Business Communication

ASSIGNMENT

ASSIGNMENT
Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA/11/051)

1. Write short notes on :A) Levels Of Culture In Communication :Culture is one of the biggest barriers while communicating on an international level. Effective communication indulging the audience of different cultures is challenging. The cultures provide the people with the way of seeing things, way of thinking, hearing and interpreting the world. So that means, the same words could be having different meanings to people from different culture even when the language used is common. If the language is different, that worsens the situation because of the process of translation used to communicate which leads to a greater potential misunderstanding

B) Belief System: A belief system is a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs may be religious, philosophical, ideological or a combination of these. Our Belief System can be one of our most powerful assets or our worst enemy. Our belief system essentially makes up who we are. Our belief system is made up of a set of core values, which we tend to base everything we do, say, or believe in. Belief drives behavior, but often belief is not based on experience and so does not reach or reflect the intimately lived dimension of human existence. Indeed, the very nature of belief precludes the necessity of experience. Belief does not merely dispense with the evidence of experience, it can go further and deny the evidence of experience. And it often does. Therein lies the power of belief. Belief is motivation by reliance on an assigned version of reality or an assigned version of what might be imagined. Ultimately, the problem introduced by belief is not a matter of believing versus nonbelieving, because annulment of the will to believe is not possible. The true conflict here is between believing and learning. "The unexamined belief is not worth holding." True enough, but the examined belief may not be worth holding, either. A great many beliefs, once they are examined, may prove to be worthless as indicators of truth or guides to experience, although they may serve to define identity and confer a sense of belonging.

C) Habits :Habits (or wants) are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously. Habitual behavior often goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting it, because a person does not need to engage in self-analysis when undertaking routine tasks. Habituation is an extremely simple form of learning, in which an organism, after a period of exposure to a stimulus, stops responding to that stimulus in varied manners. Habits are sometimes compulsory.

Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA 2011-13)

Business Communication

ASSIGNMENT

D) Proxemics :Proxemics is the term coined by professor Edward T. Hall, to refer to 'the study of how man uses space - the space that he maintains between himself and his fellows and which he builds around him in his home and office'. It is the study of the ways in which individuals use physical space in their interactions with others and how this use of physical space influences behaviour of all concerned. In the words of Professor Hall, proxemics studies 'how man unconsicously structures microspace - the distance between men in the conduct of daily transactions, the organization of space in his houses and building, and ultimately the layout of his towns'.

E)

Grape Vine :Grapevine is an informal channel of business communication. It is called so because it stretches throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Man as we know is a social animal. Despite existence of formal channels in an organization, the informal channels tend to develop when he interacts with other people in organization. It exists more at lower levels of organization. Grapevine generally develops due to various reasons. One of them is that when an organization is facing recession, the employees sense uncertainty. Also, at times employees do not have self-confidence due to which they form unions. Sometimes the managers show preferential treatment and favour some employees giving a segregated feeling to other employees. Thus, when employees sense a need to exchange their views, they go for grapevine network as they cannot use the formal channel of communication in that case. Generally during breaks in cafeteria,the subordinates talk about their superior’s attitude and behaviour and exchange views with their peers. They discuss rumours about promotion and transfer of other employees. Thus, grapevine spreads like fire and it is not easy to trace the cause of such communication at times

2. What is the role of audience analysis while planning persuasive message?

Persuasive speaking aims to convince people to take some form of action. To achieve that goal, you must get your listeners to change their attitudes and beliefs. Or you must reinforce the attitudes and beliefs they already hold. That means you must have a thorough knowledge of your audience before you prepare your presentation. Any number of factors can affect how your listeners will react. These can include their experience, education, job or professional background, age, gender, ethnic background, cultural differences, and more. Do your listeners share common interests? What's their relationship to one another? What recent experiences, if any, have they had that could affect their readiness to accept your argument? What will your listeners expect from you? Do they have high expectations you may not be able to fulfill? Are their expectations realistic? Are you prepared in any case to address those expectations? These are just some of the questions you should be thinking of as you prepare. Ask as many questions as you think are relevant.

Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA 2011-13)

Business Communication

ASSIGNMENT

You'll need to address your listeners at the level of their existing knowledge. So it's important to have a clear picture of what they already know. From that, you can build your presentation, adding information your listeners don't already have. If, for example, your audience already has expertise in a given area, don't waste their time with unnecessary background. Start instead from what they already know. What additional information will they need to better understand and accept your message? By the same token, if your listeners know little about your topic, you'll need to take that into account too, and fill in the gaps in their knowledge. Think in terms of how much information your audience needs, not how much information you can provide. In some cases, you may want to provide additional information in a handout after your presentation.

3. What is considered as positive body language making presentation?

There are many reasons you may want to know some positive body language examples. When interviewing for a job or a promotion the interviewer may be watching your body language to judge the type of person you are. A woman at the bar, a teacher or a police officer are just a few other examples of people who read body language to gauge what type of person you are. Below you will find a few examples of positive body language.

Eye Contact. Making good eye contact is one of most important steps to achieving a positive
body language. Eye contact tells a person you are interested in what they are saying. It also means that you are confident in what you are saying to them. Smiling. When you smile it shows a positive body language. A smile will encourage a person to talk to you and shows that you are a happy and confident person. Head Gestures. Holding your head up high will display confidence. Nodding and leaning your head towards a person shows them you are listening in this show of positive body language. Hands and Arms. Avoid crossing your arms or hiding your hands while trying to display a positive body language. Use hand gestures and even lightly touch a persons arm or hand while talking with them to display your confidence. Legs. If you are sitting down keep feet planted on the ground. A crossed leg will appear unapproachable and that you may have a defensive attitude. Dangling legs show a person that you are carefree and may not be focused and determined.

4. Compare and contrast the nuances of communication required at top-down , horizontal and bottom up approach of communication Top Down Approach :Communication is the passing on of ideas and information. In business we need good, clear communication. The contact may be between people, organizations or places and can be in a number of forms such as speech, writing, actions and gestures. Organizations need to be Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA 2011-13)

Business Communication

ASSIGNMENT

structured in such a way as to maximize the benefits of communication processes. This is why team structures are so useful because they open up a multi-flow channel of communications. Up until the 1980's many large firms in America and Western Europe were characterized by topdown communications systems.

Communication flowed down the line i.e. instructions were passed down the line. Individuals at the bottom end of the system had little scope for decision making.

Horizontal Approach:Information exchange between departments or functional units, as means of coordinating their activities. Communication between people at the same level in an organization, community or peer group, usually as a means of coordinating efforts. Its when the managers of the same level share ideas, suggestions and solutions to help bring the organization to a better level. The main objectives of horizontal communication are developing teamwork, and promoting group coordination within an organization. It takes place between professional peer groups or people working on the same level of hierarchy. Horizontal communication is less formal and structured than both downward communication and upward communication, and may be carried our through informal discussions, management gossip, telephone calls, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, memos, routine meetings and so on.

Bottom Up Approach:Communication plays a key role in the success of any workplace program or policy and serves as the foundation for all five types of psychologically healthy workplace practices. The Bottom-up communication (from employees to management) provides information about employee needs,

Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA 2011-13)

Business Communication

ASSIGNMENT

values, perceptions and opinions. This helps organizations select and tailor their programs and policies to meet the specific needs of their employees.

5. What are the characteristics of an effective managerial communication. How will the leader ensure synergy in their work team through effective communication?
Communication occurs every day, whether or not individuals actively think about sending messages. In business, a common communication flow starts from managers and flows down through the organization. Effective managerial communication depends on how individuals receive messages.

Facts
Business communication goes through the traditional steps, which are source, encoding, channel, decoding and receiver. Effective communication selects the proper communication medium, uses language easily understood by the receiver and allows for feedback.

Features
Effective communication in business must often be individual to those receiving the message. For example, using common language in domestic markets can lead to confusion in international markets, forcing managers to spend more time following up on the message.

Considerations
Managers can improve their communication skills by engaging in active listening, facilitating open dialogue, coaching employees on proper communication and providing constructive feedback. This provides an opportunity for managers to improve their entire organization's communication process rather than just their own skills

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Ritobrata Ganguly (MBA 2011-13)