Information flow within the organisation

Information is the lifeblood of an organisation, and communication is used to convey the information, either by verbal or written forms. The bottom line is to make sure that the communication’s method used to deliver the information is understandable by its intended audience, or else the communication is wasted and the company may suffer from its negative consequences.

The picture bellow illustrates information flow within a company. Communication channel and medium both act as an invisible bridge to deliver desired messages from the senders to the intended receivers as well as transferring feedbacks from the receivers back to the message’s senders. Both company’s leaders (ranging from senior managers to team managers) and employees are in charge of keeping the information flow running through the organisation.

Source: http://www.bized.co.uk

Internal communication is one of the two main corporate communication channels. It regards communication within the organisation’s context. Internal communication forms include face-to-face meetings, conversations, reports, intranet emails, newsletters and memos, communications among co-workers or between managers and subordinates.

Internal communication processes a critical role to play to ensure that employees know what is going on in the company’s community and that they have equal opportunities to raise their voices about certain matters happening in the workplace. In other words, internal communication supports line managers in strengthening employee engagement. Effective internal communication will not only increase work productivity and chances to successfully complete the desired goals as employees know exactly what their bosses expect from their work performance, it also boosts the level of job satisfaction and employee’s retention since the employees perceived that that they are being empowered by the company’s leaders, that they are part of the organisation’s community, and that they are contributing to the company’s well-beings.

Despite the benefits of having effective internal communication, a majority of companies are struggling to build up the practice because of the following mistakes they commonly make:

• Complicated content in the message: being over used of jargon or technical words in the message makes it hard for employees to interpret what their leaders want to inform them.
• Too much information in one message will also overwhelm the receivers, which may make employees feel more under pressure about their work.
• The content of the message are either too formal or too social: Being too formally informing certain news will, again, pressure the receivers. But being too laid-back in delivering the message will make the receivers underestimate the importance of the news.
• Lack of physical contact with employees: in some companies, managers heavily rely on forms of electronic communication (e.g. emails, online meetings, etc.) over the actual physical interactions (e.g. face-to-face meetings or conversations) with their employees. This pitfall will gradually lead to poor employee engagement with the company’s leaders.

In order to create a successful internal communication within the company, those in leadership should not only consider common pitfalls above, they also need to possess a clear acknowledgement of the company’s goals, business strategies, products and services. Career strategist, Denise Cox (2013) suggests the three following important elements that company’s leader should keep in mind in order to enhance the effectiveness of communication within their organisation:

• Clarify the mission and vision: It is essential to take the time to explain the company values and mission, whether as part of corporate training or as a regular reminder to employees.
• Concrete connections with subordinates: Managers who spend time getting to know their employees and are willing to listen to them will find it easier to communicate and keep direct reports on track.
• Facilitate open conversations: by allowing employees to contribute their ideas to certain issues and keeping them updated with sudden changes, progress and future plans of the company, the quality of internal communication will be lifted.

References

Cox, D. 2013. Creating Effective Internal Communications for Business Leaders. [online] Available at: http://www.newsweaver.com/creating-effective-internal-communications/ [Accessed: 25 Jan 2014].

Channey, P. 2013. Benefits of Effective Internal Communications. [online] Available at: http://www.bizzuka.com/company-blog/benefits-of-effective-internal-communications [Accessed: 25 Jan 2014].

Trang Thuy Vo
Finland 2014

Brand identity of Clarins

Hi everyone,

The very last exam was over yesterday and i cant wait to go home next week, yay! Now it’s time to think of what gifts i should buy for my lovely husband and my little boy, ahh so many ideas in my mind now that i cannot think which is the best gift idea, it could be that i am so excited over the trip back to Ireland next week 🙂

Many of you will wonder what topic i will write about in this post as the opening isnt related  to the title 🙂 well i myself dont really know what to write lately but about my study, somehow WordPress seems to be a very good notebook to keep notes from lessons, so you never lose them, and also they can be shared to others interested in certain topics. So today’s post will be all about branding, specifically it is about the core of brand association, which is brand identity and the company case is Clarins, a well-known French cosmetics organisation. I actually completed this note for one of assignments in the “brand building” course, and i want to share it to public as someone else may find my note helpful 🙂

BRAND IDENTITY OF CLARINS

Finding an ideal beauty product brand for oneself is a very time-consuming process which requires loads of efforts in searching the brand, trying its products on, then collecting advices and personal opinions from those who have been using the products, etc. I used to be in that process but at the end I’ve fallen in love with Clarins_ a French luxury Cosmetics Company, which manufactures high-class skincare, makeup and fragrances products, and it is the No.1 premium skin care brand in Europe.

From my own point of view, Clarins reveals itself in the mind of its female customers with the following statements:

• State-of-the-art skin care solutions
• Luxurious beauty product range with typical French cosmetics’ style (i.e. unique rosy scents, sophisticated colours and designs)
• Reasonable price range (≥€30 up to roughly €500) compared to other premium beauty brands such as Dior, Channel, Lancôme, etc.

1  CLARINS AS A PRODUCT

Clarins is well-known as a French Cosmetics Group specialising high-class beauty products ranging from skincare to fragrances. Women from 20 up to 70 years of age use Clarins products to:

{  Improve and enhance their skin conditions

{  Look sexier, more confident and sophisticated with French beauty style.

{  Save time preparing themselves for work or other occasions (as the products are easy to apply and last for all day long)

Clarins’ products are characterised with being self-confident, sophisticated, urban looking and “scientifically” beautiful (i.e. the products are developed by the professional R&D team working in Clarins Laboratories which have been awarded high-level accreditations that go beyond the required regulatory standards and commitment to consumer safety)

2 CLARINS AS AN ORGANISATION

Clarins is a French Cosmetic Group which is:

{  Scientifically oriented, aiming to offer female customers top-qualified beauty solutions.

{  Internationally recognised and it operates all over 52 nations worldwide.

{  Environmentally friendly (i.e. reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the laboratory, say NO to testing products on animals).

{  The No.1 luxurious skin care brand in Europe starting from 1990.

3 CLARINS AS A PERSON

Clarins beauty products range can be symbolised as a woman who is:

{  In her early 30s.

{  Married with children

{  Urban citizen, very confident and successful in her career and marriage life.

{  Sexy and elegant

{  Independent, out-going, dynamic and love socialising.

4    CLARINS AS A SYMBOL

Clarins’ logo is simple but very eye-catching with pretty dark red coloured capital letters stating “CLARINS” and a smaller sized letters stating “Paris” which is where the company was first launch its first beauty store in 1954. This logo is standardised all over Clarins stores worldwide.

In my opinion, the red colour of Clarins logo does not only make the brand stand-out among other brands, it also represents the colour of roses which are associated with beautiful and sophisticated women in particular. From that message, I think the company aims to transform every single woman in this world with the beauty concept of French Cosmetics Industry.

Click here for printable version.

Hope you guys will find my post useful somehow 🙂

Lemmikinkatu 1A 3A
Varkaus, Finland