MBA- Semester 1 Assignment Set 2 Marks 60 (6X10=60)

MB0039- Business Communication - 4 credits

Subject Code -

MB0039

*** Please fill in all the details in complete and only in CAPITAL letters

Name

BIPIN PRASAD

Registration Number

1205011977

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION

1. Completed assignments must be typed and formatted neatly and soft copies should be

uploaded on or before the dates mentioned above. (September 15,2012)

2. Ensure that you answer all questions according to the marks allocated. 3. Content that has been directly copied from the Internet or the Book will NOT be

accepted.

4. Please attempt all the assignments individually and independently. Assignments that

have been copied and shared among students will be automatically rejected and disqualified.
5. Please attach correct assignments to correct subjects. Incase of any errors the student

will be marked absent for the specific subject

6. Late submissions will NOT be accepted. 7. Follow assignment format and complete all the details for each assignment individually. 8. Roll no/Registration Number found mentioned anywhere else except the place

provided, the assignments will be rejected.

9. Incase students extra details like contact number, Name found listed anywhere on this

document, the assignments will be rejected.

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

Question 1- Explain the purpose of keeping minutes of a meeting. What goes into the contents of minutes of a meeting? Answer 1- The Minutes is important part of the meeting, which records the details or finding of the meeting like some important decisions, future actions etc. It records the important decisions about the organizations, which helps in the future work or during implementation regarding meeting. The recording of the minutes can be formal and informal. It depends upon that by whom we are going to meet, it may be our daily general meeting with employ or with shareholders etc. In an industry daily meeting among staff the record of minutes can be informal; it is a routine meeting regarding Production, Sales, R & D activities etc. but in other hand, minutes will be formal if our meeting is with shareholders or with other external department. Minutes can record by any of the member of the meeting. The main and only purpose of the meeting is to record the details regarding meeting like meeting date, time place, purpose of meeting, future action etc. a simple format of Minutes is given below.
Format for Minutes

Name of Organization Purpose of meeting Date Chair Members Present Time

Agenda/Topic

Discussion

Action

Person Responsible

Closing Time:

The important points related to meeting goes into the content of minutes like date, time, place, topic of meeting, present and absent of employ etc. The content of minutes depends upon the meeting type like corporate, industry, Government or among villagers etc. The main purpose of the minutes is to record the meeting details and use it for the future works. The content depends upon the topic or agenda of the meeting going to discuss but the basic content like date, time, chair, venue etc. will be common in all.

Question 2 Prepare a brief notice to be put up on official notice boards, informing employees of your organization about a newly introduced, official bus service. Answer 2-

PSPL H-4, M.I.D.C, BUTIBORI NAGPUR NOTICE

DATA: 04TH SEP 2012 REF : PSPL/HR/D/21

bus service for employees This is to inform all employees of PSPL, that our company has started a bus service in the welfare of their staff. This bus will start from Burdi at 8 am Morning for company and in evening it will leave company at 6 pm. PSPL wish you happy bus service and peaceful environment at company. SENIOR MANAGER, HR

SUB: New

Question 3 Write short notes on (a) Upward communication (b) Downward communication (c) Horizontal communication Answer 2-

(a) Upward communication: - Upward communication is a part of Formal communication network, which make flows of information from subordinates to superiors. Upward communication is very essential for problem solving in any organization. This type of communication mainly includes suggestions for improvement and sharing ideas and feeling related to job activities. The interaction between subordinates and superior is beneficial for the both of them. When any subordinate notice any problem to the superior, then subordinate learns that how he can solve this problem next time. Superior should have to encourage upward communication because it makes the good relation & understanding among workers or staffs and they also learn to obey the decisions of the management. In this type of communication the superiors should have to guide his subordinate that he doesnt seek and goes to an authoritarian approach. (b) Downward communication: - Downwards communication is vice-versa of upward communication, which makes flows of information from superior to subordinates. Downwards communication mainly consists of giving job instructions, explaining company rules, policies and procedures and giving feedback related to job work. Downwards communication plays an important role in the Job satisfaction. In this type of communication subordinated doesnt seek the guidance of the superior. The regular and formal downwards communication makes transparent and open environment, where information flow with step by step not like rumors. It have both beneficial and harm faces when superior provides regular feedback to the subordinate in a constructive way then it will very beneficial for organization but in other hand a destructive environment can down the moral and confidence of the employee. If any organizational manager (c) Horizontal Communication: - Horizontal communication may be defined as, communication that takes place between co-worker in the same department, or in different department. With different area of responsibility. For example Sales & Advertising executive in marketing department. This type of communication has become more important in todays business than other the reason behind its popularity is when it used in regular communication it ensures that all co-worker work together towards achieving a common goal in the overall interest of the organization. In this type of communication some time conflict, ego clashes and bound to arise like problems comes out. When co-worker at same level communicate on a regular basis. In horizontal communication organization

pyramid indicated the different hierarchies or level in an organization, which has been shown below.
Question 4 - Go through business magazines and daily newspapers and select a situation when a company was facing a crisis (e.g., Coke and Pepsi pesticide controversy). How did the company communicate with its shareholders and other stakeholders to overcome the crisis? Was the communication effective? Answer: According to the situation discussed in the question, there is need of Crisis Communication which is very important in this situation, but often overlooked area of shareholder communication. Lack of communication during a crisis encourages the grapevine among shareholders and leads to false rumors. The appropriate media for

communication with shareholders include both oral and written channels. Periodic mailers should be sent to all shareholders, giving a fair and truthful representation of the companys result and progress on various fronts. In areas where there is an aggregation or concentration of shareholders, shareholder meeting and conferences should be held , making presentations on the companys progress. When the company is going through a crisis, shareholders should be taken on project site and factory visits, to show them the measures that are being taken to solve the problem and the overall guiding factor in communicating with shareholders should be that they are the owners of the company. Crisis communication can include crafting thorough and compelling statements, known as messages, often tested by research and polling. A rapid response capabilitypioneered by the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign operatives and refined during Bill Clinton's eight years under attack by his political adversaries while in the White House, has also become an essential element of crisis communication. Additional tactics may include proactive media outreach to get messages and context to the media, identifying and recruiting credible thirdparty allies who can attest to the companys side of the story, and striking first, not waiting to be hit. The main objective of crisis communication 1. Maintain connectivity 2. Be readily accessible to the news media 3. Show empathy for the people involved 4. Allow distributed access 5. Streamline communication processes 6. Maintain information security 7. Ensure uninterrupted audit trails 8. Deliver high volume communications 9. Support multi-channel communications 10. Remove dependencies on paper based processes

So, the company like coke and Pepsi should have to be make communication according to the Crisis communication. Question 5 - Discuss the different types of business reports Answer: - Report may be classified on the basis of on several criteria, including their use, purpose, frequency of preparation, length, and whether they are internal to the business, or are used outside the business. There are mainly four types of reports, which have been discussed below: 1) Periodic reports- The report which prepared daily regular basis, for both internal and external is known as Periodic report like a stock statement of any organization. a. Routine Management report- Report of the equipment and sales updates for internal audiences is known as Routine management report. b. Compliance report- The report prepared for external stakeholders, such as the government, stating compliance with regulation like for environmental report isd known as Compliance report. c. Progress report- Progress report is prepared for both internal and external like for top management, shareholders, external audiences, customers. Etc. 2) Proposals Proposals may be prepared for both internal and external audiences. The purpose of a proposal is to persuade. Like any research proposal and marketing strategy 3) Policies and procedures- The purpose of these reports is solely to inform. This report is prepared for only internal audiences. Like company policies and procedures, written by top management. 4) Situational reports- These are one-time , exceptional report that are prepared when a unique event occurs. Like if the sale of the company has shown a significant decline, a study may be carried out to determine the reasons for declining sales and a report prepared on the finding, similarly. A marketing feasibility study may be carried out before launch of a new product and a report prepared, based on the study.

Question 6 - List the different steps involved in report preparation Answer: A proper Business report preparation is very essential for success. A lot of groundwork should precede the actual writing of the report. we will discuss below the steps of business report preparation. 1) Planning the report The first question to be asked before gathering information and writing the report, is regarding the type of report that is required. We classified reports into four main types, based on the purpose, the audience to whom they are addressed and the frequency of the report. It must be remembered that most reports are required by management to solve a problem, or to make a decision. Therefore, the basis, or starting point for a report is a problem. Reports are written after a problem is analyzed and a solution to the problem is found. The problem may be of a day-to-day nature, such as determining which brand of overhead projector to recommend for purchase. Or, the problem may be a negative one, such as sales of the company showing a decline. In any case, the problem is the single fundamental issue to be addressed in the report and should be clearly determined, right at the outset. 2) Selecting a Method to Solve the Problem After defining the problem and doing an audience analysis, a method has to be selected to collect the necessary information to solve the problem. Broadly, information may be gathered using secondary research methods, such as books, magazines, newspapers, internet and other available sources, or through primary research methods, such as surveys that provide firsthand information. 3) Gathering and Organizing Data Once the method of gathering information has been selected, the actual process of gathering the information begins. Since this is time consuming and expensive, only information that is relevant to the report and the study must be gathered. The raw data should be evaluated for its usefulness and organized in a form that is meaningful to understand. Tables, charts, graphs and summaries should be used to do this. 4) Arriving at a Conclusion Once the information has been checked for its validity and reliability, it must be interpreted and conclusions drawn. Correct interpretation of the data is needed for the success of the report. Sound conclusions cannot be made if the interpretation of the data is faulty. A common mistake made in the interpretation of data is the tendency of the researcher to use subjective judgments, instead of objective reasoning based on facts. 5) Writing the Report The actual process of writing the report should begin only after a satisfactory solution to the problem has been found. As pointed out earlier, a well written report that contains a bad answer is worse than a badly written report that contains a good answer.