Effective Communication in Organizations

Instructions

1. Watch the following Chapter 09 video:
   • Chapter 09: Now What?
2. Answer the following questions after watching the video:
   • What communication barriers are illustrated in this video?
   • How do these situations illustrate the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as active listening?
   • Which other aspects of communication discussed in Chapter 9 are illustrated in this video?
3. Include at least one (1) in-text citation and one (1) reference.

Reference Video Transcript:

Transcript

Chapter 09: Now What? video

>> Hi Mary, do you have the production numbers I need for the report?

>> I have them here. I got your message about the report design and I don't want to bother you, it's just that I need to tell you something, if you don't mind. The extrusion machine is acting strangely. I sent you a message about it a while ago.

>> Well, I didn't get your message because I've been busy with this report. Just keep at it, I'm sure you can figure it out. I -- I've got to finish this report; it's due very soon, Mary.

>> Well, I understand. I don't want to bother you; it's just that something is going on with the extrusion machine. It isn't producing anything and it's making this noise, like [inaudible]. I don't know what to do about it.

>> Mary, I'm sorry. I'm not really understanding what you're saying. I can tell that you're upset and there's a lot going on but I'm very busy with this report, okay? I'm sure that if you just keep at it, you'll figure it out. You know a lot about the machine and I have complete faith in you, okay? Now I've got to do this report but I will check back with you later today, okay?

>> Okay.

[ Background Sounds ]

>> Hi, Alex. How did things go yesterday?

>> Pretty good. I finished the report on time and then I had to manage some issues with the production machine in the afternoon.

>> Why didn't you address the broken machine immediately? It was a production issue that shut down the line. When I asked some of the employees why production levels were so low yesterday, they explained that they couldn't work for a couple of hours because a machine was broken and when they came to you, you told them to wait until your report was finished before you could manage the problem.

>> Well, I didn't know that the machine needed so much repair. I figured the employees could handle it.

>> But Mary tried to tell you. Because production was shut down, we missed a deadline and now we might lose a big account.

>> I'm really sorry. I -- look, I'm not really understanding, Mary. I'm sorry. Can you please try explaining again?

>> The extrusion machine is acting strangely. The formulation may not be right. It could be something else. The fitting might be loose. We can't tell what's wrong just yet but it isn't producing anything. What should we do?

>> Hold on. Mary, I can see that you're upset but I really don't understand what's going on.

>> Yes, I'm sorry. We just don't know what to do.

>> Well, it's going to have to wait until I'm done with this report. Maybe you can ask somebody else to help you. I'm sorry. I really have to concentrate on this report.

>> Okay. It blew up! I tried to tell you there was something wrong with the machine. We tried to fix it ourselves but it exploded!

>> Are you okay?

>> What? I'm sorry. I'm not sure. I can't hear you very well!

>> I'm sorry Mary. I didn't really understand what you were saying. Try to speak slowly. I can tell that you're upset. Just explain to me again.

>> The extrusion machine is not working properly.

>> Okay. Did you try rebooting it?

>> Yes, it didn't work.

>> Okay, so that didn't work. What do you think the core problem is?

>> I think it's something serious with the machine.

>> Okay, well that sounds like I need to take care of -- I need to go look at it. So let's go down to the production floor.

>> I'm sorry to interrupt you; I know how busy you are today.

>> No, it's fine. I think that employee safety and production schedule is much more important than this report. I'll stay late to finish it. It's not a big deal. This sounds serious so let's go.

>> Okay.

>> Hi, Alex. How did things go yesterday? I didn't get your production report.

>> I'm sorry it's late but here's a copy. There was a problem with the extrusion machine yesterday on the production line and I stopped working on the report to go take care of that. Mary came to let me know about it and, you know, luckily the machine didn't go too crazy. Nobody was injured but we didn't miss our production deadline and I stayed late last night and came here early this morning to finish the report, so.

>> Well, thank you for doing that. I really appreciate that, Alex. I'm sorry to hear about the problems that you had yesterday but I think you did the right thing in dealing with things right away. Safety is our top priority, plus we can't afford to have the production line down very long. Also, wait, you said no one was injured, right?

>> Right. Yeah, luckily nobody was injured and it was all because of Mary. She came to me in time; we caught the problem in time. We fixed the machine and now it's working perfectly good.

>> That's good news. I'm going to go find Mary to make sure she's okay and thank her for doing such a great job and thank you for handling the situation so well. Great work, Alex.