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Business Communication
BBA: First Semester
Unit 4 & 5
I: Group Decision making

Here are the examples of group decisions: Legislatures decide which bills to pass into law;
juries determine the guilt or innocence of defendants; school boards decide how to structure
the curricula used to teach our children; sales teams decide how to market new products;
corporate boards decide which investments are warranted and which person should serve as
CEO.
Although individuals make many decisions in both the public and private sector,
significant decisions are generally assigned to groups. Groups are seen as superior to
individuals as decision-making entities for at least two reasons. First, groups can represent a
more extensive and more diverse set of perspectives, constituencies, etc. Thus, they tend to
be seen as fairer by providing “voice” or input from a greater portion of the body for which
the decision is made. However, groups are also perceived as “better” than individuals at
making important decisions. The idea that “two heads are better than one” is widespread and
typically accurate.
Group decision-making is a situation faced when individuals collectively choose from
the alternatives before them. According to the idea of synergy, decisions made collectively
tend to be more effective than decisions made by a single individual. Factors that impact
other social group behaviours also affect group decisions.

Moreover, when individuals make decisions as part of a group, there is a tendency to exhibit
a bias towards discussing shared information (i.e. shared information bias), as opposed to
unshared information.

Strengths of Group Decision Making

▪ Groups generate complete information and knowledge.

▪ By aggregating the resources of several individuals, groups bring more input into the decision
process.
▪ In addition to more input, groups can bring heterogeneity to the decision process. They offer
increased diversity of views.
▪ A group will almost always outperform even the best individual. So, groups generate higher
quality decisions.
▪ Finally, groups lead to increase acceptance of solutions. Many decisions fail after the final
choice is made because people don’t accept the solution. Group members who participated in
making a decision are likely to support the decision and encourage others to accept it
enthusiastically.

Weaknesses of Group Decision Making

1. Group decisions are time-consuming. They typically take more time to solve making the
decision alone.
2. Group decisions have conformity pressures in groups. The desire by group members to be
accepted and considered an asset to the group can result in squashing any overt disagreement.

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3. One or a few members can dominate group decision. If this dominated coalition is composed
of low and medium ability members, the group’s overall effectiveness will suffer.
4. Finally, group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility. In an individual decision, it’s
clear who is accountable for the outcome. In a group decision, the responsibility of any single
member is watered down.

Group Decision Making Techniques

1. Brainstorming.
2. Nominal Group Technique.
3. Electronic Meeting.
4. Multi-Voting.
5. Delphi Method.
6. Dialectic Decision Methods.

II: Conflict and Negotiations

Conflict occurs whenever deviations exist in a social situation over issues of substance.
Emotional antagonisms cause frictions between individuals or groups. The traditional view of
conflict revealed that all conflicts are harmful and must be avoided. Professionals of the
human relations avowed that conflict was a natural event in all groups and organizations.
Since conflict was predictable, the human relations discipline supported acceptance of
conflict. Supporters rationalized its existence: It cannot be eradicated, and there are even
times when conflict may promote a group's performance. According to modern theory,
conflicts between human beings are inescapable. They appear as a natural result of change
and can be valuable to the organization, if managed competently.
Main causes of conflict in organization are poor communication, lack of openness,
failure to respond to employee needs. In organizations, there are numerous groups with which
people might categorize. These might be based on personal characteristics such as race or
gender, job function like sales or production, or job level such as manager or non-manager.
Additionally, differences between groups might be highlighted by real differences in power,
opportunity, clients serviced. Filley (1975) recognized various main conditions which could
instigate conflict situations in an organization. These are as follows:

1. Ambiguous jurisdiction, which occurs when two individuals have responsibilities

which are interdependent but whose work boundaries and role definitions are not
clearly specified.
2. Goal incompatibility and conflict of interest refer to accomplishment of different
but mutually conflicting goals by two individuals working together in an
organization.
3. Communication barriers, as difficulties in communicating can cause
misunderstanding, which can then create conflict situations.
4. Dependence on one party by another group or individual.
5. Differentiation in organization, where, within an organization, sub-units are made
responsible for different, specialized tasks. This creates separation and introduces
differentiation. Conflict situations could arise when actions of sub-units are not
properly coordinated and integrated.
6. Association of the parties and specialization. When individuals specialized in
different areas work in a group, they may disagree amongst themselves because
they have different goals, views and methodologies owing to their various
backgrounds, training and experiences.

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7. Behaviour regulation. Organizations have to have firm regulations for individual

behaviour to ensure protection and safety. Individuals may perceive these
regulations differently, which can cause conflict and negatively affect output.
8. Unresolved prior conflicts which remain unsettled over time create anxiety and
stress, which can further intensify existing conflicts. A manager's most important
function is to avoid potential harmful results of conflict by regulating and
directing it into areas beneficial for the organization.

There are different types of conflict:

Substantive conflict: A fundamental disagreement over ends or goals to be pursued
and the means for their accomplishment.
Emotional conflict: Interpersonal difficulties that arise over feelings of anger,
mistrust, dislike, fear, resentment.
Levels of Conflict
In Intrapersonal conflicts, there are actual or perceived pressures from incompatible
goals or expectations. It occurs between two or more individuals who are in opposition to one
another. Conflicts can be Approach-approach conflict, Avoidance-avoidance conflict and
Approach-avoidance conflict.
Intergroup conflict occurs among members of different teams or groups.
Interorganizational conflict generally denotes to the competition and rivalry that characterize
firms operating in the same markets. It encompasses disagreements that exist between any two or
more organizations.
Conflict process in organization:

• The conflict situation,

• Awareness of the situation,
• Realization,
• Manifestation of conflict,
• Resolution or suppression of conflict, and
• After-effects of a conflict situation.

Conflict process

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Four ways to manage conflicts.

1. Styles: Conflict managing behaviour styles such as competition, collaboration, compromise,

avoidance or accommodation may be encouraged appropriately, depending upon the
situation.
2. Improving organizational practices: When cause of conflict is understood, suitable
organizational practices can be used to resolve conflicts such as establishing super ordinate
goals, reducing vagueness, minimizing authority and domain-related disputes, improving
policies, procedures and rules, re-apportioning existing resources or adding new, altering
communications, movement of personnel, and changing reward systems.
3. Special roles and structure: A manager has to begin structural changes needed, including re-
location or merging of specialized units, shoulder liaison functions, and act as an integrator
to resolve conflicts. A person with problem-solving skills and respected by the conflicting
parties can be designated to de-fuse conflicts.
4. Confrontation techniques: Confrontation techniques are intended to explore a mutually
acceptable and enduring solution through partnership and compromise. It is executed that
conflicting parties are ready to face each other amicably and entails intercession, bargaining,
negotiation, mediation, attribution and application of the integrative decision method, which
is a collaborative style based on the premise that there is a solution which can be accepted
by both parties. It involves a process of defining the problem, searching for alternatives and
their evaluation, and deciding by consensus.

Negotiation:
Majority of companies have to negotiate in many areas of organizational conflict. Negotiation
is an open process for two parties to find a satisfactory solution to a complex conflict.
Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt
to agree on the exchange rate for them. In an organizational context, negotiations may take
place between two people, within a group, between groups and over the Internet. Negotiation

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can take extensive forms from skilled negotiator acting on behalf of a particular organization
or position in a formal setting to an informal negotiation between friends. Negotiation can be
contrasted with intervention, where a neutral third party listens to each side's arguments and
attempts to help craft an agreement between the parties. It can also be compared with the
arbitration, which resembles a legal proceeding. In arbitration, both sides make an argument as
to the merits of their case and the arbitrator decides the outcome. This negotiation is also called
positional or hard-bargaining negotiation. Basically, negotiation is a problem-solving
procedure in which two or more people willingly discuss their differences and try to reach a
joint decision on their common concerns. Negotiation requires participants to recognize issues,
about which they differ, educate each other about their needs and interests, generate possible
settlement options and bargain over the terms of the final agreement. Winning negotiations
result in some kind of exchange or promise being made by the negotiators to each other. The
exchange may be tangible or intangible.

Negotiations are categorized by four elements:

1. Some disagreement or conflict exists, which may be perceived, felt or manifest.
2. There is some degree of interdependence between the parties.
3. The situation must be conducive to opportunistic interaction. Each party must have both the
means and, in the inclination, to attempt to influence the other.
4. There exists some possibility of agreement, without which the negotiation cannot bring
about a positive resolution.

There are five steps to the negotiation process

1. Preparation and planning
2. Definition of ground rules
3. Clarification and justification
4. Bargaining and problem solving
5. Closure and implementation

Challenges in negotiation:
The negotiation approaches are intended to benefit organization but sometimes it is difficult to
reach to a conclusion and satisfy all parties. There are many challenges faced by parties to
negotiation and it is necessary to overcome them to effectively operate business. The main
challenge to negotiation is when individuals are not ready to understand the second party at all.
There are individuals who only think about their interests and tend to ignore the interest and
needs of the other. It is important to find out the expectations of the other party as well. For
business negotiation, managers will definitely be appreciated if employee saves organization’s
money. Lack of time is also challenge to effective negotiation. One should never be in a hurry.
Person need time to convince others. It is advised to analyze things carefully and then only
come to conclusions. Going unprepared for a negotiation is intolerable. It is said that don’t
underestimate the second party. One should do his homework carefully. Check out even the
smallest details before going for a negotiation. Lack of patience also leads to a bad negotiation.
Every individual has the right to express his views and one should not interfere in his speech.
People might not agree to him but at least listen to him first. Sit with the second party and make
him realize how the deal would benefit you as well as him. Criticism, sarcasm, derogatory
remarks are the major threats to a successful negotiation. Never ever say anything which might
hurt others. It is advised to avoid last minute changes as it results in confusions and

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misunderstandings. The two parties must be very clear on what they expect from each other,
and must stick to it. Being too rigid is one of the prime challenges to an effective negotiation.
Negotiator must be little flexible. Stay alert while individual is negotiating. Lack of confidence
is again major threats to negotiation.
Many people label negotiation as a formal process of good deal between labour and
management or purchaser and seller. Nevertheless, negotiating is more than this concept. Job
applicants negotiate for their salary, workers bargain for better job projects. To include all of
these situations, it can be explained that negotiation is "a decision-making process among
interdependent parties who do not share identical preferences." Negotiation comprises conflict
management in that it is an effort either to avert conflict or to resolve existing conflict.
Negotiation is an attempt to gain a reasonable exchange among or between the parties.
Successful negotiating needs good knowledge of techniques.

III: Presentation and Interviews

Presentation (Oral) Skills

Presentation is a sort of discourse by an individual comprising varied information. It includes
information given by an individual to customers, employees and other appointees persuading
them orally to continue with their participation in the business activities. The presentation
covers meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, etc., the purpose of a good oral
presentation is to develop a cordial business relationship and develop the business scope and
increase sales.
Types of Presentation Skill
o To give information
o Persuasion
o Goodwill presentation (welcome, a vote of thanks)
o Direction and technical knowledge
o Formal Programme
o Reporting Progress
o Evaluation
o Selling a Product or Service. ...
o Making a Decision. ...
o Solving a Problem.

Techniques of Presentation/ Effective Presentation

1. Overcoming stage fear
2. High level of self-confidence
3. Understanding audience psychology
4. Respect for time management
5. Voice modulation (voice, pitch, tone, speed
6. Domain related knowledge/familiarity
7. Good command over the language
8. Proper use of acronyms aide memoirs
9. The repertoire of anecdotes, fancy words and expressions

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10. Ability to overcome difficult situations

11. Body language
12. Audience analysis
13. Principle of ending
14. Emotional appeal consistency
15. Principle of simplicity, clarity, purpose, time

What is the interview?

The objective of the interview is to evaluate the candidates for different purposes. In a broad
sense, interviewing is the process whereby individuals (usually two) exchange information.
The individuals may be concerned with a job opening, a promotion, a particular assignment, a
product sale, information for intelligence purposes, a proposed merger, or other questions.
The information exchanged need not be limited to facts. In business, mainly, such products of
an interview as meaning and understanding are frequently more significant than objective
factual statements.
H.P. Young: “the interview is a technique of fieldwork which is used to watch the behaviour
of an individual to recorded statements to observe the concrete results of social or group
interaction.”
M.K. Sharma: “An interview is an introspective account-cum-psychological analysis of the
mind of a person, as a psychological document of his personality.”
Types of interview
1. Regarding employment
2. Complaints
3. Amendment
4. Counselling
5. Face to face discussion
6. Decision making
7. Orientation
8. Promotion
9. Media interview
10. Research interview
11. Matrimonial interview
12. Grievance interview

Effective Interviewing
The following points help to become effective interviewer:
1. Be well informed about the candidate and related subjects
2. Do your homework
3. Understand your role
4. Put them at ease
5. Test knowledge, not ignorance
6. Supply questions

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7. Listening skills
8. Take notes
9. Give the source ample time to reply
10. Avoid lecturing the source, arguing or debating
11. Follow a process of elimination
12. Choose proper venue/time
13. Beforehand choose structured/unstructured methods of interview

IV: Customer care Relations

Customer care relations is the company-wide process of nurturing positive relationships with
customers. In other words, it includes the sum of all customer interactions and experiences.
No matter how distinct the different roles of your team, every action taken by every person in
the business contributes to — or detracts from — a positive customer relationship. These
days consumers are interested in what you're selling them, how you're selling it, and what
happens after you've sold it to them. The shift has placed pressure on companies to invest in
their customer care relations and meet rising customer demands.

Customer care relations describes the ways that a company will engage with its
customers to improve the customer experience. This includes providing answers to short-term
roadblocks as well as proactively creating long-term solutions that are geared towards
customer success. Customer relations aims to create a mutually beneficial relationship with
the customer that extends beyond the initial purchase.

The benefits of positive customer relations

1. Customer retention
2. Customer loyalty
3. Customer acquisition
4. Customer satisfaction

Do

• Invest in employee training.

• Create a fulfilling workplace for your customer service reps.
• Improve first call resolution rate.
• Leverage software to increase efficiency.
• Create opportunities for self-service.
• Be accessible.
• Show appreciation.
• Measure and improve customer satisfaction.
• Create a customer-first culture.
• Demonstrate a customer-centric orientation.
• 3Listen carefully and check for accuracy of understanding.
• Deliver effective presentations.
• Answer questions and address objections in a non-threatening way.

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• Ask for the order.

• Assure new customers they are making a sound business decision.

V: Public Relations

“Public relations are the management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains
mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom
its success or failure depends.” Making something appear better than it is. It as a ‘strategic
communication process.’ The aim is to build beneficial relationships between organizations
and their publics.

This process focuses on –

• What information should be released,

• How it should be drafted,
• How it should be released,
• What media should be used to release the information (usually earned or free media is
used for the same).

The functions of public relations manager and public relations agencies include:

1. Anticipating, analysing, and interpreting the public opinion and attitudes of the public
towards the brand and drafting strategies which use free or earned media to influence
them.
2. Drafting strategies to support the brand’s every campaign and new move through
editorial content.
3. Writing and distributing press releases.
4. Speechwriting.
5. Planning and executing special public outreach and media relations events.
6. Writing content for the web (internal and external websites).
7. Developing a crisis public relations strategy.
8. Handling the social media presence of the brand and responding to public reviews on
social media websites.
9. Counselling the employees of the organisation with regard to policies, course of
action, organisation’s responsibility and their responsibility.
10. Dealing with government and legislative agencies on behalf of the organisation.
11. Dealing with public groups and other organisations with regard to social and other
policies of the organisation and legislation of the government.
12. Handling investor relations.

Types of Public Relations

1. Media Relations
2. Investor Relations
3. Government Relations
4. Community Relations
5. Internal Relations
6. Customer Relations

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7. Marketing Communications

DO…
2. be inspired
3. know who or what you’re talking about
4. make sure you’re up-to-date on the news
5. guarantee results
6. keep your contact list up to date

DON’T…
1. send out random information
2. count on traditional media relations
3. forget good manners
4. be shy or too subdued
5. become easily discouraged
VI: Non-verbal communication
When a message is communicated through signs, signals or indicators it is known as a
non-verbal communication. Although no word is used in non-verbal communication, it can
effectively communicate many human feelings more accurately than verbal methods of
communication. Common types of nonverbal communication are; eye contact, facial
expressions, gestures, posture and body orientation, body language, touch, para-linguistic,
silence.
Importance of non-verbal communication

Firstly, we can say that non-verbal communication is important in expressing our emotions.
Emotions such as happy, satisfied, confident, surprised, eager, tired, stressed, sad etc. These
are almost all expressed through different body gestures and face.

Secondly, it plays vital role in communicating interpersonal relationships. Through

interpersonal communication we can establish trust in relationships and help determine a
person’s fidelity. And these are possible only through using verbal and non-verbal
communication mode. Interpersonal communication includes communications that occurs
with our words and through our tone of voice, posture and facial expressions.

Thirdly, non-verbal communication is main supporter of verbal interaction. Infect they

supplement each other and give full meaning. Because non-verbal communication can repeat
the spoken message: contradict the message that individual is trying to convey; emphasize the
message, substitute or complement meaning to make it understand clearly.

Fourthly, non-verbal communication also reflects individual’s personality. “Personality is the

entire mental organization of a human being at any stage of his development. It embraces
every phase of human character: intellect, temperament, skill, morality, and every attitude
that has been built up in the course of one’s life

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Lastly, nonverbal communication plays greater role in performing rituals such as greetings
and goodbyes. The smile we smile as soon as we see someone, we recognize from distant
itself tells a lot about importance of non-verbal communication.

Effects of Non-verbal communication

• Repetition
• Contradiction
• Substitution
• Complementing
• Accenting

VII: Kinetics
Body language is the most powerful medium in non-verbal communication. George Terry has
given it a term (Kinesics). It involves twinkling of eyes, lip-twisting and collapsing, etc.,
which reflect the inner feelings of a person who communicates what he/she wants to.

Kinesics refers to body motions and includes eye movements, facial expressions,
gestures, posture, body movements, and touch (Cormier et al., 2017). According to some
experts (Birdwhistell, 1970), kinesics may also include unchanging aspects of the body, such
as height, weight, and physical appearance. In isolation, a single observation of kinesics may
have limited value. Over time, however, patterns that seem correlated with certain subject
matter or emotional content may emerge. Knowing what is being communicated in these
moments will greatly enhance your ability to be of service. Kinesics provides additional clues
to the meaning of a person's verbal messages. Just as the same word can have more than one
meaning, so too do nonverbal gestures vary in significance according to context (e.g., smiling
at a wedding or a funeral). Though research on kinesics provides general ideas for extracting
meaning, there is always a risk of overinterpreting or misinterpreting body movements. Let's
consider some selected areas of focus concerning body messaging.

VIII: Body movement

Body movements, or kinesics, include common practices like hand gestures or
nodding. Very often, body movements convey enthusiasm or excitement. For instance, we all
know someone who “talks with his hands.” However, other aspects of kinesics include
actions that we commonly perceive with nervousness or anxiety like involuntary tremors,
frequent clearing of the throat, or a shaking leg. During meetings, it’s best to keep your hands
on a table or in a gentle clasp. You want to avoid “drumming” on your thigh or repeatedly
touching your face, as these are often distracting.

IX: Facial expressions

Without a doubt, the most common—and telling—nonverbal means of
communication is through facial expressions. Human faces are able to make more than
10,000 different expressions, and each one articulates volumes of information with ease.
Smiling, frowning, blinking, and every teenager’s favorite, eye-rolling, are the strongest and
most relatable expressions, but even the smallest eyebrow twitch or nostril flare can be read
with minimal effort. The most surefire way to establish a connection with a stranger, client,

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or even long-time acquaintance: Smile! A smile is welcoming, warm, and establishes you as a
person who people want to spend time with.
Scientific studies of facial expressions and emotion (Cohn & Ekman, 2008; Ekman,
1993) have confirmed much of what you may intuitively sense when looking at another
person. Although the face is something that people usually learn to control, in unguarded
moments all of us may reveal more than we want. It would appear that specific facial areas
tend to convey specific emotions. You can usually see anger in the brows and lower face, for
instance, while fear appears in the eyes. The mouth and jaw tend to display surprise,
happiness, and disgust. For the most part, cultural differences are not thought to influence
basic emotional responses shown in the face.

X: Posture
Posture is critical in making a strong impression. How you stand or sit is one of the
important elements in how you are perceived by others. Someone who stands with their back
straight and head held high exudes confidence, assurance, and strength, while, conversely,
someone who is slouched or facing the floor demonstrates uncertainty, indifference, or even
weakness. To express friendliness and positivity, maintain an open posture. Stand with your
legs hip-distance apart and keep your torso exposed as opposed to covered with your crossed
arms. Keep your head raised and relax your facial expression. A closed posture, especially
crossed arms across the chest, gives the impression of boredom or hostility.

XI: Eye-contact
Perhaps the best way to build rapport with a stranger is by maintaining eye contact.
Eyes can indicate interest, attention, and involvement, while failing to make eye contact may
be interpreted as disinterested, inattentive, or rude. However, this doesn’t mean you have to
stare directly into the face of another person—quite the opposite, in fact. There is nothing
more aggressive than staring intensely into someone’s eyes. Experts suggest that healthy eye
contact consists of looking semi-randomly at the area around the eyes, which includes the
eyelids and eyebrows.
Much of what we sense about another person comes from the eyes. The way people's
eyes appear when we engage in conversation offers hints about their inner states. Do they
look at you when speaking? Is there deeper meaning in someone's raised eyebrows or
furrowed brow? Does the person blink often, or is his gaze more of a stare? Being aware of
subtle eye movements provides clues about how best to respond to client needs. If the person
easily reciprocates your attentive eye contact throughout the coaching conversation, it would
make sense to interpret this as an expression of interest and interpersonal comfort. However,
when a client shifts her eyes from side to side or looks down rather than directly at you, she is
not necessarily conveying avoidance or disinterest.

XII: Proxemics
Proxemics is the study of how our use of space influences the ways we relate with others. It
also demonstrates our relational standing with those around us (May). Edward Hall developed
four categories of space we use in the U.S. to form and maintain relationships. Intimate space
consists of space that ranges from touch to eighteen inches. We use intimate space with those
whom we are close (family members, close friends, and intimate partners). Intimate space is
also the context for physical fighting and violence. Personal space ranges from eighteen inches
to four feet and is reserved for most conversations with non-intimate others (friends and

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acquaintances). Social space extends from four to twelve feet and is used for small group
interactions such as sitting around a dinner table with others or a group meeting. Public space
extends beyond twelve feet and is most often used in public speaking situations. We use space
to regulate our verbal communication and communicate relational and social meanings. A fun
exercise to do is to go to a public space and observe people. Based on their use of the above
categories of space, try to determine what type of relationship the people are in: Romantic,
Family, or Friends.

XIII:Paralanguage
Any parent with small children is familiar with the phrase “don’t use that tone of voice with
me.” This is a perfect example of how paralanguage—the aspects of the voice that differ from
the words—affects the message. The most obvious example is sarcasm, in which the tone of
what’s being said conveys the opposite of the message. Odds are that someone who drawls
“Grreeeattt” in a laconic tone is less than thrilled at what’s being presented. Less obvious
paralanguage includes the speed, volume, and pitch of speaking. For example, a presentation
mumbled too quickly suggests that the salesman is, at best, nervous, or, at worst, being
disingenuous. Be conscious of how quickly you talk, and be sure to speak clearly and loud
enough to be heard. But be sure to take care not to be too loud, as this comes off as belligerent
and off-putting.

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