Kathmandu University School of Management

Balkumari, Lalitpur

Assignment- 2

Case-1
BBA fall 2018

Submitted to:
Ms. Rachana Negi Rana
Faculty of Interpersonal Communication Skills

Submitted By:
Group Members:
Prayash Chudal
Shreska Acharya
Binupa Kc
Russal Maharjan
Aakriti Sanjel
Year 3, Semester I
Section: C

Date: 2 november, 2020

Synopsis
This case highlights the discussion done on important issue of an Electrical Power Company in
monthly meeting where they are planning for flexible working hours and online survey results
regarding customer satisfaction. This case also imparts the problem arise due to
miscommunication.

Issues
 Mark Davis a Managing Director of the company has send copy of agenda to everyone
through mail but Sales manager of the company has not receive that mail due to which
technological barriers can be seen in the case while sending email.

 Difference in perception could be seen when Mark asked Paul to redesign the plan
because Gina was not satisfied with it. According to Paul redesigning plan was not
required as the issue of Gina could be solve with contingency plan.

 Information gap can be seen when Gina blame John, Customer Relation Manager that he
intentionally missed the meeting to avoid scrutiny by others but the actual reason behind
John not attending meeting was his family problem, but complete and accurate
information was not provided which cause misunderstanding.

 Customer Relation Manager was absent in the meeting, concerning the agenda he has the
most specific role in the meeting as loss has been occur in the company since 5 year due
to customer dissatisfaction he could have flow the information behind it through mail
before. As incomplete information may cause organization barriers.

 Lastly, Customer Relation Manger was absent in the meeting due to which he could not
be aware about the discussion done on any issue in the meeting. So to avoid this thing
minute is very necessary but in the case it can be seen that nobody was writing minute.
Case Analysis
Email: Non-vocal Verbal communication:
Email has been widely used in corporate houses, organizations, businesses and institutions.
Email plays the vital role of formal communication. It sends message in no time and has made
communication easier, convenient and more reliable. From cost point of view, email is cheap and
cost reduction is one of the primary concerns of any organization.
Here in the given case, we see that Mark, a Managing Director of the Electrical Power Company
has sent a copy of agendas of the scheduled meeting to everyone and while confirming it during
the meeting Ben, Sales Managers tells he had not received the E-mail. We can see the
technological barrier coming in the process of communication which disturbs in the smooth flow
of communication. And we can argue that this may have happened due to some human error or
carelessness on Mark's part too. Any participant of the meeting not receiving the agenda before
hand of the meeting will ultimately have consequences on the smooth flow of meeting. And in
any case if this technical glitch had occurred on some other more contributing participant of the
meeting the consequences would have been much worse. Let's say if Ms Rachel, an external
participant had not received the agenda beforehand due to similar technical errors the meeting
would not have been conducted with optimum results. So, we can see how much importance E-
mail has not only in communication but also in information sharing which decides future
outcomes too.
E-mail serves the purpose of sending message individually or in groups, hence it facilitates both
personal and interpersonal communication. It saves a lot of time too. Here in the meeting John is
able to send agendas beforehand and saves some extra time which would have to be used in the
meeting which was possible through E-mail. E-mail is a simple process and everyone can learn
to use it. Be it the ground level staff or high level staff, so it acts as the most efficient and
effective way of communication in all levels. E-mails are free once we set up our accounts in the
server and also E-mails can be used for several other purposes such as storing data and
information, photos, videos and whole lot of useful and informative resources. For these reasons
E-mails are widely used globally and it has definitely made communication in any field more
easy and effective. E-mails not only help businesses in connecting with its employees but also
with its stakeholders and consumers. Regular interaction with consumers and stakeholders will
build a stronger customer and business relationships which will ultimately aid businesses in
achieving high profitability too.
However, E-mail has some cons too and these disadvantages will hinder the effective flow of
communication. As seen in the case, due to some technical error, Ben may not have received the
mail beforehand. This may have caused due to fault in E-mail's server due to viruses which
entered in E-mails server. Machines can fail anytime so due to some computer errors the email
may have not been sent. We cannot always be sure of these things. Or some other case maybe,
Ben did not receive the E-mail though Paul sent it because it directly went into his archive or
spam folder. And, people generally do not always check these folders. Technological barrier
while sending E-mail can come at anytime as seen in the case. Human error on Paul's part too
may have caused this problem. Through this, what we can learn is glitches and technological
barriers can arise at anytime so companies must be well trained and be aware to use precautions
to tackle and adapt to these barriers.

Email: Non-vocal Verbal communication:

Email has been widely used in corporate houses, organizations, businesses and institutions.
Email plays the vital role of formal communication. It sends message in no time and has made
communication easier, convenient and more reliable. From cost point of view, email is cheap and
cost reduction is one of the primary concerns of any organization.
Here in the given case, we see that Mark, a Managing Director of the Electrical Power Company
has sent a copy of agendas of the scheduled meeting to everyone and while confirming it during
the meeting Ben, Sales Managers tells he had not received the E-mail. We can see the
technological barrier coming in the process of communication which disturbs in the smooth flow
of communication. And we can argue that this may have happened due to some human error or
carelessness on Mark's part too. Any participant of the meeting not receiving the agenda before
hand of the meeting will ultimately have consequences on the smooth flow of meeting. And in
any case if this technical glitch had occurred on some other more contributing participant of the
meeting the consequences would have been much worse. Let's say if Ms Rachel, an external
participant had not received the agenda beforehand due to similar technical errors the meeting
would not have been conducted with optimum results. So, we can see how much importance E-
mail has not only in communication but also in information sharing which decides future
outcomes too.
E-mail serves the purpose of sending message individually or in groups, hence it facilitates both
personal and interpersonal communication. It saves a lot of time too. Here in the meeting John is
able to send agendas beforehand and saves some extra time which would have to be used in the
meeting which was possible through E-mail. E-mail is a simple process and everyone can learn
to use it. Be it the ground level staff or high level staff, so it acts as the most efficient and
effective way of communication in all levels. E-mails are free once we set up our accounts in the
server and also E-mails can be used for several other purposes such as storing data and
information, photos, videos and whole lot of useful and informative resources. For these reasons
E-mails are widely used globally and it has definitely made communication in any field more
easy and effective. E-mails not only help businesses in connecting with its employees but also
with its stakeholders and consumers. Regular interaction with consumers and stakeholders will
build a stronger customer and business relationships which will ultimately aid businesses in
achieving high profitability too.
However, E-mail has some cons too and these disadvantages will hinder the effective flow of
communication. As seen in the case, due to some technical error, Ben may not have received the
mail beforehand. This may have caused due to fault in E-mail's server due to viruses which
entered in E-mails server. Machines can fail anytime so due to some computer errors the email
may have not been sent. We cannot always be sure of these things. Or some other case maybe,
Ben did not receive the E-mail though Paul sent it because it directly went into his archive or
spam folder. And, people generally do not always check these folders. Technological barrier
while sending E-mail can come at anytime as seen in the case. Human error on Paul's part too
may have caused this problem. Through this, what we can learn is glitches and technological
barriers can arise at anytime so companies must be well trained and be aware to use precautions
to tackle and adapt to these barriers.

Proposed Solution:
Introducing and using communication software:
Introducing communication software can help to solve the problems of technological barrier that
comes in the process of communication. E-mail possesses various cons and sometimes is
unreliable due to presence of viruses and spam. Using an effective software will help to tackle
these problems as software ensures the communications are being flown effectively. Software
create a more reliable, secure and systematic channel for the flow of communication. The
information are recorded in the server and the data base and users can obtain information more
easily too. Software can keep users updated about the events and meetings that are to be attended
.For instance, by accessing in users Smartphone calendar and setting up a remainder prior to
some hours before the meeting by using alarm clock or some notifications message so no one
would miss the meeting by forgetting about it. Here, in the case if the company had been using
some communication software Ben might not have been missed while sending the E-mail.
For Example, ABC Company uses communication software which keeps on updating about the
progress in the flow of communication or generates a message that the receiver has received the
E-mail in the sender's e-mail too using an integrated channel and a common server, and then
there would be very less chance of the technological barrier arising as shown in the case.
Training users to use E-mails more efficiently and organizing workshops on making E-
mails more effective:
It is the general tendency of humans to make common errors and mistakes even in the simplest
of things such as E-mail. So, to overcome these issues employees and users must be trained so as
to effectively use E-mails. E-mails are used at every level of communication so, we must always
keep in mind that some staffs at lower level may not be able to use E-mails properly. To make E-
mails and hence communication more effective, users of the E-mail should be trained well and
properly so as to avoid simple human errors while using E-mail which will cost in some way
later.
Workshops should be organized on how to use E-mail more easily, securely and without
common errors. Employees and users must also be taught about the etiquettes of E-mail. Here, in
the case if all the employees had the simple etiquette of writing, "Received" or "Thank You for
the E-mail" after receiving the email, this issue could have been prevented. Mark would have
followed up on Ben and ensured if he had or had not received the E-mail about the agenda
beforehand if the company had this tradition or their employees were habituated to send some
messages after receiving the E-mail .And when Mark would not have confirmation message from
one of the participants he would have obviously followed upon him. These habits and traditions
can be formed with the help of a well conducted and fruitful workshop which will later
contribute in making communication through E-mail more reliable and error free.

Proposed solution to decrease information gap:

In the given case, we can clearly see that there is information gap between the two departments.
As explained earlier, Gina, the production manager was unaware about the problem being solved
by the HR manager, Paul. This causes waste of money and/or time along with hamper in the
profit maximization of the organization. The case represents that following circumstances has
occurred due to various negligence done by both the parties. So, below mentioned measured
could be used to solve the proposed problem.

Motivate employees for knowledge sharing:

Knowledge sharing is always essential for a company to achieve success, since it can smooth
decision-making capabilities, build learning in organization and can encourage innovation. When
knowledge is shared among all the organization members, a better and faster problem-solving
capability can be improved among the members of organization. Also, members of an
organization can improve their relationship significantly by sharing and managing knowledge
properly, no matter if they work in the same or different departments. This can be done with the
help of cloud-based solutions that promote transparency and collaboration.

For example: when customers are facing problems, to solve an internal issue, to analyze trends,
to understand competition, or to plan new strategies, employees tend to look for information and
resources in order to support problem solving. However, Information overload can make this
process difficult. In this case, knowledge sharing decreased information load when information
needed is easily available within the organization in time. Thus, decisions of overall organization
can be based on the actual experiences of the members of the organization.

Likewise, information sharing has other many advantages such as; it promotes innovation and
growth, improves customer delivery, reduces loss of know-how, and many more.
Decrease the barriers of effective communication:

In an organization, there could various barriers of communication causing information gaps.

When the message intended by the sender is not understood by the receiver, then it could be due
to hinderance in effective communication. Barriers of effective communication can be decreased
with motivating employees for active listening, use of simple/understandable language while
communicating, reduction or elimination of possible noise, giving constructive feedbacks,
flexible in meeting targets, using reliable medium for sharing information, decreasing perception
errors and avoiding information overload could be some of the measures to ensure effective
communication.

For example: ABC is an organization with very good communicating skills. Both managers and
employees share required information with various departments. ABC company also held
monthly standup meetings so that every employee can share their feelings, understanding and
recommendations in the organization. This effective communication has helped organization to
know its employees’ problems, suggestions and collaborate better. Therefore, this supports the
organization to stay connected with its front-line employees, know the major problem within the
organization and plan accordingly for benefit of the organization.