1.

Describe any situation that you experienced where the communication

went wrong because the listening was faulty. Analyze the situation by
explaining the type of listening barrier. How could this barrier be overcome?

ANS: As pointed out earlier, listening is not easy and there are a number of obstacles
that stand in the way of effective listening, both within and outside the work place. 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 wonder elsewhere.
2. Physical Barriers - This refers to distraction in the environment such as the
sound of an air conditioner, cigarette smoke, or an over heated 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 Mobil 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
then the speaker and that you have nothing new to learn from his ideas. People
with his kind of closed minded attitude make very poor listeners.
4. Wrong Assumption - 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 clarification and giving feedback.
Another wrong assumption is to think that listening is a passive activity, in
which a listener merely absorbs the toughs of the speaker. On the contrail, real listing
is heard 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 then 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 reserve 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 interface with
the ability to understand the meaning of word that are pronounced differently. The
problem of different accents arises not only between cultures, but also with in a
culture. For example, in a country like India where there is enormous cultural
diversity, accent may different even between different regions and states.
Another type of culture 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 grater importance to speaking. Therefore this world interfaces 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 revealed that men and women listen very differently and
for different purposes. Women are more likely to listen for the emotions behind
speaker’s words, while men listen more for the fact and the content.

7. Bad Listening Habits - Most people are very average listeners who have
developed poor listening. For example, some have the habit of “faking” attention, or
trying to look like a listener, in order to impress the speakers and to assure him that
they are paying attention. Others may tend to listen to each an every fact and, as
result, miss out on the main point. Yet another habit is to avoid difficult listening and
to tune off deliberately, if the subject too technical or difficult to understand. Some
times, the subject itself may be dismissed as uninteresting, because the listener does
not want to listen.

HOW TO OVERCOME THIS TYPE OF BARRIERS:-

Although a number of barriers stand in the way of effective listening, these can be
overcome through conscious efforts, training and practice. Some of the suggested
methods are discussed in detail below-
1) Create a conducive environment - To an extent, you con tray to control
the environment in which commutation takes place, so that listening can take
place without any distractions. Ensuring a proper sound system acoustics so
that the speakers is audible, avoiding place with high levels of activity, loud
noises from the out side environment and poor air conditioning system,
shutting off mobile phone and telephones, are some of the way in which you
can overcome some of the physical barriers to listening.
2) Select Face-to-face Channels - Listening is less accurate in the in the
absence of face-to-face communication. For example, listening to and
understanding an idea currently over the telephone is much herder then
through face-to-face meeting. Take the case of calling a restaurant and placing
orders over the telephone for home delivery of a meal. The chances are that
 your order may not be understood currently. Therefore, as far as possible,
arrange face-to-face contact ensure more accurate listening.
3) Be Open Minded And Avoid distractions - Listening is an exhausting
activity which requires the right attitude and mindset. You have to focus your
attention completely on what the speaker is saying, without letting your mind
wander. This kind of concentration can be developed through various
techniques and through constant practice.
4) Use Non-verbal Cues to Indicate Active Listening – It is important to
communicate to the speaker that you are listening actively to what he is
saying. This can be done even without verbal communication. All the
different aspects of non-verbal communication discussed earlier should be
used for maximum effect.
5) Use Verbal communication to Indicate Active Listening – While
non-verbal behavior by itself can communicate that you are an active listener,
it is also important to engage in verbal communication with the speaker.
Silence is often interpreted as lack of understanding or attention. You need to
seek clarification, give feedback and suggestion, or just paraphrase in your
own words what the speaker has said, in order to convey that you have
understood his message.
6) Listening First Before Responding- Always let yourself finish listening
before you being to speak. Avoid the tendency to formulate your own
response, even before you have listened completely to the speaker’s words. If
you are too busy thinking about what to say next, you may miss the main
point that the speaker is trying to make. This also gives the speaker the
impression that you are pre-occupied or rude.
7) Use the Speaker-listener Gap constructively- It was pointed out earlier
that listeners have the ability to absorb information faster than speaker’s rate
of speech. This spare time available to listeners is often misused by letting the
mind wander and is one of the physiological barriers of listening. One way of
overcoming this barrier is to try to use this spare time to note down what the
speaker has said, review what has been said so far and anticipate what he may
say next. Thinking ahead of the speaker and trying to guess where his talk is
leading, is a good strategy for effective listening. This is not easy, but can be
learnt through proper training.
8) Ask Questions of Yourself and Make Notes- In order to engage in
active listening, you also need to ask certain questions to yourself while
listening. For example, “What is the key idea that speaker is trying to
convey?”, “How does this fit in with I already know on the subject?”, or
“How is this presentation organized?” are some possible question that you
could jot down along with this answers.
2. Briefly describe the kind of job that you would like to take up after
completion of your MBA. List out the main stakeholders that you would
have to communicate with, along with the reasons for communicating with
them and the appropriate channels of communication with each stakeholder.

Ans: Well! Firstly it depends on the area of MBA specialization for example, MBA in
finance, Human Resource Management or International business and marketing.
However, being the student of International business and marketing I will prefer to go for
some experience in hospitality industry. I think for all MBA students, the first important
factor is the selection of industry and then the job title.

My preference in Hospitality industry is to increase my interaction with people. In the

good hotels people from various countries, cities and regions come and it will be a good
exposure for me if I find a good job of management in a reputable hotel. After having at
least three years of experience I would work in some multinational company like Nestle.
This will increase my understanding of doing business at international level.

Basically I believe that just after MBA, I should go in such a job which can increase my
front line responsibilities, so that I may get more confidence and understand the
customers' needs.
Communicating with stakeholders: - Shareholders are important internal
stakeholders of an organization, since they are the owners of the company. Since the
capital required is huge, there are the no proprietors any more. As organization grows,
shareholding is widely scattered. Therefore, it is essential to retain the shareholders
confidence in the company’s management, through effective communication with them
on a regular basis.
There are two situations when shareholder communication is extremely vital –
1. If a company is doing well and wants to expand its scope of operations, or
diversify into unrelated areas. In this case, good shareholder relations can help to
raise the required capital and minimize borrowing from banks and financial
institutions.
2. If a company is going through a crisis or difficult times, more communication
with shareholders is needed. Take the example of Coke and Pepsi during the
pesticide controversy. In such a situation, the company should be open with its
shareholders and explain the problem clearly, including the steps being taken to
overcome the crisis. Crisis communication is an important, but often overlooked
area of shareholder communication. Lack of communication during a crisis
encourages the grapevine among shareholders and leads to false rumors. For
example, rumors may spread that the company is going to close down. On the
other hand, if you tell the truth, chances are that your shareholders will stand by
you.
The appropriate media for communication with shareholders include both oral and
written channels. Periodic mailers should be sent to all shareholders, giving a fair
and truthful representation of the company’s result and progress on various fronts.
In areas where there is an aggregation or concentration of shareholders,
 shareholder meetings and conferences should be held, making presentation on the
company’s progress. When the company is going through a crisis, shareholders
should be taken on project site and factory visits, to show them the measures that
are being taken to solve the problem.
The overall guiding factor in communication with shareholders should be that
they are the owners of the company.

3. Select a business article from any business publication of approximately

500 of words in length. Evaluate it in terms of: a) Appropriate level of
ratability b) Use of jargon, slang and metaphors c) common errors in
English. Is it well or properly written, in your opinion?

Ans: Business Article:-

Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame: Greatest Insurance Fraud Claims-
Claiming false compensation from the insurer is one of the common financial crimes.
Below are given some of the greatest fraud claims in the US Insurance history.

World Trade Centre Fraud: Charles and Cynthia Gavett transformed the US’s worst
tragedy in a scam by stealing USD 628000 from the life-insurers. Charles told the seven
Life Insurers that his wife Cynthia Gavett had died in the September 11, 2001 World
Trade Centre Attack and collected about USD 273000 from the insurers. However, they
could not get away for long and both husband and wife were arrested and got 10 years
imprisonment in May, 2002.

Turquitt Drug Scam: Another innovative insurance scam had taken place in US which
included giving drugs to addicts so that they die early and then taking huge insurance
claims on their names. Jimme and Isom Turquitt lured alcoholics and drug addicts off the
streets of Birmingham, Los Angeles by promising them jobs and rooms at their brother’s
rural property. The Turquitts took out more than 100 life insurance policies worth USD
8.6 million on the addicts. The brothers gave free drugs and drugs to the addicts so they
would die faster and actually collected more than USD 1.6 million before the scam was
broken up. Isom made suicide in prison whereas Jimmie received life without parole in
federal prison in March, 2002.

Auto Insurance Scam in Police Station: Belinda Lovander was an employee with
the New York Police Department. Using a computer, he wrote 22 fake police reports of
car crashes that were staged by car ring or did not take place at all. The ring collected
USD 9,00,000 in insurance claims for bogus injuries. At least 115 people were ruined for
the massive fraud – the largest bust of its kind in New York State History. Lovander was
arrested later and was sentenced to 6 years prison in March, 2002.

Staging Faked Auto Accidents: Quentin “Flint” Hawkins stole USD 10 million from
the insurers over a 20-year fraud rampage by staging fake auto accidents. Hawkins paid
USD 500 or more to drivers and passengers in cars they maneuvered into low speed
accidents. “Insured” passengers submitted bogus injury claims to insurers for up to USD
50000 each. Hawkins even recruited police officers, sons, bowling alley buddies and
others to participate. Interestingly, even one woman sent Hawkins a resume for work as a
fake accident victim; and more interestingly she got the job. Hawkins received 5 years in
federal prison in September, 2002.

a) Appropriate level of readability: - A third very important rule of business

writing to your audience and to make it simple enough for even a layperson to
read and understand.
As pointed out in an earlier section, readability is determined by the length of
words and sentences. Robert Gunning developed what is known as the “Fog
 Index” or a readability formula to measure the readability of a piece of writing.
According to this formula, the appropriate reading level in business writing
should be between 8 and 11.

Calculation of the Fog Index involves the following steps –

1. Select a written passage of approximately 100 words.
2. Calculate the average length of a sentence dividing the total number of words
in the passage by the number of sentence.
3. Find the number of difficult words. A word may be defined as difficult if it
contains three or more syllables. Determine the number of difficult words per
hundred, by dividing the total number of words in the passage into the number
of difficult words, then by multiplying this figure by 100.
4. Add the number of difficult words per hundred and the average sentence
length.
5. Multiplying the figure obtained in step 4 by 0.4, to calculate the reading grade
level for which the passage was written, or the Fog Index.
Ideally, the Fog Index should be between 8 and 11 for most business writing,
indicating that a reader between the eight grades and the eleventh grade
should be able to understand it without difficulty.
b) Jargon, Slang and Metaphors: - Jargon refers to technical terms that belong
to a particular subject area or discipline. For example, medical jargon would
include terms that only medical practitioners and not the lay person might
understand. Such terms are to be avoided in general writing, since they would be
out of context. The only instance where jargon can be used and might be essential
is in reports of a highly technical nature, where the reader is in a position to
understand these terms.
Slang refers to casual words that are not accepted and recognized in a Standard
English dictionary. While they could be used in a limited way in general or
informal writing, they are to be avoided in business writing, which needs to be
formal in nature.
A metaphor is a figure of speech and refers to colorful comparisons which evoke
visual images.
c) Common Errors in English: - “Indian English” tends to be prone to some
common mistakes which should be avoided, in order to make the communication
clear and easily understood by the receiver. Some of these mistakes include
“Redundancies”. “Clichés” and “Frequently misused words”.
Redundancies – These refers to phrases which contain repetitive or unnecessary
words to express the same meaning. This is a common Indian tendency and must
be avoided.
Clichés – These are phases that are overused and should be avoided, since they
make reading monotonous. They should be substituted with more original
Expressions.
Frequently Misused Words – Certain words which sound similar or are spelt
slightly different, tend to be used in the wrong context.
4. Briefly distinguish between the different types of reading. Which are the
types of reading that you would be required to do most often, as a student of
management?

ANS: Types of Reading: - We read in different ways, depending on the

purpose for which we are reading a text. Let us a look at few types of
reading.
1. Skimming: let us say that you are a student of management; and
as suggested by your professor, you need to buy a reference text
book on Investment Management, or to write a paper on
Computer Graphics. You go to a book store and see a rack full of
books, with the same title, but different authors. You don’t have
time to read the pages before deciding on buying the book.
Therefore, you quickly go through the contents, title page and
the blurb. By now you have decided buy one book. This type of
reading is known as “Skimming”. Thus skimming may be defined
as “looking over a text/book quickly, in order to get a general or
superficial idea of the content”.
2. Scanning: As you read a text or an article, you may suddenly
come across a word that is not familiar to you. Naturally, you
would like to know the meaning of the word, for you own benefit.
So you get the dictionary and carefully find word. You see the
spelling, pronunciation, meaning and also the various uses of the
same word. This type of careful reading to find out the specific,
clear details is known as “scanning”.
3. Extensive Reading: As we have already mentioned, our way of
reading is influenced by the purpose of our reading. Most of us
have the habit of reading especially when we are free, or have a
lot of leisure time. We might get hold of a novel, a comic strip, or
a magazine. When we read for the pure pleasure of reading, it is
known as “extensive” reading.
4. Intensive Reading: when we read shorter text like a research
paper for getting specific details or information, we read slowly
with a lot of concentration. This is known as intensive reading.
When you read a book as resource material for research, you
read it intensively because the overall understanding is not the
objective or purpose of our reading. When you read an article in
order to write a review on it, you read it intensively. We use all
the skill of reading when we do intensive reading.
5. Loud and Silent Reading: Most of our day-to day- reading is done
silently. When we read an article or an advertisement, we are
engaged in the process of deriving meaning from the passage.
Actually when we read aloud, our concentration is divided
between reading and speaking. This makes reading difficult and
may cause problems in understanding the matter. However,
there are situation when we may have to read things aloud when
others do not have access to them – for example, notice and
circulars. We need to read the instructions aloud to student or
employees, so that there is no confusion later. Apart from these
extraordinary situations, most of the time the natural way of
reading is silent reading, which is ideal and helps
comprehension.
 6. SQ3R Technique OF Reading: This technique of reading was
developed by Robinson in his book “Effective Study”(1970).SQ3R
stands for the initial letters of the five steps in studying a text-
Survey S
Question Q
Read R
Recall R
Review R

At last we say that reading is essentially a process of decoding message, with a

view to understanding a written text. It has various purposes, such as reading for
personal interest, pleasure or for gaining information. A single text is not written
for any one purpose, but could meet any purpose, depending on individual needs.

Types of reading to do most often as a student of management: - As a student

of management “Skimming” is the most important types of reading for me.
Because by “Skimming” I can quickly go through the title page of a book. And
make sure that what contents in the book have.
5. Evaluate email as a channel of internal communication, explaining its
advantages and disadvantages. List out five ways in which email message
could be made more effective.

Ans: E-mail is one of the most effective ways of internal communication. Since e-mail
is more informal in nature, we shall discuss these in some details-
• Watch the content - E-mail message are not always confidential and one can
never be sure who will read them. The minute an e-mail message is sent, multiple
copies are created on your own PC and server. There is no way of ensuring that the
message will not be forwarded to others. Sometimes E-mail message can even be used
as proof in court. Once a message is sent, a permanent record is created, Therefore, it
always wise to avoid writing anything negative or offensive.
It is particularly important to watch the content of official E-mail message send
using an employer’s equipment. Since the employer has a write to read the message and
is legally responsible for it’s content. It must be carefully worded.
• Pay attention to the tone – The very nature of E-mail communication can
make the message sound negative, abrupt and rude. For one thing, E-mail lacks the
personal quality of face-to-face communication, where body language and other non-
verbal cues may be used to make the communication more positive. Secondly, E-mail
message have to be brief, using short words, sentences and lack of solutions. Brief
message may be interrupted as being rude and unfriendly. Therefore, you must pay
close attention to the tone of the message and ensure that you should friendly and
courteous. Avoid using humor and sarcasm which might be misunderstood, or sending
message when you are angry or annoyed.
• Include a specific subject line – Your E-mail message should always include
a subject line that clearly mentions the topic of the E-mail. Since business executives
received several E-mails a day, this would help them to decide which messages are
most important to them. They will also have an idea of what the message contains.
• Place important information first – Since business executives do not have
time to read lengthy E-mail message, it is a good idea to put all the important
information that you want to convey in the first three lines of the message. Whether you
are seeking a clarification, making a request, or giving instruction, it is best to mention
this right at the outset, so that it is noticed.
• Explain attachment in the body of the E-mail – Attachment take time to
download and should be sent along with an explanation in the body of the E-mail, as to
what they are all about. This will make it easier for the recipient of the message to
decide whether they should be opened or not. Otherwise it will lead unnecessary waste
of time.
• Use the “to” and “cc” button carefully – The “to” box should be used only
to send message to people who are responsible for doing something. The “cc” button is
used when sending multiple copies of the same E-mail message to other recipients, who
need to be kept informed on a specific issue. This should be used with care, making sure
 that the message is sent only to the right persons. It is important to respect privacy,
science not everyone likes having their E-mail address displayed to other. Beside,
sending a long list of E-mail addresses can interfere with the reading of the main
message.
• Pay attention to brevity, emphasis and white space – The look,
appearance and language used in the E-mail message can influence the readability of the
message. Some techniques for enhancing readability of E-mail message include short
paragraphs, spacing between paragraph captions, highlighting main points in bold type
and use of white space.
• Use the “WIFM” rule – WIFM stands for “What's In For Me?” and means
that the benefits of your message to the reader should be emphasized. This involves use
of the second person pronoun, “you”, rather than the first person pronouns “I” or “me”.
Stressing on the “you” attitude rather than the “me” attitude was discussed in an earlier
unit.
• Tidy up your mail box – E-mail traffic can lead to your inbox becoming
cluttered, with more message than you can handle. It then becomes difficult to retrieve
important message when you need them. It is therefore a good idea to clean up your
mailbox regularly, by deleting unimportant message. The important message that you
that you want to refer to later should be put into separate topic folders. Every now and
then, any outdated messages in the topic folder should also be deleted.
• Proofread your E-mail message – just as it is important to proofread
business reports, letters and memos, E-mail message should also be checked for spelling
and grammar mistakes, so as to avoid any embarrassment.
• Set aside time to check E-mail – E-mail should not become a substitute for
face-to-face interaction at the workplace, or cut into valuable time spent on other
important jobs. It is good idea to determine a time during the work day when you check
respond to E-mail message.

Advantages and Disadvantages of E-mail:

ADVANTAGES:

In his Technology, Open learning and Distance Education, Tony Bates (1995, p. 207) has
summarized instructional benefits of computer-mediated communications (including e-
mail) as follows, and I personally concur:

• Developing academic discourse

• Collaborative and project work
• Knowledge building
• Maximizing the knowledge and experience of all participants
• Increasing equity of participation
• Cross-cultural participation
• Development of reflective writing skills
• Overcoming social isolation
• Emotional involvement
 • Ready access to help and support
• Feedback to and direct student contact with the central academic team
• Active and interactive participation
• Freedom from constraints of time and location
• Learner control

In addition, e-mail technology is relatively cheap and simple to use. With menu-driven
configurations becoming prevalent, the systems are very user-friendly. With online group
discussions, particular the online role-playing, I would like to quote Harasim: "At issue
is...how to build upon and retain the complexity of an environment like computer
conferencing so that users learn to be critical thinkers by considering issues and ideas
from many perspectives" (Harasim, 1990).

While the student engagement and the quality of discussions, two crucial aspects in
improving our teaching, would be greatly improved with e-mail used for group
discussions, it could mean a very challenging task in terms of writing. For one thing,
being less assured about how one writing would be interprets by readers could amount to
a deterrent to one's pen. Therefore, turning online group discussions into on-line role-
plays might be an alternative to overcome this dispositional barrier.

DISADVANTAGES:

The use of e-mail as an aid in classroom instruction could also lead to some undesirable
effects. For one thing, at this stage, e-mail is still a limited symbolic representation
system void of oratory and graphic appeals. Primarily textual, it is very demanding on our
writing abilities in order to avoid misunderstanding. One learner in the class commented
that one really have to "be explicitly clear about humorous comments, jokes". Also to
assume all learners would always prefer writing to speaking is not warranted. Some
learners expressed the frustration about lengthy time spent on going through messages
and writing to respond to them while orally, the exchanges could be done in just a few
minutes. For people who do like to stare at the screen for too long, much more paper is
likely to be consumed for downloading files.

Using e-mail as an instructional aid is also limited to certain kinds of learning. For some
learning which would be best picked up through demonstration, e-mail of the current
phase certainly could not replace such experiential learning event. Moreover, research
still needs to be done to find out to what extent the online discussion could achieve the
same dynamics as that of buzz groups or the richness and stimulation of a face-to-face
encounter. Not unusually, the very technology may form a new dispositional barrier
towards participation, namely, computer anxiety or computerphobics. In one course,
when the writer proposed using e-mail for journal writing, it was vehemently objected by
a number of learners who obviously have not had good experiences with computers.

Cost and access are still major barriers as well, especially when computing services in
some schools are being transformed into cost-recovery enterprises. Many of the learners
at this University in fact have to rely on the school terminals rather than personal
computers to access to free e-mail services. Thus, their freedom in choosing the time and
place to be online is questioned.

Five Ways In Which E-mail Message Could Be Made More Effective:

These are the five ways in which E-mail message could made more effective.

• Mind your “P”'s and “Q”'s - These refer to the three “magic” words,
“Please”, “Thank You” and “Sorry”. They are all the more important in E-mail
messages which have to be extra polite and friendly.
• Avoid “shouting” – Shouting in an E-mail message refers to use of all capital
letters in the text. All caps make it difficult to read a message and are therefore
considered to be rude, like shouting,
• Use friendly salutation and sign-offs – Although these are not strictly
required in E-mail communication as in business letters, a salutation such as “Dear
John” and a sign-off such as “Warm Regards”, helps to make the tone friendly and
personal.
• Avoid personal messages at work – Do not make use of the office facility
to send personal E-mail message. Science confidentiality of the message is not
guaranteed, it may lead embarrassment letter.
• Avoid sending “junk mail” – Do not send irrelevant message or messages
that are not work related, to people at work. If you overload people with this kind of
mail, they will not pay attention to the really important message.

Email should be used constructively and judiciously, to meet your goals at the
workplace and to enhance your performance on the job.
 6. How are business reports are different from business letter? In your
opinion, which is the most important step in report preparation and why?

ANS: Business Letter Writing: Business letters are used primarily to communicate
with external stakeholders such as consumers, intermediars, government and bankers.
The principal of business letter writing are somewhat different from the principal of
writing general letter. Business letter are much more formal than general letter. Before
we go into the specific of business letter writing, let us look briefly at some of these
principals-
• Consideration and Courtesy – It is very important to retain goodwill of
customers and other external publics. A discourteous, rude letter can make you lose
business. Therefore, the business letter should be extremely polite at all time and
mindful of the “P”s and “Q”s, i.e., the words “Please, thank you and sorry”. Even of u
happen to get a rude letter from a customer, you must respond, in order to retain the
customer.

If the company has been at fault, it is important to apologize to the customers for
the mistakes and for the inconvenience caused. The overall tone should not be negative.
For example, avoid saying “We can not grant your request”. Instead state it in a more
tactful way, explaining the reasons for not being able to grant the request. If you are
sending a job rejection letter to a candidate, it should be worded politely and in a positive
tone.
Consideration means that you should appeal to the reader’s interest. The
importance of tracing the “you attitude”, rather than the “me attitude”, was dealt with in a
earlier unit. This is similar to the language of advertisements, which talk about the
benefits of the products to the end users.
For example, instead of saying “We will be open 24 hours”, say “You can able
of round-the-clock service”.
• Directness and Conciseness – Business letter should be brief and to point,
avoiding unnecessary details and round about expressions. A typical Indian tendency is
to be too wordy or “Verbose”, using redundancies and unnecessary words. Business
letter should be maximum information to the readers, using minimum words.
• Clarity and Precision – Business letters should be clearly worded, avoiding
the use of jargon or technical terms, and slang words. Concrete words should be use, so
that there is no ambiguity.
Example: Instead of saying “I received your communication”, it is better to be
more precise by saying “I received your letter”.
The letter should include a single main idea and paragraph should be used to elaborate on
sub ideas.
• Appearance – Apart form the content, the format, layout and overall look of the
letter should be equally appealing to the reader. Attention should be paid to the quality
of paper used. The margin should be appropriate, including one inch on each side and
one a half inches on top and at the bottom.
A business letter should include the following standard components –
1. “Date” in the upper right hand corner.
2. The “To” address above the salutation, in the upper left hand corner.
3. “The Salutation.”
4. “Attention Line” may be included below the salutation.
5. A “Subject Line” indicates the purpose of the letter and is placed between the
salutation and the first line of the letter.
6. The“Body”of the letter includes an explanation of the main idea(s)
7. The “Close” is the ending of the letter and should be polite and friendly, so as to retain
goodwill.
8. “Enclosures.”

Business Reports: A business report may be defined as “an orderly and objective
presentation of information that helps in decision making and p solving.” It may be in
oral or written form.
A business reports has certain unique characteristics –
• A report varies in purpose, length, format and complexity.
Purpose – The purpose of business reports may be to a) inform b) analyze or c)
persuade. A report that seeks to merely inform the reader is simple
and states facts with no persuasive intent. An example of report with
this purpose is a report on company policies and procedures. Other
examples are sales reports, monthly departmental reports and project
reports showing progress on project.
Sometimes a repot may have the twin purpose of informing as well as
analyzing. Merely proving data may be meaningless, unless the data is
analyzed and interpreted. All research reports, such as market
research reports based on surveys, come under this category. The
information gathered from a survey is analyzed and then presented in
a meaningful form.
A business repot may also have the purpose of persuading or
recommending a course of action. A research report may also make
some suggestions, based on the data and the analysis of the data. A
marketing government seeking funds for building a research facility,
or for some other purpose, are other example of persuasive reports.
Length, format and complexity – Business reports vary form simple one
page memo format, to more complex reports such as “manuscript reports”, running to
several pages. Research reports are the most complex and the longest of
all reports. The purpose of the report determines the length, format
and complexity.
Thus “Business Reports” are different from “Business Letter”.

The most important steps in report preparation:-

 Since reports are a key to the success of any business, they should be carefully
planned, organized, written and presented. A lot of groundwork should precede the actual
writing of the report. We shall briefly discuss the five main steps in preparation –
1. Planning the report – The first question to be asked before gathering information
and writing the report, is regarding the type of report that is required. We classified
report into four main types, based on the purpose, the audience to whom they are
addressed and the frequency of the report.
It must be remembered that most report are required by management to solve a problem,
or to make a decision. Therefore, the basis, or starting point for a report is a problem.
Reports are written after a problem is analyzed and a solution to the problem is found.
The problem may be of a day-to-day nature, such as determining which brand of
overhead project to recommend for purchase. Or, the problem may be a negative one,
such as sales of the company showing a decline. In any case, the problem is the single
fundamental issue to be addressed in the report and should be clearly determined, right
at the outlet.
Once the problem has been defined, it must be broken up into sub issues or sub
problems, by asking the question “what’, “why”,”when”,”where” and “who?”
2. Selecting a Method to Solve the Problem - After defining the problem and
doing an audience analysis, a method has to be selected to collect the necessary
information to solve the problem. Broadly, information are gathered using
secondary research method, such as books, magazines, newspapers, internet and
other available sources, or through primary research method, such as surveys that
provide first hand information.
3. Gathering and Organizing Data – Once the method of gathering information
has been selected, the actual process of gathering the information begins. Science
this is time consuming and expensive, only information that is relevant to the report
and the study must be gathered. The raw data should be evaluated for its usefulness
and organized in a form that is meaningful to understand. Tables, chart, graphs and
summaries should be used to do this.
4. Arriving at a Conclusion – Once the information has been checked for its
validity and reliability, it must be interpreted and conclusions drawn. Sound
conclusions cannot be made if the interpretation of data is the tendency of the
research to use subjective judgment, instead of objective reasons based on fact.
5. Write the Report – The actual process of writing the report should being only
after a satisfactory solution to the problem has been found. As pointed out earlier, a
well written repot that contains a bad answer, is worse than a badly written report
contains a good answer.
Once you are ready to begin writing, certain procedures for writing should be
followed –
• Set a date for completion of the report and get started early.
• Start with an easy section.
• Write quickly, with the intention of rewriting.
• Set aside uninterrupted writing time.
• Review and rewrite where necessary.
• State facts in an objective manner.
 • Provide expert opinions.
• Use documentation.
• Use “concrete” nouns.
• Avoid pronouns referring to the writer or reader.
• Use tenses correctly.
• Use “translation” sentences.
• Define key terms carefully.

These are the most important steps in report preparation.