Mid-term Take-home examination - Easy Money Department Case Study

Mid- term Take Home Examination: Easy Money Department Case Study Name Course number Instructor`s name Date What roles do you think perception and communication have in the above case? Consider mostly the 3 principal actors Jones, Smith and Ray Two interpersonal communication styles are depicted in the case study. The two supervisors have a communication style that is aggressive and intimidating towards the auditors. Smith states that he has an open door policy and that he would be helpful to his staff on matters of interpretation. However, when actual need arises, he is of little help to them. This is evident when Ray calls him while in the field and request for assistance in determining whether a certain item is taxable. His response is marked with the intimidating word ‘you` and he offers Ray no help at all. Ray confirms that Smith is unknowledgeable on matters of the statutes and that he covers up his ignorance by being intimidating to the auditors. He then seeks assistance from a fellow auditor. Jones` style of communication is intimidating in a queer way. He has a habit of spying on the auditors and the auditors are cautious about having him around. This behavior is intimidating because he is their supervisor and the information he gathers from them might put their careers on the line. This makes him unapproachable because the auditors have little trust that he would respond in their best interest. Ray`s communication style is open and assertive. This is evident in the way he seeks information about the supervisors from the auditor. He also admits his inadequacy in interpretation of the statutes to his training supervisor. Were he timid and passive, he would not have expressed his concern about legislative capacity. His confidence is also portrayed by the way, in which he interacts with his domineering supervisor. When confronted about consulting his fellow auditor about interpretation, he demonstrates confidence when he asks him who advised him about the incident. Smith is however a bit different from Jones in the sense that he is direct about the issues that he disapproves of. He clearly and assertively reminds Ray that it is unacceptable to consult other people on interpretation. This is characteristic of the organizational behavior where decision-making is entrusted to the managers. However, it is important that the managers and supervisors embody the important values of communicating with their staff or employees. This works to reduce wastage of resources when subordinates make wrong decisions. Communication styles inform how the recipient perceives the person sending the message. In this case, Ray perceived the two supervisors as being intimidating, pushy and unhelpful. This caused him to become upset and concerned particularly because Smith failed to realize that he consulted a fellow auditor because he was unhelpful in the first place. He felt that Smith had judged him wrongly and that Jones` invasive tendencies would negatively affect his appraisal after his three months` probation time. One ingredient of successful organizations is effective communication. The entire three actors require improving in the way that they communicate for successful problem resolution. For instance, Ray would have been more specific when Smith confronted him about consulting another party. He would have insisted to Smith that he was unable to decide whether the particular item was taxable even though he was the one in the field. This would have obliged Smith to provide the assistance he needed and ray would not have required enquiring from his colleague. This situation indicates that Smith`s response had intimidated him and he had become fearful. Another mistake that Ray committed was asking him bout who advised him about the incident. Ray would have rather focused the conversation on the statutory problem rather than on Jones. This is because acquiring knowledge about who reported him was not helpful on how to handle such matters in the future. The fact that he asked about it aroused negative accusatory energy. It reminded smith that he had been spending too much time on assignments that was reducing revenues per hour. In the end, Ray did not get any assistance and he agitated Smith further and strained their relationship. It would have been better for Ray to ask about Jones later during a neutral interaction. Smith`s communication style also requires some adjustment. This is because he appears to have stereotypes about performance. He assumes that the Ray had the capacity to resolve the tax problem by virtue of being in the field. He is unhelpful because he may have a stereotype that Ray is simply lacking in initiative to make decisions and relies on others to make decisions on his behalf. This is a dangerous stereotype because it may cost the organization in the form of wrong decisions. Managers require drawing from the experience to guide the employees under their supervision to make decisions. They should also appreciate that juniors may have inadequacies and thus a teamwork approach where communication thrives is necessary. Jones would be perceived as a soft bully in the organization. This is because he looks out to harm his subordinates by spying on them and whistle blowing about trivial matters within the organization. Even his fellow colleague Smith perceives him as selfish. He is unconcerned about others and this spurs feelings of resentment by the auditors towards him. Trust and general regard for others is important for effective communication within an organization. The supervisors' communication style outlined in the case study does not motivate the employees because it is ineffective. Effective communication motivates the staff to work on their tasks. When employees have information on how to improve performance, they are more likely to have more zeal and be enthusiastic about working in the organization. They appreciate constructive feedback, which is a vital element of manager and supervisor`s communication. Ray was upset about how communication was channeled leaving him upset and worried instead of being motivated to correct his mistake. One of the biggest roles of a supervisor is communicating reb...