Business Etiquettes and Soft Skills : Sudhir Power Pvt. Ltd.

Submitted by

Saniya Khanna

Division A PRN 18010224043 Class BBA.LLB Batch 2018-2023

of

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), PUNE

In

August, 2019

Under the guidance of

Ms. Sweta Saurabh

Assistant Professor
 CERTIFICATE

The project entitled “Business Etiquettes and Soft Skills : Sudhir Power Pvt. Ltd.” submitted to the Symbiosis
Law School, NOIDA for Business and Managerial Communication as part of Internal assessment is based on
my original work carried out under the guidance of-Ms. Sweta Saurabh from 3rd July,2019 to 9th August,2019.
The research work has not been submitted elsewhere for award of any degree.

The material borrowed from other sources and incorporated in the research report has been duly
acknowledged.

I understand that I myself could be held responsible and accountable for plagiarism, if any, detected later on.

Signature of the candidate

Date:
Introduction
Business in itself is a different world altogether. All businesses require management which essentially is the
management of men. The unifying force between any business and its management is communication. It is the
communication mechanism of the organisation which helps in effective and efficient accomplishment of tasks
that eventually leads to success. Therefore, communication plays an integral part in the organisation. If there
is no communication then the goals and objectives will not be known to the employees thus will not be aware
of what is to be done or what their roles are. Communication is also required to inform the customers and
potential customers of the product. Therefore, from the above lines it can be inferred that there can be internal
(the former) and external (the latter) modes of communication.

Communication tests one’s ability to speak, present, listen, read and write among others. Thus, there are certain
principles which one has to follow in a professional set up i.e. Business Etiquettes. One also needs to
communicate in a specific manner using a particular skill set i.e. Soft and Hard Skills. It is the skill set of one
that helps distinguish one employee from another, thus understanding the Skills becomes integral.

This paper will focus upon the manufacturing industry, especially the electrical world in it on the topics of
Business Etiquettes, Soft skills and Internal Communication of the organisation. The manufacturing industry
in India is at a rise due to the favourable government policies, increase in investments and robust demand. The
electronic manufacturing industry in India is said to be one of the largest and is believed to grow at roughly at
sixty percent from 2015 to 2020. The reasons behind such an increased growth is the change in lifestyle of the
society, the rise in disposable income and greater access to credit. Further, the current government’s policies
are designed towards export and in support of Electronic technology parks and Special Economic Zones. It is
has also been deduced that the cable digitalisation process will open new avenues for the electronic
manufacturing industry and thus will help in its growth. 1

Sudhir Power Ltd is one of the companies that dominate the Electrical manufacturing Industry of the country.
The head office of the organisation is located in sector 34, Gurugram, It has over 2500 employees and 14
branch offices worldwide. It mainly deals in Generations, Distribution to electrification, it is a blue chip
customer base and is primarily involved in 100 KW solar panels, Packages substations, oil and dry generators
and Diesel and Gas generators.

Literature Review

1. Communication and barriers to communication:

(Phelps, O. (1942)) gives a basic overview on the concept of communication. The article defines
communication as a theoretical concept which must have a practical application in the organisation. It
talks about the common misconception which is

1
India Band Equity Foundation : https://www.ibef.org/industry/manufacturing (Last accessed on: 8th August 2019)
 written in several books, that communication is simply writing however, the author claims it to be a
much larger concept that that. It recognises the practical need of having communication. The article
mentions certain phases of communication such as persuasion, layout, organisation and diction among
other, which depends upon the nature of the organisation and is important to unify the activities of the
organisation. Effective communication helps in identifying the problems and hindrances, thus making
the people of the organisation aware of it. The article states two integral needs of having
communication. Firstly, that it is subsidiary and integral to the overall theory of communication and
secondly, it helps correspond the activities of the organisation with reality, thus helps keep a reality
check. The article also talks about communication as being a vehicle of expression of pervasive and
rational activity. It refers to the general communication process and the effect of ‘noise’ in the process.
Further, it elaborates internal communication as an exchange of ideas between the same group of
people through charts, blueprints and notices. The article describe external communication as an
exchange of ideas among people who have no unity of objective. Thus, the article elaborates on the
importance of having communication.

2. Soft Skills in Management:

(Levasseur, R. (2013).) in the article talks about what exactly are soft skills and how it is relevant as compared
to hard skills. The article states that the soft skills are a combination of interpersonal and social skills and can
be self-awareness, self-regulation, emotional quotient, empathy and others . They can also be categorised in
the following types: personal, interpersonal, group and organisational. The article talks about the relevancy
and the importance of having soft skills in the organisation. Firstly, it is applicable in almost all field from
accounting to leadership. Secondly, it helps in developing good client relationship and be a team player in the
organisation. Thirdly, it states that motivates one to take initiative. Moreover, the article uses Maslow’s need
hierarchy theory to reflect upon the effects of the lack of soft skills. It will diminish the sense of belongingness,
self actualisation need and the esteem of the employee. The article also suggest an algorithm for developing
soft skill i.e. the relationship between a person and his environment. Lastly, the article mentions the
Bronferbrenner’s principle on soft skills as an ecological transition. This transition in simple words, states that
a person’s skill change as his role or position changes.

Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of the study are as follows:

 To understand the internal communication of the organisation in case of conflict resolution

  To analyse the business etiquettes such as punctuality, training , dress code among others
 To also study the various soft skills prevalent in the organisation

Research Methodology:

The research methodology adopted in this research paper includes both sources of information i.e. Primary
source of information and Secondary source of information .

Under Primary source of information ,the project includes questionnaires and surveys . These surveys was
conducted in the organisation . The sample size of these surveys included fifteen people belonging to various
departments of the organisation such as Human Resource and Sales . The statistical tools of analysis that were
used to analyse these questionnaires were pictorial graphs and pie charts. Under the Secondary source of
information, various published form of writings such as Articles , Journals , Research papers and internet
websites to create the research paper.

Two questionnaires were conducted one for the employees in general and the other was specifically towards
the Human Resource department.

Results and Discussion:

The results of the first questionnaire, sample size 9 people, was conducted for employees of various
departments other than the Human Resource department are as follows:

The majority of the people answered that HAVE YOU EVER BEEN
in case they have not been punctual and REPREMANDED FOR BEING
LATE TO THE OFFICE?
have not arrived on time they have been no
11%
reprimanded for it. On further probing, it
was found that they receive a notice from
the HR department. Thus they follow the
business etiquette of Punctuality and
discipline.
yes
89%
IF YES, THEN HOW MANY TIMES The second question was regarding the
HAVE YOU NOT FOLLOWED THE dress code. The entire sample size agreed
DRESS CODE IN THE LAST YEAR?
that the organisation has a dress code.
once twice 5 times more than 5 times
Out of which when asked answered that
0% only 45% of them have not followed the
22%
dress good twice in the last year, 33%
45% claimed that they didn’t follow 5 times.
Thus, in conclusion the business

33%
etiquette regarding dress code is a bit
weak in the organisation.

The next question was regarding the soft skill How many times have you
of Coaching and training. Majority of the been asked to train/coach a
people have been asked to train and coach peer/subordinate?
another. Out of those who were not given 80
70
such an opportunity 66.7 % wanted to be 60
50
provided with such an opportunity and 33.3%
40
were not sure but no one said no. Thus the soft 30
20
skill of coaching and providing training is 10
inculcated in the organisation. 0
Yes No

The next question was regarding the soft skill HOW MANY TIME S HAVE
YOU B E E N ASK E D TO
of team work and being a team player. Most
W OR K AS A TE AM IN A
of the people have been asked to work in a P R OJE C T ?
team, thus many of the sample have the
ability to work well with others and listen and WOULD LIKE TO 11.1

incorporate ideas together. With a 33.3% ALWAYS 33.3

number of people have always been asked to SOMETIMES 44.4

work in a team this suggests that the RARELY 11.1

organisation promotes team work amongst its NEVER 0

employees.
 How long did it take you to adapt The next question was regarding the soft skill of
to the rules of the organisation, adaptability. Whether the employees are able to
when you joined?
adapt to the business environment and whether
11% 0% the environment is such that it can adaptable.
45% 45% amount of people stated that it took them 1-
2 weeks to adjust however a good 11% claimed
44%
that it took them over a month to adjust. Thus it
can be said that the business environment is not
entirely adaptable and the organisation could

1-3 days 1-2 weeks 1 month more thana month take a few steps to reduce the hostility.

The next set of question, mostly interviewed and not through a questionnaire was specifically designed towards
the Human Resource department. The sample size for this was 6 people.

This question was done with the HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU
RECIEVED COMPLAINTS OF
objective of studying the Human DISRESPECT/ MISBEAHVIOUR OF
Resource department with respect to ONE EMPLYEE TO ANOTHER?

complaints of disrespect and

misbehaviour in one year. Half of the
sample stated that they received such
complaints 5-10 times a year , 33.3% 16.7 33.3 50

said 3-5 times a year and 16.7% said that

it is 1-2 times a year. This again proves
that the environment is a bit hostile. 0 0
NEVER 1- 3- 5- MORE
2TIMES 5TIMES 10TIMES THAN 10

The department also during discussion that occasionally there were complaints regarding the management and
its work in general and specifically regarding the disrespect and misbehaviour issues at the workplace. The
redressal mechanism is such that if the complaint is of serious nature like harassment then the matter or
complaint will go directly to the senior management this could even be the business head of the department.
And the redressal would take twenty four hours and not more than that. Regarding the redressal of normal or
routine matters the conflict would be resolved within forty eight hours or so. Thus the soft skill of conflict
resolution is greatly followed in the organisation. The Human Resource department also organises oft skill
workshop in a couple of years, provides training ordinarily to its employees and handles the hire-fire role
personally along with the consultation of the business head.
Conclusion

The soft skills that have been followed with a good majority of the people abiding by it are the ability to coach
and train i.e. it shows the ability of employee to help another and team work. Most of the people want to or
have always been asked to work together in a team, Thus this suggest that the organisation comes up with
creative ideas to solve an issue at hand and is willing to listen to others, thus have an open ear. It also helps in
promoting the sense of belongingness in the organisation. The soft skill of adaptability and adjustability is bit
blurred as many people take more than a month to adjust to the work environment.

The business etiquette of Punctuality is followed and the rules are very stringent regarding this issue. However
the employees have a callous attitude towards their dress code to such an extent that the senior management
has been asked to wear the company shirt so that seeing that the employees do it as well.

The Human Resource department plays an active role in the conflict resolution mechanism as not only is the
senior management consulted but there is a stipulated time period that need to be kept in mind. In conclusion,
it can be said that the organisation follows the basic business etiquettes and emphasis more towards the need
of having soft skills but at the same time has a good internal communication system that is not only effective
but efficient as well.

Bibliography

Journals and articles

 CALDER, A. (2016). Selling Information Security to the Board: A Primer. Cambridgeshire, United
Kingdom: IT Governance Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bj4t02
 Levasseur, R. (2013). People Skills: Developing Soft Skills—A Change Management Perspective.
Interfaces, 43(6), 566-571. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43699350
 Phelps, O. (1942). A Theory of Business Communication. The Journal of Business of the University
of Chicago, 15(4), 343-360. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2349841

Websites

 Satistics on Manufacturing (electrical) Industry , available at:

https://www.ibef.org/industry/manufacturing (Last accessed on: 8th August 2019)
 Sudhir Power Ltd., available at: http://www.sudhirpower.com/about.html (Last accessed on: 8th
August 2019)