Faculty of Business Studies

LB160 Professional communication skills for business studies

MA01 Second Semester (2009/2010)
COVER FORM
Branch:
Part (I): STUDENT INFORMATION (to be completed by student)
1. Name:

2. Registration No:

3. Section No:

4. E-mail:

Part (II): TUTOR'S REMARKS (to be completed by tutor)

Tutor's Name:
Date returned:
Date MA held:
TUTOR'S REMARKS:

Allocated
Marks
Total of 10
Marks

STUDENT MARK
Contents:
8 marks

Language &
communication:
2 marks

Earned Mark
(Out of 10)

Tutors Signature

Students should answer Four out of Six questions in the following order.
PART A
Answer ONE of the following: (Total: 4 points)
Purpose: To recognize a business problem-solution sequence.
Learning Outcomes

Look at the way problems form part of a particular pattern in business texts.
Focus more closely on problem identification in case study texts .

Q.1. Read Text 4.1 below. Choose and insert in Table 2 the correct sequence of the
Steps from Table 1 and match each with its corresponding paragraph no. from Text
4.1. Then cite examples that support your choice. (4 points)
Text 4.1
From competition to collaboration
(1) But in a striking turnaround, a number of competitors have embarked on an unprecedented
degree of cooperation on training over the past two years. (2) Competition in the Scottish
electronics industry for skilled technicians is famously intense and in the early 1990s recruitment
problems were getting out of hand.
(3) We were basically poaching from each other and pushing salaries up. It was becoming a
vicious circle, says Morag McKelvie, a personnel manager at NEC semiconductors.
(4)Yesterday, their innovative approach was recognized when they received a special training
award from the Institute of Personnel and Development at the National Training Awards,
organized by the Department for Education and Employment.
Table 1: Steps
Problem

Solution

Evaluation

Situation

Table 2
Steps

Para. No.

Examples

Purpose: To identify cause-effect concepts/keywords in a case study.

Learning Outcomes

Understanding various types of cause-and-effect relationships.

Using cause-and-effect words and expressions.

Q.2. Define the terminologies or phrases provided below. (4 points)

1. Levels of debt (1 pt.)
2. Creditor (1 pt.)
3. Lender (1 pt.)
4. Personal insolvencies (1 pt.)
Write your answer here.

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PART B
Answer THREE of the following: (Total: 6 points)

Purpose: To note how factors which are nouns can be subjects and do actions.
Learning Outcomes

Work with the concepts from the STEP and stakeholder frameworks.
Learn more about sentences and word groups.

Q.3. The sentences below are from students STEP analysis. Underline the factor
in each sentence. Then circle the main verb which says how the factor influences the
industry. (2 points)
(0.5 point each)
1. A significant rise in oil prices would further add to the economic pressure on the industry.
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2. The use of the internet by both business and leisure passengers has enabled travelers to
compare prices between airlines and select the most cost-effective route and itinerary.
________________________________________________________________________________
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3. The terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 and the threat of similar attacks in the future
have made passengers more reluctant to travel.
________________________________________________________________________________
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4. The use of internet booking systems has also enabled airlines to reduce their overheads.
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Purpose: To learn how a proposed solution is justified.

Learning Outcomes

Look at some of the input texts that students read to find solutions.
Practise problem-solving processes.

Q.4. Match sentences in Proposed Solutions (right column) with sentences in

Justifications (left column) by inserting the appropriate alphabetic letter from the
left column to the blank provided in the right column. (2 points)

Justifications
(0.5 point each)

Proposed Solutions

________ 1. Explaining that a desired outcome

depends on the proposed action.

a.

The introduction of a loyalty card would increase

the number of customers.

________ 2. Explaining what the purpose of the

proposed action is.

b.

As Bryan Jackson, director of Toyota Motor

Manufacturing UK, points out Its rather difficult
to have a relationship with 1,000 suppliers.

________ 3. Describing the benefits of the proposed

solution.

c.

Gap might be able to avoid major controversy with

its current vendor selection system but negative
publicity is much less likely with a partnership
sourcing process.

________ 4. Quoting an authority figure.

d.

The government has changed its policy on out of

town shopping centres, so Asda should find a way
to move into the town centres.

Purpose: To learn how to match concepts and characteristics in a stakeholder analysis framework.
Learning Outcomes

Work with the concepts from the STEP and stakeholder frameworks.
Learn more about sentences and word groups.

Q.5. Match the Concept (left column) with its Characteristics (right column), by
inserting the appropriate alphabetic letter from right column into the blank
provided in the left column. (2 points)

Concepts
(0.5 point each)

Characteristics

________ 1. The concepts of power and interest

a.

Are generally based on the concepts of power and

interest.

________ 2. Stakeholders with high interest

b. Are those who can do most to affect the

organization.

________ 3. Stakeholder frameworks in business

studies

c.

Can be used to organize individuals and groups

into stakeholder categories.

________ 4. Stakeholders with high power

d. Are those who will be most affected by the actions

that the organization takes.

Purpose: To identify the link between the evaluation words and the problem-solution pattern.

Learning Outcome

Using language of evaluation to judge, explain and persuade.

Q.6. Look at the following words in relation to Extract A. The table below mentions
the functions of each of these words in the analysis. Write the appropriate word
opposite its corresponding function in the table. (2 points)

Essentially

A better way

Paradoxical

Adverse effects

Extract A

For a multinational corporation such as Gap, the selection process is perhaps

manageable but with so many factories to oversee, the monitoring process would
require an army of Vendor compliance officers. Reducing the number of suppliers
that the company uses might overcome this problem, but a better way would be to try
to integrate external suppliers into the Gap system. This sounds paradoxical but
essentially it is about Gap and its suppliers viewing the supply chain as a unitary
system. Obviously, when one part of the system fails, it has adverse effects on other
parts so it is in Gaps interest to integrate external vendors into its own system of
production, distribution, standards and ethics. (B1S6, 173)
(0.5 point each.)
Words from Extract A

Function in the analysis

It belongs to the very nature of the solution.

It is an evaluation of an unsuccessful system and its

relevance to Gap.
It describes and evaluates the negative meaning
readers may attach to alternative solution
proposed.
It refers to an alternative solution and its
evaluation.