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ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2014-2015)

B.E.G.E.-103
Communication Skills in English
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the
Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Authors for the help and guidance
of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do not claim 100%
Accuracy of these sample answers as these are based on the knowledge and capability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample
answers may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of the Questions given in the
Assignment. As these solutions/answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so that the chances of error or mistake
cannot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these
Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer & for
uptodate and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and is referred the official study material
provided by the university.

Answer all questions below. Each question carries 20 marks.

Q. 1. What is emotional intelligence and what are soft skills? Illustrate your points with the help of
examples.
Ans. The highest performing leaders possess Emotional Intelligence, a term popularized by Daniel Goleman in his
book of the same name. He defined emotional intelligence as "the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those
of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships." In the April
2007 issue of PM Network magazine entitled Beyond the Hype, the author recommends that you take an emotional
intelligence quotient (EQ) assessment to "get a base reading." Generally, this type of assessment measures your
current level of awareness, your skills and competencies, and how you view the world and what you value within it.
I use the word 'generally' because there are over 60 different emotional intelligence inventories and assessments
currently available. Regardless of the EQ assessment you select, the results can help you target one or more areas for
development and improvement. And, here's the great news - almost everyone can increase their level of emotional
intelligence.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to
relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Emotional
intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact
with others.
If you have high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional
states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. You can use this understanding of emotions
to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling
life.
Emotional intelligence consists of four attributes:
1. Self-awareness: You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior, know
your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
2. Self-management: You're able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy
ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
3. Social awareness: You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on
emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.
4. Relationship management: You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly,
inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.

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Emotional intelligence is essentially soft skills' more scientific and researched counterpart. Like the soft/hard
concept, "emotional" is both complement and contrast to the "intellectual" or cognitive aspects of intelligence. Both
emotional and intellectual aspects of the brain matter, but scientists are finding that emotion influences everything
from intelligence to life experience much more than previously thought.
Soft skills is a term often associated with a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of
personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize
relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills which are the occupational requirements of a job
and many other activities. They are related to feelings, emotions, insights and (some would say) an 'inner knowing':
i.e. they provide an important complement to 'hard skills' and IQ.
A person's soft skill EQ is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization.
Particularly those organizations dealing with customers face-to-face are generally more successful, if they train their
staff to use these skills. Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and conscientiousness
can yield significant return on investment for an organization. For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by
employers in addition to standard qualifications.
Soft skills revolve around personal relationships, character, and attitude. By developing these skills, you can
increase your work performance, build stronger relationships, and work toward earning a promotion. If you are
finding that some of these soft skills do not come naturally to you, you need to learn how to improve soft skills so they'll
become a natural reflex for you in dealing with people every day. Soft skills are personal attributes that describe an
individual's ability to interact with others. Soft skills, also known as people skills, complement hard skills to enhance an
individual's relationships, job performance and career prospects. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview
but you need soft skills to get -- and keep -- the job.
Q. 2. What are bad news letters? Enumerate do's and don'ts of some bad news letters.
Ans. If you don't want repeat customers for your business and you want existing customers to run away as fast
as possible, write a bad newsletter. Unfortunately, it's very easy to do this. All you need is bad style, excessive
advertising and misinformation.
Write the first part of the bad newsletter by including some general information about your day. Unless the
newsletter is intended for people who know you personally, no reader will be interested. Complaining about something
that happened in your personal life is the worst thing to do in a business newsletter. You should also never start a
newsletter with a glaring advertisement or a link out of the newsletter.
Write the entire newsletter as quickly as possible without much thought or planning. Don't go back and edit or
proofread when you're done. Don't bother to do any research or find out precise facts before writing your newsletter.
Bad newsletters often have spelling, grammar and information errors.
Constructing the bad news letter is a bit trickier. While you want to convey the information as quickly as possible,
you also want to be sensitive to the needs of your readers. The way you present negative information can have a
substantial impact on how the reader views the information and your role in presenting it.
Include excessive advertising in a bad newsletter. Newsletter subscribers sign up because they want information
about a specific topic that you offer. If your newsletter is nothing but a bunch of marketingspeak and links and
banners to affiliate programs or advertising, you'll lose readers. Advertising should be peppered into a quality newsletter
in small doses. Each one should have a personal recommendation or review included.
Format the entire newsletter in a script, graphic or decorative font in one large block of text. Bad newsletters are
unreadable to the average person. If you want to write a bad newsletter, including fancy fonts and excessive color
can help.
The good news letter is usually the easiest to write. It provides positive news, such as awarded contracts and
grants, job offers, information, and other requests.
In a good news letter, you want to relate the news with high emphasis, which means as soon as you possibly can.
In such a letter, you should:
Open politely and positively
Move directly to your main point and make it

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Outline the terms (if applicable)

Reiterate your main point
Close politely and positively
Example:
"I am delighted to inform you that we have accepted your proposal for a grant from the Foundation. The Foundation
is always eager to support much-needed charities such as yours.
Enclosed you will find a sheet detailing the terms of your grant, including the total amount, accounting procedures,
and how we will assess your progress. Please photocopy the sheet, then sign, date, and return it by the end of June.
Congratulations on being chosen for the grant. We look forward to working with you in the near future."
Q. 3. Imagine that you work for a mobile phone company. Write a report on the use of SMS and emails for business purposes in the capital of your state.
Ans. The issue of mobile communication and etiquette has also become an issue of academic interest. The rapid
adoption of the device has resulted in the intrusion of telephony into situations where it was previously not used. This
has exposed the implicit rules of courtesy and opened them to reevaluation.
Talking or texting on a cell phone in public may seem a distraction for many individuals. When in public there are
two times when one uses a phone. The first is when someone is alone and the other is when he/she is in a group. The
main issue for most people is when they are in a group, and the cell phone becomes a distraction or a barrier for
successful socialization among family and friends. In the past few years, society has become less tolerant in terms of
accepting the use of cell phones in public areas for example, public transportation, restaurants and much more. This
is exemplified by the widespread recognition of campaigns such as Stop Phubbing, which prompted global discussion
as to how mobile phones should be used in the presence of others. "Some have suggested that mobile phones 'affect
every aspect of our personal and professional lives either directly or indirectly'" (Humphrey). Every culture varies in
terms of tolerance for cell phone usage, for instance in Western society cell phones are permissible during free time
at schools, whereas in the eastern countries, cell phones are strictly prohibited on school property.
Mobile phone use can be an important matter of social discourtesy: phones ringing during funerals or weddings;
in toilets, cinemas and theatres. Some book shops, libraries, bathrooms, cinemas, doctors' offices and places of
worship prohibit their use, so that other patrons will not be disturbed by conversations. Some facilities install signaljamming equipment to prevent their use, although in many countries, including the US, such equipment is illegal. Some
new auditoriums have installed wire mesh in the walls to make a Faraday cage, which prevents signal penetration
without violating signal jamming laws.
A working group made up of Finnish telephone companies, public transport operators and communications authorities
has launched a campaign to remind mobile phone users of courtesy, especially when using mass transit-what to talk
about on the phone, and how to. In particular, the campaign wants to impact loud mobile phone usage as well as calls
regarding sensitive matters. Trains, particularly those involving long-distance services, often offer a "quiet carriage"
where phone use is prohibited, much like the designated non-smoking carriage of the past. In the UK however many
users tend to ignore this as it is rarely enforced, especially if the other carriages are crowded and they have no choice
but to go in the "quiet carriage".[citation needed] In Japan, it is generally considered impolite to talk using a phone on
any train-e-mailing is generally the mode of mobile communication. Mobile phone usage on local public transport is
also increasingly seen as a nuisance; the city of Graz, for instance, has mandated a total ban of mobile phones on its
tram and bus network in 2008 (though texting and emailing is still allowed).
Q. 4. Explain the concept of 'infotainment'. How is television a liberal educator?
Ans. Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content
in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers." The term can also refer to the hardware/software
products and systems which are built into, or can be added to vehicles in order to enhance driver and/or passenger
experience. It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which
provides a combination of information and entertainment. According to many dictionaries infotainment is always
television, and the term is "mainly disapproving." However, many self-described infotainment websites exist, which
provide a variety of functions and services, many of which include the several increasingly popular social media

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websites and applications being used daily by billions of users worldwide.

A term and popular buzzword for a media device or service that delivers a combination of information and
entertainment. The content delivered via infotainment is designed to be informative yet entertaining enough to attract
and maintain the consumer's interest. Infotainment can refer to a variety of content served through traditional media
such as television, print, radio or the Internet. Television channels like Animal Planet and the Food Network are prime
examples of media serving infotainment content. The term infotainment is also frequently applied to devices designed
to serve infotainment content, such as in-car entertainment and information systems (in-vehicle infotainment).
The label "infotainment" is emblematic of concern and criticism that journalism is devolving from a medium which
conveys serious information about issues affecting public interest, into a form of entertainment which happens to have
fresh "facts" in the mix. The criteria by which reporters and editors judge news value - whether something is worth
putting on the front page, the bottom of the hour, or is worth commenting on at all - are integral parts of this debate.
Some blame the media for this perceived phenomenon, for failing to live up to ideals of civic journalistic responsibility,
while others blame the commercial nature of many media organizations, the need for higher ratings, combined with a
preference among the public for feel-good content and "unimportant" topics like celebrity gossip or sports. In a
critique of infotainment, Bonnie Anderson of News Flash cited a CNN lead story on February 2, 2004 following the
exposure of Janet Jackson's breast on national television. The follow-up story was about a ricin chemical attack on
then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
A specialization process has also occurred, beginning with the rise of mass market special-interest magazines,
moving into broadcast with the advent of cable television, and continuing into new media, like the Internet and satellite
radio.[citation needed] An increasing number of media outlets are available to the public which exclusively focus on
a single topic such as current events, home improvement, history, movies, women and Christianity. Consumers have
a broad choice whether they receive a general feed of the most "important" information of the day or a highly
customized presentation of a single type of content. Highly customized content streams may not be considered
newsworthy nor contain a neutral point of view. Some publications and channels have found a sizable audience in the
"niche" of featuring hard news. Controversy has continued over the size of the audience and whether outlets are
diluting content with too much "soft" news. The distinction between journalists and anchors versus reporters are
"human interest", personality, or celebrity news story pieces.[citation needed] Soft news reporters and stories are
typically directed by marketing share departments based on a demographic appeal and audience share. It is commonly
accepted news anchors are also media personalities which may also be considered celebrities. Media outlets commonly
use on-air personalities for their public appeal to promote the network's investments similar to the regular broadcast
schedule including self-promotion and advertising. Critics might go so far as to view anchors as a weak link, representing
the misplacement of both the credit and the accountability of a news journalism organization-hence adding to a
perceived erosion of journalistic standards throughout the news business.
Most infotainment television programs on networks and broadcast cable only contain general information on the
subjects they cover and should not be considered to be formal learning or instruction. An example of a broadcast may
include accusations of a celebrity or other individual committing a crime with no verifiable factual support or evidence
of such claims. It can be said that many viewers and social critics disapprove of how media, particularly TV and
cable, seem to hurtle from one event to another, often dwelling on trivial, celebrity-driven content. As seen with the
commodification celebrities and public figures/leaders, news media is more frequently commodifying and selling the
stories of people's lives for pure viewer reaction and entertainment, as opposed to more focus being placed on real
stories with informative meaning behind them.
Q. 5. What is corporate communication? Explain various types of corporate communication with the
help of suitable examples.
Ans. Corporate communication is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and
external communications aimed at creating favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company
depends. It is the messages issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its audiences, such as employees,
media, channel partners and the general public. Organizations aim to communicate the same message to all its
stakeholders, to transmit coherence, credibility and ethic. Corporate Communications help organizations explain their

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mission, combine its many visions and values into a cohesive message to stakeholders. The concept of corporate
communication could be seen as an integrative communication structure linking stakeholders to the organization.
Corporate communication is an essential aspect of communication, which needs to be studied and put to use in
corporate organizations for greater efficiency of work. Corporate communication collectively refers to the
communication processes that are meant for corporate or business purposes. Corporate communication refers to the
communication within corporate organization (internal communication) as well as the communication between different
corporate entities (external communication). Corporate communication can make use of different types of mass
media.
Internal Corporate Communication: Internal corporate communication means the communication within a
particular company. Some of the commonly used tools for internal communication can include business meetings,
conferences, interviews, presentations or print media like brochures, newsletters, memos, or business letters. Corporate
communication is used to make announcements, take decisions and in general share information, views and opinions
within organization. Corporate communication is a great way to create a conducive work atmosphere, thus increasing
the productivity of the organization. Factors like work hierarchy come into picture during internal corporate
communication. Depending on the direction of communication, internal corporate communication can be further
classified as horizontal or vertical communication - horizontal referring to communication within peers and vertical
referring to communication within different hierarchies in the organization.
External Corporate Communication: External corporate communication process includes communication of
the corporate organization with its current/potential investors, customers and other corporate entities. The external
corporate communication process includes elements like advertising, marketing and public relations. The external
communication is responsible for the way the company portrays itself to the entire corporate world. Thus, external
corporate communication is instrumental in creating the brand image or brand identity. The advertisement campaigns
and promotional events can be included in external corporate communication as well. Television ads, newspaper ads,
radio jingles, promotional events, or even business proposals, affiliation or partnership proposals are included in external
corporate communication.

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