QUESTION ONE
Explain the benefits of the grapevine channel of communication to a manager
- Grapevine communication creates a social bond where none existed. People like to talk to one another; whether they talk about work or family, or anything. Teams become more cohesive when members talk to one another outside of the project or assignment they may be working on.
- The grapevine fills in a gap that is left when official information is missing, the grapevine in many ways helps: keep people honest
- Grapevine channels carry information rapidly. As soon as an employee gets to know some confidential information, he becomes inquisitive and passes the details then to his closest friend who in turn passes it to other. Thus, it spreads hastily.
- The managers get to know the reactions of their subordinates on their policies, thus, the feedback obtained is quick compared to formal channel of communication.
- The grapevine creates a sense of unity among the employees who share and discuss their views with each other. Thus grapevine helps in developing group cohesiveness.
- The grapevine serves as an emotional supportive value
- The grapevine is a supplement in those cases where formal communication does not work.
Summarise the techniques with which you could use to create electronic rapport with your email correspondents
Rapport is a term used to describe, in common terms, the relationship of two or more people who are in sync or on the same wavelength because they feel similar and/or relate well to each other
items from an old French verb rapporter which means literally to carry something back and in the sense of how people relate to each other means that what one person sends out the other sends back, for example they may realize that they share similar values, beliefs, knowledge, or behaviors around sports or politics.
Techniques
Mirroring
Mirroring means getting into rhythm with the person on as many levels as possible
Emotional Mirroring – Empathizing with someone’s emotional state by being on ‘their side’.
You must apply the skill of being a good listener in this situation so as you can listen for key words and problems that arise when speaking with the person. These is so you can talk about these issues and question them to better your understanding of what- they are saying and show your empathy towards them.
Posture mirroring – Matching the tone of a person’s body language not through direct limitation, as this can appear, as mockery, but through mirroring the general message of their posture and energy
Tone and Tempo Mirroring – Matching the tone, tempo, inflection, and volume of a person’s voice
Reciprocity
Giving gifts or doing favors without asking for something in return triggers feelings of obligation
Commonality
Commonality is the technique of deliberately finding something in common with a person or a customer in order to build a sense of camaraderie and trust. This is done through shared interests, dislikes and situations.
QUESTION TWO
Discuss six factors that an entrepreneur should put into consideration prior to commencing trading on the internet
- The capital requirements for such a venture, the entrepreneur should evaluate the amount of capital required and the availability of such funds.
- The knowledge and skills required to trade online, the entrepreneur should consider whether he posses the relevant skills required to operate the computers online and trade.
- Security of information disclosed online, the entrepreneur should consider whether he has in place adequate security to protect his business from hackers, malwares and viruses.
- Accessibility to internet and the convenience of its access by the entrepreneurs and their clients
- The type of products to be sold and the nature of the business, the entrepreneur should take into consideration the type of product and their nature.
Highlight eligible benefits of an organizational manual to an entrepreneur
- It is detailed and gives all the necessary information to get the job done in the quickest way possible. If persons, agencies or companies outside your company have to be contacted to complete a job, the procedures manual should give specific names, departments, addresses and phone numbers as well as a brief description of what each does, how long it will take, what you need from them and what they need from you.
- Another important part of the manual is making sure that it is up to date. Outdated information will only confuse someone and will not get the job done. All employees should be instructed to check the procedures manual they have prepared at least once a month to see if phone numbers, names or directions need updating. Both the employee and manager should have copies that are accessible to others.
- A manual helps to train newly recruited employees to the enterprise.
- A manual also allows a manager to see what people are doing and estimate how long certain duties take. What is vaguely written in a job description as “handle board room reservations” could take from five minutes to hours depending on what is involved.
- Hiring decisions – Managers can, therefore, make decisions about consolidating certain jobs when there is an obvious lack of work in some jobs and too much in others, can make hiring decisions as to whether or not extra staffing is required or whether people can be let go.
- Another advantage of the manual is that a manager can see whether or not an employee is suited to a certain position. If the employee seems to go about tasks in the most complicated, difficult manner, obviously retraining is necessary or the employee should not be in the job. A manager should be able to see, by the step outlined in the manual, whether the job is being done as efficiently as possible.
- A manual can help avoid confusion when someone has to step in and do a task that is not normally part of his or her job. This enables the office to run much more smoothly and gives managers a “feel” for what is going on in their departments.
- It also enables the manager to feel more confident about being in charge because he or she knows precisely what is going on in the department. Most employees will welcome the manual when they are called upon to fill in or help out because they will at least have some idea of what is to be done and how to do it.
QUESTION THREE
Briefly explain six benefits that would accrue to a business organization from outsourcing product and services
Access to an established and efficient distribution centre
- Ability to focus on product creation and marketing.
- Reduced cost of production.
- Faster setup of the function or service
- Acquire innovative ideas
- Increase commitment and energy in non-core areas
- Improve credibility and image by associating with superior providers
- Greater flexibility and ability to define the requisite service more readily
- Less dependency upon internal resources
- Greater control of budget
- Greater ability to control delivery dates
- Increase flexibility to meet changing business conditions
- Purchase of industry best practice
- Generate cash by transferring assets to the provider
- Gain market access and business opportunities through the suppliers network
- Turn fixed costs into variable costs
