UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B, C and D are correct, while E and F are incorrect. Downward communication covers instructions and policies from top to lower levels, and upward communication provides feedback and reports from lower to higher levels. Lateral communication links departments or colleagues at the same level, and staff meetings often combine downward information sharing with upward questions or suggestions. By contrast, upward communication is not inherently undesirable, and informal chatter in a staff room is not a structured downward flow. Thus the accurate set of statements is A, B, C and D.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete because it stops at A, B and C and omits D, which correctly notes that staff meetings may involve both upward and downward flows. Since D is an important example of mixed direction communication, leaving it out means the option does not fully capture the correct statements. Therefore A, B and C only cannot be accepted as the right answer.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it groups A, B, C and D, covering the main directions of organisational communication and their examples. It properly excludes E, which wrongly portrays upward communication as undesirable, and F, which mislabels informal talk as downward. As a result this option includes all and only the true statements given in the item.

Option C:
Option C is wrong because it adds E to the otherwise correct set A, B, C and D, treating a clearly false claim as true. E contradicts participative and democratic leadership practices where upward feedback is valued. Including E makes this combination inconsistent with the principles of effective institutional communication.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it omits A and includes both E and F, thereby dropping a correct definition and accepting two erroneous statements. B, C and D are correct, but adding that upward communication is always undesirable and that chit-chat is downward makes the overall option logically flawed. Hence B, C, D, E and F only cannot be chosen as correct.