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MB0023: BusinessCommunication[Assignment – SET1 & SET2]

Name : P. Srinath

SMDUE ID : 520923307

Center : Mehbub College Campus, SecunderabadSubject Code : MB0023

Subject : Business Communication

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ASSIGNMENT – MBA – SEM I – Subject Code:

MB0023 – SET 1

1. Describe any situation in your experience where thecommunication was a failure. Analyse the barrier(s) whichstood in the way of successful communication. Explain how youwould overcome the barrier(s).

Situation where Communication was a failure to me:

As an Associate Manager, I was a sender for a communication

and intended to be received by my executives.

I have sent the following communication to my executives

through a notice and displayed on the notice board:

“Coming Second Saturday to complete our targets for the month a

review meeting is arranged and all should attend. If any executive is

not able to attend should find out the contents of the meeting from

their peers without fail”.

But my communication went wrong and out of 10 executives,

only three executives have attended at 4.00 PM who checked-in with

me the time of the meeting.

Following were the barriers of communication which stood in

the way of my communication:

• The “Channel” I have chosen did not ensure the receipt of thecommunication by “Receivers”

• The communication lacked the “Chronological context” The secondSaturday being a non-working day.

• The communication has created a “Psychological noise” by notmentioning correct time of the meeting and confusion has been created.

• The “social context” also is one of the cause for the failure of thecommunication as I have not taken all my executives into confident bygiving any advance information or a intention of the meeting earlier.

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Lessons learnt in order to overcome these barriers of

communication:

• My communication was unclear by not giving exact time of meeting.

• The media I have used is the placing the notice on the notice board,

instead had I circulated to all the receivers and obtained their signaturesby asking their availability or feedback my communication would not havefailed.

• I have chosen a wrong day a holiday though the task was a routine one.

• I could have maintained good relations with my executives for success of my communication.

2. Select an article of around 200 words from any businesspublication. Analyze the readability of the article using the“Fog Index”. Is the reading level appropriate for the reader of

the publication?

“Readability formulas” are methods used to find out if

documents are written at the right reading level for their targeted

audience. Gunner’s Fog Index is one of the most famous. The Fog

Index measures the level of reading difficulty of any document. It

assumes that the bigger the words you use and the more complex your

sentences, the more difficult your document will be to read. The Fog

Index level translates into the number of years of education a reader

needs to read the material easily. The “ideal” score is 7 or 8; anything

above 12 is too hard for most people to read. The Fog Index does not

determine directly if the writing is too basic or too advanced for a

particular audience. It does help you decide whether a document is

likely to be hard to understand – and might benefit from editing using

“plain English” or “plain language.”

Using the FOG Index

1. Select a short document or passage and count the number of words (usually around 100 words). For example:

Article:

The responsive manager tends to succeed by building bonds of respect and trust with those around him/her. Staff respond positively toresponsive managers; they work more diligently, work to help themanager and the organization succeed, and will go the extra mile

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when necessary. That is because responsive managers act consistentwith the principle that their jobs are to help their staff do their jobs. So,a basic inter-dependence emerges based on behaviours that showconcern, respect and trust.

Responsive managers also influence those above them in thehierarchy. Because responsive managers have the ability to read andact upon the needs of their "bosses", they are perceived as helpful andreliable, or in a simple way, very useful. This allows them to get the"ear" of people above them in the system, and further helps get thingsdone when needed.

Contrast this with the limited influence of the UN responsivemanager. The unresponsive manager is restricted in influence becausethose around him/her do not respect or trust them to look out for theirwelfare. Influence is more limited to the use of power coming from the

formal position, and fear, a motivational component that is hard tosustain over time. Unresponsive managers tend to be perceived asself-interested, or at best uninterested in the needs of those aroundthem.

Number of words : 220

2. Count the number of sentences within the passage.Number of sentences : 11

3. Count the number of big / difficult words (3 or moresyllables). Exclude words in which “es” or “ed” form the third and finalsyllable, hyphenated words like “state-of-the-art”, and compoundwords like “newspaper.”

Number big or difficult words : 9

4. Calculate the average sentence length by dividing the number of words by the number of sentences.

Average length of sentence : 220/11

: 20 words

5. Calculate the percentage of big words by dividing the number of big words by the number of words, and multiplying by 100.

Percentage of big words : (11/220)*100

: 5%

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6. Add the average sentence length to the percentage of big wordsand multiply that result by 0.4; that’s the Fog Index score.

FOG Index : (20+5) *0.4

: 10

This passage requires 10th class level of reading ability. A 10th class

student will understand this passage without any difficulty.

3. Imagine that you are the Chairperson of the Board of Studiesof the Department of Management & Commerce of SikkimManipal University Department of Distance Education. Youhave been asked to call a meeting of the members of the

Board to discuss the launch of new management programs andnew specializations in the existing management program.What kind of meeting would be required? Prepare acomprehensive agenda for the participants of the meeting.

As the meeting has been called to discuss the launch of new

management programs and new specializations in existing

management programs, this type of meeting is a called Task

Oriented Meeting that is to discuss and make arrangements for a

specific event. All the key people involved may be asked to attend themeeting to discuss the arrangements that are to be made for this.

AGENDA

Date : September 30th, 2009

To :

Mr. Thanu Shankar [Incharge - Administration]

Mr. Prasad [Incharge – Curriculum]

Ms. Siva Chaitanya [Incharge –Adv. & Marketing]

Mr. Shyam Kumar[Incharge – Admissions]

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Mr. Sai Krishna [Incharge – Examination]

From : Mr. Srinath Pelluri [Chairperson – BSDMC]

Subject : “Launch of new Management Programs and

new

Specializations in existing programs”

Time : Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 from

10.00AM to 11.00AM

Place : Fourth floor Conference Room

Background : Planning to launch new management programsand new specializations in existing management

programs for the spring session of 2010.Meeting is

planned to discuss the necessary changes in our

existing system.

We will discuss the following:

• Administration arrangements and learning centres – Mr. ThanuShankar

• Research and Design of curriculum – Mr. Prasad• Publicity methods and press releases of new programs – Ms. SivaChaitanya• Admission procedures and dates – Mr. Shyam Kumar• Examination patterns – Mr. Sai Krishna

4. Select a corporate ad of your choice from anypublication. Analyze the ad in terms of its specificobjectives and type of corporate advertising. Is iteffective? Why or why not?

Advertisement of Tata Consultancy Services

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The above is a corporate advertisement form Tata Consultancy

Services.

Specific Objectives:

The main objective of the corporate advertisement is to make

the organization better understood. With this add Tata consultancy

services are meeting the objective that they have presence in the

racing car segment. The formula one Ferrari is one of the most

advanced racing cars in the world, packing research in aerodynamics,

style, engine technology, brakes, modeling. It has more in commonwith a jet plane than with the performance of high speed car.

Tata consultancy Services worked with Ferrari before, during and

in between races to help their cars go even faster. As one of the

world’s fastest growing technology and business solution providers,

TCS ensures that all mechanical and electrical systems perform at their

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optimum under levels of extreme stress. Managing pressure and

troubleshooting where every little advantage makes a very huge

difference. And, of course Ferrari to experience certainty.

Type of advertising:

Corporate advertising has not only objectives but has different

types of advertising. It has also become wider in scope, going beyond

the traditional image building.

The Ferrari advertisement of TCS comes under the ‘Corporate

Umbrella Advertising’. This type of advertising is aimed at consumers

and tries to show the identity of the company. This highlights the

services which they offer to customers. The addition of customers to

this umbrella is added in this type of advertising.

Effectiveness:

This advertisement is very effective especially the automobile

segment, where the customers look for maximum, mileage, good

performance of cars with limited resources.

5. Write an unsolicited job application letter to acompany that you would like to work for in a specificposition. Include a one page profile about yourself.

To, The HR Manager,Perot Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Hyderabad,

Dear HR Manager,

Sub: Application for the post of Sr. Software Engineer

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I read the latest article in a business publication that your

company own a prestigious contract and understand that you may

want to hire qualified safety engineers to service the newly acquired

contract.

I am engineering graduate with relevant qualification. From the

business courses taken during my MBA program and previous

experience, I have learnt how to take the requirements of clients by

implementing all relevant presentations and demonstrations at project

sites.

I had a specialization of Information Systems during my MBA. As

part of my MBA final year project work, I had taken the topic of

implementing eCommerce Websites with various databases. I am

currently pursuing an International Diploma in Software Engineering,

which is highly relevant to your organization.

Please contact the references in my enclosed resume, for theircomments on my knowledge, expertise and interpersonal skills. I would

be grateful if you could indicate whether these would be an opening for

a safety engineer in your esteemed organization, in the near future.

Thanking you,

Sincerely,

Srinath Pelluri

Enclosures: Resume.

Srinath Pelluri.

Mobile : 9849728793

Email: [email protected]

RESUME

Professional Objective

Seeking a position in a highly motivated team, that utilizes my skills and

abilities and offers professional growth while being resourceful, innovative and

flexible.

Educational Qualification

• Presently pursuing MBA from Sikkim Manipal University

• B.Tech

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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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From Tirumala Engineering College, Hyderabad, during 2003-2007

• Intermediate (M.P.C.)

From Narayana Junior College, Hyderabad, during 2001-2003.

• S.S.C.

From Atomic Energy Central Scholl - 3, Hyderabad, in 2001.

Software Skills

.NET Certification from Aptech Computer Education.

Packages : Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Dbms : M.S. Access,Oracle, MySQL

Language Tools : HTML, DHTML, Dreamweaver, Photoshop

Personal Profile

Name : SRINATH PELLURI.Father’s Name : P V K APPA RAODate of Birth : 17th January, 1986Marital status : UnmarriedNationality : INDIANLanguages Known : English, Hindi, Telugu.References : XXX, Company Name, Contact: xxxxxxxxx

(Srinath P)

6. The Power of Nonverbal Communication

a. How could the engineer, the foundry workers andMr. Vishwanath be more effective, both verbally andnonverbally?

Verbal communication provides the opportunity for personnelcontact and two away flow of information. Nonverbal communicationon the other hand is the communication without words. It refers to anyway of conveying meanings without the use of verbal language. This isgenerally unintentional.

The engineer, the workers and Mr. Viswanath can be moreeffective both verbally and nonverbally.

Even though large part of communication occupied by verbalcommunication; the nonverbal is having a great power.

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Engineer:

The engineer has recently graduated from engineering college, iswith full of enthusiasm and interest to start his career as an assistantto Mr. Viswanath. The foundry was family owned and it is located in asmall town in Tamil nadu. Instead of introducing himself to the foundryworkers after few days he joins, he would have done it on the day of the joining itself. He has been moving in the foundry and observing theworkers activities without introducing himself. He could have wishedthem daily or whenever they happen to see him or he happened to seethem.

Nonverbally he might be showing some signs of pride as he isthe only person with technical qualification in the foundry. He mighthave spent most of his time with Mr. Viswanath and started to moveclosely with him. This might have been taken wrongly by the foundryworkers as he is occupying their space and inviting more trust from Mr.

Viswanth than the foundry workers.

Foundry Workers:

The foundry was family owned one. The workers were closelyknit with them and were mostly older men. This means that they haveformed an internal circle among them and they were having good workexperience and are working in the foundry for many years. The suddenentry of a qualified engineer into the foundry and he was observingtheir work and advises by him was not getting acceptance from theworkers as the behavior of the engineer was entirely different form the

workers. They were not able to accept anyone in their circle of influence. They also believe that technical education adds no values tothe business. Instead of policing and playing tricks with the engineerlike taking and laughing behind him etc., they would have gotthemselves introduced to the engineer by showing seniority andaccept the engineer into the organization. This would have helped him,gain more knowledge from their experience and share his technicalknowledge with them.

Mr. Viswanath:

He was the president and General Manager of the foundry. The

business was a family owned and is in a small town in Tamil nadu. Mostprobably he would have taken workers form the town and trained themin the work. They might have close relationship with him. He wasrealized that to cope up with the technical snags in the foundry, betterto hire a technically qualified person.

As he is having a close relationship with workers, he would haveconsulted them and when the engineer joins the organization, he could

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have organized a small gathering and introduced workers t theengineer and the engineer to the workers, by explaining his rolesclearly and seeking cooperation from workers.

He was warned the engineer verbally about the situation he mayface, but not given any advice on how to cope up with it.

b. What do you suggest that the engineer shoulddo, after the hosing incident?

After facing all sort of problems as result for ineffective verbaland nonverbal communication like,

- Talking behind him low voices and laughing

-Pointing of water jet behind him and slipping him down on the floor.

The engineer can go and speak to the worker in a cordial mannerand explain his intentions that neither he is not against them nor hedislikes their job. But want to be friendly with them and want to learnfrom them as they are more experienced than him. Instead coming towork and doing his job, he can interact with them whenever h has timeand mingle with them so that they will accept him as a member of their team.

As the foundry is having some technical problems, he couldunderstand the problems form them and based on his technicalknowledge advise them on how to do the work in a better way byovercoming the snags.

Most importantly engineer can exchange a sweet smile [notlaughing] with the team on the foundry, as the nonverbalcommunication is more powerful than the verbal communication.

ASSIGNMENT – MBA – SEM I – Subject Code:

MB0023 – SET 2

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1. Describe three specific situations at the workplace where

positive non-verbal communication could be used effectively to

enhance verbal communication.

Situation 1: Making a presentation to a team.

There are 4 elements of non-verbal communication that youmust pay attention to as you practice or make your presentation. Theyare:

1) Eye contactLook your audience in the eyes. The number one reason to use

good eye contact is it involves your audience in your presentation. If you look directly at a member of the audience, they are likely to returnyour gaze, and keep looking at you rather than looking at a paper onthe table, staring out the window, or daydreaming.

The second reason to use good eye contact is it leads people totrust you. Studies show that when people are lying, they tend to lookup or look down. Looking people in the eyes demonstrates that you'rebeing sincere. The third reason to use good eye contact is that it showsconfidence. You must engage in eye contact with the whole audience,as well. Rather than staring down one audience member, scan theroom, and be sure to include people sitting to your far right and far left

who are often neglected.

2) GesturesIt is the movement of your body or limbs to illuminate and

emphasize the meaning of your words. Simple hand movements suchas holding up the number one with your fingers when you say "my firstpoint is," are appropriate. Gesture can be used to demonstrate howsomething looks or acts, as well. Some people naturally talk with theirhands. Nervousness can accentuate this characteristic. Beware of gesturing too much as it can be distracting. On the other side, please

use some gestures. I've seen presenters give thirty minute longspeeches, desperately grasping the podium throughout. It is alsoimportant to vary your gestures.

3) PosturePosture is the bearing of your body, your stance. When speaking

to an audience, stand straight with your shoulders back, your headcentered above your body and your feet shoulder-width apart. Don't

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slump. Don't lean against the wall. If the situation absolutely calls for it(for example, you're asked to give an impromptu presentation during abusiness meeting), you may sit but sit up straight.

4) Movement in the speaking-space

When you are provided with a podium or lectern, the tendency isto remain directly behind the lectern for the entire presentation. Thiscan be appropriate. However, do not be afraid to walk around abit to get closer to the audience. If you're speaking to a particularlylarge audience, it may be appropriate to mingle with the audience talk-host style during your presentation. Your movement or lack of movement will help set the tone of your presentation. If you standbehind the podium, you'll be perceived as more formal, and possiblysomewhat removed from the audience. If you move around the front orplace the lectern off to one side rather than standing behind it, you'llbe perceived as less formal, and probably more accessible to the

audience members.

Situation 2: Meeting People

“The first ten seconds of a meeting determine the impressionyou make on other people."

When you meet a person for the first time, the first 10 secondswill give an impression, which to a large extent will determine whetheryou will like this person or not. In these first ten seconds, you will

notice impressions like nervousness, seriousness, etc. These firstseconds will also influence to a large extent the rest of theconversation and any further contacts.

Therefore the first impression is very important.

EyesAn important factor in the first contact is the eyes. The eyes

should look at the person. If you want to impress the person, youshould open your eyes slightly more than usual, since raising the eyebrows gives people the impression that they are welcome. After the

first "hello", you should maintain eye contact, which prevents theimpression of nervousness with the other person. You should also smileand look friendly.

First MeetingDuring the first meeting, it is good to look carefully at the other

person. If he or she disapproves your behavior, you should adapt yourbehavior. Also, behavior should be appropriate for the situation. For

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example, a firm and long hand shaking is quite usual for meeting afriend you have not seen for a long time, but quite inappropriate on afuneral.

Situation 3: Body language in office meetings

Reading Body LanguageWhen it is your turn to you are make a contribution, the best way

of staying in control and keeping the other participants with you is tokeep them interested in what you are saying.

Meeting participants who are not actually speaking don't usuallythink of themselves as being observed. Consequently, their body

language is relatively easy to read.Body language signals that you might observe among your

meeting partners include:Resistance or disagreement can be implied if you observe a

negative posture, with an impassive or slightly hostile expression, armsfolded as if to form a barrier and legs crossed with the person leaningback. However, you should be careful to avoid making judgmentsbased on observing one aspect of body language in isolation. Forexample crossed legs or crossed arms on their own should notautomatically be read as a negative reaction. A neutral and openattitude is often accompanied by a neutral or slightly friendly facial

expression and an upright or slightly forward leaning seating position.

Encouraging InteractionIn order to make your contribution clearly and concisely, it is

often advisable to include a question and answer session at the end,and make this clear at the outset. This will enable you to deliver yourmessage and then end strongly, before entering the relativelyunpredictable area of tackling questions from the other participants.

When you have finished preparing your contribution, readthrough it carefully, this is the time to focus on any areas in which yourmessage is short of facts or vulnerable to being challenged. It is often

possible to anticipate most questions that are likely to arise. Whenanswering questions do so by speaking clearly and confidently,otherwise you will appear unsure of what you are saying. Don't letnerves draw you into responding hastily, always think about youranswer before you speak and if necessary refer back to your notes inorder to answer a question.

Four Main Aspects

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You need to be aware of your body language from the momentyou begin to make your contribution to the meeting. The otherparticipants will analyze your body language, even if they are unawareof this at the conscious level. A brilliantly prepared presentationdelivered in an interesting voice will often fail to be convincing if it is

accompanied by negative, intrusive or hostile body language. Thereare four main aspects of body language that you should consider; whatto do with your eyes, what your facial expressions indicate, thepositioning and movement of your body and limbs, and your handgestures.

Positive Eye ContactEye contact is an essential part of any communication. Without it

people are unlikely to relate to the message in a meaningful way. Notmany people realize how important eye contact is, or how sensitivepeople are to it. Eye contact should be a positive form of body

language communication, but if it is not used correctly it can easilybecome negative.

As well as understanding how to make positive eye contact withan individual, in a meeting it is also important to ensure that your gazeencompasses all of the attendees. If you do end up looking at only oneor two members of a group, they are likely to feel awkward whilst theothers may begin to wonder if they need to be there at all. Whilst youmay find it more difficult to engage members of the group who appearneutral or even hostile, it is important to include them, as you willoften need to win them over.

Body Language and StanceIf your meeting involves standing up to make your contribution,

then you should be aware that basic aspects of your stance can easilycommunicate subconscious messages -some of which you will want toavoid.

The sort of messages that your stance may convey include:

The forward sloping – this stance indicates a wish to dominateothers. Often this stance is accompanied by an over-stressed point.

The speaker may be attempting to impose a concept or point of viewon their audience. This is made worse by aggressive or intrusivebehavior such as the use of hostile gestures.

The backward sloping – this stance indicates a speaker who isnot happy with their situation. This defensive or submissive stancetends to indicate that they lack confidence in what they are saying andwould rather not be there.

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2. Lateral or horizontal communication is more importanttoday than vertical communication. Do you agree or disagree? Justify your answer.

Formal Communication Network – A formal communicationnetwork is one which is created by management and described withthe help of an Organizational chart. An organizational chart specifiesthe hierarchy and the reporting system in the organization. Therefore,in a formal network, information is passed on only through officialchannels such as memos, bulletins and intranet (email within theorganization).

The organizational chart implies that information can flow in anyof three directions – vertically, i.e., upward or downward, andhorizontally.

a. Upward Communication This may be defined as information that flows from subordinates

to superiors. Some of the reasons for upward communication includediscussing work related problems, giving suggestions for improvementand sharing feelings about the job and co-workers. This type of communication has both benefits and disadvantages. One of thebiggest benefits is problem-solving. Once a subordinate has brought aproblem to his superior’s notice, chances are that the problem will notrecur, since the subordinate learns from his superior how to tackle itthe next time. Thus, his ability to solve new problems and therefore hismanagerial ability, improves. Another benefit that could arise fromupward communication is that valuable ideas and suggestions maysometimes come from lower level employees. Therefore organizationsshould encourage this kind of communication. A third benefit is thatemployees learn to accept the decisions of management and therebywork as a team.

The biggest problem associated with this type of communication is thatit may lead to “handing down” of decisions by superiors. Whensubordinates frequently seek the superior’s guidance, the latter mayadopt an authoritarian approach and merely give instructions,disregarding the subordinate’s opinion completely.

b. Downward Communication This may be defined as information that flows from superiors to

subordinates. The most common reasons for downward communication

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are for giving job instructions, explaining company rules, policies andprocedures and giving feedback regarding job performance. A numberof studies have indicated that regular downward communication in theform of feedback given to employees is the most important factoraffecting job satisfaction. Therefore organization’s today are trying to

encourage more of this type of communication. There are both benefitsand disadvantages associated with this type of communication.Downward communication that provides regular feedback will bebeneficial if the feedback or review of performance is constructive. Aconstructive review is one where a manager “counsels” an employee,or advises him on how to improve his performance. On the other hand,a destructive review can destroy employee morale and confidence.Regular downward communication also creates a climate of transparency or openness, where information is passed on throughofficial channels, rather than through rumors.

Thirdly, downward communication boosts employee morale,since it indicates that management is involved in their progress.

The problems with this type of communication are the danger of doing destructive reviews, as mentioned, and that of “messageoverload.” This means that superiors many sometimes burden theirsubordinates with too many instructions, leading to confusion.

c. Horizontal Communication This type of communication is also known as “lateral”

communication. It may be defined as communication that takes place

between coworkers in the same department, or in differentdepartments, with different areas of responsibility. For E.g., SalesManagers and Advertising Managers in the Marketing department, orMarketing Managers and Finance Managers. The reasons for this typeof communication are for coordination of tasks, sharing of informationregarding goals of the organization, resolving interpersonal or workrelated problems and building rapport.

The biggest potential benefit of horizontal communication is thesense of teamwork that is created. Regular communication of this typeensures that all co-workers work together towards achieving a

common goal in the overall interest of the organization. The biggestpotential problem is that conflicts such as ego clashes are bound toarise, when coworkers at the same level communicate on a regularbasis.

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In spite of these problems, horizontal or lateral communicationhas become more important in today’s business scenario than upwardor downward communication. This is because the “organizationalpyramid” indicating the different hierarchies or levels in anorganization has flattened. This is illustrated by the diagrams givenbelow.

The first diagram illustrates the previous organizational pyramidwhich was a “multi-layer” pyramid. In this type of pyramid, vertical,i.e., upward and downward communication still plays an importantrole. This is still the case in many traditionally run organizations today.

However, this has been replaced by a “compressed” or flattenedpyramid where the hierarchy has diminished, as shown in the seconddiagram.

3. Imagine that you have to make an oral presentation onthe features of the EduNext portal to new students of the SMUMBA program. Prepare an outline of the presentation and

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specify the following – a) Purpose of the presentation b) Keyidea c) Audience analysis d) Delivery style.

Statement of Purpose: The main aim of this presentation is to inform new students of

SMU MBA program with Edunxt web portal recently launched by SikkimManipal University.

Introduce students about the flexibility of Edunxt portal, by highlighting the salient features of this portal that it is an online class roomfor the students from which they can access to a wide variety of activities like e-boos, SLMs, Quizzes etc anytime anywhere by justsimply logging in.

Key Idea:Sikkim Manipal University has launched first time in the History

of Distance Education in India, the virtual classroom through Edunxt.

Within the Edunxt portal, after logging in, a student can accessstudy materials in the form of an e-workbook with value-addedcomponents, attempt quizzes related to his study curriculuminteractively, ask questions in the Discussion groups related to hissubject of study and will get the reply also either from the LC facultiesor the SMU core faculties just sitting in the comfort of his own drawingroom. The portal is for bridging the gap between the students and theSMU Head-quarter faculties, for transferring the knowledge of the core-faculties directly to all students, for increasing the interaction betweenthe LC faculties as well as core-faculties and above all for imparting

quality education in a more productive way.

Audience Analysis:

Making a good presentation alone is not enough. It also has to betailored to your listeners, in such a way that they understand andappreciate it.

The group size of the students is 45 and nearly 50% of thestudents are new to internet.

So the presentation should be more focused towards thosepersons in educating them about the advantages of Edunxt and how to

use it without any difficulty. Explain the user friendliness of the webportal.As the group size is large, more time can be devoted for question

and answers for making it more interactive.Also nearly 10 participants are not very good at English; hence

the presentation could be had at a slower speed so that they canunderstand the point of discussion.

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There are around 5 participants who have used the Edunxt portalfor the first time. We could take an opportunity to request them toshare their opinion on this portal.

Delivery Style:

The delivery style of the presentation could be Speaking fromNotes – because this is generally the most effective style of delivery. Iwrite down the main ideas in point form on index cards and thenreferring to these cards merely as a trigger while speaking, I candeliver the presentation. If the main ideas are put down briefly on thecards, I can elaborate on these ideas in my own words and speak forany length of time. The presentation is likely to be more effective,since it comes across as natural and permits eye contact with theaudience.

4. Write a letter to your distributor, conveying the bad news of one of your product lines being phased out or discontinued,offering some form of compensation in return.

Dec 4th, 2009Mr. Sampath Kumar, Director,M/s. Sri Lakshmi Distributors,Hyderabad,

Dear Mr. Sampath Kumar,

I wish to congratulate you and team on exceeding the targetsales of product A in the previous month. You are one amongst the top3 distributors in southern region.

The sale of another product B which we had launched recently ispicking up and as per the conversation we had with you; the customersare enquiring about the product B also. You had also mentioned thatthe lot of 5000 units of product B, which we have supplied earlier tomonitor sales; have completely sold out and you have requested

another 5000 units of product B.

One of our product lines which manufacture product B wasdiscontinued because of some major technical problems. We regret toinform you that we will not be able to supply the requested number of units’ of product B for 15 more days. We regret the inconveniencecaused.

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However, we could provide you with an additional of 500 unitsafter 15 days free of cost. This would help you in covering the lossesincurred to some extent.

As an experienced distributor with us, would request you to bear

with us in this critical time and provide your continual support.

Sincerely,

Distributor Relations Representative

Srinath Pelluri

5. As a Sales Manager, prepare a one page report in memoformat addressed to the VP Marketing, providing sales updates

for a newly launched FMCG product.

INTER OFFICE MEMO

To : The VP Marketing

From : Sales Manager

Date : Dec 13th, 2009

Subject : Sales update for a newly launched Soap.

We had launched the Suraksha Soap, a new FMCG product lastmonth. I was given the Hyderabad territory for promoting andmonitoring sales of the product.

Wish to update you that our sales of this product are almostequal to the sale of our earlier soap, i.e., 30000 units.

I have done an in depth analysis of the current market situationin my territory. Although several new entrants and our existingcompetitors have done well, we continued to enjoy a good reputationin the market.

Although the current rate of sales is encouraging, the futuremarket potential is enormous, pointing towards a positive growth.

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I would suggest increasing the supply of the product so thatthere won’t be any short supply of the product; when the sales are atits full swing. I would also recommend increasing our distributionnetwork to suburban parts of Hyderabad.

6. Case StudyProblems with Email communicationEvaluate email communication as a tool for internalcommunication, based on the facts mentioned in the case.

More and more individuals are receiving more emails than theycan digest and because it is physically more difficult to read on acomputer screen, email writing is different from other styles of letterwriting.

In business it is important that emails do not become soburdensome, that more time is spent answering email that doing work.Emails must be prioritized, and accurate subject lines chosen.Skimming emails is common, so make sure that the major point in youremail is handled first. Make a decision whether it is best to divide theemail into multiple emails with different subject lines, because this isoften easier and quicker to reply to.

Internal Business Email Communication: Managing by E-Mail

We need to be able to set expectations, assign and monitor theprogress of their work and give feedback. But there is a majordifference in the way you communicate with your employees when youtelecommute: You usually don't speak face-to-face. With the Internetbeing used for almost every aspect of business, it's no surprise that themajority of managers who supervise telecommuters communicate withthem via e-mail as per the case study.

But managing employees through e-mail messages can becomplicated. The difficulties are not necessarily inherent in e-mailmessaging, but arise from poor communication skills andmisunderstandings from poorly crafted messages.

When you e-mail an employee, make the message as personalas possible. When you manage telecommuters it's important to take apersonal interest in them and their work. Because your employeesdon't see you every day, they need to know you are accessible whenthey need you.

Simplify your messages for clarity. By re-reading a messagebefore you send it, you can catch and rephrase statements that might

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be misconstrued. If you have any concerns that your email could bemisinterpreted, discard the message and call the person instead.Sometimes a phone call can save a lot of trouble.

Create an e-mail policy that all your employees will embrace.

Establish how often e-mail should be checked, how to prioritizemessages and how files are to be transferred. Setting expectations willprevent messages from going missing or unanswered.

When an employee has done a task particularly well, praise a jobwell done by sending e-mail to the entire department. But do notpublicly reprimand employees.

Never discipline an employee via an e-mail message. E-mail canbe too easily misinterpreted, and it might look as if you are avoidingdealing directly with the problem. Pick up the phone and discuss

matters privately.

E-mail is a useful tool for communicating with employees. Butwhen the message you need to send is particularly complex orsensitive, a phone call still remains the best option.

How will you adapt email communication to overcome some of the problems mentioned in this case?

The problems mentioned in the case study are

1. Lack of security2. Attachment problems3. Reliability problems4. Spam clutter5. Document version confusion6. Scattered data7. Unclear project direction8. Project status confusion9. Next step priority uncertainty10. Lack of accountability

Email is an effective means of communication for business andpersonal use but it also has some disadvantages.

Firstly, Advantages:

• These are the ways where we can make effective use of theemails by overcoming problems.

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• Email is effective in providing quick answers to yes and no, typequestions. eg. Do you do international delivery?

• Email is effective in finding the right person in an organisation orcompany to answer your question.

• Email is good to make appointments for busy people.

• Email can distribute information quickly to many people for thetime it takes to email one person.

The disadvantages are:

• Email can become time consuming for answering complicatedquestions and misunderstandings can arise because culturaldifferences in the interpretation of certain words. The telephoneis much better for providing detailed answers or if you feel thatthe question is not absolutely clear.

• Email can compromise the security of an organisation because

sensitive information can be easily distributed accidently ordeliberately. Email should be entrusted to well trained andtrusted staff members.

• Email can become impersonal or misunderstood.

Email securityDo not open an attachment or click on a link in an email from

someone you don't know. If the content of the email looks suspicious,but it is from someone you know -don't open until you clarify it with thesender first. Trust your intuition or you may end up infected with acomputer virus.

Use of Mailing ListsEmail is a highly effective medium of communication but a wise

company needs to treat the recipient like a person not a number on amailing list. Email needs to be personal or else it is regarded as SPAMand sent off to the recycling bin or blocked by the customer.

SPAM is unsolicited mail. Because it is easy and inexpensive tosend email, it is also easy and inexpensive to send junk email.

Just because a person joins your mailing list does not necessarilymean that he or she wants to be bombarded with useless informationor made feel as you are using the mailing list purely for profit.

Email can look really impressive by adopting a brochure format,but unless the pictures are there for a reason and the email engagesthe reader by providing useful information, then it is better to send atext based email. If you need to display products, then a link inside an

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email to the page on your web site where the product is displayed is inmy opinion a better option.

This leads the person back to your web site. An email formattedlike a brochure is uninviting because it resembles advertising but byproviding a link, you are giving the customer a choice to view your

product. This empowerment is the difference between informativeemail and advertising. Informative email is inviting, email thatresembles advertising is pushy.

Email needs to tread the line of being personal yet business like. Itis a way of building good customer relationships.

• Email used well can make people feel as though they matter.

• Relationships are the key to any business and it can make for arewarding experience.

• If the desire is to serve the customer, you will certainly be well in

front of your competition by responding to every email, promptlyand politely.

Email tipsAlways, greet the customer using their name and end by using

your name. To not use a recipient's name makes the customer feel asthough you are too busy to care to address them properly.

Make sure your contact details are clearly displayed on the endof every email. Your contact details should include your full name andcompany name, ABN or ACN number, your business phone number, fax

number, web site address, mobile phone number, business addressand postal address.

Always ask the customer if they want to be included on a mailinglist before adding them to the mailing list.

Terms like 'regards' or 'kind regards' are formal but friendly.

When sending out newsletters, make sure they are personal.Imagine that you are the recipient. Treat your customer like a personand not a number.

Don’t use subject lines like 'newletter number 42' or 'company Aweekly newsletter'. Make sure that the email title entices the recipientto read the email. Increasingly, large volumes of information meansthat an email subject title needs to stand out.