Assignment

English for Business Communication (BEGE-104)

Assignment Code: BDP/BEGE-104/TMA/2014-15
Max. Marks: 100 Answer all questions below. Each question carries 20 marks.
Note: Answer all questions
1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
Looking back, the common man and woman have been bit players in our histories, their determined
by statistics and crowds. It is only recently, particularly since the 1970s, with the rise of labour
productivity and the knowledge economy, that the political power of people has been accompanied
with greater economic power.
This shift in power has been especially significant in India. For a long time, governments regarded
the countrys population as its great liability. Vastly poor and illiterate, Indias people were the great
unwashed, a burden not just for the country but also a worry for the rest of the world. Today,
however, Indias growth is credited to its strength in human capital, and the rise of IT in India, for
instance, is seen in terms of Indian talent, as entrepreneurs and workers overcame the barriers that
existed in the 1990s to drive growth.
Our human capital has thus transformed from an albatross into Indias most significant advantage.
There is growing realization within our government that Indias most critical reforms will be those
that impact that quality of our upcoming demographic dividend and it is consequently policies in
education, health and labour laws that are receiving the closest attention.
Indias challenges in creating enough jobs have also already begun a large percentage of our labour
force is now in the tenuous unorganized market, with its attendant frailties of seasonal employment
and lack of social security. As more people join the workforce, the challenges of providing long-term
employment will only grow. Our failure to create these opportunities can turn the dividend into a
crisis. We have already experienced these problems through the 1970s and 1980s, when
unemployment and the lack of income mobility for working-age Indians fed into criminality and
extremist movements across India such as the extreme-left and extreme right. While these
circumstances do not exonerate their actions in the least, these are signs of how economic bitterness
can create high social costs.
India will also need policies that address the balance of power for women in the workforce. The
economist Abhijit Banerjee, who works at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, has emphasised that educating women is a very effective means of improving our social
indicators, particularly those related to fertility and health. An educated woman, for instance, insists
on educating her children, which is why, as Abhijit notes, when you educate a woman, you typically
educate a family. He points out how education would greatly empower women in participating in
the workforce, boosting a group that has long been under-represented in the Indian economy.
Participation among women right now still stands at a low 31 per cent, and their education would
enable us to tap into our pool of workers much more effectively.

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1a Why do you think, until recently, various governments regarded the countrys population as its
greatest liability?
2
1b What is Indias present growth due to?

1c List the problems faced by our labour force?

1d What is meant by the term human capital?

1e According to the passage why do think it is important to educate women?

1f Suggest a title for the passage.

1g Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following?

i unimportant
ii something that causes a lot of problem
iii not able to read or write
iv changed
v crucial
vi the structure of human population in terms of various criteria
vii freeing them from blame
viii encouraging
2 Write short notes on the following: 20
i Preparing a portfolio.
ii What is a group discussion?
iii The importance of visuals in presentations.
iv Role of the chairperson in conducting as meeting.
3 You see an advertisement for the post of a junior marketing manager and decide to apply for the
job. The requirements are graduation in any subject with good proficiency in English and computers.
Write a letter of application along with your CV.
10
4 Write a dialogue in about 150 words, taking about 10 turns, on the following topic:
When you get off the aircraft, you cant find your luggage. Complain to the airline official,
describing the luggage and try to find a solution for this problem.
10
5 You are an office manager and you notice that the staff is generally coming late. Write a memo to
the staff reminding them of the office timings. Motivate them to come on time.
10
6 You have an appointment with your bank manager today but something else has come up and you
cant make it. Telephone him, cancel todays appointment and arrange to see him tomorrow instead.
Take about 10 turns in the dialogue.
10

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7 Complete the following sentences with must/doesnt have to/ have to/ dont have to/ mustnt/: 10
i Im telling you this in confidence between the two of us. You _____ tell anyone.
ii Suman .. get up early, but she likes to.
iii When you come to Nagpur again, you ..give us a call.
iv We cant repair the invertor ourselves. We will..call a mechanic.
v You ..go for the movie if you dont want to.
vi You ..meet Satyarth; hes a delightful person.
vii Im sorry, but you ..finish these reports before you go home.
viii I ..go for a medical checkup tomorrow.
ix You ..be an artist to appreciate a painting.
x You ..make fun of people with physical disabilities.
8 Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs given in brackets:

10

Linguists ..suggest/suggests) that speech milestones..(is/are) reached in a fixed

sequence and at a constant age, but there .(is/are) cases where speech.. (has/have)
started late in a child who eventually... (turn/turns) out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a
baby .. (smile/smiles) and.. (utter/utters) vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can
speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he .. (has/have) a
vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he .. (know/knows) about 1000 words which he
can put into sentences, and at four his language .. (differ/differs) from that of his parents in
style rather than grammar.

Answers
1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
Looking back, the common man and woman have been bit players in our histories, their determined
by statistics and crowds. It is only recently, particularly since the 1970s, with the rise of labour
productivity and the knowledge economy, that the political power of people has been accompanied
with greater economic power.
This shift in power has been especially significant in India. For a long time, governments regarded
the countrys population as its great liability. Vastly poor and illiterate, Indias people were the great
unwashed, a burden not just for the country but also a worry for the rest of the world. Today,
however, Indias growth is credited to its strength in human capital, and the rise of IT in India, for
instance, is seen in terms of Indian talent, as entrepreneurs and workers overcame the barriers that
existed in the 1990s to drive growth.
Our human capital has thus transformed from an albatross into Indias most significant advantage.
There is growing realization within our government that Indias most critical reforms will be those

3 | Page

that impact that quality of our upcoming demographic dividend and it is consequently policies in
education, health and labour laws that are receiving the closest attention.
Indias challenges in creating enough jobs have also already begun a large percentage of our labour
force is now in the tenuous unorganized market, with its attendant frailties of seasonal employment
and lack of social security. As more people join the workforce, the challenges of providing long-term
employment will only grow. Our failure to create these opportunities can turn the dividend into a
crisis. We have already experienced these problems through the 1970s and 1980s, when
unemployment and the lack of income mobility for working-age Indians fed into criminality and
extremist movements across India such as the extreme-left and extreme right. While these
circumstances do not exonerate their actions in the least, these are signs of how economic bitterness
can create high social costs.
India will also need policies that address the balance of power for women in the workforce. The
economist Abhijit Banerjee, who works at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, has emphasised that educating women is a very effective means of improving our social
indicators, particularly those related to fertility and health. An educated woman, for instance, insists
on educating her children, which is why, as Abhijit notes, when you educate a woman, you typically
educate a family. He points out how education would greatly empower women in participating in
the workforce, boosting a group that has long been under-represented in the Indian economy.
Participation among women right now still stands at a low 31 per cent, and their education would
enable us to tap into our pool of workers much more effectively.
1a Why do you think, until recently, various governments regarded the countrys population as
its greatest liability?
2
Ans.: For a long time, governments regarded the countrys population as its great liability. Vastly
poor and illiterate, Indias people were the great unwashed, a burden not just for the country but
also a worry for the rest of the world. Today, however, Indias growth is credited to its strength in
human capital, and the rise of IT in India, for instance, is seen in terms of Indian talent, as
entrepreneurs and workers overcame the barriers that existed in the 1990s to drive growth.
1b What is Indias present growth due to?

Ans.: Today, however, Indias growth is credited to its strength in human capital, and the rise of IT in
India, for instance, is seen in terms of Indian talent, as entrepreneurs and workers overcame the
barriers that existed in the 1990s to drive growth.
1c List the problems faced by our labour force?

Ans.: A large percentage of our labour force is now in the tenuous unorganized market, with its
attendant frailties of seasonal employment and lack of social security. As more people join the
workforce, the challenges of providing long-term employment will only grow.
1d What is meant by the term human capital?

Ans.: Human capital is the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including
creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value.
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1e According to the passage why do think it is important to educate women?

Ans.: An educated woman, for instance, insists on educating her children, which is why, as Abhijit
notes, when you educate a woman, you typically educate a family. He points out how education
would greatly empower women in participating in the workforce, boosting a group that has long been
under-represented in the Indian economy. Participation among women right now still stands at a low
31 per cent, and their education would enable us to tap into our pool of workers much more
effectively.
1f Suggest a title for the passage.

Ans.: India in Global Era

1g Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following?

i unimportant
Ans.: albatross
ii something that causes a lot of problem
Ans.: burden
iii not able to read or write
Ans.: illiterate
iv changed
Ans.: improving
v crucial
Ans.: problems
vi the structure of human population in terms of various criteria
Ans.: Human capital
vii freeing them from blame
Ans.: criminality and extremist movements
viii encouraging
Ans.: Participation
2 Write short notes on the following:

20

i portfolio.
Ans.: A portfolio is a personalized col ection of materials. Portfolios are often identified with people
in the arts (photography, design, etc.) and conjure up images of large black cases or binders with
samples of work. They are now widely used in many other fields. A portfolio is:

a reflection of you as a professional

a record of your professional development

5 | Page

proof of performance on the job or in class

what you have accomplished (i.e., tangible artifacts/evidence)

evidence of your learning new skills

paper-, computer-, or web-based

Portfolios can be used for a variety of purposes. This guide focuses on creating portfolios that are
used to:

market your capabilities in job interviews

negotiate promotions and raises

apply for bonuses, scholarships, or grants

document the quality and quantity of your professional development

demonstrate prior work or learning experiences for educational credit

Regardless of purpose, portfolios document skil s and accomplishments through examples of work.
Your portfolio should consist primarily of work done from direct observation, i.e. drawing and
painting from what you see. These drawings might include self-portraits, still lifes, figure drawing,
landscapes, or interiors. You should include work done in a variety of media like charcoal, pencil,
watercolor, and acrylic and oil paints. We encourage you to include a sketchbook as part of your
submission.
You should already have strong drawing and two-dimensional design skills, as well as an
understanding of color and composition. Composition is very important; in many ways, it is at the
heart of all of our Art and Design majors. For example, Interior Design is all about moving through a
room and the relationship between one room and another. Communication Design concentrates the
way your eye moves across the kind of graphic image used in advertising. Fashion Design is about
the flow and movement of a garment on the body. Your artwork should reflect your understanding of
how to move the eye across a piece of paper or canvas using line and color, light and dark, balance
and rhythm, all of which help form the concepts of design and composition.
While we encourage work from direct observation, we do not discourage any work that reflects your
creativity and sense of design. Computer art may supplement your portfolio, but it should not be its
main focus.
You do not need to purchase an expensive portfolio case to display your artwork, but your
submission should be presented in a neat and professional manner. Let your art teacher help you
make a selection from your most recent work. Consider your portfolio a visual essay about yourself,
and dont forget your sketchbook!
ii What is a group discussion?
Ans.: Group Discussion, abbreviated as GD is a form of many-on-many discussion. It has become an
inseparable part of admissions to management institutes and your selection in campus interviews. GD
is held to identify certain traits that the companies and the institutes like to see in their employees and
students. Lets take a look at the traits which the evaluators look out for in a candidate during the GD.
Whatever you do in a GD, your knowledge about the subject cant be replaced by anything else. You
are required to talk in A GD but a talk that doesnt contain substantial value doesnt hold any

6 | Page

meaning. Be a voracious reader to increase your knowledge on various subjects. T.V., Newspapers,
magazines, News portals etc. could be your good sources of knowledge.
In a GD you are required to carefully listen to the other persons thoughts and keep an argument,
example or a supportive statement, fact, example ready to participate in the discussion. Here comes
into picture your alertness and ability to think & act immediately. As you participate in a GD, make
sure that you sit with an attentive mind and keep taking down the relevant points put forward by
others.
You have a lot of good points to put across but if you cant communicate them clearly, you wont
stand a chance to impress the evaluators. Practice to communicate in a clear and effective way.
Your self confidence adds a lot of value to your candidature. Look at every group member as you
speak, avoid too much hand movement and looking at evaluators.
Your participation in a GD clearly establishes not only your Leadership skills but also your capability
to work in a team. To meet the objectives, a good leader has to be a team player.
iii The importance of visuals in presentations.
Ans.: As its name implies, a visual is anything you show your audience to aid them in understanding
the point of your oral presentation. Visual aids are particularly important when the content makes
demands on their attention or understanding, either because the data is highly technical or because
the information is new and unfamiliar. The most effective presenters choose visual aids that illustrate
to illuminate.
Using visual aids can make a presentation more interesting and effective. When an audience can both
hear and see what you are saying, they are more likely to retain the information. Visual aids not only
focus attention, they reinforce your words. In an oral presentation the speaker faces numerous people
with their eyes on him or her. Hence, he/she has no time to look through the notes. Visual aids are a
great assistance to the speaker as well as to the audience. These serve to allow the speaker to
remember all the important points and stay on the track. Moreover, people retain visual part of the
information from graphs and tables far better than listening to someone explain the results,
conclusions, etc. The visual aids must be appropriate.
The choice of visual aids may be made from:

Overhead projector (OHP).

Slides.

Multimedia.

Charts.

Blackboard.

White board.

Handouts.

Samples or objects.

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iv Role of the chairperson in conducting as meeting.

Ans.: In a more formal meeting, the chairperson will outline the purpose of the meeting and remind
members why they are there. In such a meeting there is little need to refer to this procedure as this is
implicit in the established etiquette, namely:

The chair controls the meeting.

All remarks are addressed through the chair.

Members do not interrupt each other.

Members aim to reach a consensus.

A vote is taken if consensus is not reached.

The majority wins the vote.

All members accept the majority decision.

This is one model but alternative models may be adopted.

When discussion is underway, it is the chairperson's responsibility to ensure that it continues to flow
smoothly by involving all members present and by not permitting one or two people to dominate the
meeting. Summarising by the chairperson during meetings can:

Indicate progress, or lack of.

Refocus discussion that has wandered off the point.

Conclude one point and lead into the next.

Highlight important points.

Assist the secretary if necessary.

Clarify any misunderstanding.

The chairperson should pace the meeting, ensuring it runs to time. If the planning has been properly
executed, this should not prove to be a problem. At the end of a meeting, the chairperson should
remind members what they have achieved and thank them for their contributions. Finally, the time
and date of the next meeting should be arranged. Again this is one common model for effective
meetings, successful outcomes can be achieved in different ways with different strategies for
different purposes, so adapt as appropriate to specific situatiuons.
3 You see an advertisement for the post of a junior marketing manager and decide to apply for
the job. The requirements are graduation in any subject with good proficiency in English and
computers. Write a letter of application along with your CV.
10
Ans.: Application for the post of Junior Sales Officer.
12/A - Ashok Vihar,
New Delhi.
To :
M/s L.G. Company,
19, Bokaro Road,
8 | Page

Barakhamba Lane,
New Delhi.
6th July 2003
Dear Sir,
Subject : Application for The Post of Junior Sales Officer
This has reference to your todays advertisement in THE TIMES OF INDIA for the post of clerk.
Since I can fulfil the requirements of the job advertised, I am submitting my application for your
consideration.
I have passed my B.Com (Hons.) from the University of Delhi securing 79% marks in accountancy
this year.
During my three-year B.Com course, I was working as an honorary part-time Sales Office for the
college union and have thus gained sufficient practical experience of filling, dispatching, billing and
drafting simple letters.
I know typing also. My typing speed is 60 words per minute. I also got a P.G. diploma in computer
application from NIIT. I can handle office work on computers.
I am at present 24 years of age and possess a sound physique.
I am enclosing two testimonial-one from Mr. Grover - our principal and another from Mr. Pandey former chairman of our college trust.
I shall be glad to give you any further information you may require at the time of interview.
Yours Faithfully,
Rahul Khanna
Resume
Name : Rahul Khanna
Date of birth: 13th May - 1972
Marital status: Unmarried
Address :
375/B - G.T.B Nagar,
Panipat,
Haryana
Qualifications
:
(i) Passed M.Sc. (Chemistry) from Punjab University in first division
(ii) One-year pharmacy diploma from Rothko University
Experience
:
i) Have been working as a Marketing Representative in M/s Glycodin Company for the last two years
ii) Still working in Glycolic, but want to leave it as the emoluments are not satisfactory
Salary expected: negotiable
References:
Signature
(Rahul Khanna)

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4 Write a dialogue in about 150 words, taking about 10 turns, on the following topic:
When you get off the aircraft, you cant find your luggage. Complain to the airline official,
describing the luggage and try to find a solution for this problem.
10
Ans.: On September 29, 2014, Qatar Airways canceled our flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Doha,
Qatar causing us to miss both subsequent flights home. They did this without any prior notification.
They left us stranded at the airport for 21 hours without any vouchers for food or accommodations!
At no time did any employee of Qatar Airways ever meet with us. We dealt with Swissport
employees only. To make matters worse, our luggage was not on board our flight, as we were told it
would be. Once home, we waited SIX stressful days before they returned it to us. We have never had
such lousy treatment from ANY airline in over 30 years of international travel. Needless to say, we
will NEVER fly with this airline again, myself and my 2 kids, were supposed to fly to Argentina at
5:10pm from Ho Chi Minh. We bought our one way tickets online with Opodo. We are French. When
we arrived at the airport at 1:30pm, it was still too early for the luggage check-in. We went for a walk
and went back to the open counters at 2:30pm. The very rude staff took our 4 passports and asked us
to wait in order to check our flight tickets. 10 minutes later, they came back and just told us that we
could not get on board, because we did not have a way back or exit ticket from Argentina.
So we tried to buy 4 more tickets from Argentina to Uruguay (very upset as it should not be a
surprise for the customer when he spends over 3,000 Euros for a company). For some reason, our
credit card did not work. After one hour of trying, we finally got our 4 new tickets. The plane was
leaving 1 hour later, but nobody accepted to talk to us. They did not even pay attention to our new
tickets (they even dared to tell us that what I was showing them hotel reservation without even
looking at my iPad screen). They were closing and cleaning their counters and we were all there
waiting for somebody to care of us. They were speaking Vietnamese and laughing. I felt like a real
idiot, giving my money away to those disgusting people.
I asked to talk to a manager or anybody else able to help us out, but they told me that everybody was
busy for the boarding and they won't come to help. I am still in Vietnam, my visa expires today. I
called the main agency in Ho Chi Minh yesterday with a tourist's mobile and they briefly told me that
I would have to pay an extra money (more than 1,000 Euros) if I want to fly today because tonights
plane would be full in the economy class. I checked that on your website and they still had more than
6 seats available in economy class.
5 You are an office manager and you notice that the staff is generally coming late. Write a
memo to the staff reminding them of the office timings. Motivate them to come on time.
10
Ans.:
Date: 15/10/2014
Dear Manisha,
Freiendly environment etc is too cool and good way to move forward in future but it should not be at
the cost of discipline. A disciplined employee can only lead to the company on the path of success.
I have observed such situations in my company also where there are employee who come on time for
their shift and some such bunch of people who we called as late comers only destroy their morale and
sincerity towards the company HR ploicies.
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I recommend you doing workload analysis. Effect of "Memo" remains for a limited period and things
go back to square one.
It appears that they are not properly laden with the work. Because of the workload, I have seen
managers skipping their lunch also. I too had skipped my lunch couple of times during my HR days.
I would sugest you should once speak with them and in case if it require go for warning letters in the
interst of other employees. If you will talk to them they have reply like we o lat, got calls from client
or staff inneed late nights. in case if you will ask them to leave early than on very few days they will
come on time again start the practice of late coming. Discipline is something a child can always learn
from their family, schools, friends and they carry such things life long.
You may have to take this situation in a more serious manner in the sake of ther employee.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
(Office Manager)
6 You have an appointment with your bank manager today but something else has come up and
you cant make it. Telephone him, cancel todays appointment and arrange to see him
tomorrow instead. Take about 10 turns in the dialogue.
10
Ans.: Dear Sir,
I am not able to come in your bank due to some urgent work. I am going to out of station today for
my sons college work. College principals urgent call me because my son is ill. Then I am going to
Kota. I will come to Delhi today at night. Then I must come on tomorrow. Please keep in mind that I
must come tomorrow.
So please see this problem, arrange my meeting tomorrow.
Thanking you
7 Complete the following sentences with must/doesnt have to/ have to/ dont have to/ mustnt/: 10
i Im telling you this in confidence between the two of us. You _____ tell anyone.
Ans.: must
ii Suman .. get up early, but she likes to.
Ans.: doesnt have to
iii When you come to Nagpur again, you ..give us a call.
Ans.: must
iv We cant repair the invertor ourselves. We will..call a mechanic.
Ans.: dont have to
v You ..go for the movie if you dont want to.
Ans.: dont have to
vi You ..meet Satyarth; hes a delightful person.
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Ans.: have to
vii Im sorry, but you ..finish these reports before you go home.
Ans.: mustnt
viii I ..go for a medical checkup tomorrow.
Ans.: have to
ix You ..be an artist to appreciate a painting.
Ans.: must
x You ..make fun of people with physical disabilities.
Ans.: have to
8 Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs given in brackets:

10

Linguists ..suggest/suggests) that speech milestones..(is/are) reached in a fixed

sequence and at a constant age, but there .(is/are) cases where speech.. (has/have)
started late in a child who eventually... (turn/turns) out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a
baby .. (smile/smiles) and.. (utter/utters) vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can
speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he .. (has/have) a
vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he .. (know/knows) about 1000 words which he
can put into sentences, and at four his language .. (differ/differs) from that of his parents in
style rather than grammar.

Ans.: Linguists suggest that speech milestones are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant
age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of
high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and utters vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak
simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to
fifty words. At three he knows about 1000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his
language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.

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