Question

Ethics in Action Chris is a project manager at a technology firm. For months he has been working on integrating a new management software program and finally the time has arrived for all of the computers in his building to be updated. While Chris is responsible for making the software integration happen, he needs the help of Jack, the lead technical support staff, to make it happen. To ensure the transition goes as smoothly as possible, Chris needs the new software installed over the weekend when fewer people will be in the office. He approaches Jack to tell him he will need to work the weekend. "Hi, Jack. We need to install the new software soon. What do you think about coming in next weekend to get started on it?" says Chris. "Maybe. I'll give it some thought," says Jack. Chris gets slightly frustrated. Coming in on the weekend isn't optional; it's mandatory. He needs the integration to happen over the weekend or else there will be too many people without workstations on Monday. He tries to communicate to Jack again. "You could come in a little later on Saturday if you want...maybe by 10 a.m. or so," says Chris. "Um, yeah, that could maybe work. I'll think about it," says Jack. Chris ends the conversation feeling defeated and questions why Jack isn't hearing that working the weekend is not a point open for discussion--it's required as part of his job. Why did the communication process break down between Chris and Jack? What could Chris do differently to send his message more clearly?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The communication process broke down as Chris was not able to get favorable response from Jack. Chris was predetermined of getting a favorable response from Jack, and the whole communication process broke down as he was not able to get any confirmation.

Chris should understand that it is very important to discuss fine points of task in detail with the team. All involved members must be taken into confidence with regard to priority and importance of any planned task. Chris should have explained Jack the importance of carrying out the task on weekend so that software update process is carried out smoothly without causing any discomfort to other users. He should have made it clear that the task must be carried out on weekend to keep other operations from getting affected. After detailing the importance of task, he should have politely asked Jack to be available on weekend to support the task. This would have helped Jack understand the importance and urgency of carrying out the task on weekend, and would have made his response more favorable.

Answer 2

The miscommunication that took place between Karen and her boss was that Karen did not read the whole mail properly and misunderstood the requirements. She was required to send details of new customer acquired during the month along with the general report that she sends on a regular basis. As she did not go through the mail properly, she only sent the regular report and missed the new information asked in the mail.

The reason for this miscommunication was assumption on part of Karen that it was just regular mail from her boss asking for general report. It is very important to go through details of every mail properly in order to avoid this kind of miscommunication. Karen should learn from her mistake and make it a habit to go through complete mail and understand the requirements clearly before replying back.

Answer 3

To generate better response rate it is important to make the content of the email engaging in nature. Ryan could have started his email by congratulating his team for consistent performance and praising their good work. Good feedback and praise from senior leadership motivates team members to deliver better performance. Apart from above he could have included any new ideas that he had, which would have helped team members to think on a similar line. Also, the would have have felt compelled to contribute seeing their lead engaged directly in the process. Ryan could have also added monetary and/or non-monetary benefits for best idea submission from team. All the above steps could have helped Ryan get a better response rate.