COMMUNICATION IN

ORGANISATIONS
CASE STUDY:HEADING OFF A PERMANENT
MISUNDERSTANDING
 COMPANY PROFILE
COMPANY NAME: Alton Products
IMMEDIATE BOSS: William Attridge
MANAGERS: Mindy Martin and Al Sharp
PROBLEM: Appointment of new Midwest Marketing Director
MIDWEST MARKETING DIRECTOR: William Murdoch
 Case Facts
Mindy Martin was working for Alton Products
Some how she assumed that the existing manager Al Sharp bore a
grudge against her due to her high qualification and ambitious
attitude.
Her mind set was to get along with everyone and so she took Al
Sharp for lunch and praised his work and also kept a track on his
little ones league fest.
Her work was praised by every senior authority and so she
believed that she would be promoted and will move to Topeka.
CASE HIGHLIGHTS
Mindy Martin and Al Sharp were no longer in talking terms
Mindy assumed that he bore a grudge against him for her
high qualification and ambitious attitude.
Mindys dream of becoming a manager got shattered
because Al Sharp recommended Walt Murdochs name for
promotion over her.
She felt that William being chosen was an insult to her. Thus
she decided to minimise her conversation with Al Sharp as
much as possible.
When situation started taking an ugly face, William Attridge,
their immediate boss came to their rescue and tried to settle
the situation.
 Answer 1
Sometimes in life we assume things without knowing the entire
situation and start imagining things accordingly. Same thing
happened with Mindy Martin. Without knowing the whole scenario
she made a lot of assumptions against Al Sharp that she shouldnt
have. Rather than making so many presumptions she should have
had one to one conversation with Al Sharp as they were good
friends.
Had William Attridge not intervened , the situation would have gone
worse and the misunderstandings would have grown further.
William got them together and explained Al Sharps point of view
which otherwise would have remained a mystery to Mindy and this
sorted the whole situation.
Answer 2
Misunderstandings are very common in a workplace. It is
usual to have misconceptions among the employees and
managers in the organisation.
Similar thing happened with Mindy Martin and Al Sharp. They
lacked communication connectivity and thus made situation
complicated for themselves.
It was very important to clear things out by having a clear
conversation. This would enable smooth working and build a
healthy professional relationship.
LEARNING
Communication helps in improving overall work place culture
and brings a positive vibe amongst the employees.

Risks of presumptions are minimised by talking things out.

Communication improves morale and reduces tension and

conflict.

Effective communication reduces messy office politics.