Organizational Communication Case Problems

You are the manager of a manufacturing plant that employs about five thousand people. Due to increasing material costs and absenteeism, as well as decreasing efficiency, one of your products has become about 8 percent more expensive than a local competitor's product. Your major purchaser has threatened to buy from your competitor unless you can bring your price back in line with the competition. If you lose this account, five hundred people will have to be laid off. You must find a way to cut costs and save those five hundred jobs. What do you do? How should you go about communicating this problem, and to whom?

Jim Wells, Superintendent

You are the superintendent of a department employing about seventy-five men and women and six supervisors. You like your job and the supervisors and employees who work for you. You feel that they cooperate with you in most ways.

This morning you notice that one of your supervisors, Bill Jackson, has not yet arrived. Since Bill is very conscientious and was working on a rush job, you wonder what happened. Bill is thoroughly dependable, although he is a bit dogmatic. If something delays him, he always tries to call you. You are about to call his home when one of Bill's men, Joe Blake, comes in. Joe is a good-natured kid just out of high school, but this time he is obviously angry. He says he is not going to work for Bill and will quit unless you give him another supervisor. Evidently Bill had come in, started to work, and lost his temper when Joe didn't do something right.

Bill very rarely loses his temper, so you wonder if something else is wrong. You do not want to get him into another argument, or to criticize him. Instead you are going to try to get him to talk about what is bothering him.

You talk with Joe for several minutes and, after he tells you his side of the story, he says he feels better and is ready to go back to work for Bill. You have just called Bill and asked him to drop around when he has a chance. Bill said he would come right over and is walking toward your office right now.

Bill Jackson, Supervisor

You have just come back to work after a series of the most humiliating and irritating experiences you have ever had. Last night your next-door neighbor had a wild drunken party at his house that kept you awake most of the night. When you called him at 3:00 a.m. and told him to be less noisy, he was abusive and insulting. Things quieted down and you finally got to sleep but you overslept. Since you are working at a rush job at the company, you skipped breakfast to hurry to work. As you were leaving your house, you noticed that someone had driven a car across your lawn and torn out several feet of your new hedge. You were certain that your neighbor or one of the drunks at his party had done it. When you went to his house, he not only denied it, but he also threatened to knock your teeth out, and you knew he was big enough to do it.

When you arrived at work an hour late, you discovered that Joe Blake, a young high school recruit, had made a mistake that delayed you several hours, or at least it would have if you hadn't caught it. Naturally, you gave him a good going over for his carelessness. You noticed that he went to see your supervisor, Jim Wells. You don't like that kind of attitude in a young squirt and decide that if he has gone in there squawking you'll make him wish he'd never been born.

You have had all you can stand and the big boss better not get tough with you because he'll have one hell of a time getting the job done without you. Your boss, Jim Wells, had that kid in his office for quite a while before he phoned for you to come in. Gabbing when there's work to be done—that's certainly a lousy way to run things. You are on your way to Jim's office now and have no intention of wasting time on a long discussion.

Calendar Memorial Hospital

Calendar Memorial Hospital is a 750-bed general hospital located in a large industrialized city of the Midwest. The hospital employs approximately three thousand people.

You have been employed at Calendar Memorial Hospital for five years. You were hired as an administrative assistant; two years later you were promoted to the position of assistant administrator of general services and very recently to assistant administrator of professional service.

You are looking forward to your new assignment because it is consistent with your career goals and ambitions. If you can effectively improve the existing professional service, you are sure of consideration for the number one position when the present administrator retires in approximately four years. Even if you are not selected for this post at Calendar, you are confident that you could become administrator at a similar institution if you so desire. However, everything hinges on the successful completion of your new assignment. On your recommendation the hospital has decided to combine the individual departments of physical therapy and rehabilitation therapy into a single unit. This decision was made in response to several factors. First, patient volume has increased 17 percent in physical therapy and 23 percent in rehabilitation therapy over the past two years. Future patient volume projections indicate increased activity in these areas. Second, since both areas with like patients, they have similar problems, use similar items, and can be more efficiently operated under one budget. Third, the two areas are located adjacent to each other, and combining staff members under one management is a logical step. Fourth, the administration wants to ensure an efficient work flow from one area to the other, and finally, administration wants to maximize the amount of employee substitution within these two areas. (The department of physical therapy employs ten therapists, six physical therapy assistants, four porters, and one scheduling clerk. The department of rehabilitation employs five therapists, three therapy assistants, three porters, and one scheduling clerk.)

Up to this time the two units have been managed by two separate department heads. Unfortunately, in spite of the common goals these two areas share, they are antagonistic toward each other—blaming each other for scheduling problems, patient mix-ups, uneven work flows, etc.

You are asked to recommend one person as department head for both units. This individual will report to you, but your recent promotion will force you to spend the majority of your time and attention on other professional services. You are fully aware that the wrong individual in this position could create some serious problems in both areas. Therefore, you want to select the best possible candidate because it will not only affect the departments involved but will also contribute to your future effectiveness. After considerable deliberation, you have decided to recommend either Mary (the department head of reha­bilitation therapy) or Tom (the department head of physical therapy) for the new position.

Mary: Mary, age twenty-six, came to the hospital three years ago, immediately after completing her occupational therapy program at a nearby university. While somewhat inexperienced as a department head, she has demon­strated managerial ability and leadership potential. She was the first occupational therapist hired when the hospital introduced by an O.T. program, and she was very instrumental in developing the program to its present size and capacity. She has a definite flair for developing strong interpersonal relationships with her employees and patients, and her patients are always well attended to in spite of an ever-growing work load. Her employees are willing to assist each other with assignments, and the department has adopted a philosophy of "When one person works, we all work; when the work is done then we all can relax." There have been times, however, when you felt Mary could be more formal with her subordinates. For example, minor infractions of the rules are sometimes allowed to go "unnoticed," and Mary frequently spends a disproportionate amount of time with the work schedule attempting to accommodate everyone's special requests for "time off."

Tom. Tom, age forty-seven, is a registered physical therapist with twenty-three years' experience. Fifteen of these years have been at Calendar Hospital; first as a therapist, then as an assistant chief, and finally for the past nine years as department head. He has always been a dedicated, competent, and effective employee. Managerially speaking, he is considerably more authoritative than Mary, and his closer supervision has led to an unpar­alleled patient incident and employee safety record. Very rarely is there a problem in either of these two areas. He insists that his staff deliver the best care and treatment to patients, and he tolerates no nonsense or "goofing off' from any of his subordinates. He is 100 percent honest and forthright with his people and lets them "know where they stand" at all times. His frankness, however is frequently misinterpreted as insensitivity and has led to a departmental turnover rate'(either by transfer or resignation) that is 8 percent higher than that of any other area of the hospital. The employees who remain in his unit proudly attest to the fact that "when we do things, we do them right."

Questions:

1. Which of the two candidates will you recommend and why?

2. What factors weighed most heavily in your decision?

3. How will you notify Tom and Mary of your decision?

Meet in groups of five to decide the answers to the above questions.

Campustown State Hospital

The Campustown State Hospital is located in Campustown, Pennsylvania, and is part of the state university. Its objectives are threefold:

1. To provide the best possible patient care

2. To be recognized as an understanding medical research center

3. To have a medical and nursing school of the highest caliber

Most of the buildings are approximately twenty years old and some need refurnishing. The library is somewhat limited, as are the laboratory and classroom facilities. Even so, the hospital has a good reputation.

The director of the hospital usually decides on how funds will be spent after he consults the individual members of his Senior Advisory Board. They are:

Associate Director, Patient Care Assistant Director, Research Assistant Director, Teaching

Each is well recognized in his or her field.

Meet as a group with four people playing the following roles. Try to reach consensus on how to divide the $50,000 grant.

Director: You have a group of nationally known doctors on your staff and you are proud of your hospital. One of your major problems is trying to maintain some balance between your three objectives: (1) patient care, (2) research, and (3) teaching. This is especially difficult when money must be allocated. You usually call on your Senior Advisory Board individually and listen to their requests. Then you decide how the money should be allocated. The last grant you received, $10,000, went to the research group for laboratory equipment. No matter how you decide, one group or another feels hurt because each thinks its function is most important and its needs greatest.

You have just received a new grant of $50,000 with no strings attached as to how the money will be spent. It was stated that if in the opinion of the donors the money was spent wisely there was a possibility of a similar grant in subsequent years. In view of the hard feelings resulting from your past decisions, you have decided to use a group decision, and you have called the Senior Advisory Board together.

Associate Director, The primary purpose of any hospital is to render the best possible patient care. Expense should be no concern, but unfortunately it is to the staff and patients alike. Consequently any opportunity to improve the service rendered should be grasped. The last time a grant ($10,000) was received it went to the research group. This should be your turn. There are a number of worthwhile projects that should be undertaken.

1. The south wing of the hospital is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The estimated cost of installing adequate heating and cooling is $45,000. This would include a central system plus storm windows and screens, awnings, and the like.

2. New machines that remove old wax, clean, and wax the asphalt tile floors are now available. These could not only do a better job but also replace some of the hard-to-get custodians (janitors). The cost of each machine is $1,000 and three are needed.

3 The patient records are now kept in a number of different locations and should be centralized. One of the present storerooms (1B) could be converted and new files installed for a cost of $10,000. 4. There is only one X-ray machine, and it has periodic breakdowns. A new one would cost $25,000, and the old one could serve as a standby.

You have heard a rumor that a grant has been made, and you just received a call from the director. He said he wanted to talk to you and the other members of the Senior Advisory Board. This is a surprise because he usually talks to each of you individually when money is involved.

Assistant Director, Research: General Electric, you believe "Research is our most important product." Without it patient care couldn't be improved, and the young doctors wouldn't have anything new to learn. You have established quite a name for yourself and your fellow researchers by going out and getting grants for research. The hospital staff hasn't been as much help as they should be. They could at least provide you with adequate space. Actually you'd like a research center like the one at Mayo's; it cost $150,000. You've been offered a job there, but you'd be just a little frog in a big pond rather than running the show as you do here. Last time money was available you got $10,000 for equipment, but that's just a small part of what you really need.

You and your group are on the brink of a breakthrough on heart disease, and every penny you can get you'll pour into that effort. The foundations have been generous, but it takes so long to get the money that you can't wait.

One of the things that has always been a thorn in your side is the lack of funds available for you and your group either to take trips to scientific conventions or to host a symposium here. For someone of your renown this is an insult. For $10,000 a year you could gain $50,000 worth of ideas and experience (and get personal recognition). You'd like to offer a $1,000 award each year for the outstanding researcher on your staff. This would be a real incentive to get and keep good researchers.

The director has called you to his office for a meeting of the Senior Advisory Board.

Assistant Director; Teaching: You are basically more of an educator than a doctor and find your position in a hospital operated in conjunction with a university ideal. As part of the university, the hospital's primary function is to train doctors, nurses, technicians, and others so that medical science can help the country or world live better and longer.

Applications to your medical school have not increased, and applications for your internships and residencies have actually declined. A number of the latter are being filled by foreign doctors, which is good in one way, but they aren't well prepared. As you see it, this situation is a result of a number of things. One is the desire of many students to train at more glamorous hospitals. Others want to go where more specialized fields are better developed. Many of the problems could be remedied if you had money to spend for the following improvements:

1. increased pay for residents and interns. With $15,000 a year the pay could be increased to attract better men and women. Another $10,000 should be spent to improve their living quarters in the hospital.

2. Expanded library facilities. New books and journal subscriptions are needed; better storage and improved cataloging are necessary. This would cost $10,000.

3. More classrooms. There is a wasted storage room (1B) that could be convered into a classroom for $15,000. This would be a big help.

4. Lack of new ideas. A system of visiting professors or guest lecturers should be instituted so that the professors and students could have personal contact with some of the big names. This program could cost from $10,000 to $25,000, depending on its scope.

The director has called a meeting of the Senior Advisory Board, and you suspect it is to discuss allocation of funds. The last grant went entirely to the research group, and you feel that you have a right to any new money that is available.

The Vacation

At Boston State University the state was unable to provide any raises for state employees for the fiscal year 1985.

One morning in December of the following year, Steve Thomas, associate dean of the College of Business, heard an advertisement on the radio for special air fares from Boston to New York, New Jersey, etc., for $98 round trip. The air fares were to last until January 20, 1986. Coincidentally, President Jennings had distributed a memo giving all employees of the university two paid days off during the Christmas holiday season. (These employees would normally work while the university was between semesters.) He said in the memo that this was his way of saying thanks and that the time off was not to be charged against their vacation days and that this was to help make up for the lack of a raise the previous year.

Steve asked his boss, Ted, the Dean, if they could offer a trip and the two days off to their two secretaries as a bonus out of nonappropriated funds. The two secretaries work on management development programs which bring in almost $100,000 a year. Ted said yes, providing they spent only $400 per person and that they actually had some professional meetings with another university while they were on the trip to gather information which would have a direct application to the jobs they had at Boston State. Steve then told both secretaries Maggie and Jennie, who thought this was a great idea to partially make up for the lack of a raise from the previous year.

The Christmas season came and went and neither secretary was able to fit the vacation into her schedule. Jennie asked Steve if there was a time limit on the offer, since the special air fares had been extended indefinitely due to fare wars between the airlines, and since a new air carrier was starting up service in the Boston area. Steve said that his intention was to give a bonus, and that the main thing was to take advantage of the low air fares. In other words, there was no time limit on the offer.

In March Jennie asked Steve if she could use her trip in May to go to Washington, 'D.C., with her boyfriend of several years on a business trip. The air fare was $98, and she was asking for two days off. Steve signed the approval and took it to Ted for his signature. Ted said that he had thought the offer was a "use-or-lose" one which had expired January 20. Steve said that he had thought that, since the cheap air fares had been extended, the offer to the secretaries was still in effect. Ted said that he specifically remembered that this offer was good only for the holiday season when the faculty were away from the university and the work load was quite low.

When Jennie was told of this, she tore up the travel request and felt worse than if Steve had never even made the original offer. In spite of her disappointment, she continued to work in a highly professional manner, not letting her feelings affect her performance.

Question: How would you have handled this situation if you had been Steve or Ted?

The San Francisco Bank

Andy Hanna is a senior loan officer at the San Francisco Bank, a large commercial bank with an annual loan volume of over $200 million. Andy is one of twenty loan officers in the bank's credit department. He services accounts totaling over $10 million in outstanding loans. He has degrees in business and law and over ten years of banking experience.

One evening in January, Andy was required to attend a board meeting of one of his commercial accounts. The meeting started promptly at 7:00 p.m. and was scheduled to end at 9:30. The company was located in a different city, thus requiring a three-hour drive before the meeting. The meeting lasted until 11:30, and Andy was required to remain throughout. Andy decided to save the bank the expense of a hotel and breakfast and drove home to San Francisco, arriving at 3:00 a.m.

The next morning, Andy slept in and came to work at 10:00 a.m., whereupon John Jackson, Andy's supervisor, came up to the desk and said, "Where were you this morning?" (Normal starting time at the bank is 7:45 a.m.) Andy responded, "I was home in bed." He went on to explain the events of the night before. John told Andy that the bank's president, Peter Prince, had made his customary walk through the bank at 7:50, and he noticed Andy's absence and furthermore noticed that Andy's name was not on the travel log sheet. He inquired about Andy's whereabouts. Mr. Jackson was embarrassed to admit that he did not know where Andy was either.

The outcome was that Mr. Jackson told Andy that he was expected to be at his desk at 7:45 regardless of job responsibilities requiring late evening meetings. Andy then complained that he thought this was unreasonable, since he felt his only alternatives had been:

1. To call Jackson at home at 11:30 p.m. after the meeting had ended or at 3:00 a.m. when he got back to San Francisco to tell him that he would be late getting to work the next day.

2. To set the alarm at 7:45 a.m. and call the bank to tell them he would be

3. To spend the night in a hotel and get to work about 1:00 p.m. the next day.

4. To do as Jackson asked and get about three hours' sleep.

Mr. Jackson said, "I don't care. You either get in here on time at 7:45 or get a hotel room and call in first thing in the morning explaining where you are and why." After a long, heated discussion, Andy stopped trying to convince Mr. Jackson. However, from then on when Andy and the other loan officers were required to travel in the evening, they made a practice of staying overnight in a hotel room and coming in to work at 1:00 p.m. the next day. This practice cost the bank an average of $100.00 (including breakfast) for each trip; Mr. Jackson was satisfied with this resolution.

Questions:

1. What do you think about the events in this case?

2. Do you agree with the way this issue was resolved?

3. What would you do differently if you had been (1) Mr. Jackson or (2) Andy?

4. What characteristics about Andy are significant to the way this issue might be handled?

Microcomputers, Inc. (A) (Bill Simpson)

Bill Simpson, director of training for Microcomputers, Inc., was on the telephone talking long-distance with one of his consultant-trainers about an upcoming program. Bill heard a loud knock on his door, which was open at the time. He turned around to see a person dressed in jeans and a work shirt standing in his doorway. Bill felt annoyed, since it was clear that he was busily engaged at the time. He felt his pulse quicken as he continued his conversation on the phone. In the back of his mind he was planning to tell the rude person at the door not to interrupt people's telephone conversations like that. He gestured to the person that he couldn't talk right now. Within three to four minutes Bill was off the phone, and he turned his attention to the person standing in the doorway.

You are Bill. Conduct a conversation with the person in your office doorway. His name is Al Bemus. You have been with the company only two months, and you have never met this person before.

Microcomputers, Inc. (A) (Al Bemus)

You are Al Bemus, a maintenance worker for Microcomputers, Inc. You have been with the company for ten years and do your job well. You are a high school graduate with some resentment toward the "college kids" who predominate in the company. Most of them are electrical engineers who are very smart technically but who are difficult to relate to. They also seem to think they are better than you.

You have a work order signed by Bill Simpson, the director of training, to take some tables out of the company's main training and conference room. These tables have been there for five weeks. Your crew is in the process of taking the tables out of the room, and you have gone to Bill Simpson's office to have him sign the work sheet showing that the tables were removed according to the request. You get to Simpson's office and see him on the phone. This annoys you, since you are already behind schedule and this is another unnecessary delay. You knock on the door once to attract his attention, since he is turned so that he can't see you. After several minutes, he gets off the phone and turns around. Conduct a conversation with Simpson regarding this work order.

Microcomputers, Inc. (B) (Bill Simpson)

After a short conversation with the person in your doorway, you find that it is a maintenance man named Al Bemus, whom you. have not met previously. Al has a work order signed with your name on it (but it is not your signature). It is a request to have six tables set up in your main training and conference room. The work order called for the tables to be left in the room for five weeks. The five weeks are over today. Al tells you that the tables are being taken out of the room at this very moment. You have an ongoing training session which meets twice a week for twelve weeks in that room. The new tables for that room have not arrived. Your class is scheduled to meet tomorrow. If the present tables are taken out of the room, you will be in a difficult situation, since the class cannot continue without them and there is no other room like this one available. This problem arose when your secretary signed the work order for you (which is all right with you normally). However, in this case, since the new tables haven't arrived, you need to keep these tables for at least another month until the new ones come in.

Talk to this maintenance man and try to convince him to let you have the tables for another month.

Microcomputers, Inc. (B) (Al Bemus)

Now you find after some conversation with Simpson that the work order requesting the tables to be first set up and then removed five weeks later is somewhat outdated. He still needs the tables to remain for a while longer. As he tries to convince you to leave them, be either cooperative or stubborn, depending on how he treated you in the first part of this exercise. If you feel that he was not treating you as you like to be treated, give him a hard time. Tell him you can't do what he is asking you to do. If he was effective in communicating with you in the first part of this exercise, and if you like the approach he is taking now, then give him what he wants.

Disclosure Game

The immediate object of Hatha Yoga is to master the various asanas. Each of these is a specific position which one's body assumes. A novice begins to assume one of these positions and finds that his or her muscles "protest:" The means by which one fully enters an asana is to enter it up to one's limit and then to press gently at that limit. There can be no forcing, no cheating. The novice enters a position no further than has been "earned." One can view authentic dialogue as a kind of interpersonal asana. The ultimate in dialogue is unpremeditated, uncontrived, spontaneous disclosure in response to the disclo­sure of the other. The following is an exercise aimed at helping a person discover his or her limits in ongoing dialogue. The first person discloses himself or herself on the first topic until both partners are satisfied there is no more to be said. Then, the other person does likewise. Then, on to the next asana, or topic. The rule is complete honesty, respect for one's own limits (as they are experienced in the form of embarrassment, anxiety, and so forth). As soon as this point is reached, the person declares he or she is at a limit. The partners can then discuss reasons for the reserve, and the person may overcome it.

PART 1: DISCLOSURE

1. My hobbies, interests, and favorite leisure pursuits.

2. What I like and dislike about my body—appearance, health, and so forth.

3. My work—satisfactions, frustrations.

4. My financial situation: income, savings, debts, investments, and so forth.

5. Aspects of my parents I like and dislike; family problems encountered in growing up.

6. Religious views, philosophy of life, what gives meaning to my life.

7. My love life, past and present.

8. Problems in my marriage or in my: dealings with the opposite sex at present.

9. What I like and dislike about my partner on the basis of this encounter.

PART 2: PHYSICAL CONTACT

The same rules of respect for one's own limits, and one's partner's, apply.

1. Massage the head and neck of the partner.

2. Massage the shoulders of the partner.

3. Give a back rub.

4. Rub the stomach of the partner.

5. Massage the partner's feet.