Questions Collection (2078-2081) BBS 2nd Year Business Communication

 

TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY 2078 B.B.S. 4 Yrs. Prog./ II Year / MGMT            Full Marks: 100 Business Communication (MGT 205)             Time: 3 hrs.

Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable. The figures in the margin indicate full marks.

Attempt ALL the questions.

Group 'A'

1.   How does Matthew Arnold show the conflict between religion and science in the poem "Dover Beach"?                                                                                 (5)

2.     Summarize the main theme of "The Allegory of the Cave".                          (5)

3. What does Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" tell us about gender roles in Antigua?                           (5)

4.  How does George Bernard Shaw's play "Augustus Does His Bit" criticize the phenomena of war? Do you think war is inherently unjust and immoral or it is sometimes a necessary action?                                                                (10)

OR

What insight does the story "The Use of Force" offer on the nature of will? Is it justifiable or unjustifiable for a doctor to use violence on the patient? Why or why not?

5.     Describe how "Looking for a Rain God" by Bessie Head presents enduring power of ancient tribal rituals and their conflict with Contemporary codes of behavior in African life.                                                                                       (10)

OR

How does Gary Snyder, in "The Etiquette of Freedom", define 'social order'? Do you think 'social order' is found throughout nature as discussed by Snyder?

6.     R. Scholes N. R. Comley and G.L. Ulmer in their essay 'Light My Lucky" describe an advertisement for Lacky Strike Light cigarettes and point out how important it is for the consumers to learn how to make a critical scrutiny of ads and text made for promotional purposes. Think of some other cigarette ad or any other ad and write a comment on it as in the essay.                                         (15)

OR

E.B. White, in "Once More to the Lake", reminisces about his boyhood summer holidays spent in Maine. Explain how the lake serves as the setting for both the author's past and present. Do you think the memories remain the same or they change over the years? Give some concrete examples from your personal experience.

Group 'B'

7.     Define the following business communication terminologies/ phrases.           (5)

a.      cash flow                        c.    memorandum           e. flipchart

b.     motivation                      d.   solicited proposal

8.     Rewrite the following issues choosing the best alternatives.                           (5)

a.      ........ does not present opinion and recommendation.

i.       Analytical report.                          iii. Informational report

ii.     Informal report                             iv. Formal report

b.     Teams can achieve a higher level of performance than individuals alone because....

i.       they combine the intelligence and energy of multiple individuals

ii.     motivation and creativity flourish in team setting

iii.  they involve more input and a greater diversity of views, which tends to result in better decisions

iv.    the members think that the power and responsibility ensure their success

c.      …………refers to the process of meaning making by sending and receiving messages via pictures, charts, and graphics.

i.       Verbal communication                           iii. Oral communication

ii.     Visual communication                            iv Informal communication

d.     Intrapersonal communication refers to ........

i.       taking to office staff                              iii. reflecting on one's experiences

ii.     communicating with the family             iv. talking to the public

e.      In downward flow communication, information flows.....

i.       from executives to subordinates              iii. among executive officers

ii.     from subordinates to executive officers    iv. among subordinates

9.   What is a communication barrier? How does it affect the communication process? Explain with examples.                                                               (6)

10. A major business house working in the area of advertising and publishing is looking for a 'Business Communicator.' Prepare your resume, and write a cover letter suitable for the job.                                                                              (8)

11. Suppose you are a sales representative at Overseas Manpower Services, Nepal. Write a circular letter inviting people to take benefit of your services. Include details about some new offers.                                                                     (8)

Group 'C'

12. Read the given case and answer the following question.                     [2x9=18]

Workplace surveillance is not new, of course, but new technologies have made it possible for employers to monitor workers both in and out of the workplace and can harm workers in myriad ways. Some of the threats posed by increasingly sophisticated workplace surveillance are a direct result of the pervasive monitoring itself, but others are result of the exploitative and often illegal practices that such surveillance enables, from health and safety harms to discrimination.

The dangers posed by workplace surveillance fall most heavily on the most vulnerable workers, exacerbating an array of economic inequalities and preventing these workers from challenging these increasingly invasive practices. But worker monitoring is also part of a cycle of restructured work arrangements through which firms de-skill work and misclassify employees, allowing them to pay workers less, sidestep worker protections, and undermine workers' bargaining ability.

At its core, pervasive and unchecked workplace surveillance fundamentally shifts the dynamics of power in the workplace in favour of firms in ways that harm workers and drive inequitable growth. It enables illegal discrimination, hampers worker organizing, and leads to constant stress for workers who can be fired at any time. More broadly, worker surveillance distorts the nature of jobs and economic opportunity by hyper-enabling the de-skilling of jobs and destroying workers' autonomy.

Companies surveil workers for many reasons, often citing security concerns, the need to streamline billing and project management, or the desire to increase worker productivity. Employers may also conduct surveillance simply for its own sake. They do so to gain a sense of greater control, to reduce risks in their operations, and simply because new technologies for monitoring are pervasive and increasingly inexpensive to implement.

In practice, this surveillance not only allows and intensifies exploitative workplace practices, but also undermines worker power and contributes to increasingly worse wages and working conditions.

Questions:

a.      Workplace surveillance is very common in the modern workstations. Do you think it is ethical to surveil workers in the company? Explain your answer.

b.     Assume that you are the Managing Director of a company. What strategy would you adopt to make sure all the staff in the office are working as per the spirit of the organization.

 

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TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY 2079 B.B.S. 4 Yrs. Prog./ II Year / MGMT            Full Marks: 100 Business Communication (MGT 205)                      Time: 3 hrs.

 

Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable. The figures in the margin indicate full marks.

Attempt ALL the questions.

Group ‘A’

1.  How do you evaluate human sensibility towards the non -human in Lekhanath Poudyal’s “The parrot in the Cage”?                                                             (5)

2.   Alfred North Whitehead in “Religion and Science” discusses how science and religion are related. To what extent do you agree with his views?                    (5)

3.  What is the basic problem exposed in W.H. Auden’s poem “The Unknown Citizen”?                                                                                                           (5)

4.     In James Joyee’s story “Eveline”, Eveline, the protagonist, lacks courage to flee from her domineering father and seek her happiness. Do you think women in your society are also trapped by passivity, fear, and obligations like Eveline?                        (10)

OR

Brigid Brophy in ‘The Rights of Animals” refutes arguments in favour of hunting raising animals for food, and using them for laboratory experiments, Illustrate the writer’s arguments and write, to what extent, do you agree or disagree with her views?

5.     What does Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man at the Bridge” suggest about the consequences of armed struggle? Do you think armed struggle always bring negative consequences in the society or it is sometimes necessary to bring about the change?                                                                                                                  (10)

OR

Susan Sontag, in her essay “Beauty,” seeks to discredit conventional attitude about beauty. What changes in attitude about beauty do you think? Sontag wants to bring about in her readers?

6.     Laxmi Prasad Devkota, in his poem “The Lunatic”, takes the persona of a lunatic and presents the contrast between the world of the lunatic and that of the sane person. What are some of the contrasts and how do these contrasts help bring out the irony of the poem?                                                                                                (15)

OR

Virginia Woolf, in her essay “Professions for Women”, describes two hazards she thinks all women who aspire to professional life must overcome their tendency to sacrifice their own interests to those of others and their reluctance to challenge conservative male attitudes. Do you agree with Woolf’s argument? How do you think men feel today about women entering what used to be primarily male professions? Does your observation or experience contradict what Woolf says about men’s attitudes?

Group ‘B’

7.     Define the following business communication terminologies/ phrases.                 (5)

a.      Upward flow of communication         d. Press Release

b.     Rapport                                             e. Active Listening

c.      Appraisal interview

8.     Rewrite the following issues choosing the best alternatives.                             (5)

a.      ………..is not related to collaborative communication technique.

i.       Offering constructive feedback           iii. Sharing responsibility

ii.     Handling conflicts prudently.              iv. Avoiding open communication

b.     ………..covers channels like email, telephone call, online chat, social media post, website, blog, webinar, video conferencing, radio/tv report etc,

i.       Verbal communication,                      iii. Non-verbal communication

ii.     Electronic communication                  iv. Oral communication

c.      …………is the one you submit to others without their request for proposal..

i.       solicited proposal                                 iii. An informal proposal

ii.     An unsolicited proposal                       iv. An internal proposal

d.     Why we prefer emailing because…..

i.       we can make lengthy communication

ii.     we are already living in digital era

iii.  it increases the quicker access and it reaches to a large number of readers at once

iv.   it is safer.

e.      ……. is a brief, non-technical statement of the plan at the beginning of a business plan.

i.       An executive summary                            iii. A miniplan

ii.     A business plan                                        iv. A report

9.     How can you make your business communication effective? Explain with concrete examples.                                                                                                        (6)

10. Think of an ethical dilemma in communication that you personally experienced recently or in the past. Explain how you were able to make your ethical choice. Did you reach any decision? Lack back at it and write how you feel about your decision today.                                                                                                           (8)

11. You and your close colleague met yesterday and discussed a plan on opening a music video center for young people. You both agreed on certain points and are meeting again next week. Design an advertisement to publicize your new business.          (8)

Group ‘C’

12.       Read the given case and answer the following question.                 [2×9=18]

In episode two of the British science-fiction anthology series Black Mirror, entitled “Fifteen Million Merits”, Bingham Madsen (played by Daniel Kaluuya) lives in an enclosed society. Citizens spend their days on stationary bikes, peddling furiously for merits — a form of currency used to buy food, goods, and entertainment. Bing lives a room made of screens. Periodically, these screens fill with advertisements for game shows, and contests, and porn. If Bing wants to stop an ad, he must pay a substantial fee of merits. (If he shouts his eyes, the ad will simply pause until he opens them again.) At one point in the episode. Bing’s account is drained and he is unable to escape a particularly upsetting ad.

In our own society, advertisements are everywhere. Think, about how many ads you encounter in a single day (ex. While driving, listening to the radio, watching Hulu, listening to Spotify, opening your mail, checking your email, watching You Tube). It’s nearly impossible to separate desired content from undesirable content perhaps you’re able to splurge on an ad-free subscription to Hulu, or upgrade to a premium account on Spotify. If so, you occupy a privileged position. Not everyone can afford to ‘opt out” so to speak. Nevertheless, even if you’ research able to cut back on the amount of advertisements you’re exposed to, a large number of ads still reach you.

Recently, after appreciating the sheer number of ads I’m forced to watch on a daily basis to consume my desired content. I began to contemplate how these advertisements might be affecting my psyche. Many ads, I realized, prey primarily on our insecurities. Oh you don’t have this? Well, you need it! If you’re going to be thin/well-liked successful/beautiful. A great many start by convincing you of your inadequacy of your ordinariness or general lacking — before moving on to why their product will help cure you.

a.      Advertising, according to the passage, is the manipulation of human consciousness. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this claim? Explain your answer.

b.     Pick up one advertisement of your choice and describe different tools and techniques used to manipulate the consciousness of the consumers.

 

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TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY 2080 (Regular)                                     B.B.S. 4 Yrs. Prog. II Year / MGMT               Full Marks: 100                                     Business Communication                                     Time:3 hrs.                                     (MGT 205) (New Course)

Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable. The figures in the margin indicate full marks.

Attempt ALL the questions.

Group. 'A'

1.     What wrongs of 'old Nepal' does the poet want 'new Nepal' to amend in the poem "New Nepal"?                                                                               [5]

2.     Phineas T. Barnum in "Advertise Your Business" blends moral advice ("be honest") and business advice ("don't blab"). Discuss how the writer highlights the blend of these two aspects to flourish business.                              [5]

3.     How does Gary Snyder in his essay "The Etiquette of Freedom" bring in the idea of 'deep ecology'? Explain.                                                               [5]

4.     How does the poet bring about the similarities and differences between a fly and a human being in "The Fly"? Do you think it is worthwhile to live without thinking about the future? Discuss.                                                 [10]  

OR

"Although human lives are by themselves transient and insignificant, experiences are immortal." Examine this statement in the light of "Once More to the Lake."

5.     How does the lunatic persona of Devkota's poem "The Lunatic" differ from conventional lunatic? Explain why Devkota employs such lunatic personality as his speaker in the poem.                                                                     [10]

OR

Discuss how W.H. Auden's poem "The Unknown Citizen" comments on the modern bureaucratic society where individual freedom is snatched away by the state mechanism.

6.     In his essay "An Essay in Aesthetics," Roger Fry argues, "In dreams and when under the influence of drugs, the imaginative life passes out of our own control, and in such cases its experiences may be highly undesirable, but whenever it remains under our own control it must always be on the whole a desirable life." Do you agree with the writer's argument? Give reasons.    [15]

OR

In her essay "Beauty," Susan Sontag seeks to discredit conventional attitude about beauty. Briefly discuss her argument and explain what change in attitude about beauty the writer wants to bring in her readers.

Group 'B'

7.     Define the following business communication terminologies/phrases.       [5]

a.      Collaboration                                     d. Brainstorming

b.     Merchandising                         e. Memorandum

c.      Netiquette

8.     Rewrite the following sentences choosing the best alternative.                  [5]

a.      Information flows from executives to low-level employees is…….communication.

i.       upward flow

ii.     downward flow

iii.  horizontal flow

iv.   diagonal flow

b.     The engagement of employees in their jobs, their commitment to the organization is called……….

i.       employee management

ii.     interpersonal communication

iii.  event management

iv.   corporate communication

c.      ……………..is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or collective interests.

i.       Bargaining                          iii. Conflict

ii.     Negotiation                          iv. Business appraisal

d.     .......are the official written records of a meeting.

i.       Minutes.                              iii. Agendas

ii.     Memos                                iv. Roll calls

e.      A............is usually a formal interaction or discussion among a group of people for specific purpose.

i.       Sitting.                                          iii. setting

ii.     gathering                                       iv. meeting

9.   Why is business communication important in today's competitive world? Discuss with examples.                                                                            [6]

10. Do you agree that visual and nonverbal communication is integral to oral communication? Discuss with relevant examples.                                 [8]

11. Write a letter to your internet service provider complaining about the poor quality of their services. Identify clearly, with specific examples, how the poor quality has affected you, and suggest the ways to improve it.                           [8]

Group 'C'

12. Read the given case and answer the questions given at the end.       [2x9=18]

'More than half of car drivers are complying with 30mph speed limits for the first time, according to official figures, which suggest that speed cameras have altered drivers' behavior. The proportion of drivers who break the limit in built-up areas fell from 72 per cent in 1996 to 49 per cent last year. The improvement in compliance appears to have contributed to a sharp fall in pedestrian deaths, down by a third in the past decade, from 997 in 1996 to 671 in 2005. The Department for Transport monitored the speeds of different types of vehicles in free-flowing conditions on several types of roads.

The measurements were taken well away from speed camera sites to ensure that the results were not distorted by drivers slowing down briefly. The proportion of drivers in a 30 mph area travelling faster than 35 mph, the lowest speed at which cameras are triggered, has halved from 37 per cent in 1996 to 19 per cent last year. However, the proportion travelling at more than 10mph above the 70mph limit on motorways has fallen only slightly over the same period, from 19 per cent to 17 per cent.'

'Paul Watters, the AA's head of roads policy, said that the big increase in speed camera fines, from 260,000 in 1996 to two million in 2004, had made drivers pay more attention to the limit. More than a million drivers have six or more penalty points on their licenses and are only one conviction away from an automatic six-month ban, according to a survey last week. Mr. Watters said that satellite navigation systems which inform drivers of the limit on the road they are on may also have played a part in improving compliance.'

"The RAC Foundation said that a greater police presence was needed on the roads to deter a hard core of car drivers and motorcyclists who obeyed the limit only when they spotted cameras. Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed anti-speed camera campaign, said that the fall in pedestrian deaths was partly the result of a 16 per cent decline in walking.

"It's not exceeding the speed limit that causes the crash - it's driving like a nutter," he said. "Just because people are driving more slowly on some types of road does not mean those roads are safer." "

(Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent the Times, 6 April 2007)

a.      The passage discusses speed cameras and their impacts on drivers' behavior. Does the writer in the passage think that speed cameras help in reducing road accidents and killing of pedestrians?

b.     Road accidents and killing of the pedestrians are common in Nepalese contexts as well. In your opinion, what are the causes of road accidents? Can we minimize such accidents setting up speed cameras in the street? Discuss.

 

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TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY 2081 (Regular) B.B.S. 4 Yrs.  Prog./ II Year/MGMT Business Communication                      Full Marks: 100. (MGT 205)                                                    Time: 3 hrs

 

Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable.

The figures in the margin indicate full marks.

Attempt ALL the questions.

Group 'A'

1.     Rewrite the following paragraph, supplying the appropriate words or phrases, to complete a brief summary of Ernest Hemingway's short story "An Old Man at the Bridge."                                                                                                       [5]

 

On Easter Sunday, the narrator, a Republican soldier,…..... a pontoon bridge on the Ebro Delta during the Spanish Civil War to explore the land beyond to determine the Fascist enemy's movements. On returning to the bridge, the narrator……… an old man, who is seventy years old. The old man has left his hometown of San Carlos, where he took care of a cat, two goats, and four pairs of pigeons. He tells the narrator that he was the……... to leave the town. The narrator warns the man not to hang around but to hitch a ride on one of the trucks heading for Barcelona. The old man thanks him, but it's not clear whether he intends to follow this suggestion. He keeps asking the narrator if the animals will be……… without him. He knows the cat will be able to survive on its own, but he is worried about the others. The story ends with the narrator telling the readers that the Fascist army is advancing towards the Ebro River, and the old man will not have long to get away. But the old man seems… to move away.

2.     How does Jamaica Kincaid make a satire on the traditional gender roles in her story "Girl"?                                                                                                               [5]

3.     Why do Mokobja and Ramadi kill the latter's daughters in Bessie Head's "Looking for a Rain God"?                                                                                                   [5]

4.     Gary Snyder, in his essay "The Etiquettes of Freedom," observes that graceful conducts are missing in human behaviours these days. Which particular etiquettes, in your opinion, can a Front Desk Manager of a hotel learn from Snyder's essay? Explain.                                                                                                               [10]

OR

What is Eveline's duty to herself? To her father? What promises has she made to her mother? Does she have a "right to happiness"? Why? Why not? Explain.

5.     Why does Phil's wife maneuver the non-verbal cues not to let her true feelings about her late husband show on her face as the company president appreciates Phil's workaholism in "The Company Man"? Drawing from the text as well as your own experience, also shed light on the importance of non-verbal cues in business dealings.                     

                                                                                                                             [10]

OR

Point out the skills of an excellent sales representative with reference to Phineas T. Barnum's famous lecture "Advertise You Business." Also examine how some of these skills have been employed in any interesting advertisement you have watched, read or seen.

6.     Deriving ideas about beauty from Susan Sontag's essay "Beauty," write a critical commentary on the ideas of beauty as endorsed by the products and services, which seek to attract their consumers by presenting females as objects of male's sexual desire.                                                                                                                    [15]

OR

Modeling on R. Scholes, N.R. Comley and G.L. Ulmer's commentary on an advertisement of the 'Lucky Strike' cigarette in "Light my Lucky," write a commentary on any popular advertisement highlighting what makes the ad click with the target consumers.

 

Group 'B'

7.     Define the following business communication terminologies or phrases.              [5]

a.      Memo                                      d. Flipchart

b.     Diversity                                  e. Downward flow of communication

c.      Context

8.     Rewrite the following issues choosing the best alternatives.                                  [5]

A.   In order for the receiver of a message to respond in the manner desired by the sender, the receiver needs to:_________

a. remember the message

b. be able to respond to the message

c. have the motivation to respond to the message

d. belong to the same cultural group

B. Teams can achieve a higher level of performance than individuals alone because:_______________

a. they combine the intelligence and energy of multiple individuals

b. motivation and creativity flourish in team settings

c. they involve more input and a greater diversity of views, which tends to result in better decisions

d. the members think that power and responsibility ensure their success

C.    What does "Haptic" refer to?

a. Communication through touch

b. Communication through words

c. Communication through letters

d. Communication through emails

D.   ________may be defined as information that flows from subordinates to superiors.

a. Downward communication

b. Upward communication

c. Horizontal communication

d. None of the above

E.    Effective communication is essentially a________

a two-way process

b. one-way process

c. both a one-way and a two-way process

d. three-way process

9.     What are the advantages of having excellent interpersonal communication skills?                                                                                                                          [6]

10.  Assume that you work for the human resource department of a large company, which is trying to cut down its paper use. Write an email to the employees encouraging them to submit their ideas for reducing paper use. Also assure them that they will be rewarded with cash prizes for their ideas.                                           [8]

11. Suppose you are giving an oral presentation on the topic "Digital Marketing." Prepare an outline for your presentation, including your claim, at least three broader categories and their sub categories to support your argument.                     [8]

Group 'C'

12. Read the given case and answer the following questions                                 [2x9]

Having been inspired by a workshop he had attended earlier on motivating the employees, the section head of public relations department at DZire Company decided to send inspirational quotes to his employees repeatedly throughout the day to keep them motivated. To maintain good customer relations, the employees were expected to promptly respond to customers' queries and address their complaints through emails, phones, and social media feeds. This could be very stressful, given that the number of complaints had exponentially increased due to Covid19 situation and the closure and restrictions imposed by the government. Rasika, having a great record in meeting deadlines, had also been greatly affected by this situation. Even she was not able to keep up with the increase in inquiries and complaints made by the customers. The inbox was constantly full; the phone kept ringing and social media notifications kept on popping up.

 

Answer the following questions:

a.     Following his recent participation in a workshop on motivating employees, the custom head of the public relation department seemed earnest in his intention to motivate the employees. However, his decision to motivate the employees with a constant flow of motivational quotations backfired. Analyze minutely what went wrong regarding communication in this case.

b.     Suppose you are the section head. How would you achieve your goal without disrupting the employees? Discuss your approach with proper strategies.

 

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