IMPORTANCE & UNDERSTANDING CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

IMPORTANCE & UNDERSTANDING CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

In the modern world of business, acquiring and sharpening cross cultural communication skills is a strategic asset as it can:
 Propel ones‟ career path
 Prop ones‟ success in competitive environments
 Reflect ones‟ commitment to quality and excellence
 Make one confident in diverse settings of people from all walks of life
 Help develop an admirable code of conduct for groups and enterprises

Understanding a culture is like peeling an onion. It has several layers that can be peeled off to develop a keen insight of the culture. Broadly, we think in terms of following three layers:

(i) Outer layer

It is what other people associate with that culture, its visual realities:
1. Behaviour
2. Dress
3. Food
4. Language
5. Habitats
It is also referred to as the „Explicit Culture‟.

(ii) Middle Layer

It refers to the values and norms the community holds – these may be right or wrong, good or bad.

(iii) Inner Layer

It is the deepest level and understanding - it leads to the core of it. It is the key to working successfully with other cultures. The core consists of:
1. Basic assumptions
2. Rules
3. Methods of solving or coping with problems
These rules and methods become so embedded in the members who take to it much like breathing, without even stopping to think about them. It is very difficult for outsiders to recognize these. It is also known as the „Implicit Culture‟.

CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION

CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION

With liberalization of national economies and increasing pace of globalization, communication levels have increased among individuals, groups and companies across communities, countries and continents. People with different backgrounds, mindsets and cultures are interacting through conferences, correspondence and non-verbal communication leading to more willing cooperation. Human civilization is developing, progressing and moving forward at a much faster rate than ever before, removing age-old disparities of race, religion and colour. The differences in culture occupy the central stage of emerging global world where progress would largely depend upon how well managers and leaders are able to communicate across varied cultures to achieve common goal of progress for all.

Culture has a powerful influence on individuals‟ way of thinking, saying or doing things:

 Thinking encompasses beliefs, assumptions, values, myths and folklores
 Saying, being the essence of living, determines the way of interacting with ones‟ surroundings – machines, tools, natural resources, food, clothing, shelter etc
 Doing signifies norms of behaviour that include own customs, laws, regulations, ceremonies, fashions, etiquettes etc

Culture provides the meaningful context in which people gather together, think about themselves and interact with the surroundings. It must be remembered that a culture is rational and logical to a community although it may appear irrational and illogical to any one outside that culture. Thus working across culture presents both the biggest challenge and opportunity in a world that is shrinking in terms of time, distance and ability to communicate.

Modern students are required to acquire and possess high degree of skills in communications across diverse cultures. Increasingly students are interacting with persons from different cultures and learning the ways they meet, greet, and communicate with others creates a lasting influence and paves the way for mutually beneficial encounters leading to productive cooperation to accomplish common, agreed objectives.

NEGOTIATION - OVERVIEW

NEGOTIATION - OVERVIEW

Negotiation is a process of conferring, discussing and bargaining with two or more parties with different needs and wants to reach agreement. Negotiation is at the heart of selling any product or service, clinching orders for purchasing / procurement and resolving conflicts / disagreements among management and union, nations, communities and individuals.
Successful negotiators are rated as effective by the parties in dispute, have a track record of significant success and have low incidence of implementation failures. They have markedly different behaviour as they avoid use of „irritators‟, offer fewer counter proposals, avoiding getting in to „defend- attack spiral‟ and avoid dilution of agreement. They often give advance indication of behaviour supporting agreement, give reasons before indicating disagreement, resort to testing understanding by summarizing, seek more information and share own feelings to build trust.
Negotiations must be planned meticulously by spending quality time in preparations, exploring range of options available, focusing on common grounds, freeing issues from sequencing and scheduling, concentrating on long term issues and setting the maximum, the minimum and the target values for issues under negotiations.

In general, process of negotiations follows three patterns – firstly, giving ones‟ point of view, secondly, giving ones‟ point of view while simultaneously analyzing others‟ objections and own counters and thirdly, finding and enlarging common grounds of agreement. Skilled negotiators adopt the third pattern.

Researchers have identified four styles of negotiations – factual, intuitive, normative and analytical. Individuals should determine own style of negotiations and enhance their negotiation skills.
Negotiating power is individuals‟ ability to influence others‟ decisions and is dependent upon others‟ perception of ones‟ capability. Negotiating power is not a physical force nor does it advocate starting tough and soften up later. Sources of negotiating power are linked to power of skills, knowledge and good relationships. This negotiating power can also flow from seeking good alternatives to negotiations, finding elegant solutions and remaining legitimate and committed.

Bargaining is integral to the process of negotiation and is more pronounced in individual and collective forms of employee relations. In such situations there are two extreme positions – pure negotiations or joint problem solving. Several bargaining models are available but the most popular one has four stages viz. initial positioning, testing positions, giving concessions and arriving at settlement. Bargaining involves skills of analysis, ability to argue effectively, signal cooperation and an eye for details.

NEGOTIATIONS VS BARGAINING

NEGOTIATIONS  VS  BARGAINING

Both individual and collective forms of employee relations depend upon negotiations – they involve bargaining.
(1) Two Extreme Positions
Such bargaining situations should always be thought in terms of the following diagram with two poles at the extreme points as shown:

 Pure Negotiations
 Joint Problem Solving

(i) Pure Negotiations
When management and union are incompatible, opposed and mutually destructive, it is lose-lose situation. Important forces are keeping them apart and negotiations tend to be distributive when size of the cake is known and it is to be shared.

(ii) Joint Problem Solving
This is the other extreme situation. It represents the integrative approach. Such behaviours take place when objectives of both the union and management are compatible, supportive and mutually reinforcing. It is win-win situation. Although it is rare, efforts should be made to move as near to this situation as possible.
Managers tend to operate between the two polarities. The extent to which a negotiator can move
towards the joint problem solving position depends upon the followings:

 The Issue
 The situation
 The people involved
 The negotiating behaviours displayed

(2) Model for Bargaining
There are several models available for bargaining. However, a popular one by Lyons (1988) has the following four stages:

(i) Initial positioning stage
Two sides set out their bargaining position and typically, both parties seem to be rigid and unwilling to compromise. Heated discussions may be marked with a great deal of hostility at this stage. The gap between two positions may be so great that negotiations may seem doomed to failure.

(ii) Testing stage
After protracted and fruitless debate, negotiations move to the stage of informal probing. Each party checks out details of the other side‟s demands to identify issues that are:

 Really un-modifiable
 Open to compromise

(iii) Concession stage
Some concessions emerge leading to exchange of tentative proposals.

(iv) Settlement stage
A breakthrough happens and bargaining leads to an agreement that is finally signed and sealed.

(3) Skills required for effective bargainin following skill sets that can enhance skills for bargaining:

(i) Analysis
Negotiators should have the ability to analyze the situation from own and other sides‟ perspective quickly. Negotiators should be able to think through the complete process from the beginning and decide on:

 Items that can be agreed on win-win basis
 Items that can be agreed on win-lose basis

Negotiators must remember that winning a small concession is not worthwhile if it damages the working relationship long term. Win-win deals happen when both sides feel they have gained and are always preferred.

(ii) Effective argument
Effective communication requires a great deal of patience. Good negotiators have to achieve a balance between aggressive and submissive styles of conversation by being assertive when one conveys one‟s viewpoint while simultaneously listening to the contrarian views. Abusive and petty-mindedness destroy mutual respect. It is necessary to keep communication open however unsuccessful bargaining may be.

(iii) Signals of cooperation
Skilled negotiators are able to sense and seize small signs and clues of compromise, consensus and cooperation. They use tit-for-tat principle and return every compromise offered with a concession from their side. Every offer should be conditional to cooperative response.

(iv) Attention to details
Negotiations should be comprehensive and negotiators should have an eye for details. In bargaining, there is no room for late withdrawal of an offer made!

NEGOTIATING POWER

NEGOTIATING POWER

Negotiation may be understood as a process of conferring and communicating with two or more parties for the purpose of influencing their decisions for an agreement. However, the concept of negotiating power is a little difficult to comprehend – it is one‟s ability to influence others‟ decisions and depends upon others‟ perception of one‟s capability and not what he actually has. In essence, negotiation power is all a matter of perception!

(1) Myths about negotiating power

Two popular myths that must be overcome are:

(i) Negotiating power is the physical force
Physical force is considered to be both necessary and sufficient element of negotiating power. It must be understood that the total negotiating power depends up on many factors and enhancing the total power is building up the combined potential of all of them. Effective negotiating power is orchestrating all the factors so as to maximize their cumulative effect.

(ii) Start tough as one can always go soft later
It is also influenced by the concept of physical power and leads to the belief that starting the negotiations with the threat of consequences of non-agreement is preferable. It is true that if other things are equal, more extreme initial position of either demanding high price or offering a low price, final outcome is likely to be more favourable. However, opening with low offer is quite different than opening with the threat of painful consequences if offer is not accepted because if one is committed to threat at an early stage of negotiations, it can severely damage one‟s negotiating power,

(2) Sources of enhancing negotiating power
Following should be used as a checklist for enhancing the negotiating power of individuals:
 Power of skill
 Power of knowledge
 Power of good relationship
 Power of good alternative to negotiations
 Power of elegant solution
 Power of legitimacy
 Power of commitment

These are detailed below:

(i) Power of skill
As discussed above, skilled negotiators have much advantage in being able to secure good agreement that has high degree of implement-ability and stick-ability. These skills can be acquired and persons should have them prior to actual negotiations.

(ii) Power of knowledge
Knowledge may be of general type regarding procedural options, awareness of members‟ style of negotiation and impact of cultural differences if any. A person with a repertoire of examples, precedents and illustrations can enhance his persuasive power.
Specific knowledge of particular issues under negotiations can make one even more powerful. Followings can strengthen one‟s ability to influence:
1. Knowledge about persons involved in the negotiations
2. Knowledge about the interests involved
3. Knowledge about the facts of the issues

(iii) Power of good relationships
Good working relationship does not imply approval of each others‟ conduct although mutual respect and affection may help. Two important aspects of good relationship are:

(a) Trust
It comes from building referent power over time through honesty, integrity and commitment to promises made. Individuals‟ power comes from the perception of others of whether they trust the person involved in negotiations.

(b) Ability to communicate
The process of communication is at the heart of negotiations – the ability to influence others to a common objective. Inter-personal communication is a difficult issue especially among adversaries when chances of miscommunication are the greatest.
Knowing and working with one another for a longer period help to improve mutual understanding and communications can be more effective and meaningful. A relationship that has the history of resolving issues amicably can lead to building relationship of cooperation and trust.

(iv) Power of devising good alternative to negotiations
In learning how to enhance one‟s negotiation skills, we ask individuals to develop „Best Alternative to Negotiated Settlement‟ (BATNA). The idea is to develop the most promising solution / agreement and then improve it to the extent possible. The greater the ability to develop an alternative outside of negotiations, higher would be the power of that person to secure a favourable negotiated settlement.

(v) Power of elegant solution
In any negotiation, there are several shared and conflicting interests. Although skilled negotiators initiate brainstorming sessions with the team to generate many options to satisfy legitimate interests of both parties, inventing a good, elegant solution enhances the negotiating power of the negotiators. It enables the negotiators to secure a more favourable outcome.

(vi) Power of legitimacy
The proposed solution should be legitimate as that enhances its acceptability. An outcome is legitimate when:
1. It is fair
2. Law requires it
3. It is consistent with precedent
4. It is the industry practice
5. It is based on sound policy
6. It is legitimate applying some other standards
7. It is legitimate in the eyes of the other side
Such solutions increase the negotiating power of individuals as they become more acceptable.

(vii) Power of commitment
Although planning for commitment is done in advance, commitments are made during the negotiations only. Every commitment involves decision making. Broadly there are two types of commitment:

(a) Affirmative commitments
These are:
 Offers that a party is willing to agree
 Offers that a party is willing to accept under certain conditions, failing agreement
Every offer ties up negotiators‟ hands. Power of positive commitment has the power of invitation to the other party. A skilled negotiator formulates the offer in a manner that would maximize all the above powers of negotiation. It has, therefore, the highest chance of being accepted.

(b) Negative commitments
These are:
 Unwilling to make certain agreements even though they would be better than no agreements
 Threat, failing agreement, to engage in certain negative conduct even though it would be worse than having no agreement
Negative commitment is the most controversial and troublesome element of negotiating power. It is also the last resort of the negotiators. The earlier a negotiator announces a „take-it-or-leave-it‟ position, less likely it would be that he has maximized the cumulative impact of all the elements of negotiation power.
Analysis of the negative commitments suggests:
 It is a mistake to attempt to influence the other side by negative commitment at the early stages of negotiation without having made use of other elements of negotiating power.
 If it is made as a last resort, it should be formulated to reinforce and complement other elements of negotiating power and not undercut them. Even then, it should be done in line with the tradition of maintaining good working relationship and concepts of legitimacy.

NEGOTIATION STYLES

NEGOTIATION STYLES

The following four styles of negotiators:
 Factual style
 Intuitive style
 Normative style
 Analytical style
Each of these styles is detailed below:

(1) Factual style
Such persons make the basic assumption that facts speak for themselves.
(i) Behaviours exhibited
They:
1. Point out facts in a neutral way
2. Keep track of what has been said
3. Remind people of their statements made earlier
4. Know most of the details of issues discussed
5. Share details with others
6. Relate facts to experience and clarify
7. Are low key in their reactions
8. Look for proof and documents of statements
9. Use keywords like: clarify, define, explain, facts etc
(ii) Guidelines
1. Be precise in presenting facts
2. Refer to what has been carried out
3. Know the dossier complete with details
4. Document what they say

(2) Intuitive Style
These persons work on the basic assumption that imagination can solve any problem,
(i) Behaviours exhibited
They:
1. Make warm and enthusiastic statements
2. Focus on the entire problem
3. Pin-point the essentials of problem(s)
4. Make projections in to the future
5. Are imaginative and creative in analyzing the situation
6. Go beyond the facts
7. Come up with new ideas all the time
8. Push and withdraw from time to time
9. Put two and two together very quickly
10. Get their facts wrong sometime
11. Use deductive logic
12. Use keywords like: creative, essential, idea, tomorrow etc
(ii) Guidelines
1. Focus on the situation as a whole
2. Tap the imagination and creativity of the team
3. Build on the reaction of other persons

(3) Normative style
They operate on the basic assumption that negotiating is bargaining.
(i) Behaviours used
They:
1. Assess, judge and evaluate facts according to their personal values
2. Approve or disapprove, agree or disagree based on own norms of behaviour
3. Use loaded words
4. Offer bargains
5. Propose rewards and incentives
6. Appeal to emotions and feelings to reach a fair deal
7. Are demanding, threatening and coercing
8. Use authority, power and status
9. Correlate with other people
10. Make effective statements
11. Focus on people and their reactions
12. Judge others‟ responses
13. Pay attention to communication and other group processes
14. Use keywords like: wrong, right, good, bad, like etc
(iii) Guidelines
1. Establish sound relationships
2. Identify partners‟ values and adjust to them
3. Appeal to partners‟ feelings

(4) Analytical style
These negotiators work on the basic assumption that logic leads to the right conclusions.
(i) Behaviours used
They:
1. Formulate reasons and logic to the case under negotiations
2. Argue in favour of own position and against others‟ position
3. Divide, analyze and break down each situation and its cause and effect
4. Identify relationships of parts
5. Put things in logical order
6. Weigh pros and cons thoroughly
7. Make identical statements
8. Use linear reasoning, being inductive in logic
9. Use keywords like: because, consequently, in order to, then, therefore etc
(iii) Guidelines
1. Use logic while arguing
2. Look for causes and effects
3. Analyze options with pros and cons
Standard toolkit of questionnaires is available for determining one‟s style of negotiation and has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing individuals‟ negotiation skills.

BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS OF SKILLED NEGOTIATORS

BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS OF SKILLED NEGOTIATORS

Skilled negotiators have markedly different pattern of behaviour than the average negotiators. Based on a research carried out on face-to-face negotiations, it has been found that following behaviours were used by skilled negotiators more frequently:

(1) Behaviours that are avoided

(i) Using irritators
Negotiators tend to use certain words / phrases that do not add any value to the process of persuasion that moves parties closer to agreement. For instance,
 Using the prefix of „generous offer‟ to own proposal
 Using „fair‟ or ‟reasonable‟ for own offers
Although it is rather difficult to avoid saying favourable things about ourselves, these should be treated as „irritators‟ as they tend to offend the other party. Skilled negotiators use these irritators about 2 times per hour compared to 11 times by average negotiators in the face-to-face negotiations.

(ii) Making counter proposals
During negotiations, it happens frequently that the moment one party puts forward a proposal the other party follows it up immediately with a counter proposal. Skilled negotiators make such counter proposals less often – only about 2 times against 3 times per session made by average negotiators. Disadvantage of making counter proposals are:
 Introducing new and additional options leads to complicating and clouding the clarity of negotiations
 Giving counter proposals when the other party is pre-occupied with own proposal, are not received well
 The other party usually perceives counter proposals as a way of blocking or conveying their disagreement

(iii) Avoiding „Defend / Attack Spiral‟
Negotiations often happen for resolving conflicts. When negotiators use emotional or value-loaded behaviour to attack the other party or to defend own proposal, the process goes in to a spiral and the line between defend / attack blurs. One party may perceive it as a legitimate defence while the other may deem it as an unwarranted attack. Skilled negotiators use it about 2 times per hour against the average negotiators‟ 6 times in face-to-face negotiations.
(iv) Avoiding dilution of argument
Laypersons seem to think that more reasons or justifications offered to support an issue, better are the chances of their acceptance by the other party. In reality, opposite is true because more arguments lead to more dilution because the opposite party would use the weakest justification to hit back. Thus the weakest argument dilutes the stronger ones and becomes the common denominator of the process in hand. Skilled negotiators use them less often.

(2) Behaviours that are used frequently
These are:

(i) Giving advance indication of behaviour supporting agreement
Skilled negotiators tend to label their behaviour before setting it out especially if there is no disagreement involved whereas average negotiators tend to be abrupt. For example, prefacing a question by saying, „Can I ask a question ………‟. Labelling behaviour beforehand has some advantages:
 It draws the attention of listeners to the issue stated and would lead to a response from the other party.
 It slows down the negotiations as parties take time to gather their thoughts from the previous statements made before they can respond.
 It adds a certain formality which keeps the negotiations at rational level.
 It reduces ambiguity and leads to clearer communications

(ii) Giving reasons before indicating disagreement
There is a marked difference between skilled negotiators and average negotiators when it comes to expressing disagreement:
An average negotiator would say that „I disagree with that because ………‟ whereas a skilled negotiators is more likely to begin with the reasons and explanations before making the statement of disagreement. This is illustrated below:
Average Negotiators
Statement of Disagreement followed by Reasons and Explanations
Skilled Negotiators
Reasons and Explanations before Statement of Disagreement

(iii) Testing understanding and summarizing
Testing understanding is a behaviour used by negotiators to check and establish whether the previous statement has been understood by the other party. Summarizing is making a compact statement of points discussed previously. Both the behaviours are useful as they sort out misunderstanding and reduce misconceptions. Skilled negotiators tend to use them twice as more frequently than average negotiators because of the following reasons:
 Concern for clarity and prevention of misunderstanding
 A measure of reflection of the other party‟s response
 A concern for stick-ability and implement-ability of agreement

(iv) Seeking more information
Skilled negotiators seek more information than the average negotiators. Their justifications are:
 Need to obtain necessary information to use it for bargaining
 Using the strategy of asking questions as they:
1. Give control over discussions
2. Are more acceptable alternatives to disagreements
3. Keep the other party active, leaving little time to think
4. Give time to negotiators to collect own thoughts

(v) Sharing feelings
Skilled negotiators tend to play their cards very close to their chest and are often able to keep their feelings to themselves. It is almost impossible to measure these feelings in any research. However, an indirect indicator is available as they tend to give „internal information‟ more often that the average negotiators. Giving internal information amounts to sharing with others as to what is transpiring in their mind. Such revelations may or may not be genuine. Giving internal information has also been used instead of disagreeing behaviour.
Psychologists are of the opinion that expressing feelings helps build trust.

CRITERIA OF A SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATOR

CRITERIA OF A SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATOR

There has been a considerable debate and discussions on the traits of successful negotiators. Research on the subject has evolved broad consensus on the following criteria for determining skilled negotiators:

(1) Rated as effective by the parties.

This precondition for identifying candidates for further study enables to prevent picking a person from a single frame of mind.

(2) Have a track record of significant success

The central criterion for choosing effective negotiators is their track record over time to ensure an element of consistency so as to avoid any conclusions based on short term studies where agreements might have been secured through tricks or deception.

(3) Have a low incidence of implementation failures

The purpose of negotiations is not only to reach agreements but also to make them work during implementation. Track record of successful implementation is a pre-requisite for identifying skilled negotiators.

NEGOTIATION

NEGOTIATION

Negotiation may be defined as a process of conferring, discussing or bargaining among two or more parties with different needs and wants to reach an agreement in business or diplomacy. It is intended to settle and conclude a deal that enables people to succeed, surmount difficulties and accomplishing objectives.

Negotiations have become important and integral part of any business / diplomacy. It is the core process for selling any product, service or an idea; it is the heart of clinching orders for purchasing and procurement work and it is resorted to by management team to either jointly solve disputes, disagreements or to bargain new wage and salary structure with the representative union.
Although conducting negotiations among business partners is fairly regular, always remember the famous advice of John F Kennedy, the late President of USA:
„Do not ever fear to negotiate but never negotiate out of fear‟.

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR WRITTEN REPORTS

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR WRITTEN REPORTS

The reports that are most popular in business are the stand-alone type and are prepared by individuals or teams and circulated to the concerned persons under cover of a letter. Although format of reports is influenced by the topic under study, a generalized format covers the followings:

1 Title page
2 Acknowledgement
3 Executive summary
4 Table of contents
5 Main body of the report
5.1 Introduction / Background
5.2 Defining the problem
5.3 Analysis of data, facts and supporting evidence
5.4 Conclusions
5.5 Recommendations
5.6 Implications for other functions in the organization
5.7 Appendices

All reports may not contain the topics suggested under the heading of „Main body of the report‟. Each of these items has been explained as follows:

(1) Title page
Every enterprise, organization and institution should standardize a format for use by all report writers. Among the many variations of the title page in use,

(2) Acknowledgement
In the compilation, analyses of data, facts etc for the preparation of the report, the individuals or the team might have requested and received valuable help and suggestions. It is a good practice to thank the persons individually or collectively for the help extended by them for the completion of the report.
The acknowledgement should normally cover not more than half-full A-4 size word processed page and should be signed by all the persons who have authored the report.

(3) Executive summary
The term „executive‟ has been derived from its usage in USA where „executive‟ are members of the top rung of the organization covering Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO) etc. This is an extremely important page and must be written in very compelling language covering the main recommendations. first and if there are some useful recommendations, they go to the paragraph on detailed recommendations in the „main body‟ of the report. Since it is in writers‟ interest to not only attract the attention of senior executives but also induce them to read the entire report from first page to last, critical role of this section called „executive summary‟ cannot be over-emphasized.

(4) Table of contents
This is a must because most business reports run in to several pages. This page reveals the overall design of the report and guides the readers to the page number of any topics that they like to peruse.

(5) Introduction / Background
This section highlights the possible reasons for initiating this study / investigation. It should focus on how broken the existing process or situation is and its implications in terms of costs incurred by the company. Japanese always highlight the losses incurred by the firm in continuing with the existing system, procedure or practice. This approach builds / attracts supporters for the change(s) the report is going to propose.

(6) Defining the problem
After setting up the background in the introductory paragraph, writers must proceed to define the problem formally. A good definition of the problem would invariably incorporate the main purpose of the study. It would also indicate the direction of possible solution(s).

(7) Facts, Data and supporting evidence
Definition of problem also paves the way for compiling, examining and analyzing of the relevant data. This part may have to be spread over several headings that need to be sequenced properly in a logical manner.
Care must be taken not to clutter the body of the report with too much of data tabulation if conclusions are based on the overall summary of the data. In such cases, detailed tabulation should be shifted to appendices and only summary reported in the text. This enhances readability of the report and what is easy to read or see, is easier to comprehend. Process of mental assimilation is associated with a lot of abstraction and simplification.

(8) Conclusions
Having described all the relevant facts in the above paragraphs, it is now time to integrate the different parts of the investigation and come to a few clear conclusions. The intention of following this sequence is to convince the readers in a very logical manner about the soundness of approach and consequently the integrity of the conclusions arrived at. Also, it sets the stage for formulating the recommendations of the study.

(9) Recommendations
We have now readied the readers to focus on the recommendations. These must be drawn in the order of their importance to the company. This order may not follow the sequence of study. Since writers have to develop the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in selling their suggestions for acceptance, sequence of presentation of recommendations can be quite different from the sequence followed in the findings.

(10) Implications
In most companies, decisions are taken by a group of managers. Many a good suggestions flounder because someone raises a question about its implications for other wings of the organization. To forestall such eventualities, it is always better to highlight implications, if any for other departments and functions.
In this paragraph itself, suggestions that can be replicated in other parts of the enterprise with considerable gains, should be highlighted. It must be remembered that these form the additional merits of recommendations that must be added to enhance the salability of recommendations.

(11) Appendices
In many detailed and technical investigations, a lot of tables, charts and graphs can be pushed back in to appendices. It serves two purposes:
 It improves readability of the report
 It adds to the credibility of the findings if supporting data is also furnished.

(12) Bibliography and webliography
Writers tend to minimize the role of providing the necessary references in the bibliography. It gives a very favourable impression of the team and highlights the efforts put in by them for the in-depth study carried out. In the contemporary world, searching the web for seeking the latest development on any subject has become very popular especially with management students. The specific web sites consulted should get proper mention in the bibliography. However, in no case, search engines should be mentioned as references as they are mere tools to get to a particular site, similar to going to library before one can consult a book!

PREPARING A WRITTEN REPORT

PREPARING A WRITTEN REPORT

Written reports have emerged as very useful tools in decision-making in large organizations. Usually some vital decisions are taken and if companies have to survive and grow in competitive environments, quality and reliability of decisions must be world class. This requires great care while preparing the written reports. Six important steps are:

 Knowing the purpose of the report
 Visualizing the reader(s)
 Choosing the ideas
 Collecting all facts and data backing the ideas
 Organizing ideas in the most effective manner
 Writing, rewriting and rewriting

(1) Knowing the purpose of the report

Reports are generally investigative in nature. The senior management while appointing the task force or team to look in to the issue(s) must indicate the purpose. Sometimes, the purpose is vague in the beginning and after some initial exploration, the real purpose becomes clearer.
However, in all events, readers, even before they begin to go through the reports, should know the purpose of the writer. It is always difficult to grasp the ideas if the purpose of the report is not clear.
This highlights the importance of crafting a good title for the report. The wordings of the title of the report should cover the purpose in a precise, concise and specific manner.

(2) Visualizing the reader(s)

Reports should adapt to the mental frame of the readers. Since business reports have limited circulation, it is easier to visualize the possible readers and identify their business and professional background:
 Bosses, peers or subordinates
 Gender – man or woman
 Age – young, middle-aged or old
 Length of service with the firm – new or old associate
If report is meant for a larger group, the typical characteristics of the receivers must be visualized and borne in mind while writing the report. In short, writers must have a healthy love and respect for their readers – report has to attract and sustain their attention!

(3) Choosing the ideas

After knowing the purpose, the various ideas that come to mind must be written succinctly. Here effort should be made to jot down all the possible key words of the ideas that flash in the mind of the writer. After writing down the ideas, next step is to sequence them in some logical and systematic way for making it easier for the readers to understand and grasp the ideas.

(4) Collecting all facts and data backing the ideas

The writers must remember that the written report has to be a very compelling document supporting the ideas you want to sell to your superiors, peers and subordinates. Here writers should make a list of the ideas in the left half of the paper and then on the corresponding right half, write the data / facts that must be collected in support of those ideas. This draft action plan would save time and effort of the team who would collect the relevant data required for the subject.

Having collected all the relevant data, writers must edit in terms of the most suitable sequencing of the ideas for influencing the receivers. For ease of readability, all the data may not have to be put in the main body of the report – detailed tables, charts etc may be put in the appendices at the end of the report. Only the summary of the data may be put in the main body to ensure the write up moves forward with every paragraph.

(5) Organizing ideas in the most effective manner

The order in which the ideas will be presented is as important as the ideas themselves. The discipline of translating your thoughts in to appropriate words and organizing these thoughts and words logically has no equal in the intellectual training. This process of „wordsmithy‟ is very invigorating and satisfying to the writers of any communication, especially the business reports.

(6) Writing, rewriting and rewriting …..

It is well known secret of the industry that good authors, journalists and correspondents write, rewrite and rewrite…….. To be able to do it, contents have to be rewritten repeatedly with a view to improving them; it also requires an innate respect and love for the readers.
To revise any draft effectively, it should be read objectively and with a fresh mind from the viewpoint of the readers. Writers must read paragraph by paragraph and check the continuity of the ideas. Every word, figure and image must be checked thoroughly.
Wherever possible, consider suggestions from knowledgeable colleagues and subordinates.

ADVANTAGES& LIMITATIONS OF WRITTEN REPORTS

ADVANTAGES& LIMITATIONS OF WRITTEN REPORTS

Among other merits, following could be enumerated:

1. Provide record for both the parties – sender and receiver
2. Provide a reference that can be distributed to all concerned
3. Writers have time to think and ponder before writing
4. Writers can change and chop the text several times before its submission
5. Receivers can go over the reports several times
6. Receivers can construct better response as they too have time to think and ponder

A few major limitations  are:

1. No immediate feedback is available.
2. Lack of personal contact with the readers
3. Readers cannot ask questions by way of clarification
4. Text of the reports is not adjustable as is possible with oral reports

FEATURES OF GOOD BUSINESS REPORT

FEATURES OF GOOD BUSINESS REPORT

(1) Accuracy of facts
Since reports are used for decision-making, inaccurate and unverified facts can lead to disastrous results. It is said, „What is worse than no information is wrong information‟.
(2) Brevity
Difficult to define, it is also not possible to state it as a rule to be followed for writing reports. Good reports are brief but brevity should not be achieved at the cost of clarity nor should it be at the expense of completeness. Thus the reports should include everything that is relevant yet be brief!
(3) Clarity
Clarity comes from orderly, systematic and clear thinking. Reports should be skillfully divided in to short paragraphs, giving headings and inserting signposts to attract attention and securing sustained interest of the readers who are indeed customers.
(4) Free from grammatical errors
Good reports are a good piece of composition presented attractively and free of any grammatical error. If choice of words is faulty, construction of sentences is confusing and design of paragraphs is dull, reports would find few readers. If reports require too much of sorting out of data and sifting out the meanings before taking decisions, it would always leave a lurking doubt in the decision makers‟ mind. And if decisions do not reflect the conviction of management, they are unlikely to be implemented properly.
(5) Objectivity of recommendations
Recommendations should be objective and impartial. These must be based on logical conclusions of the investigation, analysis and findings. Self-interest of the individuals should not creep in directly or indirectly.
(6) Unity and Cohesion
If the writers are clear about the main purpose of the report, it gives unity and cohesion to the report
(7) Precision
Reports avoid extraneous issues and are precise and incisive. Precision adds value to the report.
(8) Reader-orientation
Reader orientation is customer orientation. Writers must always keep the person(s) going to read the report in mind. Contents of reports to laypersons will be different from the reports prepared and submitted to experts and specialists.
(9) Relevance
The facts and data should have a direct bearing on the main purpose of the message intended. Nothing relevant should be skipped nor any irrelevant data be added to
make the report confusing. Exclusion of facts may make the report incomplete and is likely to mislead.
(10) Simple language
Reports using simple, familiar words and direct construction of sentences call for a greater understanding of the subject. Only a deep knowledge enables persons to throw up and use simple words and phrases for expressions. Reports should be free of trite expressions, clichés and figures of speech.

BUSINESS REPORTS

 BUSINESS REPORTS

A report is a method of giving information about something seen or investigated. It is a formal presentation and is written complete with conclusions reached and recommendations made. It provides background material and relevant information in decision-making and action-taking.
It is rightly said that reports carry information from those who have it to those who need it. They reflect flow of information and have become integral part of modern information management for decision-making.

Reports have become, over time, basic management tools for decision-making. These are extremely important for firms that have grown in size. All the facts and figures cannot be masterminded by one individual like a proprietor / entrepreneur does in a small enterprise.
For larger firms, reports are indispensable. They have emerged as a very good way of ensuring participative management for better decision-making and carrying the business forward faster on the path of growth and expansion.

CLASSIFICATION OF REPORTS

Reports can be classified in several ways as under:

(1) Classifying on the basis of form of communication

 Oral reports
 Written reports

(2) Classifying on the basis of legality
 Informal (short) reports
 Formal (long) reports
Formal reports can be further subdivided:
 Statutory reports
 Non-statutory reports

(3) Classifying on the basis of frequency of issue
 Periodic reports (also called Routine reports)
 Special reports

(4) Classifying on the basis of functions
 Informative reports
 Interpretive reports (also called Analytical or Investigative reports)

(5) Classifying on the basis of nature of subject
 Problem determining reports
 Fact-finding reports
 Performance reports
 Technical reports

(6) Classifying on the basis of number of persons entrusted to draft reports
 Reports by individuals
 Reports by team
 Reports by committee or sub-committee