Case Study: Credibility for an Entry$-$Level Professional

Sara, Ali, and Asif were recently hired as audit assistants. This is the first full$-$time professional position for each of them. During the first few months of work, each of them experienced successes and failures.

Sara gained a reputation for finding out exactly what clients wanted. She asked the right questions and respectfully explained points of disagreement with them, and showed them she was genuinely interested in them. Several of his colleagues commented that clients trusted her to act appropriately on their behalf. Her supervisor was pleased that Sara always followed through on commitments and was positive $.$However, her performance was far from perfect. Her supervisor noticed that Sara sometimes made fairly basic mistakes in her audits and her colleagues would have to redo some of her work.

Ali has gained a reputation for completing audits more accurately than all other new audit assistants. His supervisor is worried, however, about his long$-$term success at the firm.

Ali tends to overpromise. Last week, he told his supervisor he$$d finish an important project but instead worked on other tasks. Last month, he called in sick for a few days. On one of his sick days, his supervisor saw pictures of his at a party that he had posted to Instagram.

Asif is the top performer on audits among the new group of employees at the firm. He is precise and efficient. He can typically accomplish many tasks in about half the time of most other audit assistants. His supervisor is concerned, however, about his interpersonal skills. He tends to often criticize his colleagues for their mistakes and rarely offers appreciation for their help. He also seems to rub clients the wrong way and comes across as $$antisocial$$ according to one valued client.

Read the case above and answer the following questions:

$1.$ Which element of credibility does Sara lack? What would you recommend to her to improve her credibility? $(1$ Mark$)$

$2.$ Which element of credibility does Ali lack? What would you recommend to him to improve his credibility? $(1$ Mark$)$

$3.$ Which element of credibility does Asif lack? What would you recommend to him to improve her credibility? $(1$ Mark$)$

$4.$ What is the significance of establishing credibility in business communication?

$(2$ Marks$)$