ASSIGNMENT BUSINESS COMMUNICATION REG. / ROLL NO. : NAME : COURSE : SEMESTER : SUBJECT CODE : SUBJECT : ASSIGNMENT SET NO.

MBA FIRST SEMESTER MB0039 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1

Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester I MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1128) Assignment - Set- 1 (60 Marks)

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Q.1: Explain the different types of communication with relevant examples:Answer: Communication is a process that involves exchange of information, thoughts, ideas and emotions. Communication is a process that involves a sender who encodes and sends the message, which is then carried via the communication channel to the receiver where the receiver decodes the message, processes the information and sends an appropriate reply via the same communication channel. Types of Communication: Communication can occur via various processes and methods and depending on the channel used and the style of communication there can be various types of communication. Types of Communication Based on Communication Channels: Based on the channels used for communicating, the process of communication can be broadly classified as verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication includes written and oral communication whereas the non-verbal communication includes body language, facial expressions and visuals diagrams or pictures used for communication. Verbal Communication: Verbal communication is further divided into written and oral communication. The oral communication refers to the spoken words in the communication process. Oral communication can either be face-to-face communication or a conversation over the phone or on the voice chat over the Internet. Spoken conversations or dialogs are influenced by voice modulation, pitch, volume and even the speed and clarity of speaking. The other type of verbal communication is written communication. Written communication can be either via snail mail, or email. The effectiveness of written communication depends on the style of writing, vocabulary used, grammar, clarity and precision of language. Non-verbal Communication: Non-verbal communication includes the overall body language of the person who is speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures, and overall body movements. The facial expressions also play a major role while communication since the expressions on a persons face say a lot about his/her mood. On the other hand gestures like a handshake, a smile or a hug can independently convey emotions. Non verbal communication can also be in the form of pictorial representations, signboards, or even photographs, sketches and paintings. Types of Communication Based on Style and Purpose: Based on the style of communication, there can be two broad categories of communication, which are formal and informal communication that have their own set of characteristic features. Formal Communication: Formal communication includes all the instances where communication has to occur in a set formal format. Typically this can include all sorts of business communication or corporate communication. The style of communication in this form is very formal and official. Official conferences, meetings and written memos and corporate letters are used for communication. Formal communication can also occur between two strangers when they

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meet for the first time. Hence formal communication is straightforward, official and always precise and has a stringent and rigid tone to it. Informal Communication: Informal communication includes instances of free unrestrained communication between people who share a casual rapport with each other. Informal communication requires two people to have a similar wavelength and hence occurs between friends and family. Informal communication does not have any rigid rules and guidelines. Informal conversations need not necessarily have boundaries of time, place or even subjects for that matter since we all know that friendly chats with our loved ones can simply go on and on. Q.2: What are the general principles of writing especially business writing? Answer: The process of good writing involves three basic steps - preparing, writing and editing. Practicing the following 16 principles will help us be a more effective writer. Know your objective: Think before you write. What's your goal? Make sure you fully understand the assignment. Are you writing a one - paragraph executive summary or a five - page report? Try answering this question: What specifically do I want the reader to know, think, or do? Make a list: Write down the ideas or points you want to cover. Why? This helps you get started in identifying the key ideas you want to discuss. If you have trouble getting started, try discussing your ideas with someone else. "Kicking an idea around" often helps you clarify your objective and finetune what you are trying to accomplish. Organize your ideas: Just as it's difficult to find what you want in a messy, disorganized desk drawer, it's hard to find important ideas in a poorly organized message. Here are a few ways you can organize your ideas: Importance - Begin with the most important piece of information and then move on to the next most important. Chronological order - Describe what happened first, second, third. Problem-Solution - Define the problem, and then describe possible alternatives or the solution you recommend. Question-Answer - State a question and then provide your answer. Organize your ideas so the reader can easily follow your argument or the point you are trying to get across. Back it up: Have an opinion but back it up - support with data. There are a number of ways you can support your ideas, including explanations, examples, facts, personal experiences, stories, statistics, and quotations. It's best to use a combination of approaches to develop and support your ideas.

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Separate main ideas: Each paragraph should have one main point or idea captured in a topic sentence. The topic sentence is normally the first sentence in the paragraph. Each paragraph should be started by an indentation or by skipping a line. Use bullets or numbers: If you are listing or discussing a number of items, use bullets or number your points like I have done in this paper. Here's an example of using bullets. Join the Business Club to: Increase sales Gain new marketing ideas Make new friends Give back to your profession Write complete sentences: A sentence is about someone doing something - taking action. The some one maybe a manager, employee, customer, etc. The "doing something - taking action" can include mental processes such as thinking, evaluating, and deciding, or physical actions such as writing and talking. A good rule to practice is to have subjects closely followed by their verbs. Use short sentences: Sentences should be a maximum of 12 to 15 words in length. According to the American Press Institute, sentences with 15 or fewer words are understood 90% of the time. Sentences with eight or fewer words are understood 100% of the time. Be precise and accurate: Words like "large," "small," "as soon as possible," "they," "people," "teamwork," and "customer focus" are vague and imprecise. The reader may interpret these words to mean something different than what you intended. Reduce communication breakdowns by being specific and precise. Define terms as needed. The reader may not understand certain acronyms and abbreviations. Use commas appropriately: Use a comma to separate the elements in a series of three or more items: His favorite colors are red, white, and blue. Use a comma to set off introductory elements: After coffee and donuts, the meeting will begin. Use a comma to separate adjectives: That tall, distinguished, good-looking professor teaches history. Use the correct word: Here are several words that cause confusion. You're is a contraction for "you are"

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Your means possession, such as "your coat." It's is a contraction for "it is." Its indicates possession. Their means possession/ownership-"their house." There means location. Theyre a contraction for "they are." Avoid redundancies: It is a redundancy to use multiple words that mean or say the same thing. For example, consider the following: Redundant - My personal beliefs Beliefs are personal, so just state, my beliefs... Redundant - I decided to paint the machine gray in color. Gray is a color, so just state. I decided to paint the machine gray. Numbers: When using numbers in the body of your paper, spell out numbers one through nine, such as "Three men decided" When using numbers 10 or above it's proper to write the number, such as "The report indicated 68 customers" Have a conclusion: Would you really enjoy watching a movie or sporting event that had no conclusion? No. The conclusion ties your points together. The reader wants to know the final score - the bottom line message. Edit your work: Read what you have written several times. On your first read, focus on organization and sentence structure. Shorten long sentences. Cross out unnecessary words and phrases. Reorganize material as needed. Read it again and make sure commas are used appropriately and that there is punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. Read it a third time and focus on word choice. Are there certain words that are vague or unclear? Replace them with specific words. Read what you have written aloud to yourself or to a friend to see if he or she (and you) can understand it and improve it in any way. A significant part of good writing involves editing. Very few people can sit down and write a perfect paragraph on their first try. It requires multiple rewrites. Summary: You don't have to be a great writer to be successful manager/leader. However you must be able to clearly and succinctly explain your thoughts and ideas in writing. Strive to be simple, clear, and brief. Like any skill, "good writing" requires practice, feedback, and ongoing improvement.

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Q.3: How would you prepare yourself for an oral business presentation? Answer: Delivering a formal presentation can be either fairly stress-free or nerve-wrecking. Your level of comfort can depend on the size of your audience, the critical spectators attending your presentation, or the feedback that you may anticipate. Whatever you may find as a cause for concerns about speaking before a group never let it be your knowledge about what you will speak. With thorough and effective research about your subject, you will discover that you are already half way prepared to address your listeners. The following steps can complete your preparation. Study your subject. You may have already been provided great information from which you could pull. But if there is some other source, such as the Internet or experts, use them to enhance your own insight. Doing so can also help you develop more confidence in your speech. In the comfort of your own study lab (wherever that may be), anticipate all types of responding questions from people in your audience: challenging questions, critical questions, crazy questions, and simple questions (the ones which are so simple that you forgot to prepare an answer for). Equip yourself with facts and insight accordingly. For enlightenment on people's views, I have read several message boards and even complaint sites to help me prepare for the unexpected. If your presentation is non-interactive, do not take that for granted. You can still be approached with questions after your speech or after the event where you gave it. Organize the notes from which you will speak. Whether typed or hand written, you must be able to comprehend them in order to convey them to an audience. So, if you jot your notes down on index cards, write legibly. Also, bind the notes - paper or cards - that you plan to use during your presentation. Dropping loose papers or cards during your speech should not distract an attentive listener, but it can certainly distract you, the speaker. Make your task a tad bit easier on yourself alleviating the possibility of that problem. If you decide to speak with the aid of a Power Point presentation, bear in mind how you will insert information to be displayed. Don't expect an audience to read lengthy sentences or any paragraph - no matter how much time they are given. By all means, do not prepare yourself to read every word written on that PowerPoint. The audience does not need to see the back of your head. They don't need to hear your voice drift into a state of monotony, which is what, can happen if you read word-for-word from your notes. Practice your presentation in private and be willing to be your own biggest critic. Grab a tape recorder or any recording device to listen to your own speech. As I expressed above, approach the podium with a solid knowledge base about every point your will discuss. Please do not imagine your audience in their underwear. You need to focus. If eye contact with any of those listeners intimidates you, then look just past the last row of people to land your sight on either some empty seats or the wall. There are corners of walls and other inanimate objects where you can place your focus until you find yourself comfortable enough to make brief eye contact with a few friendly or neutral faces.

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Remember that the last row of listeners needs to hear your voice. Unless you have a reliable microphone, be sure to project. Do not overestimate your listeners' attention spans. Keep their interest. Give your tone some range (logical range, that is). And wherever your subject and the points from which you speak will allow, engage your audience with illustrations which they can relate to. Please impose neither overly technical terminologies nor acronyms on your audience. While these expressions of intelligence seem effective, they actually reflect a lazy effort to communicate detailed and comprehensible information to listeners. Remember that, at this point, there should be no reason to lose confidence. If you've studied your subject, grasped a clear understanding of it, and followed the tips above, you have the tools to conquer any sharp sensation that you may feel in the pit of your gut going before any group 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? Answer: Well, as far as the meeting is concerned, as we have to conduct the meeting, I would be conducting it in a normal fashion. I would give in my 100% and would discuss all the important key points in the meeting as I would have done in the presence of my key team members. I would keep all the team members in loop and let them know that we have to update our 2 other team members once they are back. In total we have 15 team members and only 2 of them are on long leave, so according to me the meeting should be very well planned. Send the Details of meeting to respective key team members by E-mail, obtain any relevant information from them beforehand to conduct meeting successfully in their absence. Call for the meeting as per the requirement and urgency of the case to be discussed. Send the minutes of the meeting by mail to respective key team members. Everyone is important in the team, dont divide your team in this fashion, and make everyone feel important and key contributors to the business objective. Do a con-call with all/any key member required while scheduling meet. Firstly inform the two important team members about the Agenda of the meeting well before and obtain their view. Conduct the meeting with other members, placing the views of the absent members. Send the minutes of meeting to the absent members. Do not neglect them. This will boost the individual touch and the team can perform efficiently. If possible use the technology like video calling/ or else I will send the agenda of the meeting, ask them to mail or they can call and put their views & opinions about that. You can take help from the close associates of that two absent people or the people who are working along with them. You can plan your meetings in such a way that they should feel that they get the chance or opportunity to speak / share their opinions. They are recognized even in their absence.

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Note: When one is on leave, they hand over their duties to someone else and operations cannot stop because a staff is on vacation. All organizations need to have a continuity method, what if those key members get other jobs? I would go on and have the meeting with those present and take minutes to keep the other members abreast with what has been happening. Bottom line is the operations in an organization cannot depend on one individual; the system should work to make sure everyone can do what the organization does and every key role should be deputized. Q.5: Distinguish between circulars and notices along with formats? Answer: Notice - A message / information's bringing to all which will be put up in common place. Circular - A message / information's bringing to certain group of people belonging to the information. Like memos, circulars and notices are also written forms of communication within the organization. The difference between a circular and a notice is that circulars are announcements that are distributed to small or selective groups of people within the organization, whereas notices are meant for a larger group of people. A circular is a communication meant to convey information of a business firm to customers, businessmen etc. In the course of business, occasions will arise to send out circular letters. The sender aims giving certain information to the public. There are also other ways to communicate or advertise in newspapers or journals Generally printed or cyclostyled circular letters have a few advantages such as, less expenses, any number of letters can be posted in a day, to a certain extent the personal meet of the sales agents can be substituted, and the recipient, if interested, may call upon the firm or the sales agent, and so the agent need not wait to have an appointment. The objectives of circular letters are: To obtain publicity for a merchandise, to impress the readers with the facts about the firm and the products, to make the readers more interest in their contents, to attain the confidence of the readers and to stimulate sales. A circular letter is one that carries a communication to a number of addresses. The basic difference between a circular and a general letter is that, whereas the former is addressed to many persons, the latter is addressed to only one person. Circular letters are to be read by a large number of people, whereas general letters arc personal and private in nature. 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.

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The advantages of the 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. Circulars and notices are written forms of communication within the organization. The difference between a circular and a notice is circulars are announcements those are distributed to small or selective groups of people within an organization, whereas notices are meant for a larger group of people. In simple term, a notice is a mention in writing, a sign or placard conveying some information or intelligence. While a circular is a letter or advert, of which many copies have been made, addressed and distributed to a circle of people, customer. Basically, they both convey info. To a predetermined group or circle. The only diff is that while the former is strategically placed in known locations, the latter is forwarded directly to the intended recipients. Example - If a manager wants to call a meeting of heads of departments, he will pass around a circular only to the heads, requesting them to attend that meeting. On the other hand, notices generally contain information or announcements that are meant for all the employees of an organization. Example - A list of declared holidays for a calendar year is a notice, since the information is relevant to all employees. A notice is therefore a legal document that has to be put up on an official notice or bulletin board. Let us examine another example of a circular and a notice. Imagine that you are the President of the Student Committee in a management college and wish to hold a meeting to plan for the Annual Management Fest of the college. You will have to send some information to those whom you want to involve in organizing the Fest. You may not want all the students to be involved initially, since it may take a lot of time and there may be too many suggestions. Instead, you may choose to invite only the committee members to discuss details such as the date, venue, duration, how to get sponsors and so on. For this purpose, you may send a circular only to the student committee members, requesting them to attend the meeting. During the meeting, the date and venue may be finalized and various smaller committees may be formed, such as a reception committee, stage committee and so on. You may also decide to get each student to contribute a nominal amount for the Fest.

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Example of Circular:

Example of Notice:

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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:Answer: 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 politest with the customer telling to him/her. Dear customer, Prior to selling the mixer or blender we assured that there are no external or internal damages, and testing for its working have been conducted and verified and professionals for any acute things within. We even have collected report from the courier team of Gati, and they have confirmed about clean delivery without demurrages. I am sales manager for a this brand of mixer and blender and 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. So I please oblige on behalf of the company that we cant help you within the grounds of company rules. Hope our products will assist you in future and thanks for being part of our products. Thanking you Mr. XYZ Sales Manager