HAS THE WORM TURNED ?

The foreman watched as Alan Boswell, assistant to the factory manager, posted a
memorandum on the bulletin board of the management lounge.
It seemed as if there had been an endless stream of memoranda relating to policies,
procedures, rules, and regulations since George Parker became factory manager five months
ago. In addition, too many of the old department heads and management staff had been
replaced by M.B.A.'s in vested suits, with Boswell being the worst. For five months, Parker
and his boys had harped on efficiency and had managed to drop the plant from second to fifth
place in the division by stumbling over one another. However, Parker was a hard man to talk
to - and not a man to cross, because of his temper and autocratic style. Poor old Jimmy
Collins found out about that after he spoke up in the annual budget meetings last month.
When Boswell had gone, the foremen approached the bulletin board, shaking their heads
wearily, to read the message.
CONFIDENTIAL
TO: All Department Managers
All General Foremen
FRIDAY STAFF MEETING
"15 Minutes From the Jaw"

As mentioned in the last staff meeting, we will devote the last 15 minutes of each weekly staff
meeting to a review and an answer period (a chance to get acquainted). Subjects may be
presented verbally or in writing: the latter may be in a sealed envelope, unsigned, and directed
confidentially to the writer.
The purpose of this discussion is to strengthen our managerial team by communication,
affording all managers an opportunity to have their questions concerning plant administration
thoroughly analyzed, clarified, and answered.
A well-informed management team is one of our key objectives. This team's knowledge and
skill, ability to plan and organize effectively, to direct and control, and to evaluate and
critique thoughtfully are requisites for effective and outstanding management.
We deal mostly with people, and we must be adequately prepared to:
1. Set goals and meet quotas
2. Work efficiently and effectively
3. Build sound, effective, and loyal teams
4. Stimulate and motivate
5. Develop others for promotion
Topics for discussion should not be limited, but must be meaningful and objective. They may
relate to (1) improving individual performance. (2) clarifying procedures and policies. (3)
improving leadership styles, or (4) any appropriate subject of your choice. Let's communicate
and direct our efforts toward making the management team outstanding in each of its
management responsibilities,
(signed)
George Parker
Factory Manager
Questions
1. Evaluate the probable effectiveness of the message in stimulating two-way communication
in the staff meeting and/or generally.
2. Analyze the message as an example of organizational communication.
3. Evaluate the method the factory manager has used to communicate instructions regarding
the Friday staff meeting.