OBAT WORK216 Part 3Interacting Effectively
CASE INCIDENT
Emailing “Lazy” Employees
Imagine receiving the following email from your CEO:
We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large
number of our EMPLOYEES. The parking lot is sparsely
used at 8 a.m.; likewise at 5 p.m. As managers, you
either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing
or you do not CARE. In either case, you have a problem
and you will fix it or I will replace you.:-{{
NEVER in my career have I allowed a team which
worked for me to think they had a 40-hour job. I have
allowed YOU to create a culture which is permitting
this. NO LONGER.::--||
The note (paraphrased) continues: “Hell will freeze over
before any more employee benefits are given out. I will be
watching the parking lot and expect it to be substantially
full at 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and half full on
Saturdays. You have two weeks. Tick, tock.:(”Questions
1. What impact would this message have on you if you
received it?- Is email the best way to convey such a message?
- What problems might arise if people outside the
organization saw this email? - What suggestions, if any, would you make to the
CEO to help improve communication effectiveness? - What conflict-handling style is this CEO using? What
might be a more effective style? Why?
Sources:Based on E. Wong, “Stinging Office E-Mail Lights
‘Firestorm,’” Globe and Mail,April 9, 2001, p. M1; P. D. Broughton,
“Boss’s Angry Email Sends Shares Plunging,” Daily Telegraph of
London, April 6, 2001; D. Stafford, “Shattering the Illusion of
Respect,” Kansas City Star,March 29, 2001, p. C1.We can probably agree that bald-faced lies during nego-
tiation are wrong. At least most ethicists would probably
agree. The universal dilemma surrounds the little lies—the
omissions, evasions, and concealments that are often nec-
essary to best an opponent.
During negotiations, when is a lie a lie? Is exaggerating
benefits, downplaying negatives, ignoring flaws, or saying
“I don’t know” when in reality you do considered lying? Is
declaring that “this is my final offer and nonnegotiable”
(even when you are posturing) a lie? Is pretending to bend
over backward to make meaningful concessions lying?
Rather than being unethical practices, the use of these“lies” is considered by many as indicators that a negotiator
is strong, smart, and savvy.
When are evasiveness and deception out of bounds? Is
it naive to be completely honest and bare your soul during
negotiations? Or are the rules of negotiations unique: Is
any tactic that will improve your chance of winning
acceptable?Sources:Based on M. E. Schweitzer, “Deception in Negotiations,” in
Wharton on Making Decisions, ed. S. J. Hoch and H. C. Kunreuther
(New York: Wiley, 2001), pp. 187–200; and M. Diener, “Fair Enough,”
Entrepreneur,January 2002, pp. 100–102.:-{{ = very angry :-| = dissappointed : ( = frowingCBC VIDEO CASEINCIDENT
Buggy Wars
Two friends and neighbours arrange to go into business
together and then become bitter rivals: This is the story of
Bob Bell and Michael Sharpe, who once lived just four
houses apart on Oxford Street in Guelph, Ontario.Bell and Sharpe thought they had a good idea for a new
business venture—a bicycle trailer—but the good idea turned
into a long, sizzling struggle.