Case Study: Why Didnt We Know

Case Study 7: Why Didnt We know

Michael Cantland
Widener University

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The purpose of this case study analysis was to determine if Galvatrens
management ineffectively implemented communications management processes, to
identify problem areas and to make recommendations to senior management for resolving
the conflicts. After careful analysis, it was determined that there was not a pervasive
culture of malicious unethical intent. Galvatrens, as an organization, has a strong desire
to continue the positive growth they have experienced over the past 10 years and to take
corrective actions that will ensure success for years to come. Four major communication
problem areas were identified followed by a through analysis of each problem. The
analysis concludes with recommended response strategies to address the identified
problems, which will allow the company to begin a new positive direction where the lines
of communications are valued, respected, appropriately responded to in a timely manner.

Galvatrens, writes Hasson (2007)), is a consumer product company facing a

whistle-blowing lawsuit from a former division sales manager who stated his
employment was wrongfully terminated after he reported an illegal Channel Surfing
scheme where allegedly a sales manager unethically obtained sales from clients to meet
quarterly targets and trigger bonuses (pp. 1-5). Although new leadership had taken steps
to modify the company's policies and procedures to report misconduct, the lawsuit
exposed a breakdown in communications management. The four major communications
problems that were identified and analyzed in this case analysis are as follows::
ineffective communication skills, ineffective listening abilities, ineffective development
of an effective project team and breakdown in group norms and organizational policies.

Project Communication Management, according to PMI (2013), includes the

processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation,
distribution and the ultimate disposition of project information (p. 287).
Communication weaknesses, e.g., ineffective communication skills, reside in Galvatrens
as evidenced by comparing employee actions and conversations as outlined by Hasson

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(2007) verses PMIs (2013) common communication skills and the multi-dimensional
capacity that affects an organization. Four communication skills were found to be
especially problematic for the organization. Hasson (2007) reveals that senior leaders did
not listen actively and effectively (PMI, 2013, p. 288) when they failed to act upon
sound advice from experts and Greg Wilson admittedly failed listening (Engleberg &
Wynn, 2013, p. 151) to company policy when he offered the scheme at the heart of
Galvatrens current dilemma. Seeking better understanding with effective questioning
(PMI, 2013, p. 288) would have been benefited the organization but Harry Mart, Chief
Operating Officer (COO), chose not to personally address Mikes urgent message thereby
exacerbating the problem. Failing to establish and maintain expectation (PMI, 2013, p.
288) was evident when Mike reported his concern to Harry expecting confidentiality
concerning possible misconduct. Lastly, Galvatrens displayed ineffective communication
skills when it failed in fact-finding to obtain or confirm information (PMI, 2013, p. 288)
as noted by Terry Samples (Senior Vice President of Sales) lack of participation in the
investigation.

Listening (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013) is the ability to understand, analyze,

respect, and appropriately respond to the meaning of another persons spoken and
nonverbal messages (p. 151). Hasson (2007) brings to light several problems within
Galvatrens regarding ineffective listening. To be a better leader an individual must
overcome ineffective listening skills through hard work, practice, and periodic selfanalysis. The key is realizing that listening is as important as the other communication
skills (Rynders, 1999) and Engleberg and Wynn (2013) argue, Listening is our numberone communication activity (p. 151). The companys problems started with the previous
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Walter Nikels. When the board tried to introduce new
strategies Walters using his authoritarian, hierarchical fashion shut them down (Hasson,
2007, p. 2). When Chip Brownlee, whom replaced Walter, tried to bring fresh ideas to the
company some of the ideas were implemented and some were not because there were still
some Nikels stalwarts in the organization who were use to the old way. The old way
involved delegating problems instead of trying to listen and resolve them. Employees

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were not telling management of a problem and just hoped it would go away or
management would use a persons performance to get rid of them to resolve the problem.
In addition, when informed of an issue, senior management did not inform the CEO about
the problems that had surfaced. Galvatrens demonstrated ineffective listening by not
appropriately responding to organizational problems.

Identifying the root cause of all subsequent issues derives from each individuals
lack of participation in what is considered to be high or exceptional moral conduct.
Moreover, individuals did not use structures such as the 24-hour hotline and the ethics
officer. These systems were upgraded procedures for uncovering misconduct and solving
conflicts in the workplace. In addition, key individuals executed and attempted to apply
their personal fixes while withholding information about a substantial issue of
inappropriate conduct. The complexity of one employees performance compiled with
exceptional moral conduct convoluted the decision making of key managers. Project
sponsors and/or program managers most often discover, identify and communicate
conflicts between the goals of a project and the strategic vision of an organization to the
project manager (PMI, 2013, p. 15). There is value within the systems put in place to
handle organizational misconduct at Galvatrens, however they were not used. Most of a
project manager's time is spent communicating with external stakeholders, members of
the project team, suppliers, or stakeholders within the organization (PMI, 2013, p. 287).
The organization and project teams were ineffective as evidenced by only one person
communicating the potential misconduct and the subsequent actions by management.

The former CEO was an autocratic leader that made many of the decisions for the
company through mechanistic design that has machine like rules, procedures, and a clear
hierarchy of authority. Daft (2013) writes, vertical linkages are used to coordinate
activities between the top and bottom of an organization and are designed for control of
the organization (p. 99). A new CEO was hired because all mature organizations must go
through periods of revitalization or they will decline (p. 360). The new CEO

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recommended new proposals made by an outside consultant. However, he faced strong
opposition on a number of items. Hasson (2007) details the breakdown of norms and
adherence organizational policies that encourage employee integrity. The CEO allowed
himself to be influenced by senior managment resulting in not hiring of an Ombudsman,
not establishing a director responsible for ethics oversight and not conducting the training
necessary for the new open-door policy (p. 3). The CEOs inability to balance the
leadership-followership dialectic within the management group diminished organizational
policies and group norms. Effective leadership requires competent and responsible
followers who are willing to assume specific leadership functions to achieve an optimum
balance (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, p. 17).

In order to address Galvatrens four major communications problems, the

following recommendations will allow senior management to effectively respond. The
organizations communications skills can be improved by first accepting the challenge to
develop and implement the informal and anonymous system for reporting any concerns in
a confidential and retaliation-free zone and secondly, by instituting a training program
specifically structured for their leadership, which focuses on communication skills and
human resource management. Galvatrens listening abilities can be improved by creating
a culture that values openness, honesty, dialogue, collaborative negotiation and conflict
resolution (Bennis, Cloak, & Goldsmith, 2011, p. 5) and by holding employees
accountable for appropriately responding to policies and norms. Development of an
effective project team should be a precedence of desired moral conduct and the
inculcation of such measures. The delivery method of these tools should be through the
methods of required short eLearning. In order to address the breakdown in norms and
policies, the CEO delegated the responsibilities to determine how the organization could
ensure this type of unethical behavior does not happen again. According to Engleberg
and Wynn (2013), a group cannot function well if a member focuses entirely on his/her
goal rather than the common goal (p. 15). The leader must show his strong leadership
skills by forming a special ethics committee, focus groups involving employees, and
facilitating information sessions. Finally, the CEO should use his coercive power to

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inform the management team of his expectations and warn about the penalties for failure.
Leaders using coercive power must consistently carry out threatened punishments
(Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, p. 106).

References
Engleberg, I. N., & Wynn, D. R. (2013). Working in groups: Communication principles
and strategies (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Hasson, R. (2007). Why didnt we know? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/R0704A-PDF-ENG