Communication Problems at the South Store - Case Study Example

The presented scenario may seem interesting to others since it allows employees to make their own decisions. From a communications point of view, the situation is likely to generate more problems than advantages.

Communication is very important in any workplace environment since it is through communication that managers and employees get to understand what is to be done. Ellen should give clear guidelines to her employees daily rather than assuming that they know what is required of them. She should go around checking how employees are fairing as she also carries out her volunteering activities. Through this, she will get a chance to interact with her employees on a face-to-face basis and observe how they are fairing with their work. Leaving employees on their own may create laxity or even end up in duplication of roles as well as neglect of others. This means that achieving project objectives daily may not be achieved.

Moreover, the store is also experiencing another communication problem on the line of customer service. Ellen takes up the responsibilities of customer follow-up instead of delegating this role to her employees. This could rather have been effective as customers feel more comfortable dealing with the exact person who offered the services to them. Due to this engagement, Ellen lacks time to show employees the customer follow-up process and instead prefers to give them an outline. Furthermore, Arina her employee who is shy is left to interact with animals full time, whereas Marc’s time and effort are concentrated on customer satisfaction. The main question that lingers in our minds is “Are Arina and Marc comfortable with the duties they carry out daily or do they feel unsatisfied?”.

The above business scenario may be good but on the other hand, it is equally damaging. Communication between the management and employees in any workplace is very important because that is the only avenue for the two to air out their feelings. By Ellen giving her employees an outline to use she is failing since employees may not understand it. However, if she could have taken time aside to explain to the employees the customer satisfaction process they could have understood better maybe by reading her non-verbal expressions as well. From the scenario outlined above, Ellen should have allowed Arina and Marc to work in groups for they to learn from one another. By so doing Arina may be able to overcome her shy weakness since her indoor duties may be boring to her. Read More