Uh-oh,” thought Ken Schaefer. “Here comes that blowhard from personnel, Samson. If he corners me I’ll lose half an hour.” “Hi, Ken. Mind if I join you?” said Samson as he pulled up a chair. Ken barely acknowledged Samson’s presence and went on eating his lunch and reading the company newspaper. “I’m glad I caught you, Ken. I was going to drop by your office today, but we can take care of matters now. I’m worried about that opening you’ve got. It’s a job that has been vacant about thirty days and...” Ken cut Samson off with a wave of his hand. “Look, I’m really thinking about a lot of problems now, and I have a meeting in about an hour. We can talk shop in your office or mine. Just let me get through the paper and mull over a few things now, will you?” “Well, it’s important that we discuss the opening because I think we have a lead on a good prospect. Seems she works for our competition and has been unhappy with her situation. Word has it that, for about $500 more than we paid he predecessor, she might jump on board. Now, I was hoping to bring her in on Friday morning. That will give us about two days to get things set up. Is that OK—I mean can you make time to interview her on Friday sometime?” “What’s that, Sam?” asked Ken. “Sorry, I was involved with this story on last night’s game.” Ken kept reading. “I want to bring the new prospect in on Friday. Is Friday good for you?” “Sure, Friday will be fine. I’ll call you, and we can discuss the opening. Gosh, look at the time! I’ve got to go. I need a few minutes to get ready for my meeting.” As Ken gathered his things together and stood up to leave, Samson rose with him. “Now she might not be able to come in on Friday, but I won’t know for certain until tomorrow,” said Samson. On his way back to his office, Ken began to collect his thoughts. “That Samson really ticks me off. He’s like a bad penny—keeps popping up. Try to enjoy your lunch and that jerk shows up. Ever since we had that run-in over Suzie’s dismissal, I’ve hated his guts. . . .What was it he was rambling on about? Something about Friday. Oh, well, knowing Samson, he’ll check with me before then. If not, I’ll drop by his office and see what’s bothering him.” Questions 1. Which of the barriers to effective listening apply to Ken? Which apply to Samson?
Uh-oh,” thought Ken Schaefer. “Here comes that blowhard from personnel,
Samson. If he corners me I’ll lose half an hour.”
“Hi, Ken. Mind if I join you?” said Samson as he pulled up a chair.
Ken barely acknowledged Samson’s presence and went on eating his
lunch and reading the company newspaper.
“I’m glad I caught you, Ken. I was going to drop by your office today, but
we can take care of matters now. I’m worried about that opening you’ve got. It’s
a job that has been vacant about thirty days and...”
Ken cut Samson off with a wave of his hand. “Look, I’m really thinking
about a lot of problems now, and I have a meeting in about an hour. We can talk
shop in your office or mine. Just let me get through the paper and mull over a
few things now, will you?”
“Well, it’s important that we discuss the opening because I think we have a
lead on a good prospect. Seems she works for our competition and has been
unhappy with her situation. Word has it that, for about $500 more than we paid
he predecessor, she might jump on board. Now, I was hoping to bring her in on
Friday morning. That will give us about two days to get things set up. Is that
OK—I mean can you make time to interview her on Friday sometime?”
“What’s that, Sam?” asked Ken. “Sorry, I was involved with this story on
last night’s game.” Ken kept reading.
“I want to bring the new prospect in on Friday. Is Friday good for you?”
“Sure, Friday will be fine. I’ll call you, and we can discuss the opening.
Gosh, look at the time! I’ve got to go. I need a few minutes to get ready for my
meeting.”
As Ken gathered his things together and stood up to leave, Samson rose
with him.
“Now she might not be able to come in on Friday, but I won’t know for
certain until tomorrow,” said Samson.
On his way back to his office, Ken began to collect his thoughts. “That
Samson really ticks me off. He’s like a bad penny—keeps popping up. Try to
enjoy your lunch and that jerk shows up. Ever since we had that run-in over
Suzie’s dismissal, I’ve hated his guts. . . .What was it he was rambling on about?
Something about Friday. Oh, well, knowing Samson, he’ll check with me before
then. If not, I’ll drop by his office and see what’s bothering him.”
Questions
1. Which of the barriers to effective listening apply to Ken? Which apply to Samson?
Step by step
Solved in 4 steps
How is the grapevine illustrated in this case?
What communication barriers apply to this case?