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ASSIGNMENT

Name S.AMEER ABBAS

Roll No.520955311

Course MBA-Semester-1

SubjectBusiness

Communication

Subject Code MB0023-Set-1

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1. Describe any situation in your experience where the communication was

a failure. Analyze the barrier(s) which stood in the way of successful

communication. Explain how you would overcome the barrier(s).

Ans.

Situation in which I was involved ,where the communication went wrong.

As a Project Head, I convened a meeting of site engineers and site

supervisors and I send a communication that is intended to be received by

them. I have sent the following communication to my sub ordinates through

a notice and displayed on the office notice board:

Coming Thursday, to complete our project targets for the month a review

meeting is arranged and all should attend. If anybody is not able to attend

should find out the contents of the meeting from their peers with out fail.

But my communication went wrong and out of 12 sub ordinates, only four

have attended at 3.00 PM who checked with me the time of the meeting.

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Barriers that stood on the way of my communication:

1. The Channel I have chosen did not ensure the receipt of the

communication by Receivers.

2. The communication lacked the Chronological context---- Thursday being

a half-day work in this part of Middle East.

3. The communication has created a Psychological noise by not mentioning

correct time of the meeting and confusion has been created.

4. The social context also is one of the cause for the failure of the

communication as I have not taken all my executives into confident by giving

any advance information or a intention of the meeting earlier

5.I didnt planned the meeting date very early, so that everybody can

communicate and know about it.

I can rectify these barriers in my future communication by rectifying my

mistakes as follows:

a. My communication was unclear by not giving exact time of meeting.

b. The media I have used is the placing the notice on the notice board,

instead had I circulated to all the receivers and obtained their signatures by

asking their availability or feed back my communication would not have

failed.

c. I have chosen a wrong day ---a half working day, though the task was a

routine one.

d. I could have maintained more good relations with my sub ordinates for

success of my communication.

2. Select an article of around 200 words from any business publication.

Analyze the readability of the article using the Fog Index. Is the reading

level appropriate for the reader of the publication?

Ans.

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This is an article published in The New York times-Business edition

on Oct-30,20009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Consumer spending in the United States fell in

September for the first time in five months as the increase from the cash-for-

clunkers auto rebate program faded, data showed on Friday, adding to fears

that consumers may be pulling back as they head into the last quarter of the

year.

The Commerce Department said spending fell 0.5 percent, the largest decline

since December, after an upwardly revised 1.4 percent increase in August.

Consumer spending in August was previously reported to have advanced 1.3

percent.

Septembers decline was in line with expectations. Consumer spending, which

normally accounts for over two-thirds of economic activity, in August was

bolstered by the popular cash-for-clunkers program that gave discounts on

some new motor vehicle purchases.

The program, which ended in August, contributed to a jump in consumer

spending in the third quarter and helped to pull the economy out of its worst

recession since the 1930s.

Spending adjusted for inflation fell 0.6 percent in September, also the largest

decline since December, after rising 1 percent the prior month, the Commerce

Department said.

Personal income was flat last month after rising 0.1 percent in August. That

was also in line with market expectations.

Commerce Department data also showed the personal consumption

expenditures price index excluding food and energy, a key inflation gauge

monitored by the Federal Reserve, was up 1.3 percent from a year ago in

September, matching the August increase. (Approx.200 words)

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/recession_and_depression/index.html?inline=nyt-classifierhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/recession_and_depression/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

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Fog index is the readability formula to measure the readability of a

piece of writing:

Calculation of Fog index:

1.Ave.length of the sentence = Total no. of words / No. of sentences

=236/10 =23.6

2.No. of difficult words per hundred =No. of difficult words/Total no. of words

x 100

=22/ 236 x 100 = 0.09 x 100 =9

3.Add the number of difficult words per hundred and ave. sentence length

=9 +23.6=32.6

4.Multiply the figure obtained in Step 4 by 0.4 ,to calculate reading level

= 32.6 x 0.4 =13.04 is the fog index

Fog index 13 is bit higher for business writing, as the normal shall be

between 8 and 11. But as the magazine is NEW YORK TIMES- BUSINESS

EDITION, the readers are having high standard, so the fog index 13 is

appropriate.

3.Imagine that you are the Chairperson of the Board of Studies of theDepartment of Management & Commerce of Sikkim Manipal University

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Department of Distance Education. You have been asked to call a meetingof the members of the Board to discuss the launch of new managementprograms and new specializations in the existing management program.What kind of meeting would be required? Prepare a comprehensive agendafor the participants of the meeting.

Ans.

A meeting is any focused conversation that has a specific agenda and

set up in advance.

As the meeting has been called to discuss the launch of new

management programs and new specializations in existing management

programs, this type of meeting is a called Task Oriented Meeting that is to

discuss and make arrangements for a specific event. All the key people

involved may be asked to attend the meeting to discuss the arrangements

that are to be made for this.

AGENDA

Date : November 14th, 2009

To :

Mr. Rajoth [In charge - Administration]

Mr. Basith [In charge Curriculum]

Ms. Mora [In charge Adv. & Marketing]

Mr. John [In charge Admissions]

Mr.Pillai [In charge Examination]

From : Mr. Ameer Abbas [Chairperson BSDMC]

Subject : Launch of new Management Programs and new

Specialisations in existing programs

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Time : Saturday, November 14th, 2009 from

10.00AM to 11.00AM

Place : Second floor Conference Room

Background : Planning to launchnew management programs

And new specialisations in existing management

programs for the spring session of 2010.

Meeting is planned to discuss the necessary

changes in our existing system.

We will discuss the following:

Administration arrangements and learning centres Mr. Rajoth Research and Design of curriculum Mr. Basith

Publicity methods and press releases of new programs Ms. Mora

Admission procedures and dates Mr. John

Examination patterns Mr.Pillai

4 Select a corporate ad of your choice from any publication. Analyze the ad

in terms of its specific objectives and type of corporate advertising. Is it

effective? Why or why not?

Ans.

The corporate ad which is referred here is of DOW CHEMICALS---

Dow Chemical Co. has a modest goal for its corporate ad campaign: to be

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acknowledged as the largest, most profitable and most respected chemical

company in the world.

The idea is to show what the "human element" can do to solve some of

the world's problems, such as countering climate change and providing clean

water, decent housing, health, safety, and an affordable and adequate food

supply.

The specific objectives of this ad are :

1.To create positive attitude towards the organisation

2.To project the personality, culture and values of the organisation

3.To safeguard their reputation

4.To make understand about their organisation.

5.To project the organisation as socially responsible

The advertisement proved to be very effective:

The "Human Element" push, now a year old, has boosted Dow's brand-

equity rating, as measured by Core Brand, 25%, but here's how Dow CEO

Andrew Liveris reckons the campaign will be successful: when a Dow

employee in a bar anywhere in the world can tell the guy next to him where

he works and get the response, "Oh, Dow. That's good."

Dow has lots of constituencies beyond its direct customers: local

communities that might or might not welcome Dow in their backyards,

legislators, journalists, environmentalists, charitable organizations and

foundations, employees, shareholders, investment analysts and consumer

influencersthe 10% of the population that "thinks a little more, that's more

connected,". One unexpected benefit is that the ads have served as a highly

effective recruiting tool.

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The TV spots and print ads are written by Draft FCB's John Claxton (who also

does the voice-over). They are powerful, even lyrical in tonefor money, the

best corporate campaign today. Listen to this: "For each of us, there is a

moment of discovery. We turn a page. We raise a hand. And just then, in the

flash of a synapse, we learn that life is elemental." (How many ads would

dare use the word "synapse"?) It goes on: "And in the dazzling brilliance of

this knowledge, we may overlook the element not listed on the chartits

importance so obvious its presence is simply understood. The missing

element is the human element. And when we add it to the equation, the

chemistry changes. ... The human element. Nothing is more fundamental,

nothing more elemental."

Dow is addressing the litany of problems one at a time. To emphasize the

need for clean water, the company is sponsoring a worldwide relay race with

the Blue Planet Run Foundation. Ads running in magazines such as The New

Yorker and Harper's are headlined, "This summer, 20 runners will cross four

continents to bring someone a drink of water."

It's hard to correlate a company's stock price with the impact of corporate

advertising. But for the record, Dow's stock appreciated almost 29% in the

last year (as of the close of trading on Aug. 1,2009). Competitor DuPont's

stock was up about 20% only.

5.Write an unsolicited job application letter to a company that you would

like to work for in a specific position. Include a one page profile about

yourself.

Ans.

31-10-2009

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Ms. Larry Wang

Recruitment Manager

Victoria pools

Sydney-Australia.

Dear Madam,

I am a Chemical Engineer from India with more than 8 years

experience, in that nearly 5 years in swimming pool

construction/maintenance field in Kuwait, India and Dubai. Now I am working

as swimming pool division head in SAHARA LANDSCAPING Co., Dubai , UAE.I have in depth knowledge in swimming pool sales, design, projects,

installation; water treatment including manpower handling .I am goal-

oriented and able to make things happen and strives for continuous

improvement. I have excellent communication, coordination, interpersonal

and organization skills. I have strong sense of leadership and great ability to

effectively deal with multicultural people, as well as Im a team player.

Hoping to get a suitable placement in a reputed company like yours,

so as to improve my knowledge base as well as to contribute for the

development of your esteemed company.

My profile is attached for your kind perusal.

Awaiting your favourable reply.

Yours Faithfully,

AMEER ABBAS

PROFILE:

Educational Qualification :

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1

Bachelor of

ChemicalEngineering

Madurai Kamaraj

University Tamilnadu1996-2000

First Class

(67.04%)

2Advanced

Information

Management

BITS Computer

Education (Mumbai)

2000 OGrade

Experience :

Now working as Swimming Pool division head in SAHARA

LANDSCAPE Co.(A leading company in the field oflandscaping/water features),Dubai, UAE. from 20-08-2008

Worked as Engineer in ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, Aluva,Kerala-India(A leading firm in the design & construction of Sewage

treatment plant/water treatment/swimming pool sector) from 01-08-2007 to 15-08-2008

Worked as maintenance Engineer ( Water treatment ) in TIMA

POOLS,a leading swimming pool company in Kuwait ,from 04-06-2004 from 16-07-2007

Other areas of Expertise:

Computer :Operating System Windows, AutoCAD

Advanced Information Management.

Doing MBA in Project Management from Sikkim Manipal

University, India by distance Education.

Associate Member Of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers

(Participated in Seminars and training sessions)

Membership in society of Engineers-UAE

Personal Profile:

Date of birth : 16-05-1977

Gender : Male

Nationality : Indian

Marital Status : Married

Languages Known : English, Arabic, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil

Permanent Address : Shaji Manzil

East Street-Koduvayur

Palakkad(Dt)-Kerala

INDIA-678501

6.Case Study

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The Power of Nonverbal Communication

Soon after I graduated from engineering college, I accepted a position withthe Sundaram Foundry, a medium-sized firm located in a small town inTamil Nadu. It was a good position, since I was the assistant to Mr.

Vishwanath, the General Manager and president of this family ownedcompany, Although there were many technical problems, the work wasextremely interesting and I soon learnt all about the foundry business.

The foundry workers were mostly older men and were a closely knit team.Many of them were related and had been in the foundry for several years.Therefore, they felt that they knew the business in and out and that atechnical education had no value. In fact, Mr. Vishwanath had mentioned tome even at the time of my joining, that I was the only engineer ever to beemployed in the foundry. He also let me know that the foundry workers,although a good group, were very clannish, since they had been working

together for several years. Therefore, it would probably take them sometime to accept me.

I introduced myself to the group of foundry workers, a few days after myjoining. As I went around in turn, I felt them eyeing me coldly. As I wentdown the main aisle of the foundry, I heard them talking to each other inlow voices and laughing. I found their behavior to be very childish and feltthat it was best to ignore these signs of hostility. I thought that if I ignoredthem, they would automatically stop these antics.

A few weeks after this incident, I happened to visit the enamel shop. As I

entered, I noticed a worker cleaning the floor with a hose, from which waterflowed at high pressure. I was aware that it was the practice to clean theshop at least once a week.I turned my back on the worker and was busy near a dipping tank, when I

suddenly felt the force of a stream of water hitting me. I was almostknocked down by the pressure and slipped on the wet floor. When I turnedaround, the worker looked away in the other direction, as if he had notnoticed this happening. However, I was pretty sure that he had intentionallyturned the hose on me.

Questions

1. How could the engineer, the foundry workers and Mr. Vishwanath bemore effective, both verbally and nonverbally?

2. What do you suggest that the engineer should do, after the hosingincident?

Ans.

Verbal communication provides the opportunity for personnel contact

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and two away flow of information. Nonverbal communication on the other

hand is the communication without words. It refers to any way of conveying

meanings without the use of verbal language. This is generally unintentional.

The engineer, the workers and Mr. Viswanath can be more effective

both verbally and nonverbally.

Even though large part of communication occupied by verbal

communication; the nonverbal is having a great power.

Engineer:

The engineer has recently graduated from engineering college, is with full of

enthusiasm and interest to start his career as an assistant to Mr. Viswanath.

The foundry was family owned and it is located in a small town in Tamilnadu.

Instead of introducing himself to the foundry workers after few days he joins,

he would have done it on the day of the joining itself. He has been moving in

the foundry and observing the workers activities without introducing himself.

He could have wished them daily or whenever they happen to se him or he

happened to see them.

Nonverbally he might be showing some signs of pride as he is the only

person with technical qualification in the foundry. He might have spent most

of his time with Mr. Viswanath and started to move closely with him. This

might have been taken wrongly by the foundry workers as he is occupying

their space and inviting more trust from Mr. Viswanath than the foundry

workers.

Foundry Workers:

The foundry was family owned one. The workers were closely knit with them

and were mostly older men. This means that they have formed an internal

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circle among them and they were having good work experience and are

working in the foundry for many years. The sudden entry of a qualified

engineer into the foundry and he was observing their work and advises by

him was not getting acceptance from the workers as the behaviour of the

engineer was entirely different form the workers. They were not able to

accept anyone in their circle of influence. They also believe that technical

education adds no values to the business. Instead of policing and playing

tricks with the engineer like taking and laughing behind him etc., they would

have got themselves introduced to the engineer by showing seniority and

accept the engineer into the organisation. This would have helped him, gain

more knowledge from their experience and share his technical knowledge

with them.

Mr. Viswanath:

He was the president and General Manager of the foundry. The business was

a family owned and is in a small town in Tamilnadu. Most probably he would

have taken workers form the town and trained them in the work. They might

have close relationship with him. He was realised that to cope up with the

technical snags in the foundry, better to hire a technically qualified person.

As he is having a close relationship with workers, he would have consulted

them and when the engineer joins the organisation, he could have organised

a small gathering and introduced workers t the engineer and the engineer to

the workers, by explaining his roles clearly and seeking cooperation from

workers.

He was warned the engineer verbally about the situation he may face, but

not given any advice on how to cope up with it.

After facing all sort of problems as result for ineffective verbal and nonverbal

communication like,

- Talking behind him low voices and laughing

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- Pointing of water jet behind him and slipping him down on the floor.

The engineer can go and speak to the worker in a cordial manner and explain

his intentions that neither he is not against them nor he dislikes their job.

But want to be friendly with them and want to learn from them as they are

more experienced than him. Instead coming to work and doing his job, he

can interact with them whenever h has time and mingle with them so that

they will accept him as a member of their team.

As the foundry is having some technical problems, he could understand the

problems form them and based on his technical knowledge advise them on

how to do the work in a better way by overcoming the snags.

Most importantly engineer can exchange a sweet smile [not laughing] with

the team on the foundry, as the nonverbal communication is more powerful

than the verbal communication.

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ASSIGNMENT

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Name S.AMEER ABBAS

Roll No. 520955311

Course MBA-Semester-1

SubjectBusiness

Communication

Subject Code MB0023-Set-2

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1. Describe three specific situations at the workplace where positive nonverbal communication could be used effectively to enhance verbalcommunication.Ans.

Situation one:

In a very big foundry or iron scrap factory, there will be huge noise

inside the plant. So if any Engineer, when asking the main operator to shut

down the process, he normally inform him to shut down the process verbally

and by gesture he crosses his both the hands, so that the main operator can

understand, even if he didnt hear his sound fully.

Situation two:

Normally if there are any project success, if the information comes,

both the parties (co-officers) will inform this as well as they may make a

high five act to support this success.

The high five is a celebratory gesture, usually executed by two people

at a time. To properly execute a high five, each person raises a hand to make

contact, or slap, the opposing raised hand of the other. If the initiator offersthe right hand, the reciprocator offers the right hand, as one would with a

traditional handshake. The hand and arm are usually extended in an upward

fashion to form the "high" part, and the palms of each hand make physical

contact in final execution of the gesture. The usual and ordinary five fingers

of the human hand equal "five" in number, hence the name "high five". The

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gesture is currently most commonly employed to communicate mutual

satisfaction between spectators and between participants alike, during a

sporting event, or to extend congratulations from one person to another in

any informal setting.

Situation three:

To inform a customer complaint, if the manager is talking with sales

person, if he is not in eye contact, it will be treated as negligence. If the

sales person is gazing at the manager, the manager will feel that he is

interested and more attentive in the talking

The study of the role of eyes in nonverbal communication is sometimes

referred to as "oculesics". Eye contact can indicate interest, attention, and

involvement. Gaze comprises the actions of looking while talking, looking

while listening, amount of gaze, and frequency of glances, patterns of

fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate.

2.Lateral or horizontal communication is more important today than verticalcommunication. Do you agree or disagree? Justify your answer.Ans.

In organizations and organisms, lateral communication works in

contrast to traditional top-down, bottom-up or hierarchic communication

(Vertical communication)and involves the spreading of messages from

individuals across the base of a pyramid.

It is argued that communities communicate and store collective

knowledge through lateral communication, and that it is an essential

ingredient to make hierarchies work, by compensating for errors in

hierarchies' information flows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_contacthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_contact

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Lateral communication is communication between different

individuals, departments, or organisms on the same organizational level.

An organic organizational structure is built upon an entrepreneurial

concept. Here, the decisions made are decentralized and coordinated by

mutual adjustment rather than command and control. Examples include a

small business or a manufacturing facility where communication is promoted

at all levels of the organization. This organizational structure allows for

greater autonomy, promotes individual initiative, and allows employees to be

involved in the decision-making process thus enabling employee decision-

making to contribute to or detract from organizational goals. In short, an

organic organizational structure can encourage and facilitate lateral

communication

Main disadvantage of lateral communication- Lack of Motivation

Horizontal communication often fails simply because organization

members are unwilling to expend the additional effort that it requires.

Horizontal communication may require contact with people in units that are

well removed from our own. The channels and rules of interaction may be

unclear. We do not really know these people. The need to communicate with

them makes us uneasy or takes too much time, so we avoid or ignore it

Vertical communication

Vertical Communication consists of communication up and down the

organizations chain of command. Downward communication starts with top

management and flows down through management levels to line workers

and non-supervisory personnel. The major purposes of downward

communication are to advise, inform, direct, instruct, and evaluate

employees and to provide organization members with information about

organizational goals and policies. The main function of upward

communication is to supply information to the upper levels about what is

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

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happening at the lower levels. This type of communication includes progress

reports, suggestions, explanations, and requests for aid or decisions.

Problems of vertical Communication:

Downward communication is likely to be filtered, modified, or halted

at each level as managers decide what should be passed down to their

employees. Upward communication is likely to be filtered, condensed or

altered by middle managers who see it as part of their job to protect upper

management from nonessential data originating at the lower levels. In

addition, middle managers may keep information that would reflect

unfavorably on them for reaching their managers. Thus, vertical

communication is often at least partially inaccurate or incomplete.

Problems in downward communication exist when managers do not

provide employees with the information they need to carry out their tasks

effectively. Managers are often overly optimistic about the accuracy and

completeness of their downward communication. In fact, they can fail to pass

on important, information (such as a higher level change in policy) or to

instruct employees adequately on how to perform their duties. This lack of

communication is sometimes deliberate, as when managers withhold

information to keep employees dependent on them. The net effect of

incomplete downward communication is that employees can feel confused,

uniformed or powerless and might fail to carry out their tasks properly.

So,Lateral or horizontal communication is more important today than

vertical communication.

3. Imagine that you have to make an oral presentation on the features of the

EduNext portal to new students of the SMU MBA program. Prepare an outline of

the presentation and specify the following a) Purpose of the presentation b) Key

idea c) Audience analysis d) Delivery style

Ans.

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Outline:

The purpose is to make a presentation informing the features of EduNext

portal to new students who joined SMU MBA program.

a . Purpose of the presentation:

To help the new students to know about the EduNext portal of SMU.

b. Key idea:

The main idea of the presentation should be based on EduNext.

EduNXT is the next - generation interactive learning system that is

designed to change the way you learn. It combines content with a high

degree of interaction. It has powerful collaborative tools that provide you the

opportunity of interacting with fellow students and established faculty of the

Sikkim Manipal University. There is no similar example of such offering in this

part of the world.

EduNXT brings together 2,55,000 students who access 6,300 mentors

in 100,095 counseling sessions across 310 towns, to 1 university to get 1

prestigious degree.

c. Audience Analysis:

As the students are newly admitted and they are moving to a PG

course like MBA, the students will be more attentive. More over the

presentation is regarding a web-portal which is more useful for them.

d. Delivery style

A relaxed, extemporaneous style of speech and delivery will suit most

formal and informal oral report situations. Effective speakers can deliver a

presentation with great clarity yet with a relaxed and open manner.

Extemporaneous speaking does not rely on a memorized text, nor is it a

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droning reading of a written manuscript. Instead, this style of speaking relies

on visuals as cue cards.

The presentation may be allocated 30 minutes (this could be an hour if

you are in a large team, in which case scale the timings up). After the

prepared presentation, we will lead a short period of discussion and entertain

questions. You should plan on interacting with your audience during this

period (perhaps during the entire 30 minutes). If, when you finish, no one

has any questions or comments, it is your responsibility to stimulate some

discussion. One way to do this is to leave out something in your talk that you

expect them to question, and then turn the question on the audience if they

are silent.

4. Write a letter to your distributor, conveying the bad news of one of your

product lines being phased out or discontinued, offering some form of

compensation in return.

Ans.

To

M/s Glaxo Agencies

Kochi-15

Dear Sir,

Please be advice that with effect next month the __________ product

line that we have been supplying will be phased out in the market. However,

we could offer you a better and one of the most innovative product now in

the market.

We have confidence that your inspection and testing of the product

would prove to you the high quality of this product. And for this purpose you

are invited for a meeting to discuss further regarding the same.

http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/viewprep.htmhttp://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/viewprep.htm

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The enclosed folder is indicative of its competitive price and quality.

We have always valued our esteemed relationship built over the years,

and we will do our best to maintain it.

Sincerely yours,

S/d

5. As a Sales Manager, prepare a one page report in memo format

addressed to the VP Marketing, providing sales updates for a newly

launched FMCG product.

Ans.

To: Vice-President Marketing

From: Sales Manager

Date:12th Nov.2009

Subject: Sales updates

The sales of the new face cream that we launched last month came

down drastically this week compared to last week. This week being the last

week of the month and the all over sales of the cosmetics are down , count

for the downward trend of the sales.

But anyhow we have met our monthly target we put forward for the

new face cream. Ill forward the individual sales status and figures as soon as

I receive from sales staff. Please find attached the general sales update

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figures.

Regards

S/d

Sales Manager

6. Case Study (10 Marks)

Problems with Email communication

Strat Assemble, leading developer of web-based project and detailmanagement services that improve communication and increase

productivity, has released a white paper chronicling the growing problemsassociated with email--"Can Your Business Survive Email?"

The paper recounts the history of email, its changing role in business, andthe emergence of new Web 2.0 collaboration tools, such asStratAssemble's PlanDone, that offer new and better ways for companies tomanage their workflow.

Email usage drains workplace resources and hinders the timely completionof projects of all types. Given today's fast pace of business,communication in real-time and keeping staff on the same page are crucial

to staying ahead. Yet delays caused by using email to coordinate business-critical data between individuals, departments, and remote locationsactually slow productivity.

Top 10 critical email problems:

1. Lack of security

2. Attachment problems

3. Reliability problems

4. Spam clutter

5. Document version confusion

6. Scattered data

7. Unclear project direction

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8. Project status confusion

9. Next step priority uncertainty

10. Lack of accountability

"Email has become a barrier to effective communication and productivity.StratAssemble's PlanDone encourages participation from everyoneinvolved with a project's outcome and is available anytime and anywhere,"said StratAssemble founder AJ Wacaser. "As email problems escalate, thePlanDone solution will become the method of choice for managing day-to-day operations of companies everywhere."

Transferring project and task functions from email to PlanDone'sinteractive platform helps teams build on each other's work. Ideas andopinions are shared, documented, and refined in constructive ways. Two

powerful tools--priority ranking and deadline analysis--help staff focusprecisely on first things first each day, ensuring last-minute changes andcourse corrections don't turn into unmanageable business fires. Unlikemost other software, PlanDone supports both individual styles and teammethods rather than forcing everyone to conform to one rigid system.

Strat Assemble's motto is "Work smarter. Live happier!" We believe in teamcreativity and sharing ideas, and are passionate about the collaborativeprocess. Our purpose is to enable and inspire our customers to bettermanage their knowledgebase and workforces by providing a simple, openplatform where every staff member can assemble, participate and

contribute--revolutionizing corporate communications and strategicplanning.

Questions

1.Evaluate email communication as a tool for internal communication,based on the facts mentioned in the case.

2.How will you adapt email communication to overcome some of theproblems mentioned in this case?

Ans.

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1. E-mail is ideally suited for large organizations, organizations that have a

purely online presence, traveling employees and off site workers. All

types of information, including reports, company goals, policies and HR

related announcements may be posted on the intranet.

The primary advantages of the E-mail from the facts mentioned above are

Facilitates discussion of preliminary ideas, prior to meetings

Enables constant flow of information through an official

network and discourages rumors

Saves time and paper

Is better than email, when multiple versions of a documenthave to be sent

2. We can adapt E-mail communication to overcome some of the problems

mentioned in the case study. When communicating through email, the

following guidelines should be kept in mind

Avoid saying anything negative or confidential

Make the tone friendly

Include a specific subject line

State important information first

Describe the attachments

Pay attention to use of to and cc

Make the email brief and easy to read

Stress reader benefits

Keep your mailbox tidy

Allot time for checking and answering email

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Email etiquette involves the following

Remember to be polite

Avoid shouting

Avoid use of symbols and acronyms

Include friendly salutations and sign-offs

Respond promptly

Respect privacy