Simulated Learning technique for Business Communication

Business Communication forms the backbone of all professionals, whether they are managing the back office or the front end. Apart from external communication primarily with the external stakeholders of an organization, viz. customers, suppliers, government, society to name a few, internal communication within the organization forms the precursor for all external communications and even internal communications, held subsequently. Business meeting happens to be a routine affair for employees across industries, domains and departments. and therefore learning the nuances of planning, organizing, and conducting a meeting is an important prerequisite for all prospective professionals, more so the ones in different functions of Business Organizations. 

Business Communication being offered to the Diploma-I level students have a plethora of learning outcomes with a mix and match of theory and practical, encompassing a wide gamut of aspects pertaining to business communication, including but not limited to oral communication, written communication, formal communication, informal communication, real and virtual communication. Technology being one of the major enabler in business communication, the need to understand the basics of business meeting has increased manifold. Right from setting the agenda, formulating the meeting layout, writing the minutes, communicating with different members, donning different roles in the group viz. chairperson, secretary or even situation specific ones like Marketing Manager, Human Resource Manager or even Finance and Accounts Manager, calls for a hands on learning approach. This background motivated yours truly, along with his colleague, Mr. Munir to create a simulated assessment platform of business meeting for the students of Business Communication, whereby they actually implement the theoretical learning imbibed during the course of the classroom lecture . The students were given the opportunity to form group of 5 members each and were given a hypothetical situation pertaining to the discussion of a business plan for an Omani sweets company, by making a formal meeting agenda, plan and organize the actual meeting, in line with the learning extracted during the classroom based theoretical and practical learning. The students of section 3 and 4 tutored and monitored  by yours truly and section 1 and 3 by Mr. Munir did wonderfully well so as to conduct the actual meeting. They had not only understood the practicalities of a business meeting, but actually internalized the processes leading to the actual meeting, the discussion, finalization of the charters etc. In the process lot of cross learning related to the domains of business along with business communication took place, tangibly and intangibly. As a course tutor the learning derived were phenomenal simply because the latent abilities of the students, their creative and innovative instincts came to the fore, which otherwise lie partially dormant in a routine classroom discussion. The snaps and videos are being captured from the deliberations of section3 and section 4 respectively.

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The video of two of the many groups performing the simulation can be observed from links below-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoVMPLaNfDc&feature=youtu.be


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olJ3G-V-cqY&feature=youtu.be

Academic Leadership is different from Leadership in other Arenas?

Is Academic leadership  different from leadership in other spheres of life? Yes and No! Yes, because academic relationship would have different goals to be achieved through a  series of processes, meant for a different set of stakeholders and no, because, basic tenets of a leader remains more or less the same, whether he is representing the fraternity of academicians, Business Executives or even Entrepreneurs. The major basis on which one can differentiate academic leadership are as follows-

(1) Academic leadership does not have a profit motive like that of a Business Enterprise related Leadership.
(2)Academic leadership does not have a goal to establish akin to the Business or Political leadership where physical and mental supremacy over the followers reigns supreme and forms the bedrock. It rather tries to enlighten and groom the learner(read target audience)  about the need for ethical, responsible and professional leaders in different walks of life.
(3)Academic leadership does not call for a fragmented yet coordinated approach akin to a business organization as the teaching and learning calls for mediums which can reach out even when there are geographical, mental, physical barriers.
(4)Academic leadership does not need a hegemony similar to that of a political leader who presents himself/herself in terms of the people ruled, the geography covered, apart from the other tangibles that shows his/her clout.
(5)Academic leadership calls for knowledge and management/administration related insights pertaining to management of an academy of learning, whereas other leadership calls for traits which are commensurate with their domains.
(6)Academic leadership can be attained by a blended method of reading, application and experience whereas Business, Political and Personal Leadership is more effective with an hands on approach.

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Case-let on Job Interview

Abdul, Yasir, Rehman and Naveed were close friends since childhood. They completed their schooling from the same institution and subsequently joined the same college in Business Studies, Information Technology, Engineering Studies and  Fashion Design respectively. Abdul completed his Diploma and suddenly realized the need for a job as his family needed him to support them financially. He approached a company in the banking sector for a job as his specialization was in Accounting and Finance. The Human Resource Manager asked him to mail him his CV and wait for the interview call and also asked him to kick-start his preparations. Abdul thought he merely needs to prepare on his domain area and therefore he brushed up all the basics pertaining to accounting and finance and was confident of being short-listed. However, to his dismay his candidature was rejected even though he answered all the three questions related to his topic/area. He sought and explanation from the HR department of the bank for the rejection of his candidature and he was candidly informed about his lack of knowledge in the industry he opted for, the company that was interviewing apart from his over-confident attitude, coupled with a lackadaisical approach. An anguished Abdul called up Yasir, only to know that he too was rejected by a reputed Information Technology firm as he wasn't up-to date about the  changes in his sector especially the platform and versions of operating systems that was in vogue in software development, computer networking, artificial intelligence to name a few. The company however, gave him thumbs-up for his soft-skills pertaining to teamwork, cultural communication, attitude and overall personality. He was confused after knowing his feedback as he realized he can gather information on the softer aspects quite easily especially when he was socially active through various extra-curricular activities, but didn't knew about the methods to adopted to update his know-how in the harder aspect, especially when his college days were already over. Rehman was selected by a leading oil and gas company only to be shown the door within the probation period as he was unable to cope up with the expectations of the company in terms of being an efficient multi-tasker. Rehman, known for his balanced approach during the college days was always master rather than a proverbial jack and it was this aspect which made him uni-dimensional, culminating in his termination owing to the inability to alter commensurate with the employer's requirements. Naveed intended to take up apparel entrepreneurship after having a small stint with a leading corporation. It was primarily to have to some hardcore experience under his belt , before taking the entrepreneurial plunge. However, this long term plan of his started to take the lion's share of his planning which in turn resulted in be being declared a misfit in a company where he was selected as trainee-apparel merchandiser. All the four friends decided to meet together and brainstorm the major issues contributing to their respective failures. They also decided to rope in an expert to conduct some individual and collection mock interview sessions, apart from assisting them in doing their SWOT analysis.

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Case-lets on Stress Management

Case-let 1

Ali was working with an academic institution of repute. The working environment in the institution was a diversified one as it comprised of staff members from different parts of the world. Ali was perennially a very good performer through-out his professional journey, so far. However, after joining the organization his performance started to dip, not because he was a misfit to the organization in terms of his knowledge, experience, skill-sets and abilities, but it was because of the gradual complex he started to develop while facing peer pressure. Ali was known to be dynamic persona till his personality started to change while facing up to the expectation of his colleagues and superior in a multicultural set-up. Ali was trying to adopt the same techniques while interacting with his peers and seniors like he did in his previous assignments. The difference in terms of the working culture, the profile of the manpower employed with the organization, along with the global setup didn't get due cognizance from Ali as a result of which he was quite often cornered for his viewpoints, perspectives on issues of common interest. Apart from that Ali was witnessing a sense of inferiority complex creeping in gradually as a result of which he was losing his level of confidence, started to have unhealthy  arguments with colleagues, trying to impose his attitude of 'my way or highway', culminating in self inflicted pressure. He started to have headache, frequent health breakdown, shivering of hands, stammering bouts while communicating, apart from intensive sweating. 

Case-let 2

Abdul was a champion performer professionally. He was honored with the  best employee award for four consecutive years. The fifth year  saw him losing his family in a tragic road accident. The incident left a deep mental  scar and it impacted his professional performance, apart from frequent mood swings even in the personal world. A person who was known to be the darling of the organization suddenly moved away from the mainstream and kept to himself most of the times. His activities professionally being team based ones suffered badly as his ability to empathize, analyze, trouble-shoot issues of common interests wasn't getting resolved and quite often his deliverable were delayed, leading to the cancellation of the projects. Abdul was summoned by his seniors and counseled extensively only with momentary changes in his attitude, behavior and performance, after which things went back to square one. Abdul sought professional assistance from the external experts and he was advised to put aside his history and restart a new life. Although he tried to do it, his past was haunting him at every point, affecting his judgement, decision making, relationship management, both in the personal and professional realms. A never say dying personality was gradually wilting under the stress generated by the personal disaster as he was unable to draw the line between his personal life and his professional expectations. 

Case-let 3

Najeeb was one of the most senior person working in the department of an organization. He had extensive experience of working in organizations of all stature, however it was his head-weight which often led him to verbal brawl with his junior colleagues, who tried to look upon him as a fatherly figure owing to his rich experience. Najeeb on the other hand appreciated that, however, he wasn't open to suggestions even when his junior pro disagreed on some of his standpoints and discussions while working in a group. This had a cascading effect on his personality and suddenly the cool demeanor of  Najeeb was giving way to violent behavior, abuses, strain in relationships and complaints about peers to the higher-ups. The slow but sudden behavioral change started to show its impact on his image as the respect he earned was  substituted with disrespect, passing comments from his colleagues who was younger than his total years of working experience. Najeeb was unable to digest this fact and was also not prepared to change his personality in spite of the repeated suggestions received from his peers and seniors. Blame game became the order of the day and it started to have a debilitating impact on his personal life as he fought quite often with his grown up children and his better-half.

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Indian Cricket Team vis-a-vis Organizational Learning

Indian cricket team has once again dished out a below par performance, which is spineless and on the top of it, lacked the professionalism required at this level. The selectors meekly caved into the pressure tactics of the hitherto successful skipper(read Dhoni) but the time has come for the wise man to put on their thinking caps and make the much needed whole-sale changes required for the team to usher into the next level. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/england-in-india-2012/top-stories/Selectors-expected-to-take-tough-call-after-Eden-debacle/articleshow/17536407.cms Notwithstanding the successes achieved under the captaincy of Mahindra Singh Dhoni (MSD), a new found sense of complacency has crept in  within the rank and file that calls for immediate attention from the administrators. Add to it the open rifts between the senior pros, lackadaisical attitude, negative on-field body language and one can safely decipher the underlying reasons which calls for an emergency response. A successful leader has to be given a long rope and MSD got an extended stint and had his wishes too especially when he had voiced his displeasure against aging stars of yesteryear (read Sourav, Dravid and Laxman) owing to their poor reflexes and team selection, time and again. But, the new crop of his subordinates or loyalists could continue with the momentum momentarily as the team started to fall like nine pins not only in the overseas matches but also within the country. The tigers at home and cats abroad tag  is now being substituted with a perennial cat tag be it overseas or at home. The situation resembles that of an organization, where the leader after his stupendous success has not only had his own way in handpicking the people he wanted, but also offered them roles commensurate with his own likings and interests. Everyone were mute spectators only because there was performance to show, but once the bottom-line started to disappear, it was a matter of time before the onus of calling the shots shifted from the captain to the administrators. The arrogance of a leader who is gradually fading into oblivion can be seen from the fact that he is unwilling to quit citing personal responsibility for the failure. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/england-in-india-2012/top-stories/Dhoni-says-he-will-not-quit-captaincy-after-England-debacle/articleshow/17542871.cms . Its high time when MSD's attitude of "Its my way or highway" needs to be altered by grooming a youngster at the helm with young members to maneuver and tinker with . This may have different connotation that MSD wants to quit on a high, but the million dollar question is how many more defeats can the team digest before he can get 'his' perfect opportunity to put down his paper! The arrogance has often been the reason for great leaders falling like a pack of cards even in the corporate life. The sheer belief that power is permanent makes them clueless and listless, which in turn provokes them to get into a cascade of mirage filled with wrong decisions, unethical deeds, both at the operational and strategic level. The stakeholders having decision making abilities need to be firm at this point in time in the larger interest of the state of Indian cricket and the organization concerned if its related to a company. The fact that MSD can be a better spokesperson and analyst can be traced to his frank and fair opinion( http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/england-in-india-2012/top-stories/Wont-run-away-from-responsibility-MS-Dhoni/articleshow/17551715.cms)even while facing reverses. The moot question however is, why are all these mere lip services, rather than action oriented stuffs?






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OSOM2012-Event Management Case Study in International Refereed Journal

Cover Story of the April 2012, Volume-IV and  Issue-IV of Proficient International Refereed Journal of Management, ISSN- 0975-475X, listed in Cabells Directory, USA and EBSCO, USA.

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Published Case Study on Societal Entrepreneurship at OSOM2012

Source- http://www.shabiba.com/

Source- http://www.omantribune.com/

Also click on to http://knowledgeoman.com/en/wp-content/gallery/ko-achievements/knowledgeoman-study.jpg and http://knowledgeoman.com/en/wp-content/gallery/ko-achievements/shabiba.jpg


Complete details of the news flashed in the leading English and Arabic daily of the Sultanate of Oman can be viewed by clicking on- http://manishankarscribbles.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/success-of-knowledge-oman-presented-in-an-academic-study/

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Details of blogger Dr. Manishankar Chakraborty

www.manishankarscribbles.wordpress.com   is one of the other blog from the same blogger.

www.twitter.com/manitwitts is the micro-blog from the same blogger .

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=12734065&trk=tab_pro  blogger available in professional networking portal, www.linkedin.com

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452nd Publication in The Times of Oman, Thursday Magazine

This is the 452nd publication overall, published in The Times of Oman, Thursday Magazine, dated,20th to 26th October 2011.

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500th Publication-International Journal, PROFICIENT

It gives me immense pleasure to present my 500th publication overall. The case study on entrepreneurship has been published in the leading International Journal of Management, Proficient.

Recommendation/Testimonial from the President and Founder of www.knowledgeoman.com

It is indeed an honour to receive a recommendation/testimonial from the president and founder, Mr. Tariq Al Barwani of the leading knowledge portal of the Sultanate of Oman, www.knowledgeoman.com . I am associated with this novel learning initiative as part of my social contributions and towards doing that extra bit for this excellent nation, in line with the dream of the great leader Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. I joined as a contributor then moved on a column coordinator and presently associated as community contributor. My profile in the portal can be seen at-http://knowledgeoman.com/en/?page_id=281

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Recommendation for Dr. Manishankar Chakraborty from the Founder and President of www.knowledgeoman.com , Mr. Tariq Al Barwani