Communications: Your Key to Business Success

How you communicate impacts every relationship you have, including on the job. Take your business communications skills to a higher level with an MBA degree.

by Karen Lawson
MBA Business Schools Columnist

Reliable communications are essential to achieving business goals. With an ever-expanding range of media choices, communications managers must stay on top of developing technology and changing management trends. If you’re considering an MBA degree, a program emphasizing communications can lead to choice careers.

Miscommunications Create Lost Opportunities

You’ve probably seen the dropped-call commercial where the cell phone cuts out at a critical point in the conversation. Technological blips are to be expected, however, if a marketing campaign, human resources policy manual, or statement of earnings conveys the wrong message, astronomical damage can occur. If you have a degree in English or the liberal arts, an MBA degree can help you sharpen your communication skills while learning to achieve maximum impact on your business communications. In addition to courses in business, organizational functions and psychology, accounting, and finance, you can also learn about the latest trends in marketing, information technology, and business communications. An MBA provides a blend of essential business knowledge with critical thinking skills that can assist in determining how your organization communicates with its clients, colleagues, and community.

Know Your Audience

Advertising and marketing campaigns may fail if they don’t engage their intended audience. If your audience doesn’t get your message, or misinterprets it, disaster can follow. Whether from unintentional grammatical errors, unsuitable tone, or ignorance of client’s cultural customs, errors in business communications can cause big problems. An MBA degree with a communications emphasis can lead to professional opportunities including marketing and publicity, communications consultant, or business writing instructor.

About the Author

Karen Lawson is a freelance writer with extensive business experience. She holds BA and MA degrees in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Posted on May 20, 2007 at 5:33 PM

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