Group: ABCD

A BUSINESS COMMUNICATION REPORT ON THE GRAND BHAGWATI, AHMEDABAD SUBMITTED TO IBS AHMEDABAD AS A PART OF PARTIAL SUBMISSION TOWARDS CURRICULUM 2012-13 PREPARED BY GROUP ABCD DEVKI PARIKH (R.N. 06), PGPM SEMESTER II DISHANT GOSWAMI (R.N. 07), PGPM SEMESTER II RIMA AGARWAL (R.N. 22), PGPM SEMESTER II NAMAN SHAH (R.N. 26), PGPM SEMESTER II

Group: ABCD

A CKNOWLEDGEMENT
Through this acknowledgement, we express our sincere gratitude towards all those people who have helped me in the preparation of this project, which has been a learning experience. I would like to express sincere thanks to Mr. Kavina, the Assistant General Manager, TGB for guiding us through the company details and Prof. Dhwanika Ahya who guided us throughout the project and gave us valuable suggestions and encouragement. Group, ABCD

Group: ABCD

CONTENTS
Synopsis................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction to The Grand Bhagwati (TGB) ............................................................................................................. 3 Main objective of the communication ......................................................................................................................... 5 Communication medium and communication channel .......................................................................................... 6 Communication hierarchy ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Communication Process ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Feedback process for communication ....................................................................................................................... 11 Main training objective.................................................................................................................................................. 12 Training Process .............................................................................................................................................................. 13 Bibliography and source of information .............................................................................................................. 15

Page 1

Group: ABCD

S YNOPSIS
The main objective of this business communication report is to understand the communication process and methodology in a company. For the same we have chosen The Grand Bhagwati. By meeting the Assistant General Manager we came to know about the flow of communication, the channel, and the various mediums used in these channels for the communication in TGB. Not only the internal communication of TGB but also the communication between the head office and the TGB was known. Communications is one of the major factors which help in maintaining the customer base and generating revenues in the hospitality and service industry. TGB gives a lot of importance to proper and hierarchy based communication for their smooth and co-ordinate working in the organization. After knowing the communication details we took certain insights about the training process in the organization. The same gave us insights that TGB indulges in a regular periodic training as well as certain timely training by the experts. In the service industry it is the employees who matters the most as they deliver the service and there is no tangible product to be sold. Thus TGB emphasis a lot on communication and training to its employees so that a high level of service is maintained which in turn enhances their goodwill in the market.

Page 2

Group: ABCD

I NTRODUCTION TO THE GRAND BHAGWATI (TGB)

Bhagwati Group was founded in 1989 by Mr. Narendra Somani, The Chairman & Managing
Director. Bhagwati Banquets & Hotels Ltd - a renowned public limited company, listed at BSE and NSE exchange, with its vision and novel innovations has created an admired empire in the field of food and hospitality industry. It is the only organized corporate catering company across India. The company now is expanding Pan India with its Restaurants, Banquet halls & outdoor catering operations in the city of Jaipur, Bangalore, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, and Indore etc. The first child of Bhagwati Banquets & Hotels Ltd stands tall at the hub of the city, at Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway, with most of the corporate giants relocating their business in this part of "New Ahmedabad". With over 23000 square feet of space, TGB offers one of the most spacious and elegantly designed banqueting facilities in the region. The Grand Bhagwati, Ahmedabad values its guests, hence offers a perfect combination of impeccable service, comfort, along with a very special accommodation, meals and entertainment that ensures a privileged world full of possibilities. At TGB, they have it all a grand venue, opulent interiors, exquisite chandeliers, resplendent gardens, exotic A La Carte, bright & inviting mosaics with spectacular surroundings and above all an extremely friendly team of professionals. There are 4 banquets rooms: Grand Ball room, Ambience, Memories and Chancellors room. TGB offers a perfect place to celebrate every special moment. From the Grand Ballroom to the Chancellors room, it lays down a wide choice of banquet halls to organize personal and professional events. All halls are located at reminiscent locations and claim versatile areas of sophisticated design complete with modern amenities. Apart from a perfect place and a team of seasoned professionals, dedicated to ensure that every event exceeds the highest expectations, TGB offers the guests a wide range of rooms and restaurants to relax and relish during or before the function. TGB Outdoor Catering Division, providing exclusive food & hospitality services under the public listed parent company Bhagwati Banquets & Hotels Ltd, is a success story of grandeur & ultimate customer delight in Outdoor catering since last 22 years not only in India but across the World.

Page 3

Group: ABCD

A State of the Art centralized food factory with huge independent kitchen spaces for different cuisines & equipments maintaining best of hygiene standards. It can cater food delights to 10,000 guests at any given time. It has own fleets of Refrigerated & Customized Transport Vans maintaining timely & precise delivery. It has a specially created menu and signature gourmet delights. It also provide customized menu as per guests desire. TGB provides the range of specially designed crockery to suit the occasion.

Page 4

Group: ABCD

M AIN OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process of transferring information meaning between senders and
receiver, using one or more written, oral, visual or electronic channel. The flow of communications can be in variety of ways such as internal and external. Where internal is for the people inside the company and external is between company and the outside parties relating to it. In TGB the internal parties are the employees of the Head office and the main TGB at S.G. Road. And the external parties will be the suppliers and the customers. In this report our main focus will be on the internal parties and concentrating on the communication between the various departments and across employees. The basic objective of the communication is thus sharing- providing data, information and insights in an exchange that benefits both the people with whom they are communicating. In TGB there are two basic objectives of communications- Long term and short term. The long term objective is focused on the long term employee relation, training and development, better co-ordination. Whereas the short term objective focuses on routine communication, daily agenda, co-ordination of various departments for the various functions, etc.

Page 5

Group: ABCD

C OMMUNICATION
CHANNEL

MEDIUM AND COMMUNICATION

Medium serves as the means of communication, while channel refers to the means of
transmission of the message between a sender and a receiver (or audience). A sender conveys his/her message to the receiver by some medium (i.e. written, oral or verbal medium), over some channel (i.e. electronic means or printed media). TGB

Oral

Written

Daily Meeting of HODs

Agenda of functions

With-in department instructions

E-mails

Routine coordination

Memos and Notices

TGB follows basically written and oral form of communication for its daily and short term activities. The oral communication includes the daily meeting of the various HODs with General Manager and the Assistant General Manager. After the daily meeting the department head discusses the same with his department. Along with the same the routine co-ordination and the communication of the various aspects happens within the department and interdepartment on an oral basis. The written communication is basically to communicate the agenda of the various functions by the form of printed, also there are the important notices given through mailers and at various point of time there are printed memos and notices are also circulated throughout.

Page 6

Group: ABCD

C OMMUNICATION HIERARCHY
In
the internal communication the information flows in three directions i.e. downward communication, upward communication and horizontal or cross communication.

Head Office

TGB (Main office)

General Manager

Assistant General Manager

Banquet Head

Security Head

Operations Head

Training Head

Marketing and Sales Head

Employees

Employees

Employees

Employees

Employees

TGB has various departments for carrying out their each and every function. For example there is a separate head of banquets, crockery, decorations, maintenance, etc. in the banquet department itself. Thus we can see that a single department also has various subheads to carry out each and every specific function. This is basically maintained so there is no clash of activities in between the same department and every person knows what exactly his duty is. The hierarchy in TGB is maintained for communication process for both upwards and downwards flows. In downwards flow the communication starts from the head office to the employees. In downward communication the instructions and orders to work are given, and the decision

Page 7

Group: ABCD

which are taken in meetings. The head office passes down the vital information to the General Manager or the Assistant General Manager. Then that information as per the department requirement is passed down to the respective head of the departments. Further these heads pass down the instructions or information to their respective employees. This is generally the e-mail communication that is followed. Along with the same the printed agendas and memos are circulated by the same flow. The agenda of every function are passed down to all the departments two days prior to the functions and events. When it comes to oral communication such as minute details and orders the same flow is maintained. This is generally followed for the co-ordination purposes and the details about any functions or important things are generally in form of written communications. The flow of upward communication is also through the same channel. TGB maintains its hierarchy for upward communication also. And in upward communication the employees gives their reports about the work done. Here the junior level staff can give feedback, suggestions and complaints directly to the Assistant General Manager and even the General Manager but when it comes to sorting the same things the presence of the their respective heads is required. This is in order to maintain a proper communication network so that no information is missed out in between or any confusion is created in between departments. The cross communication between the departments plays a very role in TGB as it basically caters down to providing services for functions and events. For smooth functioning of every event the cross communication between all the departments is very vital. At a particular point the service has to be provided by all the departments simultaneously so the co-ordination between them is bound to be necessary. A lack in communication between the departments can create hassle at the time of events.

Page 8

Group: ABCD

C OMMUNICATION PROCESS
A
good way to communicate goals is to involve people in the actual development of those goals. Knowing how to do something is good, but someone, who also knows why something is done, will always be successful, and so TGB follows the same strategy. Firstly the communication by mailers in TGB flows in downward direction. Generally the mailers are used by the higher authority to pass down the information to the employees below them. The general notices and the season greetings from the head office are passed down to the General manager and then it is passed to all the employees including their heads as the type of information in the communication is general in nature, whereas the vital information or any instructions or instruction relating to specific department are passed down from the head office to the General Manager to the Assistant General Manager and then they segregate the information to be passed down to requisite department. TGB has a routine of conducting daily meeting at morning 9:30 A.M. The meeting includes the heads of all departments, the Assistant General Manager and the General Manager. This meeting discusses the agenda for the day, as well as the working of the day before. This is done in order to see that if there were any problems which were created before are not repeated and the solutions for the same are found. The agenda of the day is discussed so as to segregate the work in between department and proper co-ordination of the timings for the events. The agenda of each and every event is distributed to all the employees including heads two days prior to each event. This agenda includes every minor detail relating to the event right from the names of the guests to the menu, crockery, decoration, etc. A meeting is organized before 2 hours of every event to re-check all the details specified by the guests. All the details specified in the agenda are cross checked and it is made sure that the guests dont get a chance to complain. Some of the guests of TGB are very choosy for even the minute details such as the paint on the walls so TGB tries to maintain its standards as high as possible through quick and immediate communication. There are a lot of purchases relating to food items which are bought from across the country for delivering the best quality. So a different department is made for the picking up of the material from the station and the communication of the same is generally telephonic. The orders are placed by mails and re-conformed by telephonic calls and a proper communication flow is maintained as it is TGBs routine process. As the goods are perishable in nature proper and real time communication is required so that the goods come in the best quality.

Page 9

Group: ABCD

Along with its permanent staff the TGB also outsource the temporary staff for various events. Here with the agency there is a written formed of communication which is followed while with the staff the oral form of communication is followed. The Head of the departments are required to submit the monthly and the quarterly report to the General Manager and Assistant General Manager containing the details of all the activities of the specific department.

Page 10

Group: ABCD

F EEDBACK PROCESS FOR COMMUNICATION

Feedback is the final link in the chain of the communication process. So the received
feedback about the things should be taken in considered wherever needed. Feedback is the response of what you have communicated. It enables you to evaluate the effectiveness of your message. If your audience doesnt understand what you mean, you can tell by the response and then refine the message accordingly. TGB does a face to face communication for getting the feedback from employees. Reports and complains are also the kind of feedback, employees can anytime report about the problems faced during any activity. It is also used by them in training activities to know how the activity is been carried on. So the feedback process plays an important role in knowing about the working of employees as it gives the assurance that the work is being done. Here also the hierarchy is maintained i.e. the flow of feedback is in chained manner. Any employee facing any kind of problem or complain can directly talk to the General Manager or the Assistant General Manager by the way of telephonic communication or mailers. But when it comes to face to face or personal meetings they have to follow the proper channel i.e. meeting the General Manager in the presence of respective heads. TGB examines and work on organizational messages, upward communication mechanisms, ways to support face-to-face communication from supervisors and managers, and ways to communicate and recognize what quality teams are doing to solve particular problems TGB believes that the workmen should get the proper environment to work, so if there is any query or problem regarding that it should be solved as employees are the people who stays close to customers so they should be clear about their activities and the way to communicate. They go through all the feedbacks so they can better understand the things behind it and so the arrangements can be done regarding it.

Page 11

Group: ABCD

M AIN TRAINING OBJECTIVE

Organized activity aimed at imparting information and instruction to improve the recipients
performance or to help him or her to attain a required level of knowledge or skill. Training is a formal version of face-to-face communication. Basic objective behind training is the specific knowledge, skills or attitude that the trainees are to gain as a result of the training activity. As TGB is in the hospitality industry and basically their work is recognized by the services they render and the services are measured on the terms of the employees behavior and skills. TGB provides training to create ideal conditions for all employees to continue learning and improving the organization at all times, not just in the training room or in quality team meetings. Training generates employee interest in improving quality, stimulate a strong feeling of responsibility and empowerment, and inspire employees to volunteer to join quality teams.

Page 12

Group: ABCD

T RAINING PROCESS
There are different types of training methods adopted by different organization now days to
train their staff and employees. Different types are used to differentiate one staff or group of staff from other. Because each and every member do not required same training. Basic training types are knowledge- information needed to perform task, skill- techniques, approaches, etc. and ability- characteristics needed for performance. TGB provides all the three basic types of training but they are different for all the different levels of employees. For example the knowledge training is given to all the employees whereas skilled training is given to only specific employees at specific departments who will use that skill such as the front desk executive is given training of how to attend the guests. Most accepted training is job training which is given in daily basis for handling events or functions. It includes methods to be used, process of production, information about new machine and its handling etc. this training is given to both permanent and temporary employees. Also promotional training is given to existing members to enable them to perform higher level of jobs which is provided to all the heads and managers of various departments. All the staff is trained well and properly prepared for any event or function from dressing till the way of speaking and standing during the whole event.TGB has 350 permanent employees and other outsourced staff as per the requirement of the function. So for the permanent staff at TGB firstly the training is provided by the company itself and it is handled by a skilled and experienced facilitator, who provides an emotional and practical experience. There is permanent training head at TGB who provides the basic kind of training to all the employees of all the departments regarding various aspects of communication and behavior required in the hospitality industry. For example the front desk executive is told how to dress, talk, behave and communicate with the guests that arrive at the hotel so that the first impression put in front of the guests is the best. The banquet staff is given training as to how to attend properly the guests by the way of telephonic medium then fixing up a meeting and finishing the sales which all basically depends upon the smooth communication and persuading power. Thus the training head on the continuous basis provides training to all the employees. For the temporary staff the brief training is provided when required as the temporary staff is just for the cleaning, security and servicing department. Moreover keeping in mind the skills and the training the in-house guests are not entertained by the temporary staff. Also the strict check is kept on the temporary staff on their behavior dressing and communication before they have a face to face interaction with the guests of the event. It is made sure that the same people are repeated with the temporary staff so that they are accustomed with the working style that TGB follows.

Page 13

Group: ABCD

Along with permanent Training Head there is also Expert training which is provided by the company officials of certain products. The experts itself trained the members and give them basic knowledge about particular new machine or new methods of training that is to be used. When the experts render the training it is attended by all employees of that department to whom training is to be given along with their respective heads. Sometimes due to the heavy schedule some of the employees are unable to attend the expert training, which in turn is later provided to them by their heads. For example, there are certain technical products of cleaning which require expertise to be used and so there are company officials who come upon to deliver the training to the cleaning staff so that they know how to use the products properly. The expert training is only provided to the permanent employees and on occasional basis. So it becomes mandatory for every one specially the heads to attend the training so that later on the heads can provide the same to the new recruits. The outcome of the training can be seen by way of behavior, skills and ability of the employees which is supervised on a continuous basis. As there is special training department in TGB there is a continuous evaluation and development of employees. For example, a person is appointed for a continuous supervision in the kitchen department just to look upon the cleanliness and the behavior of the employees. If any employee is facing any problem the same is communicated on immediate basis. The behaviors of employees are marked on regular basis and the same are communicated with them. They are told about their areas of improvement so that they can deliver upon the best.

Page 14

Group: ABCD

B IBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCE OF INFORMATION

Contact person
Mr. Kavina, Assistant General Manager, The Grand Bhagwati, Ahmedabad, Ph. 98250 82706

Bibliography
C.L. Bovee, J.V Thill & A. Chatterjee (10th Ed.). Business Communication Today. Pearson Publications.

Source of information
http://www.thegrandbhagwati.com/index.aspx http://www.andrews.edu/~helmsc/manage-train/slide4.html http://www.andrews.edu/~helmsc/manage-train/slide3.html http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/glossaryofliteracyterms/wha tisatrainingobjective.htm http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&tbo=d&site=&source=hp&q =training+meaning+&oq=training+meaning+&gs_l=hp.3..0l7j0i30l3.1551.2778.0.29 65.8.8.0.0.0.0.218.625.2j2j1.5.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.UqoVaT4pqcE

Page 15