CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Business communication is information sharing between people within and outside an

organization that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. Effective business
communication is a sharing process involving two or more parties sending a message that is
easily understood by each person. Effective communication can significantly contribute to a
company's success.

Persuasive and effective business communications are the foundation of any successful
organization, regardless of size, industry or geography. The ability to be persuasive and effective
in achieving communication goals requires trusting, positive relationships. Building relationships
take time, attention and constant nurturing, as well as the willingness to give and receive
constructive feedback when necessary.

1.1 Relevance of the Study

The study of Persuasive Communication in an organisation generates awareness as well as
signify the use of this type of communication as part of daily jobs of employees for yielding
effective results. This study also focuses on difference aspects of Persuasive Communication in
an organisation.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

From the literature review that has been conducted in this report, a lot of eminent personalities
and researches have expressed their research on the importance of persuasive communication in
general. The purpose of this study is to understand the importance of persuasive communication
in an organization and how it is being implemented and explicitly used in HCL. A lot of studies
of persuasive communication have been conducted to signify its importance from an
organizational perspective. There is dearth of research on how useful persuasion is. Hopefully
this study lays the foundation for many more studies to come and explore the plethora of options
that persuasive communication has to offer.

This report will be giving an insight from introduction to basic levels of persuasive
communication to analysis of use of persuasive communication exclusively by employees from
Marketing and Sales at HCL to persuade the customer in to buying the product or a service
exploiting the channels to fulfil the targets. Also, use of persuasive communication explicitly by
Human Resource department at HCL to instigate people in joining their firm.

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 1.3 Objectives of this Study
This report fulfils underlying objectives as mentioned below:-

To understand the basic need of persuasive communication in an organization.

To assess the attitude of an employee and how it is influenced by the use of persuasive
communication.
To understand the objectives of senior management and HR professionals behind the use
of persuasive communication.
To study impact of extensive use of persuasive communication in an organisation to
engage its customers.
To suggest ways and scope of this study that can be incorporated in our daily lives.

1.4 Gaps of Literature Review

The key findings from the study of persuasive communication identifies and highlights that how
the use of persuasive communication can be explicitly used in an organization like HCL by
senior management, Sales & Marketing professionals and HR leaders to engage and instigate
their employees and customers towards achieving the goals of the organization such that
underlying objectives are never understood in the long run.

1.5 Brief Outline of Each Chapter

This report consists of 5 chapters whose outline is as mentioned below:-

Chapter 1: This chapter consists of brief introduction about persuasive communication,

objectives of this study, gaps of literature review and brief outline about each chapter.
Chapter 2: This chapter commences with the methodology and is divided into sub
sections Universe of study, Locale of study, Sample size of study, Data collection, Data
analysis and project experience of study.
Chapter 3: This chapter gives an insight from a list of previous studies that have been
conducted on the subject and also contains how persuasive communication is used in the
organizations at large. It is then followed a brief history and growth at HCL.
Chapter 4: This chapter comprises of a detailed understanding of SWOT analysis of HCL
and its competitive analysis.
Chapter 5: This chapter provides an in depth analysis of how persuasive communication
helps organizations pursue their goals.
Chapter 6: The last chapter of the study concludes the study by pointing the findings of
the study, limitations of the study. The suggestions and future scope of the study.

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 CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY

Organizations are constantly confronted with situations in which they need to persuade people
(customers, employees, regulators, etc.) to do things. The need to persuade is on-going.

The Methodology consists of Universe of the study, Locale of the study, Sample Size, Data
collection, Data analysis, Field Experience. The data has been collected from both primary
sources and secondary sources. The sampling method which has been adopted is convenience
sampling which is adopted due to resource and time constraints.

2.1 Universe of the Study

Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) is one of the leading global companies in data Information
Technology. It was started in the year 1976 by a visionary leader Shiv Nadar.

It has offices across the globe and its services ranging from Information Technology which is
primary business to schools and hospitals for social cause. Recently, the company achieved a
milestone of more than 100,000 employees with net worth of $14.4 Billion USD.

2.2 Locale of the Study

This study was conducted at their headquarters at Plot 3A, Sector 126 Noida on 5 of its
employees working Pre-Sales and Consultant roles in a specific department.
This study reflects the opinion and views of few employees and could not be conducted at large
sample due to time constraints.

2.3 Sample Size of Study

This study is being limited to five employees at HCL Technologies, Noida due to time
constraints.

The respondent was selected based on convenience and ease of access. This methodology is also
defined as Convenience Sampling, where a sample is selected out of entire population. Due to
time constraints, this method of sampling helps in getting responses in quickest time but it runs
the risk of getting skewed data.

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 2.4 Data Collection

Data has been collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include
survey conducted in HCL. Secondary sources include various private websites, research journals,
newspapers, etc.

2.5 Profile of the Correspondent

Data has been collected primarily from 5 correspondents belonging to Marketing, Consulting and
Pre-sales domain. The profile of main correspondent who helped me in primary data collection
and understanding the significance of the study in HCL is shared below.

2.6 Data Analysis

Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modelling data with the
goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a
variety of names, in different business, science, and social science domains.

Considering the sample size to be low, some quantitative analysis has been done at HCL
Technologies, Noida based on cross tabulation to understand the importance of persuasive
communication in the organization.

2.7 Project Experience

The overall experience from this study was refreshing and enriching. The responses gathered
from employees working at HCL stressed on importance of persuasive communication in setting
up a direction and tone of any project implementation whatever be its nature.

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 Chapter 3
LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter talks about the different aspects of persuasive communication as described in
documents, books and research papers I had gone through. This also involves various levels of
understanding from the side of speaker or orator in order to persuade his\her audience towards
the specific mindset and intentions of the speaker in an organization. One of our goals, when we
communicate, is to be understood. Another goal is to be believed, we try to affect our audiences
beliefs, desires and actions. Persuasion is the communicative act that carries out both these goals
an audience that has been persuaded has understood an utterance, and believed its message.

While the nature of persuasive communication remains same in all actuality, the transfer or
motive and/or request changes along with the nature of the request. Articles on persuasive
communication mostly talk about organisations with a present vertical structure. Though such
type of communication do takes place in near companies, the size of a company does play a role
in the extent to which the company relies in formal persuasive communication.

3.1 Literature Review

The following literature reviews from various authors to generate an understanding of what
persuasive communication is, different aspects, how it is implemented in organizations and use
of persuasive communication at HCL.

i) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/persuasive-effective-business-communication-
825.html - Leigh Richards, 2017
Persuasive and effective business communications are the foundation of any
successful organization, regardless of size, industry or geography. The ability to be
persuasive and effective in achieving communication goals requires trusting, positive
relationships. Building relationships take time, attention and constant nurturing, as
well as the willingness to give and receive constructive feedback when necessary.

ii) http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/principles-of-
persuasion/main-Communications to Promote Interest and Participation by Bill
Berkowitz, 2000
Social scientists estimate that each of us is exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of
persuasive messages per day. Media messages play a large part, but aren't the whole
story. The messages of daily interaction are equally important.

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 The principles of persuasion will apply to most forms of written communication, and
will complement most other sections in this chapter on creating community interest in
an issue. Those other sections will also introduce additional principles unique to the
topics covered within them. The general principles will also apply to most situations
involving oral communication (face-to-face, over the phone, or over radio and
television), and will therefore apply to many other Tool Box sections outside this
chapter on those subjects.

iii) http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/principles-of-
persuasion/main - Berkowitz, B. (2000). Community and neighbourhood organization-
Involvement in making persuasion argument

A persuasive attempt is more likely to be effective when the communicator (the

person communicating the message) is:
Credible, the person or audience receiving the communication must believe you. This
trust can depend on the communicator's qualifications, and on his past performance.
Knowledgeable, Expertise makes one a more credible communicator, but that
expertise must be perceived as relevant to the particular setting and the particular
topic under consideration.
Similarly, people are more likely to be persuaded by those they see as similar to
themselves in age, cultural background, and lifestyle, among other characteristics.

iv) http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/empcomm_foursteps.asp - By Kim Harrison,

Consultant, Author and Principal of www.cuttingedgepr.com

Most business people see persuasion as a straightforward process. They think it comprises:
a strong statement of your position
an outline of the supporting arguments, followed by a highly assertive, data-based
explanation
entering into discussion with others and obtaining their ready agreement
Effective workplace persuasion was studied closely by Professor Jay
Conger, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the University of Southern
California. Over a 12-year period he reviewed the characteristics of successful
business leaders and change agents, and studied the academic literature on persuasion
and rhetoric.
Congers interest focused on persuasion as a process rather than as a single event, i.e.
one presentation. He formed definite conclusions about the necessary qualities of
effective persuasion:

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 Effective persuasion becomes a negotiating and learning process through which a
persuader leads colleagues to a problems shared solution. It is a difficult and time-
consuming process.
v) http://www.uta.edu/faculty/mputnam/COMS309/Notes/Chapter7.html
There are two broad approaches to the study of persuasion in organizations: rhetorical
and from a social science perspective.

1. The Rhetorical Perspectivethe communicator uses an array of verbal, nonverbal,

and visual symbols to change attitudes and opinions or gain compliance. Aristotle
argued that appeals are based on the elements of ethos (credibility), logos (logical
evidence and structured reasoning) and pathos (emotional appeals). The effective
rhetorical communicator combines all three elementsthough not necessarily in
equal proportionin their persuasive arguments.

2. The Social Science PerspectivePersuasion occurs when attitude changes about a

particular subject or issue. People naturally seek harmony in their lives through their
thoughts and actions. If the choice is to buy a product that is inconsistent with a
persons belief structure, that person will either change their beliefs or not buy the
product. In other words, a person who has an opinion at odds with the choice they are
asked to make will experience cognitive dissonance. They will either change their
attitude or make a choice that creates cognitive dissonance.

vi) https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-
textbook/integrated-marketing-communications-12/introduction-to-integrated-
marketing-communications-81/aida-model-406-4060/ - Introducing Marketing by
John Burnett.
AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. It is an acronym used
in marketing and advertising, which helps marketing managers develop
effective communication strategies and communicate with customers in a way that
better responds to their needs and desires. AIDA describes a common list of events
that occur when a consumer views an advertisement. Each letter in the acronym stands
for the following:
The "A" represents attention or awareness, and the ability to attract the
attention of the consumers.
The "I" is interest and points to the ability to raise the interest of consumers by
focusing on and demonstrating advantages and benefits (instead of focusing on
features, as in traditional advertising).
The "D" represents desire. The advertisement convinces consumers that they
want and desire the product or service because it will satisfy their needs.

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 The "A" is action, which leads consumers toward taking action by purchasing
the product or service.
vii) Hovland and his colleagues identified four distinct steps in the persuasion process:
attention, comprehension, acceptance and retention. This research program spanned
nearly three decades and produces a vast amount of data. Below is a summary of the
main findings.
Characteristics of a communication likely to lead to attitude
change
Finding Factor

Experts are more persuasive than non-experts (Hovland & Weiss, Communicator
1952). The same arguments carry more weight when delivered by
someone who presumably knows all the facts.

Popular and attractive communicators are more effective than Communicator

unpopular or unattractive ones (Kiesler & Kiesler, 1969).

People who speak rapidly are more persuasive than people who speak Communicator
slowly (Miller, Maruyama, Beaber, & Valone, 1976). One reason is
that rapid speech conveys the impression that the speaker knows what
he or she is talking about.

We are more easily persuaded if we think the message is not Message

deliberately intended to persuade or manipulate us (Walster &
Festinger, 1962).

Persuasion can be enhanced by messages that arouse fear in the Message

audience (Leventhal, Singer, & Jones, 1965). To persuade people to
stop smoking, for instance, it may be useful to create a fear of dying
from lung cancer by showing a cancerous lung to smokers. You have
seen this approach in television adverts designed to reduce the road toll
or promote safely in the workplace.

Persuasion can be enhanced by using evaluative biased language, but Message

these effects depend on the amount of cognitive effort (van Schie,
Martjin, & vab der Pligt, 1994). [Evaluatively biased language refers to
using evaluatively biased terms in judging an attitudinal issue.]

People with low self-esteem are persuaded more easily than people Audience
with high self-esteem (Janis, 1954).

People are sometimes more susceptible to persuasion when they are Audience
distracted than when playing full attention, at least when the message is

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simple (Allyn & Festinger, 1961)

When persuasion is tough that is, when the audience is hostile it is Message and
more effective to present both sides of the issue than just one side audience
(Hovland, Lumsdaine, & Sheffield, 1949).

A message is less persuasive when given in a powerless linguistic style Communicator

(frequent hedges, tag questions and hesitations) than in a powerful
linguistic style (absence of the mentioned features). The speakers and
the arguments are perceived more negatively with a powerless linguist
(Holtgraves &Lasky, 1999).

Not all findings from the early Yale research program have lasted. Baumeister and
Covington (1985) found that people with high self-esteem are just as easily persuaded
as those with low self-esteem are just as easily persuaded as those with low self-
esteem, but they do not want to admit it. When persuasion does occur, people may
even deny it. Bem and McConnell (1970) found that when people do succumb to
persuasion they conveniently fail to recall their original opinion.

viii) https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/2015/02/strategic-communication-to-inform-or-
persuade/ - By June West
Strategic communication involves four elements: knowing your purpose,
understanding your audience, selecting an appropriate message structure strategy and
identifying the appropriate channel.

1. Knowing Your Purpose

A strategic approach to the task forces you to first think about the purpose and to ask
why are you writing or speaking. Then consider whether your purpose will be clearly
understood by your readers or listeners.

2. Understanding Your Audience

Effective communication involves not only analysing the situation from your
perspective as the sender of the message, but also from your audiences viewpoint
Tailoring your communication to your audiences needs and interests guarantees your
chance of being understood and achieving your objective.

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3. Selecting an Appropriate Message Structure
a) Strategy
Effective communicators tailor their messages to an audience, rather than simply state
their ideas in the order in which they occur.
Applying the Indirect Approach
This approach is a familiar one for most communicators because it follows the
traditional format that urges one to save the main idea for the conclusion and to lead
the audience through the message from background to resolution. This approach is
used effectively for an audience that is:
Uninformed and requires background information and details
Receptive to your idea but needs convincing
Hostile to your idea but willing to hear your side
Analysis oriented
The indirect approach allows the audience time to become acquainted with you, your
organization and your message before you present your recommendation or request
for action. It also serves as a buffer for the hostile or resistant audience, since your
purpose first is to establish common ground.

Applying the Direct Approach

The direct approach often is referred to as the bottom line and executive
approach because it states the main idea at the beginning of the message. This
approach is used for audiences who are:
Informed and require little background information
Receptive to the message
Willing to accept bad news
Results oriented
The direct approach emphasizes the results of your analysis, rather than the steps you
took to arrive at it. By getting right to the point, there is a lower risk that readers will
lose interest in trying to figure out your message, and they may save time, choosing
whether to skim sections of the message, read it carefully or reserve it for reference.

b) A particularly useful framework to use is one that Ive been recommending to

students and corporate clients for years. Its a classic called the Motivated
Sequence, it is adapted from a framework developed by Alan H. Monroe in the
early 1960s.
The framework consists of five steps that progress from a focus on the benefits of the
message to the action you anticipate from the audience. These five steps are
Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization and Action.
Attention: The goal is to capture reader interest and present the benefit of
the proposed action you are recommending. For example, if you are

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 proposing to clients and upgrade in their cell phone contract or specialty
equipment, illustrate the safety features of voice activation or hands-free
hardware.
Need: Outline the specifics or the scope of the problem. Provide ample
proof that this problem is immediate. Using the example above, you could
note the time lost by searching for frequently called numbers, rather than
simply speaking the name of the person one wishes to call, or cite
incidents of accidents involving drivers who were using their cell phones
without hands-free hardware.
Satisfaction: Tell your audience how your proposal will eliminate the
problems you have identified. Provide proof that the proposed course of
action has worked in similar situations. Address any objections or
alternatives that you think might come up, and show how other solutions
are less attractive than yours.
Visualize: Get the audience to see how they will benefit from the
proposal. Certainly show any negative impact that may occur if they dont
comply. Show the positive benefits that will be realized from a decision to
follow your advice.
Action: Tell the audience exactly what you want them to do. Most
persuasive messages neglect this all important step. Confidently state the
action that you want. Remind the audience of the benefits they can
expect. Be firm and explicit. Dont assume they know intuitively what
must be done. The result should be that updated contract that includes
safety features.

4. Selecting an Appropriate Channel

Select the channel giving thought to the message, the desired effect upon the
audience and the cultural context in which the message will be sent. For example,
choose e-mail for brief, impersonal messages, updates on routine matters, and to
gather and compile information. Use the telephone to relay short, simple
messages, provide feedback, and to send messages that are confidential or require
quick turnaround time. Use face-to-face meetings to convey confidential and
sensitive messages, for persuading and negotiating, and to take note of nonverbal
communication. Careful consideration of the medium that will best communicate
your message ensures that you will accomplish your objective.

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ix) http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/empcomm_foursteps.asp - By Kim Harrison,
Consultant, Author and Principal of www.cuttingedgepr.com
Congers research indicated that effective persuasion comprises four distinct and
necessary steps:
1. Establish your credibility
In the workplace, credibility comes from expertise and relationships. People are
considered to have high levels of expertise if they have a history of sound judgment or
have proven themselves knowledgeable and well informed about their proposals. They
have demonstrated over time that they can be trusted to listen and to work in the best
interests of others.
2. Frame your goals in a way that identifies common ground with those you intend to
persuade.
It is a process of identifying shared benefits in which it is critical to identify your
objectives tangible benefits to the people you are trying to persuade. If no shared
advantages are readily apparent, it is better to adjust your position until you find a shared
advantage.
The best persuaders closely study the issues that matter to their colleagues. They use
conversations, meetings and other forms of dialogue to collect essential information.
They are good at listening. They test their ideas with trusted contacts and question the
people they will later be persuading. Often this process causes them to alter or
compromise their own plans before they even start persuading. It is through this
thoughtful, inquisitive approach they develop frames that appeal to their audience.
3. Reinforce your positions using vivid language and compelling evidence.
Persuasive people supplement data with examples, stories, metaphors and analogies to
make their positions come alive. Vivid word pictures lend a compelling and tangible
quality to the persuaders point of view.
4. Connect emotionally with your audience.
Although we like to think decision-makers use reason to make their decisions, we will
always find emotions at play if we scratch below the surface. Good persuaders are aware
of the primacy of emotions and are responsive to them in two important ways. Firstly,
they show their own emotional commitment to the position they are advocating (without
overdoing it, which would be counter-productive). Secondly, they have a strong and
accurate sense of their audiences emotional state, and they adjust their tone and the
intensity of their arguments accordingly.

x) Avoid the four big errors of persuasion

Attempting to make your case with an up-front hard sell.

Setting out a strong position at the outset actually gives potential opponents
something to grab on to and to fight against. Its far better not to give opponents a
clear target at the start.

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 Resisting compromise.
Too many people see compromise as surrender, but compromise is essential to
constructive persuasion. Before people buy into a proposal they want to see that the
persuader is flexible enough to respond to their concerns. Compromises can often
lead to better, more sustainable, shared solutions.
Thinking the secret of persuasion lies in presenting great arguments.
Great arguments matter, but they are only one component. Other factors matter just as
much, such as the persuaders credibility and their ability to create a mutually
beneficial position for themselves and their audience (win:win), to connect on the
right emotional level and to communicate through vivid language that makes
arguments come alive.
Assuming persuasion is a one-time effort.
Persuasion is a process, not an event. Shared solutions are rarely reached on the first
try.
More often than not, persuasion involves listening to people, testing a position, developing a new
position that reflects input from the group, more testing incorporating compromises, and then
trying again. If this sounds like a slow and difficult process, thats because it is. But the results
are worth the effort.

xi) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01173644 - By Linda Wilcoxon

Craighead, W. Edward Craighead

One of the fundamental therapeutic goals of cognitive behaviour therapy & to change
maladaptive beliefs that a client holds about him/herself, a procedure often designated as
cognitive restructuring, cognitive relabelling, or self-statement modification. The purpose of this
paper is to propose that the persuasive communication research offers heuristic suggestions
regarding factors that might be taken into account by the cognitive behavioural scientist/clinician
concerned with the modification of self-statements. Source, message, and audience variables
have all been shown to affect the degree of attitude change obtained through persuasive
communications. In the present analogy the therapist is considered the source, the client is the
audience, and the content of the message is the adaptive set of self-statements the therapist would
like to persuade the client to come to believe.

xii) https://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-persuasion-in-marketing-
and-sales.htm - By MSG Experts

Persuasion skills help a marketing and sales professional to actually win over the
hearts of clients who not only become their loyal customers but also bring in
more clients along with them. In the above example, simply highlight what all
benefits and extra features your brand is offering and let the customer decide him/her.

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xiii) http://www.uta.edu/faculty/mputnam/COMS309/Notes/Chapter7.html

1. Advertising
Organizations' message is likely to go deeper than the mere product/service--but
rather attempt to affect our sense of self-esteem.
2. Public Relations
Goal is make the organization's "publics" or constituencies feel positive about the
company.
Large companies have a corporate communication department that may create
specific "issue" advertisements. Goal is have the public see the organization in a
positive light; often to counter attacks from another source.
3. Personal Sales
Customers often think of sales reps as the company. These "boundary spanners" are
keys to success or failure of many companies. "Sales" positions often carry negative
connotations due to the unscrupulous work of some, yet most are honourable and
sincere people.
Successful sales reps must possess:
(a) Strong sense of ethos--honesty/credibility.
(b) Well developed pathos--emotions/caring. (is the smile real or a smirk?)
(c) A sense of logos--logical evidence and rational arguments.
4. Labour Negotiations
Verbal Aggressiveness seeks to win by focusing on the person not the issues; directed
at more emotional and personal attacks.
5. Organizational Influence
Bosses and workers each want to know how to get what they need--how to other to
comply with their requests; or to stop doing something. Those with the organizational
power have more assets available to them.
6. Organizational Change
Changing from an individual approach to a team-oriented style is a great challenge
for many, yet very much a reality in most of todays organizations.
Team environment often creates greater ambiguity on decision-making; more
negotiation than previously existed in many organizations.
Technology growth has created so-called technophobic who fear new technology.
Learning something new can be intimidating and expose our weaknesses.
7. Diversity
Demonstrate some degree of ethnocentrism as long as its done at moderate levels.
We all need to respect, honour, and practice our cultural or ethnic values. But we all
need to equally be respectful of those cultures contrary to our own.
8. Globalization
The interconnection between people around the world is both economic and
political by nature.

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 Organizations must get beyond ethnocentric views; to understand/respect others.
Organizations will require workers who are capable of communicating
internationally.
Dept. of Comm. foreign language requirement will benefit in this regard.
Not just speaking the language but understanding the culture will be critical.
Not every country views reality the way most American business does.

3.2 History and Growth

Formation and early years

In 1976, a group of six engineers, all former employees of Delhi Cloth & General Mills, led
by Shiv Nadar, started a company that would make personal computers. Initially floated as
Microcomp Limited, Nadar and his team started selling tele digital calculators to gather capital
for their main product. On 11 August 1976, the company was renamed to HCL.
On 12 November 1991, a company called HCL Overseas Limited was incorporated as a provider
of technology development services. It received the certificate of commencement of business on
10 February 1992 after which it began its operations. Two years later, in July 1994, the company
name was changed to HCL Consulting Limited and eventually to HCL Technologies Limited in
October 1999.
HCL Technologies is one of the four companies under HCL Corporation, the second company
being HCL Infosystems. In February 2014 HCL launched HCL Healthcare. HCL TalentCare is
the fourth and latest venture of HCL Corporation.
HCL Technologies began as the R&D Division of HCL Enterprise, a company which was a
contributor to the development and growth of the IT and computer industry in India. HCL
Enterprise developed an indigenous microcomputer in 1978, and a networking OS and client-
server architecture in 1983. On 12 November 1991, HCL Technologies was spun off as a
separate unit to provide software services.
HCL Technologies was originally incorporated as HCL Overseas Limited. The name was
changed to HCL Consulting Limited on 14 July 1994. On 6 October 1999, the company was
renamed 'HCL Technologies Limited' for "a better reflection of its activities." Between 1991 and
1999, the company expanded its software development capacities to the US, European and
APAC markets.

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HCL Over the years
1991

HCL Technologies Limited was originally incorporated on 12th November, as "HCL Overseas
Limited". The certificate of commencement of business was received on 10th February, 1992.
On July 14, 1994, the name of the Company was changed to "HCL Consulting Limited". The
Company changed its name to "HCL Technologies Limited" on 6th October 1999 to better
reflect the line of activities of the Company. - HCL provides new technology development
services to its clients.

1996

The 50:50 joint ventures with Perot Systems Corporation in the year, provided access to high
value client base of Perot Systems. - The Company has one of the largest software development
infrastructures in India. This state-of-the-art infrastructure, which comprises seven software
factories, is designed to take advantage of the high productivity and scalability as well as the
relatively lower cost of software development in India.

1998

- The Company started addressing the markets in Europe and Asia Pacific. - The company has a
rich heritage in technologies like the Internet and e-Commerce, networking and internetworking,
Internet telephony, telecom, embedded software, ASIC/VLSI design and testing, satellite
communication, wireless communication and component based object technologies like COM,
DCOM and CORBA. - The Company has the capability to work with a wide variety of
computing platforms ranging from Open Client Server systems comprising all flavours of UNIX,
Microsoft platforms, AS/400 to enterprise servers like IBM Mainframes. - The Company also
offers strategic methodology consulting led services through its wholly owned subsidiary
Intelicent Inc. to global organisations.

1999

- The company announced its public issue on November 10th, of Rs. 1, 42, 00,000 net equity
shares of Rs. 4/- each. The issue includes a Book Built Portion of 1, 27, 80,000 equity shares and
Fixed Price Portion of 14, 20,000 equity shares. - The company announced on November 11 that
it has signed a five-year contract with Gtech and Kla Tencor. - HCL Technologies has created
wholly-owned subsidiaries to cater to specific geographic regions. Its major subsidiary is HCL
Technologies America, 100 per cent owned by the company.

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2000

- The Company has set up a dedicated offshore development centre in Chennai for KLA-Tencor
Corporation, a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor
and related microelectronics industry.

- HCL Comnet, the wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies in association with its new
partner Globeset Inc., is scouting for large Internet Service Providers and payment gateways in
India to introduce Net security management solutions.

- The Company will set up an offshore development centre for the $2.1-billion semiconductor
company, Conexant Inc, in India.

- HCL Comnet, a wholly owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies will invest Rs. 20 crore in the
next one year to set up a network operation centre in Delhi and has tied up with Hewlett Packard.

- Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Technologies Ltd is looking at the possibility of opening a software
technology development centre in China. 2001 - The Company has signed a five-year strategic
partner agreement, with NCR Corp. to develop customer relationship management, store
automation and payment system.

- HCL InfiNet has been rated the best among 16 Internet service providers by ZDNetIndia.com, a
technology portal and magazine.

2007

- HCL Technologies forms strategic alliance with Eckler to strengthen Insurance Domain
expertise -HCL Technologies Ltd and Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), a Riyadh-based
Economic Offset Program Company, have signed an agreement to implement IT (Information
Technology) projects in Saudi Arabia.

-HCL Technologies has forayed into an alliance with $200 million Saudi Arabian company
Advanced Electronics Company (AEC) to implement IT projects in West Asia. -HCL
Technologies Ltd on June 18, 2007 announced a US $15 million contract with Alenia
Aeronautical, to provide engineering services that will support the improvement of the C-27J
Spartan production line.

-HCL Technologies Ltd has announced that Vineet Nayar, President of the Company will
assume the CEO chair with effect from October 16, 2007. Shiv Nadar will be the Chairman and
Chief Strategy Officer of the Company.

-The Company has issued Bonus Shares in the Ratio of 1:1.

17
2011

- HCLTechnologies - HCL enters into a strategic partnership with Tangoe.

- HCL Technologies Ltd 's Lippo and HCL signs Landmark Memorandum of Understanding In -
presence of Indonesian President.

- HCL Technologies - HCL Opens Global Enterprise Mobility Lab in Singapore - HCL
Technologies Launches CataLOG; The one-stop Supply Chain Platform for SME's powered by
eBizNET Solutions.

- HCL Technologies - HCL Launches ACE SmartCare Solution at HiMss. - HCLTechnologies -

New Trend in BPO talent acquisition - HCL Technologies ties up with Orion Edutechs

2014

-HCL Technologies receives Best Governed Company Award by Asian Centre for Corporate
Governance & Sustainability

-HCL wins CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Award for Outstanding Company of the Year
-HCL Technologies wins The HR Excellence Award 2014

-HCL Technologies launches CTO Straight Talk

2016

-HCL Bags Global IT Transformational Deal from Alstom

-HCL acquires workplace modernization service provider P2P -HCL acquires stake in 2 major
companies

-HCL signs IT contract with Husqvarna AB -HCL Technologies Awarded Five Year Next-
Generation IT Outsourcing Services Contract by Husqvarna AB

-HCL bags NLP award at AIconics awards

-HCL Technologies wins contract from Synergy

This was history and growth of HCL over the years.

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 CHAPTER 4
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

This chapter comprises of a detailed understanding of SWOT analysis of HCL and its
competitive analysis.

SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix) is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats and is a structured planning method that evaluates those four elements
of an organization, project or business venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a
company, product, place, industry, or person. It involves specifying the objective of the business
venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and
unfavourable to achieve that objective.

4.1 SWOT Analysis of HCL

This SWOT Analysis of HCL Technologies provides a strategic report of businesses and
operations of the company. The SWOT analysis shows strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats. This SWOT analysis of HCL Technologies can provide a competitive advantage.

SWOT Analysis

1. Association with Major Brands

2. High profitability and revenue
3. Acquisition of Axon enables company to offer full SAP services
Strengths 4.Global Coverage in countries like U.S, Europe, Japan etc.

1. Total asset turnover is one of the weakness

Weaknesses 2. HCL has always a weakness in TIER1 sectors.

1. Acquisitions:-HCL has already done 3 major acquisitions like

Liberta. This enables them to expand and create opportunity for
them to wide there spectrum
Opportunities 2.Strong presence in defense space and potential to benefit from

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 offset provision in Indian defense imports.

1. Adverse impact of foreign exchange movement

2. Small Players and manufactures are trying to enter into the
segment where they can provide much cheaper products then HCL
Threats which will be a rising competition for HCL to stand.

Thus, HCL is having a lead in the market with high revenue, global markets and great
infrastructure. But, at the same time, HCL has high asset turnover which means most of the
capital is in the form of assets in HCLs balance sheet. Thus, this company needs to enhance its
liquidity in terms of current asset to meet the unpredictable demands.

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 CHAPTER 5
AN ANALYSIS: PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION
IN HCL

This chapter provides an in depth analysis of how persuasive communication helps organizations
pursue their goals.

Persuasive communication is one of the most important forms of communication in an

organisation. In our daily lives one might not have much use for formal persuasive
communication but in an organisation persuasive communication drives significant operations.

The questionnaire consisting of nine questions out of which 6 was circulated among 5 employees
of HCL. As there was limited time available the responses of 5 respondents were taken into
considerations.

5.1 Data Analysis

With a total sample size of 6, the study was conducted on employees of HCL to study the
significance and use of persuasive communication. The questionnaire circulated assessed the
employees based on following parameters or objectives:-

To understand the basic need of persuasive communication in an organization.

This parameter was used to measure the level of understanding towards awareness of
effective means of persuasive communication so as to generate an understanding about
the mind-set of employees.

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 Fig 5.1.Awareness of Persuasive Communication

Clearly, 4 out of 6 employees agreed to know the persuasive communication.

To assess the attitude of an employee and how it is influenced by the use of persuasive
communication.

This question assessed the employees about the significance and use of persuasive
communication in their daily work so as to persuade their customers or team mates in order to
instigate them for engaging them to work or agree on a specific task.

Fig 5.2. Use of Persuasive means of communication

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 To study impact of extensive use of persuasive communication in an organisation to
engage its customers.

This question assessed the involvement of employees in pursuing a customer or and

employee instigating for a particular project or while hiring an employee.

Fig 5.3. Involved in customer or employee engagement

To assess the attitude of an employee and how it is influenced by the use of persuasive
communication.

Q:- Do you think it has become a need nowadays?

This has become the unstated need of the job to pursue customers towards a specific
product or service and instigate the willingness to buy.

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 Fig 5.4. Need Nowadays

Q:- Do you feel bad about it?

This question assessed how employees think of persuasive communication as an
individual. 3 out of 6 clearly stated they do not like this means of communication as often
they have to cross limits while pursuing a customer lying to a limit where guilt remains
afterwards.

Q:-Would you like to start/continue this means of communication?

This question assessed the significance behind the use of such means of communication
to complete their targets as well as need for achievement.

5 out 6 employees stated the use of this means of communication is extensive which has
become a requirement nowadays to perform their daily jobs. Starting from interviewing a
candidate to pursue him in joining the organisation to instigate customers in start believing
that they are providing best product or service at lowest price.

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 CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION

Persuasive communication achieves five things: stimulation, convincing, call to action,

increasing consideration, and tolerance for alternative perspectives.

This chapter will include the suggestions, limitations and future Scope pertaining to the study of
Persuasive communication in HCL.

6.1 Findings of the Study

Key findings about this study are:-
Approximately 80 % employees have clear understanding about the significance and use
of Persuasive communication.
Unlikely, most of them are instigated in pursuing their customers for achieving the targets
which constitutes 60% of the sample size.
Use of this means of communications extensively exploits the choice of a customer is
agreed 100%.
Use of this extensive use is mainly due to high competition used by each competitor to
increase their market share and stay ahead in market position.

6.2 Suggestions
The suggestions are as follows:-

HCL should organise regular effective communication trainings to educate its

employees about significance and use of different types of communication.
Employees interpersonal and intrapersonal skills should be assessed to know the
internal locus of control and awareness levels.

6.3 Limitations of this Study

The limitations of this study are as follows-

Due to time constraints, only 5 responses were recorded.

The responses and results may not be reflective of whole population but are believed
as representation of total population.
This study was also not able to assess the integrity issues and other problems, an
organisation faces when environment becomes aggressive.

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6.4 Future Scope of this Study
The purpose of this analysis was to throw some light on how the use of Persuasive
communication has become significant over the years with changing technology and how
employees are being instigated to use this in their daily job as a part of standard practice.

The use of this study will gradually increase as the organisations will try more and more
instigating its employees for enhanced results.

Further, analysis can be extended to different territories as well as hierarchies to understand

the different mind-set of employees within a single organisation. Also, a more detailed
survey can be conducted to witness the willingness level of an employee in the course of
persuasion.

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http://smallbusiness.chron.com/persuasive-effective-business-communication-
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Berkowitz, 2000
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/principles-
of-persuasion/sub - Berkowitz, B. (2000). Community and neighbourhood organization-
Involvement in making persuasion argument
http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/empcomm_foursteps.asp - By Kim Harrison,
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