Chapter 7, Problem 11CT

Summary Introduction

To Determine:

The motivation of people remains quiet and struggle with providing bad news needs to be discussed.

Introduction:

As per the given data, it has been explained that an important ethical guideline while dealing with bad news is to never shock the recipient. One should never report bad news as a surprise and the failure to report bad news such as losing a major client or poor sale to the top management is a cardinal sin.

Answer to Problem 11CT

The various motivational factors for employees to share the bad news with the management are:

• Getting regular feedback.
• Periodical performance review.
• Appreciate hard work.
• Personal meetings with employees.

Explanation of Solution

In every organization, there are low performers who lack motivation to share bad performance to their superiors for the fear of negative impact and job safety. It is also essential that any bad news should not be informed as a surprise since it might leave the recipient in a state of great shock. Employees prefer not to convey bad news as they generally have a fear of getting their image ruined. Hence, there is a need that managers must motivate every employee to share their performance and communicate their issues immediately to the top management in order to solve them as quickly as possible before it turns adverse. The employees can be motivated in various ways to share their issues:

The managers can get a feedback on a regular basis from employees so that they can identify who is lacking in performance and what they can do to increase performance.

The managers must request for periodical performance reports from their subordinates and review it to prevent any issues that may prevail later.

The managers must appreciate and recognize the hard work of the employees so that they get motivated to share all their issues with the superiors.

Managers must have meetings with his/her team and share his/her own experiences of how he/she dealt with bad news. This will motivate the employees to share any bad news immediately to their boss.