Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Chapter Two Case: "How do you get anything done around here?" (p. 54}
Kate has a problem but clearly the organization does, too. We are not looking for miraculous solutions here. Expecting things to change drastically is probably as naive as Tom suggests. What we are looking at, is how communication is understood in the organization. What does this case tell us about different approaches to communication. It might be very interesting to look at communication as balancing creativity and constraint in this case, for example. What's your take?
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16 comments:
I think the first communication problem in this case was when Jeff Donaldson described the position to Kate. He told her all the things about being able to make her own decisions and not worrying about management interrupt or halt her work. This kind of ended up being a flat out lie because that is what killed her new product proposal, and also her enthusiasm and passion for her work. It was obvious in the case that he was all talk because it mentions him walking in with a big smile all the time and simply telling Kate what she wanted to hear so she would think things are working out for her. He promised her fast results and in reality her product was delayed and could be stopped because of him. This is really bad because there needs to be a two-way channel of communication where one person gives information and then receives feedback. Plus, the little feedback she was getting was actually lies, so that just got her hopes up, only to be let down by the organization later. It was also pretty lame when she made a suggestion to a problem at a meeting and she was basically told to keep her ideas and criticism to herself. This is just another example of closed off communication. What is the point of having a meeting where you talk about issues and ignore the feedback? If management is just going to do whatever they feel like doing in the first place, the meeting is simply useless. This is obviously a company that is stuck in the past and that is fine, but they shouldn’t give off the impression that they are ready for change and give their employees false hope. The woman in this case moved across the country for this lame job and ends up getting the shaft. The way the employees sound in this case is also depressing. What a crappy job. Nobody arrives on time and everyone leaves early? It sounds more like a large lecture class in college than it sounds like a job. Oh well, I’m glad it’s not me.
Wow, what a miserable working experience. I agree with Mike in that the description of the position Kate was applying for was totally misconstrued, and led Kate to ultimately regret accepting it. Communication within an organization is not effective if it is one-sided and employees are not given the opportunity to share their opinions, past experience, and talent with the organization. The company loyalty as we discussed in class is also not present in this work environment. There is no evidence of loyalty presented to Kate (or any other workers) from their manager, which leads to a loss of passion in their work, and results in everyone arriving late and leaving early. There is no sense of loyalty or pride from the employees due to the lack of effort and empowerment from Jeff Donaldson. What surprises me is that the company was able to run itself in such a way for over 100 years. I think the enthusiasm of Jeff is great, and what he portrays his company to be is very positive, but unfortunately that not really the case. He should channel his enthusiasm into backing up his promises, and working with his employees to make that family feeling an actual reality. Kate needs to stand up for herself as well, and hopefully eliminate the idea of the "black hole" and make a change to better the company. It's true that changing the environment that drastically is probably not possible right away, but small steps can be taken to start inducing change. Hopefully once Jeff's children's children own the company, it will be on the right track.
I agree with mikeh. The communication problem in this case seems to be the boss saying one thing, but meaning another. Or perhaps sugar-coating what's really going on in order to appear to be a good organization from the outside. Kate gave up her family, friends, and life back home to take this job which she thought would be totally different than it is turning out to be. I can definitely relate to her "black hole" situation. This past summer, I did an internship in the fundraising department of a non-profit organization. I had a list of projects to complete before the end of summer, and I did successfully complete them, but so many times I had to wait on approval for things I wrote up. For example, I promised several people I would send them examples of humanitarian aid stories to publish in their communication materials. The stories were written by myself, and all I was waiting on was the edits to them which would be done by my boss. Well, my boss had her own agenda and never actually got around to the edits, even after several reminders. This left me frustrated, and all I could do was apologize to the people who never got their stories. I think that Jeff Donaldson should have realistically told Kate what she could expect at this job, because she is obviously overqualified, and not being able to realize or use her fullest potential. Any person searching for a job where they don't need to think much about coming up with creative solutions and implementing them would fare well at this job, but if Jeff Donaldson really is serious about moving the company in a new direction, the organizational culture and communication needs to change to reflect more of the input, feedback, and ideas of its employees.
I hope I am never in Kate's position. I have always been a motivated person like Kate, and to be told that you would have great experiences to follow your dream and then realize that the company was not going anywhere would be total heartbreak. Kate relied on other companies to help with the new product, and now she might not be able to use them in the future because they won't trust her to come through on her behalf due to poor communication with Donaldson Family Foods.
I don't think I could be like Tom and stick around because my family likes the area. I would have to move on where I knew my work would be appreciated and that my work would be fulfilling. I am shocked that companies would have such poor communication established between the decision makers and the different divisions. Especially since Mr. Donaldson had to give the final say in the decisions that the "black hole" made. I wish that Kate took her gut instinct about the company and did not buy into what Mr. Donaldson said. Although something may sound wonderful, usually your gut instinct will tell you the truth.
Since I am not married with children, I can not comment on how I would feel about the relaxed policy on time, but I don't think I would have the respect for my managers if the policies were so light and airy. It would make me confused to when is the correct time to go to work or leave work.
There needs to be that established for of communication between all branches of that company.Donaldson Family Foods are not using their employees to help the company, and will suffer because of it.
Clearly Kate went into this job with the wrong idea about expectations of her and what she could expect from the company. Perhaps she should have done some more research and talked with staff before she accepted the position (if she had the opportunity). I do not think that Kate is completely responsible for getting herself into this position. Clearly Jeff Donaldson is out of touch with what is going on within his company. He may have been in the business for 30 plus years now, but he is not being responsive to his new employees. Mr. Donaldson appears to be motivational, interactive and enthusiastic, but his actions after Kate's meeting makes it appear that his communication stops short of getting the tasks completed. Personally I think that Kate should get a meeting with Mr Donaldson as soon as he gets back from out of town and if she is not able to communicate with him what she wants to accomplish and how important it is to her to create something new and innovative within the next few months then she should resign her postion. Tom may be content to keep the job for his family, but Kate has lost out on being with her family for this job and if they are what is most important to her then she should relocate and find a different job.
Reading the vision statement of the Donaldson Family Food’s Company Manual I think would get anyone’s hopes up about the job. The idea that the company welcomes innovation and creativity at all levels of employment is a major attraction to anyone with the motivation that Kate has. The fact that in the real life of the company it is completely opposite of its mission statement defiantly shows strategic ambiguity that it uses to draw employment. It’s almost like once the company bribes its employees to coming to work for this great organization; it ends up being a huge let down.
This entire situation that Kate has fallen into I think can best be explained by Berger and Luckmann’s research on The Social Construct of Reality, where organizations like Donaldson Food Company are constructed as people act in patterned ways, and over time it’s that pattern that starts to become a norm. The fact that the “black hole” has not and probably will not change in a number of years is a routine that the Donaldson family has formed. The laid back atmosphere that the company provides is an attraction to many people who may have family, or a life outside of work….but unfortunately for Kate, I think for a person with her motivation it would be in her best interest to get out.
It seems as if is Jeff Donaldson was the cause of the communication problems throughout the company. All of his employees have ‘learned’ that Donaldson makes any and all decisions in his company. The downfall of this decision making process would be that fresh and creative ideas would not be implemented in the company even though they may be very well thought out or could possibly benefit the company itself. Kate’s problem is not her lack of communication, but the company’s unwillingness for change. She is doing her best to approach the situation in a professional manner while dealing with a lack of communication from Jeff. Mr. Donaldson needs to realize that his lack of communication is hurting his employee morale and he will not obtain any young or fresh talent in the MBA world with out even the slightest possibility of change. He needs to follow through with his promises and follow up with his employees better to make sure they are truly being satisfied in their position. Kate should not have gotten ridiculed or silenced for speaking up and criticizing someone else’s work. If anything their work can improve from her criticisms. Jeff Donaldson gives a false impression of what his company actually is. He should be upfront and honest, and not lie to his potential employees to get to them to join his amazing company. Old fashioned companies can be very successful in today’s world if they are upfront and honest about their policies. I don’t feel as though a company would be punished for appreciating family values and not wanting to change.
The Donaldson Family Foods is a perfect example of what I don’t want to end up in. Every time I talk with a company I always feel that they are telling me what I want to hear, exactly as Jeff Donaldson had done in Kate’s interview. He created this wonderful job opportunity that made Kate move and it turns out that he didn’t really want to expand his company. The communication problem involves all the employees of Donaldson Family Foods. It first starts with the president and upper level managers, it is up to them to show their own enthusiasm about expansion and growth. In the case, it was clear that the employees didn’t care that they were in a dead end job. Granted it would be nice to come into work late and leave early, but I don’t think that would be a big enough benefit to stay in a job that seems boring. Maybe I think differently then most people, but I would have stuck up for what I believed in, meaning I would say something to possibly change the culture of the business. Either that or I would have to find a new job that would allow me to be creative and show personal growth. This company clearly needs to be re-taught how to communicate and establish a new work ethic. Personally I don’t know how this company can still be in business. There have been so many changes and new competition in the market that I would think they would have had to keep up or risk losing business and profit.
So I'm going to go out on a limb and actually talk about how my own personal experiences relate somewhat to Kate's position. I have been working for my local outdoor pool for the past five years. Over those five years I have worked my way up to assistant manager. When I got interviewed for the position I was asked how I was going to make positive improvements for our pool and community members. Well, I had the grand idea of selling goggles and suntan lotion at our pool since so many patrons had come asking if we sold anything in years past. John Safestrom, who is the head of the activities department for the village of Grafton, gave me the go ahead and said it sounded like a great idea. Well similar to Kate’s situation, I ran into my own personal black hole. John informed me about a few steps I would have to go through with the village in order to get my idea off the ground. Well, one of the requirements was to bring it up to the committee members of the village of Grafton. One of the problems that I ran into was that they only had one meeting once a month. Their agenda was already set in stone a month prior to when the meeting was going to occur. I felt like I was in a hole and couldn't get out. I have been an assistant manager for two years now and I have become aware of the business side of the village of Grafton. Everyone is so accepting of new innovative ideas, except no-one is willing to take on a new project because it's too time consuming. In my case, although my idea was good and would have raised profits for the pool, I never did get the chance to take my idea to the village committee members. I was just a lowly assistant manager working for the village and I felt like as a result my ideas and opinions were not worth the village committee member’s time. Similar to Tom I feel that instead of pursuing my ideas I just kind of accepted my position within the village and just did my job. I feel that the way my organization communicated with their employees deterred people from coming up and implementing new and innovative ideas. Similar to the title, I still don't understand how anything gets done in the village of Grafton given the lack of drive and communication throughout the different employment levels.
I actually know how Kate feels in this situation. I took a job where I was told that the agency wanted to grow and I would be an important part of making sure that happened. I have noticed that the company is comfortable staying in the same place just like the company from the case, even though the boss talks about how far they want to take the company. I think change is a difficult thing to come by for some businesses, especially ones owned or ran by a family. When ran by a family it becomes about tradition, where as if it was ran by a non-family CEO it changes. Perhaps people who enter an organization are more willing to accept change. I would suggest in Kate’s case that she stand up and tell the president of the company how she feels and that if things don’t change she will have to quit. Kate is young, smart, and highly qualified for other jobs so if her job does not satisfy her now she should change her path. Communication can only take a person so far. After a certain point actions are going to speak louder than words.
At first glance the Donaldson Family Foods, Inc. seems to be to blame for the extreme miscommunication in the organization. When hired employees are told one thing, but something (or nothing) actually happens. When Kate was hired the CEO said that she was exactly the type of person he wanted on his team, however when she spoke up at a meeting she was reprimanded for being too aggressive. Another example is how the CEO explained Kate's first project in the interview and then never followed through on excepting her proposal. It is easy to see what is wrong with the organization however they are not the only ones at fault in this situation. The employees are the ones who are accepting this form of communication and treatment. As Berger and Luckmann argue "organizations are constructed as people act in patterned ways; over time, people take those behavior patterns for granted as 'reality'". Kate's co-worker, Tom, says that there is nothing the employees can do to change their environment. Tom explained that he quickly learned to keep his opinions to himself and do as little as possible. Employees who accept this unsuccessful form of communication are as much to blame as their employer. Because the employees aren't confronting the CEO about the real issue nothing will ever change. In my opinion, the problem is that the CEO flattened the organization, but didn't empower his people (SMART). The CEO doesn't see the missing link and employees aren't bringing it to his attention. In order to resolve this problem I think there needs to be more of a balance in the dichotomy of the macro vs. micro perspective of Donaldson Family Foods, Inc.
In one of Kate’s first meetings, they called her “more aggressive” and berated her for attacking her co-worker. The company seems to be very laid-back and nonchalant about most things. It is not a typical business in which it must work at a fast pace in order to keep up with other businesses. These differences alone would cause communication breakdowns. Also, the people in the first meeting were in essence telling Kate to conform to the way life is at the company. Although Jeff had promised her that this job was going to be one that was about taking fresh ideas to the public without a lot of management interference, it seems as if that is completely wrong, or at least, Kate interpreted it differently than what Jeff meant. For me, being in a situation that is severely constrained (or as Kate put it “everyone is just waiting around to be told what to do next”), it would be really hard for me to continue on in the company. I can see where Tom is coming from. It is a stable job, good pay, and someone in his situation with a family and all would benefit from having a job as such. But Kate is like me in the way that she needs to be challenged, she needs to challenge herself and that just isn’t going to happen in this company. There is a lack of communication between the management and Kate. This lack of communication, or ‘black hole”, is one that would not be tolerated in normal business and organizational practices. The truth to the whole thing is that the way that Kate communicates and expects to be communicated to is not defined in the same way by the company and SMART.
Obviously this is a remarkably frustrating position for Kate, but I was really more drawn to Tom. Kate doesn’t have it that bad, she’s got good pay and it seems like a ticket to slack all she wants. Tom has got it figure out; just to find satisfaction in other areas of life. The communication problem stems from Donaldson making a really great sell during the interview. It surprises me that Donaldson would feel the need to hire such great people if the company just puts them on the bench anyways, but he was just doing his job as CEO. Donaldson’s communication about the actual job position was the first problem facing Kate. Now that Kate is employed there it’s on her own shoulders to reach her goals. She needs to communicate that she is pissed off and needs to be heard, other wise she can leave the company. She doesn’t need to end up like Tom and hate her job, she needs to communicate that her creativity and ideas and what she was hired for. The whole thing sucks for Kate but she’s not in too deep. Kate needs to communicate her frustration and convince the other people that her ideas will work. Otherwise, there’s no reason why she can’t leave the company. Kate will be able to tell her next employer that she had to quit her job for being too ambiguous and I don’t the new employer will find that a bad thing.
After reading this I truly did wonder how anyone got anything done around that place. I agree with some of the other entries I previously read. The communication problem stems from the first initial interview Kate had with Jeff Donaldson. He obviously did not communicate the job description to her clearly. His last phrase, “Without a lot of interference from management” was exactly the opposite. The “black hole” made it extremely difficult for Kate to do any of the things she was promised. It is important for Kate to voice her opinions with Jeff, and if he isn’t willing to collaborate or give her the opportunities she was promised it is probably a smart idea for her to look elsewhere for employment. It seems as if Tom himself has gotten sucked into the black hole. Kate most definitely doesn’t want to end up unfulfilled professionally. Jeff's charisma and experience is undoubtedly deceiving. He should attempt to put his energy into his company and the employees who work for him. If he doesn’t attempt to keep up with the changing times – the future of his company may pass him by.
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I agree that Jeff Donaldson was incredibly misleading in his description of Kate’s position. He should have told her that she would not be in charge of her own decisions and explained that she would have to turn to management for approval. Kate had a lot at stake by taking this job. She had high hopes for advancement and moved across the country to accomplish that. It’s incredibly unfortunate that she was totally misled in what the organization would be like. Jeff should have been honest with her about the position as well as about the progress of her product along the way. I think that another problem in the case of Donaldson Family Foods is the fact that they make sure to be “nice and friendly” around the organization. When Kate tried to speak out at a meeting she was shot down. Employees should be able to challenge ideas in an organization and work to make a change if necessary. As Mike H said, Donaldson Family Foods is obviously stuck in the past. I think that the organization needs to be open to change or should at least not be misleading if they choose not to make changes. Molly P mentioned that Jeff has great enthusiasm for the family business but I think that he needs to channel that enthusiasm in a more positive way and start to make a positive change in the organization.
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