sem 1 assignment

7/30/2019 SEM 1 Assignment

1/74

SHIBIL JALEEL

511231186

Master of Business Administration

SEMESTER 1

00094

SPRING 2012


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MB0038Management Process and Organizational Behaviour (Assignment Set- 1)

1. State the characteristics of management.

Management can be characterized as follows:i. Management is a group activity: - Management is an essential part of group activity. As no

individual can satisfy all his desires himself, he units with his fellow- being and works in an

organized group to achieve what he cannot achieve individually.

ii. Management is goal-oriented: - Management aims to achieve economic and social objective. It

exists to achieve some definite goals or objectives. Group efforts in management are always

directed toward the achievement of some pre-determined goals.

iii. Management is a factor of production: - Management is anuran end in itself but a means to

achieve the group objectives. Just as land, labor and capital are factor of production and are

essential for the production of goods and services.

iv. Management is universal in character: - Management is applicable in all types of organization.

Whenever there is human activity, there is management. The basic principle of management are

universal application and can be applied in all organization whenever they are business, social,

religious, cultural, sport, educational, politics or military.

v. Management is needed at all levels of the organization: - Another important feature of

management is that it is needed at all levels of the organization, e.g. top level, middle level and

supervisory level. The only difference is of the nature of task and the scope of authority.

vi. Management is a distinct process: - Management is a distinct process performed to determine

and accomplish started objective by the use of human beings and other resources. It is different

from the activities technique and procedures.

vii. Management is a social process: - Management is getting thing through others. This involves

dealing with people. The efforts of the human beings have to be directed, co-ordinate and

regulated by management in order to achieve the desired results.

viii. Management is a system of authority: - Since management is a process of directing men to

perform a task, authority to accomplish the work from others is implied in the very concept of

management. Management cannot perform in the absence of authority.

ix. Management is a dynamic function: - Management is a dynamic function and it has to be

performed continuously. It is constantly engaged in the molding of the enterprise in an over

charging business environment.

x. Management is an art as well as a science: - Management is a science because it has developed

certain principle which is of universal application. But the result of management depend upon

the personnel skills of managers and in this sense management is an art.

xi. Management is a profession: - In the present days, management is recognized as a profession. It

has a systematic and specialized body of knowledge consisting of principle, technique and laws

and can be taught as a separate discipline or subject.


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xii. Management is intangible: - Management is intangible, i.e. it can be felt in the form of results

and not see. E.g. when we are not able to produce the desired quantity, we say it is the result of

poor management.

2. What are the 14 principles of management of Henri Fayol?

Management Principles developed by Henri Fayol:

DIVISION OF WORK: Work should be divided among individuals and groups to ensure that effort

and attention are focused on special portions of the task. Fayol presented work specialization as

the best way to use the human resources of the organization.

AUTHORITY: The concepts of Authority and responsibility are closely related. Authority was

defined by Fayol as the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience. Responsibility

involves being accountable, and is therefore naturally associated with authority. Whoever

assumes authority also assumes responsibility.

DISCIPLINE: A successful organization requires the common effort of workers. Penalties should

be applied judiciously to encourage this common effort.

UNITY OF COMMAND: Workers should receive orders from only one manager.

UNITY OF DIRECTION: The entire organization should be moving towards a common objective in

a common direction.

SUBORDINATION OF INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS TO THE GENERAL INTERESTS: The interests of one

person should not take priority over the interests of the organization as a whole.

REMUNERATION: Many variables, such as cost of living, supply of qualified personnel, general

business conditions, and success of the business, should be considered in determining a workers

rate of pay.

CENTRALIZATION: Fayol defined centralization as lowering the importance of the subordinate

role. Decentralization is increasing the importance. The degree to which centralization or

decentralization should be adopted depends on the specific organization in which the manager is

working.

SCALAR CHAIN: Managers in hierarchies are part of a chain like authority scale. Each manager,

from the first line supervisor to the president, possesses certain amounts of authority. The

President possesses the most authority; the first line supervisor the least. Lower level managersshould always keep upper level managers informed of their work activities. The existence of a

scalar chain and adherence to it are necessary if the organization is to be successful.

ORDER: For the sake of efficiency and coordination, all materials and people related to a specific

kind of work should be treated as equally as possible.

EQUITY: All employees should be treated as equally as possible.

STABILITY OF TENURE OF PERSONNEL: Retaining productive employees should always be a high

priority of management. Recruitment and Selection Costs, as well as increased product-reject

rates are usually associated with hiring new workers.

INITIATIVE: Management should take steps to encourage worker initiative, which is defined asnew or additional work activity undertaken through self direction.


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ESPIRIT DE CORPS: Management should encourage harmony and general good feelings among

employees.

3. Distinguish between internal and external forces of change.

Internal forces for change External forces for change

A general sense that the business could do

better

Desire to increase profitability

Reorganization to increase efficiency

Natural ageing and decline in a business (e.g.

machinery, products)

Conflict between departments

The need for greater flexibility in

organizational structures

Concerns about ineffective communication,

de-motivation or poor business relationships

Increased demands for higher quality and

levels of customer service

Uncertain economic conditions

Greater competition

Higher cost of inputs

Legislation & taxes

Political interests

Ethics & social values

Technological change

Globalization

Scarcity of natural resources

Changing nature and composition of the

workforce

4. Define emotional intelligence. Explain Golemans model of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of

others, and of groups. Various models and definitions have been proposed of which the ability

and trait EI models are the most widely accepted in the scientific literature. Goleman describes

emotional intelligence as "managing feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and

effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward their common goals."

According to Goleman, the four major skills that make up emotional intelligence are:

Self-awareness the ability to read one's emotions and recognize their impact while using gut

feelings to guide decisions.

Self-management involves controlling one's emotions and impulses and adapting to changing

circumstances.

Social awareness the ability to sense, understands, and reacts to others' emotions while

comprehending social networks.

Relationship management the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managingconflict.


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5. Explain the different leadership styles as per Managerial Leadership Grid Theory.

The model is represented as a grid with concern for production as the x-axis and concern forpeople as the y-axis; each axis ranges from 1 (Low) to 9 (High). The resulting leadership styles are

as follows:

The indifferent (previously called impoverished) style (1, 1): evade and elude. In this style,

managers have low concern for both people and production. Managers use this style to

preserve job and job seniority, protecting themselves by avoiding getting into trouble. The

main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which results in

less innovative decisions.

The accommodating (previously, country club) style (1, 9): yield and comply. This style has a

high concern for people and a low concern for production. Managers using this style pay

much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in hopes that this will

increase performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly, but not necessarily very

productive.

The dictatorial (previously, produce or perish) style (9, 1): control and dominate. With a high

concern for production, and a low concern for people, managers using this style find

employee needs unimportant; they provide their employees with money and expect

performance in return. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules

and punishments to achieve the company goals. This dictatorial style is based on Theory X of

Douglas McGregor, and is commonly applied by companies on the edge of real or perceived

failure. This style is often used in cases of crisis management.

The status quo (previously, middle-of-the-road) style (5, 5): balance and compromise.

Managers using this style try to balance between company goals and workers' needs. By

giving some concern to both people and production, managers who use this style hope to

achieve suitable performance but doing so gives away a bit of each concern so that neither

production nor people needs are met.

The sound (previously, team style) (9, 9): contribute and commit. In this style, high concern is

paid both to people and production. As suggested by the propositions of Theory Y, managers

choosing to use this style encourage teamwork and commitment among employees. This

method relies heavily on making employees feel themselves to be constructive parts of the

company.

The opportunistic style: exploit and manipulate. Individuals using this style, which was added

to the grid theory before 1999, do not have a fixed location on the grid. They adopt

whichever behaviour offers the greatest personal benefit.

The paternalistic style: prescribe and guide. This style was added to the grid theory before

1999. In The Power to Change, it was redefined to alternate between the (1, 9) and (9, 1)

locations on the grid. Managers using this style praise and support, but discourage challenges

to their thinking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-axishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-axishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-axishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-axis


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6.Mr. Suresh Kumar is the VP- HR of a leading financial services company. He ishaving a meeting with Ms. Rejani Chandran leading HR consultant. Mr. Suresh is

concerned about creating an environment that helps in increasing the job

satisfaction amongst employees. Assume that you are Ms. Rejani, the HRconsultant. What suggestions you will give to Mr. Suresh, for creating an

environment that increases job satisfaction?

Measuring Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is the sense of fulfillment and pride felt by people

who enjoy their work and do it well. For an organization, satisfied work force ensures

commitment to high quality performance and increased productivity Job satisfaction helps

organizations to reduce complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination. Job

satisfaction is also linked to a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of

longevity. And although only little correlation has been found between job satisfaction andproductivity, it has also been found that satisfying or delighting employees is a prerequisite to

satisfying or delighting customers, thus protecting the bottom line (Brown, 1996).

The most important factors conductive to job satisfaction are:

i) Mentally Challenging Work: Employees tend to prefer jobs that give them opportunities to use

their skills and abilities and offer a variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on how well they are

doing. Under conditions of moderate challenge, most employees will experience pleasure and

satisfaction.

ii) Personality-Job Fit: People with personality types congruent with their chosen vocationsshould find they have the right talents and abilities to meet the demands of their jobs; and

because of this success, they have a greater probability of achieving high satisfaction from their

work. It is important, therefore to fit personality factors with job profiles.

iii) Equitable Rewards: Employees want pay systems and promotion policies that they perceive

as being just, unambiguous, and in line with their expectations. When pay is seen as fair based

on job demands, individual skill level, and industry pay standards, satisfaction is likely to result.

Similarly, employees seek fair promotion policies and

practices. Promotions provide opportunities for personal growth, more responsibilities and

increased social status. Individuals who perceive that promotion decisions are made in a fair andjust manner are likely to experience job satisfaction.

iv) Supportive working conditions: Employees prefer physical conditions that are comfortable

and facilitate doing a good job. Temperature, light, noise and other environmental factors should

not be extreme and provide personal comfort. Further, employees prefer working relatively

close to home, in clean and relatively modern facilities and with adequate tools and equipment.

v) Supportive Colleagues: Employees have need for social interaction. Therefore, having friendly

and supportive co-workers and understanding supervisors leads to increased job satisfaction.

Most employees want their immediate supervisor to be understanding and friendly, those who

offer praise for good performance, listen to employees opinions and show a personal interest inthem.


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vi) Whistle blowing: Whistle-blowers are employees who inform authorities of wrongdoings of

their companies or co-workers. Whistle blowing is important because committed organizational

members sometimes engage in unethical behaviour in an intense desire to succeed.

Organizations can manage whistle blowing by communicating the conditions that are

appropriate for the disclosure of wrongdoing. Clearly delineating wrongful behaviour and theappropriate ways to respond are important organizational actions.

vii) Social Responsibility: Corporate social responsibility is the obligation of an organization to

behave in ethical ways in the social environment in which it operates. Socially responsible

actions are expected of organizations. Current concerns include protecting the environment,

promoting worker safety, supporting social issues, investing in the community, etc. Managers

must encourage both individual ethical behaviour and organizational social responsibility.

Job enrichment: It is a deliberate upgrading of responsibility, scope, and challenge in the work

itself. Job enrichment usually includes increased responsibility, recognition, and opportunities

for growth, learning, and achievement. Large companies that have used job-enrichmentprograms to increase employee motivation and job satisfaction include, AT&T, IBM, and General

Motors (Daft, 1997).

Workers role in job satisfaction

A worker should also take some responsibility for his or her job satisfaction. Everett (1995)

proposed the following questions which employees ask themselves in regard to job satisfaction

at the workplace:

1. When have I come closest to expressing my full potential in a work situation?

2. What did it look like?

3. What aspects of the workplace were most supportive?

4. What aspects of the work itself were most satisfying?

5. What did I learn from that experience that could be applied to the present situation?

The following suggestions can help a worker find personal job satisfaction:

1. Seek opportunities to demonstrate skills and talents.

2. Develop communication skills.

3. Acquire job related skills and try to implement them.

4. Demonstrate creativity and initiative.

5. Improve team building and leadership skill.

6. Learn to de-stress.


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MB0038Management Process and Organizational Behaviour (Assignment Set- 2)

1. Explain Sensitivity Training.

This approach evolved from the group dynamics concept of Kurt Lewin and the first sensitivitytraining session was held in 1946 in State Teachers College, New Britain, USA. Since then, it

spread to numerous training centers in USA and other countries. Sensitivity training is a small-

group interaction process in the unstructured form which requires people to become sensitive to

others feelings in order to develop reasonable group activity. The objectives of sensitivity

training are as follows:

1. To make participants increasingly aware of, and sensitive to, the emotional reactions and

expressions in themselves and others.

2. To increase the ability of participants to perceive, and to learn from, the consequences of

their actions through attention to their own and others feelings.3. To stimulate the clarification and development of personal values and goals consonant

with a democratic and scientific approach to problems of personal and social decisions and

actions.

4. To develop achievement of behavioral effectiveness in participants.

5. To develop concepts and theoretical framework for linking personal values and goals to

actions consistent with these inner factors and situational requirements.

Process of Sensitivity Training:

Sensitivity training focuses on small group (T-group) with number of members ranging from ten

to twelve. T-groups are designed to provide members with experiential learning about groupdynamics, leadership and interpersonal relationships. The basic T-group training or sensitivity

training is to change the standards, attitudes and behavior of individuals by using psychological

techniques and programs. Based on the sources from where these members are drawn, there

may be three types of T-group: stranger-lab, cousin-lab, and family-lab. In the stranger-lab, all

participants are from different organizations and they are strangers to each other. In cousin-lab,

all participants are from the same organization but from different units.

2. Describe the bases of power.

In the context of inter-personal relationship power may be defined as the ability of a person to

influence and control behavior of others. Experts have identified different bases or source of

power that a person may have. These are:

Coercive power. Coercive power results from a person's ability to punish or withhold

rewards. A person who robs you on the street threatening you with a gun is using this type of

power.

Resource power. A person has resource power when he or she has the discretion to

decide the resources available to you. Thus a person in finance department, who can influence

the sanction of other employees' expenditure budget can exercise resource power over them.


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Position power. A person has some authority and discretion assigned to him by virtue of

his/her position in the organization structure. This is position power.

Expert power. A person has expert power by virtue of being recognized as an expert. We

accept the advice of doctor, and even allow him/her to operate upon us because we have faith

in his expertise.

Information power. Information is like resource power. A person with information can

disclose the information selectively to people he wants to favour, and in this way exercise

influence over them.

Association power. People can also exercise power by their relationship and association

with others. People tend accept opinions and wishes of people having good relationship them.

Personal power.This type of power flows from the persons personal characteristics

including looks, personality, and interpersonal skills. This power has a multiplier effect. It helps a

person to enhance the effectiveness of all other type of power.

3. What are the hindrances that we face in perception?

Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An

understanding of these shortcuts can be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in

significant distortions.

1. Selective Perception

Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability

that it will be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything

that is seen .Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively. Selectivity works as a shortcut injudging other people by allowing us to speed-read others, but, not without the risk of drawing

an inaccurate picture. The tendency to see what we want to see can make us draw

unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation.

2. Halo Effect

The halo effect occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic.

For example, while appraising the lecturer, students may give prominence to a single trait, such

as, enthusiasm and allow their entire evaluation to be tainted by how they judge the instructor

on that one trait which stood out prominently in their estimation of that person. Research

suggests that it is likely to be most extreme when the traits to be perceived are ambiguous inbehavioral terms, when the traits have moral overtones, and when the perceiver is judging traits

with which he or she has had limited experience.

3. Contrast Effects

Individuals do not evaluate a person in isolation. Their reaction to one person is influenced by

other persons they have encountered recently. For example, an interview situation in which one

sees a pool ofjob applicants can distort perception. Distortions in any given candidates

evaluation can occur as a result of his or her place in the interview schedule.


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4. Projection

This tendency to attribute ones own characteristics to other people which is called projection

can distort perceptions made about others. When managers engage in projection, they

compromise their ability to respond to individual differences. They tend to see people as more

homogeneous than they really are.

5. Stereotyping

Stereotypingjudging someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she

belongs. Generalization is not without advantages (Hilton & Hippel, 1996). It is a means of

simplifying a complex world, and it permits us to maintain consistency. The problem, of course,

is when we inaccurately stereotype. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that

represent stereotypes based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, and even weight. From a perceptual

standpoint, if people expect to see these stereotypes, that is what they will perceive, whether or

not they are accurate.6. First-impression error Individuals places a good deal of importance

on first impressions. First impressions are lasting impressions. We tend to remember what we

perceive first about a person, and sometimes we are quite reluctant to change our initial

impressions. First-impression error means the tendency to form lasting opinions about an

individual based on initial perceptions. Primacy effects can be particularly dangerous in

interviews, given that we form first impressions quickly and that these impressions may be the

basis for long-term employment relationships.

4. What are the consequences of conflict in organisations?

As organizations strive to achieve their goals, they are often met with challenges they must

overcome as a team. Challenges leave room for conflict between members, other organizations,communities and other parties involved in the organizations mission. While conflict often has

a negative connotation, the effects of conflict within an organization can be positive and

negative.

Mental Health Concerns: Conflict within an organization can cause members to become

frustrated if they feel as if theres no solution in sight, or if they feel that their opinions go

unrecognized by other group members. As a result, members become stressed, which adversely

affects their professional and personal lives. Organization members may have problems sleeping,

loss of appetite or overeating, headaches and become unapproachable. In some instances,

organization members may avoid meetings to prevent themselves from experiencing stress andstress-related symptoms.

Decrease in Productivity: When an organization spends much of its time dealing with conflict,

members take time away from focusing on the core goals they are tasked with achieving.

Conflict causes members to focus less on the project at hand and more on gossiping about

conflict or venting about frustrations. As a result, organizations can lose money, donors and

access to essential resources.

Members Leave Organization: Organization members who are increasingly frustrated with the

level of conflict within an organization may decide to end their membership. This is especially

detrimental when members are a part of the executive board or heads of committees. Once


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members begin to leave, the organization has to recruit new members and appoint acting board

members. In extreme cases, where several members leave or an executive board steps down,

organizations risk dissolution.

Violence: When conflict escalates without mediation, intense situations may arise between

organization members. Its unfortunate, but organizational conflicts may cause violence amongmembers, resulting in legal problems for members and possibly the organization.

Inspire Creativity:Fortunately, some organization members view conflict as an opportunity for

finding creative solutions to solve problems. Conflict can inspire members to brainstorm ideas,

while examining problems from various perspectives.

Share and Respect Opinions: As organization members work together to solve conflict, they are

more willing to share their opinions with the group. Conflict can also cause members to actively

listen to each as they work to accomplish the organizations goals.

Improve Future Communication: Conflict can bring group members together and help them

learn more about each other. From learning each others opinions on topics relevant to the

organizations growth to understanding each members preferred communication style, conflict

within an organization can give members the tools necessary to easily solve conflicts in the

future.

Identify New Members: Within organizations members actively participate in each meeting,

enjoy serving on multiple committees and have an opinion on each topic the group discusses.

There are also members who seemingly contribute little to the group and observe more than

talk. Conflict within an organization can inspire typically silent members to step up and

demonstrate their leadership skills by offering meaningful solutions to the problem the group is

facing.

5. Explain the four processes of Social Learning Theory.

The social learning theory was proposed by Bandura. It recognizes the importance of observing

and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. According to Bandura

(1977), most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing

others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this

coded information serves as a guide for action.Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction

between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences Social learning has four processes:

1. Attention processes People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay attention

to its critical features. In order to learn, it is required to pay attention. Anything that detracts the

attention is going to have a negative effect on observational learning. If the is model interesting

or there is a novel aspect to the situation, it is more likely to dedicate the full attention to

learning.

2. Retention processes A models influence will depend on how wel l the individual remembers

the models action after it is no longer readily available. The ability to store information is also an


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important part of the learning process. Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but the

ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational learning.

3. Motor reproduction processes After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the

model, the watching must be converted to doing. The ability to store information is also an

important part of the learning process. Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but theability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational learning.

4. Reinforcement processes Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if

positive incentives or rewards are provided. Finally, in order for observational learning to be

successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior that has been modeled.

Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation

6. Ms.Chanchal Das Gupta is a recruitment specialist. For the post of QC Manager,

she interviews three candidates. Given below are the physical characteristics of thecandidatesCandidate Physical Characteristics

Mr.Ravi Muscular, thick skin, rectangular shaped.

Mr.Gineesh Thin, delicate build, large brain, tall.

Mr.Ramgopal Soft, round shaped, underdeveloped muscles.

From the above descriptions, what personality traits can Ms. Chanchal

derive out of the candidates as per Sheldons theory of personality?

Per Sheldon`s theory of personality, below are the traits that Ms. Chanchal can derive:

Mr. Ravi represents Mesomorph body type. He is well-proportioned. Psychologically he is

Adventurous, Courageous, Indifferent to what others think or want, Assertive/bold, Zest for

physical activity, Competitive, with a desire for power/dominance, and a love of risk/chance

Mr. Gineesh represents Ectomorph body type. Psychologically he is Self-conscious, Private,

Introverted, Inhibited, Socially anxious, Artistic, Intense, Emotionally restrained, Thoughtful

Mr. Ramgopal represents Endomorph body type. Psychologically he is Sociable, Fun -loving,

Love of food, Tolerant, Even-tempered, Good-humored, Relaxed, with a love of comfort, and has

a need for affection.


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MB0039 Business Communication - Assignment (Set- 1)

1. List the importance of effective communication in the workplace.

Effective communication serves the following specific purposes in an organization:

Greater Awareness of Organizational Goals and Teamwork When there is open

communication between superiors, co-workers and subordinates, there is smooth flow of

information regarding the goals of the organization. Coordination between the different

departments in particular, leads to greater motivation to work together towards achieving a

common organizational goal, rather than working in isolation.

Better Employer-employee Relationships By listening to employees, showing empathy and

giving them the freedom to express their opinions without fear of being repressed, a manager

can create a climate of openness that leads to better work relationships. Employees will thenfeel more comfortable in approaching their superiors and discussing any matter with them.

Problem-solving Effective communication can help resolve conflicts between co-workers, work

related and performance related problems. Faceto-face communication is especially suited for

achieving this task, since it is one to one and highly personalized in nature.

Improved Performance Effective communication by managers at the time of appraising the

performance of their employees can point out areas for improvement. A constructive review of

performance, through which a manager gives positive feedback and counsels the employee,

instead of criticizing him for poor performance, can motivate the employee to perform better.

Stronger Link between Managers and the External Environment Apart from internal

communication within the organization, effective communication by managers with externalaudiences such as customers, government, bankers, media and suppliers leads to a better

rapport with them. A manager will be able to understand the needs of his customers, be aware

of the presence of quality suppliers of material, of government regulations and of the

expectations of the community at large, only through proper communication.

2. Explain the different aspects of non-verbal communication.

Non-verbal communication, defined as communication without words. It refers to any way of

conveying meanings without the use of verbal language. Non-verbal communication is generally

unintentional, unlike verbal communication. All of us tend to communicate silently andunknowingly send signals and messages by what we do, apart from what we say. Gestures, facial

expressions, posture and the way we dress, are all part of non-verbal communication. Non-

verbal communication can have a greater impact than verbal communication, since how you

say something is sometimes more important than what you say. Although non-verbal

communication can affect both our personal and business relationships, it is particularly

important in the workplace. While the spoken or written words may be perfect, the non-verbal

aspects could convey the exact opposite meaning.

Aspects of non-verbal communication:

1. Kinesics: This is the most often studied and important area of non-verbal communication and

refers to body movements of any kind. Different body movements can express inner states ofemotion. Facial Expressions can convey feelings of surprise, happiness, anger and sadness. If you


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meet a long lost friend and say Im very happy to meet you again, but with a sad facial

expression, it conveys the exact opposite meaning. Eye Movements, such as wide open pupils

express feelings of surprise, excitement or even fear. The importance of eye contact with ones

audience was pointed out earlier. Direct eye contact is an indication of intensity and interest,

while lack of it can convey feelings of nervousness and guilt. Gestures, such as movement of the

hands while giving a lecture or presentation indicates a high level of involvement in what you are

saying. On the other hand, shuffling of the feet is a sign of nervousness and speaking with ones

hands in ones pockets is considered to be casual or even rude.

2. Proxemics: Proxemics is derived from the word proximity or closeness and is the

communication term for personal space and distance. The space and distance which we choose

to keep from people is also part of non-verbal communication. Each of us has our own inner and

outer circles, which differ for different people. Our inner most circle is an intimate space, into

which we generally admit only select people such as family and close friends. Next comes a

personal space which might include other friends and colleagues or coworkers. These two

spaces involve communication of an informal nature. Most of us also have a social and public

space, which includes official or workplace relationships, where the communication is of a moreformal nature. In a business context, it is more relevant to understand the concept of fixed

space and semi-fixed space. Fixed space means that the physical features of the work

environment such as furniture, room size and seating arrangement are permanent.

3. Time Language: This refers to the meaning or importance attached to time and varies

between different people. One person may value time more than another. Similarly, time

language also varies across cultures. In most western cultures for example, punctuality is

considered to be important. Arriving late for a business meeting is inexcusable. In other cultures,

it is more relaxed and time is not given that much importance. We convey messages to others

through the time we spend on a work related activity or by the importance that we give to time.

Arriving early at work or for a job interview shows interest, involvement and seriousness.Spending time with an employee and giving him suggestions on how to improve his performance

shows interest and involvement in his career growth.

4. Paralanguage: Para means like or similar to, therefore paralanguage means like

language. Of all the forms of non-verbal communication, paralanguage is closest to verbal

communication. It refers to the tone of voice with which something is said. In other words, it is

how something is said, and not what is said. The tone of voice includes the pitch (high or low

pitch), the pace (slow or fast) the emphasis on words and the volume (soft or loud) and can

convey different moods and emotions.

5. Physical Context: This refers to the physical environment or surroundings within which we

communicate and includes two aspects 1) color and layout and 2) design. Colors are known fortheir symbolic meaning and have associations with different feelings. For example, colors like

black and grey are associated with death, mourning and negative feelings. Yellow and green are

associated with more positive feelings.

3. Write short notes on (a) Upward communication (b) Downward communication

(c) Horizontal communication

Upward Communication This may be defined as information that flows from subordinates to

superiors. Some of the reasons for upward communication include discussing work related

problems, giving suggestions for improvement and sharing feelings about the job and co-


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workers. This type of communication has both benefits and disadvantages. One of the

biggest benefits is problem-solving. Once a subordinate has brought a problem to his superiors

notice, chances are that the problem will not recur, since the subordinate learns from his

superior how to tackle it the next time. Thus, his ability to solve new problems and therefore his

managerial ability, improves. Another benefit that could arise from upward communication isthat valuable ideas and suggestions may sometimes come from lower level employees.

Therefore organizations should encourage this kind of communication. A third benefit is

that employees learn to accept the decisions of management and thereby work as a team. The

biggest problem associated with this type of communication is that it may lead to handing

down of decisions by superiors. When subordinates frequently seek the superiors guidance,

the latter may adopt an authoritarian approach and merely give instructions, disregarding the

subordinates opinion completely.

Downward Communication This may be defined as information that flows from superiors to

subordinates. The most common reasons for downward communication are for giving jobinstructions, explaining company rules, policies and procedures and giving feedback regarding

job performance. A number of studies have indicated that regular downward communication in

the form of feedback given to employees is the most important factor affecting job satisfaction.

Therefore organizations today are trying to encourage more of this type of communication.

There are both benefits and disadvantages associated with this type of communication.

Downward communication that provides regular feedback will be beneficial if the feedback or

review of performance is constructive. A constructive review is one where a manager counsels

an employee, or advises him on how to improve his performance. On the other hand, a

destructive review can destroy employee morale and confidence. Regular downwardcommunication also creates a climate of transparency or openness, where information is passed

on through official channels, rather than through rumors. Thirdly,

downward communication boosts employee morale, since it indicates that management is

involved in their progress. The problems with this type of communication are the danger of

doing destructive reviews, as mentioned, and that of message overload. This means that

superiors many sometimes burden their subordinates with too many instructions, leading to

confusion.

Horizontal Communication This type of communication is also known as lateralcommunication. It may be defined as communication that takes place between co-workers in the

same department, or in different departments, with different areas of responsibility. The

reasons for this type of communication are for coordination of tasks, sharing of information

regarding goals of the organization, resolving interpersonal or work related problems and

building rapport. The biggest potential benefit of horizontal communication is the sense of

teamwork that is created. Regular communication of this type ensures that all co-workers work

together towards achieving a common goal in the overall interest of the organization. The

biggest potential problem is that conflicts such as ego clashes are bound to arise, when co-

workers at the same level communicate on a regular basis.


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4. Explain the different barriers to listening .List the differences between

discriminative listening and comprehension listening.

Listening is not easy and there are a number of obstacles that stand in the way of effective

listening, both within and outside the workplace. These barriers may be categorized as follows

1. Physiological Barriers This was discussed earlier under the barriers to communication. Some

people may have genuine hearing problems or deficiencies that prevent them from listening

properly. Once detected, they can generally be treated. Other people may have difficulty in

processing information, or memory related problems which make them poor listeners. Another

physiological barrier is rapid thought. Listeners have the ability to process information at the

rate of approximately 500 words per minute, whereas speakers talk at around 125 words per

minute. Since listeners are left with a lot of spare time, their attention may not be focused on

what the speaker is saying, but may wander elsewhere.

2. Physical Barriers These refer to distractions in the environment such as the sound of an air

conditioner, cigarette smoke, or an overheated room, which interfere with the listening process.

They could also be in the form of information overload. For example, if you are in a meeting with

your manager and the phone rings and your mobile beeps at the same time to let you know that

you have a message; it is very hard to listen carefully to what is being said.

3. Attitudinal Barriers Pre-occupation with personal or work related problems can make it

difficult to focus ones attention completely on what a speaker is saying, even if what is being

said is of prime importance. Another common attitudinal barrier is egocentrism, or the belief

that you are more knowledgeable than the speaker and that you have nothing new to learn from

his ideas. People with this kind of closed minded attitude make very poor listeners.

4. Wrong Assumptions The success of communication depends on both the sender and the

receiver, as we have seen in an earlier unit. It is wrong to assume that communication is the sole

responsibility of the sender or the speaker and that listener have no role to play. Such an

assumption can be a big barrier to listening. For example, a brilliant speech or presentation,

however well delivered, is wasted if the receiver is not listening at the other end. Listeners have

as much responsibility as speakers to make the communication successful, by paying attention,

seeking clarifications and giving feedback. Another wrong assumption is to think that listening is

a passive activity, in which a listener merely absorbs the thoughts of the speaker. On the

contrary, real listening or active listening is hard work it requires speaking sometimes to ask

questions, agree or disagree with the speaker, give feedback, etc. Yet another barrier of this type

is to assume that speakers are more powerful than listeners. Speakers are seen as being in

command of things, whereas listeners are seen to be weak and lacking authority. According to

communication experts however, the reverse is true. Listeners are as important and as powerful

as speakers. In fact David J. Schwartz, writer and management professor, emphasizes the

importance of listening by saying Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize

the talking.

5. Cultural Barriers - Accents can be barriers to listening, since they interfere with the ability to

understand the meaning of words that are pronounced differently. The problem of differentaccents arises not only between cultures, but also within a culture. For example, in a country like


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India where there is enormous cultural diversity, accents may differ even between different

regions and states.

Another type of cultural barrier is differing cultural values. The importance attached to listening

and speaking differs in western and oriental cultures. Generally, Orientals regard listening and

silence as almost a virtue, whereas Westerners attach greater importance to speaking. Therefore

this would interfere with the listening process, when two people from these two different

cultures communicate.

6. Gender Barriers - Communication research has shown that gender can be a barrier to

listening. Studies have revealed that men and women listen very differently and for different

purposes. Women are more likely to listen for the emotions behind a speakers words, while

men listen more for the facts and the content. Example A salesperson giving a demonstration

of a new type of office equipment may be asked by two colleagues if the equipment will work

without any problems and respond by saying Sure. A male user may take his answer at face

value, whereas a female user may detect some hesitation in his voice. This is because the male

user listens for the content of the message, whereas the female user listens for the tone of the

message.

7. Lack of Training - Listening is not an inborn skill. People are not born good listeners. They have

to develop the art of listening through practice and training. Lack of training in listening skills is

an important barrier to listening, especially in the Indian context. Lee Iacocca, former Chairman

of the Chrysler Corporation in the US, was one of the first to recognize the need for organized

training programs in listening skills. Today, many organizations both in India and

abroad incorporate listening skills in their training programs.

8. Bad Listening Habits - Most people are very average listeners who have developed poor

listening habits that are hard to shed and that act as barriers to listening. For example, some

people have the habit of faking attention or trying to look like a listener, in order to impress

the speaker and to assure him that they are paying attention. Others may tend to listen to each

and every fact and, as a result, miss out on the main point. Yet another habit is to avoid difficult

listening and to tune off deliberately, if the subject is too technical or difficult to understand.

Sometimes, the subject itself may be dismissed as uninteresting, because the listener does not

want to listen.

Discriminative Listening: This is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference

between the sounds is identified. Unless the differences between the sounds are identified, the

meaning expressed by such differences cannot be grasped. Once we learn to distinguish

between sounds in our own language, we are able to do the same in other languages. One

reason why people belonging to one country find it difficult to speak the language of another

country is that they find the sounds similar and cannot understand the subtle differences.

Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another person's

voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is experiencing.

Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through body language.

We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal movements that

signify different meanings.
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Comprehension listening - Once we have learnt to discriminate between the different sounds,

the next step is to try to comprehend the meaning of these sounds. In order to do this, we

require a dictionary of words, along with the rules ofgrammar and syntax. Apart from the verbal

communication, we also need to understand the meaning conveyed by the speakers nonverbal

behavior. This can be achieved by closely observing various aspects of the speakers body

language and tone of voice. In communication, some words are more important and some less

so, and comprehension often benefits from extraction of key facts and items from a long spiel.

Comprehension listening is also known as content listening, informative listening and full

listening.

5. Discuss the principles of business writing.

The process of good writing involves three basic steps - preparing, writing and editing. Practicing

the following 16 principles will help you be a more effective writer.

Know your objective: Think before you write. What's your goal? Make sure you fully understand

the assignment. Are you writing a one-paragraph executive summary or a five-page report? Try

answering this question: What specifically do I want the reader to know, think, or do?

Make a list: Write down the ideas or points you want to cover. Why? This helps you get started

in identifying the key ideas you want to discuss. If you have trouble getting started, try discussing

your ideas with someone else."Kicking an idea around" often helps you clarify your objective and

fine-tune what you are trying to accomplish.

Organize your ideas: Just as it's difficult to find what you want in a messy, disorganized desk

drawer, it's hard to find important ideas in a poorly organized message. Here are a few ways youcan organize your ideas:

Importance - Begin with the most important piece of information and then move on to the

next most important.

Chronological order- Describe what happened first, second, third.

Problem-Solution - Define the problem, and then describe possible alternatives or the solution

you recommend.

Question-Answer - State a question and then provide your answer. Organize your ideas so thereader can easily follow your argument or the point you are trying to get across.

4. Back it up: Have an opinion but back it up - support with data. There are a number of ways

you can support your ideas, including explanations, examples, facts, personal experiences,

stories, statistics, and quotations. It's best to use a combination of approaches to develop and

support your ideas.

Separate main ideas: Each paragraph should have one main point or idea captured in a

topic sentence. The topic sentence is normally the first sentence in the paragraph. Each

paragraph should be started by an indentation or by skipping a line.
http://smu-mba-mb00.blogspot.com/2011/12/mb0039-business-communication-set1-q3.htmlhttp://smu-mba-mb00.blogspot.com/2011/12/mb0039-business-communication-set1-q3.htmlhttp://smu-mba-mb00.blogspot.com/2011/12/mb0039-business-communication-set1-q3.htmlhttp://smu-mba-mb00.blogspot.com/2011/12/mb0039-business-communication-set1-q3.html


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Use bullets or numbers: If you are listing or discussing a number of items, use bullets or number

your points like I have done in this paper. Here's an example of using bullets.

Join the Business Club to:

Increase sales

Gain new marketing ideas

Make new friends

Give back to your profession

Write complete sentences: A sentence is about someone doing something - taking action. The

someone maybe a manager, employee, customer, etc. The "doing something - taking action"

can include mental processes such as thinking, evaluating, and deciding, or physical actions such

as writing and talking. A good rule to practice is to have subjects closely followed by their verbs.

Use short sentences: Sentences should be a maximum of 12 to 15 words in length. According to

the American Press Institute, sentences with 15 or fewer words are understood 90% of the time.

Sentences with eight or fewer words are understood 100% of the time.

Be precise and accurate: Words like "large," "small," "as soon as possible," "they," "people,"

"teamwork, "and "customer focus" are vague and imprecise. The reader may interpret these

words to mean something different than what you intended. Reduce communication

breakdowns by being specific and precise. Define terms as needed. The reader may

not understand certain acronyms and abbreviations.

Use commas appropriately: Use a comma to separate the elements in a series of three or moreitems:

His favorite colors are red, white, and blue.

Use a comma to set off introductory elements:

After coffee and donuts, the meeting will begin.

Use a comma to separate adjectives:

That tall, distinguished, good-looking professor teaches history.

Use the correct word:

Here are several words that cause confusion.

You're is a contraction for "you are" Your means possession, such as "your coat."

It's is a contraction for "it is." Its indicates possession.

Their means possession/ownership-"their house." There means location. They're is a

contraction for "they are."


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Avoid redundancies: It is a redundancy to use multiple words that mean or say the same thing.

For example, consider the following:

- My personal beliefs Beliefs are personal, so just state, My beliefs...

t - I decided to paint the machine gray in color. Gray is a color, so just state, I decidedto paint the machine gray.

Numbers: When using numbers in the body of your paper, spell out numbers one through nine,

such as "Three men decided" When using numbers 10 or above it's proper to write the

number, such as "The report indicated 68 customers"

Have a conclusion: Would you really enjoy watching a movie or sporting event that had no

conclusion? No. The conclusion ties your points together. The reader wants to know the final

score - the bottom line message.

Edit your work: Read what you have written several times.

first read, focus on organization and sentence structure. Shorten long sentences. Cross

out unnecessary words and phrases. Reorganize material as needed.

Read it again and make sure commas are used appropriately and that there is punctuation

mark at the end of every sentence.

Read it a third time and focus on word choice. Are there certain words that are vague or

unclear? Replace them with specific words.

Read what you have written aloud to yourself or to a friend to see if he or she (and you) can

understand it and improve it in any way. A significant part of good writing involves editing. Veryfew people can sit down and write a perfect paragraph on their first try. It requires multiple

rewrites.

6. Explain the advantages of oral communication with the help of suitable example.

Oral communication implies communication through mouth. It includes individuals conversing

with each other, be it direct conversation or telephonic conversation. Speeches, presentations,

discussions are all forms of oral communication. Oral communication is generally recommendedwhen the communication matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required.

Face to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews, etc.) is significant so as

to build a rapport and trust.

Advantages of Oral Communication

There is high level of understanding and transparency in oral communication as it is

interpersonal.

There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing changes in

the decisions previously taken.
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MB0039 Business Communication - Assignment (Set- 2)

1.List the differences between extensive reading and intensive reading?

Differences between extensive reading and intensive reading

Intensive reading

It is related to further progress in language learning under the teacher's guidance. It provides a

basis for explaining difficulties of structure and for extending knowledge of vocabulary and

idioms. It will provide material for developing greater control of the language and speech and

writing. Students will study short stories and extracts from novels, chosen for the standard of

difficultly of the language and for the interest they hold for this particular group of students.

Intensive reading is generally at a slower speed and requires a higher degree of understanding to

develop and refine word study skills, enlarge passive vocabulary, reinforce skills related to

sentence structure, increase active vocabulary, distinguish among thesis, fact, supportive and

non-supportive details, provide socio cultural insights.

Extensive reading

It develops at the student's own pace according to individual ability. It will be selected at a lower

level of difficulty than that for intensive reading. Where frequency word counts are available for

the language being learned, extensive reading will conform to a lower frequency word count

than intensive reading. Material will be selected whose choice of structure is habitually less

complex and whose vocabulary range is less extensive. The purpose of extensive reading is to

train the students to read directly and fluently in the target language for enjoyment without the

aid of the teacher. Where graded texts are available, structures in texts for extensive reading will

be already familiar, and new items of vocabulary will be introduced slowly in such a way that

their meaning can be deduced from context or quickly as certained. The student will be

encouraged to make intelligent guesses at the meaning of unfamiliar items. Material consists of

authentic short stories and plays, or informative or controversial articles from newspapers and

magazines. A few adaptations of vocabulary and structure will be made. The style of writing

should entail a certain amount of repetition without monotony. Novelties of vocabulary should

not coincide with difficulties of structure. It means reading in quantity and in order to gain

a general understanding of what is read. It is intended to develop good reading habits, to build

up knowledge of vocabulary and structure and to encourage a liking for reading, Increase total

comprehension, enable students to achieve independence in basic skill development, acquaint

the student with relevant socio-cultural material, and encourage recreational reading.


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2.Explain the different advantages and disadvantages of intranet.

Advantages and disadvantages of intranet are as follows:

Advantages of Intranet

There are number of advantages of intranet discussed below:

Intranets offering workforce productivity which can help user to find and observe information

very fast. User may also use applications according to their roles and tasks. Through web

browser a user can get access to entire contents of any website from anywhere or any time.

Intranet also increases the ability of employees by performing their job confidently very fast, and

accurately.

Intranet permits business companies to share out information to employees according to their

need or requirements. Employees may also link to appropriate data at their expediency.

The best advantage offered by intranet is communications within an organization or business

company, landscape or portrait. Intranets are helpful to converse planned initiative that has an

international reach all through the organization. The well known examples of transportation are

chat, email, and blogs. Actual world example of Intranet is Nestle had a number of food

processing plants.

The most significant advantage of Intranet is Web publishing which permits burdensomecorporate knowledge to be continued and effortlessly access all through the company using Web

technologies and hypermedia. The familiar examples of web publishing consist of training, news

feed, company polices, documents, and employee manual. Intranet can be accessed general

internet standards such as CGI applications, Flash files, and Acrobat files. Each unit can bring up

to date the online copy of a document and intranet always provides the most recent version to

employees.

Intranet is also being used as a platform of mounting and organizing applications across the

internet world.

Another advantage of Intranet is time saving because there is no need to maintain physical

documents such as procedure manual, requisition forms, and internet phone list.

Disadvantages of Intranet

Intranet has great features for interconnected manners but has some disadvantages too

Management does need to stop control of specific information, this problem can be minimized

but with appropriate prudence.

The other disadvantage of Intranet is security issue


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Intranet gathered everything in one location which is really good but if it is not prearranged then

you will spoil everything.

The cost of intranet is very high but has lots of advantages after implementing.

3.List the different principles of business letter writing.

Principles of Writing Business Letters:

The format of a business letter is different from other styles. Expect the tone to be less casual

and the information kept straight to the point. Keep the intended audience in mind at all times.

Like all types of writing, however, planning is a must. First organize your thoughts, and then put

pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard

Tone: The tone of a business letter is formal. Avoid casual words and slang. Write the letter as if

you applying for a job and not as if you were talking to a friend. Avoid phrases such as, "you

know what I mean," "it's cool," and "you know that." Stay away from the light, conversational

tone found in emails and messages to friends. This will help you project professionalism in your

writing.

Intent and Clarity: Jump right in and state the intent of your letter in as few words as possible.

Write short and clear sentences. Do not use complicated words when a simpler word will do.

Include just enough information so that your message is clear and concise, while still allowing

the sentences to flow and maintaining a tactful and polite tone.

Pronoun Use: Writing a business letter in the first and second person is acceptable. Using "I" and

"you" help to create a connection between the author and reader of the message. When printing

your message on paper that includes your business's letterhead, use the pronoun "we." The

usage of this word could imply that the opinions or information presented in the letter are those

of the entire company rather than just you.

Format: The proper format of a business letter includes the date, addresses of the writer and

recipient, greeting, body, closing and signature. The recipient may not view your letter as

professional if each of these sections is not included.

4. Write short notes on: (a) Corporate identity advertising (b) institutional

advertising.

(a) Corporate identity advertising

Advertising signatures should be presented in a consistent manner, clearly conveying federalsponsorship of the message. Set out here are guidelines on how government policy on the use of


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the federal signature and the Canada word mark should be applied in advertising. These

guidelines are intended to promote clear and consistent identification of the sponsor, while

allowing flexibility on how signatures are being applied. The guidelines were developed to assist

all those involved in the planning and preparation of government-sponsored advertising.

This section should be used with Chapter 470, Federal Identity Program, and Chapter 480,

Government Communications Policy of theAdministrative Policy Manual. Official languages

requirements with respect to advertising are set out in Chapter 470.

Section1. 1, Design, of the FIP Manual contains comprehensive guidelines on the use of

symbols and signatures, as well as information on the availability of proofs for reproduction.

Guideline examples

These guidelines include typical examples to show how the signature and wordmark should be

applied in federal advertising. Most of the examples stem from actual advertisements; some of

them were modified to reflect the guidelines.

Scope

Guidelines set out the use of corporate signatures in government-sponsored advertising within

Canada. They apply to print advertising, outdoor and transit advertising, television and radio

advertising, as well as to paid announcements.

Advertising signatures

Described below are design criteria that apply to advertising signatures in print advertising,

outdoor and transit advertising, and in paid announcements. These criteria pertain to the layout,

the relative size and position of the signature and word mark, as well as the use of colour.

Federal signature

Three aspects determine the design of a signature: layout, type size and typeface. This involves

choosing the appropriate layout (e.g. one-, two- or three-line signature), the type size, and the

suitable typeface (i.e. Helvetica light, regular or medium). Described below is the effect of these

variables on the design of a signature.

Layout

The signature layout should be chosen on the basis of the signatures length (i.e. number of

words) and the space allocated for it in the advertisement. Basically, it is a question of whether a

signature should be displayed horizontally, or in a more compact, vertical layout.

Where horizontal space is limited, the choice of layout is directly related to the signatures type

size. To fit a particular width and to permit the use of a large enough type size, certain signatures

may need to be displayed in three or possibly four lines.


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(b)Institutional advertising

Institutional advertising is marketing designed to promote a company rather than a specific good

or service. It can be designed to make the public more aware of a company or to improve the

reputation and image of an existing company. Depending on the company, this can be a form of

brand advertising.

Many forms of advertising are about promoting products. This can involve promoting a new

product so that the public is aware of its existence, or trying to persuade the public to buy more

of an existing product. Institutional advertising instead promotes the company itself. One

example would be a grocery chain running advertisements which stressed the general quality or

low prices of its food, rather than detailing specific offers it was running.

Some forms of institutional advertising are so geared towards promoting a positive image that

they effectively discourage sales of a product to some extent. For example, alcohol firms may

run commercials warning against excessive drinking or driving while under the influence. Such

commercials are usually designed to improve the image of the company, making it seem more

trustworthy or responsible.

In some cases, institutional advertising is the same thing as brand awareness advertising. This is

where the advertising promotes a particular brand rather than the product itself. For example, a

banking group might run commercials promoting one of its banks as being dynamic and exciting,

while promoting a sister bank as being particularly helpful to customers. In both cases this is

different than promoting a specific service, for example by advertising a low rate on loans for

new customers.

It is also possible for institutional advertising to promote an industry rather than a particular

company. This will usually be carried out by an industry association. It happens most often in

industries where many of the companies are small firms without the budgets to carry out

major advertising, particularly in national media. To give a hypothetical example, most wills

prepared by lawyers are done so by small law firms with only a few offices. A trade association

for inheritance lawyers could carry out institutional advertising by putting together a television

commercial which promotes the importance of getting a will, then lists a website which refers

viewers to lawyers in their area.

Institutional advertising can cause problems for marketing analysis. Where a commercial is for a

specific product, marketers can track how it affects sales and see how effective the

advertising was. With institutional advertising, the link between the advertising and the effect on

business is much weaker and may take longer to show any effects.
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5. Discuss the different types of business reports?

Different Types of Business Reports

Reports according to function can be subdivided into the following:

Informational reports.

Analytical reports

Research reports

Whereas reports according to formality can be subdivided into the following:

Statutory reports

Non statutory or voluntary reports

The other types of reports are information, analytical, research, statutory, non-statutory, special,

and routine reports.

Information reports are solely to provide facts without suggestion or personal opinions.Whatever ones findings is that is what reported. These facts are given without personal

explanation or, again, any suggestions.

Analytical reports are one step further as they contain facts alongside analytical explanation of

these facts. They contain a sort of a narration of facts and collected data. They also contain a

conclusion or a set of interpretations reached by the writer.

6. List the different steps involved in report preparation

Steps involved in writing a report are as follows:

1. Define the purpose of your report

2. Define the readers of your report

3. Define your sources of data

4. Gather and analyze your data

5. Decide on your recommendations

6. Decide on the key points to include in the report

7. Decide on the best order for your points

8. Decide on the best structure for the report

9. Select data to support your key points

10. Write a draft


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11. Prepare tables and graphics

12. Edit and proof-read the report

13. Write an executive summary

14. Format the report professionally

15. Make a title page and table of contents


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MB0040 Statistics for Management - Assignment Set 1

1. What are the functions of Statistics? Distinguish between Primary data and

Secondary data.Statistics is used for various purposes. It is used to simplify mass data and to make comparisons

easier. It is also used to bring out trends and tendencies in the data as well as the hidden

relations between variables. All this helps to make decision making much easier.

Functions of Statistics in detail:

1. Statistics simplifies mass data: The use of statistical concepts helps in simplification of

complex data. Using statistical concepts, the managers can make decisions more easily. The

statistical methods help in reducing the complexity of the data and consequently in theunderstanding of any huge mass of data.

2. Statistics makes comparison easier: Without using statistical methods and concepts,

collection of data and comparison cannot be done easily. Statistics helps us to compare data

collected from different sources. Grand totals, measures of central tendency, measures of

dispersion, graphs and diagrams, coefficient of correlation all provide ample scopes for

comparison.

3. Statistics brings out trends and tendencies in the data: After data is collected, it is easy to

analyse the trend and tendencies in the data by using the various concepts of Statistics.

4. Statistics brings out the hidden relations between variables: Statistical analysis helps in

drawing inferences on data. Statistical analysis brings out the hidden relations between

variables.

5. Decision making power becomes easier: With the proper application of Statistics and

statistical software packages on the collected data, managers can take effective decisions, which

can increase the profits in a business.

Primary Data & Secondary Data can be distinguished as follows:

Primary datais data which has been collected by you, which is more reliable and up to

date. Secondary data has been collected from a secondary source (Other people, business etc.)

so it may not be valid or up to date.

"Primary" and "secondary" are terms used to define data relative to the purpose by which the

data were collected originally.

"Primary data" are data collected for the need at hand.

"Secondary data" are data that were collected for another reason but is being re-purposed to

address the need at hand.


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When describing the expertise of data analysts, it is not uncommon to distinguish between

primary and secondary data analytics. Primary data analytics involves the ability to analyze data

for the purpose by which it has been collected. Secondary data analytics involves identifying

"secondary data sources" to solve a new problem and then the ability to re-purpose that data.

Primary data is a data which is created for the first time and there is no previous sourceavailable. Secondary data is a readily available data like data from trade directories, statistics

from websites etc. In Dissertation Literature review is done through secondary data which

includes the contents such as theories, models, compilation, research findings by some other

scholar etc.

2. Draw a histogram for the following distribution:

Age 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50

No. of

people

5 10 15 8 2

3. Find the median value of the following set of values: 45, 32, 31, 46, 40, 28, 27, 37,

36, and 41.

(36+37)/2 = 36.5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50

Histogram


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4. Calculate the standard deviation of the following data:

No. of

students

3 15 26 23 9 4

Class Interval Mid Value X Frequency f d=x-83 2 fd fd

78-80 79 3 -2 -6 12

80-82 81 15 -1 -15 15

82-84 83 26 0 0 0

84-86 85 23 1 23 23

86-88 87 9 2 18 3688-90 89 4 3 12 36

80 32 122

= [122/80 [32/80] ] x (2) = [1.525 - 0.16]x4 =5.46 (mm)

Standard Deviation = = 2.336 (mm)

5. An unbiased coin is tossed six times. What is the probability that the tosses will

result in: (i) exactly two heads and (ii) at least five heads.

The probability of getting exactly 2 heads = .23

The probability of getting at least 5 heads = .11

6. Explain briefly the types of samplingTypes of samples

Probability sampling (Representative samples)

Probability samples are selected in such a way as to be representative of the population. They

provide the most valid or credible results because they reflect the characteristics of the

population from which they are selected (e.g., residents of a particular community, students at

an elementary school, etc.). There are two types of probability samples: random and stratified.

Marks 78-80 80-82 82-84 84-86 86-88 88-90


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Random sample

The term random has a very precise meaning. Each individual in the population of interest has

an equal likelihood of selection. This is a very strict meaning -- you can't just collect responseson the street and have a random sample.

The assumption of an equal chance of selection means that sources such as a telephone book or

voter registration lists are not adequate for providing a random sample of a community. In both

these cases there will be a number of residents whose names are not listed. Telephone surveys

get around this problem by random-digit dialing -- but that assumes that everyone in the

population has a telephone. The key to random selection is that there is no bias involved in the

selection of the sample. Any variation between the sample characteristics and the population

characteristics is only a matter of chance.

Stratified sample

A stratified sample is a mini-reproduction of the population. Before sampling, the population is

divided into characteristics of importance for the research. For example, by gender, social class,

education level, religion, etc. Then the population is randomly sampled within each category or

stratum. If 38% of the population is college-educated, then 38% of the sample is randomly

selected from the college-educated population. Stratified samples are as good as or better than

random samples, but they require fairly detailed advance knowledge of the population

characteristics, and therefore are more difficult to construct.

No probability samples (Non-representative samples)

As they are not truly representative, non-probability samples are less desirable than probability

samples. However, a researcher may not be able to obtain a random or stratified sample, or it

may be too expensive. A researcher may not care about generalizing to a larger population. The

validity of non-probability samples can be increased by trying to approximate random selection,

and by eliminating as many sources of bias as possible.

Quota sample

The defining characteristic of a quota sample is that the researcher deliberately sets the

proportions of levels or strata within the sample. This is generally done to insure the inclusion of

a particular segment of the population. The proportions may or may not differ dramatically from

the actual proportion in the population. The researcher sets aquota, independent of population

characteristics.

Purposive sample A purposive sample is a non-representative subset of some larger population,

and is constructed to serve a very specific need or purpose. A researcher may have a specific

group in mind, such as high level business executives. It may not be possible to specify the

population -- they would not all be known, and access will be difficult. The researcher will

attempt to zero in on the target group, interviewing whoever is available.


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A subset of a purposive sample is a snowball sample -- so named because one picks up the

sample along the way, analogous to a snowball accumulating snow. A snowball sample is

achieved by asking a participant to suggest someone else who might be willing or appropriate for

the study. Snowball samples are particularly useful in hard-to-track populations, such as truants,

drug users, etc.

Convenience sample

A convenience sample is a matter of taking what you can get. It is an accidental sample.

Although selection may be unguided, it probably is not random, using the correct definition of

everyone in the population having an equal chance of being selected. Volunteers would

constitute a convenience sample.

Non-probability samples are limited with regard to generalization. Because they do not truly

represent a population, we cannot make valid inferences about the larger group from which they

are drawn. Validity can be increased by approximating random selection as much as possible,and making every attempt to avoid introducing bias into sample selection.


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MB0040 Statistics for Management Assignment (Set 2)

1. Explain the following terms with respect to Statistics: (i) Sample (ii) Variable (iii)

Population.

(i)Sample

Sample is a finite subset of a population. A sample is drawn from a population to estimate the

characteristics of the population. Sampling is a tool which enables us to draw conclusions about

the characteristics of the

sem 1 assignment

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