The Art of Miscommunication

The Underling E-mails His Supervisor

Dear Mr. Maloof,

As my first-line supervisor, I wanted to raise a concern. Today I observed something that I perceived to violate ethical and company guidelines regarding employee conduct.

I observed Tim Montoya arriving two hours late this morning. Then during lunch, he took an extra half hour coming back. On top of that, he left an hour early today. I had a chance to glance at his timesheet he turned in and he wrote down that he attended the full day.

I find Mr. Montoya’s behavior to be damaging to morale as people are seeing that this person is getting away with this. What is management prepared to do to combat the issue of Mr. Montoya’s behavior and repair the perception of the management’s competence?

Thank you,

Walter Troy

Mr. Maloof’s Reply

Walter,

I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll handle it.

John

Mr. Maloof’s E-mail to His Supervisor

Alex,

We seem to have a problem with an employee in my division showing up on time and marking up his timesheet. I recommend an investigation. What action, if any, should I take?

John

Mr. Maloof’s Supervisor’s Reply

John,

I’ll bring this issue up in the next meeting with the CEO.

Alex

The CEO Meeting… One Week Later

CEO: If there’s not anything else, we’ll adjourn this meeting.

Alex doesn’t say anything.

CEO: See you all at next week’s meeting.

Two Weeks Pass. Mr. Maloof Follows Up.

Alex,

What did you hear back from the CEO about the time issue?

John

Next CEO Meeting

CEO: I’ll see you all…
Alex: Sir, I’d like to bring up an issue.
CEO: Go ahead, Alex.
Alex: Apparently some employees are showing up late and marking their timesheets improperly.
CEO: What do you suggest, Alex?
Alex: A company memo warning employees of the issue.
CEO: Well, if it’s widespread problem, I doubt a memo will have any effect. I want to see more stringent measures regarding reporting time. Any abuse of these new measures will result in dismissal.
Alex: Yes, sir.

Company Memo – 6 Weeks After “The Underling’s” E-Mail

DATE: 10/01/2007
TO: MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES
FROM: MR. DAVID SCOTT
SUBJECT: MISREPRESENTING TIME AND ATTENDANCE

Due to the widespread problem of misrepresentation of time and attendance, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that employees do not abuse the time and attendance system currently in place. Within the next month, you will all receive training on our new time and attendance system.

Time and attendance will soon be recorded by biometrics and a pin that you will all be assigned during training.

Please refer all questions to your first-line supervisors.

David Scott
Chief Executive Officer
TRIEC Enterprises, Inc.

The following post was a parody of miscommunication. All names (including company names) are fictional.

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