Week 1 Project

Communication Strategies - Case Analysis

Mark Wrublewski

BUS3041 Managerial Communications SU02

1/21/2020

Superior food case study

The position of manager implies a great responsibility. This is not only a big salary, position and a separate office. It is also the responsibility for each of its employees - for their successes and failures, for their enthusiasm and rejection, for their burning eyes or the decision to leave you. After all, as has been said many times, they leave not from the company, but from the head. Therefore, avoiding the "unpleasant" talk of dismissal is cowardice and unwillingness to take responsibility for the decision made. These are strong negative emotions, sometimes aggression and tears. But this is the price that every leader is forced to pay.

The Case: Superior Foods Corporation Faces a Challenge

Superior foods is a big company with a large number of employees who engage in packaging and packing process sausages and meat ready for shipment with wearing gloves and uniform. It supplies food items to thousands of stores around the world. Jason’s company located in Kansas with more than 30,000 employees in 8 different countries. They have their processing units in Kansas, Arkansas, California ,Nebraska and Milwaukee. Japan signed an agree in 1988 to get “variety meats” including kidneys, brain, tongue, heart etc. but in 2011, the disease called mad cow outbreak in USA and effected the plant. There was a global reaction that badly effected the sales of Superior foods. But now Superior foods need to limit their production for some time (at least 3 months) till ban lifts and it will result 25% workers layoff. Now Manager need to communicate this bad news to employees

When announcing bad news, special attention should be paid to the following points:

It is important that the manager concerned learns the bad news directly from their supervisor, before a leak occurs. If the company has a human resources division, it is recommended to use it. Its members have a greater distance from collaborators and are specially trained to deal with these particular events.Take the time to properly prepare for the interview (if necessary, with a human resource representative): reasons, arguments, exact content of the bad news, appropriate place and date, etc.

Bad news is, and remains, bad news, regardless of how it is announced. Superiors should avoid wrapping it up and getting lost in endless introductions. After a brief introduction, the announcement must be made quickly. (Danzi, Perlini, Tedeschi, Nardelli, Greco, Scilingo, 2018). “The day before yesterday, during our general meeting, you were informed of the restructuring under way, and of the redundancies which we must carry out. Unfortunately, you are one of the people concerned ... ”

The Superior manager or president must ensure that the news has been received and understood. In fact, it often happens that employees do not want to hear bad news and repress what they have heard. The person concerned generally reacts strongly emotionally: aggressive behavior, rage, accusations, tears or nervous breakdown are normal reactions. The superiors must let them pass (by remaining silent for a moment for example) and show understanding, even if they themselves find it difficult to manage their emotions. In these moments, embellishing the bad news is not a good tactic. Moreover, when, on this kind of occasion, we talk about "seeing the positive side of the crisis", it passes for cynicism. “Leadership communication never exists in a vacuum”( Barrett, 2014).

The person concerned must be given time to digest the information. Allow enough time for maintenance. In addition, you should not be disturbed: no phone calls, unwanted intrusions into your office. The ideal is to end the meeting with a perspective on the future, a “what will happen next?” At this point in the interview, a human resources representative can take over and discharge the superior (by informing by example on internal and external services, employment agencies, approaches to the unemployment fund, etc.).

Supervisors often feel overwhelmed when they assume the psychological support of the employee concerned. They should not play this role but seek advice from a specialist in the human resources division or, if it does not exist, from an external person. (Stephanie Watts Sussman, & Lee Sproull,1999). When a superior must announce bad news, such as a dismissal, it is legitimate for the collaborator to project his rage or his disappointment on the one who transmits it to him. It is therefore not desirable that the announcer should also comfort the person (role of the savior), because that induces a confusion of the roles prejudicial as well to the one as to the other. This obviously does not mean that the two must no longer deal with each other until the termination of the employment relationship. We are simply arguing for a clear division of roles. In this case the best strategy is to write a memo addressing bad news.

Dear employees from Superior Foods Corporation:

As we all know mad cow disease is common and effecting lots of cows. It is not easy to tell this bad news. After critical analysis , we have reach to a decision to protect our company and above all our employees. It seems that due to ban on production and export ,we have to limit our productions at least for next 3 months or may be till the ban finishes. In this bad tie we have to shut down production unit and it will cause the lay off of our 25% workers. I know it is not easy ,and I am hoping and trying to find out ways that all ,will be done in better ways. If you have any questions , I am here to answer all your concerns.

Sincerely

President Superior foods.

References

Barrett, D. (2014). Leadership communication. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Danzi, O. P., Perlini, C., Tedeschi, F., Nardelli, M., Greco, A., Scilingo, E. P., … Del Piccolo, L.

(2018). Affective communication during bad news consultation. Effect on analogue patients’ heart rate variability and recall. Patient Education and Counseling, 101(11), 1892–1899. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.06.009

Galante Pereira, A. T., Louro Fortes, I. F., & Galhanas Mendes, J. M. (2013). Communication of

Bad News: Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Nursing UFPE / Revista de Enfermagem UFPE, 7(1), 227–235. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.5205/reuol.3049-24704-1-LE.0701201331

Stephanie Watts Sussman, & Lee Sproull. (1999). Straight Talk: Delivering Bad News through

Electronic Communication. Information Systems Research, 10(2), 150. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.su.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.23011450&site=eds-live