INDIA AND SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was formally constituted on December 8, 1985 (now known as SAARC Charter Day) at Dhaka, through talks involving the heads of state of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. An eighth member country, Afghanistan was added in 2007. Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and USA have been granted observer status.

SAARC aims to achieve regional cooperation between its member countries on a variety of issues, tending towards the socio-economic and socio-cultural, and thus help the economic and social development of member states.

SAARC Objectives:
• To promote welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life

• To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential

• To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia

• To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another’s problems

• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields

• To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries

• To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest

• To cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes

The SAARC Secretariat is based at Kathmandu. It comprises of the Secretary General, seven Directors and the General Services Staff. SAARC aims at promoting collaboration with the United Nations, other regional organizations, as well as WTO.

India is the largest country in SAARC in respect to area, population and economy. SAARC programs exist in the areas of agriculture, rural development, transportation and telecommunications, meteorology, health and population control, postal services, science and technology, culture and sports, women in development, drug trafficking and abuse, and terrorism.

EMERGENCE OF COMMUNICATION AS A KEY CONCEPT IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

Communication has emerged as a key concept in the global corporate world. This is because today businesses are not only run within ones country. Due to globalisation companies have the opportunity of selling their products and services worldwide. Thus business persons must have clarity while communicating their objectives to their clients and customers. One must also understand global inter-cultural differences and should find ways to deal with these differences in a mature manner.

Maintaining contacts with customers, shareholders, banks, insurance companies, etc. require effective communication skills. Moreover, if one communicates well, it helps to negotiate deals, enhance sales margins, retain customers, implement strategies, promote branding, manage crisis situations, liaise with government as well as international agencies.

Thus good communication skills ensure successful businesses not only at a local level but also at global levels in the corporate world.

Watch the video by clicking the link: Emergence of Communication as a Key Concept in the Corporate World

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS ON COMMUNICATION

Technological advancements in the last few decades have progressed at a high pace. This has made communication technology an indispensable part of our existence. 

Advantages of Technological advances in Communication:

1. One can now access information at the tip of ones fingers. 

2. It is easy to access, store and share information.

3. One can incorporate texts, voice, images, graphics, music, etc. In a single communication.

4. It is now easier to overcome barriers of time and distance with modern communication technology.

5. Today, a micro chip, pen drive can store large amounts of data  this can be carried around and one can have immediate access to information. Moreover it has reduced the need for paper and paperless transactions are now becoming popular. 

6. There is an increase in virtual activity on account of online shopping as well as online payment options. 

7. Meetings and conferences now can be done via Teleconference or Videoconferencing and thus one need not commute or travel long distances.

8. One can now access all kinds of information online and can even get medical help from doctors in situations of emergency.

9. Virtual classrooms have helped spread literacy as well as enable people to avail of a variety of subjects that they are interested in. 

10. Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) used by military personnel as well as by civilians have revolutionised communication.

Thus technological advancement has played an important part in the advancement of communication technology.

FEEDBACK

Feedback is the response to communication. It is the final step in the process of communication. It helps understand the effectiveness of the communication and can be used to improve future communication. It can be gathered in a variety of ways such as by asking ones opinion, by filling a questionnaire, through a market survey, through interviews, etc.

Feedback can be immediate or delayed. It can be positive or negative. It can be given to you by others or you may personally reflect on your actions and thus obtain feedback through introspection.

Feedback can be classified as:

1. Descriptive - When one describes an individual's behaviour

2. Evaluative - When feedback assess the communication as positive or negative or if one receives grades on a scale

3. Prescriptive - When one receives advice and suggestions for improvement.

Feedback plays an important role in all Business Communication. Companies use feedback to improve their products and services. It is essential for business houses to have a well organised system of feedback as this helps in improving the companies business and helps ensure more profits from happy customers.

NEED / IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Management has emerged as one of the dynamic fields in the modern business scenario. Business activities involve buying and selling of goods and services with the intention of making a profit. In order to carry out his/her activities, a business person finds it necessary to communicate internally as well as externally i.e. within the organisation as well as with people outside.

1. An Era of Specialisation - It is very important for specialists to know how to communicate their vast knowledge of a limited field. For e.g. If an expert on taxation cannot communicate his knowledge to others and give them advice, his knowledge is wasted. Thus individuals in an organisation must be able to communicate with each other as well as with their clients.

2. Age of Tension - If one is unable to communicate, it leads to mental tension and physical strain. This is seen especially in cases where the business person knows that his/her rivals are more successful only because they are better communicators.

3. Reduces Miscommunication - In order to avoid miscommunication the business person must learn to communicate, keeping in mind attitudes and mental framework of customers and clients as well as employees who receive messages. One must avoid unnecessary jargon.

4. Healthy Organisational Environment - Many business organisations have several branches, offices, factories within the country as well as overseas. it is important for the managements of such companies to communicate effectively as it helps employee relations, delegation of work, solves employee problems / grievances, etc.

5. Aid to Managerial Process - Effective Communication promotes managerial efficiency and performance

6. Good relationship within the organisation and with outsiders / customers / clients is essential for success in business. This can be achieved through effective communication.

7. Effective Communication saves time and cost and ensures success.

To watch the video click the link: Need / Importance of Business Communication

COMMUNICATION - CONCEPT

Meaning:
The word ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin term ‘communis’ which means ‘to make common, to transmit, to impart’. A message becomes communication only when it is understood, acknowledged and responded to by the receiver of the message.

Definition:
Communication has been defined by various thinkers:

According to The American Management Association, ‘Communication is any behaviour that results in an exchange of meaning’.

According to Peter Little, ‘Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and / or organisations so that an understanding response results’.

According to Keith Davis, ‘Communication is a process of passing information and understanding form one person to another’.

Process of Communication:

The main elements in the communication process are:

1. The Socio-Cultural Communication Situation - The sender of the message is at one end, the receiver of the message at the other end, and in between them is the message. The meaning of the message depends upon the socio-cultural environment in which the message is transmitted, received and understood.

2. The Sender/s - The sender of the message has to encode the message in a language familiar to the receiver.

3. The Receiver - The receiver decodes the message.

4. The Message - After the sender has encoded his/her idea into a message, he transmits it through a medium or channel. The message transmitted, however, does not often reach the receiver in the same form. Distortions occur because of 'channel noise', distractions, etc.

5. The Channel - is the medium employed to convey a message. It is the means through which the message travels between sender and receiver.
The channel unit is called the Medium. It carries information. It is a link between the participants in communication.
e.g. internet, phone, TV, etc.

6. Feedback - is the reaction or response of the receiver which is communicated to the sender. It could be in a form different from the form in which the original message was transmitted. The medium and channel too could be different.

ROLE OF MEDIA DURING WWII

Role of Media during the Second World War By the time the Second World War broke out, the news media had already reached a matured stage of development. Besides newspapers, magazines and journals, radio had become quite popular and television had also arrived, though on a limited scale. The media acted like a bridge connecting people and places. News of the war was spread by the press all around the globe. Speeches were published in the newspapers and were also relayed on the radio. Since television was in its infancy and had a limited reach, motion pictures or films were made on war-related themes. Plays on war themes became very popular in Europe and America. Interestingly, a pigeon was used by Reuter’s special correspondent for carrying news in the reverse direction as the war raged furiously in Northern France reported ‘The Times of India’ (Bombay) on June 7, 1944. Print Media: Newspapers covered the events of the war in great detail. Reports from the battle fronts and their analysis became a common feature of the newspapers. Some newspapers also started the trend of publishing cartoons of the leading politicians, leaders, dictators and statesmen. War supplements were also published by some newspapers. Some of the prominent newspapers that gave exclusive coverage of the war by employing special war correspondents were The London Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Morning Post, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Times of India (Bombay), The Statesman (Calcutta), Amrit Bazaar Patrika (Calcutta), The Hindu (Madras), etc. The Times of India (Bombay) not only covered events of the war from various fronts in the form of front page reports and dispatches but also started a new trend of publishing advertisements on Air Raid Precautions (December 12, 1941) and the looming Japanese threat to India. The role of Indian soldiers in different theatres of war was periodically reported by The Times of India. The paper also published advertisements on the front page on Bombay War Effort, Bombay War Fund and Bombay War Gifts Fund for raising money to help victims of the war. A special victory supplement was issued on May 8, 1945 to commemorate the Allied Victory in the war. Besides the English Press, nationalist newspapers in the local and native languages also did a commendable job in covering the war from different perspectives and brought out the different dimensions of the war. While the Italian, German and Japanese newspapers were state controlled and, therefore, toed the line of their respective governments in the coverage of the war, newspapers in France reflected anti-fascist and pro-allied stand. Magazines and journals also covered the events and developments of the war on a regular basis. The prominent magazines that gave wide coverage to the war were The Economist, The Time, The Spectator and The News Week. Electronic Media: Radio played an equally important role during the war period. Like the newspapers it gave wide coverage to the war through news bulletins, analysis, speeches and talks. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Voice of America (VOA) sent their war correspondents to different battle fronts to dispatch their updates on a regular basis. Special news bulletins were relayed by the BBC not only for England but also for the European mainland and Asian countries. The BBC established its credibility as a leading broadcasting station with the latest and the accurate information about the day’s fighting. Besides news, patriotic and nationalist songs were also relayed by the BBC and other radios to inspire the people and inculcate a sense of national pride in their minds. The Nazis, therefore, made it a crime for the people in Germany and German occupied lands to listen to BBC broadcasts. In 1942, the Voice of America, a US government radio service began broadcasting to Axis-occupied countries. The All India Radio, Delhi and Bombay also started broadcasting war-reports and messages on a regular basis. A number of films were made on the Second World War. War films such as the Bridge on the River Kwai, From Here to Eternity, The Last War, The Day Earth Caught Fire, etc., became immensely popular all over the world. Special news-reels were screened in the theatre halls of Europe and American, before the film shows to create awareness among the people about the war. All the participating nations in the war used propaganda to win support for their policies. Newspapers, Pamphlets, Posters, Radio and Films were used by the governments of the rival military camps to reach out to their own people and also to demoralize and mislead the enemy. The Nazis skillfully used propaganda to spread their ideology. Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda and enlightenment used radio, films, newspapers and other publications to spread the policies and programmes of the Nazi regime and crush the opponents of Nazism in Germany and German occupied territories. Ironically it was the same Nazi-controlled German Radio which announced the death of the Fuehrer on May1, 1945. Thus media played a major role before, during and after the war.

POSITIVE MEDIA BY PRESIDENT WILSON

President Wilson is one of the most successful president in his achievements in Domestic Policy. In the summer of 1914 all Europe was plunged into war. Wilson called upon the United States to be neutral "even in spirit," but few Americans were able to remain impartial. For two years the president made every effort to avoid war. Even after the unarmed British liner Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine with a loss of almost 1,200 lives including 124 Americans, he argued: "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight." In 1916 he was reelected. He defeated the Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes by an electoral vote of 277 to 254. The campaign slogan "He kept us out of war" probably won him more popular votes than any other factor. After the election Wilson tried to end the war by active mediation. The Germans, however, resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. On April 2, 1917, the president asked Congress for a declaration of war. Before a joint session of the two houses he read the solemn words, "The present German submarine warfare against commerce is warfare against mankind. It is a war against all nations. . . . We are accepting this challenge. . . . The world must be made safe for democracy." On April 6, Congress declared war. In the next 18 months the United States built an army of 4 million men by conscription, sent 2 million men overseas to France, and united the entire population behind the war effort. A vast propaganda machine was created under the title of the Committee on Public Information. The words of Wilson reached the German people by radio for the first time in history. Leaflets were scattered from airplanes, shot from guns and rockets, and smuggled behind the enemy lines. Wilson said that this was a "war to end war." He spoke of "peace without victory" and without revenge. On Jan. 8, 1918, he announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for a peace settlement. They were more than peace terms; they were terms for a better world. He followed this speech with his famous "self-determination" speech on February 11 in which he said: "National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. 'Self determination' is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action. . . . " Wilson had a vision of a peaceful post war world. He saw the League of Nations as an important accomplishment. While we study about Wilson, it is important to understand that each one of us has both a positive and a negative side. While Wilson was positive about peace, there are instances where one would see his religious bend on several matters, segregation on the basis of race and his refusal to negotiate on the Treaty of Versailles after the war. However, we will focus on the positive impact that he has had on the History of the World. Woodrow Wilson was one of the most influential Presidents.

ROLE OF MEDIA DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The First World War was one of the first demonstrations of the power and influence of news media. This was the first major war fought due to the nationalistic fervor of the people and it was not just because of the whims of rulers. This popular desire to wage war and gain glory was mostly the result of the growing influences of the newspapers. Though television was not yet invented and radio was in its infancy, newspapers and magazines were widely read and shaped public opinion. By their reporting of news and their analysis of the global situation they played a major part in convincing the public to go to war. And later by their coverage of the events of the war and heroism of the soldiers convinced the people to continue to fight it to a favorable conclusion. The leading newspapers of England such as The London Times, The Guardian, The Morning Post and The Telegraph, American newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Indian newspaper The Times of India etc. sent war correspondents to the battle fronts in order to report the events on a day-to-day basis. These war correspondents did a commendable job in sending dispatches from the fronts about the progress of the war, the casualties and damages caused, about the plight of the soldiers and the civilians. Reuters was the most prominent news agency which gave regular updates on the war. The First World War saw the beginnings of several types of media, which were to rise in prominence in the future. For instance the war propaganda by means of dropping leaflets to soldiers and civilians from the air started in the First World War mainly because this was the first major war where air planes were used on a large scale. Other types on media including plays such as Opera, which were very popular at that time also played a significant role in influencing public sentiments. Later many films were made on the war theme. Thus the First World War saw the emergence of several media and the rise in the prominence of others and particularly showcased the newfound importance and influence of the news media.

SOCIAL INTERACTION (SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM)

Social Interaction / Symbolic Interactionism is a sociological perspective that developed around mid twentieth century and continuses to influence social psychology. Symbolic Interaction was invented by George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. Symbolic Interactionism sees people as active in shaping their world, rather than as entities who are acted upon by society. Reality is seen as social, developed interaction with others. Eachof us learn to play many different social roles through our interaction with others. Thus our actions are ‘conditioned’ by others and at the same time we also affect their actions. The idea is not to manipulate or dominate each other buy to create and sustain a social unit which provides members rewards on performing social roles. We learn our social roles by interacting with others and through our daily life experiences. We internalize the rules inherent in the situations and act accordingly. These roles provide us with a powerful means of controlling our actions and in time we learn to be identified by our actions. Unlike animals who are conditioned to respond to certain stimuli, human beings are more conscious about stimuli and are able to plan responses. Both individuals and society cannot be separated far from each other for two reasons. One, being that they are both created through social interaction, and two, one cannot be understood without the other. Behavior is not defined by forces from the environment or inner forces such as drives, or instincts, but rather by a reflective, socially understood meaning of both the internal and external incentives that are currently presented. Three basic premises of the perspective: • "Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things." - individuals behave towards objects and others based on the personal meanings that the individual has already given these items. • "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society." – social interaction with other humans. • "These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters."- We have the ability to name things and designate objects or actions to a certain idea or phenomenon. Role-taking is a part of our lives at an early age. Playing house and pretending to be someone else are examples of this phenomena. Charles Horton Cooley, a symbolic interactionist describes the process by which the sense of self develops by the ‘looking-glass self’ which has three elements: 1. We imagine how we appear to people around us – e.g. tall / stout / slim 2. We interpret others’ reactions e.g. Do they like / dislike us for the way we are 3. We develop a self concept – we create a social mirror for ourselves with a positive or a negative self-concept.