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Business Communication

MBA I SEM

Code: KMB107

Course Instructor
Prof. Shilpi Vaish
Analyze the situation and Reflect your learning
outcomes
•You are in a meeting and the boss puts forward an idea and
invites comments. You don’t have a strong view about the
idea or have not had time to formulate an opinion, as you
need more time to process the idea. After the meeting you
are asked by one of the attendees what you thought of the
boss’ idea and you say something like: I don’t have a strong
view on the matter but I’m still considering a position. Within
two days your boss calls you in to his office and asks: why are
you lobbying against the idea and wouldn’t it have been more
honest to speak up during the meeting? Now you are
completely on the defensive and you are shocked by how
something as neutral as “I am still considering a position” gets
translated to lobbying against the idea. The damage is already
done and if your boss is the vindictive type, no amount of
assurances will alter his view that you are a troublemaker.
What is communication
• Communication is, “a process of meaningful
interaction among human beings. (McFarland)

• More specifically, it is the process by which


meanings are perceived and understandings
are reached among human beings.
What is communication
• Newman and summer defined communication
as “an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or
emotions by two or more persons.”
What is communication
• The exchange of information or passing of
information, ideas or thought from one person
to the other or from one end to the other is
communication. 
Role of Communication
• Increasing Employee Efficiency

Imagine a work environment where you didn’t receive


any information from your manager on how you were
supposed to do your job.

would it go very well?


Role of Communication
• Enhancing Business Performance:

Public relations, marketing and advertising


rely on this vehicle
Role of Communication
• Avoiding Miscommunication and Reducing
Confusion:

When controversies involving the business


arise in the media, effective communication
can be used to douse the flames.

Eg: Zomato
Role of Communication
• Creating a Successful Work Environment

Employees spend a large part of their day at


workplace.
Socialization is important
Eg. Google implement Wellness clubs and
informal work groups
Purpose of Communication:
Flow of Information
Coordination
Learning Management Skills
Preparing People to Accept Change
Developing Good Human Relations
Ideas of Subordinates Encouraged
Basic Communication Model

Sender Message

Feedback Receiver

 The sender encodes the message and selects a


channel. The receiver decodes the message and uses
feedback to respond.
Communication Processes
 Communication is the exchange of thoughts,
messages, or information, by speech,
signals, writing, or behaviour between a
sender and a receiver.
Types of Communication
 Formal and informal
 Upward, downward, and
horizontal
 Spoken and written
 Electronic
 Non Verbal
Types of Communication
 Formal - the official communication that travels
through the structured (formal) organization.

 Informal (grapevine) - rumours, statements, or


reports whose truth any known authority cannot
verify and which may not regard the functioning of
the organization.
Types of Communication
 Upward communication - is the flow of communication from
managers to managers.

 Downward communication - is the flow of communication from


managers to managers or from upper management to middle
management or lower management.

 Horizontal communication - is the flow of communication moving


laterally or at the same level in the organization.

 Spiral or Diagonal Communication – is the communication which


flows in circular or diagonal direction. If the management
circulates the copy of a new bonus and incentives among all the
employees, it is circular, diagonal and spiral communication.
Grapevine Communication
When anyone can tell anyone else anything
informally, the result is a rapid flow of
information along what is called the grapevine.
This refers to the pathways along which
unofficial information travels.
Grapevine Communication
• Informal communication : Observe, Gather information

• Benefits : Less expensive, quick, outlet for anxieties /

• frustrations

• Limitations: Multi-directional, fast spreading, unreliable,

• misunderstanding

• Tips : Identify and verify, don’t ignore, don’t threaten


The Communication Processes

 Feedback - a verbal or nonverbal response by a receiver to the


sender’s message.

 Encoding - selecting words and their order for a message by a sender.

 Decoding - the translation of a message by a receiver.

 Noise - literally or figuratively, anything that interferes with a


message.

 Message channel - the conduit or medium that will carry a message


from the sender to the receiver.
The Communication Processes

MESSAGE

NOISE

SENDER RECEIVER

• FEEDBACK
Source Encoded Channel Decoded Receiver

Feedback
Message Channel
 Face-to-face
 Face-to-group
 Telephone
 Written
 Third party
Communication
Through Technology
E-mails
Cell phones
Video conferencing
Blogging
Internet (MySpace, Facebook, and Google)
Faxing
Text messages
Characteristics of Business Communication

• A two-way traffic – Since communication is an


exchange of views, opinions, directions, etc., it
is a two-way traffic. It moves upwards &
downwards.
• Continuous Process – Communication is a
continuous process. More often than not, it is
repeated to achieve desired results.
• A short-lived process – The process of
communication is complete as soon as the
message is received and understood by the
receiver in the right perspective. Hence it is short
lived process.
• Needs proper understanding – The basic objective
of conveying a message is a proper understanding
of the message by the other party. For this
purpose, it should be clearly and concisely worded.
• Leads to achievement of the organizational
objective – Effective communication does this
by creating a sense of object orientation in the
organization.
• Dispels misunderstanding – It leads to clear
understanding between people and thus
builds camaraderie among people.
Importance of communication in
management
Base for Action

Starting of any activity begins with


communication which brings information
necessary to begin with.
Planning Becomes Easy

• Information regarding the human resource


requirement of each department with their
qualifications, the type and kinds of job etc.
helps in human resource planning.

• HR Policies and programes for their acquisition


can be prepared and implemented.
• Means of Coordination
• Aids in Decision-Making
Provides Effective Leadership

• bring manager near to his subordinates

• manager win confidence of his subordinates


through constantly communicating with them
and removing probable misunderstandings.
Boosts Morale and Motivation

• conflict and dissatisfaction due to


misunderstanding can be removed .
• create good industrial relations.
• boosts up the morale of the people and
motivates them to work harder.
Characteristics of successful communication

• Effective or persuasive?
Characteristics of successful communication
(The 7Cs)
Completeness

• receiver gets all the information he needs to


process the message and take action.

• A complete message reduces the need for


follow-up and questions
Completeness

• Answer all questions that are asked


• Give something extra when desirable
• Check for five Ws & one H
• Who What When Where Why • and How
Exercise
• You are the president of an industry association and
have received the following inquiry from an out of
town member, “I think I would like to attend my first
meeting of the association, even though I am not
acquainted with your city. Will you please tell me
where the next meeting is being held?

• How would you reply to this letter keeping in mind


Completeness and other Cs of the message?
Conciseness

• keeping your message to a point.


• content of message to be focused rather than
its length.
• Even a short memo can include irrelevant or
redundant information.
•  helps the receiver focus on what’s important,
Conciseness

• Include only relevant statements


• be focused
• avoid long explanations
• avoid gushing politeness
• Avoid unnecessary repetitions
• use short forms the second time
Exercise
Find single word substitutes for the phrases

• Along the same lines


"similarly" and "furthermore" work well.
• At this time
"now", "currently", and "presently"
• Consensus of opinion
"consensus", in common use, implies a consensus of
opinion already.

• Due to the fact that
• "Because (due to the fact that) it's raining, that's
why!"
Few and far between
"infrequent", "seldom", "occasional“ can fit
• For a price of
• "costing" or "worth" could work in the right
context.
Conciseness

• For the reason of that

"because" again fits well

• In accordance with your request


• Use "accordingly"
• In due course
• "duly" works, though is uncommon.

All replies shall be duly made.


• Please find attached
“Attached”
Consideration

• takes into account the receiver’s background


and points of view.
• If your message hits a nerve or sounds as
disrespectful, the emotional reaction of the
receiver might affect the perception of your
message.
• e.g. by using argumentations and examples
which are relevant to their experience – makes it
easier for them to process the contents.
Concreteness

• A concrete message is specific, tangible, vivid.


• It’s supported by facts and figures
for enhanced credibility.
• Concreteness mitigates the risk of
misunderstanding, fosters trust and
encourages constructive criticism.
Courtesy

• Courtesy and consideration complement each


other in effective communications.

• Courtesy means respecting the receiver’s


culture, values and beliefs – i.e. crafting a
message that is genuinely polite and unbiased.
Clearness

• most communication pitfalls originate from


lack of clarity.

• exact terminology and concrete words,


to reduce ambiguities and confusion
Correctness

• Correct grammar and syntax vouch


for increased effectiveness and credibility of
your message.

• negative impact on the overall perception of


the message, which could be seen as
negligent.
What is barrier?
• A barrier to interpersonal communications is
anything that prevents, restricts or impedes
the conveyance of meaning by words or
gestures between two or more persons in a
social setting.
Barriers to Effective
Communication
• Social
• Psychological
• Cultural
• Physiological
• System design
• Physical
• Receivers
Social Barriers
Gender
Age
Race
National or Cultural
Origin
Socioeconomic Class
Education Level
Urban or Rural
Residence
GENDER
Major influence on the way we communicate with
others.
When men and women work together in a group,
men tend to be more assertive and self-confident.
Women are more likely than men to express their
emotions, to reveal how they feel about a
situation.
AGE

Young people and old people communicate in


different ways.

We do tend to judge a statement by different


standards if we know the speaker’s age.

A person’s age or gender is not important in


judging the truth or wisdom of what that
person says .
Psychological Barriers
• Attitude towards self
• Fear
• Attitude towards audience
• Attitude towards the message
• You Yourself is not convinced with the
subject
• Knowledge of subject
• Personality/Status of the communicator
PERCEPTION

Our physical limitations are a screen through which


we perceive things that exist in our environment.

Our perception is also limited by psychological


screens that we have developed.

Choosing from among the many things within our


range of perception those that we will notice, and
block out the rest is called “Selective Perception”
MOTIVATION
A Motive is a Reason For Action!

The most strongest


motivations are those
that are most personal.
We are motivated by money,
fame, power, love, status, security,
skill, ambition...etc
it can be both positive
or negative.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Almost always obstacles to good


communication!

Especially true barrier if the emotion is


uncontrolled, unfocused, or misdirected.
Other Psychological Barriers

• People’s State of Mind


Happy, Sad
• Personal Problems/Worries
• Pre conceived notions of Communicator or
Receiver
Cultural Barriers
Semantic Problems:
Distortion in communication comes from
semantics- the use of words or expressions
which have a different meaning for the sender
or receiver.

Created when communicators use technical


jargon- usage common to a particular field or
specialization.
Cultural Barriers
• Language
Different languages, dialect, individual linguistic
ability, use of difficult words, inappropriate words,
pronunciation
• Norms and values
• Belief
• Social practices and traditions
Physiological Barriers
• Individuals’ personal discomfort
ill health, poor eye sight, hearing difficulties

• Speech and voice defect, feeling of inferiority,


diseases, physical appearance, lack of skill.
System Design

• Organisational Structure
unclear, to whom to communicate,
• Insufficient or inappropriate information
systems
• Information overloaded
• A lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities
• A lack of supervision or training
Status And Power Differences
Differences in
communications are
likely to parallel the
differences in power.

Imbalance
in negotiating power
leads the high power
party to perform
significantly better than
the low power party.
Physical Barriers
• The term physical barrier refers to the conditions that act as a
roadblock and prevents effective communication. These are easily
visible and can take any form, for instance, closed doors or walls.
The physical barrier is very high if the distance between the sender
and receiver is also too much.
• Physical barriers are described as structural obstructions in both
humanmade and natural environments that block effective
communication so that messages cannot be sent from the sender to
the receiver.
• Some of the physical barriers are noise, technological problems, and
organizational environment. The physical barrier is another word for
disturbance in communication, and the disturbance can also be
caused by thunder, disconnection of calls, or issues in reception.
Types of physical barriers

1) Noise
The ordinary meaning of the word noise is chatter
or racquet, and that is what happens in this type
of physical barrier. It interrupts the process of
communication because of disturbance in the
environment. The interruption acts as an obstacle
and makes the meaning of the message unclear,
inaccurate, and ultimately less productive.
• In some cases, the noise is too much, and the message
is unable to reach the receiver. There are various types
of noise like technological noise, written noise, and
environmental noise, and all of them are considered
physical barriers in communication.
• The technological noise occurs in the channel or
medium, for instance, no sound during a phone call.
Bad typing or handwriting is considered written noise,
and environmental noise is the disturbance that
happens because of background or outside disturbance.
2. Distortion 

• The word distortion means misrepresentation,


and that is what happens when a message is
sent.
• It is a type of physical barrier because the
actual meaning of the message is lost in
transition or during the handling process while
encoding and decoding the communication. In
simple words, human perception can easily
distort the meaning of the message.
3. Information overflow
• Sometimes, the communication fails as the
information is more than the amount that can
be received by the sender at that specific time.
• The receiver is unable to collect the full
information and might miss or misinterpret the
message. As the message fails to get the
desired result, it acts as a physical barrier in
communication.
Continued..

In an organization, physical barriers prevent the employees from


interpreting the non-verbal cues, body language, gestures, and
postures in an effective manner. Some of the significant physical
barriers in an organization are
1.Poor lighting
2.Background noise
3.Closed doors
4.Broken equipment that is used as a communication tool
5.Uncomfortable temperatures
6.Old equipment used for communication
7.Geographical distances between the sender and receiver of the
messages
Communication in Crises
• It is the “dialog between the organization and its public(s) prior to, during,
and after the negative occurrence. The dialog details strategies and
tactics designed to minimize damage to the image of the organization.” 
• Crisis communication refers to the technologies, systems and protocols
that enable an organization to effectively communicate during a major
threat to its business or reputation.
• Organizations must be prepared for a wide range of potential crises,
including extreme weather, crime, cyber-attacks, product recalls,
corporate malfeasance, reputation crises, and PR incidents.
• Preparing ahead of time for a crisis ensures that relevant personnel can
quickly and effectively communicate with each other during moments of
threat, sharing information that allows the organization to quickly rectify
the situation, protect customers, employees and assets, and ensure
business continuity.
Communication in Crises
• The main goal of every workplace crisis communication
strategy is to enable seamless communication during
crisis within an organization. 
• Messages used in crisis communication are meant
to provide employees with the knowledge needed to
make the right decisions during crisis and emergencies.
Some of the common situations in which crisis
communication is used include product recalls, data
breaches, workplace injuries, bankruptcies, and other
workplace situations such as sexual harassment. 
Crisis Communication Objectives

• Objectives for crisis PR activities tend to be of


an impact nature. The general guidelines are:

1.to provide accurate, timely information to all


targeted internal and external audiences
2.to demonstrate concern for the safety of lives
3.to safeguard organizational facilities and assets
4.to maintain a positive image of the organization
as a good corporate or community citizen
Stages of Crises Communication
Types of Crises
• Natural Crisis. Disturbances in the environment
and nature lead to natural crisis
• Technological Crisis
• Confrontation Crisis
• Crisis of Malevolence
• Crisis of Organizational Misdeeds
• Crisis due to Workplace Violence
• Crisis Due to Rumours
• Bankruptcy.
To communicate crisis, leadership, internal
communications and PR teams use employee
communication tools to share updates and
important company information during the crisis.
Crises Management Model
Five Stage Model
Mitroff offers a five-stage model for crisis
management : “(1) signal detection, seek to
identify warning signs and take preventative
measures; (2) probing and prevention, active
search and reduction of risk factors; (3) damage
containment, crisis occurs and actions taken to
limit its spread; (4) recovery, effort to return to
normal operations; and (5) learning, people review
the crisis management effort and learn from it.”
Communication in Crises
Guidelines for effective crisis communication

• Be open, accessible and willing to respond as much as possible to those


clamoring for information.
• Be truthful. Honesty is the best policy both from an ethical point of view
as well as from a practical standpoint. People quickly find out about
partial truths or cover ups – and they will hate you for it. They hate the
cover up more than the original crisis event.
• Be compassionate, empathetic, courteous and considerate. It’s not easy
to do this under pressure when silly questions are asked or repeated,
but this patient approach is necessary.
• Don’t over-reassure. The objective is not to soothe, but to convey
accurate, calm concern. In fact, it is better to over-estimate the problem
and then be able to say that the situation is better than first thought.
• Acknowledge uncertainty. Tell only what you know. Show your
distress and acknowledge your audience’s distress: “It must be
frustrating to hear that we don’t have the answer to that
question right now…”
• Emphasize that a process is in place to learn from the
situation. Describe the process so people will be confident you
will use the knowledge to prevent or minimize the chances of a
similar crisis happening again.
• Give anticipatory guidance. If you are aware of future negative
outcomes, let people know what to expect
• Be regretful, not defensive. Say, “We are sorry…”, or “We feel
terrible that…” when acknowledging problems or failures. It is
preferable not to use ‘regret,’ which sounds legalistic.
• Acknowledge people’s fears. Don’t tell people they
shouldn’t be afraid. They are afraid and have a right
to their fears.
• Express wishes. Say, “I wish we knew more,” or “I
wish our answers were more definitive.”
• Be willing to address the ‘what if’ questions. These
are the questions that everyone is thinking about
and they want expert answers. If you are not
prepared to answer the ‘what if’ questions,
someone else will, and you will lose credibility and
the opportunity to frame the discussion.
Barriers to Communication
There might be a number of such barriers impeding
the flow of communication in the organization.
These may be classified as: (i) External (ii)
Emotional or Psychological Barriers (iii)
Organizational, and (iv) personal factors (V)
Mechanical Barrier
1) External Barriers
• Barriers to communication may be either external to the
parties involved or they might be internal to them.
External barriers may affect communication in any
context, whether organizational or otherwise. Such
external barriers may be in the following forms:
Semantic barriers
• Semantic barriers are obstructions causes in the process of
receiving or understanding of the message during the process
on encoding and decoding ideas and words. These barriers
arise from the linguistic capacity of the parties involved.
Words are the principal communication instrument but a
common difficulty with the words is that each word has
several meanings. For example, in English language, the
word 'round' has seventy five meanings. The Oxford
Dictionary records an average of twenty- eight separate
meanings for each of the 500 most used words in the English
language.
Badly Expressed Message

• Lack of clarity and precision in a message makes it badly


expressed. Poorly chosen and empty words and
phrases, careless omission, lack of coherence, bad
organization of ideas, awkward sentence structure,
inadequate vocabulary, platitudes, numbering repetition
jargon, failure to clarify implications are some common
faults found in this case.
Faulty Translations

• Every manager receives various types of


communications from superiors, peers, subordinates and
he must translate information destined for subordinates,
peers and superiors into language suitable to each. Hence
the message has to be put into words appropriate to the
framework in which the receiver operates, or it must be
accompanied by an interpretation, which will be
understood by the receiver.
Technical Language

• It is often seen that technical language is used by


specialist persons i n their communication. This may
not be known by a common man. As far as possible,
when communicating to common people, it must be
in a simple language, common to all. For example,
take the case of a doctor, who prescribes medicine to
a patient and writes ‘TDS’ (an abbreviation of three
times a day). An ordinary patient may not be able to
understand this unless it is written in a simple
language, or the abbreviation is explained to him.
2) Emotional or Psychological Barriers

• In interpersonal communication, the


psychological state of mind of the sender,
as well as that of the receiver makes lot of
difference. When an individual is under
emotion, his tone overpowers the script of
the message. This creates an obstacle in
normal communication leading to
emotional barriers.
Premature Evaluation

• This premature evaluation is the possible


outcome of message before it is
transmitted to the receiver. Such an
evaluation may prematurely conclude the
message may not bring the desired result,
thereby he withholds the message. This is
an important psychological factor of
communication barrier.
Inadequate Attention

• Normally, in a communication this


happens at the receiver’s end due to
carelessness and not listening properly
what the person at the other end is telling.
This takes place in fact to face
communication or in attending
telephones.
Transmission Losses and Poor
Retention
• When communication passes through various
hands and levels in an organisation, the
transmission of the message by various
persons tends to become inaccurate or corrupt.
This happens in written as well as vocal
communication. In the latter, the receiver may
not retain the message as it was transmitted to
him due to poor retention capability, thus
leading to confusion at a later stage.
Undue Stress on Written Message

• In an organization every executive believes that


written message, instructions and orders would be
better, since the chances of any miscarriage of the
message are almost nil. When face to face
communication of a message takes place between a
superior and subordinate, it not only makes better
understanding but is also effective. It does instill
confidence in the subordinate in so far as execution
of the orders instructions is concerned. No doubt, it
is a better medium of communication than the
written one.
Lack of Trust in the Sender by the
Receiver
• When a communicator (sender) frequently alters
the original communication, the receiver at the
other end will normally delay the action
warranted by the message. This happens due to
uncertain decisions often taken by the sender.
Thus, the communication becomes ineffective,
for various alterations and additions. This is an
example of lack of confidence on the part of the
sender.
3. Organisational Barriers

• This depends upon the general


organisational policy governing the
communication network of the
organisation. Such policy might be a
written text explaining various aspects of
communication, especially the upward,
downward and lateral since it is desirable
to bring an effective communication flow
in the organisation.
Restrictions Imposed by Rules of
Organisation:
• Normally, the information is to be passed
to higher ups through proper channel.
This gets delayed while passing through
the hierarchical ladder. Instructions in
general for passing messages must be
given. Also, specific instructions for
handling important messages need to be
explained to all in order to avoid delays.
Status/Hierarchical Positions Restrict
the Flow of Communication
• Status and/or position of an individual
make a lot of difference in personal
dealings. Superior/subordinate capacity in
formal organisation also prevents free flow
of communication. This happens especially
in case of upward communication. A person
from the lower rung in the hierarchy may
find it difficult to approach directly the top
executive of the organisation.
Complex Situation of the
Organisation
• Large organisations, where there are a
number of levels in managerial posts for
communication may get distorted. This
takes place due to censoring of the
message when transmitted in the upward
direction; since people are usually hesitant
to inform the superiors about the adverse
aspects.
4. Personal Barriers

These barriers are those, which occur in


communication, according to personal
constraints at various levels of organization
such as:
Attitude of Superiors

• Attitude of the superiors play as vital role in the


communication process; whether it is upward or
downward or in any other direction. Therefore,
the attitude of superior, either favourable or
unfavourable affects the flow of communication,
i.e., from superior to subordinate and vice versa.
Insistence on Following Proper
Channel
• Superiors instruct their subordinates to follow the
proper channel, while communicating. They do not
want that a subordinate bypasses them and goes
direct to the next higher authority. They always want
to be in touch with the communication process, so as
to help them to know what is happening in their
jurisdiction.
• During emergency situation, there may be a need to
bypass the superior; however, the superior may not
like it. He may prevent it and instruct the
subordinates to keep him in the picture with
whatever information / message being passed to
higher up, as and when occasion.
Lack of Confidence in Subordinate

• It is a general perception that subordinates are


not competent enough to advise superiors, since
they do not possess the capacity to do so. This
apprehension makes the superior to have lack of
confidence in subordinates. However, this idea
may not be correct, as there are more able
subordinates than their superiors in many
respects.
Hesitation to Communicate

• This happens to be a cause with


subordinates not to communicate with
their superiors. Subordinates show
unwillingness to convey the superior
certain information; since such part of
information may have an adverse effect on
them. Thus, the hesitation to communicate
takes place.
5. Mechanical Barriers

• Mechanical barriers are another group of


factors putting barriers in the smooth flow of
communication.
• They are:
• i. Inadequate arrangements for transmission
of message
• ii. Poor office layout
• iii. Defective procedure and practices
• iv. Use of wrong medium.
Measures which can be used to overcome
the barriers of communication are:

• (a) Clarify the ideas before communication – Before


communicating to employees, a manager should make an
analysis of the subject matter/problem. The purpose of
communication must be very clear.
• (b) Consult others before communicating – A manager
while making plan for communication should encourage
participation of subordinates which will ensure their
support and cooperation.
• (c) Communicate according to the needs of receiver – First
of all, the understanding level of employees should be
considered and then adjustments be made in
communication by the manager.
• d) Be aware of languages, tone and content of message
– Language, tone and content of message should be so
adjusted according to the situation that it is easily
understood by the receiver and stimulates them.
• (e) Convey things of help and value to listeners – To get
good response from the subordinates, it should be
ensured that the message relates to their interests.
• (f) Ensure feedback – For success of communication,
response of the listeners should be encouraged by the
manager.
• (g) Communicate for present as well as future – For
communication to be successful, managers should
incorporate existing commitments as well as future
goals of the organisation.
• (h) Follow up communication – Sometimes it is
difficult to implement instructions in totality by the
subordinates. To overcome this, regular follow up
should be done by managers.
• (i) Be a good listener – Lot of problems can be solved
due to attentive listening quality of the manager.
Tips for effective managerial communication

1) Appropriate Communication
2) Audience-centered Approach
3) Understanding the Inter-cultural
Communication
4) Commitment to Ethical Communication
5) Proficiency in Communication Technology
6) Control over the flow of Information
To Sum up

To Become an Effective communicator


Make effective use of
Heart and Body, Mind and Soul

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