QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

$1.$ Have you ever received difficult or painful feedback? How was it presented? How did the presentation of the feedback affect your understanding and internalization of it$?$

$2.$ Have you ever had to deliver difficult feedback to a friend, family member, or coworker? How did you do it$?$ How was it received? What, if anything, would you do

differently if you did it again? Based on your reflections about your experiences in receiving or giving feedback, what lessons would you apply to an OD situation where you might have to give difficult feedback to a client?

$3.$ Look back at the forms of resistance mentioned in this chapter. Can you think of any others that you have felt or experienced? Choose one of the forms of resistance and formulate a response that you could use if you encountered it$.$

EXERCISE: FEEDBACK AND RESISTANCE

The client is the CEO of a luxury hotel who is eager to earn a five$-$star rating for the hotel this year. She contacted you as the OD practitioner to better understand the day$-$to$-$day perspective of the staff in order to implement programs and practices to enhance the hotel's customer service and quality. Imagine that the following data come from the summary of seven focus groups conducted with the staff. A total of $72$ employees participated in the groups, which were organized into homogeneous categories: $(1)$ housekeeping; $(2)$ front desk, reception, and concierge staff; $(3)$ kitchen and restaurant staff; $(4)$ conferences and events; $(5)$ maintenance and facilities; $(6)$ reservations; and $(7)$ department management.

Employees believe that greater coordination is needed between departments.

$"$In the kitchen we do not always have enough notice of last$-$minute requests coming from special events."

"The front desk staff never keep up with special rates we offer in reservations. We get complaints that the guests are getting two different answers when they call about group rates."

"Sometimes maintenance is not following up on the work orders we put in from housekeeping."

Employees in several departments noted that they were short on staff, compromising their ability to spend necessary time doing a quality job.

$"$In maintenance we've lost three groundskeepers this year that haven't been replaced."

"Housekeeping has had to cut back on cleaning common areas in favor of time spent in guest rooms."

Training was mentioned as an issue in several departments.

$"$We need regular training or at least updates in our staff meetings. The reservation system has become very complicated and it doesn't seem like we ever find out about the changes before they are forced on us$."$

"The maintenance people need more customer service training. At the front desk we are always getting complaints about rude maintenance staff."

PART I: FEEDBACK MEETING

$1.$ Pair up with a classmate. One of you will play the role of the OD practitioner and the other will be the client. Present the data to the client in a feedback meeting. The client should ask questions, react, or resist as you wish.

$2.$ Discuss the exercise. How did the client respond to the feedback? Did you each accomplish what you had hoped to accomplish? How did it feel to hear the