ASSIGNMENT ON BUSINESS COMMUNICATION &

ETIQUETTE

Q1) Masbet Corporation has been a family owned company. While

they are celebrating their 50th Anniversary the new generation of
management wants to make some changes in the way
communication flows. Hence the current downward communication
dominance needs to be changed to more lateral communication.
What disadvantages of downward communication the organization
must have faced and what advantages of lateral communication
may be offered due to the change?

Answer:

Traditional views of the communication process in organizations have been

dominated by downward communication flows. Such flows transmit
information from higher to lower levels of the organization though downward
communication offers many advantages it also has some advantage.

Masbet Corporations disadvantage of downward communication

are discussed below:

Under communication and over communication:

Downward communication is often marred by either under communication or
over communication. Under communication occurs when the superior talks
too little or gives incomplete instructions to the subordinates. And over
communication takes place when the superior talks too much or gives
instructions repeatedly. Under communication and over communication may
lead to the lack age of confidential information.

Lack of Feedback:
Downward communication lacks in feedback. After getting message from the
superiors the subordinates cannot pass out their feelings to their boss if
there is not any upward communication system. Lack of feedback may result
in incomplete understanding or misunderstanding or unsatisfactory
performance.

Delay in Exchanging Information:

If the line of communication in the downward communication system is very
long. It takes too much time to transmit information to the lowest level
workers. By the time information reaches them, it may lose its significance
much.

Loss of Information:
In downward communication, if the message is not fully written, some of its
part may be lost at the time of transmission. It has been experimentally
verified that only 20% of the information sent downward through five levels
of management finally reaches at the workers level.
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Distortion of Information:
In the long lines of communication, information may be distorted because of
exaggeration, making under statements, giving unconscious twists etc.
Whenever a piece of information passes on from one individual to another, it
may lose a little of its authenticity. By the time it reaches its destination, it
may not contain even an iota of truth.

Creation of Resentment:
Downward communication is widely used by authoritative management.
Here the subordinates don not get any opportunity of participating in the
decision making process. They are expected to receive the policy, decisions
and directives without questioning their validity that creates resentment
among the employees.

In spite of the above mentioned demerits downward communication is still

much more effective in the cases where the employees need direct
supervision and guidelines from the top officials for performing their duties.

The term lateral communication can be used interchangeably as horizontal

communication. In his text entitled Organizational Communication, Michael J.
Papa defines horizontal communication as "the flow of messages across
functional areas at a given level of an organization". With this system people
at the same level are permitted "to communicate directly without going
through several levels of organization". The communication which is
occurring among same status people or parallel status level groups within
the same departments or across departments is called horizontal
communication. The following advantages of horizontal communication
exist:

Masbet Corporations Advantages of horizontal communication are

discussed below:

Informal and sweet relationship:

This is same status levels communication system. They exchange ideas,
knowledge and thoughts. So, an informal and sweet relationship can be
maintained.

Co-ordination of activities:
For the achievements of the expected result of an organization inter
departmental co-ordination system must be developed which is a criteria of
horizontal communication.

Departmental communication:
Horizontal communication is the best system of communication in
departmental communication.
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End of misunderstanding:
There is no chance of misunderstanding in horizontal communication among
employees. So, it is helpful to management for enhancing mutual
understanding and good decision making.

Hindering bureaucracy:
No change of a rise bureaucracy in Horizontal communication running
organization which is helpful to make a good relationship among themselves.

Dynamism at work:
If horizontal communication is established in organizational dynamism at
work will increase among workers.

Group activities:
IN this system of communication a department is well known to other
department and can exchange their affection. So, group activities and
direction of the sound work program will be easier.

Quick communication and solution of problems:

Horizontal communication allows quick transmission of messages and solves
complex problems in the organization.

Linking with different areas of expertise:

Science same level of employees exchange information in this
communication, they create good link with different areas of expertise.

Guarding against distortion message:

Horizontal communication takes place among the employees of the same
level, information reaches directly from one employee or executive to
another which acts as a guard against distortion messages.
Q2) In the annual function of speed cycle three employees would
be presenting information Ankit will be presenting the annual
report of three different departments, Rajan will be conducting an
interactive session with audience in between various programs and
Sharan will be making a stand up show of Storytelling. What
different types of public speaking modes each one of them will be
using and how can they make it effective?

Answer:

A good speaker will think about the delivery method, or the way in
which the speech will be conveyed to the audience. There are a few
ways in which this is done:

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Impromptu

Extemporaneous

Manuscript

Memorized

Impromptu Speechs

Rajan will be conducting an interactive session with audience in

between various programs, he had used delivery method of impromptu
mode of public speaking.

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without

advance preparation. Impromptu speeches often occur when someone
is asked to say a few words or give a toast on a special occasion. You
have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal,
conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are
examples of impromptu speaking: Hi, my name is Steve, and Im a
volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program. Another example of
impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as,
What did you think of the documentary?

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that its spontaneous and

responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the
speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of
his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and
difficult for listeners to follow.

Below are the points to guide that will make interactive session with
audience more effectively:

Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point
you want to make.

Thank the person for inviting you to speak.

Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you

can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners
can follow.

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Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.

Stop talking.

As you can see, impromptu speeches are generally most

successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Manuscript Speeches

Ankit will be presenting the annual report of three different

departments, he had used delivery method of Manuscript mode of
public speaking.

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written

message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains his or her
attention on the printed page except when using visual aids.

The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of

original words. As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, in
some circumstances this can be extremely important. For example,
reading a statement about your organizations legal responsibilities to
customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one
word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be
mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence
structure.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, its

typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has
rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal
expression and gestures (as poets do in a poetry slam and actors do in
a readers theater), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping ones
eyes glued to the script precludes eye contact with the audience. For
this kind of straight manuscript speech to hold audience attention,
the audience must be already interested in the message before the
delivery begins.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters,

and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a
TelePrompTer, especially when appearing on television, where eye
contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can
achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking
extemporaneously while using an autocue device. However, success in
this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an

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accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational

tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in
a style that sounds conversational.

Memorized Speeches

Sharan will be making a stand up show of Storytelling, he had used

delivery method of Memorized mode of public speaking.

Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that

the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from
memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play,
television program, or movie scene. When it comes to speeches,
memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and
the speaker doesnt want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to

maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being
free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and
use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this
freedom is even more of an advantage. However, there are some real
and potential costs. First, unless you also plan and memorize every
vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery,
which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture,
and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting,
and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. You might end up
speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive delivery pattern. You
might also present your speech in a rapid machine-gun style that
fails to emphasize the most important points. Second, if you lose your
place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery
will alert your audience that something is wrong. More frighteningly, if
you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely
difficult to find your place and keep going.

Extemporaneous Speeches

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned

and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief
notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the
extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with
the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech
as it progresses. The opportunity to assess is also an opportunity to
restate more clearly any idea or concept that the audience seems to
have trouble grasping.

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For instance, suppose you are speaking about workplace safety and
you use the term sleep deprivation. If you notice your audiences
eyes glazing over, this might not be a result of their own sleep
deprivation, but rather an indication of their uncertainty about what
you mean. If this happens, you can add a short explanation; for
example, sleep deprivation is sleep loss serious enough to threaten
ones cognition, hand-to-eye coordination, judgment, and emotional
health. You might also (or instead) provide a concrete example to
illustrate the idea. Then you can resume your message, having
clarified an important concept.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the

likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable
and credible. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention
to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally.
The disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that it requires a
great deal of preparation for both the verbal and the nonverbal
components of the speech. Adequate preparation cannot be achieved
the day before youre scheduled to speak.

Because extemporaneous speaking is the style used in the great

majority of public speaking situations, most of the information in this
chapter is targeted to this kind of speaking.

Q3) Bobble baby has been a market leader for infant and toddler
health products for nearly 45 years. They are planning to introduce
a face cream for teenagers. However, they need to understand the
market for the same. They will be employing data collection
methods. The marketing department needs to decide on the right
methods.

a. What benefits would interview technique offer them?

b. What limitations of focus group method should they keep in

mind should they decide to use it.
Answer:

Benefits would interview technique offer

As with any research project, data collection is incredibly important.

However, several aspects come into play in the data collection process. The
three most crucial aspects include: the cost of the selected data collection
method, the accuracy of data collected, and the efficiency of data collection.
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The rise in popularity of online and face-to-face (in-person) interviews still

remain a popular data collection method. A face-to-face interview method
provides benefits over other data collection methods. They include:
Accurate screening.
Face-to-face interviews help with more accurate screening. Te
individual being interviewed is unable to provide false information
during screening questions such as gender, age, or race. It is possible
to get around screening questions in online and mobile
surveys. Online and mobile surveys that offer incentives may actually
encourage answer falsification. Individuals may enter incorrect
demographic information so they are able to complete the survey and
gain the incentive. The answers the individual provides may all be
truthful, but for the purpose of data analysis, the data will be
inaccurate and misleading.
Capture verbal and non-verbal ques.
A face-to-face interview is no doubt going to capture verbal and non-
verbal ques, but this method also affords the capture of non-verbal
ques including body language, which can indicate a level of discomfort
with the questions. Adversely, it can also indicate a level of
enthusiasm for the topics being discussed in the interview. Lets
discuss an employee job interview, for example. Capturing non-verbal
ques may make the difference between selecting an employee that is
less skilled, but displays a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the
position. Capturing non-verbal ques is not possible in online or mobile
surveys.

Keep focus.
The interviewer is the one that has control over the interview and can
keep the interviewee focused and on track to completion. Online
and mobile surveys are often completed during time convenient for
the respondent, but are often in the midst of other distractions such as
texting, reading and answering emails, video streaming, web surfing,
social sharing, and more. Face-to-face interviews are in-the-moment,
free from technological distractions.
Capture emotions and behaviors.
Face-to-face interviews can no doubt capture an interviewees
emotions and behaviors. Similar to not being able to capture verbal
and non-verbal ques, online and mobile surveys can also not capture
raw emotions and behavior.

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Focus group method

A focus group is a kind of qualitative research method which puts a

group of people together in a room in order to discuss specific topics.
These could include brands, companies or products as well as finding
out different attitudes about a subject or a figure (politicians for
example). Focus groups are usually conducted on behalf of a business
or organisation, using a market research company who specialise in
conducting, recruiting and evaluating focus groups, using experience
and knowledge gained through years of working in the industry.

Focus groups are traditionally carried out face to face, but online focus
groups through web chat and online forums are becoming increasingly
popular and more cost effective for businesses. They can be conducted
with different numbers of people according to your needs, with many
businesses opting to use mini focus groups to get quick answers to
their research questions. Below are the

Limitation of Focus group method

Whilst focus groups have a number of benefits for market research,

they arent always the most suitable answer for everyone. For
example, those looking to gain the widest range of views possible may
not be able to do so with a small sample which may not be
representative. If sessions arent steered correctly, by competent
individuals, then you may find that you dont get the results that you
want and that you waste time and money.

The main way to avoid these issues is to use an experienced market

research agency which has a wide range of experience in providing
focus groups for businesses. Not only will they be able to help you
recruit the right sample but will use their knowledge in order to design
the best sessions and use moderators who can steer the conversation
and ensure that the sessions are as effective as possible.

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