14

Chapter

Corporate Communication
And Public Relations

Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the learner will be able to—
zz understand the meaning, significance and scope of Corporate
Communication and Public Relations (PR)
zz comprehend functions of and skills required for corporate
communication and public relations
zz understand areas and principles of PR activities.

Introduction
Every idea, fact or opinion is static until communicated and understood. In
today’s information driven society it has been acknowledged time and again
that communication is as important as food, clothing and shelter. In this
chapter we are looking at communication as it is related to organisations
and business establishments. Corporate communication is considered as
an important tool of management which has evolved over the years.
Corporate communication is described as the set of activities involved
in ‘managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications’
which are designed to create favourable starting points.

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 Corporate communication is based on giving out of information by a
variety of specialists and generalists in an organisation. It is concerned
with people, organisational processes, activities and media.

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

Significance
A major variable for the success of any organisation is the perception of
the public. What the general public, competitors, employees “perceive”
about the organisation is what defines its respectability, its position and
ultimately its success. The primary objective of corporate communication
is to establish a perception (true or otherwise) in the eyes of all its
stakeholders. That is the significance of corporate communication;
‘controlling how the world sees you’. For example, in a crisis, regardless of
what actually happened, it is the public’s and employees’ understanding
of the crisis and how it was tackled that will define their reaction to the
organisation. If a company does not present itself as quiet, dignified and
peaceful, and projects aggressive behaviour it will be questioned by the
stakeholders.
The company’s fortune is influenced by the public’s assessment of
whether aggressive behaviour was necessary or not. The significance of
the corporate communication team is to understand how the stakeholders
will react to such behaviour. They have to ensure through press releases,
newsletters, ads and other modes of communication so that public gets
only that information which the organisation wants them to have.
PR is a very important function or activity of any organisation. Therefore,
it must be entrusted to effective and experienced executives. Each public
relations programme can have different objectives, strategy and plan. For
example, to create a positive image of a company, to handle a company
crisis, to motivate the employees, to create curiosity about a product, to
advertise a product and to inform about an event in advance. PR plans to
achieve each of the above mentioned objectives with different approaches.
Some of these are: press conferences, press releases, parties and get-
togethers before any special event. Public Relations and advertising
and media are inter-related and may have common characteristics and
activities.

Basic Concepts
Corporate Communication

Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective avenue of 257

communication with employees, consumers, investors and many others,

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 locally and globally. A great deal of management’s current concern for
employee productivity and the need to empower people has revolved
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

around the use of teams. But more often what is required is the simplest
need of all — communication. This is illustrated in the following study:

When a group of industrial engineers were asked in a 1990 study

how to improve productivity, communication concerns drew the
strongest response to any question on survey. More than 88 per
cent of the engineers strongly agreed that lack of communication
and cooperation among different components of a business leads to
reduced productivity (“P and Q Survey” 1990).
CEOs have also recognised the importance of communication. In
a study by A. Foster Higgins and Company, an employee-benefits
consulting firm found that 97 per cent of the CEOs surveyed
believe that communicating with employees positively affects job
satisfaction. Furthermore, the survey found that 79 per cent think
that communication benefits the bottom line; surprisingly, only 22
per cent communicate with employees weekly or more (Farnham
1989).
Source: [Link]

Public Relations

Public relations (PR) is both an art and a science. It has the beauty and
emotionality of art and the system of science. It may mean different things to
different people. Though it is of recent origin in India and the world over, it is
used in Government, public and private sectors and other institutions. The PR
techniques, strategies and practices vary from organisation to organisation.
“The fundamental way of getting public approval is to deserve it” —
Arthur W. Page
Following definitions of PR will give you some idea about its nature and
scope.
“Establishing a bond of relationships and contacts between two groups
of public”
“Deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain
mutual understanding between an organisation and the public”
“PR is an attempt, through information, persuasion, adjustment and
258 contacts, to seek for some activity, cause, movement, institution, product
or service”

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 Code of ethics is a very crucial requirement in any profession. PR
professionals are no exception to this requirement. They have access to
information or knowledge about events to come; pressure or temptation to

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

commercialise this information must be avoided at all costs. While serving
the interests of clients and employees, PR professionals must ensure that
they adhere to a code of ethics and a code of conduct so that they are not
labelled as fixers or manipulators.

Corporate communication is important primarily as it creates:

zz Positive and favourable public perception
zz Effective and efficient avenues of communication
zz Strong corporate culture, corporate identity and corporate
philosophy
zz Genuine sense of corporate citizenship.

Functions of Corporate Communication

Corporate communication builds a healthy organisational environment.

In an organisation information is to be disseminated by specialists
and generalists to a variety of people besides sharing information with
employees, stockholders, media and customers. Corporate communication
creates and maintains the brand and looks after the organisation’s
reputation. It projects the company’s brand within and beyond the
organisation. Thus, the process of corporate communication ensures a
liaison between an organisation and outside bodies. Nowadays it is used
as a public relations tool to project a positive corporate image, to build
strong relationships with stockholders, to inform the public about new
products and achievements. A smooth and affirmative relationship with
all stakeholders helps in maintaining and sustaining a positive corporate
image. Be it a corporate body, company, organisation, institution, non-
governmental organisation or a governmental body—all of them need
to have a respectable image and reputation. Increasing competition,
accessibility of information and the media explosion have made ‘reputation
management’ a priority for most organisations. This is handled in a
professional manner by corporate communicators. Dealing with crisis
control, enabling sophisticated approaches to global communications, and
comprehension and utilisation of complicated communication tools and
technologies are also important functions of corporate communication. 259

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 Functions of PR
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

Functions performed by corporate PR Departments and PR agencies

have many factors in common. Given below are most of the common
functions:
1. Public Relations Policy: Develop and recommend corporate public
relations policy and share it with top management and all departments.
This is truer for PR agencies.
2. Statements and Press Releases: Preparation of corporate statements,
sometimes speeches for executives and press releases are to be prepared
by the PR personnel. In the process, they are in a position to articulate
and project positive image of the company or product or policies.
3. Publicity: Issuing announcements of company activities and products
to media and community. Planning promotional campaign using media
is also a vital function. Handling inquiries from press and people at
large is a part of the function.
4. Maintaining Relations: The PR personnel are expected to maintain
liaisons with Government units at local, national and international
levels. They are expected to uphold good relations with the community
as ‘good neighbours’. This includes compliance with environment
protection standards, giving employment opportunities to locals, and
cooperating and participating in locality development programmes.
Communication between company and shareholders and with other
investors is also an important part of maintaining relations. Sometimes
the PR agency may have to prepare annual/quarterly reports and
planning meetings of stockholders.
5. Publications: Preparing and publishing in-house magazines is also
sometimes the function of a PR agency.

Major Areas of PR Activity

1. Press Relations: PR persons have to maintain cordial relations with

the press at all levels, from editor to reporter. Press and PR are both
dependent on each other for their bread and butter. Providing well
written and well-timed press releases, helping the correspondent to
write their articles, easy accessibility, forbearance of press criticism,
avoiding biases and undue favours to some papers are some of the
features of press relations. The PR man should project the culture of
the organisation while disseminating information about the product
or service. Journalists need news to remain in the business, and PR
needs publicity. Thus, there is a give and take between the two. This
260 interdependence of PR and press should be understood.

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 2. Advertising: A product does not sell on its own merit, it needs to
be advertised. The purpose of advertising may be to disseminate
information, persuade or influence people to consume the product.

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

There are many media for advertising like newspaper, radio, TV and
so on. Usually, it is the PR person who decides the budget and which
media to use for advertising.
3. Publications: Bringing out brochures, folders, pamphlets, circular-
letters, in-house-magazines and similar materials are the responsibility
of PR department. While preparing the material simplicity, clarity, cost,
true image of the organisation and attractiveness are the points to be
remembered.
4. Other Media coordination: Use of other audio-visual media, films,
exhibition, hoardings, puppetry and folk-songs come under the range
of operations of PR department. Good public speaking and courteous
speaking over the phone can also add to the positive image as spoken
words are still one of the best modes of communication. They have
to maintain good relations with other publicity media like radio and
television.
5. PR with Constituents: Along with the local press, PR persons also have
to have a liaison with local community, financial analysts, bankers,
major leading institutions, share-holders and potential investors.
Internal PR activities include maintaining relations with all employees
including executives and other senior personnel, so the PR man gets
all the information, keeps himself informed of all the happenings in the
organisation.

Seven Principles of Public Relations

Arthur W. Page practised seven principles of public relations management

as a means of implementing his philosophy.
zz Tell the truth. Let the public know what is happening and provide an
accurate picture of the company’s character, ideals and practices.
zz Prove it with action. Public perception of an organisation is determined
90 per cent by what it does and 10 per cent by what it says.
zz Listen to the customer. To serve the company well, understand what
the public wants and needs. Keep top decision makers and other
employees informed about public reaction to company products,
policies and practices.
zz Manage for tomorrow. Anticipate public reaction and eliminate
practices that create difficulties. Generate goodwill. 261

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 zz Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it.
Corporate relations is a management function. No corporate strategy
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

should be implemented without considering its impact on the public.

The public relations professional is a policymaker capable of handling
a wide range of corporate communications activities.
zz Realise that a company’s true character is expressed by its people.
The strongest opinions good or bad about a company are shaped
by the words and deeds of its employees. As a result, every
employee active or retired is involved with public relations. It is the
responsibility of corporate communications to support each employee’s
capability and desire to be an honest, knowledgeable ambassador to
customers, friends, shareowners and public officials.
zz Remain calm, patient and good-humored. Lay the groundwork for
public relations miracles with consistent and reasoned attention
to information and contacts. This may be difficult with today’s
contentious 24-hour news cycles and endless number of watchdog
organisations. But when a crisis arises, remember, cool heads
communicate best.

Two types of communication are used more in corporate communication

— Internal and External Communication.
Internal Communication: It takes place between and among the employer
and employees of an organisation. It is considered a vital tool for binding
an organisation, enhancing employee morale, promoting transparency
and reducing slow destruction. The root cause of most internal problems
faced by a company is ineffective communication.
Internal communication flows in different directions — vertical,
horizontal, diagonal, across the organisational structure. Internal
communication may be formal or informal. It helps in discharge of
managerial functions like planning, direction, coordination, motivation etc.
The broad policies and objectives flow downward from top management to
lower level. Both written and oral or verbal media can be used to transmit
messages. Written media consists of instructions, orders, letters, memos,
house journals, posters, bulletins boards, information racks, handbooks,
manuals, activity reports.
External Communication: It takes place between members of an
organisation and the outside world. External communication is also very
important as it enhances and enables significant functions of creating
positive image, brand preservation and maintaining public relations. In a
global society, external communication helps in marketing as well.
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 External communication is concerning transmission of messages,
desirable information outside the organisation with Government, its
departments, customers, dealers, inter-corporate bodies, general public

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

etc. External communication promotes goodwill with the public. Certain
facts and information must be shared and exchanged with outsiders. Both
written and verbal media can be used. Written media consists of letters,
memos, in-house magazines, posters, bulletins, annual reports and so on.

Two major areas of communication activity are:

1. Composing message
2. Transmitting message

The following 7 Cs of communication should be kept in mind while

composing a message:
1. Conciseness: The message should be concise in nature so that
it is easy to catch the readers’ attention.
2. Concreteness: Message should be concrete as having all the
meanings conveyed in it but should be short in length.
3. Clarity: It must give appropriate and explicit meaning that
would not diversify and confuse the reader at any instance.
4. Completeness: Also it is important that the message must have
complete meaning that will provide sufficient information to its
reader.
5. Courtesy: Another important feature is that the sender must
emphasise on courteous tone and must give some compliments
and benefits to its readers.
6. Correctness: The message conveyed must be checked for
correctness and should be free from all grammatical errors.
7. Consideration: There must be proper consideration in the
message and it should emphasise on your attitude rather than
‘I’ and ‘we’ kind of words.
Source: [Link] Importance-of-communication-in-
organisation/914799

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 Knowledge and Skills required
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

Skills equip you to be a better and effective communicator. They help you
in composing and transmitting messages successfully. Listening skills
can be self taught; interpersonal skills, negotiation skills and rapport
establishment skills can be learnt by observing successful and effective
people; presentation skills involve use of software-hardware which requires
formal training. Similarly, there are training programmes for accent
neutralisation, public speaking, telephone etiquette, basic writing skills,
decision making and stress management. Time management may require
some training or many executives develop it through experience.
1. Listening Skills: Listening is an active process involving three parts:
hearing, understanding and response. Hearing is the physical aspect of
your body receiving and interpreting sounds. You may hear these words
as part of a conversation. Hearing is critical to listening, but it is only
the first part. Understanding is where your brain processes the words
that you hear and derives meaning from them in the context of the
entire conversation. Information is communicated to you at this stage.
Once you understand what you are hearing, the last part is responding.
Responding in a conversation shows that you have heard what was
said and that you understand the intent of the speaker. Responding
may involve making a decision to act on the information you have
understood and perhaps replying with your opinion or comments.
2. Interpersonal Skills: Interpersonal skills refer to the measure of a
person’s ability to operate within business organisations through social
communication and interactions. These are the skills that one uses to
interact with other people. Having positive interpersonal skills increases
productivity in the organisation since conflicts are reduced. In informal
situations, it allows communication to be easy and comfortable. People
with good interpersonal skills can generally control the feelings that
emerge in difficult situations and respond appropriately, instead of
being distressed by emotion.
3. Negotiation Skills: Negotiation is a process in which both the
parties have unacceptable points regarding an issue or deal. Through
negotiation, each party tries to convince the other. There will be usually
more issues and variables than could be used for such a trading; both
the sides must be fully prepared. Through good negotiation it is possible
for both the sides to come out of a deal happy. Each of the negotiators
will, if done properly, be concerned with trading concessions against
each other. Good negotiator should consider all the possible variables
before meeting, calculate or do estimate what each will cost, then decide
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 which he/she will prefer to use and which others would be prepared to
use if it came to a crunch.
4. Presentation Skills: These are used for communicating ideas and

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

information to a group. A presentation carries the speaker’s personality
better and allows immediate interaction between all the participants.
A good presentation has: content, structure, packaging and human
element. Content contains information that people need. The information
must be as much as the audience can absorb in one sitting. Structure
has a logical beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and
paced so that the audience can understand it. The presenter must
be careful to hold the attention of the audience. Packaging refers to
the treatment given to content. There is scope to use technologies like
software, PPT with use of software.
5. Human Element: A good presentation will be remembered because
it has a person attached to it. You still need to analyse the audience’s
needs and select an approach. For example, in many offices cards are
sent on employee’s birthdays or special occassions. Along with the card
if the superior wishes him/her personally, it always makes one feel
better.
6. Rapport Establishment: “Rapport is the establishment of trust
and harmony in a relationship. It is the key element in the art of
obtaining the support and co-operation of other people. Around 93%
of communication is transmitted by your body language and the way
that you speak (analogue communication). Only 7% of the message is
carried by the words (digital communication). Most of the time your
analogue communication is unconscious. By developing an ability to
work at both the conscious and unconscious levels of communication,
you will learn how to establish deeper rapport and build trust and
harmony - with virtually anyone, in a much shorter time frame. Most
of us are able to establish rapport with certain types of people but a
master communicator has the ability to establish rapport with a wider
range of people.”
7. Effective Decision Making: Decision making can be a complex
process; all the same, every successful person must have this skill.
There are human and material elements involved in decision making.
One has to assess or prioritise all these factors, anticipate the outcome
and take decisions in the best interest of all parties concerned. For
example, as students you get a certain amount of pocket money. There
are always many options like food, movies, gifts for friends/family
members, Xeroxing study material and so on. How you spend it to
make yourself happy and take care of your needs will depend on your
decision making skill. You also have a few hours per week to pursue 265

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 your hobbies and other pastimes. Your ability to decide the order of
importance of activities will guide the decision about activity selection.
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

In corporate houses managers have the challenge of effective decision

making because they are faced with situations of balancing between
efficiency, profit, satisfaction of stakeholders, employees and owners.
8. Telephone Etiquette, Basic Writing Skills (Writing Email and Notes,
etc.), Public Speaking Skills: You must have been exposed to these
three skills and by now must have acquired reasonably good proficiency.
Telephone etiquettes create good impression and puts the other person
at ease. Basic writing skills are part of your English Curricula. Many of
you must have participated in elocution competitions, won prizes and
heard speeches of good orators, lecturers. As a corporate communicator
you have to develop and apply them for success in your business.
9. Accent Neutralisation: A language is spoken with an accent
according to the cultural bearing. We all have experienced the different
English accent of Indians and also from the British, Americans, and
Australians and so on. There is a difference in the accent of all. In
accent neutralisation one pronounces the words in such a way that
the listener is able to understand what is being spoken. There are
many other reasons such as: to increase personal and professional
opportunities, improve professional image of your company, engaging
in extensive conversations, presentations, and telephone calls, be
more confident and effective, both socially and professionally, greater
understanding from listeners.
10. Time Management: Time is a matchless and valuable resource that
you need in order to do your work, accomplish your goals, spend
time with your loved ones, and enjoy everything that life has to offer.
Utilising time to achieve your goals is a skill that can be developed if
you don’t have it. There are ways to learn or improve this skill. Time
management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems
working together to help you get more value out of your time with
the aim of improving the quality of life. It leads to the development
of processes and tools that increase efficiency and productivity. Time
management enables each of us to improve and be more productive
and to be fulfilled individually, so logically the effects across whole
organisations of good or poor time management are enormous. Time
management leads to less stress.
11. Stress Management: Although most of us experience some kind of
stress on a daily basis (even if it’s only from something like reaching
school on time, preparing for test, deciding how to look attractive for a
special occasion), few may actually know what stress actually is. What
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 is Stress? A situation that causes pressure or strain is stress. Stress is
our physical, mental, and emotional response to the various demands,
changes, and events in our life. In some cases, stress motivates and

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

encourages us to complete a task we find difficult so that we can take
pride in ourselves and what we achieve. Stress symptoms begin to
manifest themselves when we feel that life demands are exceeding our
ability to deal with them. Before stress begins to take its toll, we should
do something to reduce, manage, and even counteract the negative
side-effects of stress. Managing stress is all about taking charge of your
thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the
way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with
time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun; plus the flexibility to
hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.
In PR work, besides composing messages, transmitting through appropriate
media, characteristics of the target audience have to be kept in mind. Use
of language will be depending on the target group. PR persons have to take
care of their disposition and inter-personal skills.

Use of Technology to Communicate

Technology has revolutionised the scope of communication. It has opened

doors to a variety of information, knowledge and news all over the world.
The more popular term is Information and Communication
Technologies. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is
an umbrella term that covers all technical means for processing and
communicating information. While this technically encompasses pre-
digital technologies, including paper-based writing, it is most often used
to describe digital technologies including methods for communication,
transmission techniques, communications equipment, media , as well as
techniques for storing and processing information. The term has gained
popularity partially due to the union of information technology (IT) and
telecom technology.

Scope
zz Corporate offices and other organisations need PR to cover all the
communication that takes place between employer and employees.
zz PR officer to extend communication with stockholders, media, press,
NGOs, Government, customers and the general public. PR plays a
crucial role in dealing with outside agencies.
zz Innovation in use of media and technologies. 267

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 Key Terms
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

Communication; extension; corporate communication; internal and

external communication; public perception; ICT (Information and
Communication Technology); IT (Information Technology); stress
management; time management; Accent Neutralisation; listening skills;
negotiation skills; interpersonal skills; presentation skills; rapport
establishment skills; Public relations; Press release; Press relations;
Advertising; Public perception.

Review Questions
1. What is the significance of corporate communication in today’s times?
2. Enumerate functions of corporate communication.
3. Compare internal and external communication.
4. Describe the single most factor that has revolutionised the scope of
communication.
5. Enlist verbal and non-verbal skills and briefly explain with examples
any three from each category.
6. Explain the meaning and significance of Public Relations today.
7. In your opinion which two areas of PR work are important? Why?
8. What are the principles of PR work?
9. What is the relationship between corporate communication, PR and
Media?

Assignment
I. Prepare Case-Study of a PR agency based on the following
points:
1. Description of the situation in the client’s company
2. Formulate objectives to resolve the situation.

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 3. Study the plan of action to achieve the objectives.
a. Target group orientation

Unit VI - Communication and Extension

b. Message selection
c. Media selection
d. Creativity and innovation
e. Resource assessment
f. Man-power review
4. Understand implementation of the plan and the results
thereafter.
II. Present a case-study from a book/magazine or any other source.

References
[Link]
[Link]

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 APPENDIX

Projects
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

NOTE : Any one of the following projects may be undertaken and evaluated.

Project 1: Analysis of traditional

occupations
Analysis of traditional occupations prevalent in one’s own local area, their
beginnings, present status and challenges faced. Analyse gender roles,
entrepreneurial opportunities, future careers and family participation.

Content of the Project

Identify the traditional occupations prevalent in your region. Interview

some craftsmen about their beginnings, present status, and problems and
challenges that they face.

Purpose of the Project

You have read in Unit 1 about traditional occupations in India. Doing this
project will give you insights into the origin and history of the craft, the
changes that have emerged in the modern context, its marketability and
the challenges faced by craftsmen. You may also learn about how some of
them have become entrepreneurs. It is intended that this will enable you
to think of entrepreneurial possibilities in the modern context.

Procedure

1. Teacher to initiate brainstorming session in the class by asking

students to identify different occupations prevalent in their region or
state.
2. List all the occupations on the black board. For example,
(i) Occupations related to food industry — pickles, jams, snacks,
sweets, traditional festival specialty cuisines etc.
(ii) Occupations related to garment industry — weaving, stitching,
embroidery, knitting etc.
(iii) Occupation related to handicraft industry — carpet making,
pottery, bamboo art, traditional paintings, paper art, assessor
making etc.
270 (iv) Any other occupation prevalent in the local area.

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 3. The class can be divided into groups consisting of not more than 5
students per group.
4. Each group will identify a specific traditional craft or art or product.
5. Each group will identify artisans/craftsmen practising the selected
craft/art.
6. Develop an interview format based on the list of points given below

Appendix - Projects
under ‘Discussion Points’.
7. Students will interact with approximately 2–3 such persons and
discuss with them the following points:

Discussion Points

i. Origin of the specific art or craft, if they know any historical

perspective
ii. Types of products made, raw materials used, the source of raw
materials, process of manufacture and skills required at various
stages, training acquired, any formal training required
iii. Costing and profitability
iv. Production per month and approximate earnings, customers,
profitability
v. Changes that have occurred in the modern setting and challenges
or problems faced
vi. Remedial actions and support required, if any
vii. Government or private schemes available and availed of
viii. Gender aspects in relation to (a) type of products made (b) specific
tasks assigned for production (c) family support and participation
including children (d) payment to males and females
ix. Marketing strategies adopted
x. Assistance, support and funds required
xi. Self-employment and entrepreneurship possibility
Responses of the persons interviewed should be recorded and a project
report prepared.
Each group will then draw conclusions in relation to entrepreneurial
possibilities and gender roles in the modern context as well as child labour.
Each group will make a presentation to the class, which will be evaluated
by the teacher(s).
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 Outline for project report — Introduction to the profession, job description
and skills required, etc., followed by presentation and discussion.
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

Project 2: Documentation of any

Public/Mass Campaign
Documentation of any public/mass campaign being implemented in
own area, with reference to:
(a) Purpose of campaign
(b) Focal group
(c) Modalities of implementation
(d) Stakeholders involved
(e) Media and methods used
(f) Comment on the relevance of the campaign.

Content of the Project

Documentation of a public or mass campaign implemented in your own

area.

Purpose of the Project

You have learnt about the use of media for various purposes. This project
will enable you to gain firsthand experience in how campaigns are
conducted.

Procedure

The class is divided into four groups. Class should identify and select
two public or mass campaigns that have been or are being conducted in
their locality or region. For each campaign, one group should interview
some members of the organising committee and the other group should
interview some members of the focal or target group.
1. Each group should prepare a file which contains the record of the
event in detail.
2. Record should be kept of the interviews regarding the following
details:

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 i. Purpose of the Campaign
ii. Focal or target group intended to be covered
iii. Methods of implementation
iv. Media used
v. Methods of communication

Appendix - Projects
vi. Duration of the campaign
vii. Persons/organisations involved in planning and implementation
(stakeholders)
viii. Actual coverage of focal and target group in terms of number or
geographic areas/age groups
ix. Amount and type of planning required
x. Sources of funds
xi. Responses to the campaign
xii. Evaluation done by the organisers
Each group should present their observations in brief to the class. Teacher
and students can discuss in classroom whether the purpose has been
served and whether any aspect could have been dealt with differently.

Project 3 : Study of an integrated

community-based
programme
Study of an integrated community-based nutrition/health programme
being implemented in own area, with reference to:
(a) Programme objectives
(b) Focal group
(c) Modalities of implementation
(d) Stakeholders involved

Content of the Project

Study of a community-based nutrition/health programme being

implemented in your own area.
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 Purpose of the Project
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

You have read that there are several nutrition problems that the country
has to tackle. This practical will enable you to gain some knowledge and
insight into programme(s) that are currently being implemented.

Procedure

Divide the class into 4–5 groups. Each group should study one of the
following programmes/schemes:
zz ICDS
zz Mid-day Meal Programme
zz Pulse polio programme
zz Programme for reproductive and child health
zz Programme for safe/clean water and sanitation
zz Any other programme that is being implemented in the area
1. Each group should prepare a file which contains the record of the
programme in detail.
2. Each group should visit the site where the programme is being
implemented and interact with the persons in charge e.g., Child
Development Project Officer (CDPO) in ICDS, the field workers (e.g.,
anganwadi sevika/worker), observe the activities that are going on
and interact with the participants/beneficiaries.
3. Observations, understanding of the manner in which the programme
is implemented, number of participants/beneficiaries, services given
and benefits perceived by participants, suggestions of participants
for improvement of programme.
4. Each group should make a presentation to the class and give their
comments and suggestions as to how they can contribute to the
programme.

A Note to the Teacher

It should be ensured that students are guided to cover and understand
details regarding programme objectives, partners/stakeholders
involved, focal group/target group and strategies of implementation,
source of support(financial) costs and benefits, total coverage.

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 Project 4 : Perception of
Adolescents and Adults
regarding Persons with
Special Needs

Appendix - Projects
Visit to the neighbouring areas and interviews with two adolescents
and two adults regarding their perception of persons with special
needs.

Content of the Project

Identify two adolescents and two adults in the neighbourhood and interview
them, using the given interview schedule, about their perceptions of
persons with special needs.

Purpose of Project

You have read that one of the career options that you can take up after
specialising in the Human Development/Child Development stream is
working with children and adults with disabilities. Doing this Project (and
the next one) will help you to develop some ideas of this career option.
Specifically, this Project will help you to understand what people in general
think about persons with disabilities. Talking with people may also cause
you to introspect about your own beliefs and perceptions. You may find
that there are many similarities in your thinking. Think about whether
you need to change some of your beliefs.

Key Concepts in the Project/Learning Points in the Project

Some important terms in this area include — adolescents, adults,

neighbourhood, interview, interview schedule. We can say that these are
the key concepts that we want you to understand through the Project.
Why are you being asked to interview adolescents and adults? Why in
the neighbourhood? And what is an interview and how is it different from
talking to a person? You know:
1. That adolescence is the time when the person starts to focus on the
self and others in a very deliberate and conscious manner. Recall
your reading about the Development of Self in Class XI. The ability
for abstract thinking makes it possible for the person to think of
various possibilities. This is also the time when many values are
in the process of being formed. The adolescent’s values and beliefs
regarding diversity in humanity is important as it shapes everyday 275
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 2. That adults often have well established opinions and beliefs — all of
which may not necessarily be humane and just. Adults are also the
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

ones who shape the attitude of children by their words and actions,
directly and indirectly. Knowing their beliefs is important.
3. That you have been asked to interview adolescents and adults in
your neighbourhood rather than interview people by visiting a centre
or institution for people with disabilities. This means that persons
with disabilities are a part of the society and we expect that most
people would have some experience of interacting with people with
disabilities. Therefore, we are asking you to interview people in the
neighbourhood — we are not asking you to go to special places to look
for people who would have interacted with people with disabilities.
4. You have to find out perceptions by interviewing the people — not
simply by talking to them. What is the difference between an interview
and a talk? Interview is a major method of collecting information or
‘data’ and doing this Project provides you exposure in this. Talking is
an informal interaction between people. An interview is a conversation
which is planned to some extent by the person who conducts the
interview. The person doing the interview follows some rules in
directing the talk. There is a certain way in which the interview should
be conducted as well as there are ethics of an interview. We shall
discuss these aspects in detail a little later.
5. To conduct a good interview so that you get all the information that
you want, you need to have some advance preparation. You need to
think of the questions that you will ask. These are written out in the
form of an interview schedule. While for now we are providing you
the schedule that you will use to conduct the interview, in another
section, we will talk about the guidelines for developing interview
schedules. This will help you to understand why we have constructed
the interview schedule the way we have.

Preliminary Activities for the Project

1. Read the relevant section in the textbook of Class XII. You should be
familiar with the persons with special needs.
2. Locate one adolescent and one adult. It would be good if you can
identify one male and one female.
3. Become familiar with the interview schedule we have provided which
you will use to collect the required information for this Project.

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 The Interview Schedule

Instructions: Read out the instructions before starting the questions.

Introduction: I am a student of Class XII. We are conducting interviews
with the public regarding their views about persons with
disability. Please assist by answering the questions below:
1. Have you met or heard about anyone with a special need or disability?

Appendix - Projects
Yes or No? If Yes, who and where? Describe the problems.
2. Can you describe what you felt when you met or saw this person?
3. What did you first notice about the person?
4. What do you think were the abilities the person had?

A Note to the Teacher

Conduct a guided discussion in the class on:
I a) Interviewing
b) Recording the answers given by interviewees
c) Why was this activity done in your neighbourhood?
d) Activities towards disability

II Report from the students should have:

a) answers to interview
b) concluding points

Project 5: Profiling a Person with

Special Needs
Profile any one person with special needs, child or adult, to find out
their diet, clothing, activities, physical and psychological needs.

Content

Profile any one person with special needs, child or adult, to find out
his/her:
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 (i) Diet
(ii) Clothing
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

(iii) Activities
(iv) Physical needs
(v) Psychological needs

Procedure

Identify a child (11–18 years) or an older person who has a disability.

Ensure that the child/adult is willing to be a participant and can answer
your questions; alternatively his/her caregiver/family member can answer
on his/her behalf.
Develop a set of questions in the form of an interview schedule that can
elicit information in the areas listed above.

Note: Include questions, and ask them in a manner that you do not
make the child/adult feel awkward, excluded or being labelled.

Conclusion

Draw up a brief profile of the child/adult, focussing on how he/she is

similar to children/people who do not have a disability.

A Note for the Teacher

This project is expected to develop in students the ability to frame
relevant questions, plan and conduct an interview and also write up
a case profile.

Project 6: Planning and executing

an event in school
Plan and execute any event in your school. Evaluate the same with
respect to:
(a) Its relevance
(b) Resource availability and mobilisation
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 (d) Financial implications
(e) Feedback from stakeholders
(f) Suggest modifications for the future.

Purpose

To enable students to plan an event efficiently.

Appendix - Projects
Procedure

Using your knowledge about team members required for an event, plan and
allocate duties to different personnel in the team. Make three columns and
discuss duties such as, pre-event, during-event and post-event activities.

1. Plan and allocate work to different team members for an event you
wish to plan in future. List the pre-event, during-event and post
event activities.
After doing this activity you will be able to allocate duties to different
personnel involved in organising the event for successful execution.
2. Divide the students into groups.
3. Assign groups the following tasks :
zz Designing an invitation card
zz Making copies of invitations and distribution
zz Choose a theme for the event (if desired)
zz Decide on a budget
zz Decide on a menu for refreshments
zz Make decisions about the decorations of the venue
zz Choose the music, activities, etc., to happen during the event
(Programme)
zz Conduct the event
zz Record of income and expenses
4. Post-event evaluation to be done using the following points:
Name of Event
Date Location
Type of Event
zz Did you enjoy the event? If no, then please state the reason.
279
zz What did you like most in the event?

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 zz What did you like least in the event?
zz What are the problems you faced during the event?
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

zz What could have been done to make this event better?

zz How do you rate the various services provided by us (please tick one
option):

Excellent Good Average Poor

Hospitality
Catering
Transportation
Management
Staff behaviour
Management
Staff Services

zz Would you like to participate in our next event?

Note: Collect invitations of ten different events and understand the

programme schedule in detail. Based on the information gathered,
design the invitation card

For card evaluation or design, students can use the following checklist to
ensure that all critical attributes are included.
[Link]. Attributes of the invitation card Present/ Good Average Poor
Absent
1. Text
a. Venue
b. Location map
c. Landmarks
d. Time duration
e. Programme details
2. Layout of information
3. Appeal of the card
4. Clarity of information
5. Theme of the event
6. Expectation from guests
7. New design concept
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 [Link]. Attributes of the invitation card Present/ Good Average Poor
Absent
8. Organising team and their contact
numbers
9. Any other

Appendix - Projects
A Note to the Teacher
Teacher can ask students to bring invitation cards for different events
and discuss the aspects important in card designing like —
zzRelevant text such as, the venue and its location map or the
significant landmarks, time, occasion, programme details, etc.
zzLayout of information
zzAppeal of the card
zzClarity in information
zzTheme of the event and expectation from guests
zzNew design concept
zzOrganising team and their contact numbers

Project 7: Planning Messages for

Nutrition, Health and
Life Skills
Planning messages for nutrition, health and life skills using different
modes of communication for different target groups.

Content

1. Identification of a target group for education

2. Identification of needs and problems that are specific to the selected
group
3. Planning a suitable message to educate the group
4. Selecting a mode of communication
5. Developing the educational material.
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 Purpose
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

This practical is intended to enable the students to plan suitable messages

for health and nutrition education of different groups of the community and
to select an appropriate mode of communication to deliver the message.

Procedure

1. The class can be divided into groups of 4–5 students in each group.
2. The first task is to identify the focal/target group for whom the
message is to be made. The different focal groups could be —
adolescents, school children, pregnant mothers, adults.
3. Once the focal/target group is selected, identify the nutritional
problem or a topic about which you would like to educate the group.
4. Identify a suitable message (aimed at the selected group) which will
help in improving the nutrition and health profile of the selected
group. This will depend on the needs and the existing problems
specific to each group. For example, the message to be delivered
to pregnant mothers could be improvement in their diet during
pregnancy. For adults it could be increasing physical activity to
maintain weight, and enhance fitness and well being.
5. Select a suitable mode of communication to deliver the message. A
variety of modes are available like poster, charts, flipbooks, puppet
stories and short skits to convey the message. The learners can
select any one depending on the availability of time and resources.
6. Each group should discussion about the target group they want to
select and the message that they want to deliver. They are assisted
by the teacher in this process. Then they decide as to how they will
deliver the message. Once the plan is finalised, the group works on
the message and develops the final product.
7. Each group will present its product to the teachers and classmates.
8. Group Evaluation of the product and presentation.

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 Project 8 : Market Survey of
Processed Foods

Content

Appendix - Projects
Market survey of processed foods, their packaging and label information

Purpose

This practical is intended to familiarise students with the variety of

processed foods available in the market, create awareness about the
different types of packaging materials used for processed foods and to
generate interest in the study of label information.

Procedure

The students will work in groups comprising 4–5 students in each group.
1. Each group will go to a different market and collect information on
the following:
A: Availability of the following foods:
zz Cereal foods like breakfast foods, noodles, atta.
zz Dairy products — milk, cheese, butter, ghee, ice-cream.
zz Preserves — jams, pickles, squashes, ketchup, sauces.
zz Snacks — chips, bhujias, biscuits,
zz Nutrition Supplements such as Complan, Bournvita, Horlicks,
Milo, Boost and other branded products.
zz Beverages — fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks, bottled water.

B: Note the packaging material used for these products.

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 2. Make a table comparing the types of packaging materials used for
different types of foods.
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2

Name of Packaging Label information

product materials
used

Certification

Information
Best before
packaging

mark (e.g.

Remarks,
Nutrition
Agmark
Date of

Weight

if any
3. date
Compare costs of different packaging for the same product (if
available).
Result/Conclusion: The collected information to be tabulated on a
chart and displayed. The findings can be discussed in a classroom
session where the teacher can point out the relative merits and
demerits of the different packaging materials used.

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 Notes

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 Feedback Questionnaire
(Human Ecology and Family Sciences Textbook)
Please give your comments on the textbook by filling this feedback questionnaire. You may
please send the questionnaire by post, or through email, to Dr. Tannu Malik, Assistant
Professor, Department of Education in Social Sciences, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New
Delhi-110016. Email: tannu_malik@[Link]
We welcome feedback from teachers, students, parents and any other user of the textbook.
You may attach a separate sheet as per your requirement.
Teacher/Student/Parent/Any other (please specify)

Name__________________________________________________________________

School address ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

1a. Is the cover page and printing of the textbook attractive? Yes/No

1b. If not, please specify

_________________________________________________________________

1c. Do you find the language simple and easy to understand? Yes/No

1d. Mention the chapters/pages where the language is difficult to understand.

Chapter No Page No. Lines

_________________ _________________ _________________

_________________ _________________ _________________

2a. Do you find the content of the textbook adequate to meet the
requirements of the syllabus? Yes/No

2b. Mention the chapters which are lengthy.

__________________________________________________________________

2c. Mention the chapters which are too sketchy.

__________________________________________________________________

3a. Does the textbook explain the scope and significance of each domain
of HEFS? Yes/No

3b. If no, please specify.

_________________________________________________________________

4a. Certain practical and activities have been suggested in the textbook. Which of them
have you undertaken in your class? Mention those which you found useful, engaging
and enriching.

__________________________________________________________________________________

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 4b. Mention difficulties, if any, faced while organising/doing these practical/ activities.

__________________________________________________________________

5a. Do you find the illustrations helpful in understanding the content? Yes/No

5b. Mention the illustrations which are not helpful in understanding the content.

Chapter No. Page No. Figure No.

_________________ _________________ _________________

_________________ _________________ _________________

6. Mention the printing errors, if any.

Chapter No. Page No. Line

_________________ _________________ _________________

7. Any specific comments/suggestions for overall improvement of the textbook.

__________________________________________________________________

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 Notes

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