TU Exam 2079: Business Communication BBS

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 Lekhnath Paudyal’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 Joyce’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 favor 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? [10]

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 brings negative consequences in society or is it sometimes necessary to bring about change? [10]
OR
Susan Sontag, in her essay “Beauty”, seeks to discredit conventional attitudes about beauty. What changes in attitude about beauty do you think Sontag wants to bring about in her readers? [10]

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 same 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? [15]

Group ‘B’

7. Define the following business communication terminologies/phrases. [5]
a. Upward flow of communication
b. Press Release
c. Rapport
d. Active Listening
e. Appraisal interview

8. Rewrite the following issues choosing the best alternatives. [5]
a. ……………… is not related to collaborative communication technique.
i. Offering constructive feedback
ii. Sharing responsibility
iii. 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
ii. Non-verbal communication
iii. Electronic communication
iv. Oral communication

c. ………………. is the one you submit to others without their request for a proposal.
i. A solicited proposal
ii. An unsolicited proposal
iii. An informal proposal
iv. An internal proposal

d. Why we prefer emailing is 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
ii. A mini plan
iii. 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? Look 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 centre 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 shuts 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 YouTube). 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 are 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.

Questions:
a. Advertising, according to the passage, is 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.