BUS 251: Business Communication Summer 2020_Rfq

Bonus Assignment 1

Name: Samrin Hassan

ID: 1712984630

Note from the instructor: This is a bonus assignment to track our leaning progress and to keep
the spirit of learning alive. Therefore, please try to be genuine with your effort and try to
response thoughtfully. All the best!

1. You are a recent graduate from North South University and right now you are applying
for jobs. You realize most of the job advertisements focuses on communication skill as
the top most priority for the advertised job role.

Why do you think business communication is so important for you and the organizations
you will be working for? (5)

ANS: Communication is the key in any environment. Especially when it’s affiliated to serious
team-work based jobs. Better communication in the work place helps the team to be more
productive and operate effectively. A good communicator will also be vocal about any queries
related to the job, a very helpful tool for any manager. A good communicator can help break the
ice between employees and managers or any stakeholders, this can be a big advantage for any
employer. Business communication will help in employee engagement as well. Proper
communication in organizations may also eliminate communication silos which means too much
content may cause information silos, in other words the actual information required might be lost
in midst of so much content. A good communicator will also indicate better productivity. If I am
going to join an organization, I would need to have the ability to convey messages to not just my
superiors but also the ones working below my post. The better the communication with the
organization, the lesser the chance of having any disputes and misunderstandings. As long as the
messages are conveyed and received properly, the communication is effective. This also helps in
achieving better relationships with colleagues. Better communication saves a lot of time, because
if the message is not being conveyed directly it might slow down the process of making
decisions. As a result, it is very important to have good business communication skills. It also
helps the whole organization to be on point and very organised as there are less scope of
miscommunication. Better communication will help in providing new ideas to the organization,
this may help in increasing the productivity overall. Lastly, being transparent in business
communication is paramount to ensure that people are actually following the rules and
regulations accordingly.
All in all, according to my opinion it is quite essential to excel in business communication before
joining an organization.
 2. Based on our class discussion, identify with example two major challenges for business
communication in today’s world. Also, discuss two important skills we need to overcome
those challenges. (5)
ANS: One of the two major challenges for business communication in today’s world is the
development of new information technologies. New modes of communication are introduced as
technology advances, it is essential to adapt to these changes and always stay updated to the
latest standards. A major skill to overcome these issues is to have an excellent social
understanding to quickly assess and cope with the people around them. Another challenge could
be the increase in globalization and workplace diversity. As businesses are going worldwide,
problems like cultural differences is widespread. The workforce is also a mixture of people from
different age groups, resulting in conflicts of interest due to generation gaps. Challenges like
these can badly effect efficiency and therefore the business needs to organize programs to train
employees on adapting to the changes. 

3. Discuss the ideology of professionalism and its six basic elements. Imagine the role you
are carrying out in your student/professional life. How you can be a true professional
using all those six elements we discussed in class? (5)

ANS: A true professional will do more than what’s expected of them and will be dedicated in
making essential contributions, and professionalism is what’s expected to be done by a
professional. The elements of professionalism are: 1) Be the best- aim to excel in everything you
do. 2) Be dependable- to keep their commitments and promises. 3) Be a team player- has a
knowledge of contributing to larger groups and keep them better. 4) Be respectful- knows how to
behave and be in good manners with people around them. 5) Be positive- gives good vibes to
their surroundings even in a difficult situation. 6) Be ethical- practices right deeds and knows
how to manage ethical dilemmas.  Being a university student, I can try to study more to excel,
meet my deadlines, carry out my role in a group effectively, have a good understanding with my
mates and instructors, keep my calm even on difficult situations and try to help others, and
follow ethics while carrying out projects, tests or anything else. 

4. How we can collaborate and contribute better while we are working in teams (design
your responses especially keeping COVID 19 situation perspective in your mind: along
with collaboration, talk about managing resistance to change, giving constructive
feedback and responding to it, managing team conflict etc.) (5)
ANS: Working on your own can be stressful, time consuming and ideas could be pretty limited
to yourself. Whereas working in teams can help you divide the workload, share your ideas and a
good collaboration will make the task more efficient and quick. Although teamwork requires lots
of communication and interaction between teammates which, as we all know, is getting pretty
difficult in COVID-19 circumstances. As in-person meetings are pretty much impossible
nowadays, virtual meetings are an essential way of communication for teams. We can discuss in
group video calls about sharing ideas or selecting roles and dividing the work. These can come
handy and the job could be carried out at the comfort of our homes. Although a few of us might
state in favour of working alone but in the middle of a pandemic where everyone is already
consumed with so much of pressure, especially mental, it would be better to divide the load a
task into teams to ease it for every individual.