Letter of Transmittal

22April, 2015.

Wasik Ali khan

Faculty Member
School of Business
North South University
Bashundhara, Dhaka.
Subject: Submitting the group project on internal communication system of Step Media
Limited
Dear Sir,
We, the students of BUS251 (sec11), are submitting our group project. We have given our
maximum effort in this research. We are very grateful for this opportunity that you have given to
us to analyze and interpret skills that will help us in our future career.
Thanking You
Yours Sincerely

SL

Group Name

Id

Ragib Rahman

1210519030

Tasnim Kibria Aurpa

1230206030

3
4

Md.Syful Islam Prince

Abu Huraira Zaman

1220418030
1210763030

Shamsul Kibria Arnob

12108350330

K.M.Abdullah Zahid Niloy

1111285030

Signature

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Acknowledgment
This project wouldnt have been possible without the contribution and help of numerous amounts
of people. During the period of preparing the report, we have gained a lot of assistance from a
number of persons including our honorable course instructor Wasik ali khan

We are thankful to the respective personnel of Step media because they showed their highest
degree of temperament in answering our persistent questions. Such friendly cooperation made
our report a pompous outcome.

Finally, thanks to every member of this group. They put their spontaneous activities and best
effort to complete the report successfully. At last but not the least, we are grateful to our everrespected parents those who always give us mental support and well wishes.

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Table of content

Topic
Introduction
Organizational Overview

Page number
5
6-8

Areas of Research

Hypothesis

10

Research Methodology

11-12

Data Analysis

13-20

Recommendations

21

Limitations

22

Conclusions

23

Bibliography

24

Appendix

25

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Executive Summary:
In this report we will talk about internal communication system of Step Media Limited. We
carried out this research in order to find out a problem communication system in Step Media
Limited. In order to do so, we took help from our primary and secondary research results.
Having carried out our survey, we put our results in graphs and determined whether our
hypothesis was confirmed or not. We also discussed about Step Media Limited in our paper; its
commencement and operations. We also mentioned out limitations in our research. And last but
not the least; we gave some recommendations about how some problems in the organizations
internal communications system could be resolved. The twenty respondents in our primary
research were the main source of our primary data.

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Introduction
The media of Bangladesh refers to the print, broadcast and online mass media. The
constitution guarantees press freedom of expression within reasonable restriction, though some
media outlets have been harassed. The Bangladeshi media is ranked at 120 out of 178 countries
on the reporters without borders press freedom index.
Step Media Limited is pioneer in print production and one of the most integrated printing,
publishing, signage and display solution companies in Bangladesh. It aims to offer value added
solutions that meet the most demanding of needs within the budget guideline of clients.
Step Media Limited was formed in June 1998. Initially, it started as a Media
Development Center, along with a market research and development wing and computerized
digital image printing facility. Eventually, software development, event management and other
related functions joined its flow to complement its operations. Along with computerized digital
image printing facility, it provides the most innovative planning, designing and the latest tools in
organizing event management programs for events held locally and internationally.
Despite Step Media Limiteds growth, the service still remains customer driven with an
emphasis on value for money, quality, reliability and innovation. The company consists of 12
branch offices and now employs almost 718 people as permanent workforce and many
outsourcing staffs associated with the company.
Communication is one of the most dominant and important activity in an organization.
Fundamentally, relationships grow out of communication, and the functioning and survival of
any organization is based on effective relationships among individuals and groups. Internally,
employees face some problems. One is limitation of file transfer. If the file size is bigger than the
internal system validates, employees cannot transfer the file, and most importantly, there are
some communication restrictions in terms of different departments to transfer data.

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Organizational Overview
Detailed Blueprint of the Existing Hierarchy of Internal Communication:

Step Media Limited got three directors who are the superiors of the whole company
of three respective departments. Under those department middle managers direct their
production level managers and they decentralize their works as per plan which is a very
much conventional process. The whole company uses the same chain of command to
complete their future course of action.

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The detailed hierarchy indicates the vertical span of control of internal

communication which is always slide downward to upward and upward to downward.
There is no way to break the chain of command.

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Existing Components of Communication:

The effectiveness of communication makes or breaks business relationships. If the

key components of effective communication are missing, business productivity will
decrease and its employees probably would not like each other very much. To improve the
functionality of a business and the flow of information, managers of Step Media limited
continually emphasize to employees the key components that affect the process of
communication.
1. Listening
2. Email
3. Clarification
4. Concision
5. Feedback

Listening

Feedback

Concision

Email/Memo

Clarification

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Objectives: Reasons behind Choosing the Company

Step media limited is a Media Management Company which consists of event
management, market research and printing production which can provide a total solution of a
national or international event. There are different projects on different companies before but
finding communication problem in a company like Step Media Limited is a beginning of
pointing out problems where products are a bit different in terms of Bangladesh perspective.

Area of Research:
We are working on Step media. In this research field we are now going to highlight out problem
according to which our report will be organized. For highlighting our problem based on 3 ways
we will use infinitive phrase.

Problem (Infinitive Phrase): To measure why the productivity of the employee at step
media is decreasing rapidly.

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Hypothesis
A proper and effective internal communication is mandatory for any organization to establish &
survive in the highly competitive business world. Proper internal communication in an
organization affects the way in which employees behave and this can affect employee
performance and productivity. On the other hand, any discordance in the internal communication
in an organization can lead to underutilization of an organizations resources. Research has
shown that some benefits that internal communication strategy can offer are: i)increased
productivity, ii)ability to approach critical situations proactively, iii) reduced day to day conflict
between co-workers, iv) higher employee retention ratio, v)more effective vi)maintain a good
internal environment in the work and vii)responsive customer service etc. And external
communication strategy can have a significant impact in the brand image of the organization. In
addition, an effective external communication is much needed to attain a good brand identity not
just only among the target audiences but also in the general public.

Hypothesis:

1. Strict restrictions and ineffective communication system in the internal-departmental

caused decreasing of employee productivity.
2. Not accurately delivertask information in the internal department caused decreasing of
employee productivity.
3. Totally not allowing informal communication at the place caused decreasing of employee
productivity.

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Research Methodology
Sources of
Data

Secondary
data

Primary data

Direct interview

Questionnaire

Books

Journals

Websites

Fig: Data Collection sources

This methodology is conducted in a systematic way beginning from selection of the topic to end
report preparation. The fundamental part was to collect and identify data; the latter part was to
analyze, interpret and present in a systematic manner to find the inquired information. The
overall process of methodology followed in the study is explained further.

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Data collection from Primary source:

For our primary data, we have conducted an interview with Taksim Waris Khan, brand service
executive of Step Media Ltd., to know about Step Media Ltd. The interview has provided us
significant information of the contemporary scenario, which helped us a lot to prepare this report.
We also surveyed twenty employees of the company to know in detail about their business
communication process.

Data collection from the secondary sources:

To conduct this research we also went through some secondary data which includes journals and
articles.
In this competitive business world, global markets have created a dimension of faster
communication and transportation, technological advancement, and potential opportunities for
multinational enterprises to expand. But todays firms will not succeed without a coherent
business communication that much. Global firms today depend on their managers skills to
communicate and persuade, whether from corner to corner of any cultures, within the
organization, or with rivals who are demanding to the companys for its existence. Business
conversationalists will be in touch with people from every region of the world who have
changeable proficiency levels in terms of their language skills, their comprehension of the global
business surroundings, and their communication skills within their culture.

To have a vanquishing performance of an organization, it is important to conserve transparency

among the employers and employees. There are good numbers of communication barriers in an
organization, but to ensure the free flow of information between the sender and the receiver,
these communication barriers must be overcome and for this it is important to understand the
underlying causes of business communication barriers which may include a wide range of
factors. Every employee must try their level best to avoid business communication barrier in an
organization for effective business communication.

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Data Analysis
Question 1: Do you feel the existing internal communication
system of your company is effective?

Q. Do you feel the existing internal

communication system of your company is
effective ?

7
No
Yes
13

After conducting a survey within the employee level, above response is found within the
sample size. It surely expresses the negative perception of the employee for the internal
communication process. 13 respondents agree that the organization had the necessity to improve
the internal communication process.

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The further research is done; it is found that the process has some serious negative issues which
sometimes break the efficiency level in a worst way. When the answers of the survey were
analyzed further, the personal opinion had a different scenario. In a summarized way, the most
common opinions were like this- The existing internal communication process is lengthy;
- File transfer processes has some issues;
In a company like Step Media Limited the internal communication process is very
important to make it more effective where it consists of different wings and products are
interrelated to mass media and other services. To maintain the effective communication process
the organization does use some tools which are effective or partially not effective. The gap
between this two the most serious issue for Step Media Limited in terms of internal
communication process.

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Question 2:Q. Does informal Communication affect the

overall productivity?

Q. Does informal Communication affect the overall

productivity?

Yes
No
12

From the above graph, this can be easily figured out that 12 of the respondents agree that
informal communication affect the overall productivity of the Step Media Limited. 8 of the other
respondents do not agree with this issue. This analysis is only based on the respondent survey
results.
When the further research is done, the results got a mixed edge. From the different
opinion of the different employees, some issues are seen regarding the informal communication.
As the organizational culture, informal communication is discouraged from the top to the bottom
the hierarchy.

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From the above scenario, this can be easily observed that the main factor of the positive
scenario is the discouraging trend of the informal communication because the internal
information is valued a lot as an event management company.
On the contrary, It can be also said that informal communication sometimes help to break
the barrier of the production efficiency and help to take quick decisions to implement back up
plan for further production efficiency.

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Question 3: Q. There are some restrictions in the intradepartmental data transfer, do you agree?

Q. There are some restrictions in the intradepartmental data transfer, do you agree ?

Yes
No

16

From the above graph, this can be easily figured out that 16 of the respondents agree that
there are some restrictions in terms of intra-departmental data transfer of the Step Media
Limited. 4 of the other respondents do not agree with this issue. This analysis is only based on
the respondent survey results.
When the further research is done, there are some interesting information are found.
Special permissions need to be approved by the respective departmental heads in cases where
specific data needed for the production purpose

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Question-4: Is informal communication in terms of internal

communication allowed in the company?

Is informal communication in terms of

internal communication allowed in the
company?

7
No
Yes
13

According To survey we can see that 13 employee agree thatinformal communication in terms of
internal communication is not allowed in the company but 7 employee says that its allowed.
When the further research is done, there are some interesting information are found. Here
employee are s=totally not allowed to do informal communication because step media is strictly
follow formal communication process. They think formal communication process will lead them
to achieve success and for this reason they dont allow informal communication process in the
step media.

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Question 5: Does company accurately get the required

information from the internal department?

Does company accurately get the required

information from the internal department?

7
No
Yes
13

According to survey we can see that 13 employee agree thatinformation received through
internal communication of Step Media Limited is accurate. But 7 say that its not accurate.
When the further research is done, there are some interesting information are found. Here
employee strongly agree that they step media is accurately received information through internal
communication.

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Result:
At last according our survey and research we can say that in this report our 1 st hypothesis- strict
restrictions and ineffective communication system in the internal-departmental caused
decreasing of employee productivity is True.
Our 2nd hypothesis-not accurately deliver task information in the internal department caused
decreasing of employee productivity is False.
3rd hypothesis - Totally not allowing informal communication at the place caused decreasing of
employee productivity is also True.
As among 3 hypotheses our survey proves 2 hypotheses correct and true. So based on this we can
say that our area of research or problem what we discovered is absolutely correct.

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Recommendations
1. Upgrade the Intranet Email: Implementing high speed internet and cloud
computing would remove the barrier of system interruption in the communication
process where internet email and intranet email both are inter-connected.
2. Modify file access barrier: Using new technology it is needed to remove manual
verification by sending memos and introducing individual user verification.
3. Implement back up process: Always have to reserve a back-up server for
uninterrupted communication.
4. Allow informal communication officially: There is a trend of scheduled meeting
but need to increase motivational functions annually for the establishment of
inter-departmental harmony.

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Limitation
1. The research work was time consuming and individually asking respondents to answer the
survey and recording their responses was difficult.
2. The research process was costly and there was a shortage of money and because of this reason
the research process was affected. The labor and time costs to carry out the survey were high.
3. Many respondents missed one or two question. And because of this Potential for error, the
results could be skewed.
4. Certain respondents were hesitant to be completely truthful while speaking to an interviewer
because of the fear of being judged, and this could lead to biased results.
5. The whole survey process was conducted on the basis of the survey question result .that means
the respondent controlled the survey process to some extent. Sometimes the research process was
slow because the respondents didnt send survey answer timely.

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Conclusion
To sum it up the consciousness of the resource features of internal communication system
is not at the level that would definitely require the introduction of organizational
communicational system. The function of the communicational system is mainly and
systematically to provide information in an adequate and integrated way within an organization.
Its implementation naturally means cost to the organization, but is needless to say that
information is also a commodity and as such the informational and communicational resources
require taking them into account similarly to traditional resources.

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Bibliography
Armbrecht W.: Innerbetriebliche Public Relations, Opladen: Westdeutscer Verlag Arnott 1992.
Bevan, R. Bailey,J. :Lesleys Handbook of Public Relations and Communication 1991.
Bogner,Franz: Das neu PRdenken 1990.
Cutlip, S.- Center, A.- Broom, G. : Effectiv Public Relations Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs 1985.
DAprix, R. : Communicating for Change Connecting the Workplace with the
Marketplace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers 1996.

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Appendix
Research Questionnaire
Internal Communication of Step Media Limited
Please Circle the options given below:
Age range: a. 20-30; b. 31-40; c. 41-50; d. 50 and above.
Gender: a. Male; b. Female
1.

Do you feel existing internal communication system of your company is effective?

a. Yes; b. No

2.

How do you find the information received through internal communication of Step Media Limited?
a. Somewhat useful; b. Not useful; c. Not useful at all

3.

What are the media of data transfer in terms of internal communication currently company follows?
a. Email (Intranet); b. Meetings; c. Manual; d. Notice board; e. Memo

4.

Is informal communication in terms of internal communication allowed in the company?

a.Yes; b. No;
Why? All things cannot be documented so in some cases company allows informal communication.

5.

Does informal communication affect the overall productivity?

a.Yes; b. No;

6.

There are some restrictions in the interdepartmental data transfer.

a.Yes; b. No;
c. One department cannot access another departments data

7.

Which media of internal communication would you prefer in the company?

a. Email (Internet);
b. Memos;
c. Meetings;
d. Notice board;
e. Informal communication

8.

Which options would you prefer for possible solution to increase efficiency in internal
communication?
a. Cloud computing;
b. Organizing annual cultural events;
c. High speed internet server;
d. Organized data filing;
e. Back-up process for internal communication in terms of noise (e. g Server downtime);

9.

Circle options as many as you like:

a. I get well informed about my task through internal communication process;
b. I can communicate swiftly with my available options validated by the company;
c. There are opportunities available to me to express my ideas to upper management;
d. Communication procedure is lengthy;

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e. Data searching process is time consuming.

10. Does company fully motivate their employees?
a.Yes b. No

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