INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES AND

ADMINISTRATORS IN ZIMBABWE

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS: MAY 2021

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS

 SECTION A

QUESTION 1

- Define what perceptions are and their overall impact on public relations and public image as
well as branding of the organization. This can be derived from personal business engagements.
- Hemorrhaging of funds must be sated and quantified according to the audit reports. Work out
some financial reports for the period covered in the report.
- Show a salaries schedule for the three months owing plus other float deductions for minor
expenses.
- Bank reconciliations must be done every month.
- Attorneys account must be managed by an independent finance officer.
- Show how the reputation can be salvaged, for example opening of trust accounts separate
from the business accounts, a separate attorneys account, including the separate petty cash
receipt book among other measures.
- Improving business etiquette by meeting deadlines for client cases, as well as managing their
accounts professionally.
- Conducting internal audits in good time before external auditors come in.
- Bring in new internal regulations for self-check and make sure that they are implemented.
- Pay off all outstanding salaries and debts.
- Make officers to account and take responsibility at every turn.
NB. There must be a balance between numeracy and accounting skills and the management of
public image in the discussion and different points that the candidate must address.

SECTION B

QUESTION 2

Anomalies that must be checked and corrected in the business letter (application for a position of
public relations manager):

- layout of the addresses and date is wrong. The addressee’s address should not be in the
middle of the page. Use the block system.
- Date must be written in full.
- There is no salutation.
- Incorrect use of small/capital letters must be corrected.
- no slang in a business letter.
- show what value you will bring/add to the organization.
- language must be formal.
- ending is too informal and must be corrected.
- improve sentence construction too.

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QUESTION 3

Mother Tongue Day Commemorations: Importance

- Identity anchor and signifier.
- Communicates better without inhibition and miscommunication through misunderstanding.
- Removes communication barriers.
- Deepens appreciation of cultural issues, belief systems, values and ethics as well as spirituality.
- Ensures self-belief, self-pride and independent thinking.
- Cohesion internally at family level spiraling out.
- Takes away low self-esteem.
- Inculcates personal confidence and personal respect.
- Deepens and inculcates self-love.
- Brings people closer together for communal and common projects/goals.
- Functionality: that is what everyone understands naturally and would therefore promote
bonding.
- Critical for sustainable development in that there are greater chances of enhancing
understanding of commonalities and objectives among community members.

QUESTION 4

The candidate must show what good listening skills entail and involve.
- Show empathy.
- Make the person you are listening to comfortable.
- Pay attention and stop all else.
- Avoid disruptions and interruptions.
- Do not bring in your own experiences, it is not your story.
- Do not fill in gaps or interject unless you are seeking clarity.
- Give a cup of tea/glass of water, a drink.
- Let them tell their narrative in their own words.
- Ask them to repeat their story so that you verify and check for inconsistences.
- Repeat at the end to make sure you have not missed vital information.
(Similar to last semester exam, structured differently)

QUESTION 5

Report writing again. Key in communication is that past what you say is how you say it.
The report must be written in an impersonal, formal, and objective but persuasive manner.
The expected layout included the following:

Title page

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Acknowledgements

Terms of reference (Instructions given by management)

Body of the report, which should include specific points of interest for the organisation, in other
words, go back to the demands of communication as a critical discipline that can build or destroy
organisations because of perceptions that people derive from communication culture within an
organisation. Report must challenge management to question their communication models, and
inform, introspect, reflect, persuade, guide in a logical manner, using simple and clear examples
from experiences within the organisation and among peers. Keep honing on what value good
communication adds to the organisation.

Conclusion (insights and implications)

Recommendations based on the sifted facts and particularities of good organisational

communication culture and strategies in its contemporary environment.

NB:
Special attention must be paid to good writing skills in English: spellings, agreement, verb tenses,
diacritics (punctuation marks like the comma, semi-colon, colon, capital letter, full-stop, hyphen
for double barrelled words etc.), sentence construction, paragraphing, etc., as they all
cumulatively help in the meaning-making process.

At this level, candidates must not be spoon-fed; they are expected to think critically and respond
to questions in a way that reflects maturity and critical thinking as would-be representatives of
organisations. Parroting and regurgitating material for examinations alone do not add value to
such a highly-esteemed tradition and qualification.

“End of Suggested Solution and Marking Guide”

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