Jennifer supervised 50 employees in 5 departments. She sent a memo to her team in order to be efficient and cut costs of unnecessary overtime. The message was the following: “When workloads increase to a level requiring hours in excess of an employee’s regular duty assignment, and when such work is estimated to require a full shift of eight hours or more on two or more consecutive days, even though unscheduled days intervene, an employee’s tour of duty shall be altered so as to include the hours when such work must be done, unless an adverse impact would result from such employee’s absence from his previously scheduled assignment”. After the 50 copies were sent out, Jennifer’s office received 40 phone calls asking what the memo meant. The 10 employees left did not call but their thoughts about the memo is uncertain. It took two weeks to clarify the new policy. What is the main problem that the supervisor is trying to solve? What is the purpose of the message: to inform, persuade, regulate or collaborate? Mention the communication errors in the message. Explain the costs or losses provoked by these communication problems. Formulate a new effective message.

Practical Management Science
6th Edition
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling
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Jennifer supervised 50 employees in 5 departments. She sent a memo to her team in order to be efficient and cut costs of unnecessary overtime. The message was the following:
“When workloads increase to a level requiring hours in excess of an employee’s regular duty assignment, and when such work is estimated to require a full shift of eight hours or more on two or more consecutive days, even though unscheduled days intervene, an employee’s tour of duty shall be altered so as to include the hours when such work must be done, unless an adverse impact would result from such employee’s absence from his previously scheduled assignment”.
After the 50 copies were sent out, Jennifer’s office received 40 phone calls asking what the memo meant. The 10 employees left did not call but their thoughts about the memo is uncertain. It took two weeks to clarify the new policy.

  1. What is the main problem that the supervisor is trying to solve?
  2. What is the purpose of the message: to inform, persuade, regulate or collaborate?
  3. Mention the communication errors in the message. 
  4. Explain the costs or losses provoked by these communication problems. 
  5. Formulate a new effective message.
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