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Unit 7 - Reading Skills for Effective Business Communication
Master's in Business Administration (MBA001)
Manipal University Jaipur
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Unit 7 Reading Skills for
Effective Business Communication
Structure: 7 Introduction Objectives 7 Reading – Overview Purposes of reading Reading as a skill 7 Types of Reading Skimming Scanning Extensive reading Intensive reading Loud and silent reading 7 SQ3R Technique of Reading 7 Summary 7 Glossary 7 Terminal Questions 7 Answers 7 Case Study
7 Introduction
In the previous unit, we studied the advantages of oral communication. We also became familiar with the steps to follow for creating an effective presentation and the significance of using visual aids in presentation. Oral communication plays a significantly important role in business communication along with listening and written skills. At the same time, business executives also need to equip themselves with reading skills, in order to succeed in the workplace. The types of reading that you will have to do at the workplace will be varied – sometimes you may have to do extensive reading of professional books, magazines and journals; at other times you may be required to study research reports in an intensive manner. Often, business executives are also asked to scan newspapers and magazines to collect information, or to read and condense business related
articles for their busy superiors. Unless you familiarize yourself with the different techniques of reading, you will not be successful.
Sticht, in 1975 found that a significant amount of time is spent in schools on teaching how to read and interpret novels, short stories, dramas and poetry. However, very less attention is given to teaching technical reading skills needed in the workplace. The report released in 1991 by Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) mentioned that reading of technical material as a basic skill is needed by all workers. Reading at workplace usually comprises of the ability to understand and interpret various documents such as diagrams, directories, correspondence, manuals, records, charts, graphs, tables and specifications. Based on the research of Ross and Salzman, in 1987, Schmidt reported that the reading materials for enhancing technical reading skills must be developed using office documents. About 121 documents were collected from ten businesses and were analysed for reading level. The average reading grade levels for the documents ranged from 11 for those collected from a bank to 13 for those collected from a university continuing education centre office. Other businesses that provided documents and their average reading grade levels included 11 for a space industry manufacturer, 11 for a town administration office, 12. for a hospital, 12 for an insurance company, 12 for a chemical industry manufacturer, 12 for a railroad, 13 for a country administration office and 13 for a school division office. Thus, the reading grade level of typical office documents is considerably higher than general interest reading materials. Further, most reading done by adults is technical and job-related reading. It is not the type of reading emphasised in schools. (Source: enotes/business-finance-encyclopedia/reading- skills-business)
This unit helps to answer the following questions:
What are the types of reading?
Is there a special technique for reading?
Fig. 7: Decoding Process
As shown in figure 7, a typical decoding or reading process involves a message that is written (encoded) by a writer in a particular language. The message written by the writer is read (decoded) by the reader.
7.2 Purposes of reading We read many things in our day-to-day lives. Some of them include: Newspapers and magazines Advertisements, leaflets and pamphlets Textbooks, novels and short-stories Letters Email Recipes, puzzles, menus Articles, reports, legal documents Dictionaries, telephone directories Cartoons, comic strips Time-tables, maps, statistical graphs and diagrams
The above items are read either for knowledge, personal interest, pleasure or to gather information. For you, as students, the purpose of reading is
either for interest, pleasure or to acquire information and knowledge. Reading for interest or pleasure is usually fulfilled through reading fiction, while reading to learn is achieved by reading informative articles. Reading for information may be both internal and external. When you read for necessary background information about what is going on within the company where you work or within your group, it is called ‘reading for internal information’. Reading for information about what is going on in your field, but outside your own company, is called ‘reading for external information’.
Professional reading’ is done when you need to continue learning and studying, so that you develop your own thinking and skills. However, you must bear in mind that a text is not written strictly for any one purpose. For instance, a biography or an autobiography may be read by one person for personal interest, to understand the life story of an individual. The same book may also be read by a research scholar, for research purposes. People’s interest in reading is so varied that any text could meet any purpose.
7.2 Reading as a skill Similar to listening, reading for many of us, is a ’passive’ process, where we sit down, relax and run our eyes through the words on the page. However, meaningful reading or reading with understanding is considered as an ’active’ process. Readers can understand a text only when they actively use their mental faculties. Therefore, to read efficiently, one has to have: Knowledge of the writing system of the language. Knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the language. Ability to interpret. A reason for reading. An appropriate method of reading. Knowledge of the world (experience/background knowledge).
When all these requirements are used efficiently while reading, understanding will be effective and meaningful. Thus, reading is a skill, which has to be acquired through constant experimentation.
Fig. 7: Reading Types
7.3 Skimming Let us say that you are a student of management and as suggested by your professor, you need to buy a reference text book for writing a paper on Investment Management or Quality Management. You go to a book store and see a rack full of books, with the same title, but different authors. You do not have time to read the pages before deciding on buying the book. Therefore, you quickly go through the contents, title page and the blurb. By now, you have decided to buy one book. This type of reading that you do in the book store is known as ’skimming’. Thus, skimming may be defined as “looking over a text/book quickly, in order to get a general or superficial idea of the content”. Skimming is usually done to grasp main ideas and to review the material by skipping the details.
Activity 1: An exercise on skimming Match the following business publications with the extracts given below. A text book on modern management. A travel guide for businessmen. A company’s monthly newsletter. A computer software manual. A company’s annual report. A leading business daily.
a) One of the most popular hill stations in India, Munnar is situated at the confluence of three mountain streams - Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala. Located at 1600 mts. above sea level, it has an area of 26 sq. km., with a temperature of 15º-25º C in summer and 0º - 10º C during winter. The best time to visit Munnar is from September to May.
b) Tokyo stocks drifted downwards on Tuesday, amid light trading, with the Nikkei 225 losing 0 per cent to 17.760, as investors waited for fresh data from Japan and the US at the end of the week.
c) To be an effective manager in today’s competitive world, you must keep up-to-date with the latest developments in technology. Technology is changing rapidly and the pace of innovation is accelerating. New technologies are being developed all the time and this puts even more pressure on managers.
d) The line, rectangle and oval tools are in Flash function, as you would expect from using other graphic programs. i. Click the Oval tool. ii. Drag the work area to the right. Don’t worry about the colour or fill. iii. Click the white triangle at the right when you are ready to continue.
e) We are pleased to announce the appointment of Shashank Bhat as our new Director of Human Resources. Shashank began his career at Nimbus, after leaving University. He has been working at the Head Office since last year. Shashank is married and has one daughter.
There are, of course, still some rules. Dirty or untidy clothes are not allowed. Male employees are told not to wear earrings at work. And for some people, there is still a dress code. Sales staff do not go out on visits wearing jeans. Overseas visitors – especially if they come from the Far East – are not welcomed by executives in Bermuda shorts and beach shirts.
The fashion for casual dress at work started on the west coast of the United States. American hi-tech companies found that younger employees were happier with a less formal style. “In the Information Technology industry, the division between office and home is not very important,” says consultant Luis Rodriguez. “Many people work at home wearing the clothes they feel most relaxed in. When they are in the office, they just don’t see the need to dress very formally.” Rodriguez has carried out a survey on dress among 700 US companies. “We found that about 70% of companies allowed employees to wear casual clothes on some occasions.” There are a number of explanations for the more relaxed modern style, according to Rodriguez. “Companies with a higher proportion of women employees tend to be more relaxed about dress codes.”
It is also significant that there are many younger people in positions of power. “You now find senior managers in their early thirties or even younger. They just don’t want to dress like their grandfather did.”
Even the most traditional companies have been caught up in the new fashion. Take MFD Securities, a City of London investment firm. For many years, executives had to wear white shirts, dark suits and ties. Now they are allowed to wear more casual jackets and trousers. Jeans, however, are not allowed. “Our customers are getting younger and younger,” says MFD spokesperson Jan Martin. “Often they are happier dealing with someone of their own age and background. And that means dressing in a more informal way.”
However, not all companies are following the trend. A junior executive in a Paris bank recently arrived at work to find four brand new white shirts on his desk. This was his company’s way of saying that blue and yellow striped shirts were not acceptable.
Answer the following questions:
- How have Samex changed their dress policy recently?
- How was the change introduced?
- What rules still exist in Samex?
- What were the results of the Rodriguez survey?
- Do all City companies have a strict dress code?
- What experience did a French executive recently have? (Source: Milne, J. (1994). Business Language Practice. Deutschland: Hueber)
7.3 Extensive reading As we have already mentioned, our way of reading is influenced by the purpose of our reading. Most of us have the habit of reading especially when we are free or have a lot of leisure time. We might get hold of a novel, a comic strip or a magazine. When we read for the pure pleasure of reading, it is known as “extensive” reading. However, it must not be given less priority, because it is extensive reading. It is enjoyable, as well as informative. Here, we practise rapid reading to get a global/overall understanding of the matter.
Activity 3: Read the passage given below and try to insert words in the blanks. The words that you choose should be contextual. In a successful negotiation, no one should feel that they have lost. You should reach a win- 1_ solution. After one side makes a proposal, the other should make a 2___ -offer. If both sides make 3_ you can work towards a compromise. By making a goodwill 4 you may get something from the other side. It is this 5 -trading that moves the negotiations along. If you are not prepared to make a 6_ -off, there is a chance that the talks will break down.”
- a) lose b) draw c) win
- a) counter b) condition c) consensus
- a) priorities b) objectives c) concessions
- a) gesture b) mannerism c) etiquette
- a) bull b) horse c) bear
- a) business b) work c) trade
KM is an evolving discipline. Knowledge transfer (an aspect of KM) has always existed in one form or another. It has been done formally through apprenticeship, the maintenance of corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. Since the late twentieth century, it is being done technologically through knowledge bases, expert systems and other knowledge repositories.
KM programmes claim to consciously evaluate and manage the process of accumulation, creation and application of knowledge which is also referred to by some as ‘intellectual capital’. KM has therefore attempted to bring under one rubric, various strands of thought and practice relating to intellectual capital in the economy, the idea of the learning organisation, various enabling organisational practices and various enabling technologies.
KM may be viewed from different perspectives. Techno-centric view focuses on technologies, ideally those that enhance knowledge sharing and growth, frequently any technology that does fancy stuff with information. Theoretical view concentrates on the underlying concepts of knowledge and truth. People view engages on bringing people together and helping them exchange knowledge. Process view endeavours on the processes of knowledge creation, transmission, transformation and others.
KM programmes are typically tied to specific organisational objectives. The KM programmes are also intended to lead to the achievement of specific targeted results such as improved performance, competitive advantage or higher levels of innovation.
Organisations must undertake KM programmes. In doing so, they would gain competitive advantage that comes with improved or faster learning and new knowledge creation. KM programmes may lead to greater innovation, better customer experiences, consistency in good practices and knowledge access across a global organisation, as well as many other benefits.
(Source: knowledge-management.bestmanagementarticles)
Activity 6: Write a paragraph on "The Significance of Knowledge Management", using only the main ideas you have identified in Activity 5.
7.3 Loud and silent reading Most of our day-to-day reading is done silently. When we read an article or advertisement, we are engaged in the process of deriving meaning from the passage. Actually when we read aloud, our concentration is divided between reading and speaking. This makes reading difficult and may cause problems in understanding the matter. However, there are situations when we may have to read things aloud when others do not have access to them – for example, notices and circulars. We need to read the instructions aloud to students or employees, so that there is no confusion later. Apart from these extraordinary situations, most of the time the natural way of reading is silent reading, which is ideal and helps comprehension.
Additional Reference: Marshall C. C. (2009). Reading and Writing the Electronic Book. USA: Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
Self Assessment Questions
- What is defined as “looking over a text/book quickly, in order to get a general or superficial idea of the content"? (Pick the right option) a) Scanning b) Extensive reading c) Skimming d) Intensive reading
- Scanning is a kind of reading where the reading is done for very specific purpose. (True/False)
- In which type of reading do we practise rapid reading to get a global/overall understanding of the matter?
- Natural way of reading is ___________________, which is ideal and helps comprehension.
d) Creech, B. (1995).The Five Pillars of TQM: How to Make Total Quality Management Work for You. New York: Truman Talley Books/Plume. e) Kume, H. (2009). Management by Quality, 2nd Ed. Madras: Productivity and Quality Publishing Pvt. Ltd. f) Journal: Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. London: Taylor and Francis Group.
- Question – The second step in the SQ3R technique of reading is ’question’. A survey of the text will surely raise a few questions in your mind regarding the text. Some of the questions could be: Is the book useful or relevant to my study? Does it provide some guidelines/information on the subject at hand?
However, as you go through the individual chapters, you might have specific questions regarding the topic. This will surely help you to gain some insights into the text, topic and the author's comments. You will be surprised to see how your questions are answered in the process of reading and understanding the text. Therefore, don't treat reading as an automatic process. It has to be conscious and deliberate, with a definite purpose, where you interact with the topic and the author.
Reading – After surveying and questioning, you begin the actual reading. You need to develop a critical approach to reading anything for that matter. Read the text over and over again, each time with a different question and a different purpose in mind. "I read it once and understand everything" kind of attitude is nothing but a myth. Hence, while reading for the first time, you must just focus on the main points or ideas and supporting details. Make a note of the important points that you have read.
Recall – Recalling or reciting follows reading level. In this level, the reader recalls or recites the content after reading some portion of text. This is done by checking and amending notes. This is done because every reading exercise increases your background knowledge and you must be able to connect the information gained with the existing knowledge. Thus, recalling whatever you have read enables you to connect and relate the content with the previous and future learning of the subject. You can recite aloud, silently or by writing down the key points that sums up the major
points. It is a good practise to put across the points in your own words when you recall.
- Review – Reviewing is the process of checking whether we have followed the earlier stages promptly and efficiently. Have we surveyed the book, article or magazine properly? Have we asked the appropriate questions relating to the content? Have we read it critically and have we recalled the most significant details or information required for our study? These are questions that must be asked in the final stage of reading. Review will sharpen your critical ability, enable you to form your own opinions on the topic and express them to others.
Try to practise these stages consciously in your reading and research and you will find this to be a highly rewarding experience.
Self Assessment Questions
- A survey of the _____________ or ___________________ tells you immediately whether the book contains what you need.
- While reading for the first time, you must just focus on the main points or ideas and supporting details. (True/False)
- What will sharpen your critical ability, enable you to form your own opinions on the topic and express them to others? (Pick the right option) a) Reading b) Recall c) Survey d) Review
7 Summary
Let us recapitulate the important concepts discussed in this unit:
Reading is defined as "thinking under the stimulus of the printed page” or "psycho-linguistic guessing game”.
Reading can happen for obtaining both internal and external information.
When you need to continue learning and studying, so that you develop your own thinking and skills, you read professionally.
7 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
- An active process
- Fiction, Informative articles
- False. Reading for information about what is going on in your field, but outside your own company, is called reading for external information.
- Experimentation
- Skimming
- True
- Extensive reading
- Silent reading
- Index, Bibliography
- True
- Review
Terminal Questions
- Webster defines reading as "thinking under stimulus of printed page" and Francoise Grellet defines reading as "understanding a written text. Understanding a written text is extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible". For more details, refer section 7.
- Usually one reads either for interest, pleasure or to acquire information and knowledge. Information can be obtained from various sources such as newspaper, letters, e-mails, articles etc. The purpose of reading depends on the kind of information and requirement. For more details, refer sub-section 7.2.
- When you read to grasp main ideas and to review the material it is called skimming. Scanning is a kind of reading where you read for very specific purpose or to know specific information. For more details, refer sub-sections 7.3 and 7.3.
- Extensive reading happens when the reader reads for the pure pleasure of reading, but intensive reading happens when the reader seeks specific details or information. For more details, refer sub- sections 7.3 and 7.3.
- SQ3R techniques of reading was developed by Robinson. The five steps of SQ3R techniques of reading are: survey, question, read, recall and review. For more details, refer section 7.
7 Case Study
Study on Thai IT Managers Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok, Thailand conducted a study on business communication skills. They examined 257 Thai IT managers. The study analysed the perspectives of the managers on the importance of English business communication skill types. The study was also aimed at finding whether the training that they attended was in compliance with the requirements. Study findings According to the study results the Thai IT managers considered reading as the most important skill, followed by listening, speaking and writing respectively. This is due to a reason that they have to read a large amount of material such as websites, news, professional articles, proposals and manuals, in order to update themselves about the current information and knowledge in the IT field. They also had to inform updates in technology to clients to help them enhance their function. However, these findings were not in compliance with other similar studies like Lee and Hatesolh's study, as this study ranked listening as the most important skill followed by speaking, reading and writing respectively. The study also found that the top five reading types of Thai IT managers are e-mail, manuals, IT articles, instructions and letters. Reading and writing e-mails were ranked as the most important activities performed by managers.
Conclusion The findings of the study proved the fact that managers are trained primarily to improve listening and speaking skills as it is considered as the most important communication in the workplace. Significantly, very less training is provided for improving writing and reading as employers think writing and reading are higher-level skills that require more time to improve and have higher training costs. The study stresses that a change is required in the attitude of the IT industry towards reading and writing skills.
Unit 7 - Reading Skills for Effective Business Communication
Course: Master's in Business Administration (MBA001)
University: Manipal University Jaipur
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