Business Communication and Executive Effectiveness

Business Communication
and
Executive Effectiveness

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Business Communication and Executive Effectiveness

Part I

Q.1 Explain in Detail “Communication Process” and write a note on the

nature of Communication.

Ans. Language defines the word communication as the “giving or exchanging of

information, signals or messages by talk, gestures, or writing.” Communication is not
simply sending of a message. It involves interaction between two people. For
communication to be effective, both people must constantly giving and receiving
information, verbally and non-verbally. And great communication can go to an
entirely different level. One person can have the ability to experience what the other
person is feeling at that moment and accept him or her for it. I am giving below the
importance of the effective communication skills through an example.

You as a medical staff leader might take a moment to assess the mechanisms used
within your staff and hospital to obtain information from staff physicians and to
provide information to those physicians. You might also assess the mechanisms used
to encourage discussion among physicians concerning alternative courses of action.
There are six keys to effective communication:

1. Use as many means as possible to convey important messages. People learn

in different ways, so a combination of written, oral, and visual, may be
necessary to get your message cross.

2. Make sure medical staff communication is both ongoing and consistent.

3. Good medical staff communication requires a good communication system,

not disjointed, unplanned, or random events.

4. Remember that communication is personal. A communication system that

includes face-to-face interaction will almost always be more successful than
any impersonal alternative.

5. Medical staff members are generally pressed for time. The means you choose
to communicate with your staff should recognize that fact.

6. Find ways to highlight or draw attention to essential communication.

Repetition through various means of communication will help, as will
designing important announcements so they are visually captivating.

If you are a department chairperson or the president of your medical staff, it is your
responsibility to see to it that all physicians within your department, or all physicians
on your staff, have access to information through a variety of sources. It is also
important that you design a means to solicit information from physicians concerning
important issues pertaining to patient care or the overall operation of your healthcare
system.

What follows are a few general suggestions. Many of these suggestions have been
implemented by hospitals across the country. To be sure, some are more effective
than others and none are guaranteed; yet they are all potentially effective. You would
do well to consider all of them as you attempt to improve the two-way street of
effective communication:

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1. Physicians are pressed for time. Provide them with a mechanism to register
their concerns, complaints, or suggestions that is easy, efficient, and effective.
For this you might choose a medical staff hotline, a dedicated phone number for
physician use. Physicians should be provided with a small card that has the
hotline telephone number on it and should be encouraged to use this system to
register any complaint, concern, or suggestion. The key to making this work well
is that a physician has the option to remain anonymous. If a physician chooses to
leave a name, he or she will get a response within a defined time period. The
medical executive committee should receive a summary of all calls to the hotline.
2. A medical staff department chair might consider keeping the members
informed by sending them a personal "department chair's letter" each month.
Many physicians cannot find the time to attend departmental meetings, and
many do not come to the institution often enough to absorb via grapevine all that
is necessary. A department chair could spend five or six minutes every month
dictating a report to the members of the department concerning important issues
that he or she is working on, considering, or needs input on. Such letters should
never be more than a page and should always allow the recipient an opportunity
to respond.
3. Some physicians listen better than they read. Perhaps an audio newsletter
once a quarter prepared by the chief of staff would be of interest to your medical
staff members. Such an audio newsletter would be no longer than 10 or 11
minutes (suitable for playing in the car while commuting). The chief of staff
and/or CEO might use this opportunity to advise the medical staff of important
medical staff or institutional programs that are underway or being contemplated.
Once again, be sure to provide an opportunity for physicians to respond if they
would like further information or have any questions.
4. In large medical staffs it is very difficult to take the pulse of staff members
during infrequent meetings or hall conversations. It is generally recommended
that staffs above approximately 150 to 200 physicians routinely use a physician
questionnaire, distributed and filled out by a reasonable percentage of the
physicians, to solicit their opinions concerning the quality and responsiveness of
the hospital to physician and patient needs. I generally recommend that such a
questionnaire not be sent to any one individual more than once a year but that
the questionnaires be sent to 25 percent of the staff once a quarter. Maximum
return will be assured if the questionnaire is submitted in a letter from the chief of
staff indicating how important it is that physicians participate in medical staff and
hospital activities.
5. It is still true that many physicians congregate in the surgeons' or physicians'
lounge or the medical records department. There should be a prominent bulletin
board in each of these locations containing regular announcements with current
important information, such as information concerning new applicants to the staff,
policies or procedures that the medical executive committee is working on, or
new clinical programs, as well as a place that could be used by physicians to post
"gossip" that they have heard and they would like answered by the chief of staff.
Another routine announcements section on this bulletin board could be used as a
forum for physicians to post their "good ideas." Any physician having any idea to
improve hospital performance or patient care should be encouraged to jot it down
and post it on the board.

There are, of course, many other opportunities to increase communication. More

recently, a few medical staffs have reported great success by operating a medical
staff Web site which, if utilized, would provide significant amounts of information to
physicians on staff. The communications program for your medical staff should be
highly organized and directed by a physician member of the staff. You might consider

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assigning the job of medical staff communications to the secretary/treasurer of the

staff. This would give this individual greater exposure to medical staff issues and a
job that is far more substantial than typing an annual report on the state of the
medical staff budget.

Q 2. Write short notes on

1) Objectives of effective Communication
2) Barriers to Effective Communication
3) Types of Communication in Business Organizations

Answer.

Objectives of Effective Communalization

Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions and emotions by two or more
persons.
Communication is required for imparting ideas to others. In communication
knowledge are transmitted – and it is done with some objectives.

1. Information: Information always affects business decisions. In the business

organization information is required from every possible source. On the basis of
information, change can be brought in the organization.

2. Advice: Advice is necessary to perform the specific job in desired manner.

Manager devotes his major share of time for advising the various authorities in
the organization.

3. Suggestion: Effective communication promotes good suggestions. Suggestions

go a long way in improving the quality of work of subordinates. Improved
products are the result of effective suggestions by the work manager or plant
supervisor.

4. Persuasion: In daily life everybody is engaged in persuasion. The teacher is

engaged in persuading his students to study. The manager is persuading his
subordinates to work more and more. Persuasion means to convince.

5. Education: Education means imparting the instructions to others. Workers’

training is a part of education. It enables them to increase the knowledge and
skills to perform specific job.

6. Motivation: Communication is very effective tool of motivation. Means to

encourage the people who are responsible for undertaking organizational
activities, motivation is one of the most important functions of the manager.
Communication and motivation are the two sides of the same coin.

7. Warning: Carelessness, Chitchatting, wastage of time and valuable material are

dangerous for the organization. It should be curtailed at any cost. In order to
maintain the discipline in the organization memos, notice etc.

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Barriers to Effective Communication

Some traditional barriers, most importantly geography, i.e., the distance between
librarians or between them and their users, have become significantly less important.
In spite of these advances many barriers to easy, effective communications remain.
Two sections of our survey focused on barriers to communication with other librarians
and with users.

Email and all electronic communications require infrastructure that is often very
expensive, inadequate or missing altogether. Computer literacy is often
underdeveloped and hard to improve because of inconvenient access to computers
and to the Internet. This is a problem not just in underdeveloped countries; there are
still university libraries in North America where not every librarian has a computer on
her desk. Given the variety of levels of infrastructure and funding available to
librarians, it is remarkable that email is so overwhelmingly favored in all countries as
a method of communication with other librarians.

There are other barriers, which are not directly related to technology.

Scientists are used to communicating their research in English but librarians do not
have that custom. Language therefore can be a significant barrier, not so much to
communicating at all, but to the kind of fluent, comfortable, frequent
communications that enable fruitful personal networking.

The size, type and culture of one's organization, its atmosphere, its wealth or lack
thereof, the physical arrangement of the offices, can all facilitate or prevent effective
communications, especially, but not exclusively, with library users. A librarian in a
small observatory might have more contact with individual researchers than one in a
larger library in a physically vast institute. A librarian who works in a university library
which serves multiple disciplines and thousands of faculty and students is going to be
more removed from the needs of individual astronomers than one who works in a
specialized astronomy library in a similar university, especially if the former librarian
works in a department such as collection development and has no direct contact with
library users. The generalist librarian may have less contact with specialist librarians
too. Individuals cannot change these things, but compensation, through special
efforts to talk to researchers directly, can and must be made.

The stereotype of librarians is something to be eschewed but certainly there are

some tendencies in the personalities of librarians who enjoy working in small,
isolated observatory libraries. These self-reliant, introspective types may have a
difficult time reaching out to astronomers and other librarians. Shyness, reticence
and timidity are characteristics which may apply to many women and to some ethnic
cultures. In our survey several people mentioned as a barrier their ``reserve'' or
other similar aspects of their personality. The low status of women and/or librarians in
some cultures may inhibit the free interchange of ideas. Although only 7.6% of the
responses to the question of barriers indicated that ``low status'' was a problem,
23%, or the second most frequent response (along with their own workload), was the
time and workload constraints of their users. It may be true that astronomers are too
busy, but it may also be true that librarians simply assume that astronomers don't
consider communicating with librarians important or of high priority.

Some countries discourage or censor foreign communications; there is not much

fellow librarians can do to counteract this policy, except communicate with
colleagues from these countries in the way that is most appropriate to them.

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The advent of new electronic media comes at a time when staffing and financial
constraints are even tighter than before. The workload of the average librarian has
increased as she/he takes on the navigation of these new electronic waters in
addition to the traditional media. Time to communicate with others is therefore
squeezed. ``My workload'' was the second most frequent response to the question of
barriers (along with the workload of their users).

Types of Communication in Business Organizations

Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions and emotions by two or more
persons.
Communication is required for imparting ideas to others. In communication
knowledge are transmitted – and it is done with some objectives.
Fundamentally, organizational communication occurs on 3 levels - the first level is
interpersonal i.e. communication with oneself
The 2nd level is interpersonal i.e. when you communicate with another person, face
to face 2 way discussion - I ask you a question, you listen and respond and vice
versa. Probably half of your waking hours are spent in interpersonal communication
behaviors.
And thirdly, group level - either individual to group or group to group
Communication may take the form of written or spoken words, gestures or even
visual symbols. It involves the sending and receiving of information resulting in a
degree of shared meaning between a sender and receiver.

This dynamic process presupposes a search for meaning, an attempt to understand.

Meanings reside in people and not in words themselves; thus to accomplish
understanding can be extremely difficult

So today, I'd like you to take a moment to think about how and where you could
make at least one improvement so that you become more effective in getting your
message across.

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Q 5. Prepare a layout of Business Letter for a consumer Product Company.

Answer. When you write a business letter, you will follow a general format. However,
your instructor or your company may have specific requirements that you must use.
For instance, a company might have a particular way of presenting a salutation or
may even use a specific type of letterhead.

Because a business letter is an effective way to communicate a message, its format

should allow readers to quickly grasp information. Information should stand out to
readers as they scan the document. Remember, a business letter reflects your
professionalism.
• Heading or Return Address
Readers should always be able to quickly locate your contact information. This
information is located at the top of the business letter in the return address or by
using the company's letterhead. This includes:
 Name
 Address
 Phone number
 Company logo or letterhead

• Inside Address
The inside address is your reader's full address. This includes the reader's:
 Name
 Position
 Organization (as the company calls itself)
 Complete mailing address
If your reader has a courtesy title, such as Professor, then use it. Otherwise
use Mr. or Ms., unless you know the reader prefers Miss or Mrs. These should
also appear identically on the envelope.

• Attention Line
When you cannot address a business letter to a particular person, use an
attention line:

Attention: Human Resource Manager

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Use the attention line if you want an organization to respond even if the
person you write to is unavailable. In this instance, put the name of the
organization or division on the first line of the inside address, and the
attention line immediately afterwards:

• Subject Line
Use a brief phrase or keywords to describe the content of the business letter

• Salutation
A business letter should always include a salutation. This is to whom the letter
is addressed. Salutations add a personal touch to your letter. If unsure to
whom you should address a letter, always call an organization to find a
contact. You should also use a colon rather than a comma because a comma
is less professional.

Dear Dr. Reading:

Dear Sir or Madam:

If you have no attention or subject line, put the salutation two lines below the
inside address. The traditional salutation is Dear followed by the reader's
courtesy title and last name.

When addressing a group of people, use one of the following salutations:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Gentlemen: (if all the readers are male)
Ladies: (if all the readers are female)

• Body
The body of a business letter is typically single-spaced and has three paragraphs:
 Introductory paragraph
 One or more body paragraphs
 Concluding paragraph
Like essays written for college courses, a business letter introduces one main
idea and then supports this idea. At the end of the letter, always include a
way for your readers to contact you.

Finally, consider how your letter looks. If you have nothing but paragraph after
paragraph of text, you might use lists to draw attention to specific
information. Lists are effective ways to present information because they
break down large amounts of text and are visually pleasing. Lists are
especially useful when you have to convey steps, phases, years, procedures,
or decisions, and can be bulleted or numbered.

When creating a list, consider writing phrases, fragments or even questions

and answers. By avoiding full sentences in a list, your information is concise
and more likely to engage your readers.

For example, to receive a degree in engineering, you must complete the

following:
 Core Courses
 Elective Courses

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 Senior Design

• Complimentary Close and Signature

Business letters should end with a closing, such as:
 Sincerely,
 Cordially,
 Best regards,
 Yours very truly,
Capitalize only the first word in the complimentary close, and follow all
phrases with a comma.
You should also remember to sign and type your name under the closing.

• Reference and Enclosure Lines

If someone else types your letters, the reference line identifies this person,
usually by initials. It appears a few spaces below the signature line, along the
left margin. The writer's initials come first, and they are capitalized.
For example, if Kathy Reese wrote a letter that McKenzie Allen typed, it would
appear like this:
KR/ma.
If the envelope contains any documents other than the letter itself, identify
the number of enclosures:
Enclosure or
Enclosure (1), which means two documents
In determining the number of enclosures, count only the separate items, not
the number of pages.

• Copy Line
The copy line is used to let the reader know that other people are receiving a
copy of the document. Use the following symbols:
 c: for copy
 pc: for photocopy
 bc: blind copy
Follow the symbol with the names of the other recipients, listed either
alphabetically or according to organizational rank.
If you do not want your reader to know about the other copies, type bc on the
copies only, not the original.

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Q 3. Explain in detail “ Listening” and what is the advantage of “Body

Language” in communication.

Answer.
Listening :

In its most basic form, communicating involves a sender who takes his/her thoughts
and encodes them into verbal and nonverbal messages that are sent to a receiver.
The receiver then decodes the messages and attempts to understand what the
sender meant to communicate. The communication process is completed when the
receiver transmits verbal and nonverbal feedback to indicate his/her reception and
understanding of the message.

This process takes place within a context, also known as a rhetorical situation, which
includes all that affects the communication process such as the sender-receiver's
culture, the sender-receiver's relationship, the circumstances surrounding the sender-
receiver's interaction, and the physical environment of the interaction.

Listening is a vital skill, not only for this class but for life in general. Becoming an
effective communicator starts with becoming a better listener.

The main thing to remember is that hearing does not equal listening. Hearing is a
physiological process that involves the reception of vibrations by the delicate
structures within our ears. Listening is a psychological process that involves the
interpretation of what we hear. Hearing is passive--it takes no effort on our part, while
listening is active--it takes effort and a willingness to tune in.

One of the most important parts of public speaking is learning how to listen to or
read your audience. This means being able to observe and to utilize the feedback
from the audience. Being a good listener also helps in the development of your
speech because it allows you to gain skills in analyzing messages and retaining
information.

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So how do you start improving your listening skills? The key is to actively focus on
your listening behavior, and to start eliminating behaviors that lead to poor listening.
These negative behaviors include:
• Mentally jumping to conclusions before the other person has finished
speaking.
• Focusing on how the person communicates rather than what is being
communicated.
• Starting to think of a response before the other person has finished a thought.

Being aware of such behaviors, and actively trying to eliminate them is a major step
toward being a more effective communicator.

Advantage of “Body Language” in Communication:

An interesting method for selling clients on you, your company and your
services is to use nonverbal communication, subtle messages conveyed without
words. These include posture, facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms and your
appearance. People buy based on their senses, and everything that you can do to
positively affect their senses can and will affect your ability to sell to them.

Psychologists claim that the impact you make on others depends on what you say
(7%), how you say it (38%), and by your body language (55%). Since how you sound
also conveys a message, 93% of emotion is communicated without actual words.

It's often not what you say that influences others; it's what you don't say. The signals
that you send nonverbally suggest attitude, understanding, empathy and ethics.

The moment you meet a prospective client, they judge you by what they see and
feel. The process takes less than 10 seconds but the impression is permanent.
Whether you make or break a sale can literally depend on the silent signals that you
send during this first contact.

However, some nonverbal signals have several meanings. Crossed arms can indicate
defensiveness, or simply a comfortable position. Touching the nose can suggest
doubt in what the person is hearing. Or it could be a response to an itch or soreness
from a recent cold. Likewise, an unbuttoned jacket can signify openness and
cooperation. It could also be an overweight person trying to fit into an old jacket. The
hitchhiking pose, arm extended with thumb pointed up, can give a negative message
in other cultures.

The key is that a nonverbal signal is not a complete message. Watch for a pattern of
signals that all have the same meaning. The body language should match the verbal
expressions. It should also match the context of the situation. So look for body
language in clusters of signals with common meanings. Once you understand body
language, you can use your own voice and body to help make a sale.

Take the handshake for example. A handshake can be soft, firm, brief, long, or even
painful. The way you shake hands provides clues to your personality. Aggressive
people have firm handshakes. People with low self esteem often have a limp
handshake. Politicians typically shake your hand with their other hand covering the
shake or holding your elbow. Domineering men often squeeze the hand of women
during a greeting. The clever woman moves her index and little finger in toward her
palm preventing a crushing handshake. This negates his dominant act and keeps her

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in equal control. So adopt a handshake that is firm, yet not crushing. Convey
confidence and professionalism, not dominance.

Posture is another aspect of body language. A slouch can suggest lack of interest or
enthusiasm. Standing straight with your weight balanced on each foot makes you
look confident and relaxed. Try to stand or sit up straight; don't slouch.

Rather than saying “Trust me”, subtle actions can convey the message “I can be
trusted”. The mannerisms of honest people produce belief. Even animals sense this.
One particular mannerism involves the way palms are shown. Holding a hand out to a
dog with the palm down sends a dominant message to the dog. It may snap at you if
you're a stranger. Shaking hands with your palm down conveys the same message.
Showing an open hand with palm up suggests honesty and sincerity. To an animal it
conveys trust. Hands pushed into pockets convey hidden agendas or secretiveness.
Show your palms, and help build trust.

Open hands with your palms visible should be accompanied by an open posture and
a sincere facial expression. Your arms should be unfolded, not crossed. And your eyes
should be focused on your client. Darting eyes suggest deceit. Looking left as you
speak can suggest truth. Looking right when you speak may transmit dishonesty.
Looking down when speaking conveys low self-esteem.

And get rid of the sunglasses. Dark glasses prevent a client from seeing your eyes
and “reading your soul.” It's been said that a person's eyes cannot hide a dishonest
intent.

When you meet a client, use honest, open gestures. Outward and upward
movements of your hands are positive actions. Putting the finger tips of one hand
against the finger tips of the other is a form of “steepling” that conveys confidence.
But clasping your hands behind your head as you lean back in a chair can suggest
arrogant confidence and turn prospects away. Placing your hands on each side of
your waist is called “standing at the ready”. This pose shows confidence and attracts
others. Many catalog-clothing models are photographed standing in this pose.

Unbuttoning a suit jacket in front of a prospect will signify an open attitude that
you're willing to talk, to negotiate. Taking off your jacket is really powerful. And rolling
your shirtsleeves up suggests that you're ready to get down to the final price.

As you talk with a prospect, watch their body language. If they cross their arms, use
positive signals and statements that will cause them to unfold their arms and open
up to your sales approach. When their arms and legs are uncrossed and their hands
are open, a sale is possible. When you notice them “mirroring” your movements and
gestures, you've got them locked on to your sales presentation. Mirroring indicates
maximum communication with the other person. If you move your arms apart
opening your palms, and they do the same, you are both in synch. The messages and
the words of the sale are being received and accepted by the other.

Avoid fidgeting or appearing nervous. Even if this is the first serious prospect in a
week, you must act as though your business plate is relatively full. If they appear
defensive or hostile, don't react in like manner. Use all positive signals. Lean slightly
forward to put energy into the conversation. Spread your arms, and open your hands
with your palms up.

Visualize your customer wearing a traffic signal. Positive nonverbal messages signal “
green” to go ahead and approach a close on the sale. If the client's body language

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changes from positive to defensive or non–believing, the signal is “yellow” and

caution must be observed. Slow down and advance carefully. Try to get them to
exhibit openness. A defiant, arms and legs “double-cross” with a scowl on their face
is a definite “red” signal. You cannot close a sales unless you have a “green” light. If
you can get your prospect to mirror your movements they'll be in synch with your
presentation and receptive to the sale.

Use your body in the selling process and keep upbeat. If you believe in your services
and the quality of your work, others will too. A positive, honest message conveyed by
your nonverbal communication will generate far more opportunities than you think.
Nonverbal messages can move prospects from suspicion to openness and
receptiveness. They can sway “fence –sitters” into buying. You can also use body
language to calm hostile or dissatisfied clients.

Dishonest entrepreneurs will be exposed when buyer's become aware and use body
language to read the insincere service provider like a book. Then these prospects will
turn to you, the honest professional, for their business solutions.

Q 4. Visualize the types of written communication in the Business

Organization
1. Notices 2. Reports 3. Letters
4. Minutes of meeting 5. Brochures 6. House Journals

Answer.

Notices –

Notices are methods used to keep the workforce as a whole up to date with what is
going on. There are impersonal methods of communication i.e. the same
communication is sent to all the workers. Notices may relate to vacant posts, holiday
arrangements, union matters or social events and are likely to be displayed on a
notice board. Sometimes important notices are included with wage or salary slips.
They keep workers informed and attempt to make them feel a part of a large
company.

The advantages of this method are:

 It can contain diagrams as well as written information.
 A written record of the message is kept.
 They can be created in such a way as to attract attention.
 Employees tend to look at notice boards in their breaks.

The disadvantages to this method are:

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 The message isn’t clearly sent across, as not a lot of detail can be included in
the notice.
 The notice can easily be taken down to be read by an employee or covered up
by another notice.
 It can time to distribute the notices around the organisation.
 If they don’t look attractive, people tend not to look at them as they may think
from their first impressions that it doesn’t seem very interesting.

Letters -

Millions of us write letters as part of our work but few of us know the keys to an
effective business letter. Too many business letters are impersonal, longwinded and
difficult or tedious to read.

Most writers hide behind tired phrases and an over-formal approach when writing
business letters.

Part II

Q. 1 Fill in the blanks

1) The greater the vision, the greater the potential it gives.

2) Goals provide a valuable means of evaluating your progress.

3) The single greatest resource that each of us has to increase our

productivity is other people.

4) Stress becomes strain when it is continuous.

5) Meet each person with positive anticipation, and expect every encounter
to yield positive results.

Q.2 What do you understand by the word – vision? How it is useful for
achievement of your goals?

Ans. The people make things happen are people who have vision. Actually vision
means something supposedly seen by other than normal sight, the ability to perceive
something not actually visible, as through mental acuteness, keen foresight…force or

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power of imagination”. It is basically a mental picture in a person, which he strives to

make it happen.

A person without vision sees only what is immediate, what he can put his hands on
and what is convenient. Someone with vision, on the other hand, has the whole
world open to him. A person’s occupation doesn’t determine his vision. Vision brings
great benefits and opens incredible doors of opportunity. It increases a person’s
potential. The greater the vision, the greater the potential it gives.

Achievements make life more enjoyable. Vision gives you a sense of

accomplishment. It is fun, when those small accomplishments are part of a larger
purpose – as they are when they are part of bringing a vision to fruition – the
excitement increases. Each task becomes an important building block in that bigger
picture.

Usefulness of Vision for achievement of our goals -

1. It adds value to our work: When our wok is part of the achievement of our
vision, each task has value. Even the most mundane task, can give you a sense
of satisfaction, because you can see a greater purpose being accomplished.

2. It predicts your future: When you have a vision you work hard to accomplish it,
your future is more likely to become a fulfillment of that vision. One can increase
his chances for success tremendously if he is having a vision. And those people
who lack vision can be terribly surprised by the future that awaits them.

3. You do not need to be born with the ability to see opportunities and visualize a
positive future. Vision is a quality that can be cultivated. It is also a quality that
can be suppressed. Hence, one should realize the vision to achieve/accomplish
goals.

a) If you wish to become successful, you must define the vision you have for
your life.
b) Making your vision become a reality would not be instantaneous. It will be a
process, much like taking a journey. When you decide to take a journey, one
of the first things, you do is identify your starting point. Without that
information, you will never be able to plot a course to your destination.
c) All dreams have a price. One of the sacrifices that you will have to make in
order to fulfill your vision comes in the area of options. You cannot pursue
your dream and keep all of you options open at the same time.
d) Part of realizing your vision involves the journey of personal growth that you
must take in order to get there. Positive changes in a person’s life always
require personal growth.
e) Realizing your vision will require you to preserves and to build as much
momentum as you can.
f) Do not surprised when opposition comes. Instead, be prepared. Have an
unsinkable positive attitude.
g) Keep your focus fixed on your vision, but remain flexible about the road you
will take to get there.
h) It takes dedication and continued effort. It is one of the prices you must pay
for success.
i) Always analyze what talents, gifts and resources do I possess that I am not
currently utilising? what opportunities do I have that are a result of my answer
to the previous question;

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Without vision, there is nothing to shoot for, no target, no greater task to give you
purpose and hope. Vision provides the creative spark that makes great
achievements possible.

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Q.3 Define “Goals” and explain in details pyramid.

Ans. The whole concept of achieving success begins with you, with how you think. It
begins with a positive mental attitude. Closely related to that concept is a
determination to overcome failures. Those attitudes, in turn, lead to the ability to see
nearly limitless possibilities and opportunities in everything around you. In time, you
are able to develop not only the vision, which empowers you in your day-to-day
activities, but you are eventually able to develop a more specific, all encompassing
vision for your life. Right thinking creates a solid foundation for success. But it is
only the first part of the strategies for success. Once you have formed that
foundation, you are ready to begin building on it. In order to achieve success, you
need to develop goals.

Success varies from person to person. To one it may be earning a lot of money and
to other it may be to acquire power which he thought of and some other will say
success means to keep the profession and personal in balance like this you will find
different answers about the success. One of the best definitions of the success is the
progressive realization of a worthwhile, predetermined goal. This definition works for
anyone, no matter what his focus is in life. With out defined goals success is
unattainable, because success is actually the attainment of those goals. Rather goals
are measurable milestones along the road to success.

Once you have identified some of your goals, you can begin to build a strategy for
your success.

Think of your goals forming a pyramid. Above that pyramid is your statement of
purpose. Every goal you set, and all that you do to accomplish those goals must
point to your statement of purpose.

The pyramid itself is made up of five sections. The top most section is the smallest,
the most focused. It contains your life-long goals. Each of the sections beneath it
contains all of the smaller goals necessary for the accomplishment of the larger goals
above them. Here is an overview of each of the five sections:

Pyramid Diagram

1. Life long goals – These are the

approximately two to five goals that you
hope to accomplish in your life time. If you
are able to achieve them or come close to Long Term
achieving them, you will have fulfilled to the Goals
best of your ability what you believe to be
your purpose in life.
2. Long-term goals – These are the goals Intermediate Goals
that you have to set to help you reach each
of your life-long goals. In general, these
are things you hope to accomplish in about
two years. Short Term Goals

Regular Disciplines

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It usually is not time spent wisely. The farther away goals are, the less specific they
are, and the more subject to change they become. But setting long-term goals is
important. Without long-term goals you are likely to experience short-term
frustrations.

3. Intermediate Goals - These are goals you have set to help you reach
each of your long term goals. In general, these are things you desire to
accomplish in five to ten years.

4. Short-term Goals - These are goals you have set to help you reach of your
intermediate goals. They take from one to five years to accomplish.

5. Regular Disciplines - These are the tasks you will be completing on a

daily, weekly and monthly basis in order to accomplish, your short-term
goals. These are governed by the way you manage your time.

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Q.4 What is meant by “STRESS”? What are the ways to reduce stress?
Ans. Stress is a term used to describe the body and mind's reaction to everyday
tensions and pressures. Too much stress can increase pain, and can make a person
more prone to illnesses such as heart disease or mental problems. Stress is the "wear
and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing
environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or
negative feelings. As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can
result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence,
it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can
lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers,
high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. With the death of a loved one, the
birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we experience stress as we
readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder
us depending on how we react to it.

The strategies to help to handle stress successfully:

1. Develop a proper perspective: One common characteristic of people who

are able to avoid much of the stress that others experience is that they are
able to maintain a proper perspective regardless of life’s circumstances.
Earle Wilson called perspective. “The ability to see the present moment and
immediate events against the background of a larger reference”. There is no
substitute for perspective. If you feel stress because of minor difficulties, try
to remember the bigger picture. It will help you to see things as they really
are instead of what you are afraid they might become.

2. Stop Running from Risks: Fear of risk remains a major cause of stress and
a potential obstacle to success. Once while going to District Kinnaur in
Himachal Pradesh I saw one saying “You will not get more than what is
written in your fate and also not before time” and some say this is only the
thought but mostly say it is the fate but both are unknown then what is to
think what is to cry. Just like this risk is also a future tense which may
happen and may not then why to cry or why to happy today be calm and
lead a peaceful life and this is happen only when you expect the worst, and
that is what you will get every time. Expect the best, and that is what you
will most often get.

3. Work in your areas of strength: Persons who work in their areas of

strength are less like to become victims of stress, even when they make
mistakes. If you are not sure where your areas of strength are, here is
something that will help you to identify them. If you make mistakes, and
they challenge you instead of causing you to experience stress, them you are
probably working an area of strength. If your mistakes make you feel
threatened and tense, you are probably working in an area of weakness. As
you get older, try to work more and more in your areas of strength. If you
do, you are more likely to avoid stress and find success.

4. Avoid Rat Race: Now a days, in this competent world it has become
common. Everybody competes fiercely against one another, with them often
“keeping score” in terms of the amount of personal gain and wealth they
acquire. Even a person wins in this rat race he is still a rat. When a person
enters the rat race of competition instead of working toward his goals in
order to achieve his vision, he is subjecting himself to unnecessary stress.

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No matter how hard that person works, he will not be able to receive a sense
of satisfaction, because he is competing in too many areas. And he will
never “win” because anyone who is driven solely by the desire for personal
gain will never acquire enough to be satisfied. Work hard. Strive to achieve
your goals. But do not do it to the detriment of your family, your health, or
your fellow man. Nothing is worth that kind of sacrifice or the stress that
comes with it.

5. Get off the Road of Overload: Usually we keep taking on more and more
responsibilities until we cannot possibly fulfill them all competently. And that
causes stress. Sometimes we need to stop taking on more work and get off
the road of overload. If you are one of those people who love to try new
things and keep taking on more, stop periodically and remind yourself that
you cannot do everything and still do what is importantly more effective.
Sometimes you have to give up what is merely good in order to do what is
best.

6. Develop strong Convictions: Lack of purpose and direction seems to be

epidemic in the 20th century. People no longer know what they believe.
Many have replaced values with doubts – conviction with apathy. Convictions
enable a person to face nearly any situation in life with courage and dignity.
The deeper the convictions, the stronger a person is. And the less likely he
or she is to experience stress in the face of adversity.

7. Give up your rights: You wont always be able to get everything want, no
matter how hard you try, to help avoid or minimize interruptions. Everyone
has probably heard the statement. “It is better to give than to receive”. Any
one who has ever given a gift to a child knows that statement is true. The
same can be true when it comes to your rights. It is possible to find peace in
not always demanding to have your way, in giving up your rights. Giving can
bring great joy and it can greatly reduce stress.

8. Reprogram your Mind: Stress we experience is directly related to our way

of thinking. And our way of thinking is the direct result of what we put into
our minds. Be aware that your mind is constantly undergoing programming.
And you are the only person who can choose what your mind will receive.
Stay away from things that are negative and that build stress. Always think
positive, see positive, try to hear positive, think about the good things,
always think of love results in generating positive energy in you and which
will helps you to decrease stress in you.

9. Turn your focus outward: The people who focus too much on themselves
are often discouraged. As a result they experience stress. If you find
yourself becoming preoccupied with your own concerns, spend time helping
others. In helping other, we often heal ourselves.

10. Has someone to talk to: Much of the stress that we experience often
occurs because we bottle up our feelings instead of sharing them with
others. Hence, it is better you open up and tells all your feelings & talk
everything whatever is inside your mind with the person to whom you can
trust a most and who will never use what you say against you.

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11. Find a fun way to release stress: Use fun ways to release stress. For
example I reduce stress is to play a cricket. I put the name of a person
whose causing me a lot of stress on the ball and I hit that ball as far as I can.
Stress usually does not result from doing too much. It most often results
from the way you think about the things you are doing and that are
happening to you. Whether or not you are able to survive stress is a result of
how you handle it. Begin to change your thinking and your habits. Avoid it
when you can. Use healthy strategies to handle it when you cannot avoid it.
Do not allow stress to be the unexpected punch that knocks you out and
prevents you from achieving success.

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