Spring / February 2012 Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1 MB0039 Business Communication - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1128) Assignment

Set- 1 (60 Marks) Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions. Q 1. List the differences between extensive reading and intensive reading. Answer: Reading is essentially a process of decoding messages, with a view to understanding a written text. It has various purposes, such as reading for personal interest, pleasure or for gaining information. A single text is not written for any one purpose, but could meet any purpose, depending on individual needs. Reading in the real sense is an active, rather than a passive process. Active reading means reading to grasp the meaning. It is a skill which has to be developed and practiced. Based on the purpose for which we are reading, there are five different types of reading 1. Skimming Quickly glancing over a text to get a general idea of the content 2. Scanning Careful reading to find out specific details 3. Extensive reading Rapid reading to get an overall understanding of the matter 4. Intensive reading Reading slowly with concentration to get specific details 5. Silent or loud reading This depends on whether we are reading to ourselves or reading to others Extensive Reading: Our way of reading is influenced by the purpose of our reading. Most of us have the habit of reading especially when we are free, or have a lot of leisure time. We might get hold of a novel, a comic strip, or a magazine. When we read for the pure pleasure of reading, it is known as extensive reading. However, it should not be given less priority, because it is extensive reading. It is enjoyable, as well as informative. Here, we practice rapid reading to get a global/overall understanding of the matter. Intensive Reading: When we read shorter texts like a research paper for getting specific details or information, we read slowly with a lot of concentration. This is known as intensive reading. When you read a book as a resource material for research, you read it intensively because the overall understanding is not the objective or purpose of our reading. When you read an article in order to write a review on it, you read it intensively. We use all the skills of reading when we do intensive reading. ROLL No. - 511223187 1

Spring / February 2012 Q 2. Explain the different advantages and disadvantages of intranet Answer: An intranet is a private computer network. Intranet uses Internet protocols and network connectivity to securely share part of an organization's information or operations with its employees. The same concepts and technologies of the Internet such as clients and servers running on the Internet protocol suite are used to build an intranet. HTTP, FTP and other Internet protocols are used in intranet. There is often an attempt to use Internet technologies to provide new interfaces with corporate "legacy" data and information systems. Intranets are generally restricted to employees of the organization while extranets can generally be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other approved parties. Increasingly, intranets are being used to deliver tools and applications, e.g., collaboration (to facilitate working in groups and teleconferencing) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales and CRM tools, project management etc., to advance productivity. Intranets are also being used as culture change platforms. For example, large numbers of employees discussing key issues in an online forum could lead to new ideas. Intranet traffic, like public facing web site traffic, is better understood by using web metrics software to track overall activity, as well as through surveys of users. Most commonly, intranets are owned by the communications, HR or CIO areas of large organizations Advantages of intranets a) Increased Productivity: Intranets can help users to locate and view information faster and use applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities. With the help of a web browser interface, users can access data held in any database the organization wants to make available, anytime and subject to security provisions from anywhere within the company workstations, increasing employees' ability to perform their jobs faster, more accurately, and with confidence that they have the right information. It also helps to improve the services provided to the users. b) Reduced Time: With intranets, organizations can make more information available to employees in less time. c) Improved Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an organization, vertically and horizontally. From a communications standpoint, intranets are useful to communicate strategic initiatives that have a global reach throughout the organization. The type of information that can easily be conveyed is the purpose of the initiative and what the initiative is aiming to achieve, who is driving the initiative, results achieved to date, and who to speak to for more information. By providing this information on the intranet, staff have the opportunity to keep up-to-date with the strategic focus of the organization. d) Web Publishing: Web publishing allows 'cumbersome' corporate knowledge to be maintained and easily accessed throughout the company using hypermedia and Web technologies. e) Business operations and management: Intranets are also being used as a platform for developing and deploying applications to support business operations and decisions across the internetworked enterprise. ROLL No. - 511223187 2

Spring / February 2012 f) Cost-effective: Users can view information and data via web browser rather than maintaining physical documents such as procedure manuals, internal phone list and requisition forms. g) Enhance Collaboration: With information easily accessible by all authorized users, teamwork is enabled. Disadvantages Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g.: hardware, software, employee training costs) if hosted internally instead of via an ASP. Security of extranets can be a big concern when dealing with valuable information. System access needs to be carefully controlled to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. Extranets can reduce personal contact (facetoface meetings) with customers and business partners. This could cause a lack of connections made between people and a company, which hurts the business when it comes to loyalty of its business partners and customers. Q 3 List the different principles of business letter writing. Answer: The principles of Good Business Letter can be described in the following ways: 1) Knowing the Addressee Good Business Letter should contain the relevant information about the knowledge of subject and the person to whom it is addressed. It will create maximum influence on the reader and will benefit in best possible way. 2) Writing Naturally Good Business Letter should have genuineness in expression of thoughts or ideas. It should be written in soft spoken language and the reader should believe that we are in conversation with him. 3) Writing Clearly and Without Ambiguity Good Business Letter should be free from any confusion or ambiguity. It should insured clarity of thoughts with no omission of words, no faulty punctuation and no disorderly arrangement of facts. There has to be affixation of full stops and commas at right places so that there is no change in the sense or subject of the matter. Besides this, there has to be proper specification of numbers and figures to maintain the authenticity of the matter. The faulty punctuations or faulty words may prove disaster or failure for the business relations. 4) Writing Completely Good Business Letter should have all the relevant facts and complete information so that there are no unnecessary queries. The letter should be complete in all aspects and everything should be described or written specifically. 5) Courtesy and Consideration The courtesy in business correspondence is simply not restricted to obligatory words like Thank you or Please but implies to promptness in attending to the letters. It is important to acknowledge letters when it is not possible to give immediate replies. There has to be politeness in declining business proposals or saying no and it has to be done in decent manner. In business, courtesy begets courtesy, so there has to be congenial and friendly with business associates and parties

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Spring / February 2012 . 6) Avoiding Jugglery or Jumbling of Words It is important that the language of the letters should be simple and should not be like essay or article from literary point of view. It has to be written in short sentences with simple words. The letter should not have typical or difficult words and it should be refrained from verbose or prosaic style of writing. 7) Avoiding the use of commercial words/phrases/abbreviations The use of commercial words/phrases/abbreviations should be avoided as they have become obsolete and out of practice. There are some important commercial terms that cannot be substituted, yet they should be minimize or avoided in the letters. Q 4. Write short notes on (a) corporate identity advertising (b) institutional advertising. Answer: a) Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks. Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organizational philosophy that is manifest in a distinct corporate culture the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy.[2] Often referred to as organizational identity, corporate identity helps organizations to answer questions like who are we? and where are we going? Corporate identity also allows consumers to denote their sense of belonging with particular human aggregates or groups. In general, this amounts to a corporate title, logo (logotype and/or logogram), and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand. These guidelines are usually formulated into a package of tools called corporate identity manuals. Many companies, such as McDonald's and Electronic Arts, have their own identity that runs through all of their products and merchandise. The trademark "M" logo and the yellow and red appears consistently throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for the research, design and execution involved in creating an identity that is extremely distinguishable and appealing to the company's target audience. b) Institutional advertising is marketing designed to promote a company rather than a specific good or service. It can be designed to make the public more aware of a company or to improve the reputation and image of an existing company. Depending on the company, this can be a form of brand advertising.

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Spring / February 2012 Many forms of advertising are about promoting products. This can involve promoting a new product so that the public is aware of its existence, or trying to persuade the public to buy more of an existing product. Institutional advertising instead promotes the company itself. One example would be a grocery chain running advertisements which stressed the general quality or low prices of its food, rather than detailing specific offers it was running.

Some forms of institutional advertising are so geared towards promoting a positive image that they effectively discourage sales of a product to some extent. For example, alcohol firms may run commercials warning against excessive drinking or driving while under the influence. Such commercials are usually designed to improve the image of the company, making it seem more trustworthy or responsible. Q 5. Discuss the different types of business reports. Answer: Different types of reports used for communication in the business world. Choosing the right type of report also requires a smart analysis. The writer must decide what type to use based on the information that he or she is trying to communicate. Also the writer must take into consideration their intended audience. Is the audience expecting the report to be in a specific format? Are they used to receiving information in one way? and which format will convey the message in the most appropriate way? Finally, how formal or informal should the report be. Reports, according to this article, can be classified as according to function or according to formality. Reports according to function can also be subdivided into the following: Informational reports. Analytical reports Research reports Where as reports according to formality can be subdivided into the following: Statutory reports Non statutory or voluntary reports The article goes further into outlining other types or reports such as information, analytical, research, statutory, non-statutory, special, and routine reports. Information reports are solely to provide facts with out suggestion or personal opinions. What ever ones findings are that is whats reported. These facts are given with out personal explanation or, again, any suggestions. Analytical reports are one step further as they contain facts along side analytical explanation of these facts. They contain a sort of a narration of facts and collected data. They also contain a conclusion or a set of interpretations reached by the writer.

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