Business Communication Protocol: An Analysis Of A Scenario In A Company

What's Going On?

What Are The Facts?

What Are The Issues (Non-Ethical)?

Who Is Affected?

What Are The Ethical Issues And Their Implications?

What Can Be Done About It?

What Are The Options?

Which Option Is The Best And Why?

1.The scenario in the video shows a programme developer of a company communicating over phone to someone when the project manager enters the scene. The developer Pete ends the conversation and informs the project manager Greg that the call was from the client Willis who called to order certain changes that is required to be made in the software that is being developed by them. The developer listened to the modification order of the client and agreed to make the necessary changes ("Scenario 2: Development Methodology", 2017).

2.The facts that are involved in this scenario are as follows. First, the client Willis wishes to make a few technical changes to the project that is being developed by the company where Pete works as a programme developer. Secondly, the programme developer communicates directly with the client without involving the project manager and takes the decision to convey his decision to the client directly without consulting his manager. The last fact is dependent on the reaction of the project manager Greg when he gets to know that the Accounting developer Pete has conversed directly with the client and taken decisions without taking his suggestion (Guffey & Loewy, 2012).

3.The decision taken by the programme developer Pete to communicate directly with the client without informing or involving the project manager is non-ethical. This is because, in an organisation, business communication follows certain hierarchical model. The task of a project manager is to maintain a communication with the client as well as the developers involved in the concerned project (DesJardins & McCall, 2014). The manager receives task updates of the project from the developers and informs the client on the progress of the project. Similarly, he receives new orders and change requests from the client and informs the developers of the project about it. The manager is responsible to perform as a bridge of communication between the client and the vendor and mitigate the need of both. In this scenario, the action of the programme developer has violated this communication model, which may create certain issues both for him as well as for the company for whom he is working (Terec-Vlad, Trifu & Terec-Vlad, 2015).

What Are The Facts?

4.The action of the programme developer Pete will affect him the most but will also have considerable effect on the project manager as well as their company. Needless to say, such actions may have some effect on the client as well in terms of delivery of the project. The developer will be affected if the project manager feels insulted for not being involved in between the conversation that took place in between the client and the developer. The project manager will be affected if he takes any action against the developer for his doing as that can put stress on the developer, which in turn will affect project quality and delivery (Trevino & Nelson). The project manager will also be affected if he encourages the action of the developer and if anything in the project goes wrong, as he will be answerable to his senior for his decision. The company will be affected as any issues that may arise in completion of the project may lead to termination of contract with the client and loss of reputation of the company, which can seriously hamper the business of the company. Any issues that may arise due to the violation of business communication protocol in the company can affect the quality of the project, which can affect the client’s expectation of the project (Kaynak & Sert, 2012).

5.The programme developer communicates directly with the client and listens to the change requests that are wished by the client. He then considers the requests and informs the client that the changes will be made as per the request of the client. In such situations, the developer needs to inform the project manager about the demands of the client and consult with him about the next plan of action that is necessary to be taken. The manager would then conduct a meeting with the client and create a new requirement analysis agenda that would contain the new change logs placed by the client as well as the necessary resource and time requirements that may be required for the implementation of the desired changes (Martin & Chaney, 2012). Not doing so, the program developer Pete has created certain issues. In such situation, if anything goes wrong in the project, it becomes the principle responsibility of the developer to make things right as the manager would then refuse to take any responsibility since he was not involved from the first. This will hamper the quality and the delivery of the project and can raise ethical issues like deficiency of fund and resources required for the completion of the project due to inadequate planning of the project (Martin & Chaney, 2012).

What Are The Issues (Non-Ethical)?

6.The right thing to do in such situations is for the programme developer Pete to receive the call of the client but to redirect the call to the project manager Greg. In case the manager is not present in the scenario, the developer should inform the client about it and inform the same that he will be contacted shortly by the manager. The manager would later contact the client, listen to his demands, and set a meeting accordingly, where the manager will negotiate new terms of the project contract with the client. In this way, a perfect business communication protocol will be followed and the demands of the client will be successfully met. This will lead to successful completion of the project meeting all the needs of the client without raising any ethical or non-ethical issue for the vendor company (Jensen, 2013).

7.In this scenario, three options are available. First, the project manager Greg can modestly request the programme developer to forward any call related to the client in future. He can then listen to the demands of the client and see how it affects the contract of the project. The project manager may then stop the development of the project, set up a meeting with the client regarding the changes that the client demands and the necessary changes that is required to be made in the terms of the contracts for implementation of the new change requests. In this way, the contract is updated without raising any ethical or non-ethical issues ("Scenario II 1 project manager requests developer to forward such calls to him", 2017).

In the second option, the project manager is infuriated that the junior developer has communicated directly with the client without involving the manager or forwarding the call to the same. He furiously screams at the developer and insults him by calling him an idiot. He also accuses him that his actions may cause problems in the contract. This causes the developer to go into stress leave for an indefinite time, which eventually slows the progress of the project and hampers its development and delivery ("Scenario II 2 project manager screams at junior developer", 2017).

Lastly, the project manager can encourage the action of the developer and say him to keep up the good work. He does not communicate separately with the client or inform the matter with his senior. This may lead to problems later. The client may accuse the vendor company that the software delivered by them has not met their requirements. They may not sanction the extra expenditure that the vendor company has bared for marketing the requested changes to the software as the company has not negotiated a new contract for the requested changes the client has asked for and the budget that may be required for making such changes. This may result in financial loss on the part of the vendor company as well as loss of reputation for failing to deliver the product as per the requirement of the client. This will affect the manager, as he will be responsible for such damage to the company due to his decision of encouraging the action of the developer without informing his seniors ("Scenario II 3 Project manager encourages the action of Developer", 2017).

8.Analysing the three options provided in the video it is decided that the first option is best to follow. This is because the first option follows the regulation of business communication that is required to be followed if a client asks to make modifications to the project in the middle of the session. In the first option the manager pause the development of the project and set up a meeting with the client where the change request of the client is noted and the necessary requirements in terms of budget and resources for making the changes are negotiated with the client. A new contract is made depending on the outcomes of the negotiation and the product is developed accordingly. This reduces the risk of running low on budget due to making the required changes to the product and allows the delivery of a product as per the requirements of the client, which will create a healthy relation between the business and its client (Newman & Ober, 2012).

References

DesJardins, J. R., & McCall, J. J. (2014). Contemporary issues in business ethics. Cengage Learning.

Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2012). Essentials of business communication. Cengage Learning.

Jensen, J. V. (2013). Ethical issues in the communication process. Routledge.

Kaynak, R., & Sert, T. (2012). The impact of service supplier’s unethical behavior to buyer’s satisfaction: An empirical study. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(2), 219-226.

Martin, J. S., & Chaney, L. H. (2012). Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs: A Guide to International Communication and Customs. ABC-CLIO.

Newman, A., & Ober, S. (2012). Business communication: In person, in print, online. Cengage Learning Management.

 Scenario 2: Development Methodology. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0npm9cEJBWY

Scenario II 1 project manager requests developer to forward such calls to him. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_4135226569&feature=iv&src_vid=0npm9cEJBWY&v=4kuUDCfd0Lw

Scenario II 2 project manager screams at junior developer. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1025200307&feature=iv&src_vid=0npm9cEJBWY&v=S0lgCfsVeOM

Scenario II 3 Project manager encourages the action of Developer. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3170017553&feature=iv&src_vid=18FL_l1gg4U&v=TGWD4HNBd80

Terec-Vlad, L., Trifu, A., & Terec-Vlad, D. (2015). The decisional moment and ethics. Ecoforum Journal, 4(1), 11.

Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.