Bccom 275: Communication In The Workplace

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Communication in the Workplace BCOM/275 Communication in the Workplace Miscommunication example 1 Who was the sender? My supervisor Who was the receiver? Me What was the message? “ copy paper for both offices please” What channel was used to send the message? It was written on a post-it. What was the misunderstanding that occurred? I read the message to mean that she wanted me to order photo copy paper for both of the offices, when in reality; the post-it was originally left on a sheet of paper on top of my desk. When I found the post-it, it was on my chair. I figured that when my supervisor was leaving the office on Friday she left it on my chair so I would see first thing Monday and order the paper. So I ordered the paper…show more content…
Me (a customer) Who was the receiver? A customer service representative What was the message? An order of Flu vaccinations. What channel was used to send the message? I was ordering the vaccinations over the phone. What was the misunderstanding that occurred? I ordered 2 boxes of Flu Vaccinations, expecting to receive 2 boxes that contained 12 injections in each box. The delivery arrived and there were 2 injections. They consider each injection to be one box, in order to get the master case of 12 I was supposed to have ordered 2 cases. How could the misunderstanding have been avoided? Two way communication would have been a key component to this situation. From both parties (myself and the customer service rep) there was no attempt to clarify anything. I could have asked her how they are sold, how many come in a box etc and she should have been more thorough in her job. She should be clarifying every customer’s orders to ensure they are receiving exactly what they think they are ordering. It did not even occur to me that the flu vaccinations can be sold individually, it would have been nice of her to just double check to make sure that is what I wanted. I also could have asked for a total on the order and that would have tipped me…show more content…
Everyone is in such a rush to get to the next “thing” (job, lunch, task, customer, patient, etc.) they do not slow down long enough to really take in what is going on in the present. We all lead such busy, hectic lives that we are never really in the moment. While I was ordering those flu shots, I was on the phone ordering them but my mind was on the next task already, possibly my next 2 or 3 tasks. I am always a few tasks ahead of myself in my mind and very often don’t take the time to ask for clarification, or feedback from others to make sure they understand where I am coming from. In the two examples I provided, lack of feedback was definitely a major cause of the misunderstandings. Just a sentence or two in each case from the receiver quantifying the message could have prevented the misunderstandings from occurring. Instead, I was in a hurry to get that easy task off my to-do list and the customer service rep was probably also in a hurry to get on to her next call and her next order. That is the way life seems to be these days in business. Modern technology has made everything and everyone so eager for immediate gratification. Everything needs to get done and get done now. Shoot now and ask questions later is a good saying that comes to mind. Just get it done, get it off your list and hope for the best. By doing business this way, as well as personal life

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