SQA National 5 Administration and IT: Communication in Administration unit guide

What the Communication unit demands

Communication in Administration is about using IT to gather and share information well. It is the smallest of the three areas but it rewards clear thinking: which method suits which message, and which sources can be trusted. The SQA tests careful descriptions, balanced advantage-and-disadvantage answers, and reasoning about reliability. This guide walks through the area and then sets out how it is examined. Each topic has a matching dot-point page with worked questions.

Methods of electronic communication

The unit covers the main ways an organisation communicates electronically: email, the intranet (private internal site), the internet (public website), video conferencing, instant messaging and shared documents. Each has advantages (speed, low cost, reaching many people, keeping a record) and disadvantages (relying on technology, being impersonal, messages being missed). The examined skill is choosing the most suitable method for the purpose and audience.

Gathering and sharing information

The second strand covers how organisations gather information: the internet, books and journals, surveys and questionnaires, observation and internal records. Sources are either primary (gathered first-hand, such as your own survey) or secondary (already published by others, such as a website or report). Sharing information well means choosing the right communication method, as above.

Reliability of sources

The most heavily examined idea is reliability. Before using any source, an administrator asks whether it is up to date, accurate, from a trusted author, and free from bias, and confirms it against a second source. This matters because decisions built on poor information can be wrong and costly.

How the unit is examined

A typical SQA profile for Communication in Administration:

• Describe methods. Naming communication methods or information-gathering methods with a little detail earns straightforward marks.
• Give both sides. Advantage-and-disadvantage questions reward a benefit and a drawback, each with a reason.
• Reason about reliability. Explain questions reward linking an unreliable source to the consequence of a wrong decision.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and reasoning questions covering Communication in Administration. Attempt them, then check against the solutions.

1. State two methods of electronic communication. (1 mark)
2. Distinguish between an intranet and the internet. (2 marks)
3. Distinguish between a primary and a secondary source. (2 marks)
4. State two methods of gathering information. (1 mark)
5. Give two checks you would make to judge if a website is reliable. (2 marks)