BUSINESS COMMUNICATION II SYLLABUS - UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

 

MODULE 1

PRESENTATION SKILLS

4 principles of effective presentation

Effective use of OHP

Effective use of Transparencies

How to make a Powerpoint Presentation

MODULE 2

GROUP COMMUNICATION

Interviews: Group Discussion, Preparing for an interview, Types of Interviews - Selection, Appraisal, Grievance, Exit.

Meetings: Need and Importance of Meetings, Conduct of Meeting and Group Dynammics Role of Chairpose, Role of Participants, Drafting of Notice, Agenda and Resolutions

Conference: Meaning and Importance of Conference, Organizing a Conference, Modern Methods: Video and Tele Conferencing

Public Relations: Meaning, Functions of PR Department, External and Internal Measures of PR

MODULE 3

BUSINESS CORRESPONDANCE

Trade Letters: Order, Credit, and Status Enquiry, Collection (just a brief introduction to be given)

In detail - Letters of INquiry, Letters of Complaint, Claims, Adjustment Sales Letters, promotional leaflets and fliers, Consumer Grievance Letters, Letters under Right to Information Act

MODULE 4

LANGUAGE AND WRITING SKILLS

Reports: Parts, Types, Feasibility reports, Investigative Reports

Summarization: Identificaiton of main and supporting sub pooints. Presenting these in a cohesive manner. 

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION & THE INVENTIONS OF THE TIME

What was the Industrial Revolution? What were the Inventions made at that time?

Industrial Revolution was not a single event which happened at a particular time. In fact, Revolution is a stronger word for such a change. It brought about a fundamental change int eh methods of producing various goods. By it machines took prominence between 1750 and 1850.

The period of Industrial Revolution coincided with the Seven Years War, War of American Independence and the French Revolution.  Wars with France gave great impetus to the trade of England. Again, economic blockade during the Napoleonic Wars checked the flow of raw materials to the continent and poured them into England. This encouraged the development of industries.

Inventions:

Textile Machine: James Hargreaves invented (in1765) the spinning machine known as the ‘Spinning Jenny’. It could spin many threads at a time. Richard Arkwright improved the Spinning Jenny. As this machine was worked by waterpower, it was called ‘Water Frame’. But there were defects in both the above inventions. Hence, Samuel Crompton invented a machine called ‘Spinning Mule’ which had the good points of both the above inventions and defects of neither. All these machines made spinning quick, but weavers lagged behind. Hence, Cartwright invented the cotton gin to separate cotton fibers from cotton seeds. All these machines developed the textile industry.

Power for working the machines – waterpower was used. But it was not available at all places. Hence, Watt invented (1765) steam engine known as ‘Beelzebub’.

Coal and Iron: Formerly iron was smelted with charcoal, but charcoal was in short supply. Hence coal was used in smelting iron. Gradually iron and coal industries were developed. The process of preparing pig iron was found out.

Transport: Mere machines were not enough for industrial development. Transport facilities were necessary. Roads were improved by the process found by John Mc Adam. Then the steam engine was invented. George Stephenson was the father of the railway locomotive. His Rocket had a speed of 30 miles per hour. In 1830 world’s first passenger railway was started between Liverpool and Manchester. Steamboats were also prepared.

Telegraph: Faraday invented electricity. First electric telegraph line was inaugurated in 1845. Thereafter overseas cables were laid between England and France.

Changes in agriculture: During this period farm machinery was invented. Then began the rapid process of enclosure. This led to the consolidation of holdings. This is known as Agricultural Revolution.

Changes in Europe: English machines were introduced in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. In 1789, spinning jenny was introduced in France. During the next thirty years steam was widely used in Western Europe. Germany advanced in metallurgy, and France in fine and beautiful textiles. But they were behind England in development.

Conclusion: Thus Industrial Revolution introduced numerous changes in the methods of production. Factories mushroomed at different places. As industries developed, towns also grew. Many good and bad results followed from the Revolution.

 

‘The Industrial Revolution solved some important problems but gave rise to others who have evaded satisfactory solution up till now’. Discuss.

Solution of important problems: Industrial Revolution solved some important problems. It replaced to some extent human labor by machinery.

Inventions of different machines ushered the new order in industries. Factory system large scale production, finished goods, quick means of transport, dissemination of knowledge through printing press, were the outstanding results of Industrial Revolution. It led to rapid economic progress of Europe.

New Problems: But it had created new problems like capitalism, imperialism, etc. Hyland writes: ‘the relationship of capital and labor, and the modification of the competitive system, constitute one of the most pressing problems that face humanity today’. Hayes Moon and Wayland write, ‘The Industrial Revolution has left with us an unwelcome heritage. Along with new power it gave us new problems. At the outset it enslaved children in factories, it herded people together in sordid slums, it brought trade unions into conflict with capitalists, it raised rents, it made some men millionaires and millions of others paupers or almost paupers’.

The main problems are to destroy the drawbacks of capitalism, to check the unemployment, to stop the scramble for markets, to lessen the evils of competition, to remove the hardships of laborers to avoid the class war.

Capitalists want freedom of trade and industry, while government checks them. Laborers want more wages, fewer hours of work, many facilities etc. For this purpose, they resort to strikes.

Different countries have tried socialism, syndicalism, communism, etc., to solve the problems created by the Industrial Revolution, but so far have failed to solve them.

CONGRESS OF VIENNA 1815

How far did the Congress of Vienna (1815) ignore the claims of nationality in Europe?

Representatives of Great Powers in Vienna: After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, it was decided to hold a Congress of Vienna to settle the affairs of Continent. Some of the sovereigns of Europe including the Tsar, the King of Prussia, and the Austrian Emperor were present. Many prominent statesmen also took part. Great Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh, the foreign Secretary and the Duke of Wellington. Tallerat was the representative of France. Matternich, the leading minister of Austria, presided over the Congress.

The aim of the Congress: The aim of the Congress was to reward States which had opposed Napoleon and to penalize those which had supported him. It wanted to strengthen the states near France. In case there was a renewal of war by France, these states might check her. As far as possible, the Congress tried to restore legitimate rulers to the thrones they had lost. Yet the Congress did not aim at a complete restoration of pre-war Europe. It refused to re-establish the republics of Venice and Genoa. It had no wish to restore the Holy Roman Europe.

Distribution of Territories: Germany became a confederation of independent states under the presidency of Austria, Russia got Central Poland, some small Turkish territories and Finland. Prussia got Western Pomerania part of Saxony and some Rhenish provinces. Austria lost Belgium but received Lombardy and Venetia in Italy and the Illyrian provinces on the Adriatic Sea, Sweden received Norway, England Received Malta, Heligoland, protectorate over the Ionian islands, Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and other colonial territories and commercial advantages. She became the greatest colonial power in the world.

Restoration of the Old Order: After making the above settlement of territories, the congress turned its attention to the work of resting pre-revolutionary conditions. France was allowed to retain her monarchial frontiers. The old Bourbon Monarchy was restored. Louis XVIII became the King of France. Holland and Belgium were united into one kingdom. Switzerland was given back her independence. German Confederation took the place of the old Holy Roman Empire. Spain was placed under the rule of her Bourbon King. Italy under the control of Austria was partitioned into a number of small states. The kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia was strengthened.

Criticism or Defects of the Congress of Vienna: The arrangements made at Vienna have been very much criticized. The wishes of Europe were not taken into consideration. The people of Belgium disliked the Dutch connection. Norwegians resented being ruled by Sweden. Poles chafed against Russian rule. Germany and Italy were left in a divided condition. This was done against the wishes of the more enlightened of their people. The Congress considered the interests of sovereigns rather than those of people. European territories were treated as private estates to be divided up at the will of their owners. Yet Napoleon had been overthrown by the people of Europe.

Criticizing the arrangements made at Vienna, Southgate says: ‘Since the Congress disregarded national feeling, which during the nineteenth century proved to be more powerful than royal interest, the settlement failed to be permanent. Many of the Vienna decisions were reversed or modified before the end of the nineteenth century’.

The real charge against the Congress of Vienna is that it ignored the challenge of the French Revolution. It failed to see the new forces of democracy and nationality. Hazen writes: ‘The Congress of Vienna was a congress of aristocrats to whom the ideas of nationality and democracy as proclaimed by the French Revolution were incomprehensive or loathsome. The rulers arranged Europe according to their own desires, disposing off it as it were their own personal property, ignoring the sentiment of nationality, been so wonderfully aroused, they were indifferent to the wishes of the people. Thiers could be settlement because they ignored the factors that alone would make the settlement permanent’.

EMAIL COMMUNICATION

Email or Electronic Mail is a computer-based messaging system that transports electronic messages from one computer to another through a communication network. Email allows a message to be communicated to the recipient/s at once. Data transmission through email is both instantaneous and cost effective.

The advantages of using email:

Email communication is swift, in fact instantaneous.

Email communication is extremely economical.

Email communication has a large global reach and access.

Email communication is largely reliable, the sender can know if the message has reached the addressee or not.

Email communication can be readily acknowledged by the receiver. The sender can also seek an acknowledgement from the receiver.

The sender can send copies of the message to many others instantaneously.

Email communication can be stored and retrieved as and when required by both the sender and receiver.

 

Email Etiquette

Don’t overcommunicate by email – Keep your emails to the point. Avoid sharing bad news via email.

Make good use of subject lines – The subject lines help you grab attention, and the reader decides whether to read the message or not depending on the subject line. A blank subject line can get overlooked or rejected as ‘spam’. This is why you must use some well-chosen words to tell the recipient what the email is about.

You may also include a call to action – ‘Please reply be Feb 15^th 2022’ – if the email requires a response.

A well written subject line delivers the most important information to the recipient without having to open the email. It also serves as a prompt that reminds the recipient about an upcoming meeting or event.

Keep messages clear and brief – Emails need to be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and to the point.  The body of the email should be direct and informative and should carry all the relevant information.

Be polite – Messages you send via email are a reflection of your professionalism. Avoid informal language, jargon, inappropriate abbreviations. Recipients may decide to print emails or share them with others, so be polite.

Check the tone – When we meet people face to face, we use the other person’s body language and facial expressions to assess how they feel. In the case of an email, we are unable to see the other person and we can’t tell when people have misunderstood our messages. It is therefore important to choose our words carefully, check the sentence length and punctuation as well as capitalization before sending an email.

Proofread your emails – Before you hit ‘send’, take a moment to review your email for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Pay careful attention to the length of your email and once you have checked it thoroughly, hit ‘send’,

 

The seven qualities of a successful email are

Concise

Intention focused

Summarize

Well organized

Visually scannable

Polite and tone appropriate

Clear on action

 

How can we solve the email communication problem?  There isn’t a single correct answer, but here are 4 bullet points to help you out:

Be clear. Be brief. – Write short email messages with a crystal-clear point.  Do not write long winded confusing paragraphs that leave room for misinterpretation.

Proofread. – Proofread your message multiple times.  If the email deals with touchy subject matter, have a third-party read it over as well.  This can give you added perspective on how well it will be received by the intended recipient.

Wait. – Write the email, proofread it, and then sit on it for a little while.  Knock off a couple other tasks before you have second look at it.  If your emotions were flaring when you wrote the email, a little time can allow these emotions to settle, allowing you to evaluate the message in a different light.

Pick up the phone! – While email can be a convenient communication channel, certain discussions need to be handled over the phone, or if possible, in person.  If you notice that the situation is starting to deteriorate, don’t send another email, it’s time to pick up the phone or arrange a face to face meeting.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS II SYLLABUS

 

PROGRAM	BAMM
YEAR	FYBMM
SEMESTER	II
COURSE:	EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS -II
COURSE CODE	BAMMEC 201
PAPER	1
TOTAL MARKS	100   (75  : 25)
NO OF LECTURES	48
	SEMESTER II
COURSE CODE	COURSE NAME & DETAILED SYLLABUS
BAMMEC-201	Effective Communication Skills-II

Learning Outcome:     To make the students aware of use of language in media and organization. To equip or enhance students with structural and analytical reading, writing and thinking skills. To introduce key concepts of communications.				Total Lectures: 48 hrs.
Module	Topics	Details
1	Writing
	1.Report writing	Report Writing (English, Hindi or Marathi) General report and News report writing - Basics and Format (Headline, Sub-headline, various type of report	DONE
	2. Organizational writing	Organizational writing : (English, Hindi or Marathi)  Internal communication , E- mails - Email E-mail Etiquette; Overcoming Problems in E-mail Communication, Stake holder communication Circulars- Guidelines for writing a circular- Languages and writing style of a circular- Format of a circular; Notices- Purpose- Format- Important points to remember while writing a notice, Letters of complaint, claim and adjustment, Consumer grievance letters, Letters under the Right to Information Act, Press Release, Letter to the Editor.
	Writing for Publicity materials	Writing for Publicity materials (English, Hindi or Marathi) Headline, sub- headline, Body copy, Slogan, Jingle, Radio spot
2	Editing
	Editing	Editing: (English, Hindi and Marathi) Principles of editing (Punctuation, Substitution of words, Restructuring of sentences, Re-organizing sentence sequence in a paragraph, Use of link words,
		Principles of Coherence and Cohesion, writing synopsis, abstracts, précis writing, news paper editing and magazine editing.
3	Paraphrasing and Summarizing
	Paraphrasing	Meaning , how to  use paraphrase in communication, Paraphrase in plagiarism , Translation
	Summarization	Summarizing content , the points and sub-  points and the logical connection between the points
4	Interpretation of technical data
	Interpret technical data	Read graphs, maps, charts, Write content based on the data provided
Total Lectures				48

Internal evaluation methodology                                                                         25 Marks

Sr no	Project/Assignment
1	Clipping files on various current topics.
2	Publish letters to editors in news media.
3	Reporting of college events.

Bibliography:

• Business Communication - Rhoda A. Doctor and Aspi H. Doctor
•  Communication Skills in English – Aspi Doctor
• Teaching Thinking - Edward De Bono De Bono’s
•  Thinking Course – Edward De Bono Serious Creativity –
• Edward De Bono The Mind Map Book – Buzan Tony
• Becoming a Translator: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Translation - by Douglas Robinson
•  A Textbook of Translation - by Peter Newmark, Newmark

NOTICE

The first step in convening a meeting is sending a notice. A notice is a writing intimation of the date, time, place and the business to be transacted at the meeting to all persons who are entitled to get it. The notice is sent by the secretary of the association or company and it can be posted or inserted in the newspapers in the form of an advertisement.

The notice of a meeting must be sent a certain number of days before the meeting is held so as to enable the persons attending the meeting to have some time to think about the matters to be considered and decided at the meeting. Notices should therefore be sent at least two weeks in advance. Incase of company meetings the usual prescribed period is 21 days.

Points to be noted about issuance of notice:

The notice should be issued by a competent authority like the secretary after obtaining proper authority from the managing committee or board of directors.

It must be sent to all members, without exception, and also to others like auditors who are under the rules entitled to attend the meeting.

The place that is mentioned in the notices, where the meeting is to be held, should be one that is convenient for all to attend. The time should also be convenient for all.

 

Contents (Format) of the notice

The type of meeting – annual general, statutory or extraordinary meeting of the general body or meeting of the Board of Directors or managing committee or sub committee.

The date, time and place of the meeting.

The business to be transacted at the meeting.

A brief agenda.

Specific resolution if received by the secretary from members.

Other announcements, explanatory statements, etc.

 

Sample notice 1

Members of the Youth Movement are hereby informed that the Annual General Body Meeting of the Youth Movement will be held at The Backyard Hall, on 27^th February 2022, at 6 pm. All members are requested to attend.

Secretary. 

 

Sample Notice 2

Notice is hereby given that the 12^th Annual General Meeting of the A. C. Cement Company will be held on Friday, March 10^th 2022, at 5 pm at the Asiatic Society Hall, Mumbai.

Secretary.