ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book

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AN INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING TOOLS
Participants in flexible learning programs have limitations on the nature of the
time they can spend on learning. Typically they are employed fully or partially,
pursuing higher studies or have other social and familial responsibilities.
Availability of time is a great constraint to these students.
To aidthe participants,we have developedfour unique learningtools as below:
Bullet Notes : Helps in introducing the important concepts in each unit
of curriculum, equip the
student during preparation of
examinations and
Case Studies : Illustrate the concepts through real life experiences

Workbook : Helps absorption of learning through questions based on reallife nuggets
PEP Notes :Sharing notes of practices and experiences in the Industry will help the student to
rightly perceive and get inspired to learn concepts at the cutting edge
application level.placementinterviews
Why are these needed?
 Adults learn differently from B. School or college going
students who spend long hours at campus.
 Enhancing analytical skills through application related learning
kits trigger experiential learning
 Availability of time is a challenge.
 Career success increasingly depends on continuous learning
and success
What makes it relevant?

How is it useful?


Where does this lead to?
As and when you get 5 to 10 minutes you can read one of these and absorb and comprehend.
Spending more time is your choice.
You can use the time in travel, waiting for meetings, lunch time, small breaks or at home
usefully.
Through these tools, the learning bytes are right sized for ease of learning for time challenged
participants.
The content starts from practice and connect to precept making it easy to connect to industry
and retain.
They can be connectedto continuous assessment process of the academic program.
Practitioners can use their real life knowledge and skill to enhance learning skills.
Immediate visualization of the practical dimension of the concept will offer a rich learning
experience.

Easier to move ahead in the learning process.

Will facilitate the student to complete the program earlier than
otherwise.Helpsstay motivated and connected.
When is it useful?


Business
Communication &
Soft Skills
Workbook

The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education(IFHE),
Hyderabad,April, 2015. All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or
transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise – without
prior permission in writing from The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad.
Ref. No. BC&SS-WB-IFHE – 042015
For any clarification regarding this book, the students may please write to The ICFAI Foundation for
Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad giving the above reference number of this book specifying chapter
and page number.
While every possible care has been taken in type-setting and printing this book, The ICFAI Foundation
for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad welcomes suggestions from students for improvement in future
editions.
Our E-mail id: cwfeedback@icfaiuniversity.in
ii

INTRODUCTION
Participants in ICFAI University Programs are eager to learn more from practice. They realize that
application orientation can enhance their learning and subsequent usage of management precepts and
practices. Picking out the principle behind real world events is critical to this learning, as also identifying
the alternative/solution using the principle. Towards this end the institution has reengineered the
Workbook.
The Workbook is a set of questions which typically illustrate a real life context from contemporary
corporate happenings and then poses a question to the student for reflection. The narration of question
helps the reader to reinforce the concept and facilitates the student to enhance his/her capabilities in
analyzing and interpreting the conceptual frameworks.
The examples depicting the names of existing persons or companies are taken from news
clippings/published articles from various public domain websites or website of respective companies.
Since live examples reinforce the understanding of the students, the possible responses are connected to
the concepts taught directly or indirectly. In many cases the alternatives provided are choices in a work
situation based on alternative approaches.
These questions provoke the learner to start thinking from the application side and connect to the
knowledge that he will use to solve. Practitioners can connect better thereby improving the learning
experience. This form of assessment improves learning while assessing whereas the conventional formis
more about assessment of learning.
The learning outcomes expected are:
The examples are linked back to application of theoretical knowledge in the illustrated
real-time situation. This facilitates the student to develop analytical approach in similar
or related situations.
Application based approach which enhances absorption and retention significantly.
Exposure to the current incidences and situations in relation to important concepts of
the subject.
The Workbook format is also used for Assessment.
iii

DETAILED CURRICULUM
UNIT 1 - FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
The Importance of Communication - The Basic Forms of Communication: Non-verbal Communication,
Verbal Communication, Speaking and Writing, Listening - The Process of Communication: Sender,
Message, Channel, Receiver, Feedback - Barriers to Communication: Problems Caused by the Sender,
Problems in Message Transmission, Problems in Reception, Problems in Receiver Comprehension -
Dealing with Communication Barriers: Know your Subject, Focus o the Purpose, Know your Audience,
Be Organized
UNIT 2 - NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication: Non-verbal messages primarily communicate emotions,
attitudes, Non-verbal cues substitute for, contradict, emphasize, or regulate verbal messages, Non-verbal
cues are often ambiguous, Non-verbal cues are continuous, Non-verbal cues are more reliable, Non-
verbal cues are culture bound - Components of Nonverbal Communication: Paralanguage: Voice
qualities-Volume, Rate of speech, Voice pitch, Rhythm, Pronunciation and enunciation, Voice qualifiers,
Vocal characteristics, Vocal segregates - Kinesics: Posture, Gestures-Emblems, Adaptors, Regulators,
Illustrators, Facial expressions-Eyes Proxemics: The intimate distance zone, The personal distance zone,
The social distance zone, The public distance zone, use of Time, Mode of Dress
UNIT 3 - LISTENING
Importance of Listening - Barriers to Effective Listening: Physiological Barriers, Environmental Barriers,
Attitudinal Barriers- Prejudices, Preoccupation, A casual attitude, Egocentrism, Poor Listening Habits,
Lack of Common Experiences - Approaches to Listening: Discriminative Listening, Comprehensive
Listening, Critical Listening, Active Listening - How to be a Better Listener: Be Motivated to Listen, Be
Prepared to Listen, Be Objective, Be Alert to all Cues, Make Good Use of the Thinking-Speaking Time
Difference, Use Feedback, Practice Listening, Use Verbal and Nonverbal Cues to Encourage the Speaker
- What Speakers Can Do to Ensure Better Listening: Try to Empathize, Adjust your Delivery, Utilize
Feedback, Be Clear, Be Interesting
UNIT 4 - INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Building Positive Relationships: Use Descriptive „I‟ Language, Focus on Solving Problems, not on
Controlling Others, Be Open: Don‟t Try to Deceive, ShowEmpathy, Don‟t Put on an Air of Superiority,
Listen with an Open Mind - Giving Praise: Make Praise Specific, Praise Progress, Not Just Perfection,
Be Sincere, Don‟t Overdo Praise, Get the Timing Right - Dealing with Criticism: Offering Constructive
Criticism – Understand why you are making a critical remark, Try to understand the other person‟s
perspective, Direct criticism at the person‟s behavior, not at the person, Avoid sounding judgmental, Do
not force criticism on anyone,Avoid Critical Overload; Responding to Criticism - Managing Conflict:
Approaches to Conflict – Avoiding, Accommodating, Competing, Collaborating, Compromising;
Resolving Conflict
UNIT 5 - NEGOTIATIONS
Approaches to Negotiation: Bargaining Orientation, Lose-Lose Orientation, Compromise, Win-Win
Orientation - The Major Elements of Negotiation Preparation: Understand the People Involved; Know
your Objectives, Conduct - The Situation
iv

UNIT 6 - INTERVIEWING
Interview and Types of Business Interviews: Employment Interviews, Performance Appraisal Interviews,
Counseling Interviews, Disciplinary Interviews, Persuasive Interviews - Planning an Interview: State the
Purpose, Get Information about the Other Party, Decide on the Structure, Directive Interview, Non-
directive Interview, Consider Possible Questions, Direct question, Indirect question, Plan the Physical
Setting, Anticipate Problems - Conducting an Interview: The Opening, Body- The interviewer‟s role,
The respondent‟s role, Closing - The Ethics of Interviewing: Guidelines for the Interviewer, Guidelines
for the Respondent- Don‟t be dishonest, Don‟t waste the interviewer‟s time
UNIT 7 - GROUP COMMUNICATION
Factors in Group Communication: Size, Longevity, Leadership, Perception and Self-Concept, Status -
Group Decision Making: Stage in Group problem solving – The Orientation Stage, The Conflict Stage,
The Emergence Stage, The Reinforcement Stage; Reflective Thinking, Brainstorming, Nominal Group
Techniques, The Final Decision – Consensus, Compromise, Majority, Decision by leader, Arbitration -
Effective Meeting: The Planning Process, Why Have a Meeting at all?, What Type of Meeting should be
Held? – Informational meetings, Problem-solving meetings, Change-facilitating meetings, Who Should
Participate?, Where the Meeting should be Held?, When Should the Meeting be Held?, Notice Agenda,
Minutes, Opening the Meeting, Conducting Business, Concluding the Meeting, Following up the
Meeting
UNIT 8 - MAKING PRESENTATIONS – GETTING STARTED
Speech Purposes – General: Informative Speeches,Persuasive Speech, Entertaining Speeches - Speech
Purposes – Specific - Methods of Speaking: Speaking from a Manuscript, speaking from Memory,
Impromptu Delivery, Extemporaneous Delivery - Analyzing the Audience: The age of listeners, The sex
of listeners, The occupation of listeners, Intelligence and educational level of listeners, The social,
professional, and religious groups your listeners belong to, The influence of geographical experience -
Nonverbal Dimensions of Presentation
UNIT 9 - ORGANIZING AND PRESENTING THE SPEECH
Why Organize? - The Core Statement - Organizational Structures: Organizing the Speech to Inform- The
introduction, The body, The conclusion; Organizing the Persuasive Speech – The Problem-Solution
Order, The Motivated Sequence, Deductive and inductive structures - Supporting Your Idea: Illustration,
Statistics, Expert testimony, Analogies, Anecdotes, fable, parables - Visual Aids: Designing and
Presenting Visual Aids, Selecting the Right Medium- Handouts, Chalkboards and whiteboards, Flip
charts, Overheads, Slides, Computers, Videotapes, Audiotapes, Filmstrips, and Films, Models and
physical objects - After the Presentation
UNIT 10 - LETTER WRITING: WRITING ABOUT THE ROUTINE AND THE PLEASANT
Understanding the Audience: Cultivating a “You” Attitude, How Can We “Understand the
Audience”?-Organizing your Message: Why Organization is Essential, How to Organize Letters -
Business Letters: Routine Claims, Routine Letters about Credit- Request for Information, Request for
credit, Favorable response to a request for credit, Routine Letters about Orders – Order Letter, Favorable
Response to an Order Letter, Letters about Routine Requests
UNIT 11 - WRITING ABOUT THE UNPLEASANT
Writing for the Reader: Sequence of Ideas, Style of Expression - Saying “No” to an Adjustment Request
Saying “No” to a Credit Request - Saying “No” to an Order for Merchandise: Unclear Orders, Back
Orders, Substitution, Offering a M ore Suitable Product - Saying “No” to a Request for a favour - Special
Problems in Writing about the Unpleasant: First Paragraph, The Bad News Sentences, Last paragraph
v

UNIT 12 - WRITING TO PERSUADE
The Basis of Persuasive Sales Messages – Identifying Objectives: Know the product or service, Know
the customer, Know the desired action - The Basis of Persuasive Sales Messages – Organizing the
Message, The First Paragraph : An Attention-Getter- Start with the Product, Focus on a Central Selling
Feature, Address on a Central Selling Feature, Address the reader‟s needs, Keep paragraphs
short; Introducing the Product- Be natural and cohesive, Be action-oriented, Stress and central selling
point; Convince the Readers with Evidence – Use concrete language, Be objective, Interpret the
evidence, Be careful when you talk about price; Motivating the Reader to Action – Mention the specific
action you want, Refer to the reward for taking action, Present action as being easy to take, Provide a
stimulus for quick action, Ask confidently for action - Writing a Complete Sales Letter - Claim Letters
and Requests for Favors: Making a Claim, Asking a Favor - The Collection Series: Reminder, Inquiry,
Appeal, Urgency, Ultimatum
UNIT 13 - COMMUNICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT – RESUME
Formulating Career Plans: Self Analysis,Career Analysis, Job Analysis, Matching Personal Needs with
Job Profile - Planning your Resume - Structuring the Resume: Chronological Resume, Functional -
Resume, Combination Chronological and Functional Resume - Content of the Resume: Heading, Career
Goals and Objectives, Education, Work Experience, Summary of Job Skills/ Key Qualifications,
Activities, Honors and Achievements, Special interests, References - Electronic Resumes
UNIT 14 - COMMUNICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT – APPLICATION LETTER
Qualities of Well-written Application Letters:The You Attitude,LengthofLetter,Addressed to a person, not
to a title, Knowledge of Employer‟s Activities, Knowledge of Jobrequirements, Reader-
Benefit Information, Organization, Style, Mechanic - Letter Plan: Opening Section, Middle Section-Job
requirements, Educational achievements, Work Experience, Any special qualifications, Personal
Information, Closing Section
UNIT 15 - WRITING EFFECTIVE MEMOS
Fundamentals of Effective Memos: Organization, Clarity - Types of Memos: Request Memo,
Confirmation Memo, Periodic Report Memo, Ideas and Suggestions Memo, Informal Study Results
Memo - Memos about the Unpleasant - Persuasive Memos
UNIT 16 - STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT OF LETTERS
Punctuation Styles and Letter Formats - Formats: Block, Modified Block, Simplified Block - Standard
Letter Parts: Heading and Date, Inside Address, Salutation, Body, Complimentary Close, Signature
Block, Reference Initials - Special Letter Parts: Mailing Notation, Attention Line, Reference Line,
Subject Line, Second-page Heading, Enclosure Notation, Copy Notation, Postscript - Memorandum
Formats: Heading, Body Authentication, Page Identification
UNIT 17 - THE FRAMEWORK OF A REPORT
The Elements of a Report: The Letter of Transmittal, The Title Page, The Abstract, The Table of
Contents, The List of Illustrations, The Executive Summary, The Glossary and List of Symbols, The
Appendix - The Text of a Report: Introduction, The Body of the Report, Summary, Conclusions, an
Recommendations, Notes and Bibliography
vi

UNIT 18 - WRITING THE REPORT
Different Types of Reports: Formal or Informal Reports, Short or Long Reports, Informational or
Analytical Reports, The Proposal Report, Vertical or Lateral Reports, Internal or External Reports,
Periodic Reports, Functional Reports- Preprinted form, Letter, Memo, Manuscript - Four Steps in
Writing a Report: Defining the Problem and the Purpose, Zeroing I on the Problem, Developing the
Statement of Purpose, Identifying Issues for Investigation - Structuring the Report: Information
Assignments, Analytical Assignments- hypothesis, Relative merit - Concluding the Report
UNIT 19 - MANAGING DATA AND USING GRAPHICS
When to Use Visual Aids - Selecting a Suitable Visual Aid: Tables; Bar Charts- Simple bar chart, Multi-
range bar chart, Stacked-bar chart; Gantt Chart; Line Charts; Pie Charts; Pictograms; Maps; Flowcharts
and Organization Charts; Other Visual Aids - Introducing Visual Aids in the Text
UNIT 20 - REVIEW OF WRITING SKILLS
Sentence Structure - Punctuation: Apostrophe, Comma, Colon, Semicolon, Dash - Paragraphs: Logical
Order, Concluding Sentence - Compositions: Steps in Essay Writing – Limiting a topic, Clarifying the
purpose, Writing the thesis statement, Writing the introduction, Planning and writing the body, Writing
the conclusion
UNIT 21 - MANGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS – A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Managerial Effectiveness: What is managerial effectiveness? - Characteristics of an Effective Manager:
Basic managerial skills: Planning skills, Organizing skills; Contribution: How managers can
contribute, Contribution in human relations, Contribution at meetings; Productivity: Staffing from
strength,Managing superiors, Managing oneself – Prioritize: Posterioritize - Effective decision-making:
Decision-making process - Effective communication: Components of an effective communication
process - Participation - Ethical manager: Factors that influence ethical behavior - Stress management
Time management - Creativity in management - Emotional Intelligence in management - Interpersonal
skills - Leadership skills - Multi-cultural communication skills
UNIT 22 - STRESS MANAGEMENT
Definition of Stress - Sources of Stress: Internal stress, External stress, Types of stress: Personal stress –
Family stress, Health-related stress, Society-related stress, Work-related stress, Time and stress, Techno
stress - Effects of Stress: Physical effects of stress,Psychological effects of stress,Effects of stress on the
environment, Difference between stress and burnout: Burnout life cycle - Steps to handle burnout -
Strategies for Coping with Stress - Strategies to fight stress: Prioritize work, Delegate work, Laughter,
Exercise, Relaxations, Diet, Sleep - Avoiding stress: Meditation, Yoga, Holistic therapies - Maintaining
Work-life Balance: Importance of work-life balance: Changing social scene, Changing work culture,
Increased work time, Dual income families; Benefits of work-life balance: Steps to achieve work-life
balance - Spirituality and Stress Management - What is spirituality? - Importance of spirituality at
workplace: Introducing spirituality at workplace
UNIT 23 - TIME MANAGEMENT
Importance of Time Management - Analysis of Time: Time logs; Time wasters; Internal time wasters –
Personal disorientation, Procrastination, Excessive socialization, Poor communication, Inefficiency;
External time wasters - Excessive number of meetings, Interruptions, Excessive usage of internet - Time
abusers: The preemptive/proactive; The propel pleaser/YES man; The perfectionist/the analyzer -
Planning Time and Resources: Need for planning time; Components of a plan – Time factor, Rewards,
Group tasks; Types of planning; Strategies for planning time - Setting Goals and Objectives: Advantages
of goal setting, Setting goals - Planning to Achieve Goals: Scheduling; Process of scheduling:
vii

Delegating, Process of delegating; Controlling time wasters: Biological clock, Prioritize, Spiritual
planning, Accessibility, Divide time.
UNIT 24 - CREATIVITY IN MANAGEMENT
Defining Creativity: Innovation and creativity, Nature of innovation, Science of creativity, Creative
personality: Components of creativity – Fluency component, Flexibility component, Originality
component, Orientation component, Intellectual ability, Knowledge, Confidence, Stages of creativity:
Exploring, Inventing, Selecting, Implementing, Creativity in organizations - Importance of Being
Creative, Barriers to creative thinking: Fear, Anxiety, Pessimism, Stress, Environment - Developing
Creativity: Developing creative work environment, Developing creativity in teams; Creative teams -
Enhancing Creativity: Techniques of creativity, Popular Techniques to Enhance Creativity,
Brainstorming, Checklist technique, Attribute changing or listing technique, Morphological analysis,
Synaptic, delphi technique, Six thinking hats, Mind mapping, Lateral thinking, Guided visualization -
Stimulating creativity in organizations, Reverse brain-storming, Creative overloading, Creative
benchmarking, Parallel groups, Creative thinking network, Stakeholders‟ council, Creative scenario
building, Entrepreneurship, Kaizen, Creativity training, Exnovation
UNIT 25 - EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN MANAGEMENT
The Nature of Emotional Intelligence - Evolution of Emotional Intelligence - components of Emotional
Intelligence - Analyzing the Impact of Emotions at the Workplace: Negative emotions at workplace-
Inadequate team effort, Poor working conditions, Employees unsuitable for the job, Constant fear of
change, Repeated changes in organizational structure, Very high or low levels of stress, Lack of trust in
top management decisions, Lack of job security, lack of appreciation for good work, etc., Inter
departmental conflicts, Poor career growth opportunities, Poor supervision, Consequences of negative
emotions at workplace, Positive emotions at workplace, Managing emotions at workplace - Application
of Emotional Intelligence at the Workplace: Emotional intelligence and career development, Emotional
intelligence and leadership, Emotional intelligence and team building - Emotional Intelligence in Indian
Organizations - Improving Emotional Intelligence: Characteristic feature of people with high IQ or EQ,
Difference between learning emotional intelligence and cognition, Requirements for emotional
intelligence training in organizations, Guidelines for emotional intelligence training in organizations:
Stage one: preparation, Stage two: training, Stage three: application, Stage four: evaluation
UNIT 26- INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Introduction to Interpersonal Skills: Qualities – Ability to treat others in the organization with respect,
Readiness to share knowledge with others,Willingness to train others in the organization, Good negotiation
skills, Conflict-resolving skills, Readiness to accept feedback, Ability to learn from mistakes, Being
accountable forhis/heractions,Ability to align with teamgoals and personalgoals,Ability to influence others
positively: Essential interpersonal competencies for managers, Self-awareness, Control, Motivation,
Acknowledging the interests of subordinates, Communication skills - Developing Interpersonal Skills:
Developing assertiveness, Accepting responsibility, Managing conflicts, Avoiding, , Accommodating,
Competing, Collaborating, Compromising; Factors hampering interpersonal interactions: Poor listening,
Emotional arousal,Lackof time, Difference in objectives -Transactional Analysis: Ego states, Parent, Child,
Adult; Indicators of ego states – Words, Voice, Gestures, Posture, Outlook; Types of transactions;
Complementary transactions; Crossedtransactions;Ulteriortransactions; Strokes, Games, The life positions -
Transactional Analysis and Managerial Effectiveness, Transactional analysis and interpersonal
communication,Transactionalanalysis and motivation, Transactional analys is : and leadership, Autocratic,
Benevolent/Autocratic, Consultative, Participative, Democratic, Free-reign
viii

UNIT 27 - LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Leadership Skills: Developing leadership skills, Visioning skills, Leadership vision in practice;
Persuasion skills: Skeptics, Persuading skeptics, Charismatics, Persuading charismatics, Followers,
Persuading followers, Controllers, Persuading controllers, Thinkers, Persuading thinkers; Motivational
skills, General methods of motivation – Desire to be great, Communication skills, Sharing the burden of
risk, Motivating by caring, Motivating by setting difficult goals, Motivating people at different levels,
Motivating frontline staff, Motivating in times of crisis; Conflict resolution skills, Conflict need not
always be avoided, Leadership tactics, Relationships beyond the chain of command, Relations with
subordinates, Relations with superiors, Change Management Skills, Direction setting skills, Factors
resisting change, Individual resistance to change, Organizational resistance to change, Skills to
implement and communicate change, Communicating the benefits of change, Countering the arguments
productivity, Leader as a change agent - Crisis Management Skills, Crisis defined, Types of crises,
Sudden crisis, Smoldering crisis, Preventing a crisis, Plan for a crisis, Formulating strategies for dealing
with a crisis, Having written plans, Establishing clear chains of command, Identifying a crisis, Resolving
the crisis, Communication in crisis management, External communication, Internal communication, Risk
management, Decision-making under risk, Managing risk
UNIT 28 MULTI-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Understanding Different Cultures: Power distance, Masculinity Vs Feminity, Uncertainty avoidance,
Individualism Vs Collection, Long-term orientation - Need for Multi-cultural Communication Skills:
Non-verbal communication, Kinesics, Proxemics, Appearance, Posture, Eye contact, Paralanguage,
Symbolism - Being Sensitive to Different Cultures while Communicating - Common Mistakes
Committed in Cross-cultural Communication: Selecting a topic of conversation , Silence during a
conversation, Interruption during conversation, Humor in conversation, Structure of the message -
Enhancing Multi-cultural of Communication Skills: Objective, Style of communication, Integrity,
Message, Language barriers - Cultural Fluency: Developing cultural fluency, Acknowledging cultural
diversity, Organizing information according to stereotypes, Asking questions to challenge stereotypes,
Analyzing communication episodes, Generating fluent messages from other cultures
ix

CONTENTS
Multiple Choice Questions
Unit 1: Fundamentals of Communication 11
Unit 2: Nonverbal Communication 15
Unit 3: Listening 15
Unit 4: Interpersonal Skills 18
Unit 5: Negotiations 18
Unit 6: Interviewing 21
Unit 7: Group Communication 23
Unit 8: Making Presentations – Getting started 28
Unit 9: Organizing and presenting the speech 28
Unit 10: Letter writing: Writing about the routine and the pleasant 34
Unit 11: Writing about the unpleasant 34
Unit 12: Writing to persuade 34
Unit 13: Communication for Employment - Résumé 40
Unit 14: Communication for Employment – Application Letter 42
Unit 15: Writing effective Memos 44
Unit 16: Structure and Layout of letters 46
Unit 17: The Framework of a Report 48
Unit 18: Writing a Report 48
Unit 19: Managing data and using Graphics 48
Unit 20: Review of writing skills 51
Unit 21: Managerial Effectiveness – A conceptualframework 54
Unit 22: Stress Management 56
Unit 23: Time Management 58
Unit 24: Creativity in management 61
Unit 25: Emotional Intelligence in Management 64
Unit 27: Leadership and Change Management Skills 70
Unit 28: Multi-cultural Communication Skills 74
Multiple Choice Answers and Explanations
Unit 1: Fundamentals of Communication 76
Unit 2: Nonverbal Communication 78
Unit 3: Listening 78
Unit 5: Negotiations 79
x

Unit 6: Interviewing 80
Unit 7: Group Communication 81
Unit 8: Making Presentations – Getting started 83
Unit 9: Organizing and presenting the speech 83
Unit 10: Letter writing: Writing about the routine and the pleasant 86
Unit 11: Writing about the unpleasant 86
Unit 12: Writing to persuade 86
Unit 13: Communication for Employment - Résumé 88
Unit 14: Communication for Employment – Application Letter 89
Unit 15: Writing effective Memos 90
Unit 16: Structure and Layout of letters 91
Unit 17: The Framework of a Report 92
Unit 18: Writing a Report 92
Unit 19: Managing data and using Graphics 92
Unit 20: Review of writing skills 93
Unit 21: Managerial Effectiveness – A conceptualframework 95
Unit 22: Stress Management 96
Unit 23: Time Management 97
Unit 24: Creativity in management 98
Unit 25: Emotional Intelligence in Management 99
Unit 27: Leadership and Change Management Skills 102
Unit 28: Multi-cultural Communication Skills 103
xi

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
UNIT 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
Rohan was employed in the sales and marketing area of the company. The company over a
period of time observed that he was not confident speaking to customers and sometimes fumbles
for words. He would roll his eyes while speaking and make gestures in a fashion that would
annoy the customers. He was then sent for a training programon Communication skills wherein
the instructor, Ms. Raveena has begun on some basic definitions of what communication is.
Communication, per se is an:
Activity which includes Verbal and nonverbal behavior
Activity which includes Oral and written communication
Activity of conveying meaningful information between two or more participants
Activity which defines behavior and conveys information through gestures,
speech and -writings
Activity which includes contextual speech that can employ technology
Rohan is told that there are many elements in the communication process and Ms.Raveena
helps him to identify the elements of the communication process.They are
Sender , receiver, telephone,status,message,interference, feedback
Sender, receiver, channel, message, interference, feedback, context
Sender, technology,message, receiver, context, feedback, interference
Sender, channel, message, feelings, perception, receiver, feedback
Sender, receiver, information, channel, context, barriers, feedback
Ms. Raveena through a series of activities and videos tries to elucidate ______,________; the
two broad types of communication that is employed by professionals.
Oral and written communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication
Verbal and written communication
Oral and nonverbalcommunication
None of the above
Ms. Raveena informs that,In any organization, the employees are involved more than half their
time in oral communications which may be:
Reports, letters, emails, meetings
Meetings,face-to-face interactions, conferences, reports
Reports, meetings, memos, presentations
Meetings,face-to-face interactions, presentations,conferences
Both b & d
Ms. Raveena states that, “Today‟s multi-national corporation professionals concentrate on
the effectiveness of communication during delivery; laying emphasis on correctness and
concreteness of the message, having consistency and credibility. By following the 7C‟s
concept of communication”. Which one among the list below does not belong to the 7C‟s of
effective communication :
a. Concise b. Courtesy
c. Character d. Clarity
e. Concreteness
12

Multiple Choice – Questions
[For questions 6 – 7]:
Praveen works as the Corporate Communications Manager in a Fortune 500 company. Recently the
company reviewed its HR Policy. His duty was to inform to the HR Managers of all the offices in the
country who then need to pass on the information to its branch employees.
It is important for Praveen to employee the best _________ to circulate the information
a. Technology
c. Broadcast
b. Transmission
d. Channel
Computer
Praveen has to brainstorm on how he has to inform the new HR Policy keeping in mind:
a. The receiver‟s preferences b. Complexity of the message
c. Significance of the message d. Depends onthe comfort ability ofthe speaker
Depends on the comfort ability of the receiver
Harish, working in a private organization as a manager, has called for a meeting of his team
members and plans to apprise them of their performance in the previous quarter. He observes
two of his team members have not been able to complete the target and are short by 15% and
17%. Harish should effectively communicate to the non-performers by:
a. Criticizing them in front of the team b. applauding the other achievers c.
Being assertive and persuasive d. Using an aggressive tone
Begin in an aggressive tone and then motivate
Today‟s business world requires effective and efficient communication among all
hierarchical levels. Functional coordination is an important aspect to be considered when you
communicate with:
a. Peers
b. Subordinates
b. Superiors
d. Share holders
Stake holders
To establish trust among its workforce and create a positive work environment, today‟s
business establishments lay more emphasis on effective business communication. Which is the
factor not having the impact on the workforce due to ineffective communication?
a. Improved productivity
c. Better decision making
b. High information availability
d. Better team coordination
Increases grapevine
Reema is pursuing her PhD from a reputed university and after gathering all the data and
analyzing, prepared a report. She spent nearly 10 months on data analysis and report
preparation. She has now submitted her thesis for review and feedback to both the internal and
external guides. What is NOT true of feedback mechanism in this case:
Feedback to be obtained in the next two days
Feedback in the form of verbal, written and nonverbal
Feedback depends on the understanding ofthe message by the receiver
Feedback to point out the mistakes deliberately
Constructive feedback to improve the thesis document
Expendables is an organization which is modern in its approach and believes that receiving and
providing feedback is one of the ways to help the employees grow professionally and
constructive feedback was also laid down in its company policy documents. Expendables
decided that feedback at any level should be:
a. Open
c. Transparent
b. Authority only for a few
d. Accurate
Right for every employee
13

Business Communication & Soft Skills: Workbook
Tanvi has received a hike of 10% in the salary for her performance during the previous year.
Tanvi‟s teammate Sairam is very happy forhaving received 15% hike along with a transferto a
prestigious department. He incites her to fight for her rights and tries to _______ heragainst
the organization
a. Inform b. Instigate
C. Convince d. Request
Support
Mohit is demonstrating a new product „Kafe Koffee” to the members of an elite ladies club. While
demonstrating as to how easy it is to make coffee decoction of varied concentration as per the choice of
the customers, he provides them details of the wattage of the machine, how much power it consumes, the
latest technology that it works on, the programming techniques, and so on. He observes that a few of the
ladies are conversing among themselves and laughing.
What communication barrier did Mohit face?
Assumption of the speaker that the receiver can understand the message
The message conveyed is same as the received message
Change in technology distorts the message
Intellectual level of the receiver is the same as the speaker
New product features
How could have Mohit avoided the Communication barrier?
Clarity of thought and expression
Active listening, answering questions and obtaining feedback
Awareness of the audience education level
Deciding on the best format of communication
Not confusing the receivers of technology
The ladies tried to comprehend the demonstration when Mohit was preparing the coffee
decoction but later their interaction levels decreased and internal talking disturbed Mohit in his
presentation. Hence filters can arise:
In the mind of the listener
In the mind of the speaker
In the channel of communication
Both in the mind of the listener and speaker
Only c
Mohit could see that the ladies were losing their interest in the product.For Mohit to attain the
attention of his target group and persuade them to buy the product he has to be:
Accurate in his message delivery
Communicate in an understandable manner
Obtain desired action from the receiver
All the above
None of the above
While giving a speech to a heterogeneous audience,what care should Mohit
take immediately?
Use simple language and explain with examples
Use a lot of jargons and technicalities of the product
Use visual aids to explain them the technology the product has
Target only a small section of the audience
Explain only to a homogenous group
Mohit realizes that he has to build good-will with his customers. He has to change the way he
approaches the audience, since their recommendation to other Ladies clubs could enhance his
sales. While communication as a customer relationship manager Mohit should mainly focus on,
EXCEPT:
a. Bias-free language b. Hidden negatives
c. The „You‟ attitude d. Positive emphasis
d. Simplifying complex messages
14

UNIT 2: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
UNIT 3: LISTENING
Narender is a good speaker who can handle presentations with ease. His nonverbal language adds to the
meaning and value to the discussion and makes the audience connect to him easily.
What does the word ‟Non Verbal language‟ mean?
Body language
Facial expressions, gestures and postures
No verbal language
Pauses and modulation
Sending and receiving wordless cues from people
Narender‟s verbal and nonverbal messages happened concurrently and the audience felt
The message conveyed was complete
The message was conveyed more through his nonverbalmovements
The message was understood because ofhis knowledge of the topic
Verbal messages were mostly credible than nonverbal messages
Pace, pause,emphasis supported his message delivery
Piyush is going to address a bunch of teenagers at a local NGO as part of the Environment week. He
decides to include stories and facts of the earth and make it interesting for the audience.
22. To impress the young audience Piyush should mainly focus his speech on:
a. Facial expression b. Logical flow of thought
c. Contextualexpression d. „why‟ to address and „when‟ to address
„how‟ to express than „what‟ to express
Piyush concentrates on the four characteristics of paralanguage while delivering the speech.
Which one of the below is NOT a characteristic of „paralanguage‟?
a. Body language
c. Pitch of Voice
b. Tone of voice
d. Tempo
Fillers
While Piyush is delivering the speech to the teenagers, he assesses their interest through their body
language. He intern becomes enthusiastic and gets involved with his audience. Unexpectedly, a
teenager signals to him and paraphrases what he has listened. Which type of listening does this
denote?
a. Passive listening
c. Active listening
b. Evaluative listening
d. Reflective listening
Analytical listening
Ram, an MBA student from a reputed B-school, received a joboffer of a „Researcher‟ through
campus placement at „Analytics‟, a renowned market research company. As part of his first
assignment, his manager, Shyam assigns him to conduct a „Customer satisfaction survey‟ of a
brand ofautomobiles forthree months.At theend ofthe survey, he prepares a report and submits it
to his manager.His managerbecomes pleased with the quality of report presented and asks himto
present his report the next day in front of an esteemed panel. Ramprepares his
presentation with extreme care and rehearses it thoroughly.He intends to impress his manager.
While Ram is presenting the slide on „Recommendations‟, Shyam interrupts him and asks him
15

to explain the slide elaborately. Which is the type of listening that Shyam is employing at this
moment?
a. Response listening b. Reflective listening
c. Tactical listening d. Evaluative listening
ĀĀĀ ᜀ Ā ᜀ Ā ᜀ Ā
assive listening
Geeta is recently recruited by Citizens Union Bank as a Probationary Officer and has to attend a
3-day training workshop on SME banking. The workshop consists of several lectures by experts
which would aid Geeta to perform her job effectively. Geeta wants to learn as much as possible
from this workshop. An industry expert is delivering the lecture on „Customer
Relationship Management‟ in banks. Geeta is paying full attention to the speaker, but not
displaying any nonverbal cues. How can the speaker assume that Geeta is actively listening?
The listener is not asking any questions and can be thought of not receiving
the complete message
The listener tries to exhibit some non-verbal cues without her knowledge while
paying attention to the speaker which the speaker can evaluate
The listener is not showing any body movements so that it may distract the speaker
The listener tries to concentrate on the speech rather being worried about
nonverbal cues
The listener has come to the workshop to develop her skills and it is required to
actively listen
Panacea Corporate Services is conducting a recruitment drive to hire six HR Managers to its
four new branches in Karnataka. It has visited one of the reputed colleges in Bangalore. 400
applicants have applied for the job. After several rounds of the interview process, 15 were
shortlisted for the final personal interview round scheduled at 7 pm on the same day. The
interviewers were stressed out and planned to complete the process in two hours. The candidate
facing the interview should observe the panel and understand if they are not paying attention to
his answers. Which nonverbal cues help the candidate to assess the panel‟s disinterest?
Maintaining eye contact with the candidate
Nodding their head to the answers of the candidate
Fiddling with objects or moving around
Leaning slightly towards the candidate
Writing specific observations ofthe candidate
Seema and Ravi were classmates in their post-graduation andwere employedin „Clickmart‟, an
online marketing company having offices in 3 continents,as Marketing Executives.Both hadworked
very hard as a teamto redesign theweb pages, prepare suitable content and had increased the web
traffic by nearly 7% in their one year of service. Ravi was hopeful of at least
30% hike in his salary.The HR committee was in the process ofperformance appraisal and Ravi had
received a mail fromthe committee. Ravi enteredSeema‟s workstation in a huff andsaid, “I have
been working on this project day and night and even sacrificed my weekends. The last six
months, I have been multi-tasking and the results are there for everyone to see. Is this what I
deserve after a year of hard work and so many sales?” What kind of listening is Seema
employing in this case?
a. Critical listening b. Empathetic listening
c. Content listening d. Evaluative listening
Active listening
Gowri was talking to her friend on the telephone in her workstation.
could sense that Sushant was trying to listen to her conversation.
violation of ____________ space
After a few minutes, she
Gowri is upset as it is a
a. Personal b. Official
c. Psychological d. Environmental
Professional
16

Naveen, a Marketing Manager of a manufacturing company, has a German client visiting him
this morning at 11 am. He has scheduled a meeting consisting of 5 members at the Conference
Hall. Every 15 minutes a team member walks in and excuses for the delay. Naveen, himself is
stuck in a traffic jam at Hudson circle and reaches the office only by 12 noon and says
“You know, the traffic in this part of Bangalore is horrible, especially during peak hours.”
What does the German feel; which time orientation does this best characterize?
a. Poly-chronic time culture b. Mono-chronic time culture
c. Di-chronic time culture d. Chromatics time culture
Chronic time culture
Sneha worked as a physiotherapist, but after 2 years, she realized that she was not growing in
her career. She decides to do an MBA in finance. Initially she faced difficulty in subjects like
financial accounting, quantitative techniques, and financial management because of her science
background, but with her grit, hard work and determination she is on the verge of completing
her MBA. Deloitte personnel have come for campus placement and she is appearing for the
personal interview. The interviewer is standing, leaning on to the table and peering at her asking
very tough questions. What does he observe fromher body language that makes himfeel she is
confident?
Slouching
Looking at her writing pad while answering
Resting her back and sitting comfortably
Jittery voice
d.Shaking hands and legs
Rahul works in a software firm as a Public Relations Manager in Hyderabad and had an appointment with
the Manager of the British firm „Softronics‟ in their London office at 4 pm on
Friday. He had prepared his project proposal with extreme care and had proofread many times
to eliminate any errors. He was very confident that he could obtain the deal which was very
crucial for him at this point of his career. He had chosen Friday dressing, groomed himself well,
carried multiple copies of the documents neatly filed and reached the venue as per schedule. The
meeting went through but he could feel the cold response of the Manager and could sense
something wrong. What do you think was wrong with Rahul?
a. Kinesics b. Proxemics
c. Chromatics d. Chronemics
Haptics
FIFA 2014 has enticed people of all nations to converge at Brazil. When USA played with
Ghana the American spectators were holding their index and middle finger in the shape of
a “V” sign which means victory. V sign in France means “worthless” or “Zero”. In Japan,
V sign denotes money. But these gestures are understood by public at large and have a huge
impact on our communication. These signs come under:
a. Emblems b. Adaptors
c. Illustrators d. Regulators
Affective displays
17

UNIT 4: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
UNIT 5: NEGOTIATIONS
Kaushik worked in an FMCG company as a Retail Manager for the past one year and had an
exemplary performance. He was awarded Employee of the Quarter two times and was expecting
a growth in his career ladder. He was having his lunch when one of his teammates asked himto
check his mail for some important information. Leaving his lunch half way through, he went
and checked his mail. The company had organized a dinner at a 5-star hotel to employees who
had performed well in the past financial year and he was one of them. He enters the venue to see
the top management already present there. He was surprised when the Global Head – Marketing
division shakes hand with him and pats him on his shoulder. What message did Kaushik
interpret from this gesture?
a. Intimacy and close relationship b. Appreciation and support
c. Superiority d.Sincerity and concern
Self-important and aloof
Sireesh works for an IT company as a Software Engineer. His wife, Shagun is employed as a
journalist. They have a daughter, Shivani who goes to kindergarten. Every day it is Sireesh‟s
responsibility to drop Shivani to school, Shagun to her office and then reach his office. Off late,
he is reaching his office late by 15 to 20 minutes. Today his Manager is standing near
Sireesh‟s cabin and says, ”I have been covering up for your late coming with the Regional
Manager, whenever he calls for an early morning briefing and you have crossed the limit. “The
Manager is:
a. Exhibiting his superiority b. Showing Empathy
c. Criticizing him d. admonishing him
Using Descriptive “I” language
Cuboid, is an infrastructure company which has recently signed an agreement with Buoyant Drinks
to build their cool-drink factory premises in Nagpur. Cuboid believes in maintaining positive
relationships with all its stakeholders. The HR policy reiterates that each employee is
significantly worthy, treated with respect and can carve his own identity. Abhiram, a Research
Associate of Cuboid was assigned the responsibility of conducting a survey of the land and
other amenities near the outskirts of Nagpur and to present his report on the feasibility of the
establishment of the factory. He prepares a well-researched report and presents it before the
panel consisting of the parent company and the clients. Which response of the panel do you
think shows their open-mindedness in their approach?
I think you should have made the report the way I wanted it, not the way you want to
Your report here suggests that among the three possible locations, the second is more
feasible, could you elaborate on the second once again?
We cannot come to a conclusion on which is the suitable one. You need to work hard
You should have surveyed the availability of water and raw material in much more detail. I
think your suggestion is stupid
The survey and report has no clarity, taking a decision on this report is risky
Rajani was a brilliant student in her school days and always obtained the praise of her teachers. She was
hardworking, meticulous in her tasks and was detail-oriented. She joined an IT company as an IT trainee
engineer and her boss, Shalini was very appreciative of her work. Shalini would motivate her team to
brainstorm, think of new ideas, and would insist on performing with zeal and passion. Rajani was so
influencedby her that she would sometimes work till late in the nights andduring weekends. Rajani‟s
progress and initiative was appreciated by the management and she was posted to another project.
18

Initially Rajani was enthusiastic but a few months later, she could feel that her energy levels had
decreased and that reflected in her performance. She was upset with the office environment and
sometimes willed to stay at home without any reason.
What could be the reason for Ragini to be upset?
Her Manager disapproved ideas and suggestions
She had lost interest in the new project
She had to learn new technical skills
She felt stressful, her body and mind did not cooperate
Her Manager dictated the way he wanted
Rajani should try hard to come out of this situation as she was a career-oriented girl and wanted
to grow and progress in her career in a fast pace. How should she face this conflict in her life?
a. By competing b. By accommodating
c. By collaborating d. By compromising
By avoiding
Shakeelruns a travel agency„Holidays‟ and has been successful ingaining agood clientele in
Sadashivnagar. He is now interested in opening a new branch in Indiranagar and requires some
furniture for the new office. He contacts Brand Furniture for their quotation. Bala, the Sales
Manager promptly sends him the quotation and a brochure of their products. He observes that
the cost of the products is quite high. Bala, in the meanwhile, calls him and wishes to fix an
appointment with him. Shakeel has also obtained quotations from other furniture shops. What
approach of negotiation would Shakeel like to follow?
a. Lose – Lose b. Win – Win
b. Bargain d. Compromise
Collaborate
Kishan is the Branch Manager of the Government Grameena bank at Ramanagaram for 8 years
and sees an advertisement of a private bank wanting to start its rural operations and inviting
applications for the position of Branch Manager. After a month or so, Kishan is called for a
personal interview at their State Head Office. Kishan attends a few rounds of interview and they
offer Kishan a hike of 10% on his CTC while Kishan expresses he is expecting at least 20 –
25% hike as the work load and responsibilities are more. What negotiation tactics should the
private bank personnel employ as Kishan is a suitable candidate?
Compromise on the salary with a hike of 20%
Lessen his responsibilities and employ an assistant for him
Compromise for a hike of 12%, with performance based incentives and benefits
Promise him the hike after his first year performance review
Hire a fresher with low salary and train him
Bhaskar is a dealer of Star Bikes and has sold over 20000 bikes of their X-lent brand exclusively
manufactured for ladies. He has received a mail from the Management of Star Bikes that the
welding in the handle bar is faulty and to recall the bikes sold after May 2014. Bhaskar has to
personally call the customers and inform them of X-lent Recharge Campaign wherein the faulty
handle will be repaired and also a free service of the bike would be done with no extra cost to
the customer. What tactics can the dealer employ while negotiating with the customers?
State the problems faced while manufacturing and overpower the customer
Defend the organization and get into a „give-and-take‟ mode
Ignore the mail and inconvenience caused to the customer
Offer free petrol worth Rs. 500 and a helmet for first 1000 customers
Win the confidence of the customer and be transparent about the benefits the customer
is going to receive
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Sumanth is working for a publishing house as the Sales Head and has a team of six Sales
executives under him. He observes that Karanth is doing extremely well in his job, but when it
comes to completing the office formalities like reporting his sales, arriving on time for weekly
briefings, he sounds arrogant and also behaves bossy with his fellow teammates, sometimes
even taunting them for not being successful. Sumanth observes him for some time and decides
to talk to him. Choose the best approach that Sumanth should employ in this case:
Be aggressive and reprimand him for his misbehavior
List out the issues at hand, be assertive of what expectations are from the team
Warn him and inform him about the repercussions
Be lenient with him and give him anotherchance
Make fun of his shortcomings in front of his team mates
Avni is working for Silkpro, a cosmetics manufacturing company as an HR manager in
Chennai. She recently got married to an entrepreneur in Delhi and requests for a transfer to the
Head Office. To get her request sanctioned, which of the following skills will increase her
prospects?
a. Conversation and negotiation skills b. Aggressive communication
c. Logical communication d. Emotional communication
Ability to demand and dominate
20

UNIT 6: INTERVIEWING
Arundhati Foods manufactures biscuits and has been in the business for the past 6 years. They
have gained a market share of about 9% and some of their products have made a name in the
market. Recently, the company is facing labor issues and the production department is under
lockout for more than a week. The management had discussions with the union and figured out
the problems faced by the workers. The management decided and instructed the HR department
to identify a Counselor to deal and solve the problems of the workers. Each individual worker
can approach the Counselor with his problems and expect solutions. What interpersonal
communication does this come under?
a. Disciplinary interview b. Persuasiveinterview
c. Appraisalinterview d. Behavioralinterview
Counseling interview
Karthik is in the third semester of his MBA and has secured 7.5 CGPA till his second semester. Campus
placement interviews are in the offing and Karthik had applied for Global Data Services for the position
of Analyst. The job required good analytical and numerical skills, attention to detail and problems olving
skills. Karthik researched and prepared a cover letter and résumé and submitted to the placement
department. He cleared the aptitude test, group discussion, and technical round with ease. The last round
of interview „personal interview‟ began with a panel of three members. The questions were like
this:
Tell me something about yourself
Why does the „Analyst‟ profile interest you?
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
Tell us something about your achievements?
How do the interviewers want to employ the information provided by the candidate?
Explore the potential of the candidate in various areas
Provide an opportunity to the candidate to reveal his emotional feelings with
intelligence
Elicit precise data as written in his cover letter and résumé
All of the above
Both b & c
Karthik also faced some questions as given below. Which question did the panel ask to decide
his attitude and behavior towards work?
If you were asked to work for extended hours and during weekends, would you?
Do you understand politics?
Are you knowledgeable of our recent merger with a Netherlands company?
Were you able to convince teenagers to donate blood?
Did you fare bad in your 12th Mathematics paper?
f.
Praneeth had applied for the Sales Executive position at Electrix, a retail store dealing with consumer
durables and was called for a personal interview at 10 am on Saturday. He had about two years of
parttime experience in his family business which deals with electric appliances like fans, geysers,
switches, etc.
21

How should Praneeth prepare for the interview?
Dress informally since it is a Saturday
Research about the company
Provide documents later, if asked for
Reach at 10:30 am due to traffic snarls
Carry brochures of the products that he sells in his family business
The interviewer at Electrix poses some questions to Praneeth during the course of the interview.
Which question should Praneeth not answer and why?
What experience do you have in handling customers?
What were the responsibilities you handled in your family business?
You have only 60% in your graduation. Why so?
Which religion do you belong to?
Why should we hire you?
Tanuj is the Project Director in a KPO industry. He has received a mail to consolidate the ratings of
4 Managers and their teams. He needs to critically analyze and give ratings to the best teamand
also identify the best performer. As per the mandate, one of the teammembers in each teamwill
receive the lowest grading for whom the consequences might be severe. He/ She may be fired
from the company. Tanuj expects chaos within the department and decides to call the Managers
for an individual discussion to think of the modalities of awarding the ratings. This kind of
interaction comes under:
a. Psychological interview b. Stress interview
c. Performance Appraisal interview d. Situational interview
Screening interview
22

UNIT 7: GROUP COMMUNICATION
Paper Mache is a paper manufacturing company located in Orissa. They are involved in raw
material procurement, conversion of raw material into finished goods and supply of goods into
the market. The various functions that happen in tandem are purchasing, marketing, HR,
finance, production and operations, technical, supply chain and logistics, maintenance, to name
a few. Teamwork is an essential component in industries and group performance surpass
individual work. What is the type of team that includes inter-department communication at
Paper Mache in this case?
a. Informal team b. Operations team
c. Production team d. Cross-functional team
Sales and marketing team
Sirish is selected as an intern in Siti bank for their financial products and services division for three
months. His job is to sell mutual funds. He is placed in a team consisting of Gaurav, Kiran, and Saurabh
who belong to Rockford B-School. In the initial two weeks, everything went fine as the team was
undergoing training and had to clear the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) examination.
Teamwork helped to gain and exchange information and all four could clear the examination. The team
was then sent to the field and productivity decreased within the next two weeks.
51. What factors in-group communications led to fall in productivity?
a. Group size b. Longevity of the group
c. Perception and self-concept d. Lack of Leadership
Status among group members
Several factors lead to group dynamics and groups work together to accomplish some objective.
Communication among team members is vital in completing the tasks. What group maintenance
roles, do you think did not happen, leading to conflicts in the above-mentioned team consisting
of Sirish, Gaurav, Kiran and Saurabh, when they went to the field to contact probable
customers?
a. Encouraging b. Withdrawing
c. Harmonizing d. Compromising
Only c & d
Kavita runs a Self-Help group center employing women and helping them to earn their
livelihood. The company‟s products like papad, pickles, bamboo chairs, coir bags, paintings,
embroidered cloth and accessories have a niche market. Kavita is busy all the time participating
in exhibitions, festival-sale counters and sometimes in multi-brand retail outlets. She has
appointed Srushti as her assistant who takes care of the day-to-day operations. Srushti observes
that the company has a good number of young mothers who have small babies to take care.
These young women have to take small breaks in between their jobs either to care of their ill
babies or to feed them. Srushti decides to solve the problem of these young women and also to
increase their productivity. Which group decision-making process best suits for this situation?
a. Reflective thinking b. Orientation, Conflict, Emergence and Reinforcement
c. Brainstorming d. Nominal group technique
Any of a, c & d
Amaan works in Softpro, an IT company as a Trainee Engineer. He completed his engineering
in Computer Science from Mumbai University and got campus placement at Softpro. After
completing around two years, he has been promoted as Team Leader and handles a team of 10
software engineers working across borders. Every Monday afternoon, there is a teambriefing
23

through video conference discussing the issues at hand.The major challenge faced by Amaan in
effectively communicating to the entire group is:
a. Task-oriented member‟s
c. Team-oriented member‟s
b. Self-oriented members
d. Culture differences
Answers a, b & c
Shivram passed his MBA from a college in Chennai and obtained a job in Delhi as a Sales
Manager with a lucrative salary package at Aqua Regia Water Bottling Company. He was
conversant with two languages: Tamil and English but to his astonishment all his teammembers
either knew Hindi or Punjabi and most of the time communicated only in those two languages
much to the discomfiture of Shivram. Shivram tried hard to develop a good relationship with the
team. He could also understand that there were regional differences within the Hindi/Punjabi
speaking members as well. What reasons led to teamfailure in this case?
a. Absence of positive team bonding b. Poor communication within the team
c. The issue of baggage d. Both a & b
Both a & c
Keerthi, Jaya and Pramod joined Metastatix, a market research organization as Research Associates after
several rounds of interviews conducted across India. They were given an ass ignment to conduct a survey
on the selection of apps by smart phone customers. This involved a lot of research on the knowledge of
apps, benefits to the customers, and the cost of the apps and so on. The team diligently prepared a
questionnaire and conducted the survey for a sample of 1000 across three cities. They analyzed the
survey using modern methods of data analysis which they learnt after attending a workshop during
weekends. They prepared the report of the study and presented it to their supervisor, Mr. Madan. Madan
was not happy with the way the analysis was done as he knew only the traditional way of analysis. He
strongly instructed them that he cannot consider the report and forced themto follow the way he wanted
to. Being new to the organization, all the three decide to follow as the supervisor said.
56. What challenges are the new recruits facing while working in the team?
a. Groupthink b. Baggage
c. Blockers d. Knowledge of traditional means
Status
In the above case, what challenges do you think is Mr. Madan,the supervisorfacing with a new set
of young eager, enthusiastic,and knowledgeable team members?
a. Poorlearning capabilities b. Baggage of experience
c. Blockers d. Groupthink
Answers a, b and c
[For questions 58 -59]:
After every project is done and approved by the senior authorities, PromaxIT Solutions allows the teams
to have a one day outing or get together by sanctioning an amount of Rs. 5000/- for the same. The team
members along with their Team Manager, Mr Harsh Singh sit for a discussion. A few members suggest
to go to a movie and lunch at the newly openedmall, a few suggestto visit a resort in the outskirts of the city,
another suggests that they shouldonly book for a „pure vegetarian‟ restaurant. Lata makes it clear
that she cannot be away after 7 pmas she has to pick up her daughter fromthe crèche and would not like
to participate in the outing.
24

58. What strategies would Mr. Harsh Singh employ to resolve this conflict?
a. Collaborating
c. Compromising
b. Competing
d. Accommodating
Avoiding
What conflict resolutionis Lata employing in the above case?
a. Collaborating b. Competing
c. Compromising d. Accommodating
Avoiding
Rajkiran takes over as the Senior Manager of a well- known MNC. He has been in this job for the past
one month and observes that in a particular project, the team has been reduced to half in the last six
months. He looks at the profiles of the persons who have left and understands that they were working for
the company for more than 4 years. He conducts further investigations and learns that there was no
positive bonding between the Manager in-charge, Sukriti, an MBA from IIM and the team. The Manager
was newly appointed just 6 months ago and since then there has been an exodus of employees.
What will Rajkiran instruct Sukriti regarding Superior-Subordinate relationship building?
Praise achievements in public but criticize them in private, help in positive team
bonding
Personally identify problems within the team and solve their issues
Bring in politics within the team and try to find a few favorite team players
Both a & b
Both b & c
What factors in-group communication should Sukriti, the Manager keep in mind to develop a
healthy relationship between Superior – Subordinate in the above case?
a. Size of the group b. Longevity of the group
c. Leadership and Status d. Perception and SelfConcept
All of the above
Rajkiran also learns that some more team members in the above-mentioned team are looking out
for jobs and may soon leave the company. What would he suggest to those teammembers?
Take time to understand the Manager,be professional and work as desired by her,
taking care of the deadlines
Argue with the Manager and say that you have been in this company for 4 years and
can understand and handle the project better
Delay in informing the work progress to her as they think she doesn‟t know about
the project
The less the communication with her the better, hence report to your Manager‟s
superior and keep her away from the loop
Resign from this company and search for a betterjob
Rita works for Chroma-tone Paints Company and is heading the Training and Development
Department. There are 10 professionals working under her. Through grapevine, Rita hears that
the department may be scrapped as it is proving to be expensive. She also comes to know that it
may be outsourced to some small company as per need and bring down the budget of the
training unit. But as the Head, she knows the amount of contribution provided by her teamthat
has helped in improving the efficiency of the sales people and thereby increase the revenue
generation for the company. How does Rita plan to resolve the conflict?
a. Avoiding b. Competing
c. Compromising d. Collaborating
Accommodating
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Shiksha works as the Marketing Head of Hertiage Products. The company has a chain of desi
stores dealing with furnishing, clothing, accessories, jute bags and mats, recycled paper, honey
in all the metros in the country and want to establish stores abroad als o. Shiksha is sent to
London for a month as part of the Incredible India campaign which highlights Indian culture and
desi products on company expenditure. She tries to promote her services through kiosks,
exhibitions, fashion shows and so on. During weekends she visits the Big Ben, Trafalgar
Square, Madam Tussauds museum and posts the pictures on Facebook. She takes care to buy
small mementoes to her team also. When she comes back to her office she overhears from her
colleagues that she was very lucky to have gone abroad and has been utilizing office money in
enjoying the trip. How does she resolve this conflict?
a. Compromise
c. Accommodate
b. Compete
d. Avoid
Confront
Ceraglass, a ceramics and cutlery manufacturing company from Bhopal has been doing very well in the
market. Their Purple Daisy collection and Pink Blossom collection has been appreciated widely. Several
articles in interior decoration magazines have also mentioned the designer crockery sets that are available
at affordable prices. This prompted the company to sell its products online. Due to the huge response and
growing sales, the management wants to open its retail outlets in all the metros in India. They plan to
conduct a meeting with its stakeholders.
65. What is the type of meeting that has to be planned by Ceraglass in this case?
a. Change facilitating meeting
c. Problem-solving meeting
b. Informational meeting
d. Board meeting
Decision making meeting
Ceraglass has entrusted Neethu, personal secretary to the Chairman to plan the meeting. Neethu
understands the culture of Ceraglass well and knows she has to make arrangements keeping in
mind; that the decisions can be taken when the meeting happens effectively; focusing on the
issue, facilitating opinions and encouraging discussions. What care should Neethu take before
calling for a meeting?
Identify the number and status ofpeople who should attend
Prepare a Notice, mentioning the venue and time of the meeting
Set a clear agenda for the meeting
Allocate ample time for each point to be discussed
All of the above
Daniel, Regional Managerof an FMCG company has informed Mitha, his Secretary that he wants to
conduct a meeting of the sales executives of the region and asked her to prepare a Notice.
67. Comment on the Notice prepared by Mitha:
Today’s meeting is going to be held at 3 pm on the topic already mentioned yesterday at the coffee
room regarding sales of the new product. All are instructed to be present with the necessary data
a. Incomplete
c. Concise
b. No clarity
d. Both a & b
No problem
26

Mitha also has enclosed the Agenda after preparing the Notice for the meeting. What are your
observations ofthe agenda?
Agenda:
Meeting at 3 pm
3: 05 Talk by the Manager
3:10 Discussion on New product
3:20 Customer behavior
3:30 Tea/Coffee
3:45 Data analysis
4:00 Vote of thanks by Secretary
No Clarity on Topics of discussion
Time allocated for each discussion less
Inaccurate on where, why is it being conducted
Inaccurate on who should attend the meeting
All of the above
The meeting was over with a lot of chaos and Daniel, the Manager advised Mitha to be more
careful in the future. He also assigned her to prepare the minutes of the meeting and take his
approval before forwarding to the attendees. Mitha knows that the minutes of a meeting is the
record of discussions and decisions taken for every point of agenda. What care should she take
while preparing the minutes of the meeting?
Mention the name of the person
Write in past tense
Be Precise
Mention the decisions taken on each point on agenda
All of the above
If there is chaos when a meeting is being held, the Chairperson can use his discretionary powers
to control by:
Getting up and shouting at the persons causing disturbance
Raising his hand and indicating that the discussion should come to a close
Ring an alarm/ bell indicating them to stop
Steer away the discussion to anothertopic
Close the meeting abruptly
During the course of the meeting, the Chairperson finds there are persons who are attention
seekers and always want their point to be heard and intrude during the discussion. What
measures can the Chairperson take?
Be assertive and Signal them to listento another‟s point of view
Confront and abuse them in front of everyone
Avoid them
Listen to their ideas first
Order them to maintain decorum
Now – a –days, many organizations conduct virtual meetings through web- conferencing
(Skype) and video conference. What care should the members take while appearing for these
meetings?
Have a technician ready for any technical issues
Be well-groomed and face the camera while speaking, speak slow and coherently
Forward documents/ data to all the members if they need to make preparation
Ensure all the attendees have the same technical equipments (both hardware and
software requirements)
All of the above
27

UNIT 8: MAKING PRESENTATIONS – GETTING STARTED
UNIT 9: ORGANIZING AND PRESENTING THE SPEECH
Mamata owns a designer garment store, Marigold, which is known for its collection of saris, dress
materials, western wear and Indian tops. She has established her own niche clientele in her city. Sh e is
now participating in a designer exhibition held at a 5-star hotel in Hyderabad. She is exhibiting the new
collection to her esteemed clientele, explaining the texture of the fabric, the nuances of embroidery, etc.
73. What kind of a speech is Mamata delivering?
a. Entertaining speech b. Informative speech
c. Persuasive speech d. Confrontationalspeech
Motivational speech
While speaking to the customers and to communicate the purpose more effectively, Mamata
needs to analyze and understand her customers. Due to her experience, she is aware of what
kind of customers come to her store. What else does she need to analyze about her customers to
design clothes as per customer demands?
a. Geographicallocation ofthe customers b. Age ofthe customers
c. Gender of the customer‟s d. Status levelofthe customers
Annual income of the customers
Harish is a parent who has a 17-year-old son, Ganesh, who has just completed his 12th exams.
Ganesh wants to join engineering andhas applied for a few universities. Harish receives a call from
SriVani University and enquires about Ganesh‟s preferences of the branch of engineering.
They invite him for a personal meeting at the University. The Marketing department takes them
around the University and explains the benefits of taking admission there. They try to convince
Ganesh that it is the best college, by telling about the infrastructure, faculty, and placements.
The Marketing department also informs you that they will give a discount of 25% from the
annual fees and provide additional technical certifications worth Rs. 1 lakh, if they admit
Ganesh into this college within 7 days. What is the kind of speech being employed by the
Marketing department?
a. Entertaining speech b. Informative speech
c. Persuasive speech d. Confrontationalspeech
Analytical speech
Rohit is in his final year of his post-graduation. During the last two semesters, the college runs a
placement-training program to all its students to prepare them for the ongoing placement
processes of different companies. The facilitator in the Training Program is conducting a JAM
session where Rohit has to pick up a topic and speak for one minute. What method of speaking
does it come under?
a. Speaking frommemory b. Impromptu delivery
c. Extemporaneous delivery d. Speaking using a manuscript
All of the above
Manas joined as a Sales executive forone ofthe publishinghouses and the company has recently forayed into
e-books. Manas‟s job was to give presentations about e-books to severalclients and todayhe has an
appointment to address the students ofone of the graduate colleges.
28

What should Manas NOT DO:
Understand the age level and expertise of the audience and adapt his speech
Should carry handouts to make his presentation more effective
Carry the same power point presentation he used at the IT conclave the previous week
Arrive at least one hour early to check the technology requirements for his presentation
Carry Company brochures which mention information about its products
Manas while addressing the students should bearin mind to:
Use his gestures in a natural and appropriate way
Reflect and respond to questions
Speak slow and make it interesting so that the audience‟s focus is not diverted
Open some samples of e-books to connect to audience
All of the above
While addressing to the students of the graduate students, Manas‟s method of speech delivery
would be:
a. Extemporaneous delivery b. speaking from memory
c.Impromptu delivery d.Speaking using a manuscript
Reading from handouts and brochures
Sakshiis studyingherMBA first year.As part oftheircontinuous evaluation,each student has to presentona
topic for 5 minutes.Sakshi chose the topic „Cadbury chocolates‟.She took extreme care
while preparing the slides as suggested by her faculty and rehearsed on how to speak since she had never
spoken in front of an audience till then. On the day of her presentation,she started well and the audience
was also very interested to listen on seeing the topic. But after a minute or so, the audience‟s interest
could not be captured and they were talking among themselves.
80. What problem did Sakshi face?
a. Eye contact b. Slide preparation
c. Monotonous Tone d. Facial expression
a, c and d
Why couldn‟t Sakshi make the audience connect to herinteresting topic?
a. Lack of Confidence b. Nervousness
c. Excitement d. Loss of memory
Stiff body postures
What problems on voice delivery do the candidates face while presenting to an audience even
after enough preparation?
a. Variation of pitch b.Variation of rate of speech
c. Correct pronunciation d.fumbling for correct vocabulary
All of the above
Sounak also had to give the presentation and he chose „Samsung Mobile phones‟ as his topic.
While preparing the slides he planned it well on how to begin, what topics to cover, and the end.
He also included some pictures to explain the products of Samsung. It was an interesting topic
and could have easily scored high marks for his presentation skills. But the case was not so.
What could be the reason?
a. Pictures on the slide b. Paragraphs on the slide
Dark Slide background and light font d. No Animation
Big Font size
29

What visual aspects of delivery did Sakshi and Sounak realize is important to obtain the
attention of the audience after getting feedback for their presentation?
a. Quality of gestures andposture b. Movements on the stage
c. Eye contact and facial expression d. Body orientation with the audience
ᜀ Ā ᜀ Ā ᜀ Ā ᜀ
ll the above
Harsha has picked up the topic on „Critical review of an advertisement‟ for his continuous
evaluation. He is usually a dramatist and he wanted to attract the audience interest. He
downloaded video-clippings to highlight his points. What kind of a speech should Harsha focus
on?
a. PersuasiveSpeech b. Entertainment Speech
c. Analytical speech d. Informative Speech
Both c & d
If you have chosen the topic on „Budget 2014‟, what kindof a speech it would be?
a. Informative speech b. Entertainment speech
c. Analytical speech d. Persuasive speech
Impromptu speech
What kindof a speechdelivery would you choose for the topic „Budget2014‟?
a.Impromptu delivery b. Manuscript delivery
c. Speaking frommemory d. Extemporaneous delivery
None of the above
To explain some facts and figures you can include graphs,and can prepare handy notes by:
a. Taking notes on A4 paper b. Taking colored cue cards
c. Carrying a note-pad d. Memorizing the numerical figures
Placing the figures in one corner of the slide
When you are delivering a topic like „Budget 2014‟ you observe it is very difficult to
engage the audience and keep their interest levels high. What steps do you need to take?
a. Involve the audience in the discussion b. Increase your voice levels
c. Use humor d. Serve tea/coffee time to time
Shout at them to listen to you
In a 3-day training workshop conducted by the organization for newly inducted employees in Cochin,
through training facilitators mostly from the local sources.
Garima Singh could not understand the accent of one of the speakers. Should Garima
Let her mind wander rather than listening to the speaker
Imitate his accent in front of other employees
List the key words and assimilate the information
Play with her smart phone under the desk
Talk to her neighbor about the speaker
Nitin Gupta who was a participant in the training workshop was eager to learn as much as
possible as this would help himin his future projects. He has some questions to ask the speaker.
Should he ________?
Interrupt the speaker and put forth his questions
List down the questions and askthem at the end of the speech
Be scared of the speaker‟s position and think to try to find answers himself
30

Wait for the break-time and then try to seek answers
Ask his friend sitting next to him
The speaker here finds some newly inducted employees yawning. What indication does the
speaker understand from the above case?
Employees are tired after their long journey
It is time for their afternoon nap
The speech is boring
They want to get more information from the speaker
They want the speaker to stop
What steps do they need to take immediately to gain the audience attention as it is a very important
topic for their project?
a. Relate an incident orquote examples b. Play a game or showa video clipping
c. Ask a question d. Both a and b
All of the above
Vidya Balan is being interviewed by the TV channel after she gets the Best actress Filmfare
award. This speech is an example of:
a. Impromptu speech b. Speaking frommemory
c. Extemporaneous speech d. Speech based on manuscript
Entertainment speech
Karan Johar and Kapil Sharma are two anchors in the Annual Filmfare Awards function. What
kind of speech do they deliver?
a. Extemporaneous speech b. Speech based on manuscript
c. Impromptu speech d. Both a & b
Speaking from memory
The introduction ofa speechcan have the following elements
a. An anecdote,a fable, a parable b. A quotation or an analogy
c. An expert‟s opinion d. Research data
Any of the above
Conclusion of a speech can be done by:
Adding points which you forgot to tell them
Summarizing the main points
Telling them what you are going to tell them
Telling them what you wanted to tell them
Telling them why you wanted to tell them
Sudhir is an SIP (Summer Internship Program) intern. During the last week of SIP, he submits the report
to his faculty guide and company guide. They ask himto make a presentation for 20 minutes the next day
on the report submitted by him.
A presentation is preferred in organizations because:
Feedback is instant (through audience interaction)
Aids in decision making
Presenter can gain more visibility
Understanding of the report becomes easier
All of the above
31

Sudhir has done a customer satisfaction survey and has a huge data of 25 questions answered by
a sample of 200 customers. What would be the best mode of presenting this data to his faculty
and company guides?
Showing the excel sheet containing the data
Plotting graphs for each question
Analyze the data and present only relevant points
Forget the data and only give recommendations
Answers a & b
While preparing his SIP report, Sudhir conducts a lot of research, learns SPSS software for
analysis of data and works on formatting the report. He then comes across a similar kind of
report on the internet. He thinks he can use some information, flow charts and pictures fromthat
report to make it more appealing. After final submission, his faculty guide rejects his report and
asks him to work on it again. What could be the reason?
a. Plagiarism b. incomplete data analysis
c. Report not in logical order d. Informal language
Lack of formatting
Sriram was an employee in the sales department at Decathlon, a sports gear manufacturing company. He
was supposed to give a presentation on the quarterly sales of his teamto the Sales Director. He decided
to prepare a PPT to aid him in his speech.
While making presentation,Sriram should take care to:
Introduce his project with a paragraph of five lines
Use dark green slide design with grey font
Include flow charts and graphs on one slide
Use colorful pictures and animated gifs on his slide
Keep one idea per slide
Sriram has to follow a logical order to present the data to the Sales Director. Sriram can select how
to present his report in one of these ways:
a. Flip charts b. Video clippings
c. Models d. Handouts
Audio clippings
Prakruthi Infrastructure Company is well known for constructing public buildings, schools, IT parks, etc.
Sahana was a qualified postgraduate who worked for Prakruthi Infrastructure Company as a Senior
Architect. She has been working on planning and designing the structure of a management school for a
prominent education company in a vast area of land in the city outskirts. Sahana and her team have to
give a presentation of her plan and design to their clients.
What steps should Sahana take before she meets her clients?
Prepare her plans and designs as per client requirements
Use the right medium to present
Support her ideas with solid evidence
Prepare on the questions that might arise
All of the above
32

Sahana should choose the right visual aid/ medium to present her architectural plan and design.
Which among these is the best for this kind of a presentation?
a. Overheads b. Model
c. Video clippings d.Chalk and white boards
Flip charts
The audience in the presentation would like to clarify Sahana‟s design by posing a few
questions to her. What should Sahana do?
Make it clear to them that she will answer after her presentation is over
Say that she cannot hear the question and avoid the person
Paraphrase the question as an introduction to her answer and resolve the query
She should tell the person that she will meet him separately and answer his queries
Start the discussion on the question immediately with the audience
33

UNIT 10: LETTER WRITING: WRITING ABOUT THE ROUTINE AND THE PLEASANT
UNIT 11: WRITING ABOUT THE UNPLEASANT
UNIT 12: WRITING TO PERSUADE
Abhishek wants to renew his car insurance. He tries to find out the different policies from
different general insurance companies. He writes a letter to find the best possible policy for him.
What kind of a letter is this?
a. Enquiry letter b. Claim letter
c. Purchase letter d. Order letter
Adjustment letter
The Marketing team has just received an email from their Marketing Manager, Sarah Jones.
Which kind of letter does this come under?
To: Marketing team
Subject: Annual dinner
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, we had previously arranged to conduct our Annual dinner on 3rd August, 2014 at Hotel
Parkz. Due to unforeseen circumstances we are holding our Annual Dinner a few days thereafter; on 8th
August 2014 at Hotel Solitaire at 7 p.m. Rooms are booked at the same venue for the night for the
employees who travel to the Head Office from other locations.
Please send me the confirmation that you will be available for the event by 5th August,2014.
Looking forward to seeing you all there
Best Regards,
Sarah Jones,
Marketing Manager
a. Sales letter b. Enquiry letter
c. Routine letter d. Information letter
Inconvenience letter
Vishal, working as a Manager in an MNC, is a frequent flyer of Tempest Airlines. He has just
landed at Amsterdam and finds that his luggage is missing. Immediately he logs on to his laptop
and writes an email to the Airlines. Which type of a letter is he writing?
a. Service letter b. Claim letter
c.Inconvenience letter d. Enquiry letter
Complaint letter
West Watch Corporation (WWC) received an order from a reputed IT company for 200 watches, both
male and female variants, to be given as corporate gifts for Deepavali. The order did not specify the color
of the dial and the number of male and female styles.
109. What kind of a letter does Raksha, the Marketing Managerof WWC write to the IT Company?
a. Routine letter b. Deductive letter
c. Inductive letter d. Claim letter
Persuasive letter
34

Due to a rise in the demand of the products, the Production department at West Watch
Corporation decided to change the timings from 8 am to 6:30 am for the last two weeks of
September. Which kind of letter should the HR department write while conveying the message
to the employees in the production department?
a. Inductive letter b. Deductive letter
c. Routine letter d. Claim letter
Adjustment letter
Indira, fromthe purchasing department ofSanjana SheetMetalWorks recently boughta Kashmiri woolen
carpet from a reputed retail store „Wools world‟ for her office premises.It was lightblue in
color and matched well with the interiors of her office in an industrial plant. The company had also
given a guarantee forone yearon theproduct.Due to some carelessness andill maintenance,a fewstains
stood out from the carpet and made it look ugly. She writes a letter to „Wools world‟ for a replacement
or cleaning of the carpet, hoping a person would be sent to clean those stains right away. But she
receives a reply to her letter as below:
“The letter is in response to yourletter of June 25 asking for replacement of your stained Kashmiri
woolen carpet. You purchased a pale blue colored carpet, but then installed it in an industrial plant.
This represents a misuse of the product. I have no control over the care and use of the carpet after it
has been installed”.
What are the basic rules the company‟s Public Relations Department had not adhered
while framing this kind of letter?
a. Building rapport with the client b. Needs and expectations of the client
“You” attitude while communicating d. Maintaining goodwill with the client
All of the above
Wools World‟s PR (Public Relations)personin the above case has to develop goodwill among
its customers andhasto act fast.Whatcan he do to reverse the illfeelings ofthe customer?
Write an apology letter immediately
Write a letter offering him a gift voucher
Write a long and detailed response
Write a rejection letter with a direct „no‟
Write to him to approach the senior management
Ravishankar owns „Elektronics‟, a dealers‟ showroom where he sells electronic goods like TVs, washing
machines, laptops, Ipads, mobile phones, sound systems, speakers, etc. The Regional Manager of
Computer Solutions has written to Ravishankar informing him that the Edulearn Ipads sold by the
company has a small glitch in its monitor hardware as some grey lines appear on the screen after a few
minutes of operation. The company along with repairing the hardware would like to include software
such as learning material for CBSE and ICSE students and also upgrade the Ipads with the latest version
of their operating systemfor those customers who bought after May this year. Ravishankar needs to send
an email to the customers of Edulearn Ipads informing themabout the problemand the new add-ons. The
customers need to be convinced about the steps taken by the company to resolve their problem.
113. What kind of a letter will Ravishankar write to resolve the issue?
a. Information letter
c. Claim letter
b. Persuasive letter
d. Adjustment letter
Complaint letter
35

Ravishankar writes an email to each of his customers explaining about the problem related to
the monitor hardware and tries to convince themthat they can also have add-ons. He expects the
customers to:
Accept his explanation with an open mind
Reject his explanation with a closed mind
Be interested in the message conveyed
Act and follow what he intends to convey
Read the message and delete it
Superior Accommodation is a company which offers service apartments for rent in the major cities of
India. Manoj works as a Publicity Manager for this company. His job is to make companies aware of
these service apartments. He plans to write an email to the IT companies of Hyderabad to promote his
company and its services. He plans to use the AIDA approach for framing the letter.
The acronym „AIDA‟ stands for:
Attention,Interaction, Destination, Action
Attention,Interest, Desire, Action
Awareness,Interaction, Direction, Action
Awareness,Information, Direction, Action
Attention,Information, Discretion, Action
What care should Manoj take before sending the sales letter?
Follow the AIDA approach
Provide 100% correct information about the product/ service
Send the brochure as attachment with the mail
Request for a personal meeting and arrange for a site tour
All of the above
When you write an attention – getting statement while following the AIDA approach,you
should NOT begin with:
a. A quotation b. A cliché
c. A bargain d. A provocative question
A challenge
If you need to mention the price of the product which is expensive to the reader, care should be
taken while:
Discussing the price in the opening paragraph
Concentrating more on the features of the product not on price
Mentioning the price of the product using compound sentences
Stating the price in small units or per unit price
Both c & d
Vipul is the Purchase Manager of ITA Hotels and has purchased glassware from Ceraglass. He has
ordered 15 sets of their Gold Room Collection and expects to receive the order in three days‟ time.
Today he receives an email from Ceraglass that the dispatch of the Gold Room collection will take
another two weeks, but their Blue Room Collection is available if wanted immediately. They also offer
him an additional discount of 5% on the entire order.
36

What will be Vipul‟s first step before taking a decision on the issue at hand?
Use a direct approach for not complying with the order on time
Write a Cancellation of order and look for some othersupplier
Write a Claim letter for the payment made in advance with 10% interest
Identify why there is a delay in the dispatch of Gold Room Collection
Accept the Blue Room collection and negotiate for an 8% discount
The Dispatch department at Ceraglass also has to take care before sending the email since ITA
Hotels is an important client. Whenever writing letters about the unpleasant they should begin
with:
A neutral statement Informing why the dispatch did not take place
A statement giving them the dates when they can receive the product
A statement where the receiver can expect some good news
A statement with an offer of discount
A statement to persuade to buy whatever is available
Wheneverwriting about the unpleasant or if there is „bad news‟ to be conveyed, the letter
begins with a neutral statement. It is known as:
a. Equivocation b. Buffer
c. Apology d. Empathetic
Refusal
When writing about the unpleasant,the language NOT to be used by the writer is:
a. Courteous to the reader b. Tactful use of words and expression
c. Showempathy in the message d. Offer an apology to the reader
Understand the problems of the reader
While writing buffer statements for communicating the unpleasant,it can contain the following,
EXCEPT:
a. Good news b.Discount packages
c. Alternative solutions d. Resale favorable statements
Self-promotion
In the above case, the Dispatch department of Ceraglass should take care whenever writing
letters about the unpleasant.They should close with:
A negative statement refusing to process the order
A statement restating that the order will be processed in 2 weeks
A statement providing alternative solutions
A persuasive statement to buy the products available
A statement giving explanations for non-dispatch of the order
While writing letters, it is always better to follow the 7 C‟s of communication. A letter was sent by
Vikram to Prakash:
37

Dear Mr. Prakash,
We have seen your advertisement for 3200 square feet of office space in the Daily Newspaper. As
we are interested we would like some additional information.
Specifically, if you are interested, we would like to know the interior land annual cost, availability
of transportation length of lease agreement, escalation provisions, and any other information you
think is pertinent.
If the information you give is favorable, we will inspect the property. Please send your reply.
Sincerely,
Vikram
125. Which of the 7 C‟-s of communication is NOT adhered in this letter shown above?
a. Clarity b.Concreteness
c. Conciseness d. Courteousness
Completeness
A letter requires clear statements mentioned in a particular sequentialorder and usage of:
a. Properbusinessvocabulary b. Tone
c. Punctuation d.Grammar and spellings
All of the above
Mr. Hari has purchased D-Craft jeans and has written a complaint letter to the company saying
that the color ran and the jeans has become faded. Mr. Jerome Lobo, Customer Relations
Manager has written a rejection letter to Mr. Hari. Identify the writer‟s intention in this
rejection letter shown below:
Mr. Hari,
Subject: Your May 3 claim for damages
I regret to report that we must reject your request for money back on the faded D-Craft
jeans.
We must refuse because D-Craft fabrics are not made to be washed in washing machines
and that too with other clothes. It is difficult for me to understand how you failed to notice
the washing instructions that were tagged along with the product. Since we have been more
than reasonable in trying to inform you, we cannot possibly be responsible for the colors
that ran on your other clothes.
We trust that you will understand our position. We regret very much the damage and
inconvenience our product has caused you and your other clothes in the washing machine.
Mr. Jerome Lobo,
Customer RelationsManager
The writer wants to demonstrate authority
The writer‟s intent is to refuse the reader‟s request
The writer feels it is a small, insignificant matter
The writer uses the deductive approach
All of the above
38

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