A Case of Misunderstood Message
Indane Biscuits is located in an industrial area. The biscuit factory employs labor on a daily basis. The management does not follow statutory regulations and are able to get away with violations by keeping the concerned inspectors in good books.
The factory has a designated room to which employees are periodically called either to hire or to fire. On the National Safety Day, the Industries Association, of which Indane Biscuits is a member, decided to celebrate collectively at a central place. Each of the members was given a specific task. The Personnel Manager, lindane Biscuits, desired to consult his supervisors and to inform everybody through them about the safety day celebrations. He sent a memo requesting them to be present in the room meant for hiring and firing. As soon as the supervisors read the memo, they all got panicky thinking that now it was their turn to get fired. They started having ‘hush-hush’ consultations.
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
2Indane Biscuits is located in an industrial area. The biscuit factory employs labor on a daily basis. The management does not follow statutory regulations and are able to get away with violations by keeping the concerned inspectors in good books.
The factory has a designated room to which employees are periodically called either to hire or to fire. On the National Safety Day, the Industries Association, of which Indane Biscuits is a member, decided to celebrate collectively at a central place. Each of the members was given a specific task. The Personnel Manager, lindane Biscuits, desired to consult his supervisors and to inform everybody through them about the safety day celebrations. He sent a memo requesting them to be present in the room meant for hiring and firing. As soon as the supervisors read the memo, they all got panicky thinking that now it was their turn to get fired. They started having ‘hush-hush’ consultations.
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
HR has an important role in any Industry. Before releasing such circulars one should be cautious as otherwise he will be put in a irksome position. D.SUBBA RAO
From India, Visakhapatnam
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
From India, Visakhapatnam
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
I totally agree with Mr. Rao's succinct and simple yet incredibly wise comment.
Adding to those comments, another reason for the bulk of 'miscommunication' is that the vast majority of those entrusted with issuing such messages are incompetent at identifying the core message that needs to be communicated.
Instead, they waffle about peripheral and irrelevant 'stuff' in a language that would send even a Supreme Court lawyer or a Booker Prize winner off the edge.
So, while they end up with a full A4 sheet in size 10 font, most will almost entirely miss the core message that was meant to have been communicated. And, in those rare instances where the core message is included, it is almost always buried between piles of irrelevant gibberish and isn't glaringly obvious and noticeable!
And, in situations where their incompetence is pointed out to them, instead of learning from it, they usually become defensive and shift the onus of 'understanding the message' onto the reader.
It's not without reason that gurus and the wise ones (since time immemorial) have repeatedly and continually emphasized that 'Effective Communication' is the key to successful leadership, conflict resolution, management, and so on and so forth...
So, the lesson is that if we want to communicate our message effectively, then we MUST ensure that we do EXACTLY that. Otherwise, people will draw their own conclusions - especially where there is a historical pattern of unclear communication.
In my experience, a 'misunderstood' message is ALWAYS a 'mis-constructed' message that either doesn't explain the core message or leaves sufficient space for ambiguity and dual interpretation.
Thank you very much for sharing ...
Kind regards
From India, Gurgaon
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Adding to those comments, another reason for the bulk of 'miscommunication' is that the vast majority of those entrusted with issuing such messages are incompetent at identifying the core message that needs to be communicated.
Instead, they waffle about peripheral and irrelevant 'stuff' in a language that would send even a Supreme Court lawyer or a Booker Prize winner off the edge.
So, while they end up with a full A4 sheet in size 10 font, most will almost entirely miss the core message that was meant to have been communicated. And, in those rare instances where the core message is included, it is almost always buried between piles of irrelevant gibberish and isn't glaringly obvious and noticeable!
And, in situations where their incompetence is pointed out to them, instead of learning from it, they usually become defensive and shift the onus of 'understanding the message' onto the reader.
It's not without reason that gurus and the wise ones (since time immemorial) have repeatedly and continually emphasized that 'Effective Communication' is the key to successful leadership, conflict resolution, management, and so on and so forth...
So, the lesson is that if we want to communicate our message effectively, then we MUST ensure that we do EXACTLY that. Otherwise, people will draw their own conclusions - especially where there is a historical pattern of unclear communication.
In my experience, a 'misunderstood' message is ALWAYS a 'mis-constructed' message that either doesn't explain the core message or leaves sufficient space for ambiguity and dual interpretation.
Thank you very much for sharing ...
Kind regards
From India, Gurgaon
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Unnecessary panic. Is it a decimation room? No such rooms are in any factory or offices. Part of miscommunication among workmen. Pon
From India, Lucknow
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
From India, Lucknow
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hello Khushi,
If the manager had written that the agenda would be "Safety Celebration," such a situation would not have been created. Your communication (posting) on this 'communication howler' itself is not complete! As pointed out by Mr. M.R.S. Sastry, please post the text beyond worke.
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai
From India
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
If the manager had written that the agenda would be "Safety Celebration," such a situation would not have been created. Your communication (posting) on this 'communication howler' itself is not complete! As pointed out by Mr. M.R.S. Sastry, please post the text beyond worke.
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai
From India
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Dear Pon,
You would be surprised to know that some of the industry practices in Indian family-run small "companies" are stranger than fiction! The "decimation room," as nicely put by you, does exist in certain companies and industries. Sad, but a reality nonetheless!
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
You would be surprised to know that some of the industry practices in Indian family-run small "companies" are stranger than fiction! The "decimation room," as nicely put by you, does exist in certain companies and industries. Sad, but a reality nonetheless!
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Dear Pon,
The basic purpose of communication is to convey in clear terms the requirements of the one making the communication. The Personnel Manager miserably failed to appreciate this. If he had conveyed to the concerned supervisors to meet in connection with the Safety Day celebration, such a situation would not have arisen. Not only this, the officer concerned seems to be ignorant of the psyche of people working in the organization.
In such a situation, God Save the King.
Regards,
S.K. Johri
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
The basic purpose of communication is to convey in clear terms the requirements of the one making the communication. The Personnel Manager miserably failed to appreciate this. If he had conveyed to the concerned supervisors to meet in connection with the Safety Day celebration, such a situation would not have arisen. Not only this, the officer concerned seems to be ignorant of the psyche of people working in the organization.
In such a situation, God Save the King.
Regards,
S.K. Johri
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Dear Pon,
An interesting but TRUE case:
The GM-HR, a product of the top premier management institute, sick of this family management style, went to the MD's room with the resignation letter. The MD, after reading the letter, locks the room and starts beating him and threatens him with more physical harm if he runs away.
What do you say about it?
Ramamurthi
From India, Hyderabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
An interesting but TRUE case:
The GM-HR, a product of the top premier management institute, sick of this family management style, went to the MD's room with the resignation letter. The MD, after reading the letter, locks the room and starts beating him and threatens him with more physical harm if he runs away.
What do you say about it?
Ramamurthi
From India, Hyderabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)Looking for something specific? - Join & Be Part Of Our Community and get connected with the right people who can help. Our AI-powered platform provides real-time fact-checking, peer-reviewed insights, and a vast historical knowledge base to support your search.