Q1. List the importance of effective communication in the workplace. Ans. Communication is the nerve center of business today.

As you go up the corporate ladder,

you will find that communication skills are required, more than technical skills. Communication research has revealed that among the factors most important for managerial success, communication skills rank above technical skills. Several surveys conducted among people who have been successful in their professions have indicated that communication skills are more vital to job success than subjects taken in college. Communication has assumed even greater importance today, since the new model of business is based on teamwork, rather than on individual action. Teamwork requires greater coordination and communication. Communication is also required all the more in this age of information and technology. Without communication and human skills, technology will overwhelm an organization. Communication helps to make sense of technology and to manage all this information. For example, communication is required to explain a new computer program or software. While computers can perform routine tasks, jobs like responding to customers needs require a high degree of communication skills. Effective communication serves the following specific purposes in an organization: 1) Greater Awareness of Organizational Goals and Teamwork When there is open communication between superiors, co-workers and subordinates, there is smooth flow of information regarding the goals of the organization. Coordination between the different departments in particular, leads to greater motivation to work together towards achieving a common organizational goal, rather than working in isolation. 2) Better Employer-employee Relationships By listening to employees, showing empathy and giving them the freedom to express their opinions without fear of being repressed, a manager can create a climate of openness that leads to better work relationships. Employees will then feel more comfortable in approaching their superiors and discussing any matter with them. 3) Problem-solving Effective communication can help resolve conflicts between co-workers, work related and performance related problems. Faceto-face communication is especially suited for achieving this task, since it is one to one and highly personalized in nature. 4) Improved Performance Effective communication by managers at the time of appraising the performance of their employees can point out areas for improvement. A constructive review of performance, through which a manager gives positive feedback and counsels the employee, instead of criticizing him for poor performance, can motivate the employee to perform better. 5) Stronger Link between Managers and the External Environment Apart from internal communication within the organization, effective communication by managers with external audiences such as customers, government, bankers, media and suppliers leads to a better rapport with them. A manager will be able to understand the needs of his customers, be aware of the presence of quality suppliers of material, of government regulations and of the expectations of the community at large, only through proper communication.

Q2. Explain the different aspects of non-verbal communication. Ans. Non-verbal communication, defined as communication without words. It refers to any way
of conveying meanings without the use of verbal language. The game of dumb charades is a perfect example. Non-verbal communication is generally unintentional, unlike verbal communication. All of us tend to communicate silently and unknowingly send signals and messages by what we do, apart from what we say. Gestures, facial expressions, posture and the way we dress, are all part of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication can have a greater impact than verbal communication, since how you say something is sometimes more important than what you say. Although non-verbal communication can affect both our personal and business relationships, it is particularly important in the workplace. While the spoken or written words may be perfect, the non-verbal aspects could convey the exact opposite meaning. Aspects of non-verbal communication are: 1) Kinesics: This is the most often studied and important area of non-verbal communication and refers to body movements of any kind. Different body movements can express inner states of emotion. Facial Expressions can convey feelings of surprise, happiness, anger and sadness. If you meet a long lost friend and say Im very happy to meet you again, but with a sad facial expression, it conveys the exact opposite meaning. Eye Movements, such as wide open pupils express feelings of surprise, excitement or even fear. The importance of eye contact with ones audience was pointed out earlier. Direct eye contact is an indication of intensity and interest, while lack of it can convey feelings of nervousness and guilt. Gestures, such as movement of the hands while giving a lecture or presentation indicates a high level of involvement in what you are saying. On the other hand, shuffling of the feet is a sign of nervousness and speaking with ones hands in ones pockets is considered to be casual or even rude. Head Movements like nodding the head can convey interest, appreciation, agreement or understanding. Body Shape and Posture Body shape is not within ones control but can be stereotyped to convey certain meanings. For example, someone who is strong and muscular is generally thought to be athletic, as opposed to a person who is short and fat! Posture on the other hand is within our control. In formal settings such as job interviews or classroom settings, it is essential that you maintain an erect posture to convey that you are attentive, since slouching or a relaxed posture conveys a casual attitude. Physical Appearance Our outward appearance, including the way we dress and the jewelry and make-up that we wear can convey an impression of formality or informality. Going to a job interview dressed in blue jeans or not sticking to a stipulated dress code at the workplace can convey that you are a rebel, non-conformist or a very casual person. Therefore, it is important to take care of your appearance, so that you convey the right meaning to others.

2) Proxemics: Proxemics is derived from the word proximity or closeness and is the communication term for personal space and distance. The space and distance which we choose to keep from people is also part of non-verbal communication. Each of us has our own inner and outer circles, which differ for different people. Our inner most circle is an intimate space, into which we generally admit only select people such as family and close friends. Next comes a personal space which might include other friends and colleagues or coworkers. These two

spaces involve communication of an informal nature. Most of us also have a social and public space, which includes official or workplace relationships, where the communication is of a more formal nature. In a business context, it is more relevant to understand the concept of fixed space and semi-fixed space. Fixed space means that the physical features of the work environment such as furniture, room size and seating arrangement are permanent.

3) Time Language: This refers to the meaning or importance attached to time and varies between different people. One person may value time more than another. Similarly, time language also varies across cultures. In most western cultures for example, punctuality is considered to be important. Arriving late for a business meeting is inexcusable. In other cultures, it is more relaxed and time is not given that much importance. We convey messages to others through the time we spend on a work related activity or by the importance that we give to time. Arriving early at work or for a job interview shows interest, involvement and seriousness. Spending time with an employee and giving him suggestions on how to improve his performance shows interest and involvement in his career growth.

4) Paralanguage: Para means like or similar to, therefore paralanguage means like language. Of all the forms of non-verbal communication, paralanguage is closest to verbal communication. It refers to the tone of voice with which something is said. In other words, it is how something is said, and not what is said. The tone of voice includes the pitch (high or low pitch), the pace (slow or fast) the emphasis on words and the volume (soft or loud) and can convey different moods and emotions, as mentioned earlier in this unit. Example: The statement I practice good business communication can be understood in different ways, depending on the emphasis on certain words. Saying I practice good business communication means that I alone practice it above anyone else. On the other hand, saying I practice good business communication could be interpreted to mean that you communicate particularly well in a business context, rather than in a general context. The important point to keep in mind regarding tone of voice is to avoid mixed signals that is, making sure that what you say is consistent with how you say it.

5) Physical context: This refers to the physical environment or surroundings within which we
communicate and includes two aspects 1) color and layout and 2) design. Colors are known for their symbolic meaning and have associations with different feelings. For example, colors like black and grey are associated with death, mourning and negative feelings. Yellow and green are associated with more positive feelings. Of course, these can also vary across cultures. The point to remember is that you can make the right impressions with use of the right colors. Layout in a work environment refers to the size of an office, or the arrangement of furniture. Design refers to the type of chairs, desks or carpeting. All these can convey status, formality or informality.

Q3. Write short notes on

(1) Upward communication (3) Horizontal communication Ans.

(2) Downward communication

1) Upward communication:- As the main purpose of upward communication is to provide

feedback on several areas of organizational functioning, it refers to communication from subordinates to superiors. A business report from the branch manager of a company to the managing director of the company is an example of upward communication. Other examples of upward channel include business proposals, suggestion box, exit interviews, grievance committees, and so forth. Since upward communication involves the transfer of information, request and feedback from the subordinates to their seniors, it promotes better working relationships within an organization by giving the subordinate staff opportunities to share their views and ideas with their supervisors. It facilitates employee involvement in the decision making process. This type of communication has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest benefit is problem solving, once a subordinate has brought a problem to his superiors notice, chances are that the problem will not recur. Other benefit is that employees learn to accept the dicision of management and thereby work as a team. The biggest problem associated with this type of communication is that it may lead to handling down of decisions by superiors.

2) Downward communication:- Communication that flows from a higher level in an organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words, communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward communication. This communication flow is used by the manager to transmit work related information to the employee at lower levels. Employees require this information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their managers. Download communication that provides regular feedback , will be beneficial if the feedback or review of performance is constructive. Regular downward communication also creates a climate of transparency or openness, where information is passed on through official channels rather than through rumors. Download communication boosts employee morale, since it indicates that management is involved in their progress. The problems with this type of communication are the danger of doing destructive reviews, as mentioned, and that of message overload. This means that superiors many sometimes burden their subordinates with too many instructions, leading to confusion.

3) Horizontal communication:- This type of communication is also known as Lateral communication It is defined as communication that takes place between co-workers in the same department or in different departments with different areas of responsibility. The reason for this type of communication are for coordination of tasks, sharing of information regarding goals of the organization, resolving interpersonal or work related problems.

The biggest benefit of horizontal communication is the sense of teamwork that is created. The biggest problem is that conflicts such as ego clashes are bound to arise.

Q4. Explain the different barriers to listening. List the differences between discriminative listening and comprehension listening. Ans. Barriers to listening A pointed out earlier, listening is not easy and there are a
number of obstacles that s t a n d i n t h e w a y o f e f f e c t i v e l i s t e n i n g , b o t h w i t h i n a n d o u t s i d e t h e w o r k p l a c e . T h e s e barriers may be categorized as follows.

1) Physiological Barriers: Some people may have genuine hearing problems or deficiencies that prevent them from listening properly. Once detected, date and m a y h a v e d i f f i c u l t i e s i n p r o c e s s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n , o r m e m o r y r e l a t e d p r o b l e m w h i c h m a k e t h e m p o o r l i s t e n e r s . Another physiological barrier is rapid though. Listeners have the ability to process information at the rate of approximately 500 words per minute, whereas speaker talks at around 120 words per minute. Since listeners are left with a lot of spare time, there attention may not be focused on words the speaker is saying, but may under elsewhere.

2) Physical Barriers: These referred to distraction in the averment

s u c h a s t h e sound of an air conditioner, cigarette smoke, or an overheated room, whichi n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e l i s t e n i n g p r o c e s s . T h e y c o u l d a l s o b e i n t h e f o r m o f information overload. For example, if you are in meeting with your manager and the phone rings and your mobile beeps at the same time to let u know that you have the message. It is very hard to listen carefully to what is being said.

3) Attitudinal Barriers: Pre occupation which personal or work related problems

can make it difficult to focus ones attention completely on what speaker is s a y i n g , even what is being said is of crime importance. Another common a t t i t u dinal barrier is egocentrism, or the belief that you are m o r e knowledgeable when the speaker and that you have nothing new to have to learn from his ideas. People with this kind of close minded attitude may very poor listeners.

4) Wrong Assumptions : The success of communication depends on the both the

sender and receiver, as we have seen in an earlier unit. It is wrong to assume that communication is the sole responsibility of the sender or the speaker and that listener have no role to play. Such an assumption can be big barrier to l i s t e n i n g . F o r e x a m p l e , a b r i l l i a n t s p e e c h o r p r e s e n t a t i o n , h o w e v e r w e l l delivered, is wasted if the receiver is not listening at the other end. Listeners have as much responsibility as speakers to make the communicat i o n successful, by paying attention seeking clarifications and giving feedback. Another wrong assumption is to think that listening is a passive activity, in w h i c h a l i s t e n -

e r m e r e l y t h e t h o u g h t s o f t h e s p e a k e r . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , r e a l listening or active listening is hard work it requires speaking sometimes to ask question, agree or disagree with the speaker, give feedback etc.

5) Cultural Barriers: accents can be barriers to listening, since they interfere with the ability to understand the meaning of words that are pron o u n c e d differently. The problem of different accents arises not only between cultures, but also within a culture. For example, in a country like India where there is enormous cultural diversity, accents may differ even between regions states. Another type of cultural barrier is doddering cultural values. The importancea t t a c h e d t o l i s t e n i n g a n d s p e a k i n g d i f f e r s i n w e s t e r n a n d o r i e n t a l c u l t u r e s . Generally, oriental regard listening and silence as almost a virtue, whereas westerners attach greater importance to speaking. Therefore this would interfere with thel i s t e n ing process, when two people from these two different cultures communicate. 6)Gender Barriers:Communication research has shown that gen d e r c a n b e barrier to listening. Studies have revealed that men and women listen very differently and for different purposes. Women are more likely to listen for the emotion behind a speakers words, when men listen more for the facts and the content. E x a m p l e , s a l e s p e r s o n s g i v i n g a d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f a n e w t y p e o f o f f i c e equipment may be asked by two colleagues if the equipment will work without ant problem and respond by saying Sure. A male user may take his at face value, where as the female user may detect some hesitation in his voice. This is because the male user listens for the content of the message, where as the female user listen for the tone of the message.

7) Lack of Training: listening is not an inborn skill. People are not born
good listeners. They have to develop the art of listening through pract i c e a n d training. Lack of training in listing skills is an important barrier to listing, in the Indian Context.

8) Bad Listening Habits:

Most people are very average listene r s w h o h a v e developed poor listening habits that are hard to say and that act as barriers to listening. For example, some people have the habits of faking attention, or trying to look like a listeners, in order to impress the speaker and to assure him that they are paying attention. Others may tend to listen to each and every fact and, as a result, miss out on the main point.

Differences between discriminative listening and comprehension listening. Discriminative listening:- Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference between difference sounds is identified. If you cannot hear differences, then you cannot make sense of the meaning that is expressed by such differences. We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and later are unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. This is one reason why a person from one country finds it difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they are unable distinguish the subtle sounds that are required in that language. Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another person's voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is experiencing.

Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through body language. We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal movements that signify different meanings.

Comprehension listening:- Comprehension listening is used to make sense of the different

sounds and visual indications that you notice when you listen discriminatively. Also known as informative listening, the act of comprehension listening requires the listener to make sense of what she hears and sees. Learning is often done through comprehension listening. In order to successfully listen for comprehension, you must have a firm grasp of the vocabulary of the language you are hearing, strong concentration skills and the memory to process and remember information. Comprehension listening helps the listener understand the message that the speaker intends to portray.

Q5. Discuss the principles of business writing. Ans. The principles of business writing are as follows:
1) Tone: - Tone is important in conveying written messages, particularly business related messages. In written communication, tones refers to the way a statement sounds, which in turn depends on the choice of words. A sentence or statement may be grammatically perfect. Example: You failed to meet the sales target. The above statement has a negative tone, since it emphasizes what could not be achieved. The same idea could be expressed in a more positive tone, by emphasizing what could have been done instead. 2) Emphasis and subordination: - A business writer can be compared to an artist or a musician. Just like an artist or a musician tries to make certain elements stand out and others to get little attention, so too with the business writer. An important principle of business writing is to emphasize important ideas and to downplay unimportant ideas, so as to make the reader understand what you consider to be significant. Generally, pleasant and important thoughts are emphasized, while unpleasant and insignificant thoughts are subordinated or de-emphasized. 3) Write at an Appropriate level of Readability : - The third and very important rule of business writing is to tailor your writing to your audience and to make it simple enough for even a layperson to read and understand. Robert Gunning developed what is known as Fog Index or a readability formula to measure the readability of a piece of writing. According to this formula, the appropriate reading level in business writing should be between 8 and 11. Calculation of Fog Index involves the following steps: a) Select a written passage of approximately 100 words. b) Calculate the average length of a sentence by dividing the total number of words in the passage by the number of sentences.

c) Find the number of difficult words. A word may be defined as difficult if it contains three or more syllables. Determine the number of difficult words per hundred, by dividing the total number of words in the passage into the number of difficult words, then by multiplying this figure by 100. d) Add the number of difficult words per hundred and the average sentence length. e) Multiply the figure obtained in step 4 by 0.4 to calculate the reading grade level for which the passage was written, or the Fog Index. Ideally the Fog Index should be between 8 and 11 for most business writing.

Q6. Explain the advantages of oral communication with the help of suitable example. Ans. Advantages of Oral communication are as follows:
Oral communication is faster: Two or more people talking can deliver a message, discuss an issue, reach an agreement, or ask a question and receive an answer much more quickly than they could use written communication. Oral communication permits immediate feedback: When the receiver does not understand a message, he or she can ask for clarification right away. Oral communication a usually more effective for conveying messages with emotional content: When people communicate orally, the message consists of more than the spoken words. A nonverbal message accompanies every oral communication. Facial expressions, body movements, gestures, tone of voice, rate of speech, and voice inflection all add meaning to the words actually spoken. These nonverbal components help the receiver interpret the emotional significance of the message. Oral communication helps establish human relationships: Through oral communication, people working together are able to develop team spirit and a sense of mutual responsibility. By communicating with each other orally, people are able to improve each other's morale. There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing changes in the decisions previously taken. Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money and efforts.