THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF PAKISTAN

Intermediate Examinations Spring 2010

March 2, 2010

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION & BEHAVIOURAL STUDIES

Module C (MARKS 100)
(3 hours)

Q.1 In the rapidly changing business environment, dynamic organizations have to continuously
anticipate the impact of these changes on their business and introduce modifications in
their organizational structures to enable them to improve and further consolidate their
competitive advantages.

(a) Identify and describe the factors which make it necessary for businesses to introduce
changes in their organizational structures. (06)

(b) Briefly explain the strategies which are usually adopted to overcome the resistance to
change in an organization. (06)

Q.2 (a) Serious efforts are required to avoid deadlocks in negotiations. Quite often the
deadlock appears when the negotiation process is in an advanced stage. List any four
measures which a skilled negotiator may adopt to avoid a deadlock in the final stages
of negotiations. (06)

(b) It is a widely held belief that the success of a meeting depends to a considerable
extent on the leadership and communication skills of the person presiding the
meeting. Describe the important tasks that the chairman of a meeting is expected to
perform, in order to achieve optimal results from the deliberations of the meeting. (05)

Q.3 In all progressive organizations, managers have to delegate authorities to their

subordinates for achieving the business objectives of the organization. Although the
process of delegation of authority is a widely accepted phenomenon, yet managers are
often not able to benefit from effective delegation of authorities.

Identify eight barriers which generally create impediments in the process of effective
delegation of authority. (06)

Q.4 (a) Define Request for Proposal (RFP) and identify four important items of information
that are contained in a RFP. (03)

(b) List the various Headings of Paragraphs contained in a detailed Proposal (Only the
Headings are required). (03)

(c) What are the essential qualities of a well-prepared Proposal? (03)

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Q.5 (a) What do you understand by the term non-verbal Communication? Briefly explain the
important characteristics of non-verbal Communication. (06)

(b) What is meant by Upward Communication? Narrate the purpose of Upward

Communication. (03)

(c) Why is Upward Communication of particular importance in Learning Organizations? (03)

Q.6 Feedback is a critical component of the communication process as it enables the sender to
determine whether the message has been received or understood. Although feedback is of
considerable importance in the communication process, it is observed that it is often
ignored in certain situations.

(a) Give reasons why managers are often reluctant to provide Feedback to their
subordinates? (04)

(b) Narrate any six steps which a manager may take to make the Feedback to
subordinates more acceptable in difficult situations? (06)

Q.7 (a) What is meant by Management by Objectives (MBO)? (02)

(b) State the steps involved in the process of establishing goals and plans by MBO. (04)

Q.8 Mr. Abdul Basit is Director of Student Relations of Palm Tree College of Business, a
prestigious business school which offers courses at the graduate and post graduate level.
On behalf of Mr. Abdul Basit, write an invitation letter to Mr. Salahuddin Khan, Dean of
Business Strategies, who is at present on a private visit to Karachi requesting him to be the
Keynote Speaker and give a lecture on the topic of ‘Business Strategies of Leading Global
Corporations.’ (12)

Q.9 (a) State and explain briefly the important steps involved in the planning of written
messages. (07)

(b) “A well-planned negative message conveys the negative information clearly while
retaining as much goodwill as possible.” What are the important points one should
consider in communicating a negative message? (05)

(c) What is meant by Agenda of a meeting? When is the Agenda sent to the participants
of a business meeting? (02)

Q.10 (a) What is Autocratic style of Leadership? (02)

(b) Give four advantages and disadvantages each of Autocratic style of Leadership. (06)

(THE END)