MB0039 – Business Communication Assignment

Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 1

MB0039 – Business Communication - 4 Credits

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. (10 marks)

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.

Nonverbal 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 person’s 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 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. by kvsudepizzacom.

Q.2 What are the general principles of writing especially business writing? (10 marks)

Principles of Business Writing:

The principles of Good Business Letter can be described in the following ways:

1) Knowing the Addressee – Good Business Letter should contain the relevant information about the knowledge of subject and the person to whom it is addressed. It will create maximum influence on the reader and will benefit in best possible way.

2) Writing Naturally – Good Business Letter should have genuineness in expression of thoughts or ideas. It should be written in soft spoken language and the reader should believe that we are in conversation with him.

3) Writing clearly and Without Ambiguity – Good Business Letter should be free from any confusion or ambiguity. It should insured clarity of thoughts with no omission of words, no faulty punctuation and no disorderly arrangement of facts. There has to be affixation of full stops and commas at right places so that there is no change in the sense or subject of the matter. Besides this, there has to be proper specification of numbers and figures to maintain the authenticity of the matter. The faulty punctuations or faulty words may prove disaster or failure for the business relations.

4) Writing Completely – Good Business Letter should have all the relevant facts and complete information so that there are no unnecessary queries. The letter should be complete in all aspects and everything should be described or written specifically.

5) Courtesy and Consideration – The courtesy in business correspondence is simply not restricted to obligatory words like “Thank you” or “Please” but implies to promptness in attending to the letters. It is important to acknowledge letters when it is not possible to give immediate replies. There has to be politeness in declining business proposals or saying “no” and it has to be done in decent manner. In business, courtesy begets courtesy, so there has to be congenial and friendly with business associates and parties.

6) Avoiding Jugglery or Jumbling of Words – It is important that the language of the letters should be simple and should not be like essay or article from literary point of view. It has to be written in short sentences with simple words. The letter should not have typical or difficult words and it should be refrained from verbose or prosaic style of writing.

7) Avoiding the use of commercial words/phrases/abbreviations – The use of commercial words/phrases/abbreviations should be avoided as they have become obsolete and out of practice. There are some important commercial terms that cannot be substituted, yet they should be minimize or avoided in the letters.

8) Effectiveness – Good Business Letter should be concise, precise, relevant, concrete and consistent so that it is easily understood by the reader and its contents should be fully followed. The letter should be arranged in the relevant way so that the important facts should be given prime importance. It should be followed by other important facts in continuation so that the entire letter becomes link chain. The letter can be divided into small paragraphs and each paragraph should contain specific type of information. It should be not too short or too lengthy as this may prove monotonous or irrelevant in a business letter to the reader.

9) Planning the Letter – The writer of the letter should have good thinking power and should plan out its contents before writing the letter. It helps in assorting all relevant facts, figures and places so that the letter becomes more useful and result oriented. The following steps are to be taken for planning a letter and they are as follows:

a) Collecting facts or information – It refers to collecting all the relevant facts or information to be included in the letter.

b) Selecting right or accurate style/approach – It implies to the initiation of letter and can be done through three approaches or styles. They are:

1) Direct – In this type we can jump into main issue or conclusion before giving any type of preface or introduction. For example – Enquiries, Quotations, Orders etc.

2) Indirect – It involves making indirect or preface for the main information, issue or subject.

3) Persuasive – It should be written in a way that the reader should be motivated and its content should arouse his interest to create a demand for the business. For example – sales executive offering lucrative offers to sell his products through effective business letter writing.

c) Arranging Facts, Figures and Places – The collected information of the relevant facts, figures and places should be arranged and assorted properly so that the letter becomes link chain and should be able to satisfy readers.

10) Checking or Revising the Letter – The business letter should be revised and checked thoroughly before signature and dispatch. It is done to assure accuracy, clarity and effectiveness of a business letter. It should be free from faulty words, faulty punctuation, and incomplete information etc for congenial and prosperous business relations.

Q.3 how would you prepare yourself for an oral business presentation? (10 marks)

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 halfway prepared to address your listeners. The following steps can complete your preparation.

Instructions:

1. Study your subject. You may have already been provided great information from which you could pull. But if there are other sources, 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.

2. 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.

3. Organize the notes from which you will speak. Whether typed or handwritten, 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.

4. 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 Power Point. 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.

5. 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.

6. As I expressed above, approach the podium with a solid knowledge base about every point your will discuss.

7. 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.

8. Remember that the last row of listeners need to hear your voice. Unless you have a reliable microphone, be sure to project.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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? (10 marks)

Q. 5 Distinguish between circulars and notices along with formats. (10 marks)

A circular is a communication meant to convey information of a business firm to customers, business Mends 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.

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.

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. by kvsudepizzacom.

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 didn’t have any defect during the sale. (10 marks)

Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 1

MB0039 – Business Communication - 4 Credits

Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 As a part of top management team, how would you communicate to your shareholders about the company’s expansion plans? (10 marks)

Q.2 ABC Ltd. wants to communicate about its corporate image to all its stakeholders and also to the general public. As an advisor, how do you recommend them to do it? (10 marks)

Q.3 what is oral business communication? Explain its benefits to the organisation and to the individual employee. (10 marks)

According to a 2005 study published in the Journal of Employment Counseling, oral communication skills are being increasingly sought after by employers. When surveying over 100 successful businesses, researchers found that more and more employers are emphasizing the development of good speaking skills in their employees. With this in mind, the concept of oral communication is an important idea to study and understand in the context of business.

Presentations:

One form of oral communication in a business setting is a presentation. Presentations are usually an organized conveyance of information to a group of people. Stylistically, they tend to be far more formal than informal, and rely more heavily on data and facts than they do analysis. Presentations are sometimes more persuasive in nature, like a pitch for an ad campaign, but tend to be informative more often, such as an employee briefing or a report on quarterly earnings. Presentations may include some dialog after the sender of the message has finished their speech, but they are, by and large, much more monologue reliant. This makes it important for the speaker to anticipate possible objections to the message and address them in the actual speech.

Client Interaction

Another form of oral communication in business encompasses interaction with clients. Depending on the level of connection between the employee and the client, the communication in these interactions can range from incredibly formal to informal and casual. These interactions usually include a combination of data and analysis, and will be more persuasive than informative in nature, as the employee is trying to encourage continued and expanded business with the client. Because of the nature of these interactions, the communication is definitely a dialog, making listening skills incredibly important.

Interoffice Interaction

Oral communication in the office can be referred to as interoffice interaction. This is comprised of conversations with superiors, subordinates and co-workers. Depending on the levels of power separation between the individuals engaging in conversation, the communication will fluctuate between formal and informal, though it should always remain professional. Conversations in this context may reference data, but will be much more analysis heavy, and will be a dialog by nature.

Benefits

Oral communication in business provides a variety of benefits. First, oral communication is accompanied by nonverbal signifiers, which provides context that can enhance understanding in the communication process. Posture, facial expressions, and habitual movements may provide clues as to an individuals feelings about the ideas being discussed. Even in telephone conversations, pitch, rate, volume and tone of the respective speakers can help in understanding sentiments.

Oral communication also provides a springboard for relational development. Unlike with email, memos and chat functions, which tend to take a task-oriented approach to communication, the immediacy involved in oral communication allows for instant feedback and a more relational approach. This is important, as strong relationships in business often lead to more profitable and productive cooperation.

Q.4. Give short notes on communication network in the organisation. (10 marks)

Networks are another aspect of direction and flow of communication. Bavelas has shown that communication patterns, or networks, influence groups in several important ways. Communication networks may affect the group's completion of the assigned task on time, the position of the de facto leader in the group, or they may affect the group members' satisfaction from occupying certain positions in the network. Although these findings are based on laboratory experiments, they have important implications for the dynamics of communication in formal organizations.

There are several patterns of communication:

"Chain",

"Wheel",

"Star",

"All-Channel" network,

"Circle".

The Chain can readily be seen to represent the hierarchical pattern that characterizes strictly formal information flow, "from the top down," in military and some types of business organizations. The Wheel can be compared with a typical autocratic organization, meaning one-man rule and limited employee participation. The Star is similar to the basic formal structure of many organizations. The All-Channel network, which is an elaboration of Bavelas's Circle used by Guetzkow, is analogous to the free-flow of communication in a group that encourages all of its members to become involved in group decision processes. The All-Channel network may also be compared to some of the informal communication networks.

If it's assumed that messages may move in both directions between stations in the networks, it is easy to see that some individuals occupy key positions with regard to the number of messages they handle and the degree to which they exercise control over the flow of information. For example, the person represented by the central dot in the "Star" handles all messages in the group. In contrast, individuals who occupy stations at the edges of the pattern handle fewer messages and have little or no control over the flow of information.These "peripheral" individuals can communicate with only one or two other persons and must depend entirely on others to relay their messages if they wish to extend their range.

In reporting the results of experiments involving the Circle, Wheel, and Star configurations, Bavelas came to the following tentative conclusions. In patterns with positions located centrally, such as the Wheel and the Star, an organization quickly develops around the people occupying these central positions. In such patterns, the organization is more stable and errors in performance are lower than in patterns having a lower degree of centrality, such as the Circle. However, he also found that the morale of members in high centrality patterns is relatively low. Bavelas speculated that this lower morale could, in the long run, lower the accuracy and 

speed of such networks.

In problem solving requiring the pooling of data and judgments, or "insight," Bavelas suggested that the ability to evaluate partial results, to look at alternatives, and to restructure problems fell off rapidly when one person was able to assume a more central (that is, more controlling) position in the information flow. For example, insight into a problem requiring change would be less in the Wheel and the Star than in the Circle or the Chain because of the "bottlenecking" effect of data control by central members.

It may be concluded from these laboratory results that the structure of communications within an organization will have a significant influence on the accuracy of decisions, the speed with which they can be reached, and the satisfaction of the people involved. Consequently, in networks in which the responsibility for initiating and passing along messages is shared more evenly among the members, the better the group's morale in the long run.

Q. 5 what are the different types of business letters? Explain with example. (10 marks)

Business letter is an old form of official correspondence. A business letter is written by an individual to an organization or an organization to another organization. Business letters are written for various purposes. One writes a letter to enquire information, apply for a job, acknowledge someone's work, and appreciate one's job done, etc.

As the motive of writing the letter is different, the style of the letter changes and you get different types of business letters. The various types of business letters are used by different people to serve their purpose of sending the message across.

Let's take look at the most common types of business letters:

Acknowledgement Letter: This type of letter is written when you want to acknowledge some one for his help or support when you were in trouble. The letter can be used to just say thanks for something you have received from some one, which is of great help to you.

Apology Letter: An apology letter is written for a failure in delivering the desired results. If the person has taken up a task and he fails to meet the target then he apologizes and asks for an opportunity to improve in this type of letter.

Appreciation Letter: An appreciation letter is written to appreciate some one's work in the organization. This type of letter is written by a superior to his junior. An organization can also write an appreciation letter to other organization, thanking the client for doing business with them.

Complaint Letter: A complaint letter is written to show one that an error has occurred and that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. The letter can be used as a document that was used for warning the reader.

Inquiry Letter: The letter of inquiry is written to inquire about a product or service. If you have ordered a product and yet not received it then you can write a letter to inquire when you will be receiving it.

Order Letter: This letter is as the name suggests is used for ordering products. This letter can be used as a legal document to show the transaction between the customer and vendor.

Letter of Recommendation: This type of letter is written to recommend a person for a job position. The letter states the positive aspects of the applicant's personality and how he/she would be an asset for the organization. Letter of recommendation is even used for promoting a person in the organization.

Q. 6 prepare your resume highlighting your personal achievements, job experience if any and educational background. Also prepare a cover letter to the organisation where you want to apply and the position to be applied for. (10 marks)