Business Communication

Suggested Answer
Roll No.

Maximum Marks 100

Total No. of Questions - 10

Total No. of Printed Pages -2

Time Allowed 3 Hours

Marks
All questions are compulsory.
Section -'A'
1. Read the following case carefully and answer the questions given below:
(3+3+4=10)
Roshna is the manager of the accounting department and Rikesh is the manager of the
sales department for the production company. This is a fast-growing firm, and the
staff of the accounting department (11 employees) is often overwhelmed with work.
Since the accounting department is located immediately next to the credit department,
NirmalRana, the administrative assistant in credit, sometimes works on journal entries
assigned to him by Roshna.
The company has experienced especially rapid growth over the past six months,
which has caused everyone to be busier than usual. With the increase in sales volume,
the credit office is under pressure to process applications more quickly, and Nirmal is
available to help Roshna out with accounting overflow less often.
Roshna complains to Rikesh that she needs Nirmal to work in accounting more than
he needs Nirmal in credit department.Rikeshs response is If I cant move the credit
applications through the pipeline in a timely manner, soon therell be no need for an
accounting department, because this company will be out of business.
a) What is the cause of this conflict?
b) If you were Roshna, how would you approach Rikesh in this situation?
c) What could Roshna do to gain Rikeshs cooperation rather than make him
defensive?
Answer:
a) Roshna, a manager in accounting department, had been outsourcing a staff named
Nirmal from the credit department who later on stopped helping her due to the
sudden increase in the sales volume in his own department. Roshna thinks that she
needs Nirmal more than the credit department which Rikesh, the manager in Sales
Department out rightly rejects. This causes the conflict.
b) If I were Roshna, I would not have bluntly asked for an extra help from other
departments. Other departments also have their own responsibilities and I have no
right to say that my department is the busiest and most important one. Rather I
would have made a request to the higher authorities for a new employee for my
department.
c) Roshna must communicate properly to Rikesh. She may have to apologize for her
blunt remark which she made before. She should clarify with evidences toRikesh
why her department needs more staff. She must learn how to respect others. She
may need to talk to the higher authorities, if necessary, regarding her work
pressure.

ISV

P.T.O.

(2)
2. What do you mean by globalization of culture? What can be some useful strategies
to promote cross-cultural communication in the globalized contexts of business
organizations?
Answer:
In the current context of the rapidly changing world, culture is viewed, interpreted
and understood in the vast global perspective. Cross-cultural campaigns are
conducted in every sector such as business, education, communication, media, and so
on. Culture is being globalized in many ways. Such a trend of getting many different
cultures, styles and practices globalized is commonly known as globalization of
cultures. Basically media is responsible for globalization of practices in different
sectors of knowledge and life. People learn the ways of living and working from each
other in the todays post -modern world. Globalization of the cultures involves three
primary things:
Understanding culture in broader perspective,
Promoting cross-cultural relationship between /among people of diverse cultures
working in diverse work situation, each respecting each others cultural norms and
\values, and
Changing traditional cultural perceptions incompatible with the changing needs of
today.

(4+6=10)

Cross cultural communication should be promoted in the globalized context of the

world cultures. Work places are largely diverse in terms of cultures and practices. In
order to reduce the misunderstandings caused by work place diversity, cross cultural
communication networks need to be established. For the promotion of the cross
cultural communication, the following strategies can be adopted:
Allow different languages for official work. Cultures of even minorities need to be
acknowledged.
Conduct seminars, workshops, etc. to familiarize people with each other.
No single language and working style may be a standard one; every language, and
working style is equally important.
Design increasing meetings, useful for all cultures.
Build cohesive multi-cultural work teams.
Create a corporate culture that can accommodate diversity to maximize the
potential of your workforce.
3. What is the role of ethics in business communication?
Answer:
The role of ethics in business communication is the way in which ethical
considerations are applied to business communications. Ethics in business
communication may be from the management of the organization to the employees,
from the employees to the customers and suppliers, or between the organization as a
whole and the outside. In this sense, business communication may be viewed from
the internal communications within the business, or it may be viewed from the
perspective of the business entity and the outside.
Generally, organizations have methods of communicating with their employees or for
disseminating information to them. The communication within an organization may
be structured in such a way that the information may flow from the top to the bottom
through several channels, such as the human resource department. Ethics in business
communication means that the communication between the management and the
ISV

10

(3)
employees must include the application of ethical standards during communication.
For instance, the management must be as clear as possible in the way they deal with
their employees by communicating to them the reasons for certain actions and
expectations. If the company has declared a large profit, for example, the
management must share the bonus in an equitable manner among the various
employees or communicate to them the reason for not doing so.
The application of ethics in business communication gives the employees a sense of
belonging and it encourages them to be more productive. Management in the
organization must also clearly communicate to the employees the type of ethical
standards that they must exhibit toward outside entities like customers, suppliers and
other classes of people who interact with the business. This includes the type of
instruction that the management has given to the employees on the way they must
communicate with the customers. In this sense, communication includes what they do
and say, or fail to say or reveal to customers.
The use of ambiguous words or the deliberate misrepresentation of the true situation
of events is a part of ethics in business communication. Some companies phrase their
offers to customers in such a way that the customers do not realize there are hidden
catches in the offer. An example of this is the offer of a very low interest rate on a
mortgage by a financial lender, without letting the customer understand that the
interest rates will go up in the future, or that the repayment terms may be changed by
the financial institution.
4. Working in groups may invite some problems and conflicts in an organization. What
can be five important measures for resolving the group problems?
Answer:
Working in groups allows sharing and exchanging of individual opinions, attitudes,
and knowledge about the subject of discussion, and encourages to make decision of
common consensus. It also ensures better result and performance in the organization.
However, it may sometimes invite problems and conflicts among the workers that
may lead to a serious and harmful result. In such condition, proper strategies for
overcoming group problems needs to be adopted.
One of the important ways of overcoming group problems is formulation and
implementation of group spirit, identity, limitations, and strengths. Regular meetings,
interactions, and sharing of problems can make group spirit permanent and strong.
Similarly, the group members should be ensured about their contributions, security,
and identity. For this personal lobbying and exerting personal influence must be
totally discouraged in the group.
The members of the group must be trained well about their group rules, ethics, and
responsibilities. Some other measures for resolving the group problems are: sufficient
physical facilities and psychological supports, sufficient opportunities for being
listened to, enough counseling and guidance programs, etc. The members of a group
need enough time to think and rethink about the issues they are discussing or arguing.
If they get time they can make proper corrections about their own arguments and
claims. This may help them minimize the conflicts and proble3ms in the group.
At last but not least, the group leader is also responsible for resolving the conflicts
and problems. The leader must play the role by listening to the voices of all the
members, and by giving them with right feedback and information. The leader is
always expected to have a role in steering the group towards the intended group
goals. He or she should help the group discussion proceed ahead without any
distractions, conflicts and problems.

ISV

10

(4)
5. Briefly explain any FOUR of the following:
a) Nonverbal communication skills
b) Writing for an international audience
c) Executive summary
d) Paralanguage
e) Agenda and minutes in meetings
Answer:
a) Nonverbal communication skills:
Non verbal communication skills include communication aspects such as body
language, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, etc., which do not make use of
words. These play strong role in the communication process.
While verbal communication is normally used for communicating information
and knowledge about events external to the speakers, non-verbal codes are used to
establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. It is considered more polite or
nicer to communicate attitudes towards others non-verbally rather than verbally,
for instance in order to avoid embarrassing situations.
b) Writing for an international audience:
Points to remember while writing for an international audience include:
- Start and finish with courtesy
- Use short, one-idea sentences
- Beware of using metaphors
- Prefer one precise word over a few short ones
- Avoid double negatives
- Avoid humor
- Use one word to name one thing
- Write Joanne rather than she or her
c) Executive summary
Typically, an executive summary will
be possibly 5-10% of the length of the main report
be written in language appropriate for the target audience
consist of short and concise paragraphs
start with a summary
be written in the same order as the main report
only include material present in the main report
make recommendations
provide a justification
have a conclusion
be able to be read separately from the main report
sometimes summarize more than one document
d) Paralanguage:
Paralanguage refers to such features of communication which are not specific to a
particular language but with communication in general. These are nonverbal in
nature. They are not main features of language, but are useful to make
communication clear. These are not words or sentences. The features like voice
quality, pitch variation, etc. are paralinguistic features. Pause, speed, stress, etc.
are also the examples of paralanguage. They affect the meaning of discourse in
different languages.
e) Agenda and Minutes in meetings:
ISV

(42.5=10)

(5)
An agenda is a list of meeting activities in the order in which they are to be taken
up. It usually includes one or more specific items of business to be discussed.
Agenda is important in a meeting since it prepares the chairman, prepares
attendees, creates an interest, clearly defines objectives, and provides a valuable
organizational tool. Agenda includes: meeting date, time, location, general
information, agenda/minutes approvals, agenda items with background/goals, and
summary/ Assignments.
Minutes are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically
describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of
the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for
the issues. A minute is prepared as soon as possible after the meeting while
actions and discussions that took place are fresh in the writers mind.

ISV