Conflict and Negotiation

INTRODUCTION

All the functions of communication have their roles to play both separately and in combination, depending upon the context or the demands of the situation. Perhaps the most interesting and challenging task of communication is concerned with conflict and negotiation. Almost all of us are familiar with the situations in which conflicts arise and the need to negotiate becomes paramount. It happens quite frequently in our personal and social lives. But there is certainly no business organization that is free from conflicts, and does not endeavour to resolve its conflicts through negotiation. It may be possible to put down a conflict in a family, but in the corporate world negotiation is the only royal road to success.
CONFLICT DEFINED

Literally conflict means (a) serious disagreement and argument about something important and (b) a state of mind in which you find it impossible to make a decision or choice. In business, conflict involves a disagreement about the allocation of scarce resources or a clash of goals, statuses, values, perceptions, or personalities. Quite a lot of our conflicts arise from our communication of our wants, needs, and values to others. Our communication may or may not suit others. The essential ingredients of conflict, therefore, are (a) Disagreement, (b) Argument, (c) Clash of goals, interests, perceptions etc, (d) Difficulty in making a decision, (e) Inadequate or poor communication, and (f) Incompatible personalities Conflict, in this way is a situation that requires serious attention and resolution through negotiation. In a business organization such situations crop up very often, especially in the context of labour-management relations. A manager can no doubt

use dominance and suppression in handling conflicts with employees. But such an action can, sooner or later, prove to be counterproductive. The best option for him is negotiation.
NEGOTIATION DEFINED

Negotiation can easily be defined as a process by which two parties interact to resolve a conflict jointly. J. L. Graham, who has done extensive research in this area of communication, defines negotiation as a face-to-face decision-making process between parties concerning a specific product. The distinguishing features of a negotiation are the following: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) There are a minimum of two parties present. Both parties have predetermined goals. Some of the predetermined goals are not shared by both participants. There is an outcome. Both parties believe the outcome of the negotiation may be satisfactory. Both parties are willing to modify their position.

(vii) The parties, incompatible positions make modification of position difficult. (viii) The parties understand the purpose of negotiation. It has been found by researchers that in case any of these features is not present, the interaction does not qualify to be called a negotiation. The first feature is a prerequisite in any face-to-face communication event. The second and third features motivates the parties to enter into negotiation. The fourth and fifth features, dealing with the outcome of the negotiation, show whether there is resolution and the process is satisfactory or not. After this, the parties come to a give-and-take in negotiation-the sixth feature. The seventh feature shows that give-and-take is difficult. Finally, the parties must share the same socio cultural knowledge of the process of negotiation and conversational conventions. All parties must be competent to understand the goals of the interaction that they are participating in. In cross-cultural negotiation, i.e. in a situation where the

negotiating parties belong to different cultural back grounds/nationalities while they understand the process differently, all share an understanding of the goals of the event. In other words, they understandably have the same goal in mind, and strive towards its achievement. In our day-to-day life we witness/get into countless examples of negotiation. We negotiate with a car dealer to buy a car. We negotiate with our friends/colleagues about cultural/recreational activities. We negotiate with authorities about working hours and conditions. Top-level managers negotiate with union leaders over contract provisions, with the environmentalists over the best way to protect the environment or clean up pollution. Very often they have to negotiate with employees over particular work assignments or bonus or incentives or such other matters.

CHARACTERISTICS OF NEGOTIATION SITUATIONS According to Lewicki and Littner , all negotiation situations like the ones cited above have the following well-defined characteristics: 1. There is a conflict of interact between two or more parties, that is, what one wants is not necessarily what the other one wants. 2. Either there is no fixed or established set of rules or procedures for

resolving the conflict, or the parties prefer to work outside of asset of rules and procedures to invent their own solution to the conflict. 3. The parties, at least for the moment, prefer to search for agreement rather than to fight openly, to have one side capitulate, to break off contact permanently, or to take their dispute to a higher authority for resolution. FACTORS IMPORTANT TO SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION Negotiation is a complex communication process. It becomes all the more complex in view of the fact that one round of negotiation is just an episode in a long-term relationship. This is exactly what happens in labour-management

relations. Adequate preparation is a key concern for the negotiation. Before getting into the process of negotiation a review of the history of previous negotiating sessions and their outcomes must be taken into account. Without careful consideration of the previous sessions the negotiator runs a great risk. This will help him in planning his move moves. Anyway, before that, we must take note of the factors that vitally determine the outcome of the negotiation process. They are: (a) Whether the parties see their interests as depending on each other; (b) The extent of trust or distrust that the parties repose in each other; (c) The personalities of the people actually involved in negotiation; (d) The goals and interests of the parties, and (e) Each partys ability to communicate clearly, persuades, or coerce the other party to accept its point of view. STRUCTURE OF NEGOTIATION PROCESS It has been said in the very first chapter of this book that all communication is structured. Negotiation is a complex communication event, and, therefore, has a complex structure. Marketing researchers are generally of the opinion that negotiation is a four-stage process. Each researcher has invented different names for these stages, or moves. They have, however, been generally label led as Opening, Exchange of information, Change of position, and closing. These market researchers have not analyzed the language of negotiation. An analysis of the language of a typical bargaining negotiation throws up nine stages or episodes that occur in the following order. (1) OPENING (2) EXCHANGE (3) FIRST PRICE (4) PLANNING (5) DISCUSSION OF PRODUCTS (6) BARGAIN

(7) PRICES (8) PRE-CLOSE (9) CLOSE It must, however, be pointed out that all nine language-based stages are not required to be present in a negotiation. It is also observed that these stages do not occur only once in each negotiation. Many stages may be recursive, or, may be repeated. Further linguistic analysis of negotiations taking place in American English, throw up the following six distinctive episode structure:

OPENING/EXCHANGE

1st PRICE

BARGAIN/PRICES

CLOSE

This linguistic analysis of the distinctive episodes of negotiation supports the fourstage model put forward by marketing researchers. Interestingly, it has also been found that no negotiation contains only these episodes. This finding shows the richness and complexity of the negotiation process. FUNCTIONAL/LINGUISTIC CONTENT OF NEGOTIATION An inside look at the negotiation process reveals five factors or underl ying linguistic behaviors Information, Interaction, Metatalk, Concession, and Agreement. In the words of Joyce Neu, an applied linguist, certa in functions in negotiation are, systematically accomplished by certain ways of speaking (structure).

(i)

Information: The first factor, Information, contains the content variables or functions self-disclosure (giving information about oneself), and exclusive we (we used to mean the speaker and someone other than the negotiating opponent) and the structure variables self-repairs and filled pauses. Filled pauses hold the floor for speakers when they experience difficulties (as seen by the presence of self-repairs) in encoding a message. maintenance. As such, this factor might be labeled Floor

(ii)

Interaction: The second factor, Interaction, contains the content (or function) variable request for information and the structure variables soft (soft voice volume), acknowledgement (giving feed back), and echo (repeating a part, or all, of the previous speakers utterance). These three variables help the current speaker leave the floor to another speaker either through passive acquiescence (feedback and soft volume), or through active involvement (requesting information). Thus, this factor promotes interaction. Metatalk: The third factor, Metatalk contains only content variables. The three variables recommendation (making a suggestion/recommendation), shield (I dont know, may be, I think, etc) and inclusive we (we used o mean the speaker and the other negotiators present) function together to reflect or now a concern with the ongoing process. It is seen in suggestions like Why dont we may be first talk about fax machines?. It is, thus, a part of procedural discourse.

(iii)

(iv)

Concession: The fourth factor has been called Concession as it has the content variable concession (conceding to the apponent) with the

structure variables slow (slow speech rate) and loud (loud voice volume). They indicate deliberation and intentionality. (v) Agreement: The final factor Agreement contains the content variables commitment (agreement to do something) and positive response (acknowledging the other speakers utterance with a positive, or agreeing response) and the structure variable overlap (segment of talk which overlaps with another speakers talk). This factor appears to indicate a willingness, even an eagerness (as seen in overlap), to commit. These five factors constitute the underlying, behavior of negotiation. The first tow Information and Interaction are common to all communication events. The last three Metatalk, Concession, and Agreement are particular to oral discourse or communication, and, more specifically, to negotiations. Hence, from the point of view of functional analysis of the language used in negotiation it is clear that no headway can be made in negotiation, that takes place mostly in oral medium, without Metatalk, Concession and Agreement.

INTEGRATIVE NEGOTIATIONS

AND

DISTRIBUTIVE

PROCESSES

OF

Every negotiator is concerned with the outcome of the negotiation process in which he is participating. In other words, the negotiating parties are interested in the stability aspect of the outcome of negotiation. If there is any reason to regret or resent or withdraw certain moves the parties would like to reopen the negotiations. If, on the other hand, the parties feel that they are satisfied with the whole exercise of negotiation, its outcome will be fairly stable and they will have no regrets. On the basis of the stability aspect of negotiated settlement, he negotiation processes have been divided into two categories Integrative, and Distributive: The integrative process of negotiation is one in which parties on both the sides feel that they are gaining what they expected. They are happily reconciled,

empathetic, open, receptive and satisfied. Such a situation has widely come to be known as a Win-win situation. In this connection it is worthwhile quoting Stephen Covey who says, Win/win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody, that one persons success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others. The distributive process of negotiation is one in which each of the parties tries to grab maximum benefit, and impose maximum losses on the other. This has come to be known as a win/lose situation. Another nomenclature for it is Zero Sum which means that one partys gain counterbalances. Regarding this situation Stephen Covey says, In leadership style, win/lose is the author itarian approach.Win/lose people are prone to use position, power, credentials, possessions, or personality to get their way. Researchers have pointed out that both integrative and distributive processes are at work in every negotiation. The negotiators cant ideally choose to stick to one kind of process in preference over the other. On the other hand, negotiations involve a tension between the two processes. It is on the whole a healthy tendency as it enables the negotiator to protect his own interest, without, of course, destabilizing the entire deal or process. GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION Much has been written about the way we should negotiate. Many of the instructions/directions/guidelines offered in this regard sound plain commonsense. But it must be kept in mind that negotiations are not all that easy. It is above all a matter of pragmatics that is concerned with assessment of the effectiveness of the communication process and judges the efficiency of the communication in relation to the extent to which it achieves its purpose. It is, therefore, necessary to keep in mind the nature of the process as discussed above and follow the advice of communication experts. It can be simplified in the following steps: 1. Have a positive, generous, win/win attitude. Dont start with a win/lose position as it is likely to put the other party on the defensive from the beginning.

2. Narrow down your field to as few points of dispute as possible. 3. Adopt a step-by-step approach. Focus attention on one point/issue at a time and arrive at an agreement before taking up any other item on the agenda. 4. Find out the other partys state of mind, cultural background, likes and dislikes etc. Leo Reilly, an expert on negotiations, says, A common

negotiating myth is that there is something called objective value, what something is really worth. In fact, value is in the eyes of the beholder, and whether youre buying or selling, the key to success is how well you influence your opponents perceptions 5. Disguise your true desires. Showing too much eagerness gives the other party a chance to exploit you. 6. Dont disclose your deadline. Disclosing the deadline or time frame to the other party in the beginning gives the other party a chance to delay the deal. Hence it is better to focus on the deal itself than on the time limit. 7. Know exactly what you want. Quite often people make an impulse purchase and in our loss. It is; therefore, better to stop to think whether we really need an item or whether we are getting the best value. 8. Think before you speak. It has been observed that generally the party that speaks first lacks patience. Hence it is better to let the other person speak first or to make the first move. 9. Known your market. Information, says Reilly, is the negotiators most powerful asset. If you are well-prepared you will rarely be fooled. 10.Understand your options/alternatives. increase your negotiating power. 11.Bring your own expert. When you lack authority on a certain issue/item, it is better to have your own expert to confront the negotiator. Recognizing your options can

12.Know your adversarys limits.

How far can you push him before the

negotiations reach a decisive stage. 13.Keep a trump card, and bring it out at a crucial moment. 14. Confuse the other pany by giving false-but socially acceptable and rationalreasons for an action, Francis Becon has said, A mixture of a lie doth always add pleasure. It is quite a sound advice for a worldly wise man. 15.Keep talking. By keeping the door open some basis for a compromise can always be worked out. 16.Keep quite. Silence can project the image that you have the upper hand. 17.Listen. The adversarys tone of voice and gestures frequently give away his true motivations and feelings. 18.Avoid personalities. Focus your arguments on the facts of a case. 19.Use bonuses, vacations, free services etc as effective motivators. 20.Establish expertise early. In this way, your arguments/statements will carry more weight. 21.Be a gracious winner. Make the vanquished parry feel theyve won. 22.Never look back. Always look forward. A deal is a deal. There is always ample scope for other deals. 23.Control your emotions. 24.Dont forget that negotiations by its very nature is a compromise. 25.Consider the impact of present negotiations on future ones. Implications for the future must always be kept in mind.

Report Writing
INTRODUCTION A report, by definition, is a statement describing what has happened or describing a state of affairs. In business there are many occasions when some form of report is required. It is supposed to be a detailed examination of a situation or problem, of action taken, or of the findings of an investigation. It is written in a clear, informative way, often drawing conclusions, making recommendations and suggesting courses of action. The purpose of such reports is usually to bring information to the attention of senior management authorities so that any decision regarding the matters under review can be taken by them with full knowledge of the background, facts and circumstances. Reports can also be requests for action, or they can make suggestions to initiate action. The Annual Report prepared by every company secretary or administrator for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders is a routine report of the organizations business activities during the previous year and a forecast of future prospects. Apart from this there are two other kinds of report which are likely to be written and read by many business executives and it is these which will be dealt with here in some detail. They are: 1. A letter-style report, covering mainly one topic, which is often unsolicited and which is used to make requests, pass necessary information, suggest actions, or bring some matter to the attention of another or other members of the staff. 2. A schematic report, which can deal with a number of related topics, is usually requested by a senior management executive, and is presented in a particular format under specific headings.

THE TECHNIQUE OF WRITING A REPORT Depending on the subject matter, either of these reports may be written in a narrative form, using the first person. Any statistical matter, photographs, financial break-downs, tabulated material and so on should be attached on separate sheets and referred to in the report, as their inclusion in the body of the text could result in a confusing and lengthy amount of materials which is difficult for the reader to follow. Information should be arranged either in logical sequence or in chronological order, and this should be determined by the subject matter, as should the type of report, bearing in mind that brevity and clarity should be the aim. The key language points to remember are those relevant to writing an essay sentence construction, paragraphing. Logical sequence of ideas and simplicity of expression. However, as Leo Jones and Richard Alexander have put it very succinctly, a report can best be written by following the guidelines given below: A. 1. B. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. C. Assemble the material Collect all relevant material notes, documents, etc. Plan the report Consider the purpose of your report: who is it for, why does he/she want it, how will he/she use it? State the aim and emphasis of the report briefly. Decide what information is important and what is irrelevant. Arrange the points of information in a logical sequence and in order of importance. Make rough notes. Draft a working plan on a separate sheet of paper. Decide where you might need illustrations or diagrams. Draft the report

8. Write the introduction: state the subject, state the purpose, summarize your findings.

9. 10. 11. D. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Write the body of the report. Write the conclusion (and recommendations). Summarize the report in a sentence. Edit the report Examine the draft. Does it do what the report is expected to do? Check your grammar, spelling, punctuation and style. Read the text aloud t yourself, or, better, to someone else. Check your illustrations.

16. Finally, if possible, let someone qualified to give constructive criticism look at your draft.

The letter-style report The letter-style report is usually written on the company headed paper which is used for internal communications. Though written in paragraphs like an ordinary letter, it carries no salutation and only a signature without any subscription. This type of report is used for more lengthy and detailed communications than a memorandum would cover, but it is headed like a memorandum. Let us look at an example: The Personnel Manager of Bharat Machine Tools Ltd. a large manufacturing organization with a factory, repair workshop and offices wishes to bring to the attention of Departmental and Section Heads the fact that employee in the factory, workshops and office have been arriving late in the mornings, leaving early in the

evenings and taking longer than a one-hour break a t mid-day. He will need to stress that this is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs for the company and that urgent action will have to be taken to ensure that staff come and go from their places of work at the proper times. He is therefore instigating this report, for as the Personnel Manager he is responsible to the Managing Director for all matters relating to employee relations. He will need to remind Heads of Departments of their responsibility to watch staff punctuality and attendance records. He will have to request that they take immediate action to bring these matters to the attention of all staff; to stress the seriousness with which the management views bad attendance and unpunctuality, and to remind staff that a consistently poor record in these matters constitutes a legitimate reason for dismissal. The result will appear as follows:

BHARAT MACHINE TOOLS LTD. 10, Industrial Estate Wazirpur Delhi.

26th May 1998 To: All Heads of Sections and Departments From: Mr. M. G. Goel, Personnel Manager

STAFF PUNCTUALITY AND ATTENDANCE It has been observed that staff of both the factory and repair workshops, as well as the offices, are arriving late in the mornings, leaving before time at the end of the day and arriving back late from their mid-day break. This is a state of affairs which all Heads should do their utmost to rectify immediately. A detailed check made last week revealed that almost a third of the factory workers, according to the clocking-in machine, arrived after 8 a.m. and in the repair workshops twenty-five out of a labour force of fifty-two were late arrivals on at least four out of six mornings. One third of the factory and workshop labour force left, on at least four evenings out of five, before 6 p.m. This state of affairs cannot be permitted to continue as it is greatly jeopardizing the efficiency and productivity of the Company. Also too many workers are returning late from the mid-day break which I would remind all should be of one hours durations only. Office staff should be at their desks by 8.30 a.m. and it has been noted that several of them are not. Again, there is too much late returning at mid-day. I should like all heads to take a very strong line on this matter and bring it to the attention of all shop stewards and employees as one of urgency which is being taken very seriously by the Management. I would remind Heads of their responsibility for enforcing punctuality and for watching attendance records. For the next month very careful checks should be made of the times at which staff arrive and leave their places of work. Reasons for absence should be closely examined and staff should be reminded that a consistently bad record of punctuality and attendance constitutes a legitimate reason for dismissal. The Companys two-day absence rule should also be strictly adhered to. An employee may be absent for two days, but for any further days he or she is required to produce a medical certificate, unless special permission has been given beforehand for the absence. The certificate should be seen by the Head of Section or Department and then passed to Mr. Saxena in the Personnel Office. If no certificate is forthcoming, salary will be deducted proirata. M.S.Goel C.C. Managing Director

NOTE: Normally the name(s) of the person or people for whom such a letter report is intended would appear in the heading after To:, but often there are other persons who need to be kept informed of the information sent out or of the suggestions for action to be taken, and these names appear in the bottom left-had corner after the abbreviation c.c. (meaning circulate copies). As shown in the example. Mr. Goel will obviously want his Managing Director to know what action he has taken on this important matter.

A report with enumerated paragraphs

Given below is a report on a similar problem, that of maintaining punctuality with the help of clocking in machines. The numbered paragraphs add to the clarity and readability of the report. FROM: Personnel Manager Division A To: Managing Director DATE: 16 June 1998 SUBJECT: Proposed installation of clocking-in-machines
1. Following your memorandum of 27 July were carried out a small study of

staff views in three selected departments to see how the arrangements of breaks had been working. I here summarize the results:

(a) 65% office workers found the present break arrangements satisfactory: (b) 25% would be in favour of a shorter lunch break and finishing earlier.
2. It is too early to stay definitely how many machines would be needed. But at

least one for every divisional office seems a reasonable estimate.

3. I also asked my personnel officers about the saving of time. They think that

an improvement in time-keeping could be made.

4. The staffs reaction to the idea was not very encouraging. In the survey we

carried out only 15% said they would be in favour of using clocking-in machines. If they had the choice they would prefer not to use them.
5. You also asked for my views on how to deal with the union. I had a meeting

with the chief union representative. I mentioned that in some departments the lunch break was lasting a lot longer then is actually allowed. The representatives answer was not very helpful. She said the union would

always insist on the lunch break being left as it is. There is a point beyond

which no negotiation would be possible without asking all the union members in the company their opinion. In conclusion, it seems important to draw the Boards attention to possible difficulties which the rapid installation of clocking-in machines could bring. We need to discuss the problem a little longer and with more people before taking any action, it would seem. The schematic report The schematic report is one which is written to a specific scheme, under headings. 1. TERMS OF REFERENCE Under this heading should be a clear statement of the purpose of the report, who requested it and the scope of enquiry or activity it covers.

2. ACTION TAKEN This should give details of the actions the writer took in preparation for the activity or task he is reporting on; or of how he went about gathering the material land data for his investigations.

3. FINDINGS Details should appear under this heading of what was done, observed or discovered and what information was gathered. All data relevant to the action or enquiry should be included. 4. CONCLUSIONS Under this heading should appear the conclusions gathered from the evidence or observation. They will include the writers opinion and

assessment of the situation he has been covering.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS In the light of the facts that he has presented in the report and the conclusions he draws from them, the writer may make recommendations or suggest a course of action. It is always advisable to make a rough draft of a schematic report before presenting it properly, in order to ensure that it is completely clear and logical. Now let us look at an example: A furniture manufacturer, Fancy Design and Dcor Ltd., exhibits its products each year at an International Furniture Fair held in Hamburg, Germany. It usually sends two members of its sales staff to set up a display stand and act as sales representatives at the Fair. The senior member of this team is the European Marketing Manager, Mr. Anil Kumar, who speaks German and French, and his assistant, is R. P. Gupta who also speaks German. They must take all the necessary actions to prepare for the Fair well in advance of the time. They will have to make travel arrangements; select the goods to be displayed; find out exactly where their stand is at the exhibition hall and how big it is, and design its lay-out. They will have to make sure that they take with them brochures and catalogues illustrating the Companys products as well as plenty of information concerning the Companys delivery dates and prices. They will also have to discuss with the Financial Director how much money they will be allocated for their expenses. They will then attend the Fair and try to promote sales as vigorously as possible while keeping a strict record of all their activities, sales, contacts made and expenses incurred. On their return Mr. Kumar will need to produce a report for the Managing Director which will quite probably also be seen by members of the Board of Directors and will perhaps form the basis of discussion by them at a future Board Meeting. It will be something like the one that follows.

FANCY DESIGN AND DECOR LTD. Crafts Bazaar, New Delhi 110067 REPROT ON HAMBURG FURNITURE FAIR, OCTOBER 1998 TO: Mr. Atul Abhuja, Managing Director FROM: Anil Kumar, European Marketing Manager TERMS OF REFERENCE To set up stand at the Hamburg Furniture Fair and to establish contacts and promote sales. ACTION TAKEN 1. Ascertained that our usual stand and position were reserved. 2. Selected items of furniture for display with Export Manager and arranged shipment with Export Department. 3. Discussed preparation of sales brochures in appropriate languages with Advertising and Promotions Department. 4. Discussed budged for entertainment and expenses with Financial Director. 5. Confirmed air and hotel reservations for R. P. Gupta and myself. 6. Arranged with continental carriers for the collection and return transportation of display goods. 7. Gupta arrived in Hamburg on 6th October 1998 and checked into Part Hotel. 8. Arrived in Hamburg myself on 14th October. FINDINGS 1. On arrival at the exhibition hall on the morning of the 7th, Gupta discovered that through some misunderstanding we had not been allocated our usual advantageous position. After discussions with Herr Walter Spitzbardt, the Fair organizer, we were given our usual stand. 2. Gupta organized a local contractor to set up our stand. We cleared the display goods from customs and had them delivered to the exhibition hall. Photographs of the stand are in envelope 1. 3. Gupta and I attended the British Consular pre-opening cocktail party for British exhibitors on the 16th. 4. The opening ceremony was performed by the German Trade Minister on the 20th. The number of exhibitors had increased the exhibition hall had been enlarged since the previous year to include several of the East European countries who were exhibiting for the first time in Hamburg, but though their craftsmanship was good, their designs were

generally very heavy. The brochures are in envelope 2. 5. The Scandinavians were very prominent as usual, but in my opinion and from discussions with buyers and other exhibitors, the general feeling seemed to be that their designs this year were too avant grade for the general domestic market. The brochures are in envelope 3. 6. The Germans maintained their high standards for the domestic market with some very interesting designs and new furnishing textiles. Their prices were very competitive, too. The brochures are in envelope 4. 7. The Italians had some brilliant stands. Marcello Baccinis was perhaps one of the most colourful at the exhibition, with a great deal of marbel and alabaster work which aroused great interest among American and British buyers. The new Italian hand-blocked fabrics featured some striking and unusual colour combinations, not particularly suitable in design or prices for the domestic market, but obviously aimed at the commercial market. The brochures and samples are in envelope 5. 8. The brochures and literature of the other Indian exhibitors are in envelope 6. The competition this year was considerable. There were some excellent designs in the higher price ranges in unusual woods, mainly for the commercial market by Jaykay Furnishings; Siyaram Textiles had some spectacular oriental-inspired furnishing fabrics which attracted a great deal of attention from European and American buyers. The Chinese influence was very much in evidence this year in bamboo and cane furniture and in the fabric designs and colours. Prices were surprisingly high, even with the Hong Kong manufactures, who normally manage to maintain a very competitive price level at the lower end of the market. 9. You will note from the details of sales enquiries (on the attached Sales Sheets) and contacts to be followed up, that these were up by 26% on last year and many of them are from marketing areas in which we have had little success in the past. The large order from Van der Holt of Berlin who have not bought from us before, is particularly encouraging. Mr. Van der Holt who is the owner of twenty-seven retail outlets in Belgium and Holland, had long discussions with us. I have invited him and his Chief Buyer, Mr. Brezinski to visit the factory on a trip to Delhi they intend making in December, with the hope of developing this connection more fully. There is a great potential market here and they both seem keen on Indian style, design and workmanship. 10. Expenditure for the period is detailed (see attached financial break-down). Although the allocation was adequate, in view of the amounts being very lavishly spend on entertainment by other exhibitors we shall have to consider an increase for next year. I would particularly draw your attention to the increase for labour and materials for the setting up of the stand, in comparison with last year. 11. We dismantled the stand on the 27th and handed everything over to continental carriers.

12. Gupta and I attended the closing party given by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce for all exhibitors on the 27th. 13. We both returned to Delhi on the 28th. CONCLUSIONS This was a most encouraging Fair, especially considering the European financial climate at present and the world-wide economic recession. It justified our continued presence and reinforced our high reputation in the European market. It also brought us new contacts in the Dutch, South American and Australian markets which could be most rewarding, as well as openings in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. In my opinion, attendance at such Fairs as this one is a real boost to sales; but we shall have to increase our attending staff. With the continued attendance of exhibitors and buyers from the Comecon countries we need a salesman able to converse in the Slavonic languages and we should also consider having translations into one of these languages in our brochures and sales literature. 2. A substantial increase in financial allocation will have to be considered. 3. The connection with Van der Holt must be vigorously followed up; also the enquiries from the three South American buyers from whom we have firm orders, as well as all the other first time enquirers. They should first receive personal visits from our overseas sales staff, and then invitations to our factory if considered expedient. 4. We shall have to consider engaging a full-time sales representative with knowledge of the Eastern European market and the ability to speak the appropriate language/s. Alternatively we could investigate the possibility of engaging a local agent in Eastern Europe, perhaps in Warsaw or Prague. Anil Kumar 31st October 1998 NOTE 1: With a schematic report the date comes at the end. This is because a very long report may take several days to complete and the date at the beginning will not be the date on which the report is finished. It is the completion date that appears under the signature of the writer on the right-hand side of the last page, as shown in the example. NOTE 2: There is reference in the report to other information and relevant material, either attached to the report or in separate numbered envelopes. All this additional material would be presented in an envelope folder marked FOR THE ATTENTION OF. To make sure that none of the assembled documents and material is lost or mislaid.

When a report is, of necessity, a particularly long one, a summary of it may be given in brief outline and attached to the front sheet, as shown below. FANCY DESIGN AND DCOR LTD. TO: Mr. Atul Ahuja, managing Director FROM: Anil Kumar, European Marketing Manager
SUMMARY OF REPORT ON HAMBURG FURNITURE FAIR OCTOBER 1998

This was a very encouraging Fair. The quality and prices of our designs and fabrics were fully competitive with those of other exhibitors and attracted a great deal of interest. We had

considerable success with new clients and contacts in the Dutch, South American, Australian, Polish and Czech markets. The contact with Van der Holt is especially promising; Van der Holt himself is to visit India in December. In future we should put more effort into communicating with east European buyers and manufacturers, who exhibited this year for the first time. We shall also need to increase expenditure and the number of attending staff.

Signature: Anil Kumar Date: 1st November 1998

Public Notices
INTRODUCTION On numerous occasions and for important reasons an organization has to reach out to the world at large. Written communication aimed at the world outside the organization is a very important way of projecting the company image. It can be through personal correspondence, an advertisement offering the companys products and services, an advertisement for a new member of staff in press, notices in the business or professional press and journals, an article or details in the local/national press concerning the company and its activities passed on to the thousands of potential customers, or slipped into magazines by arrangement with the publishers, detailing some special promotion or sales drive. All these communications have the advantage of being able to reach a large number of people. They should be prepared with care and concern so as to convey the right tone, attitude and information in the style of language most suitable for the target audience or the market aimed at. PRESS RELEASES When a company has some information it wishes to make public, someone with the authority to do so will prepare a press release. The secretary will no doubt be asked to present it in an easily readable format, (perhaps on a form specially headed for the purpose). Most of the newspapers have some space reserved for corporate news, releases and public notices. The newspaper editor, however reserves the right to publish the matter sent to him intact or after editing it. In order that the press release appears as it is intended to be, care must be taken to observe the following points:(a) Substantial information: The press release must be newsworthy. It is above all supposed to be an objective statement of some fact, some decision taken. The matter to be published should, therefore, be free from trappings of journalism.

(b) Clarity: As a corollary to the point given above it must be emphasized that a press release must be written out in a clear and transparent style. therefore, connotation must be avoided in favour of denotation. (c) Brevity: It goes without saying that a press release must be as brief as possible. Only then it will be clear. Moreover, the editor has no time to prune the matter. The newspaper has also to accommodate a large number of notices and other such items in their columns. (d) A press release should also be free from colloquialisms, cliches and promposity. Its aim is to highlight something worth reporting. (e) In a very deft manner it may, and should, uphold the company image, but it should not obviously look like an advertisement. It should be above all informative. At the same time it can and should positively project the company image. (f) The release must be given a carefully chosen and suitable heading. (g) If the matter is long it should be clearly divided into paragraphs. The paragraphs may also be given sub-headings. In choice of words,

Sample press releases

Example 1. A press release issued by a reputed company dispelling the consumers

fears about the shortage of its product.

VACCUUM EVAPORATED

Tata Salt
IODIZED Available throughout the country at uniform price of Rs. 6 per kg.
We are the primary and by far the largest producer of salt in the country and one of the largest in the world. For human consumption, we produce a premium grade Vacuum-Evaporated Iodized Salt Tata Salt the like of which is not produced anywhere. We market Tata Salt in one Kg. packs throughout the country at a uniform price of Rs. 6 kg. and we have the largest share of the market. There is absolutely no repeat no shortage of salt and the consumers are advised not the panic and not to pay more than the price printed on the pack. In addition, we also carry very large stocks of solar-evaporated salt which we do not market at present. In the unlikely event of need arising we can, with some Government support, move this salt in large quantities to any part of the country for sale as loose salt for human consumption. PLEASE DO NTO GIVE IN TO THE ANTI-SOCIAL ELEMENTS TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED The Company that cares