Commerce · Lesson 9

Postal and telecommunication services, ICT and advertising

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: 6 Aids to trade (a) Advertising (types, media, advantages and disadvantages); (c) Communication (process, types, means, trends, merits and demerits; postal, telecommunication and courier services; barriers); 15 Information and communication technology (computer, internet, e-mail, intranet, e-banking, e-commerce; merits and demerits)

WAEC: Communication (meaning, importance, means: postal, telecommunication, courier, ICT; problems); Advertising (meaning, purposes, types, media, merits and demerits, regulation, advertising agencies); sales promotion and public relations

NECO: Communication (meaning, importance, means: postal, telecommunication, courier, ICT; problems); Advertising (meaning, purposes, types, media, merits and demerits, regulation, advertising agencies); sales promotion and public relations

What you will learn

Explain the meaning, process and importance of communication in commerce.
Describe the means of communication and their merits and demerits.
Describe the services of NIPOST and courier firms.
Explain telecommunications and the role of the NCC.
Explain the use of ICT in commerce, its merits and challenges.
Define advertising and state its purposes and types.
Describe advertising media and the factors that determine choice.
Explain advertising agencies, sales promotion, publicity and public relations.
State the advantages and disadvantages of advertising and how it is regulated in Nigeria.
Calculate cost per thousand and evaluate simple advertising results.

Key points

Communication: sender, encoding, channel, decoding, receiver, feedback; noise distorts.
Importance: links buyers and sellers, speeds business, enables advertising, coordinates firms, widens markets.
Means: oral (quick, no record), written (record, slower), visual, electronic.
Barriers: language, poor network, noise, illiteracy, culture, overload, wrong channel.
NIPOST: ordinary and registered mail, EMS, parcels, P.O. boxes, private mail bags, poste restante, franking, money/postal orders, courier licensing.
Courier: fast, door-to-door, tracked, but costly.
NCC regulates telecommunications (Nigerian Communications Act 2003).
ICT: computer, internet, intranet, e-mail, e-banking, e-commerce, video conferencing, cloud; merits and challenges; Cybercrimes Act 2015; NDPA 2023.
Advertising: paid, non-personal, identified sponsor; removes hindrance of knowledge.
Types: informative, persuasive, competitive, reminder, generic, institutional, public-service.
Media: print, radio, TV, cinema, outdoor, direct mail, internet and social media, trade fairs, displays.
Choice of medium: cost, audience, product, coverage, purpose, competitors, law.
Sales promotion: samples, coupons, discounts, competitions, demonstrations, trade fairs; also personal selling, publicity, PR.
Advantages: information, sales, large-scale production, media funding. Disadvantages: higher prices, misleading claims, waste, monopoly.
ARCON (Act 2022, replacing APCON) regulates advertising; also FCCPC, NAFDAC, NBC.

Start here: Communication: meaning, process and importance

Communication is the process of transferring information, ideas or messages from one person (the sender) to another (the receiver) through a medium or channel, so that the message is understood and a response (feedback) is obtained. Figure 1 shows the process: the sender encodes the message (words, numbers, pictures), sends it through a channel (phone, letter, e-mail), the receiver decodes it and gives feedback. Noise is anything that interferes.

Importance of communication in commerce

Links buyers and sellers: enquiries, quotations, orders and complaints.
Speeds up business transactions and decision-making.
Makes advertising possible, informing consumers about goods.
Coordinates the activities of departments and branches of a firm.
Supports banking, insurance and transport: transfers, claims, bookings and tracking.
Widens markets, including international trade and e-commerce.
Reduces costs of travel when messages replace journeys.
Provides market information: prices, exchange rates, news.
Improves human relations between management, staff and customers.

Types of communication

Internal (within the organisation: memos, meetings, intranet) and external (with customers, suppliers, government).
Formal (official channels) and informal (the "grapevine").
Vertical (upward and downward between levels) and horizontal (between people at the same level).
Oral, written, visual and non-verbal (gestures, facial expressions).

Barriers to effective communication

Language differences and jargon; poor network or equipment; noise and distractions; illiteracy; emotional and cultural differences; information overload; wrong choice of channel; poor listening; long chains of command that distort messages.

Worked example 9.1 (JAMB-style)

The response of a receiver to a message is called

A. encoding B. channel C. feedback D. noise

Answer: C.

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Practice questions

1. Communication removes the hindrance of

distance in passing information (knowledge)
risk
time
persons

Show answer

A: distance in passing information (knowledge)
It links traders.

2. Feedback in communication is

the channel
the noise
the encoding
the receiver’s response to the message

Show answer

D: the receiver’s response to the message
It shows the message was understood.

3. NIPOST is responsible for

broadcasting
advertising regulation
postal services
telephone licensing

Show answer

C: postal services
The NCC regulates telecommunications.

4. The Nigerian Communications Commission regulates

banking
telecommunications
postal services
advertising

Show answer

B: telecommunications
Under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

5. Registered post is used to send

valuable items with proof of posting and delivery
newspapers
advertising leaflets only
unsealed postcards

Show answer

A: valuable items with proof of posting and delivery
Compensation may be paid if lost.

Key words

Communication: The transfer of information or messages from a sender to a receiver through a medium, with feedback.
Feedback: The receiver’s response, which shows whether the message was understood.
Noise: Anything that distorts or blocks a message, such as poor network, language or distraction.
Registered mail: Letters or parcels recorded by the post office at posting and delivery, with compensation for loss.
Express mail service: A fast, tracked postal service for urgent letters and parcels.
Private mail bag: A locked bag in which a post office delivers mail to a large organisation.
Poste restante: A service where mail is kept at a post office for collection by a traveller.
Courier service: A private, fast, door-to-door delivery service for documents and parcels.
Internet: A global network of computers that exchange information.
Intranet: A private network within an organisation accessible only to its members.
E-mail: Electronic messages sent over the internet.
Video conferencing: Meetings held by live video and sound between people in different places.

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