Communications

Before starting the discussion you must read the following Required Supplemental Reading Material posted in Blackboard Lectures.

Week 3.a: Social Media then and now

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/48761.aspx

Week 3.b: Delivering Bad News

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2013/03/06/how-great-leaders-deliver-bad-news/#7ee7004c3dc6

(please copy/paste this link into your browser search area in order to open it)

When you have read the above articles, you must do two things:

1. Write an initial thread of what you have learned from the articles, what you agreed (or disagreed with) and so on.

Discuss (talk about) the reading material with your fellow students. You can talk about what you learned from the articles; what you liked; what you did not like; what the authors missed in their article; how the articles relate to your experience and so on. When I read your discussions I want to see evidence that you have actually read the material and that you truly understand what you read and how it applied to the real world business environment.

I hope my instructions are clear — if they are not it is your responsibility to tell me what parts you don’t understand and ask for clarification (communications takes at last two people).

ANSWER

Communication (delivering bad news)

The article on breaking bad news took me back to when I had to be let go, and the manager handling the situation handled it so poorly that I did not know how to deal with my emotions. There had been rumors that the company was going to be letting go of some of the employees as there had been a decline, and the company was undergoing some management changes, and it was rebranding. We were psychologically prepared that one day we might wake up to not having a job, but I hated the manner in which I was fired. I was called early in the morning before preparing to get to work, and the manager told me not to show up. At the time, I was the one providing for my family, and I had to deal with the trauma of losing our only source of income.

The article has a few lessons that I would have appreciated if the manager had learned earlier before delivering them. One of the things I would have appreciated was if the news had been delivered in person and not over the phone. I would also have appreciated it if the manager was a little empathetic and recognized that I was about to lose my only source of income and handled it with a little bit of tact (Mindtools).

The article by Long (2014) is a reminder of how far the world has come in terms of communication. In the past, people had to communicate using letters and notes, which would take a long time to get a response. Today it is easier to communicate with employees and receive feedback. We can share photos of projects and even personal photos. Communication has changed rapidly in the past decade, making it better and easier to communicate. However, bad news should not be communicated over the phone or through social media. The bad news is delivered best in person.

References

MindTools. Delivering Bad News. Communicating Under Pressure. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bad-news.htm

Long, K. (2014). Infographic: Social media then and now. https://www.ragan.com/infographic-social-media-then-and-now/