SHARMA's BLOG: IMAGING

SHARMA's BLOG: IMAGING: IMAGING Image processing is growing rapidly as it enables end users to electronically capture, store, process and retrieve images of doc...

IMAGING

IMAGING

Image processing is growing rapidly as it enables end users to electronically capture, store, process and retrieve images of documents and drawings that cover:

 Numeric data
 Text
 Handwritten material
 Graphics
 Photographs
 Drawings
 Sensitive legal documents etc

Besides, imaging faculty has helped upgrade the Electronic Document Management (EDM). Besides, digitized voice note can be attached with the text improving the comprehension of documents that may otherwise appear prosaic. EDM can easily interface with other electronic methodologies like:

 Word processing
 Desktop publishing
 Email
 Voice mail

This further enhances the communication process between two or more parties for speeding up decision-making.

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC MEETING SYSTEMS (EMS)

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC MEETING SYSTEMS (EMS): ELECTRONIC MEETING SYSTEMS (EMS) Attending meetings away from the office entails a lot of time and expense in traveling, staying in hote...

ELECTRONIC MEETING SYSTEMS (EMS)

ELECTRONIC MEETING SYSTEMS (EMS)

Attending meetings away from the office entails a lot of time and expense in traveling, staying in hotels, etc. These expenses can be considerably reduced by modern electronic meeting systems. They are becoming popular as viable options and broadly cover the following four options:

 Audio conferencing
 Computer conferencing
 Video-audio conferencing
 Use of web cameras

These are described below:

(1) Audio Conferencing
It uses voice equipment viz., telephone network that establishes audio links with persons who are either in the same building or geographically dispersed locations or a mix of both.
It has been in use by Indian Railways and Indian defense services for a long time as they have had their own private telephone networks. This type of conference does not require computers as such although these days the entire telephone system uses computer backup anyway.
Audio conferencing has advantages as under:
 Equipment not costly and is within easy reach of the firms
 People feel at ease when talking on the telephone
 Meetings can be arranged at short notice

It is well suited for offices located wide apart or even within a building. However, communications for problem-solving among persons located on the same premises is faster through face-to-face interaction.
In order to make such meetings more effective, the following rules are suggested:
1. The organizer or senior person should moderate the discussions
2. No of participants to be kept less than 6
3. Copy of the agenda to be faxed beforehand
4. Participants to identify themselves before speaking
5. Proceedings of the conference should be tape-recorded
6. Copies of the decisions should be circulated to all participants; this can be done through email to all concerned instantaneously.

(2) Computer Conferencing
It is getting persons from different locations and disciplines together on computers that are networked to exchange information on a common problem for decision-making and work out a solution. There is a fine line between email and computer conferencing. In computer conferencing, usually, a large number of persons can be brought together to interact on issues requiring their suggestions.
A very well known example is that of IBM organized one of the largest computer conferences before they finalized the specifications and features of a standard Personal Computer (PC). It is on record that some 40,000 persons participated in it and about 4,000 topics were discussed, recording the participants considered opinions about various features and facilities to be incorporated in a PC.
Obviously, when the IBM PC was launched in 1983, it set up a whole new standard in product design in the industry. It had many pioneering feature and facilities that were not available before in any of the PCs in the market.
Computer conference can be set up with persons who might be sitting in the next cabin as well as with those across the globe.

(3) Video-Audio Conferencing
Here television equipment is used to link participants in locations that are geographically dispersed. It has three basic configurations:
 One-way video and one-way audio
 One-way video and two-way audio
 Two-way video and two-way audio
This facility is used to get together managers from different locations and involve them in almost face-to-face communication for taking group decisions. It enhances the ownership, authorship, and involvement of all persons who take decisions jointly. Thus this technology facilitates personal involvement in problem solving and decision-making. In most large organizations, there a separate room specifically created for organizing these conferences.
Electronic Meeting Systems are seeing rapid growth as it promotes the quickest communication for group decision support systems. Because of their increasing popularity for effective communication, many hotels and telecommunication carriers are offering these facilities for:
 Launching new products in large markets like USA, EU, India, etc
 Organizing sales meetings of the large sales force
 Education and training of employees of large corporations

(4) Use of Web Camera
In recent years, Internet Telephony has made rapid strides and reputed firms like Skype and Yahoo are offering facilities of use of web cameras (Webcams) for verbal communications as well as chatting through written messaging instantaneously.
Use of webcams is becoming a powerful tool for one-to-one communication that is almost face to face. Before long many useful business applications will be available that would enable group interaction and decision-making across regions, countries, and continents. Already webcams are fitted in most of the laptops in the market.
However, for complex problems, there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings.

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - SMS From Mobile Phones

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - SMS From Mobile Phones: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - SMS From Mobile Phones Another innovation in electronic technology that is making waves during the last 15 y...

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - SMS From Mobile Phones

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - SMS From Mobile Phones

Another innovation in electronic technology that is making waves during the last 15 years, is the rapidly growing use of mobile telephony. According to the latest statistics, already there are about 670 millions mobile phones in India. They are increasingly incorporating a number of features in mobile phones that were earlier available only in personal computers and laptops. Short Messaging Service (SMS) is one powerful tool that is akin to Email and is making waves. Already, SMS is playing an increasing role in business. Banking, Financial institutions, and other industries are integrating it with their routine customer contacts.

The experts are of the opinion that laptops and mobile phones are moving incongruence. According to a publication by Microsoft, laptops, and PCs of yesteryears will become more like wallets. With additional features being built into mobile phones, they are becoming a wee bit bigger. From the current trends, it appears their congruence is not far away.

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - Electronic Mail

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - Electronic Mail: ELECTRONIC  COMMUNICATION - Electronic Mail It is one-way communication. Even so, it has been able to solve issues that plagued telephon...

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - Electronic Mail

ELECTRONIC  COMMUNICATION - Electronic Mail

It is one-way communication. Even so, it has been able to solve issues that plagued telephone calls. Research by AT & T has confirmed that in 80 % of the cases, callers did not get the full information sought before calling off. Besides, the caller got into the game known as „telephone tag‟ – one party leaves the message to call back and when the second party called, the first party was not present. The game went on for several rounds!

Despite the fact that Email is a one-way flow of information, it has become more popular in business. The process is quite simple. The user types the message and places it in the receivers‟ electronic mailbox. The receiver, at his convenience, opens the mailbox using his own PC / Laptop or terminal and own password and responds. Thus oral conversation on the telephone is replaced with two separate sets of one-way flows of information. Email software controls the entire process.

The software has the following additional features:
(i) Electronic bulletin board - It is like a notice board for everyone to read the message
(ii) Registered mail – In these cases, the sender receives a confirmation that the message has been delivered
(iii) Private mail – This ensures that the message is not routed to others in the network
(iv) Mail distribution – It ensures that the same message is delivered to other addresses in the network
Internet access, available for a fee, comes with this facility and one can send/receive email messages almost anywhere in the globe instantaneously.

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - WORD PROCESSING

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - WORD PROCESSING: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - WORD PROCESSING It is using computers to automate the transformation of ideas into a readable form of communi...

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - WORD PROCESSING

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION - WORD PROCESSING

It is using computers to automate the transformation of ideas into a readable form of communication. It involves manipulation of text data viz., characters, words, sentences and paragraphs to produce information (useful data) into documents like:

 Letters
 Memos
 Forms
 Reports

It is the oldest application. Operators use keyboards of a PC or a terminal to type matter that is displayed on the screen. With appropriate command, words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs can be added, deleted and moved around. Format and font of the documents can be adjusted and a variety of other manipulations can be carried out. The output can be stored in the hard disk memory or in secondary storage and printed whenever required.

Most software packages of word processing have:
 Spelling check
 Check of grammar or construction of a sentence
 Thesaurus check
 Style check

The final document can be previewed to check layout and presentation before printing. As a result of these facilities in the software packages, it is now dramatically easier to:

 Create and print documents of various designs, sizes, and shapes
 Edit, correct and revise documents
It also has software to assist in letter writing as it stores some paragraphs or sentences that are useful viz.

Opening sentences like;
 „Thank you for your letter concerning employment with our company‟
 „Thank you for sending us a resume of your past business experience‟

Closing sentences like:
 Again, thank you for your interest in our company
 We look forward to hearing from you soon
 Yours truly
 Yours faithfully
 Yours sincerely etc

Word processing facilitates:
 Preparation of more effective written communication
 Quicker to and fro communication
 Migration of receivers of word-processed messages to word processing
 Better and quicker decision making

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

SHARMA's BLOG: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION As a rule, factories process materials, offices process words, and data are processed in both factories and off...

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

As a rule, factories process materials, offices process words, and data are processed in both factories and offices. When IBM introduced its first electronic typewriter – „Selectric‟, in 1964, little did they realize that it would become the precursor of revolutionary changes in communication capability of the organizations, groups, and individuals. Personal Computers (PCs) were introduced in the 1970s and were initially thought to be good toys that companies were giving away to managers to play around but, with the advent of technology of building networks of PCs and integrating them with communication technology around the mid-1980s, it is changing the way of doing business in the twenty-first century. The vast strides in business electronics have had a profound impact on the way people communicate and send/receive information across companies, countries, and continents.
The advancement in computer-centric technologies has made communication travel faster, safer and almost free from distortions during transmission. Possibilities of misrepresentation are negligible although there are still some unresolved issues of security, hacking, etc. Electronic communication has brought in revolutionary changes in written communication. More important tools and techniques of electronic communication that have impacted on written communication, described in this Unit, are:
1. Word Processing
2. Electronic Mail and SMS from Mobile Phones
3. Electronic Meeting System (EMS)
4. Facsimile Transmission or Fax Machines
5. Teletext and Videotext
6. Imaging
7. Optical Scanning
8. Desktop Publishing (DTP)
9. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
10. Blogs

SHARMA's BLOG: CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE LETTER MESSAGING

SHARMA's BLOG: CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE LETTER MESSAGING: CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE LETTER MESSAGING Principles of good communication are equally applicable to written communication and to writing...

CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE LETTER MESSAGING

CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE LETTER MESSAGING

Principles of good communication are equally applicable to written communication and to writing skills for letter messaging. However, a good checklist for business letter writing is as below:

 Promptness
 Subject knowledge
 Appropriateness
 Accuracy, completeness, and clarity
 Courtesy
 Tact
 Persuasion
 Conciseness
 Salesmanship
 The „you attitude‟
 Positive and pleasant approach

These are described below:

(1) Promptness
Letters should be replied the same day. Should one need time to reply, it is better to acknowledge the letter and politely indicate to the sender how soon the reply will be sent.

(2) Subject knowledge
Ability to reply to a business letter has three pre-requisites:
 Knowledge of previous correspondence
 Understanding of the requirements of the sender
 Knowledge of the firm‟s policies applicable

(3) Appropriateness
To acquire a good reputation of choosing words and phrases that are appropriate, we need to vary the tone and tune of the language used in letter messaging. These often change according to the:
 The need for the occasion
 Psychology of the readers

(4) Accuracy, completeness, and clarity
All facts, figures, and statements must be stated accurately and should be verified before using in the letter. If dealing with a business inquiry, one must ensure that the information covers all the points for completeness. If it is a persuasive message, it must be clear and unambiguous so that it accomplishes the purpose it is intended for. Ambiguity can arise from:
 The omission of a word
 Faulty punctuation
 Faulty construction of a sentence, mixing arrangement of words
Effective letter writers should avoid these pitfalls.

(5) Courtesy
Writers must seek favors politely and express their gratitude for favors received already.

(6) Tact
This quality goes hand in hand with courtesy. It is very important for letters:
 Dealing with complaints
 Seeking credits from banks, suppliers, etc
The essence of tactfulness lies in retaining the goodwill in spite of turning down the request.

(7) Persuasion
It means winning over people to own point of view without coercing them. They should genuinely feel that what they are doing is to their own advantage. Therefore, hypocrisy and pretensions have no place in these interactions.

(8) Conciseness
The writer should ensure against loading it with irrelevant and unnecessary „ifs‟ and „buts‟ – more concise the message, more effective it will be. Also, there is no justification of using telegraphic language and construction of sentences that hampers understanding. Two golden rules are:
 No letter is long enough if clarity has to be achieved
 A short letter is not good enough if the message is not clear.

(9) Salesmanship
Every letter that goes out of the company should be treated as its ambassador. It must carry and convey the message precisely and enhance the reputation of the firm.

(10) The „you attitude‟
The letter message should always take in to account the readers‟ point of view – he is the customer! Use of „I‟ and „we‟ should be avoided; instead writers should use „you‟ in the text as often as possible.

(11) Positive and pleasant approach
Avoid using „no‟ and „sorry‟ – they are unwelcome words. The writers must always emphasize pleasant and positive things. For example:
 „No‟ can be easily rewritten as „another time‟.
 „Sorry‟ can be replaced by „I will try‟.

SHARMA's BLOG: STYLE IN WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS

SHARMA's BLOG: STYLE IN WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS: STYLE IN WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS There is nothing like the commercial style of the English language. Commercial correspondence differs ...

STYLE IN WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS

STYLE IN WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS

There is nothing like the commercial style of the English language. Commercial correspondence differs from ordinary correspondence in the nature of content and construction and not in style.

A suitable style reflecting the personality of the writer is always more wholesome and refreshing. It makes a good impression on the customers.

It is not difficult to acquire skills in writing effective business letters provided one has:
 Good knowledge of the language
 The constant habit of reading
 Persistence with writing letters

A business letter is much like a conversation – it is a piece of conversation in writing and delivered by post. Alexander Pope emphasized the point:
„True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have to learn‟d to dance.‟

Business letters differ from personal letters in the sense that the goal or purpose is paramount. A few useful tips to serve as a checklist are:
 Will it irritate or annoy?
 Is it a kind of letter everyone would like to receive?
 Will it persuade one to do what is asked?

SHARMA's BLOG: TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LETTERS

SHARMA's BLOG: TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LETTERS: TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LETTERS Letter messages have evolved over a long time. A traditional way of classifying these letters in f...

TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LETTERS

TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LETTERS

Letter messages have evolved over a long time. A traditional way of classifying these letters in five different ways is as below:

(1) Classifying on the basis of nature of the contact

(i) Personal letters
These are written to friends and relatives and follow informal and friendly style. They help:
 Exchange information
 Seek information
 Seek help, guidance or advice, etc
(ii) Impersonal letters
These are usually business letters written in a formal style. They are intended to exchange communication among individual functionaries, firms and institutions.

(2) Classifying on the basis of the approach

Three categories are:
(i) Direct letters
In these letters, one comes directly to the point without any introductory remarks. Such letters are useful for:
 Inquiries
 Quotations
 Orders
 Good news messages
 Offers of appointment
 Promotions
 Instructions for job
(ii) Indirect letters
The theme of such letters is not as pleasant as they concern bad news like:
 Not being able to sanction the loan
 Cannot concede the claim preferred
 Not being able to accept the terms asked for
In such letters, there is always an introductory sentence that is intended to put the receiver in a good frame of mind.
(iii) Persuasive letters
These are mainly sales letters where one has to think of an opening that catches readers‟ attention immediately and prompts him to read on. The message is aimed at persuading readers to buy the product or acquire/experience the service offered.

(3) Classifying on the basis of types of communication
Four types are:

(i) Official letters
These are letters written to Government, semi-government and other statutory authorities and are addressed formally.
(ii) Demi-official (DO) letters
These are also official letters but are addressed to a person by name. DO letters are written if matter:
 Requires personal attention of the addressee
 Is of confidential nature
 Is urgent requiring immediate disposal/response
(iii) Form letters
These are letters that are used for correspondence on routine and recurring issues. These are usually preprinted as forms with suitable blanks and hence the name. These are used for:
 Acknowledgment
 Reminders
 Interviews
 Notices
 Appointments etc
Sometimes, various possible alternative responses are preprinted and the applicable paragraph(s) is ticked. They lack personal touch but save effort and time.
(iv) Internal letters
These take the form of memos written among different functions and departments within an organization. They are eminently suitable for internal communication.

(4) Classifying on the basis of the subject of the letters

These may be one of the several types as below:
 Inquiries
 Orders
 Credit information
 Collection of debts and dues
 Complaints
 Sales promotion
 Sales circulars
 Appointment of agencies etc

(5) Classifying on the basis of functions/departments of the firm

A few major functional heads are:
(i) Personnel letters
These are letters emanating from the personnel/human resource department:
 Inviting applications for notified vacancies
 Calling for preliminary interviews
 Calling for written tests
 Calling for recruitment interviews
 Sending offers of appointment
 Issuing circulars for training and development
 Issuing promotion, increment or bonus letters
 Issuing warning letters etc
(ii) Purchasing letters
These letters cover the correspondence for purchasing and other allied functions in materials management, supply chain functions, etc:
 Inviting tenders or quotations
 Placing orders for supplies and contracts for services & materials
 Sending reminders
 Sending complaint letters etc
(iii) Sales letters
These are letters pertaining to the marketing and sales activities of the firm:
 Advertising, publicity and marketing communication
 Marketing research and surveys of customers and competitors
 Sales circulars
 Giving and soliciting specific sales information etc
(iv) Accounting and finance letters
These letters may relate to:
 Account payable
 Account receivable
 Banking
 Investments etc

SHARMA's BLOG: Functions of Letter Messaging

SHARMA's BLOG: Functions of Letter Messaging: Functions of Letter Messaging According to a reputed expert, L Gartside, followings are the primary and secondary functions of letter wri...

Functions of Letter Messaging

Functions of Letter Messaging

According to a reputed expert, L Gartside, followings are the primary and secondary functions of letter writing:

(i) Primary functions

 Providing a convenient and inexpensive means of communications without personal contact
 Seeking or giving information
 Furnishing evidence of transaction entered in to
 Providing a record for future reference

(ii) Secondary functions

 Creating goodwill for the company
 Making an impression as an efficient and reliable firm

 Objectives of Letter Messaging

More important ones are:
 Serves as a record for future use – copies can be sent to functionaries in different locations for future reference
 Leaves a more durable impression on the receiver than an oral message
 Can reach anywhere in the firms‟ hierarchy and even levels that are difficult to access normally
 Can be sent to different regions, countries, and continents where oral or personal contacts are difficult, thus widening firms‟ reach and access
 Forms authoritative, legal document for contracts and collaborations in business
 Is used for building goodwill, image, and reputation.

SHARMA's BLOG: TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

SHARMA's BLOG: TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Written communication has a very large variety: 1 Letters 2 Memos 3 Telegrams 4 Tele-printer messages...

TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Written communication has a very large variety:

1 Letters
2 Memos
3 Telegrams
4 Tele-printer messages
5 Short reports (Informal)
6 Long reports (Formal)
7 Proposals
8 Company profiles
9 Product profiles
10 Applicant profiles or resume/ writing
11 Abstracts or Summary writing
12 Reviews and Comments
13 Minutes of meetings etc
14 Research papers

Two popular forms – letters and memos are detailed below:

(1) Letters
A letter is a written or printed personal or business message that is usually sent by mail in an envelope. Many types of letters are in use:
 Personal and non-personal letters
 Direct, indirect and persuasive letters
 Official, demi-official (DO), formal and internal (memo) letters
 Subject letters like inquiries, orders, credit information, collection of debts, complaints, sales promotions, sales circulars, the appointment of agencies, etc
 Functional letters of correspondence emanate from functional departments like personnel, sales & accounting, purchasing, etc

(2) Memos
Memos are intra-organization correspondence written among different departments in the same location or in different locations, factories, and offices. Before word processing and other forms of electronic communication became popular, memos carried the bulk of a load of written communication within a firm. One of the popular formats was that the initiator of the memo prepared it, with the help of carbon papers, in a set of three copies. The third copy was kept as a record and the set of two copies – first and second, were sent to the person to whom the message was targeted. Only the left half of the memo was written in by the sender. The receiver used the same set of papers and wrote the responses on the right half and sent it back to the initiator.
Essentially both business letters and memos serve the same purpose excepting that memos, being internal communications, were shorn of formal addressing style of business letters that are normally addressed to external customers, prospects, government, and other statutory authorities,

SHARMA's BLOG: Writing style

SHARMA's BLOG: Writing style: Writing style There is seldom one best way of writing – invariably there are several equally good styles of writing. The writing style r...

Writing style

Writing style

There is seldom one best way of writing – invariably there are several equally good styles of writing. The writing style reflects the personality of writers and constitutes their body, soul, and taste. Style cannot be taught; it is unique to a person. However, everyone can improve his writing style.

The core of writing style is writing sentences that create interest, make meanings clear, keeping them short, making every word count and by varying sentence pattern. Use of most suitable idioms, maxims and proverbs can embellish ones‟ writing style as these are the crystalline form of a language and glitter in a sentence like diamonds in a necklace.

A very large variety of idioms, maxims and proverbs are available and students would do well to build up own repertory of these. They act like a pickle in Indian food – pickle is rarely eaten by itself but when used judiciously with meals, it adds aroma, flavor, and taste. They should focus on the evolution of these idioms, maxims, and proverbs and become adept at using them skillfully.

SHARMA's BLOG: WIDE CHOICE OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS

SHARMA's BLOG: WIDE CHOICE OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS: WIDE CHOICE OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS Writers can pick up idioms, maxims, and proverbs from a large number available in all languag...

WIDE CHOICE OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS

WIDE CHOICE OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS

Writers can pick up idioms, maxims, and proverbs from a large number available in all languages. They enhance the style of writing and are attractive to the receivers of the message. There are many such expressions that are vying with one another and wanting, willing and asking to be picked up by the communicators. Thus if senders of the message have a better command over the language and vocabulary, they would be more proficient in selecting the right ones. A few examples are:

(1) The colleague who always speaks to the point can also be described as a person who never „minces his words‟ or he is „cut and dry‟.

(2) Raju, a villager, was always getting drunk and falling in the gutter. He would beat his wife „black and blue‟, snatching her money and „blowing it up on drinks‟. His family was fed up with him. He did not have any friends „worth the name‟. When Raju‟s life came to an end, his family „breathed a sigh of relief‟. One fine morning, he was found dead in a gutter. Someone said that Raju „breathed his last‟ but one could also say that he „kicked the bucket‟.

EVOLUTION OF IDIOMS, MAXIMS, AND PROVERBS

Following examples are illustrative:

(1) Story of kicking the bucket
One view is the bucket in the story does not refer to a bucket as such but to a wooden frame used in the olden days to hang freshly killed pigs.
Another theory is that the idiom was coined by looking at the way people took their own lives. Such persons kept the bucket upside down to stand on, put the noose hanging from the ceiling around their neck and then kicked the bucket from underneath.

(2) Story of sour grapes
Leila was „head over heel‟ in love with Rahul but he „spurned her overtures‟ and married Pooja. Leila was very much upset but went about pretending that she „knew in her heart of hearts‟ that Rahul was not the sticking type. Someone said it is a clear case of „sour grapes‟ as mentioned in Aesop‟s fable, „The Fox and the Sour Grapes‟.