C 2007, p 8)

Communication with Employees

Communication with the employees is a form of internal communication. Keeping in

touch with the staff is highly important especially for a service-based organisation like

HSBC. This is because if you fail to communicate with your employees who provide the

service to those who require the service then the purpose of your business is not

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accomplished. Thus, to accomplish their targets and be successful HSBC uses several

different ways to be constantly in touch with their employees.

The use of mobile phones within HSBC to communicate with their employees is still in

use. Every employee is given a personal mobile phone so that they can contact other

employees and managers in time of necessity and also so that other parties can get in

touch with. Mobile phones are a common form of communication not only for HSBC but

also for all organisations these days.

However, the organisation is trying to bring in other means of communication, one being

intranet. Basically intranet is a private computer network that uses internet protocols and

network connectivity to securely share any part of an organisation's information or

operational systems with its employees (Wikipedia, 2008). The intranet used by HSBC in

Bangladesh is called Bangla Net. Through this intranet, HSBC puts up all the necessary

news, bulletins, and information and also forms to inform the employees and keep them

updated.

Another way of keeping in touch with the employees is the use of electronic mail,

referred to as Lotus Note (LN) within the organisation. A LN is an integrated desktop

client option for accessing business e-mail, calendars and application through a server

(Wikipedia, 2008). HSBC, in order to pass any information or to notify an employee

about a task or job that needs to be done, the company just sends them a LN which the

employee can easily access and get to know about their duties and task within the

institute.

Through e-mail, HSBC also sends weekly newsletters so that the employees are aware of

the ongoing activities of the organisation and these newsletters are sent in a portable

document format that are print locked so that use of paper can be reduced by preventing

print-outs of the circular.

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HSBC also uses an electronic system when the higher management evaluates the

performance of the employees. This is known as Electronic Approval System. Basically,

using this system, the higher hierarchies communicate with the employees on the

performance of their work and appraise them in order to avoid conflict that may arise

from a face to face appraisal. This system gives the higher management the opportunity

to be straightforward and direct.

The worlds local bank HSBC is a global bank and therefore it is necessary for the back

to communicate with its global branches on certain important issues. This is done mainly

through e-mails. Another way that they tend to communicate with their foreign

employees and managers is via video conferencing. A videoconference is a set of

interactive telecommunication technologies that allow two or more locations to interact

or have a meeting using two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously

(Wikipedia, 2008). This virtual meeting nowadays has turned into a real life experience

as you can conference with as many people as you want at the same time.

Communication with Customers

HSBC is a banking institution, so it is highly customer based. As a result, communicating

with customers is extremely vital for them.

Locally, that is in Bangladesh, the technologies that HSBC uses to communicate with its

customers is really limited because people over here are more used to the traditional ways

of communication. That is mainly through paper and phones. Most customers wish to be

communicated by the post or a call even though HSBC has ways of communicating with

them via e-mail. Using e-mail, HSBC is equipped to send electronic statements to their

customers and also can send them newsletters and circulars to inform them about the new

facilities being provided by the organisation. However, if the customer does not authorise

it, HSBC are bound to communicate with them using more conventional measures.

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HSBC managers, however, think that HSBC Automated Teller Machines (ATM) is a

form of communication with customers. ATMs are regarded as Customer Service Centres

and they are a way to communicate because they inform the customers about the current

balance on their account which they can withdraw (from the machine as well). It also

provides customer the opportunity to pay their utility bills and also allow them to order

cheque books if required. Deposits and transfers can also be made using ATMs. Thus, it

is assumed that ATMs act as a bank adviser to the customers creating another means of

communication.

Communication with the corporate account holders is done through the HSBC.net, which

is a form of internet banking. This allows the businessmen to conduct financial

transactions while at the same time getting to know about their financial status and

information through a secure operated by HSBC. However, the facility of online banking

is only available to businessmen in particular exporters and importers (who can keep a

track of their transactions) and not regular account holders.

Being a global bank, HSBC is the bank to many non-resident Bangladeshis and with

whom they follow a separate system of communication. This is done through Bangladesh

International- International Banking for International Bangladeshis. Using this system,

the bank can communicate with them to provide information about their financial

position as well as exchange rates. They send them their statements via e-mail on a

regular basis while at the same time sending them a hard copy at the end of a quarter.

Transfers and deposits in two different currencies are made easy. Via Bangladesh

International, communication is possible anytime, anywhere in the world.

HSBC is also the financial agent to many foreigners living in the country. In order to

meet their demands and communicate with them HSBC uses the same ways applied to

local customers, however, they use another system called Enterprise Resource Planning

(ERP), is an enterprise-wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources,

information, and activities needed to complete business processes such as banking, order

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fulfillment or billing. HUB is the type of ERP that makes foreigners to communicate with

its foreign bank allowing transactions to take place between the two.

Communication with Third Parties

Third parties to HSBC are organisations like creative designers, advertising agencies,

suppliers and many other forms of businesses. To communicate with them HSBC does

not go into any complex system. They simply try and keep to the basics of sending them

e-mails or calling them up using a mobile phone. However, they prefer to use e-mails

more due to the certain advantages it has to a mobile phone.

The HSBC website, www.hsbc.com.bd is also a way of communicating but this measure

is applicable to everyone, starting from customers to employees and third parties because

the website consists of general information that may come to the use of these group of

people.

Most of the communication technologies that we have seen being used by HSBC are

mainly based on the internet. Now this has a lot of pros and cons to it. All the means of

communication is extremely efficient as it saves a lot of time and as well as a lot of

money. The major costs that are involved in setting up these systems are basically the

cost of the servers, softwares and other additional expenses relating the use of the

internet. However, because most of them are communication systems are internet based,

the internet speed highly effects communication especially for a country like Bangladesh

when the internet speed is extremely slow, things which should take a few seconds

sometimes may end up taking a few minutes. Also if the server goes down, then

communication is severely hindered. Another major advantage of the communication

technologies used by HSBC like intranet and emails is that it connects people of different

cultures and communities and gives them a chance to interact however sometimes this

may lead to problems due to the different beliefs, traditions and values of different

cultures. A major cost that HSBC faces is the fact that some of its employees from an

older generation find it really difficult to adapt to the modern technologies. Therefore,

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they have to have training sessions that may consume a lot of time but a great deal of

money as well.

HSBC believes in maximising the usage of all the available communication technologies

while they carry on their research and development to improve and increase their ways of

communication. They consider the customers who understand the value and importance

of communicating electronically have benefited a great deal. Also they are assured that

by using these means of communication, productivity and efficiency within their

organisation has reached its limits since communicating and interacting between

managers and staff has never been so easy for them.

[Information on the Communication Technologies used by HSBC were attained

through an Interview]

After analyzing how communication technologies effect a global bank like HSBC, let us

have a look at the impact it has on a school like the International School of Dhaka (ISD).

ISD is a co-educational school providing high-quality English-medium international

education for the Bangladeshi and international community. Their main focus is on the

quality of teaching and learning. The mission statement of ISD is "Let's all learn how to

learn and keep learning." And that is what we plan to do. Let us find out about the

different communication technologies used by ISD and its impact (International School

Dhaka, 2008).

Communicating with the Faculty and Staff

ISD uses the some of the common measures when they plan to communicate with their

faculty. That is through meetings. These meetings are either face-to-face or weekly. The

weekly staff meeting usually takes place on a Sunday for an hour between 3:30pm to

4:30pm with the participation of all the staff. A main advantage of meetings is that the

feedback you get is instantaneous and also it allows you to explain yourself clearly as

well as in depth.

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Another form of communication technology that ISD implement is the e-portal facility.

This is in-house software that the faculty as well as parents (discussed later) can use.

They can access this e-portal facility through the websitewww.isdbd.org. This e-portal is

a form of intranet used by ISD. Through this e-portal facility, a faculty member can

access the details, reports, attendance information and more on a student as well as can

get to know about the different kinds of school activities. This system is quite helpful as

it provides you with all the information without any difficulty and within matter of time

as you do not have to go through a lot of paper.

ISD being an international school consists mainly of expatriate teachers. As a result,

when the teachers want to communicate with their family and friends back home instead

of send them a posted letter, ISD uses DHL as a form of communication. Every week

DHLs are sent abroad with the messages that the teachers want to convey saving plenty

of time.

The use of telephones and mobiles as a means of communication is avoided; however the

phone is often used when anyone wants to contact an administrator.

Communication with Parents

When communicating with parents, ISD uses the most common form of communication

that is through telephones. Its easy and simple to use and one does not have go through a

lot of hassle.

Apart from the telephone, parents are even communicated via e-mail. The e-portal facility

can also be used as a form of communication with the parents. This is because, parents

can access reports, attendance, events and information and much more through this

intranet system. As mentioned earlier, this is quite a unique facility as it provides all the

necessary and important documents and information without any difficulty.

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Along with all these forms of communication, another way that ISD gets in touch with

the parents is through the fortnight publication of its own newsletter, the Messenger. This

is handed out to the students during the class containing the latest information about the

activities and events going on within the school.

ISD recently is also planning to start sending mass SMS, which is the most common form

of communication throughout the planet, to all the parents to send them information

regarding different events. This form of communication has not yet been started as they

are in the final process of speaking to several mobile companies. If this means of

communication is successful, then it will create wonders for ISD and its events because it

can keep the parents can be reminded and updated about the ongoing events so that they

can attend and sometimes even participate.

Communicating with Third Parties

Being an international school, most of the supplies that are needed by the ISD all the

suppliers of ISD are foreign and the supplies come from companies in countries like

United Kingdom, USA and Australia. When communicating with these companies, ISD

uses fax, a communication technology that involves the use of different devices over the

telephone network to transfer copies of documents. So when sending orders to the foreign

suppliers, ISD fax it to them. For further communication they communicate with them

via e-mail and in case of any kind of emergency they call them up.

However, not all the supplies needed by ISD are supplied by foreign suppliers. There are

some supplies which are supplied by local suppliers. In order to communicate with them,

ISD usually calls them up over the phone to place the order, for further communication as

well as in case of any kind of urgency.

[Information on the Communication Technologies used by ISD attained through an

Interview]

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So far we have looked at the different communication technologies that are used by a

bank as well as a school. And it has to be said, advancement in technologies has made

communication extremely easy and effortless. After conducting the research on both the

companies, it can be concluded that with the use of different kind of technologies the

types of information, data, facts and figures that needs to be looked into can be done

without any kind of hassle. The use of paper has minimised, which is good since it helps

save trees from being cut down for paper production. Apart from that communication

technology saves a lot of time and allows quick but efficient and wise decision making by

the decision makers and not only that due to the speed of communication different kinds

of work allocated is done at a fast rate with great ease. Also with the development

communication technologies, the world seems at your fists as you can get in touch with

anyone from all around the globe.

Communication technology has changed the outlook on how different businesses

communicate and this change has worked out for the best and has created wonders and

magic in the business world. So finally it can be said that communication technology has

made life simpler and better because the different communication technologies brings the

entire world almost at your fingertips.

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