Quiz 8: Communication in the Workplace
Business
Q 1Q 1
Suppose you thought that the CEO of your company was moving the company in the wrong direction, and you want to tell him or her. Explain which communication channel you would choose to deliver your message.
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The situation involves upward communication-the transmission of messages from lower to higher levels in an organization. It is the most important channel for keeping management informed about problems within the organization. Considering the situation, the first item to decide is whether the company has an open-door policy-a more structured communication channels that allows employees to speak to top management about concerns, without first checking with their manager. If the company does indeed have this policy, then setting a time to speak privately with the CEO would be the best approach. Have comments and research prepared, as well as alternative directions that would be better for the company. Do not show up with complaints and no solutions, which is neither professional nor impressive.
Q 2Q 2
Why is it that virtually every medium-size or large organization still has traditional telephones and is listed in the telephone directory?
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Communication trends and advancing technology have both led to a more democratically run workplace. This is specially credited to the prevalence of Internet and social networking websites within a typical day in the office. Blogs and social networking sites allow employees to connect and share their comments and concerns to a wide audience. If a specific concern garners a majority of the employees' support, than that concern could result in changes in their favor. Advancing technology creates a faster communication channel, and allows reaching more people at the same time. Furthermore, it also allows for collaboration amongst teams that may not even be in the same geographic location.
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One important communication channel can be classified as either formal or informal-management by walking around-involves managers intermingling freely with workers on the shop floor or in the office, as well as with customers. This channel can possibly undermine the authority of supervisors who are constantly within reach of employees or customers by overriding their rules and regulations. For instance, management can promise deals to customers that the supervisor previously would not grant, thus over ruling them and discrediting their authority.
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Q 5Q 5
Carol Bartz, a well-known technology executive, complained that she was notified about being fired from her position as CEO of Yahoo! by e-mail. What's her problem?
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Q 6Q 6
What do you think would the advantages and disadvantages of having a "no e-mail on Friday" policy at a busy office?
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Q 7Q 7
Give three examples of business situations in which telephone conversations still play a key role.
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Q 15Q 15
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
How effective was the teamwork? Support your conclusion with an example of specific behavior.
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Q 16Q 16
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
How well did group members stay on track in terms of focusing on their goal?
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Q 17Q 17
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
Did the team members make any introductory warmup comments to help build rapport?
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Q 18Q 18
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
To what extent was the participation among team members balanced?
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Q 19Q 19
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
Did the team move toward any conclusions or action plans?
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Q 20Q 20
Applying Human Relations Exercise
Evaluating a Business Meeting
The class organizes into teams of about six students to conduct a meeting to formulate plans for building temporary housing for homeless people downtown in your city or a nearby city. Three other students, or the entire class, will observe the meeting. This exercise should take about thirtyfive minutes, and it can be done inside or outside of class. Each team takes on the assignment of formulating plans for building temporary shelters for the homeless. The dwellings you plan to build, for example, might be two-room cottages with electricity and indoor plumbing. During the time allotted to the task, formulate plans for going ahead with shelters for the homeless. Consider dividing up work by assigning certain tasks to each team member. Sketch out tentative answers to the following questions: (a) How will you obtain funding for your venture? (b) Which homeless people will you help? (c) Where will your shelters be? (d) Who will do the actual construction?
After the meeting is completed, the three observers will provide feedback to the team members about the effectiveness of the meeting, using the following criteria:
Choose another criterion you think might be relevant.
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