Table of Contents
Overview of the communication needs of each group. 2
Communication Models/Theories. 3
The State Fitness Industry Association operates on a membership basis which consists of gym owners, personal trainers and exercise professionals. They are responsible for ensuring the business practices of the professionals and gyms are ethical and in line with consumer rights. The Association closely works with state and local governments for driving the direction of the association projects and supporting future policymaking. The state government has stated a number of concerns in relation to the treatment of consumers of the fitness industry. A code of conduct will be developed on the basis of the needs of different stakeholders. The report focuses on the communication strategies which would be adopted for engaging each of the stakeholders.
Overview of the communication needs of each group
The government appointed members will develop the ethical code of conduct depicting the core values like rights, responsibilities, relationships, safety, and standards for all other members. The code should state the standard of professional conduct that a professional should maintain while dealing with clients. Other members should respect the diversity and promote good practices within the workplace. The relationship with the customer is based on mutual trust respect, honesty, and openness (Freeman, Kujala and Sachs, 2017). There should be clarity in all form of communication with the clients to avoid any misrepresentation and conflict of interest. The committee will consult with the gym owners and fitness trainers to know about their opinion regarding the code of conduct incorporated by the members appointed by the government. The committee will then communicate the decision to the potential consumers of the gym. The committee is responsible for ensuring that business practices are ethical and in confirmation with the consumer rights (Ohlandt, 2015). The stakeholders must ensure that all information regarding the committee must be presented in a transparent way. Suitable communication channel like e-mail, phone, social media and group meetings must be organized for communicating with the stakeholder.
Communication models consist of different method that helps in understanding how communication works. Communication models can encourage traditional thinking by omitting human communication. The linear model is a one-way communication model, where the message flows straight from the sender to the receiver. The receiver has to receive the message and there is no concept of feedback (Businesstopia, 2018). In the transactional model both sender and receiver plays an important role in communication. In this model, communication is related to social reality and cultural upbringing. In this model non-verbal feedbacks are also considered. Interactive model and transactional model are two way communication model. In this model, people can respond to mass communication like videos and news. People can also exchange their views and ideas through this model.
The communication theories include structural and functional theory which asserts that social structures are real and they function in the way that can be objectively observed. Cognitive and behavioral theory focuses on the psychology of individuals. Interaction theory focuses on social life as a process. The interpretive theory reveals the way how people understand their own experience (McQuail and Windahl, 2016). Expectancy violation theory deals with the development of non-verbal messages. This theory proposes that when rules are violated, the violation of communication rule should be taken as favorable or unfavorable to analyze the situation. This theory also considers how the receiver of the message has perceived the violation and what idea has been formed about the violator.
The committees should use the most appropriate communication models, theories and strategies for communicating with the stakeholders. The main aim is to ensure that the stakeholders understood the information in an appropriate manner. Code of conduct should be developed by the committee as per the needs of the stakeholders and the association. The communication strategies will be used for communicating, consulting and discussing the concern with each stakeholder. The communication models and theories need to be understood for engaging the stakeholders. The government appointed members, gym owners, personal trainers, exercise professionals, and potential consumers will play a significant role in making decisions.
The communication strategies that can be implemented to ensure efficient communication with each of the stakeholder group are as follows:
The state government appointed members: Conference calls can be used where the communication will depend on the clarity of verbal message and voice intonation. It does not require expense and time to travel. The message can also be recorded in the device and it can be replayed anytime. Apart from this face to face interaction will also be helpful to deliver and understand the information. The committee can communicate with the appointed members over conference calls and face to face for developing the code of conduct (Lehman, 2016).
Gym owners, personal trainers and exercise professionals: Meetings can be conducted which is considered to be the most common ways of communicating. It will allow the committee to carry out a discussion with the stakeholders and reach a final decision. Significant questions and issues can be raised during the meeting which can be solved with the help of effective communication. It will allow using both non-verbal and verbal communication techniques within the session. The stakeholders will be able to communicate and deliver their views to the committee effectively during the meeting session (SustaiNet, 2019).
Posters, email, and newsletters: The use of posters, email, and newsletter is considered to be one-way communication. The committee can use this communication strategy for providing information regarding the code of conduct to potential consumers. The consumers would be able to read the information and understand the code of conduct. The committee can create posters which can be distributed to the target groups and also within the stores. However, it has one weakness which is the receiver may or may understand the message.