Aijalon Rivas ENG 315: Business and Professional Writing Ashford University Instructor: Kathy Knecht 27 July 2015

1. Communication in the Workplace
Aijalon Rivas
ENG 315: Business and Professional Writing
Instructor: Kathy Knecht
27 July 2015

2. In many businesses, there are pros and cons to every workplace
such as good employees, safety and a paycheck. Though, there
are some downsides to every business and those negatives must
be addressed. I am coming to initiate a change in certain
processes, procedures and even in the way people should think
in this organization. Dick’s Sporting Goods has a solid foundation
in how this organization is running, but with a few changes this
company will run more smooth and everyone will be on the
same playing field. Communicating data and information in the
workplace provide: understanding your employees,
presentation, writing , and personal skills offer a change to make
this workplace flourish.

3. “In the workplace, ensuring your message reaches your
audience accurately is even more important, and also more
difficult. Taking into account the mixed cultures, varying degrees
of attention, and the rushed pace of activity, it is a wonder any
communication happens at all. In fact, miscommunications
occur all the time” (O’Leary, 2012).

4. Upward communication is needed to communicate data and
information. According to Keyton, she states that, “Employers
expect employees to be effective communicators and rate
employees for their communicative performance. It is not
surprising, then, that employers rank oral communication skills
among the top three most valued applied skill…” (2013). Upper
communication works like a chain of command, from the lowest
person in the chain to the highest level on the hierarchy.
Google Image: Manker, 2015.

5. Downward communication is its exact opposite. It goes from the
top of the food chain on down starting from the top and
working its way down. Both are needed because with upward
communication, you can hear the points of view from the
employees and they can suggest change from what they see
firsthand from the consumer. With downward communication,
communicating data and information is passed down from the
upper chain of command on down.
Google Image: Watkins, 2015.

6. Problems with Communication
“Communication problems are an issue for almost every human
being. Few people are master communicators. People often fail
to say what we mean, whether by design or because we just do
not know how. We often misunderstand others, and, to make
matters worse, may think we understand them when we do
not” (2015).
Many people misconstrue what message is being said. There is
different levels of understanding which is also a problem with
communication.

7. In the Workplace
Communicating data and information in the workplace can always be a
challenge. For example, Dick’s Sporting Goods (DSG) is a thriving
sporting goods and retail industry. It is a sporting goods chain with
equipment, footwear, apparel for different athletes, outdoor
recreation and fitness enthusiast. DSG has an amazing staff and meets
their quotas. Though for DSG, many things could change to make it
even more successful. One thing that needs to change is the way
management converses with the staff. I would like to initiate a change
between the one on one meetings with how people talk within this
organization. For example, as a former employee, we had to get our
consumers, fellow athletes and frequent shoppers to sign up for a free
ScoreCard. This card tracks every purchase and with every purchase
made, one point is accumulated for every $1 of merchandise
purchased at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and on its website. If
anything is returned to the store, the points are deducted. Customers
receive a ScoreCard Reward within two months after the customer
reaches the minimum point threshold as defined within the ScoreCard
program. (2015).

8. Knowing this knowledge, each employee had to maintain at
least a 90% metric goal per day. 90% of the customers walking in
the doors should be leaving with a ScoreCard. For some that was
an easy task, but for others it was hard work. Knowing that this
was a free card, it was an incentive for customers to receive
coupons via mail or email but other people did not want to give
out that information letting each employee’s metrics drop.
Management needs to communicate the data more effectively
and push their employees to reach the goals to further succeed
in the company.
Google Image: Huckvale, A. (2015).

9. Call to Action
A call to action for this problem is to have the management
realize there are different ways of getting information to their
employees. There should be an upward communication meeting
where the management can hear out the employees and get
their opinions on certain things that needs to change or can
adapt to. Having the upward communication can help
management understand the data and information that the
employees are seeing in the forefront. Providing incentives for
the employees such as giving more hours, employee of the
month, special parking privileges or even promoting a day off
could be some ways to push the employees to want to exceed in
the ScoreCard program for this company. This in turn, will create
more customers, increase revenue and happy employees.

10. The Finish Line
Effective communication is essential for the success of any type
of business. Nothing can be achieved without proper
communication. Therefore, developing communicative skills is a
must. Communicating data and information in the workplace
provides: understanding your employees, presentation, writing,
and personal skills offer a change to make this workplace
flourish.

11. References:
Huckvale, A. (2015). Dick’s sporting goods ‘scorecard.’ Retrieved from:
http://www.andyhuckvale.com/portfolio/dicks-sporting-goods-scorecard/
Keyton, J. (2013). Investigating verbal workplace communication behaviors. Journal of
Business Communication. Retrieved from Ashford Library: EBSCOhost
Manker, A. (2015). Advantages of upward communication. Upward Communication:
Definition, Advantages, Disadvantages & Examples. Retrieved from:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/upward-communication-definition-advantages-
disadvantages-examples.html
O’Leary, R. (2012). Non-verbal communication, the workplace, and you. X204
Project. Retrieved from: http://x204project.com/2012/03/14/mehrabian/
Watkins, E. (2015). What are some organizational communication network
examples? The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-communication-network-examples-
37495.html

12. References:
2015. Communication problems. Good Therapy. Retrieved from:
http://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-for-communication-issues.html
2015. ScoreCard Terms and Conditions. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. Retrieved from:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/terms