Master of Business Administration

Assignment Set-1
MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits

Name: Richa Bansal Roll No.: Semester-1

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Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester I MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1128) Assignment - Set- 1 (60 Marks)
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions
Q.1 Explain the different types of communication with relevant examples. Ans - Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the sender. Nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of non-word messages. Research shows that the majority of our communication is non verbal, also known as body language. Some of non verbal communication includes gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles, architecture, symbols info graphics, and tone of voice as well as through an aggregate of the above. Non-verbal communication is also called silent language and plays a key role in human day to day life from employment relations to romantic engagements. Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage. These include voice quality, emotion and speaking style as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts include nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey emotional expressions in pictorial form. Visual communication Visual communication is the conveyance of ideas and information through creation of visual representations. Primarily associated with two dimensional images, it includes: signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colors, and electronic resources, video and TV. Recent research in the field has focused on web design and graphically oriented usability. Graphic designers use methods of visual communication in their professional practice. Oral communication Oral communication, while primarily referring to spoken verbal communication, typically relies on both words, visual aids and nonverbal elements to support the conveyance of the meaning. Oral communication includes discussion, speeches, presentations, interpersonal communication and many other varieties. In face to face communication the body language and voice tonality plays a significant role and may have a greater impact on the listener than the intended content of the spoken words. A great presenter must capture the attention of the audience and connect with them. For example, out of two persons telling the same joke one may greatly amuse the audience due to his body language and tone of voice while the second person, using exactly the same words, bores and irritates the audience.[citation needed] Visual aid can help to facilitate effective communication and is almost always used in presentations for an audience. A widely cited and widely misinterpreted figure used to emphasize the importance of delivery states that "communication comprise 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, 7% content of words", the so-called "7%-38%-55% rule".[2] This is not however what the cited

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Research shows rather, when conveying emotion, if body language, tone of voice, and words disagree, then body language and tone of voice will be believed more than words.[3][clarification needed] For example, a person saying "I'm delighted to meet you" while mumbling, hunched over, and looking away will be interpreted as insincere. (Further discussion at Albert Mehrabian: Three elements of communication.)' Written communication and its historical development Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through progression of technology. Advances include communications psychology and media psychology; an emerging field of study. Researchers divide the progression of written communication into three revolutionary stages called "Information Communication Revolutions" (Source needed). During the 1st stage written communication first emerged through the use of pictographs. The pictograms were made in stone, hence written communication was not yet mobile. During the 2nd stage writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, wax, etc. Common alphabets were introduced and allowed for the uniformity of language across large distances. A leap in technology occurred when the Gutenberg printing-press was invented in the 15th century. The 3rd stage is characterized by the transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic signals. Communication is thus a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process, which requires a vast repertoire of skills in interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, gestures, and evaluating enables collaboration and cooperation.[4] Barriers to successful communication include message overload (when a person receives too many messages at the same time), and message complexity. Misunderstandings can be anticipated and solved through formulations, questions and answers, paraphrasing, examples, and stories of strategic talk. Written communication can be clear by planning follow-up talk on critical written communication as part of the normal way of doing business. Minutes spent talking now will save time later having to clear up misunderstandings later on. Then, take what was heard and reiterate in your own words, and ask them if thats what they meant. Q.2 What are the general principles of writing especially business writing? Ans - The purpose of a business report is to communicate information to assist in the business decision making process. Some reports might propose solutions for business problems or might present relevant information to assist in the problem solving process. A business plan is a kind of report which serves to communicate the business model, business management model and the commercial objectives of a business. In general when writing a business report the following steps have to be followed 1. Preparing to write the business report 2. Determining the scope of the report 3. Understanding the target audience 4. Research to collect supporting information 5. Formatting and organizing the report Preparing to write the business report Preparation is key to write a business report. As part of preparation, doing preparatory research is imperative. The author uses available technology to find valid information using the following steps: 1. Identifying good search tools 2. Doing a topic search to speed up the process 3. Searching using Boolean operators, wild cards, exact phrases
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Then, the writer must manage the outcome of the research. The best ways to manage sources found online are to: 1. Bookmark the pages 2. Repeating the research frequently to find updated information 3. Establish the credibility of all the sources (are they current? who published them? are they biased?) After having found the best sources during this preliminary research, the author can now begin to think about whom to write it. Determining the scope of the report In this step the author has to determine the scope of the report. This process would involve what topics would be covered in the report and what elements are not necessary. This step would also help to determine how detailed the report would be. Understanding the target audience A target audience, or target group, is the primary group of people that something is aimed at appealing to. A target audience can be people of a certain age group, gender, marital status, etc. (ex: teenagers, females, single people, etc.) A certain combination, like men from twenty to thirty, is often a target audience. Other groups, although not the main focus, may also be interested. Discovering the appropriate target market(s) to market a product or service to is one of the most important stages involved with market research. Without knowing the target audience, a company's advertising and the selling efforts can become difficult and very expensive. In this step the potential requirements of the readers have to be considered and the target audience has to be identified. Questions such as who will use the report?, educational level of the audience?, knowledge level of the reader?, what is the reader expecting from this report?, personal demographics of the audience?, What should be the level of technical complexity? Collecting information for the report In this step all previous reports, surveys and publications about the topic should be studied. A lot of reports would require some form of Data collection. Many times Investigative research might be needed. It is important that the process and methods used for research are explained. Data which is collected during this process should be presented clearly in the report. Recommendations and proposed solutions have to be studied and reviewed in this process. Formatting and organizing the report this is usually the final step before actually writing a business report. In this step the format of the report has to be decided. The following questions might rise during this step, how would the data be presented?, what charts/diagrams will be used to complement the information presented in the report?, how would the report be presented?, what medium of presentation would be used?. Q.3 How would you prepare yourself for an oral business presentation? Ans - Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations. In the business World, there are sales presentations, informational and motivational presentations, first encounters, interviews, briefings, status reports, image-building, and of course, the inevitable training sessions. Although individuals most often think of presentations in a business meeting context, there are countless occasions when that is not the case. For example, a Non Profit Organization presents the need for a capital fund-raising campaign to benefit the victims of a recent tragedy; a school district superintendent presents a program to parents about the introduction of foreign-language instruction in the elementary schools; an artist demonstrates decorative painting techniques to a group of interior designers; a horticulturist shows garden club members or homeowners how they might use native plants in the suburban landscape; a police officer addresses a neighborhood association about initiating a safety program. Presentations can
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also be categorized as vocational and vocational. In addition, they are expository or persuasive. And they can be impromptu, extemporaneous, written, or memorizes. When looking at presentations in the broadest terms, it's more important to focus on their purpose. Another study found that audiences believe presenters who use visuals are more professional and credible than presenters who merely speak. And still other research indicates that meetings and presentations reinforced with visuals help participants reach decisions and consensus in less time. A presentation program, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, OpenOffice.org Impress or Prezi, is often used to generate the presentation content. The development of information technology has made the use of these solutions possible, but overhead transparencies are still used widely. A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theories and equations. A politician's speech, a minister's sermon, or even a businessman's sales presentation may be similar in form to a lecture. Usually the lecturer will stand at the front of the room and recite information relevant to the lecture's content. Though lectures are much criticized as a teaching method, universities have not yet found practical alternative teaching methods for the large majority of their courses. Critics point out that lecturing is mainly a one-way method of communication that does not involve significant audience participation. Therefore, lecturing is often contrasted to active learning. Lectures delivered by talented speakers can be highly stimulating; at the very least, lectures have survived in academia as a quick, cheap and efficient way of introducing large numbers of students to a particular field of study. Lectures have a significant role outside the classroom, as well. Academic and scientific awards routinely include a lecture as part of the honor, and academic conferences often center around "keynote addresses", i.e., lectures. The public lecture has a long history in the sciences and in social movements. Union halls, for instance, historically have hosted numerous free and public lectures on a wide variety of matters. Similarly, churches, community centers, libraries, museums, and other organizations have hosted lectures in furtherance of their missions or their constituents' interests. Lectures represent a continuation of oral tradition in contrast to textual communication in books and other media. Q.4 You are a team manager having 15 members in your team. Two of your key team members are on 3-weeks leave. You have to call for a monthly team meeting within a week. How effectively you would plan and carry out this meeting? Ans - In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting. A meeting is a gathering of two or more people that has been convened for the purpose of achieving a common goal through verbal interaction, such as sharing information or reaching agreement.[2] Meetings may occur face to face or virtually, as mediated by communications technology, such as a telephone conference call, a skyped conference call or a videoconference. Thus, a meeting may be distinguished from other gatherings, such as a chance encounter (not convened), a sports game or a concert (verbal interaction is incidental), a party or the company of friends (no common goal is to be achieved) and a demonstration (whose common goal is achieved mainly through the number of demonstrators present, not verbal interaction). Commercially, the term is used by meeting planners and other meeting professionals to denote an event booked at a hotel, convention center or any other venue dedicated to such gatherings. [2] In this sense, the term meeting covers a lecture (one presentation), seminar (typically several presentations, small audience, one day), conference (mid-size, one or more days), congress (large, several days), exhibition or trade show (with manned stands being visited
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by passers-by), workshop (smaller, with active participants), training course, team-building session and kick-off event. Types of meetings 1. Investigative Meeting, generally when conducting a pre-interview, exit interview or a meeting among the investigator and representative 2. Work Meeting, which produces a product or intangible result such as a decision 3. Staff meeting, typically a meeting between a manager and those that report to the manager 4. Team meeting, a meeting among colleagues working on various aspects of a team project 5. Ad-hoc meeting, a meeting called for a special purpose 6. Management meeting, a meeting among managers 7. Board meeting, a meeting of the Board of directors of an organization 8. One-on-one meeting, between two individuals 9. Off-site meeting, also called "offsite retreat" and known as an Away day meeting in the UK 10. Kickoff meeting, the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project to discuss the role of each team member 11. Pre-Bid Meeting, a meeting of various competitors and or contractors to visually inspect a jobsite for a future project. The meeting is normally hosted by the future customer or engineer who wrote the project specification to ensure all bidders are aware of the details and services expected of them. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Meeting may be mandatory. Failure to attend usually results in a rejected bid. If 2 key members are not there company use the alternates .on the behalf of that members company should give the work anther person who has subordinates of that person , either under that section who is expert will be chosen by company. Q. 5 Distinguish between circulars and notices along with formats. Ans - like memos, circulars and notices are also written forms of communications within the organization. The differentiate between a circular and a notice is that circular are announcements that are distributed to small or selective groups of people with the origination, whereas notices are meant for a larger group of people. example- if a manger wants to call a meeting of heads of Departments he will pass around a circular only to the heads, recasting them to the heads, them to attend that meeting on the other hand, notice generally contain information or announcements that are meant for all the employees of an origination example- A list of declared holidays for a calendar year is notice, since the information is relevant to all employee. A notice is therefore a legal document that has to be put up on a official notice or bulletin board. a simple circular and notice are given below TO ALL DEPARTMENTAL HEADS CIRCULAR SAFTEYASPECTS IN SCIENCE LABORATORIES The purpose of this circular is to emphasis the importance of safety in research laboratories. All laboratory supervisors are responsible for the safety of research scientist in their charge. Its is Their duty to draw their attention to any safety hazarded that pertains to a particular activity. In this context, supervisors should be familiar with relevant guidance on laboratory safety and they should be careful at all times to observe standard safety procedures, when practical activities are being conducted in the laboratory. Please bring this circular to the notice of the supervisors conceal and to the notice of the representative as appropriate, for transmission to individual research scientist .manager HR March 11 2011 a notice
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MANIPAL UNIVERSAL LEARNINIG March 11 & 2011 Manipal towers, Bangalore REF: ADM/N/44-99 NOTICE sub: Manipal family day celebrations This is to inform all employees of MUL that a Manipal Family day celebration will be held at Manipal county on friday march 14 &between 1 am to 8 pm .A pick up and drop back facility is being organized for all employees and their family members .in view of the celebrations this will be a holiday. Instead , Saturday, march 15 & will be a working day to compensate for this holiiday .All are encouraged to attend and make the event a success . SENIOR MANAGER ,HR Some time under special circumstance notice may also be sent to individual employees. Q. 6 You are a sales manager for a particular brand of mixer and blender. Frame a sample bad news letter telling a customer about that her claim for the product replacement is rejected on the grounds that the product didnt have any defect during the sale. Ans - Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely implemented strategy for managing a companys interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.[1] Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer interface departments as well as other departments. In evaluating technology, key factors include alignment with the companys business process strategy and goals, including the ability to deliver the right data to the right employees and sufficient ease of adoption and use. Be poil eat with the customer telling to him/her .when we selling that item we are giving u after cheek there is no mistake on mixer and blender . I am sales manager for a this brand of mixer and blender. ans we have to inform you that claim for the product replacement is rejected on the grounds that the product didnt have any defect during the sale. thanku to connection with us .

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