Communication: Managements Responsibility

I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to the Floor television series, which aired on the BBC (United Kingdom) and PBS (United States). Once more, communication turned out to be a key issue, as it often does in business stories.

If you're not familiar with the series, it features real-life CEOs who leave their comfortable offices (well sort of comfortable, these days) and go work on the front lines of their organizations for a week. Cameras follow the CEOs and record their interactions with staff, and their responses to those interactions.

In this episode, the managing director of London's Heathrow Airport took the plunge and worked in customer service for five days. That meant facing customers and dealing with their problems, including problems created by the airport.

Once more, we saw a CEO suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, so to speak. This CEO was rebuked by employees on the front lines, as well as customers. Employees tried to convey to him the difficulties they experience because no one at head office listens to them.

And, that's a fairly constant refrain in all episodes, as one CEO after another finds out he or she doesn't know much about what happens when the organization comes face-to-face with real customers and their needs.

As most of us know, this is no anomaly. In many organizations, employees feel management doesn't know what's going on in the real world, and perhaps what's worse, feel that management doesn't care.

In some senses, this perception reflects a divide in the abstract-concrete spectrum. Workers deal in very concrete situations and matters; management deals in abstractions. That's both logical and appropriate, even if it does keep each side from understanding the other.

Management simply can't function effectively if it gets bogged down in details or specifics. Nor can it make important decisions if it stops to consider how each decision will affect individual persons in the organization.

Still, there's much management can do to bridge the divide. And the first step in that process is for management to accept responsibility for better communication. Unless management takes the initiative, there's no way for communication up and down the hierarchy to take place.

After all, employees can -- and often do -- express their ideas and emotions. But nothing can happen unless someone in management allows it to happen.

For example, in the Heathrow program, the managing director spots some trash in an out-of-the-way spot and calls in a cleanup crew. The customer service manager, who supervised the managing director for the week, chastised him for incurring an expense that wasn't in the budget (an appropriate response because the customer service manager would be chastised by his immediate superior if he had done that). The CEO responded by making an important policy change on the spot, yet what he really needed was a mechanism to get and give information about such problems, and a policy about when exceptions could be made.

By creating a mechanism that allowed workers at the front lines to communicate about that kind of problem (trash), he would get both results and greater employee loyalty.

About The Author

Robert F. Abbott offers unique and useful business communication ideas in the complimentary online ezine, Abbott's Communication Letter http://www.abbottletter.com; abbottr@managersguide.com

FederalNewsRadio.com

Oracle to pay $1.9B for Taleo, extends SAP rivalry FederalNewsRadio.com Oracle is paying $1.9 billion for Taleo Corp., a company that helps businesses manage their employees. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) By ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Oracle Corp. is escalating its rivalry with German ... Oracle to pay $1.9 billion for personnel software company, extends rivalry ...Washington Post Oracle buying Taleo for $1.9 billion, cloud war brewsReuters Oracle Buys Taleo for $1.9 Billion, Adds Human-Resource ToolSan Francisco Chronicle all 482 news articles »

PetroFrontier announces change in management Sacramento Bee 10, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ - (TSX-V: PFC) - PetroFrontier Corp.("PetroFrontier") announced today that Peter Philipchuk, Vice President, Exploration, has resigned from PetroFrontier. PetroFrontier thanks Mr. Philipchuk for his service and wishes him well ... and more »

WTOP

Oracle to pay $1.9B for Taleo, extends SAP rivalry WTOP Oracle is paying $1.9 billion for Taleo Corp., a company that helps businesses manage their employees. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) By ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Oracle Corp. is escalating its rivalry with German ... Oracle's $1.9bn Deal to Buy TaleoZacks.com Oracle to pay $1.9 billion for Taleo, extends SAP rivalryUSA TODAY Taleo Corp Shares Downgraded to "Neutral" by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analysts (TLEO)Web Inquirer all 105 news articles »

TEXT-S&P revises Apollo Investment Corp outlook to stable Reuters (The following statement was released by the rating agency) -- Apollo Investment Corp. (AIC) has announced changes in management, a reduction in its dividend, and adjustments to its investment strategy. -- In our view, changes to the firm's investment ... Apollo Investments Considers Capital Raise; Unveils Management ShiftsWall Street Journal Company News for February 9, 2012Zacks.com Apollo Investment's CEO Discusses Q3 2012 Results - Earnings Call TranscriptSeeking Alpha Economic Times -Tech24 all 30 news articles »

Integrated Asset Management Corp. Announces Results for the First Quarter of ... MarketWatch (press release) TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb 09, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Integrated Asset Management Corp. ("IAM") /quotes/zigman/18979 CA:IAM -10.00% today announced unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. Review of the 3-Month Period ... and more »

Eaton Vance Closed-end Diversified Equity Income Funds Declare Quarterly ... Sacramento Bee The Funds are managed by Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV), based in Boston, one of the oldest investment management firms in the United States, with a history dating back to 1924. Eaton Vance and its affiliates ... and more »

State: Revised map led to levee updates Peoria Journal Star He did say, however, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers became more serious about the country's levee system after the hurricane disaster. Osman said the Corps did an Illinois River study in 2002 and 2003, ... and more »

Contract talks continue at Marathon, Tesoro refineries Reuters Workers at the Marathon Petroleum Corp in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and the Tesoro Corp Mandan, North Dakota, refinery have rejected management proposals on local issues, said USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock. "They're not preparing for a strike," Hancock ... and more »

Cabot Corporation - Growth & Income NASDAQ Cabot Corporation ( CBT ) recently delivered its 5th consecutive positive earnings surprise as earnings per share grew 15% year-over-year. And management provided a positive outlook for 2012, prompting analysts to revise their estimates higher. and more »

San Francisco Art Institute Under Investigation For Recruitment Practices Huffington Post ... recruiting practices and job placement reporting at The Art Institute of California in San Francisco and seven other Art Institute campuses across the state, according to a new filing by the for-profit college owner, Education Management Corp. and more »