Master of Business Administration MBA Semester 1 MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1128) Assignment Set- 1 Q1.

Describe a situation that you experienced where communication went wrong because the non-verbal behaviour sent conflicting signals. Which aspect of non-verbal communication was responsible for the communication failure? How would you rectify this? Ans:- Where Communication was a failure to me:
As a Manager, I was a sender for a communication and intended to be received by my executives. I have sent the following communication to my executives through a notice and displayed on the notice board: Coming Second Saturday to complete our targets for the month a review meeting is arranged and all should attend. If any executive is not able to attend should find out the contents of the meeting from their peers without fail. But my communication went wrong and out of 10 executives, only three executives have attended at 4.00 PM who checked-in with me the time of the meeting. Following were the barriers of communication which stood in the way of my communication: The Channel I have chosen did not ensure the receipt of the communication by Receivers The communication lacked the Chronological context The second Saturday being a non working day.

The communication has created a Psychological noise by not mentioning correct time of the meeting and confusion has been created.

The social context also is one of the cause for the failure of the communication as I have not taken all my executives into confident by giving any advance information or a intention of the meeting earlier.

Lessons learnt in order to overcome these barriers of communication: My communication was unclear by not giving exact time of meeting. The media I have used is the placing the notice on the notice board, instead had I circulated to all the receivers and obtained their signatures by asking their availability or feedback my communication would not have failed. I have chosen a wrong day a holiday though the task was a routine one. I could have maintained good relations with my executives for success of my communication.

Q4 Discuss the principles of business writing? Ans : Principles of Business Writing

Initial Thoughts Quite a number of writing principles have made the rounds over time and I hope my contribution helps to further sharpen these principles; first off, what I've found to add tremendous benefit to these principles is the art of passive vs. active writing. The Principles Each of these will be explained in a few sentences... Stay Focused First off, you need to adjust the scope and scale of your writing to influence the behavior of your readers. This is the first step towards sharpening the focus of your writing.

 Scope - adjust the breadth (restricting yourself to the subject matter) and depth (level of detail included) of your material. Scale - length of your writing. The larger your scale, the higher the need to plan your writing. Behavior - action or inaction of your reader after reading your material. Identify your Purpose Next is to identify the purpose of your writing and connect it to your readers expectations. Avoid buzzwords and simply use a purpose analysis model (usually sieved from questions asked when taking your initial brief) to gather your thoughts in 3 simple ways: Identify your personal values and ambitions Identify your readers' expectations Find areas of overlap emphasize recurring commonalities and address all discrepancies. Explain your Meaning Always explain the meaning of whatever you write, whilst making sure readers can also relate!! :0) For example, answering the question what does A mean to B in a business stakeholders' communication is a simple, yet effective way of connecting with your readers. If you are looking for a simple way to put this into writing, use the [Statement], meaning [consequence] format. Simple illustrations include: We are facing stiffer competition in our market, meaning we need to develop new products This logistics team achieved its set targets, meaning team members have earned a bonus. Substantiate, substantiate, substantiate!!! Your writing will gain credibility when it is substantiated with facts. Always make sure to verify your factual statements before 'publishing'. My approach will be to use focus as the lead principle. This will guide you when building a text from scratch. Once the main structure of the text has been prepared, your substantiating details can then be added.

Always build a Structure Three useful indicators include the use of sequence, consistency and balance to build a structure that guides the reader though your text Sequence - order in which your writing unfolds; Consistency - using the same style and the same words when referring to the same object; Balance - your sentence or paragraph must be long enough to maintain a readers' interest but not too long. Consider sentences that are around 2 to 3 lines and paragraphs that hover around 6 to 10 lines. Provide enough writing Clarity Ensuring clarity when you're writing is presenting your piece so that the readers thinking revolves around a compelling idea. Total clarity is therefore achieved during editing, since this is where you create a distance between yourself and the material; i.e. reviewing and re-writing it. This puts your writing into perspective and allows proper evaluation of the pros and cons of your work, a definite litmus test to check whether the initial five principles are self-evident. Remain Humble!!! Be humble while writing and editing, and always critically judge your work first. Though this has no effect on how good the technicality of your work is, the truth is that most people are sick of reading anything that has an arrogant or condescending tinge to it. A tinge you definitely want to avoid if your thoughts are to be heard via your writing.

Q5. Write a short note on the SQ3R technique of reading. Ans. The SQ3R method for Active Reading
The SQ3R method has been a proven way to sharpen reading and retention abilities. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. Scan - get the best overall picture of what you're going to read BEFORE you actually start reading the material in any detail. It's like looking at a road map before going on a trip. If you don't know the territory, studying a map is the best way to begin. Scan the chapter, taking note of section headings, bold & italicized

text, boxed information, graphs, charts, etc. If there is a summary and/or practice questions, read those completely. Question - Questions should lead to emphasis on the what, why, how, when, who and where of the chapter content. Along with turning category headings into questions or using the supplied practice questions, begin to ask yourself questions as you read. As you answer them, you will help to make sense of the material and remember it more easily because the process will make an impression on you. It also allows you to filter out unimportant information. Those things that make impressions are more meaningful, and therefore more easily remembered. Feel free to write your questions in the margins of textbooks, on lecture notes, or on a separate question sheet. Read - Reading is NOT running your eyes over a textbook. When you read, read actively. Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked. Always be alert to bold or italicized print. The authors intend that this material receive special emphasis. Also, when you read, be sure to include tables, graphs and illustrations. Often times tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text. Recite - When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read (aloud if your study environment permits). Try to recall main headings, important ideas of concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs charts or illustrations indicate. Try to develop an overall concept of what you have read in your own words and thoughts. Try to connect things you have just read to things you already know. When you do this periodically, the chances are you will remember much more and be able to recall material for papers, essays and objective tests. Review - A review is a survey of what you have covered. Your time is better spent reviewing aloud what you can remember than rereading the information over again. During review, it's a good time to go over notes you have taken to help clarify points you may have missed or don't understand. The best time to review is when you have just finished reading something. Don't wait until just before an exam to begin the review process you should be reviewing short & often beginning from the very first class. Before a test or exam, do a final review. If you manage your time, the final review can be thought of as a "fine-tuning" of your knowledge of the material. Thousands of high school and university students have followed the SQ3R technique to achieve higher grades with less stress!

Q6 (a) List the importance of effective communication in the workplace? Ans. Importance of effective communication in the workplace
Effective communication communication skills in the workplace means improving employee

Effective communication in the workplace is the backbone of any business. Without it, you could miss out on important opportunities, waste time and cause your employees and customers to become frustrated. But not everyone is a born communicator, and there is always room to improve. That's why it's important to train your staff to create effective communication in the workplace. Removing roadblocks to effective communication in the workplace When a problem arises, it's often due to poor communication in the workplace. Particularly in this digital age when we rely so heavily on emails and phone calls to get things done, vital information can become lost or misinterpreted if not communicated clearly. Arming your staff with good communication skills enables them to work efficiently, effectively and navigate any potential issues that may arise. Everyone is different People have different styles of communication in the workplace. And while there is no right or wrong way to go about it, you can ensure that your staff are understood by teaching them how to adapt their style to the needs of others. With appropriate training, your employees will be able to identify their own communication style in the workplace, understand how this influences the process, and develop strategies to get the best results. Effective communication in the workplace is a two-way street Communication skills don't simply mean the ability to talk and write effectively they also rely heavily on listening and negotiation. Through training, employees

will be able to practice their active listening and problem-solving skills and develop the means to influence outcomes. A professional training organization can help your employees develop effective communication in the workplace by teaching:

the importance of effective communication different styles of communication awareness of non-verbal communication, such as body language how to improve written communication skills how to communicate with confidence how to tailor communication for an intended audience how to manage workplace conflicts or issues negotiation and influencing skills Active listening skills and how to ask the 'right' questions. Benefits of training to improve communication in the workplace

By developing better rapport with co-workers, employees are likely to be happier and more successful in their roles. Improving employees' morale will make them more likely to remain loyal to your business. Improving communication between individuals, teams or departments within your organization will streamline business processes and activities. Customer retention will be improved through better customer service. Staff will learn how to handle difficult situations and resolve conflict before it becomes a problem. Opening the channels By promoting better communication in the workplace, you'll not only increase the efficiency of your team, but your organization too. Talk to a training specialist today about how you can improve the communication skills of your staff to create a more successful business.

Q6 (b). Explain the advantages of oral communication with the help of suitable example. Ans : Advantages of Oral Communication:
Oral communication may be defined as a process whereby a speaker interacts verbally with one or more listeners, in order to influence the latters behavior in some way or the other. Example: In a business context, a manager is doing a performance appraisal with an employee, or a sales manager making a sales plan presentation to his sales team. In the first example, the manager may point out areas for improvement and in the second case; the sales manager may be explaining how to achieve new sales targets. Oral communication in a business context can take the form of meetings, presentations, one-to-one meetings, performance reviews and so on. Oral communication has some advantages compared to written communication. These include its personal quality, high interactivity, possibility of making immediate contact, instantaneous feedback and control over the receivers attention. Oral communication was also classified into oral face-to-face communication (meetings and presentations) and oral non face-to-face communication (teleconferencing, telephone and voice mail). While face-to-face meetings are more effective than non face-to-face communication in most ways, they are expensive and impractical sometimes, due to the distance factor. Thanks to advances in technology, meetings today can still take place without being faceto-face, through teleconferencing. Teleconferencing allows participants at distant locations to speak and sometimes to see each other. Apart from the high cost and the difficulty in setting it up, teleconferencing has the same advantages as oral face-to-face communication. Example: Several retailers like Walmart, the worlds largest retailer, make use of teleconferencing to keep their US headquarters in touch with their store managers worldwide. Some headhunters also make use of the facility to conduct preliminary interviews and shortlist candidates based in other countries, before inviting them for a face-to-face interview. Many multi-national corporations and large Indian organizations also use this facility extensively. In spite of its advantages, teleconferencing will not replace face-to-face meetings completely, since it is unsuitable for certain types of communication that involve brainstorming, negotiations, persuasion and problem solving.

Telephone communication, another form of non face-to-face communication, has the biggest advantage of being able to contact a receiver who would be impossible to reach in person. Today, mobile phones have made it even easier to contact people who are on the move. Telephone communication also has a personal quality and permits the use of some non-verbal cues such as tone of voice, to enhance the communication. Voice mail is a type of telephone communication and is similar to an answering machine. Although it is generally inferior to speaking in person to the other party, it has some advantages. When you leave a recorded message, you can make your point felt and save time that might be wasted in exchanging pleasantries. Invitations can also be declined without having to give an explanation or reason, or having the other person talk back. Thus, there is greater control over how the message is composed and delivered. Besides, voice mail also makes it possible to keep a permanent record of the communication, unlike other types of oral communication. In spite of these advantages however, voice mail has not caught on in India.

Master of Business Administration MBA Semester 1 MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1128) Assignment Set- 2 Q1. Explain the purpose of keeping minutes of a meeting. What goes into the contents of minutes of a meeting? Ans: At some point your boss may ask you to take minutes at a meeting. This task
isn't reserved for secretaries only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to do this. Since the minutes will serve as an official record of what took place during the meeting, you must be very accurate. Here are some pointers to help you master this skill. Before the Meeting

Choose your tool: Decide how you will take notes, i.e. pen and paper, laptop computer, or tape recorder.

Make sure your tool of choice is in working order and have a backup just in case.

Use the meeting agenda to formulate an outline.

During the Meeting

Pass around an attendance sheet. Get a list of committee members and make sure you know who is who. Note the time the meeting begins. Don't try to write down every single comment -- just the main ideas. Write down motions, who made them, and the results of votes, if any; no need to write down who seconded a motion.

Make note of any motions to be voted on at future meetings. Note the ending time of the meeting.

After the Meeting

Type up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while everything is still fresh in your mind.

Include the name of organization, name of committee, type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special), and purpose of meeting.

Include the time the meeting began and ended. Proofread the minutes before submitting them.

Q3. Write short notes on: (a) Upward communication (b) Downward communication (c) Horizontal communication. Ans:
a) Upward Communication Upward communication is the flow of information from subordinates to superiors, or from employees to management. Without upward communication, management works in a vacuum, not knowing if messages have been received properly, or if other problems exist in the organization. By definition, communication is a two-way affair. Yet for effective two-way organizational communication to occur, it must begin from the bottom. Upward Communication is a mean for staff to: Exchange information Offer ideas Express enthusiasm Achieve job satisfaction Provide feedback

b) Downward Communication Information flowing from the top of the organizational management hierarchy and telling people in the organization what is important (mission) and what is valued (policies). Downward communication generally provides enabling information which allows a subordinate to do something. e.g.: Instructions on how to do a task. Downward communication comes after upward communications have been successfully established. This type of communication is needed in an organization to: Transmit vital information Give instructions Encourage 2-way discussion Announce decisions Seek cooperation Provide motivation Boost morale Increase efficiency Obtain feedback

Both Downward & Upward Communications are collectively called Vertical Communication

c) Horizontal/Literal communication Horizontal communication normally involves coordinating information, and allows people with the same or similar rank in an organization to cooperate or collaborate. Communication among employees at the same level is crucial for the accomplishment of work. Horizontal Communication is essential for: Solving problems Accomplishing tasks Improving teamwork Building goodwill Boosting efficiency

Ques3: Discuss the different types of business reports. Ans: Types Of Business Reports
Reports may be classified based on several criteria, including their use( progress reports and financial reports), purpose ( informational, analytical and persuasive reports), frequency of preparation ( annual, monthly, weekly and hourly reports), length (short and long reports) and whether they are internal to the business, or are used outside the business. The most common types of business reports may be divided into the following categories

1. Periodic reports These are reports that are prepared on a regular basis, for both internal and external audiences. Their purpose is solely to inform. Examples of this type of report are

Routine management reports These are reports such as equipment reports and sales updates and are prepared for internal audiences. Compliance reports These are submitted to external stakeholders, such as the government, stating compliance with regulations such as environmental norms. Progress reports These reports may be prepared for both internal audiences such as top management and shareholders, as well as for external audiences such as customers. A project report stating progress on a long term project is an example of this type of report.

2. Proposals Unlike periodic reports, the purpose of a proposal is to persuade. Proposals may be prepared for both internal and external audiences. Examples of proposals include research proposals and marketing strategy proposals to top management, proposals to the government to grant funds for building a research facility and proposals to consumers to buy a companys products. 3. Policies and Procedures The purpose of these reports is solely to inform. They are also prepared only for internal audiences. Examples include reports on company policies and procedures, written by top management and sent to all employees. This is part of downward communication. 4. Situational reports These are onetime, exceptional reports that are prepared when a unique event occurs. For example, if sales of the company have shown a significant decline, a study may be carried out to determine the reasons for declining sales and a report prepared on the findings. Similarly, a market feasibility study may be carried out before launch of a new product and a report prepared .based on the study. The purpose of such reports is usually to inform, analyze and persuade.

Ques5: List the different steps involved in report preparation. Ans : Since reports are a key to the success of any business, they should be
carefully planned, organized, written and presented. A lot of groundwork should precede the actual writing of the report. We shall briefly discuss the five main steps in report preparation

1. Planning the report The first question to be asked before gathering information and writing the report, is regarding the type of report that is required. We classified reports into four main types, based on the purpose, the audience to whom they are addressed and the frequency of the report. Secondly, it must be remembered that most reports are required by management to solve a problem, or to make a decision. Therefore, the basis, or starting point for a report is a problem. Reports are written after a problem is analyzed and a solution to the problem is found. The problem may be of a day to day nature, such as determining which brand of overhead projector to recommend for purchase. Or, the problem may be a

negative one, such as sales of the company showing a decline. In any case, the problem is the single fundamental issue to be addressed in the report and should be clearly determined, right at the outset. Once the problem has been defined, it must be broken up into sub issues or sub problems, by asking the questions what, why, when, where and who?.

Example Suppose the purpose of a study is to survey clerical salaries in public

sector banks in Bangalore city, in order to determine whether salaries in your bank are competitive and consistent. The problem may be broken up as follows What? A study of clerical salaries Why? To determine whether salaries in our firm are competitive and consistent When? Current Where? Bangalore city Who? Clerical employees in public sector banks Asking the above questions determines the exact scope of the study and reduces the problem to a workable size. The next step in planning the report is to do an audience analysis. We have seen that reports may be addressed to internal or external audiences of an organization. Some of the questions to be asked about the audience, or the reader of the report are Is the audience internal or external to the organization? Who is the specific audience or reader? For example, top management, customers or the government? Reports written for the government and for top management should be more formal than for other audiences. Is the audience known to you? What is the level of knowledge of the audience? Is the topic familiar to the reader? If the report is of a technical nature and the reader is a layperson, the technical terms may need detailed explanation. What is the level of interest of the reader? If the report has been solicited or authorized, the readers level of interest will be high. On the other hand, if the report is voluntary or unsolicited, it may have to sustain reader interest. The tone, length, complexity and degree of formality of the report will depend largely on the readers characteristics. For example, reports addressed to peers would adopt a more conversational tone, while reports on company policies and procedures addressed to subordinates would adopt an emphatic tone.

2. Selecting a Method to Solve the Problem After defining the problem and doing an audience analysis, a method has to be selected to collect the necessary information to solve the problem. Broadly, information may be gathered using secondary research methods, such as books, magazines, newspapers, internet and other available sources, or through primary research methods, such as surveys that provide first hand information. 3. Gathering and Organizing Data- Once the method of gathering information has been selected, the actual process of gathering the information begins. Since this is time consuming and expensive, only information that is relevant to the report and the study must be gathered. The raw data should be evaluated for its usefulness and organized in a form that is meaningful to understand. Tables, charts, graphs and summaries should be used to do this. 4. Arriving at a Conclusion Once the information has been checked for its validity and reliability, it must be interpreted and conclusions drawn. Correct interpretation of the data is needed for the success of the report. Sound conclusions cannot be made if the interpretation of the data is faulty. A common mistake made in the interpretation of data is the tendency of the researcher to use subjective judgments, instead of objective reasoning based on facts. 5. Writing the Report The actual process of writing the report should begin only after a satisfactory solution to the problem has been found. As pointed out earlier, a well written report that contains a bad answer is worse than a badly written report that contains a good answer.