TroubleshootingCommunication
TroubleshootingCommunication
Communicationcan be described as the act of exchanging information. It entailsrelaying of information between two or more persons through variouschannels. It is an important facet of any organization or place. Witheffective communication, people can understand one another. However,the element has some barriers including language, culture, and ethnicbackground among others. As such, for effective communication to takeplace, a 6Cs approach is normally used in organizations to counterthe barriers. The model champions completeness, conciseness,courtesy, consideration, clarity, and correctness. Some individualsor groups fail to persuade audiences while presenting a sound andcreative solution to a problem. The failures revolve aroundcomprehending the audience or adequate research. Therefore, thispaper will strive to identify some of the communication mistakes madeduring presentations and how they can be mitigated.
Instance
Anexample of failed communication can be drawn from Yahoo’sexecutives implementing a policy that affected the entire workforce.The new regulation utilized a ranking system. In the structure,managers are supposed to rank the workers on a bell curve. All theemployees who were at the lower end would then be fired. The idea wasto improve employee productivity so as to increase the company’sincome. It was meant to implore the workers to put in extra effortsin order to improve the business in all aspects [ CITATION Jos13 l 1033 ].
Thebell curve is a common mechanism used in many organizations to rankthe employees. It was introduced during the 1980s, but hasconsistently lost favor in many institutions. Evidently, performanceratings are essential to monitor the progress of the workforce. Whilepresenting the new policy, the company’s CEO addressed theemployees in a top-down mechanism. However, she failed to give roomfor inquiries. Her communication criteria did not entice theworkforce. It seemed to be a forced policy since the managers did notfavor the same. Therefore, the communication lacked adequate audienceresearch to comprehend the actual situation [ CITATION Joh13 l 1033 ].
ReasonsWhy the Campaign Failed
Thediscussion did not involve all the affected persons. In other words,the managers and employees were not involved in the decision-makingprocess. Enough information was not gathered to establish how thesystem would work including its effects. The CEO also miscalculatedthe impact of social media. This is because the policy was meant tobe an internal affair that was not supposed to spread. Additionally,the CEO thought the corporation’s customers would benefit from animproved workforce. As such, the ratings would rise, and Yahoo wouldenhance its popularity. Nevertheless, the CEO misappropriated theimportance of motivation. Without a motivated workforce, the changingpolicies would not be efficient [ CITATION Jos13 l 1033 ].
RevisedCampaign
Theproposed solution is quite noble, but the means of communication wererather poor. The ultimate goal of the creative solution was toheighten productivity, thereby enticing more customers. Enhancingproductivity means improving the quality of service which isbeneficial to the customers. With improved quality of service, morecustomers would be attracted by the company. As such, one thing thatought to change is the decision-making process. All the affectedpersonnel should have been notified of the prior to the presentationof the policy. As such, the revised campaign will call upon theemployees’ representatives to communicate their ideas. When theworkers are involved in the decision-making process, then it iseasier to implement a policy [ CITATION McG15 l 1033 ].
Thesecond alteration entails research. The bell curve is not a bad idea.However, the repercussions facing the people at the tail end shouldnot be discouraging. Instead of firing the workers, other mechanismssuch as rewarding the best should be implemented. While communicatingthis policy, the CEO appeared to threaten the workers that is if theyare not productive enough, then they will be fired. For the campaignto succeed, the employees should be appreciative of the policy.Therefore, an all-inclusive approach would have been met with muchappreciation [ CITATION McG15 l 1033 ].
Communicationis all about appreciating diversity. In the contemporary globe,diversity has been regarded as one of the most vital constituents ofa successful multinational corporation. As such, while making achange, all the different aspects of culture must be included. Therevised campaign will be diverse regarding representation in policymaking. The previous presentation of the campaign was unsuccessfulsince the CEO failed to appreciate diversity in making the decision[ CITATION McG15 l 1033 ].
Ingeneral, the revised campaign will provide a different approach tothe bell curve. Once the performance curve has been derived, the bestemployees will be rewarded. The one at the tail end will be subjectedto extra shifts. Apart from that, they will undergo further trainingas the policy strives to improve the productivity levels. All thechanges will be communicated beforehand to ensure the presentation issuccessful.
Conclusion
Manytimes people fail to present a brilliant solution due tocommunication issues. An excellent performance must have content,structure, packaging, and the human element. It should encompassappropriate body languages such as gestures, facial expressions, andeye contact. The presentation also fails due to hard terminologies.However, other reasons why campaign fails revolves around audienceresearch. In the organizations’ perspective, the top management canimplement a policy without necessarily involving the employees in thedecision-making process. Failure to communicate the alterations priorto implementation leads to negative outcomes. A CEO may want tochange policy for the benefit of the corporation, but the inabilityto communicate to the affected personnel results in demotivation. Inthe end, the noble plan does not achieve the prospected results. Therevised campaign provided above can assist the top management to makeproper decisions when it comes to policy implementation.
References
Brustein, J. (2013, November 13). Yahoo`s Latest HR Disaster: Ranking Workers on a Curve. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-12/yahoos-latest-hr-disaster-ranking-workers-on-a-curve
Hollon, J. (2013, November 15). Forced Ranking, or Grading on a Curve: It’s All About a Flawed System. Retrieved from https://www.eremedia.com/tlnt/forced-ranking-or-grading-on-a-curve-its-all-about-a-flawed-system/
McGreavy, B., Lindenfeld, L., and Zoellick, B. (2015). Communication and sustainability science teams as complex systems. 1-10.
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