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Effective Business Communication

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Table of Contents

1. Understand key principles and methods of verbal communication in business contexts........4

1.1 Explain the importance of clear communication and the impact of unclear communication
to business....................................................................................................................................4

1.2 Describe the key elements of effective listening...................................................................4

1.3 Explain the purpose of different types of questioning...........................................................5

1.4 Explain the different communication styles...........................................................................6

1.5 Explain how communication skills can be used to develop a rapport with others................8

1.6 Describe the factors that make a telephone call effective......................................................9

2. Understand key principles and methods of written communication in a business context....10

2.1 Explain the importance to organizations of clear, concise and complete written
communication...........................................................................................................................10

3. Understand key principles and methods of non-verbal communication in a business context

11

3.1 Explain the importance of non-verbal communication including ‘personal space’.............11

3.2 Explain the kinds of non-verbal signals they can send through their own personal
appearance..................................................................................................................................11

4. Know how to run an effective business meeting....................................................................13

4.1 Describe the factors that differentiate a productive meeting from an unproductive one.....13
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4.2 Differentiate between a formal and an informal agenda......................................................14

4.3 Describe the purpose and contents of the Meeting Minutes................................................15

4.4 Describe the responsibilities of a Chairperson.....................................................................16

4.5 Explain how to make a positive contribution to any meeting..............................................17

5. Know how to make an effective business presentation..........................................................18

5.1 Describe the different work occasions which require information to be presented to
others 18

5.2 Explain the characteristics of an effective presentation..................................................19

5.3 Explain the difference between an effective (good) visual aid, and an ineffective (poor)
visual aid....................................................................................................................................21

6. Know how to deal with problems faced by business organizations.......................................22

6.1 Explain the nature of common business problem................................................................22

References......................................................................................................................................25
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1. Understand key principles and methods of verbal communication in

business contexts

1.1 Explain the importance of clear communication and the impact of unclear
communication to business.

Communication can be termed as successful only when the intended message is clearly decoded
by the receiver (Hutt and Speh, 2004). The failure of communication takes place when the
receiver understands the meaning of the message in a different way which is not desired by the
sender. The communication fails when the communication is not clear. In today’s business
environment, communication is influenced by factors such as availability of technology, sender’s
skill sets, cultural differences and language barriers etc.

The importance of clear communication

Clear communication is important because it ensures the message is communicated to the

receivers perfectly. It helps in building the relationships with the friends, relatives, colleagues
and other important stakeholders. In the context of business, the clear communication would play
a crucial role in employee engagement and their satisfaction levels at the workplace. The clear
communication is also said to be a crucial factor in making people align their personal goals with
organizational goals and improving productivity at the workplace. The clear communication
would also help in creating an appropriate brand for the organization and build a strong customer
base.

Impact of unclear communication

Unclear communication has several negative impacts at the personal level as well as at business
level. If the organization fails to communicate about its products and services clearly to the
potential customers, it may end-up suffering lack of clients and poor profitability. None of the
marketing and promotional activities of organizations would be successful if its communication
is not clear. Unclear communication is said to be the major reason for role interference, poor
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employer-employee relationships and increasing employee dissatisfaction levels at the

workplace.

1.2 Describe the key elements of effective listening.

Listening is said to be an important communication skill that every individual should acquire.
Effective listening helps an individual to understand the meaning of the message conveyed by
the speaker. With poor listening capabilities, an individual not only fails to comprehend the
message but also to absorb the meaning of the message irrespective of how important it is. Most
of the research studies have indicated that the effective listening is an important component in
developing the interpersonal relationships at the workplace.

Concentration – In order to listen effectively, an individual needs to offer utmost concentration.

The concentration enhances the ability of an individual to listen what others say and reciprocate
accordingly.

No Assumptions – Effective listeners have open-mind. Their mind will not be pre-occupied with
assumptions and prejudice. Open-mindedness is said to another key element of effective
listening.

Serene Environment: These are what we called as unwanted sound. These are considered as a
great obstacle to clear communication. It is almost impossible to concentrate on the speaker in a
noisy environment. Therefore, it is important to set-up an appropriate place that does not create
any background noise for implement the technique of effective listening.

Observation – Effective listening does not only emphasize on what the speaker says. It also
wants the people to observe the body language of the speaker. An individual who observes the
hand signals and facial gestures would be in a better position to comprehend the message
communicated by speaker.

1.3 Explain the purpose of different types of questioning.

Questioning can be done in several ways. Two of the well-known methods of questioning are
open-ended questioning and close-ended questioning. These two types of questioning are used
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for two different purposes. The following section explains these questioning types in a detailed
manner.

Open-ended Questions: The open-ended questions are used to collect in-depth information from
the people. These questions help in understanding the reasons behind a particular type of
behavior displayed by a group of people. The open-ended questions play a crucial role in
qualitative data from the research participants. Some of the examples for open-ended questions

1. Can you please explain about yourself?

2. What do you think are the some of the best features of the product and why?

Close-ended Questions:

Closed questions: Close ended questions are designed in such a way to fetch short answers.
These questions would make people to answer through expressions like Yes, No, Agree or
Disagree. Surveying wherein a questionnaire is used to collect the data could be a most suitable
research method to pose close ended questions to the target research participants. The major
benefit of close-ended questions is that they help in getting maximum responses from the people.
Some of the examples for close-ended questions are provided below.

1. Do you agree that the quality of the product is top notch?

a. Yes
b. No
2. How much experience do you have in your job?
a. Less than 3 Years
b. Between 3 and 5 Years
c. More than 5 Years.

1.4 Explain the different communication styles

The communication styles are classified into aggressive communication, passive communication
and assertive communication.

Aggressive communication
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People who adopt aggressive communication try to dominate others through the way they speak.
They don’t take the emotions and needs of the others. The always feel that whatever they speak
is right and they want everybody to follow their command. The aggressive communicators try to
prove that they are perfect even in areas where they always do mistakes. They would try to win
the arguments with their voice rather than with the content or subject knowledge.

Passive communication

Passive communication is a form wherein an individual avoids sharing his or her opinions.
Passive communicators seldom react to news. They very rarely bring out their emotions through
spoken words. They always feel that their opinions are not valuable and other’s opinions are
more valuable than theirs. These people would surrender to others very easily and develop a
compromising behavior than confronting with others. Passive communicators are mostly likely
to be introverts.

Assertive communication

Assertive communication is said to be an ideal communication style to adopt. People who adopt
the assertive communication react based on the situation. These people speak positively about
the others and act encouragingly. They take the responsibility to carry out tasks and don’t like to
put blame on others. They recognize their rights while respecting the rights of others. It is good
to be associated with the people with assertive communication as they enhance the motivation
levels and develop positive vibrations among people around them.

1.5 Explain how communication skills can be used to develop a rapport with others.

Rapport refers to the sense of togetherness or connection between two individuals. The rapport
develops mutual trust and creates an environment for understanding each other. Communication
skills play a crucial role in developing the rapport with others. Both verbal and non-verbal
communication would help in developing the rapport with others.

Listening carefully is one of the important communication skillsets that help in building rapport.
When the other person is speaking, you should carefully listen to him or her and give appropriate
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acknowledgements. This kind of the communication makes a connection between the speaker
and listener. The connection ultimately helps in developing the rapport.

Assertive communication would also play a crucial role in developing rapport. If an individual is
facing a challenging situation, he needs help from others. By giving an assertion that I am there
to help you, one can easily develop rapport with the individual who is struggling. People should
display that they are approachable through their communication in order to build rapport.
Nobody would come forward to develop a professional relationship if you always speak
aggressively and get angry on others.

Asking good and important questions would play a crucial role in developing rapport. Asking
questions would increase the personal interaction between two individuals. The personal
interaction that takes place while asking questions and getting them answered sets a right
platform for building rapport.

Non-verbal communication like eye signals are said to be helping in developing rapport. For
example, an individual sitting among the audience can signal the speaker with eyes to
communicate that the presentation he is giving is good.

1.6 Describe the factors that make a telephone call effective

Telephone has become an integral part of our communication. Without telephone or mobile
phone, it has become impossible for people to carry out day-to-day activities. Below provided
are some of the factors that could make telephone call effective.

Greetings – Upon making the call or picking the call, one should greet the other person.
Greeting set the stage for continuing the communication. Greetings help developing mutual
respect between both the speakers on the phone.

Tone of Voice – The speakers should use appropriate tone of voice while speaking on phone. If
the other person is a friend, you can add humor to your tone of voice. While speaking to the
customers over phone, your tone of voice should reflect persuasiveness.
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Notes – It is a good idea to have a notepad where you have written various points to speak on the
telephone. The notes help in continuing the flow and not missing anything important during the
telephonic discussion.

Note Taking – One should not take telephone conversation lightly. It plays a crucial role in
developing relationships. Therefore, an effective telephone conversation should emphasize on
taking notes of what the other person is speaking.

Simple Language – The language barrier is one of the major issues during the telephonic
conversation. If you speak jargon and complicated words, there is a high possibility that the other
person might not understand what you are speaking. Therefore, it is better to use simple
language.

2. Understand key principles and methods of written communication in a

business context

2.1 Explain the importance to organizations of clear, concise and complete written
communication

Written communication methods are comprised of ways to transmit the message in writing be it
on the concrete pages or through an email, writing a post on Facebook, business letters, financial
statements of company, mobile phone messages, information displayed on the notice board,
circulars and distribution of the leaflets and brochures. Leaflets and brochures are usually used
to send information to the customers about a specific product or service.

These are different methods that are used to send information at different occasions and for
different purposes. Emails are sent to confirm an order, send important information to
employees, and change the time of meeting along with many other proven benefits of electronic
correspondence. Email and messages constitute the electronic modes of information, whereas
letters, financial statements, leaflets and brochures are non-electronic modes of communication.

Clear, concise and complete written communication is very important for every business for
following reasons.
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Cost and time efficiency - If compared with the other methods of communication, written
communication is very cost effective and hassle free. With the availability of latest technologies,
people can send text message, multimedia messages, and other online means at the lowest price.

Reinforcement of Message – The oral communication is reinforced by the written

communication, which is an indicator that the message will serve the purpose of process of
communication. The written communication keeps in the minds of people and makes them think
about it for longer period of time than other modes.

3. Understand key principles and methods of non-verbal communication

in a business context

3.1 Explain the importance of non-verbal communication including ‘personal space’

Non-verbal communication refers to the process of conveying the message theory hand signals,
eye contacts, body language, facial expression and tone of voice. The non-verbal communication
either negatively or positively influences the oral communication. If an individual, who is giving
an oral presentation to a group of listeners, is taken as example, the non-verbal communication
such as hand signals, eye contacts, body language, facial expression and tone of voice might
reinforce the message or contradict it.

For example, a business manager while conveying the message that the revenue of the
organization has increased by just 2%, he should raise two fingers to reinforce the message. If he
shows three fingers while communicating that the revenue is increased by 3%, it leads to
confusion among the listeners.

Similarly, body language of the listeners would influence the way an individual gives an oral
presentation. If the listeners maintain eye contact with the speaker indicating that they are
actively listening to what is being said, the speaker would become highly active and try to give
more inferences and details about a particular topic. On the flip side, if the listeners don’t
maintain eye contact and sit in poor listening postures, the speaker considers that the listeners are
not interested in what is being explained. In this case, the speaker wants to just finish off the
presentation as quickly as possible.
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Personal space

Personal space is the amount of space that people find comfortable between themselves and
others, it is the space they regard as psychologically theirs. Most people feel discomfort, anger or
anxiety when without their consent their personal space has encroached. One should use it
consciously as it can either optimize your interpersonal cooperation or you can negatively
hamper it, like to dominate or bully, etc. Personal space is highly variable and can be due to
cultural differences, personal experiences or a person’s position in society. Under certain
circumstances when normal space requirements cannot be met, like in a crowded market or train,
personal space requirements are modified.

3.2 Explain the kinds of non-verbal signals they can send through their own personal
appearance

Body language signals

These are the non-verbal signs that we use to communicate, and they make up a huge part of our
daily communication. They have a major 60 – 65 percent of all the communication that we do.
Rather than focusing on a single action, one should look at these signals as a group. Some of the
signs that you can read in a person are:

 Arms and Hands-the more confident the person is the more open his arms would be, if
he is stressed or not comfortable the arms would be close to his body. In case of hands if
one is nervous quiet he might wring the hands together or might drum his fingers on his
table out of impatience or boredom.
 Head–tilting of the head or move it up and down shows their interest.
 Lips and Eyes- when a person is happy, he smiles, the lips get curled or maybe even the
eyes twinkle. But they can be manipulative at times to hide one's true feelings.
 Neck- if they are stressed, they will try to touch their neck again and again.
 Legs-when the person taps the legs it shows distraction. Also, when a person legs and his
legs are heading faster than him it shows he is in a hurry.
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 Eyebrows-raising of the eyebrows in surprise and frowning in anger also depicts a

person’s reaction to the situation.

The following tips on body language can help send the right message across:

 Avoid blockages: podiums, file or folder all these props can create a blockage of energy
flow, even folding arms or sitting behind a computer are blocking behaviors.
 Use hand gestures when speaking: it gives listeners great confidence in the speaker.
 Move throughout the room: one should use the entire space available to him that shows
the confidence he carries. Also, don’t keep your hands in the pocket, it shows insecurity.
 Good posture: one should always sit up straight. Slouching shows that u are lazy and
unmotivated
 Eye contact: maintain good eye contact.

Personal appearance and the non-verbal signals it sends:

Personal appearance plays a very vital role in communication. Visual impact is as important as
verbal impact. People quickly develop a perception, based on one’s personal appearance, the
body language, the facial expressions one carries, the clothes one wears and how well-groomed
the person is. When speaking in public the audience even before saying anything by just seeing,
the first look of you creates an assumption consciously and subconsciously.

4. Know how to run an effective business meeting

4.1 Describe the factors that differentiate a productive meeting from an unproductive one.

Meetings help an organization grow; they are an essential part of doing business. There are two
types of meetings productive as well as unproductive.

Advantages of a productive meeting are:

Productive meetings are those at which people share information, ideas, opinions, views and
suggestions and everyone can contribute, and each contribution is respected and valued. Since
productive meetings start on-time and finish on-time, it is very rare that the people who attend
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the meeting waste their time. Many other advantages of a meeting are it helps to discuss issues,
solve problems also is great for team building and improving and professional relationships.

Disadvantages of a non-productive meeting are:

Non- productive meetings are those at which there is no agenda, so no one is sure what the
meeting is supposed to be about, and people become argumentative and confrontational. Non-
productive meetings are a total loss for the organization in terms of salaries and office-related
costs also they affect the indirect costs of the company as the employees are kept from doing
important routine work. It lowers employee satisfaction, which in turn leads to work productivity
loss, employee disengagement, and finally higher employee turnover (Burleson, 1990). Non-
productive meetings are those where no one really knows why they are having a meeting, or
what is expected of them.

Seven step process for organizing productive meetings:

Create an agenda and share it in advance: one can save on the precious time by setting out the
agenda and sharing with the attendees prior to the meetings.

Set the ground rules: to have the undivided attention of the attendees one has to set some
ground rules like:

o Leave mobile phones on the desk

o Do not bring food to the meeting
o Take notes
o Come revised with the agenda

Do not drag the meeting to the scheduled time: if the agenda of the meeting has been met in a
lesser time frame, end the meeting.

Set priorities: By prioritizing, one can decide which topics are most important from the agenda
and cover these first so that at the end if u run out of time discussing other topics, the agenda is
not left incomplete.
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Limit attendees: only invite key people involved in the task as the meeting will stay structured.
Also, you will end up having a cost-effective meeting.

Conclusion: At the end of the meeting make sure the attendees are able to answer these
questions- what are the next steps, who is responsible for them, and what is the timeframe? So
that everyone is aware of their responsibilities and is accountable to each other. By performing
this step your meeting outcome is achieved.

Plan for the next meeting: assuming that the action points will be met, one can outline as to
what the next meeting should cover.

4.2 Differentiate between a formal and an informal agenda.

Meetings are of two types formal and informal.

Formal meeting agenda:

In a formal meeting like a board meeting, committees, special task force or groups, there is a
formal agenda and supporting documents, which is distributed among the attendees. Also,
Minutes is always taken at a formal meeting that is noted to document what occurs at the
meeting. The minutes in a formal meeting needs to be done in an accurate and detailed manner in
a formal way. Formal meetings are attended by all the important people of the organization like
the company secretary, chairman of the chief executive officer, etc.

Informal meeting agenda:

Informal meetings are those which are held on a day to day basis, like the staff catch-ups,
brainstorming sessions, and progress updates. They work in a very relaxed manner, as they are
less structured in terms of decision making. To have an agenda at an informal meeting is not
mandatory, but having an agenda always helps to keep everyone’s focus on the job and it also
makes sure people have relevant information in front of them. As far as minutes are concerned
again the minutes are not legally required but it’s a good idea to jot down the action points, it
helps the attendees as they get a follow up for the next meeting (Carletta et al., 2006).
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4.3 Describe the purpose and contents of the Meeting Minutes.

Each and every day, there are lots of important meetings are going on in the offices. Decisions
made in these meetings involve huge money and time and it can even change the career of the
people. With so many things at stake in these meetings, noting down meeting minutes is
considered to be of great value. Minutes are the instant written or recorded records of a meeting,
generally taken by the designated meeting minute’s recorded so that an accurate record exists as
to what was the meeting about.

The contents of the Minutes meet are:

 the events of the meeting

 The list of attendees
 agenda of the meeting
 a statement of the issues concerned by the participants
 The related responses or decisions for the issues
 Date, time and venue of the meeting
 Follow up actions committed by attendees
 The due date for the completion of commitments

Although it has been seen that making meeting minutes takes a lot of time but if you look from
the big perspective, it helps in saving a lot of time and money. The purpose of the meeting
minutes is to keep a record of what was discussed and what further action needs to be taken and
who is responsible for those and by when they must be done. Whenever necessary Minutes can
be referred back to and can be used for follow up purpose, hence they should be effective and to
the point.

4.4 Describe the responsibilities of a Chairperson.

A chairperson is a highest-ranking person in the organization. Their main duties include: setting
meeting agendas, providing leadership to the board of directors, act as a liaison between
company’s management and the board, etc. They represent the organization to the public outside
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the meeting. The role of the chairperson is very time-consuming. It requires a high level
diplomatic and leadership skills. The responsibilities of the chairperson are as follows:

 They help in providing leadership to the other members of the organization for the
achievement of their goal
 They make sure that the management committee functions properly, which involves
reviewing management’s performance and the process of renewal of the committee by
adding new members.
 They make sure that management is effectively managed through the policies and
procedure it follows.
 They provide support and supervision to the senior team of managers of the organization.

Steps to chair a meeting are:

 An understanding of the issues being discussed

 Knowing the committee members on a personal level
 Be able to utilize your authority in preventing discussions from wandering away from the
topic.
 Knowing how things need to be done, like standing orders, etc.
 The ability to deal with people outside meetings
 The most important step is to get feedback from others about your ability to chair, ask
them what they think of your weaknesses and how the meeting progressed.

4.5 Explain how to make a positive contribution to any meeting.

It does not matter, whether the business is a big or small, effective and positive contribution at
the meeting is very much expected out of each and every employee. Sometimes employees feel
that it is difficult to speak up during interviews because he is at the risk of getting judged there.
Below mentioned points will make the employee feel comfortable and prepared to speak up at
the meetings and leave a long-lasting positive impression. Ways to making a positive
contribution to a meeting include the following steps:
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Smile: In order to get people’s attention and to broaden their state of mind inject some
positivity into them by sharing a joke, playing a good video clip or by trying a silly quiz or
game to get people to laugh and feel good.

Develop appropriate Plan and Stick to Agenda: Plan on the agenda as well as the questions
that need to be asked while conducting the meeting as to when the questions are asked from a
person one of the feel-good chemical- dopamine is released from his brain.

Use people’s strength: One can use what a person’s strength as to what he does best and
would be valued for their contribution.

Reward People: A little reward with growth opportunities for the people actually taking part
and working hard encourages them.

Appreciation: End the meeting on a positive note like a heartfelt appreciation, a funny joke
or prizes from your earlier quiz or game. They’ll turn up enthusiastically next time.

5. Know how to make an effective business presentation

5.1 Describe the different work occasions which require information to be presented to
others

Board of Directors: A formal presentation technique is required to communicate with the board
of directors. Herein the message can be communicated to the board of directors with the help of
Microsoft PowerPoint. Since the board of directors belongs to the top hierarchy in the
organization, therefore it is not advisable to have a conversational dialogue with them. Therefore
formal presentation is the best method that can be used to communicate with them.

Customers: While communicating with the customers, the product manager can make use of
verbal as well as nonverbal communication so that they can promote their products and services
in a must efficient way. With the help of good verbal communication, they can describe all the
important features of the products and the services and with the help of nonverbal
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communication; they can show their gestures and confidence about the product and make
customers to make the quick purchase of the product.

Colleagues: In order to communicate with the colleagues, the individuals can make effective
use of conversation or dialogue system along with discussion groups. With the help of the
conversation or the dialogue system, employees can share their ideas, thoughts etc. among
themselves and with the help of discussion groups; they can enjoy brainstorming sessions
which can further help them to develop better strategies for their projects as well as for the
organization as the whole.

5.2 Explain the characteristics of an effective presentation

Key areas of every presentation include the content, visual aid, and delivery.

The content includes:

Introduction: At this point the speaker talks about the content and purpose of the presentation,
it's the very important cause here u gain the audience interest and confidence.

Main message: This is the backbone of your presentation as it helps to prioritize, focus and
sequence the information. You can make a summary of the main points and also use supporting
pictures, diagrams, etc.

Summary: This should contain a series of main points that have appropriate detail. Use links to
meet between points.

Conclusion: A conclusion is an essential element of a presentation. It contains the following

points:

 A review of the topic

 Conclusions or recommendations are drawn from work.
 Indicating the next stages
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 Instruction as to what will happen in the coming future.

 A thank you note to the audience, for their time and attention

How to prepare content:

As mentioned earlier as to what content includes, we can add a few points which will further
improve the content by changing the delivery style, presentation technique, and skills. The few
points which will better our presentation:

 Use a theme in your presentation- they are eye-catching and attract the audience’s
attention
 The theme should be relevant to the points that you cover
 Move ahead in the right pace
 Present only a few points – three or four of them
 Frame each point with audience benefit in mind
 To avoid complexity have clear and precise points

Visual Aids: They are the essential non-verbal aspects of your speech that you can control and
support your presentation with. They comprise of a variety of option from slides, handouts,
models, and many other things. Also, it becomes very necessary to use them when the
information has to be described in a visual format. They should further help in reinforcing your
message. Visuals can spark interest and build emotional connections (Vasile, 2004).

Types of Visual Aids: There are several options available to decide the visual aid that you
would prefer for your presentation. Here are the following:

o Overhead projector slides

o White or blackboard
o Paper handouts
o Flipcharts
o Video
o Props or Artifacts
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5.3 Explain the difference between an effective (good) visual aid, and an ineffective
(poor) visual aid.

Effective visual aids are the ones that help in conveying your message effectively among the
audiences. They tend to remember the information which builds visual and verbal memories.
Also for a visual aid to be effective, it has to complement what you are saying. Visual aids are
effective when they help and convey an important point which helps to make concepts easier to
understand. Visual aids should only be presented if they are actually required, otherwise they
would become ineffective and ruin your presentation. Also, the right timing for giving out the
handouts would actually make it an effective or an ineffective visual aid, if it is given at the start
it would get the audience busy in reading it and no one would pay attention to what u are saying
(Malamed, 2009).

How to prepare visual aids

The visuals should illustrate your presentation, for that keeps some points in your mind:

 It should be simple and to the point

 One idea at a time, should not be confusing
 Important information supporting your statement
 Consider audience size
 Should avoid using complete sentences. Use bulleted phrases
 Charts, diagrams, and graphs can be used
 Photographs create a big impact
 Avoid commercial endorsements

How to deliver a presentation with some positive actions

 To connect with the audience, by adding stories into your presentation to illustrate
your point and to create that emotional connect
 Smile and make eye contact with the audience.
 Focus on the needs of the audience.
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 Follow the 10-20-30 rule which says do not contain more than 10 slides, it should
finish in 20 minutes and the last one is the font should not be less than 30.

Negative actions to avoid in a presentation

 Always write down your presentation

 Reading and not speaking, always make the audience connect to you and your
presentation
 Practice the speech enough before speaking in front of the audience.
 Always take note of your timing, it should neither be too long nor too short.
 How you have designed your presentation makes the first impression to the audience,
it should not be boring

6. Know how to deal with problems faced by business organizations

6.1 Explain the nature of a common business problem

Every business faces its own set of problems, with growth and maturity of business comes a set
of new problems, hence growing up means being able to handle bigger and more complex
problems. Here is a list of the nature of common business problems:

Normal problems- These problems are normal day to day problems and come with a healthy
glow, and are unavoidable. They are transitional in nature.

Abnormal problems- These are also called the roundabout problems, they get repeated, again
and again, even after solving them they come again. They are unnecessary pain and slow down
the company’s growth, one needs outside help to solve these problems.

Pathological problems- These problems threaten the organization’s ability to survive. Abnormal
problems turn into pathological problems if not treated in time. Some examples of pathological
problems are:

 Negative cash flow going on for a long period of time

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 Loss of human key resources

 Declining market share
 Quality problems that stay unresolved
 Investors losing confidence in the company

Difference between urgent and non-urgent problem:.

Non-urgent problems are those problems which do not require immediate attention, they are the
routine problems. Urgent problems need to be solved quickly without wasting any time. The
urgency to eradicate a problem is measured in terms of costs, effectiveness, political support, etc.
if the problems involve a company’s reputation or legal risk it should be worked upon
immediately. Crisis, complaints, emergencies, deadline-driven projects, meetings, reports, and
problems are some of the ones which need to be dealt urgently whereas maintenance junk emails,
some phone calls, and routine task are some of the non-urgent problems that can be dealt a little
later.

Approaches to tackling a problem : knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your team
members help us resolve our problems in a more efficient way. Some common approaches to
problem-solving are:

Analytical problem solving-This process gets to the details and evaluates all the details before
coming to a solution. Also, it is a time-consuming process.

Logical problem-solving- In this process too evaluates a lot using historical data and similar
situations, and uses the same solution used in the past, which doesn’t fit into every similar
situation.

Rational problem solving-This process takes all the available information and makes
assumptions on its basis. The work on their own perspective about the given problem.

Absolute problem-solving- This process sees a problem and tries to find the solution by seeking
an authoritative source, they group their thoughts based on information they trust.
 23

Creative problem-solving- This process envisions several outcomes, and to achieve an outcome
is willing to take risks and have confidence in their judgment. They take unique paths and find
new solutions.

Positive problem solving-In this approach the positive thinkers are not restricted by fears or past
results, they predict improvement and find ways of achieving it. Their limitation is that they may
hold situations or people accountable whenever required.

The six-step process of analyzing a problem and finding the right solution: This process of
analyzing a problem is a continuous process of improvement. As per the challenges the solutions
keep on adjusting. The process is as follows:

 Define the Problem: This step involves the diagnosis of the problem, as to what the
problem is, who is getting affected, the symptoms of the problem, and how urgently it
needs to be resolved. The tools like questionnaire, brainstorming, interviewing are used
in this process.
 Find the Cause(s) of the Problem: Once the diagnosis has been done the root cause of
the problem is looked upon.
 Develop Alternative Solutions: This step involves finding many solutions keeping in
mind the problem and its root cause.
 Select a Solution: In this step accumulating all the solutions available, find the pros and
cons of the available solutions and then decide to go ahead with which solution. Two
things to be kept in mind before selecting the solution are that, which is the most feasible
solution and is the solution favored by those who have to implement it.
 Implement the Solution: To implement the chosen solution the planning starts,
considering the following points:

o A project manager is chosen

o The rest of the team members who need to be involved in the job are selected
o Fix a date when the project will start
o Stating the key milestones
o Actions required before and during the implementation of the solution
 24

 Evaluate the Outcome: To achieve the desired outcome of the solution, this step is
followed to check whether milestones are achieved and also to check on the costs and is
the necessary work completed in time. Also, feedbacks are collected to detect if the
project is going off course and also keeps a track that new problems do not arise.

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