Course Details

Course Name

BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Business (L 3)

Unit number

04

Unit Name

Business Communication

Unit Credit

10

Lecturer
Hand Out
Date
Hand In Date

Learning Outcomes
LO 1.

Understand different types of business information

LO 2.

Be able to present business information effectively

LO 3. Understand the issues and constraints in relation to the use of business

information in organisations
LO 4.

Know how to communicate business information using appropriate methods

Learners Name and Statement of Authenticity

Learners Name: ..................................
Learners ID..........................................................

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own. Any work of
others used to support my answers has been referenced and duly credited to
them.
Signature: ................................................
Date: .....................................................................

Scenario:

You have been asked to carry out an audit on the types of information used within a
business to report back to management on the range of information used, the way in
which it is used, and the appropriateness of information used in decision making.

Task One
P1 Explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes
Write a report to show the results of your investigation into information in an organisation
of your choice. In order to do this you should complete the following activities.

Complete a table like the one below to show types, sources and purposes of
information used within the organisation. Try to include at least two examples of each
type of information.
Type of

Example

Description

Purpose

Source

Information
Verbal
Written
On-Screen
Multimedia
Web-based

Where possible cross reference your example to evidence of this in your appendices,
for example, a screenshot of web-based information or a copy of a letter.

Tip: Make sure that you choose an organisation that will be willing to give you
information to complete your assignment. If you have a problem in finding a suitable
organisation, see your teacher. They may be able to provide you with information to work
on, perhaps in the form of a case study. Most organisations should have examples of
verbal, written, on-screen, multimedia and web-based information. If the organisation
does not have, for example, any web-based information, then it may be possible for you
to describe what information could be web based.

M1 Analyse different types of business information and their sources

From the information gained in P1 analyse the types of information by explaining the
range of sources that it comes from and explain how it meets their purpose. Analyse
how the different types of information works in relation to each other.
Tip: Analyse means breaking down and examining each part in detail, so you will only
achieve this criterion if you extend your report significantly. Try to break down each
piece of information and its sources, and see if there are any connections between them.
D1 Evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make
strategic decisions
Identify and explain two strategic decisions made by the business.
Identify what information was used to make those decisions.
Evaluate the appropriateness of the information used to make these decisions.
Tip: Evaluation is about considering in detail the advantages and disadvantages of
something, and coming to conclusions about this. Try to identify the strategic decisions
made by each department and then judge whether the information they used was
appropriate or not.

Scenario:
You have been asked to attend a meeting to present the results of an investigation into
the effectiveness of the sales and marketing of a particular product or service from the
business, this includes the way in which information is communicated to the customer.

P2 Present complex internal business information using three different

methods appropriate to the users needs
You must prepare materials to be discussed and presented at the meeting combining
different forms of information, for example, text, tables, charts and images from a range
of sources. In order to do this you should complete the following activities.

Choose a product or service offered by the business identified in P1

Gather information from a range of sources that will help you look at key
indicators of the sales marketing performance of that product or service.

Ask the following questions:

o

How has it been marketed?

How effective was the marketing

How does the business measure the effectiveness of its marketing?

What are the sales figures?

Prepare and present your information using three different methods for example,
verbal presentation combined with a report; spreadsheet/chart; webpages;
leaflet. You will also need to state the nature of its intended audience and its
purpose.
Tip: Do not forget you can select any information from the organisation as long
as it is suitable to be used to cover the criterion. You have to show three
presentation methods appropriate for the audiences. You cannot therefore
present information to staff using technical language that they will not
understand.

D2 Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication

as key contributors to the success of an organisation, using examples to
illustrate your points
Investigate and identify examples from organisations that have excellent communication
and information management systems and how it helps the organisations become a
success.
Now compare and contrast the organisations you investigated with your organisation
identified in your previous tasks stating the effectiveness of its information and
communication with examples.
Tip:

Evaluating is about considering in detail the advantages and disadvantages of

something and coming to conclusions about this. The best companies in the world are
very good at the way they communicate their information and this is a major contributor
to the overall success of their organisations.

P3 Produce corporate communications

Produce a leaflet communicating information about either the business itself, identified in
P1 & 2, or one of its products or services it provides.
Tip: P3 is your chance to be creative in designing a corporate communication. Again,
remember who it is aimed at.

P4 Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or

service
Evaluate the corporate communications from the business identified earlier which has
been used to promote the product or service.
Tip: It is important to remember that not all corporate communications are effective.
Have you ever seen a billboard advert on a major road, which is very interesting and
perhaps funny, but later been unable to recall what it was advertising?

Scenario
The business has decided it is time to update the staff handbook, and it is aware that an
increasing number of employees are handling data on a day-to-day business. You have
been asked to help by producing sections of the handbook, either for the published
handbook or the business intranet, on issues related to the use of information.

P5 Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business
information
These sections should both explain and analyse the following topics:

Legal issues in relation to the use of information.

Ethical issues in relation to the use of information.

Tip: Before completing this task, make sure that you are familiar with various pieces of
legislation as highlighted in the learning content and the ethical issues also in the
learning content. You will then need to explain how the organisation administers these
issues within the organisations.

M2 Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of
business information, using appropriate examples.
State the advantages and disadvantages of the legal, ethical and operational issues in
relation to the use of information.

You will need to obtain information from a your

organisation and build on the work from P5 and P6.

P6 Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information

Operational issues in relation to the use of information.

For example this could include how the organisation ensures their information is secure.
In addition, there are health and safety issues associated with information management
and also the development of new systems to manage information, the possible need for
more complex software and staff training.
Tip: Before completing this task, make sure you are familiar with possible operational
issues as highlighted in the learning content. You will then need to explain how the
organisation deals with these issues.

P7 Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business

information, using examples for different types of audience
In this task you will be examining both electronic and non-electronic methods of
communicating in business.
You should create two tables as follows:

electronic methods

non-electronic methods

of communication available in business. You should also include examples of recipients

(audience) that each method would be suitable for.
Explain in detail the reasons why each method is appropriate for the users that you have
listed. Use the content below to frame the tables.

TASK Checklist
P 1.

Explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes.

P 2.

Present complex internal business information using three different methods

appropriate to the users needs.

P 3.

Produce corporate communications.

P 4.

Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or

service.

P 5.

Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business
information.

P 6.

Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.

P 7.

Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business

information, using examples for different types of audience.

M 1.

Analyse different types of business information and their sources.

M 2.

Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of
business information, using appropriate examples.

D 1.

Evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make strategic

decisions.

D 2.

Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as

key contributors to the success of an organisation, using examples to illustrate
your points.

Assessment Specification
For P1, learners need to investigate a business organisation in order to explain the
different types of information that are being used, where this information originates and
its purpose.
For P2, learners need to present information using three different methods. This could be
a verbal presentation combined with a report on the information they obtained. The
information could be a financial report from a business which the learner could
manipulate into a spreadsheet or chart. Alternative methods could include a web page
and a leaflet. Learners can then submit the information, indicating the nature of its
intended audience and its likely purpose. The information could be from the business
organisation used for P1.
For P3, learners need to produce a corporate communication for a business organisation
which could be an advert for a poster or a leaflet communicating information about the
business or one of its products or services.
The communication could be the information to be incorporated on a products packaging
or a design for the livery on delivery vehicles. The same business organisation used for P1
and P2 can be used.
For P4, learners will evaluate existing corporate communications for a product or service.
For P5, learners need to explain the legal and ethical issues relating to the use of
business information. Learners can use the same business, organisation or any other
organisation, especially if it is difficult to obtain the necessary information. Learners need
to try and obtain the business organisations policies on ethical issues in relation to
business information and explain how that organisation complies with their legal
obligations.
For P6, for the same or any other business organisation, the learner needs to explain the
operational issues in relation to business information. This would include how the
organisation ensures their information is secure.
In addition, learners need to explain the health and safety issues associated with
information management and also the development of new systems to manage
information, the possible need for more complex software and staff training.
M1 requires learners to analyse different types of information and their sources. Again
this can be based on the information obtained from the business organisation that they
have chosen to research and builds on the work undertaken for P1.
M2 requires learners to analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the
use of information.
Again, learners will need to obtain information from a local organisation and build on the
work for P5 and P6.
For D1, the learner has to evaluate the appropriateness of information used to make
important strategic decisions. They could look at marketing decisions made in an
organisation and evaluate whether the information used to make these decisions was

appropriate. Similarly, financial performance of the company can lead to strategic

decisions being made. The learner should evaluate at least two sets of information which
have been used to make strategic decisions.
D2 requires learners to evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its
communication as key contributors to the success of a business organisation. Learners
need to use illustrative examples as part of their evaluation and should be encouraged to
investigate organisations who have excellent communication and information
management systems. Comparisons can then be made with the situation in the
organisation that they have studied.

Indicative Content:
1 Understand different types of business information
Types of information: verbal; written; onscreen; multi-media; web based
Purpose of information: updating knowledge; informing future developments; strategic direction;
SWOT analysis; offering competitive insight; communicating sales promotions; inviting support for
activities
Sources of information: internal, eg financial, human resources, marketing, purchasing, sales,
manufacturing, administration; external, eg government, trade groupings, commercially provided,
databases, research; reliability of data sources
2 Be able to present business information effectively
Presentation methods to meet the needs of the user: eg document, use of style, verbal
presentations, role plays, onscreen multi-media presentation, use of images, web-based
presentation, multi-lingual support
Output requirement: eg resolution of images, page layout, text formatting, use of tables, combining
information from a range of applications, use of specialist software and hardware
Presenting corporate communication: methods; mission statements, advertising, packaging, logos,
livery, strap lines, endorsements, sponsorship
3 Understand the issues and constraints in relation to the use of business information
in organisations
Legal issues: relevant data protection legislation eg Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of
Information
Act 2000; other relevant legislation, eg Computer Misuse Act 1990
Ethical issues: codes of practice, eg on use of email, internet, whistle blowing; organisational
policies; information ownership
Operational issues: security of information; backups; health and safety; organisational policies;
business continuance plans; costs, eg additional resources required, cost of development; impact
of increasing sophistication of systems, eg more trained personnel, more complex software
4 Know how to communicate business information using appropriate methods
Audience requirements: eg age, gender, ethnicity, special needs, readability, legibility, attention
span, accessibility, interest, distraction avoidance, business experience and knowledge, industryrelated experience and knowledge
Methods of written communication: eg letter, memorandum, fax, invoice, flow charts, publicity
material, email and screen based, SMS (short message service), www (worldwide web)
Methods of non-written communication: eg telephone call, video conferencing
Technologies: computers; touch screens; digital broadcasting; DVD (digital versatile/video disc);
mobile phones; the internet and WAP (wireless application protocol)

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Communication skills: formal/informal; verbal/non-verbal; listening; understanding; seeking

clarification; responsiveness; eye contact; facial expressiveness; body language; use of appropriate
professional language; ability to adapt communication techniques to audience requirements;
presentation skills; ability to invite commitment to shared goals

Assessors Feedback: Unit 4 Business Communication

Assessment Criteria
P1

Explain different types of business information, their sources and purposes.

P2

Present complex internal business information using three different methods

appropriate to the users needs.

P3

Produce corporate communications.

P4
P5

Mark()
if
obtained

Evaluate the external corporate communications of an existing product or

service.
Explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business
information.

P6

Explain the operational issues in relation to the use of business information.

P7

Outline electronic and non-electronic methods for communicating business

information, using examples for different types of audience.

M1

Analyse different types of business information and their sources.

M2

Analyse the legal, ethical and operational issues in relation to the use of
business information, using appropriate examples.

D1

Evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make strategic

decisions.

D2

Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as

key contributors to the success of an organisation, using examples to illustrate
your points.

A clear understanding of the topic is shown

The use of relevant models, theories and methods are applied
The script is Presented clearly and with a coherent Structure
Referencing is provided for citation and research work.
Appropriate conclusions are drawn.

Detailed Comments/Recommendations:

Result: PASS

REFERRED

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Assessors Signature:

Date:

IVs Signature (If applicable):

Date:

EVs Signature (If applicable):

Date:

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