Page 110 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Decision making 99

At Dinner Ltd dissatisfaction prevails about the completion of the
personnel day. There is often criticism about the programme, the decision
taking does not run smoothly, some employees feel unappreciated and
dumbfounded. What can be done?

Phase 1: Describe the current situation
The vaguely felt dissatisfaction with the situation must be made clearer. What is wrong
exactly? What causes the dissatisfaction? Can facts be named which make the
dissatisfaction concrete, or events that clarify the situation?

At the next committee meeting of the staff association Bert Berman
verbalizes his dissatisfaction about the situation. Do the others also hear
such regular negative noises about the personnel day? From whom do
these come? Are the others satisfied with the way in which the decision
about the completion is taken? What is the reason that so few people are
enthusiastic about the personnel day?

Phase 2: Describe the desired situation
When it is clear what is wrong about the present situation, it is possible to describe how
the ideal or desirable situation should be. By describing the discrepancy between the
problem situation and the desired situation, the problem can be formulated. The
description of the desired situation includes an aim that can be striven for. The question is
about what obstructions prevent reaching this goal:

During the committee meeting it becomes clear that there are relatively
few employees who participate with pleasure in the yearly personnel day.
In an ideal situation most of the people should look back upon such a day
with pleasure. People should get to know one another in a different way
than during the normal working hours. Such a personnel day should be an
instrument towards furthering unity. Why doesn’t it work like this?

Phase 3: Formulate problems and obstructions
When it has become clear what is lacking in the present situation and how the desired
situation should be, it is possible to formulate the problem in clear wording. The removal
of obstructions usually forms the key to the solution of the problem. At the same time, it
is important during this phase to see the consequences of the undesirable situation. The
severity of the problem can be deduced from the answer. A comparison can be made
between the costs of the effort required to remove the obstructions and the profits that
arise from the disappearance of the negative consequences:

Bert Berman formulates the problem of the personnel day at the end of
phase 3 as follows: The personnel day does not achieve its aim of
‘promoting unity amongst employees’. The result is the forming of