The University of San Carlos

P. Del Rosario Street

Cebu City

Department of Business Administration

School of Business and Economics

A case study on:

A Matter of Miscommunication

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of

BHR 3108: Organizational Behavior
7:30AM-9:00AM – MW – JW426 – 1st Semester AY 2021-2022

Submitted by:

JEIZEL A. TROPICO

Submitted to:

MRS. ZENAIDA Z. CONFESSOR

September 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Communication is usually seen to be guided by cooperative principles, which

necessitates taking into account the mental state of the communication partner in order

to be successful. In turn, miscommunication is regarded as a result of noise and random

error. The reason why this study is conducted is to know the impact of

miscommunication between a manager and its employee, and in the organization as a

whole.

Specifically, this study also purposely wanted to define miscommunication,

cooperative principle, interpretive competence, negativity bias and emotional

expression. The study emphasizes the occurrence of miscommunication when Mr.

Martin, the immediate supervisor of Allen, did not speak to him without a valid or

significant reason. Relatively, Mr. Martin should have been open to Mr. Allen because

avoiding him will not solve the problem if there is any. And since the miscommunication

between Mr. Martin and Allan has continued for months to the point that Mr. Martin had

spoken ill to Allen, thus Allen can no longer handle it and request to transfer to the other

department.

Facial-feedback Theory of Emotion will be used to clarify the situation where it

suggests that facial expressions are crucial to experiencing emotion. That is to say, Mr.

Martin has shown facial expression. This theory is connected to the work of Charles

Darwin and William James that hypothesized that facial expressions impact emotion as

opposed to their being a response to an emotion. This theory holds that emotions are

directly tied to physical changes in the facial muscles. Thus, assuming that Mr. Martin is

experiencing an emotional dilemma that might be related to Allen, his employee.

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 Under the theory of Nonverbal communication the kinesics is defined as a study

of how body movements serve as a means of nonverbal communication. This was

being projected by Mr. Martin when he kept on avoiding Mr. Allen and showing a cold

shoulder. If Mr. Martin has a problem with Allen, he should have talked to him without

wasting more time since he is the supervisor and should know how to handle and adjust

for the common good. However this wasn’t happening because of some hidden

reasons, therefore it has been suggested that in order to solve the problem, it is better

to have and know the cooperative principle because this will explains how

communication succeeds and also to have interpretive competence which means to

have an ability to figure out what is being said to the other person which are both

beneficial to commend the relationship of Mr. Martin and Allen which also have an

impact on the organization.

FINDINGS

Facial Feedback Theory

The Facial Feedback Theory holds that facial movement and expressions can

influence attitude and emotional experience. This theory became interesting in the

1800s, and eventually in the 1840s William James presented the idea that awareness of

bodily experiences is the basis of emotion. That is to say, if people are aware and able

to identify facial expressions like if you know you’re sad you experience the feeling of

sadness. This theory is very relevant for the case of M. Martin when he recognizes that

he is somehow angry or disappointed may be to Allen thus, shows cold shoulder and

won’t talk to Allen. According to M.G Frank, facial expressions are one of the more

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important aspects of human communication. The face is responsible for communicating

not only thoughts or ideas but also emotions. What makes the communication

interesting is that it appears as if some of these expressions of emotion (e.g. anger,

disgust, fear, happy, sad, surprise and to a lesser extent contempt, embarrassment,

interest, pain and shame) may be biologically hardwired, and are expressed the same

way by all people of all cultures. Nonetheless, the case is supported by facial feedback

theory and this will be beneficial for both Mr. Martin and Allen by knowing the reason

why those facial expressions of Mr. Martin exists without probable cause to Allen’s end

point.

Negativity Bias

Negativity bias refers to our proclivity to “attend to, learn from and use negative

information far more than positive information” (Vaish et al., 2008, p.383). We think of it

as an asymmetry in how we process negative and positive occurrences to understand

our world, one in which negative events elicit more rapid and more prominent responses

than nonnegative events (Carretie et al., 2001, p.75). In the case between M. Martin

and Allen there is absolutely negative bias because they are both using negative

information rather than a positive one. For instance, assuming that Mr. Martin has found

something awful or disappointing about Allen, then he would have talked to Allen about

it in order to clear things up rather than showing cold shoulder and even spoken ill about

Allen which Allen knows nothing about, thus he is fostering a negativity bias.

Negativity bias affects our perceptions of others, our decision-making, and our

attentiveness, as we all know. As a result, it can have a variety of effects on our

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interpersonal interactions. a.) It can lead us to assume the worst about people we don’t

know yet. Our beliefs and expectations can then influence our expectations can then be

influence our subsequent interactions with them (Glover et al., 2017); b.) by making

pessimistic assumptions about how another person will react, we can also fall into the

trap of letting our (unwarranted)attitudes impact our behaviors; and c.) According to the

negative potency notion, prejudice might cause us to overestimate the importance of

negative events. We can see someone's mistake as more important than their positive

behaviors, causing us to obsess over it to the cost of our relationships. If only people

have the capacity to recognize negativity bias then relationships will last and become

strong. Also, self-awareness and excellent communication would be a great help for

everyone to overcome negative bias and will create a positive environment for

everyone.

Interpretive Competence

Interpretive competence is the ability to figure out what is being said to the

receiver. This focus can lead to interpretability strategies used by speakers to modify

speech in order to make what is said clear. This can include things like changing your

language, changing your voice and tone, emphasizing particular terms, or remaining

within certain easy-to-understand topic areas. Allen should possess an interpretive

competency in order for him to somehow understand the treatment of Mr. Martin

towards him. For instance, when things become worse between Mr. Martin and Allen,

there happens to be a change of tone and voice that is coming from Mr. Martin when he

said “I don’t want to talk to you”. With this, on the other side of the coin, Allen should

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have realized and interpreted surely that Mr. Martin doesn't want to spare even a

second of his time for Allen’s greetings and tons of apologies.

DISCUSSION

The major problem in this case is that Mr. Martin and Allen are not in good terms

over a year and there is a miscommunication between the two, in away that Mr. Martin

just eventually ignores and shows cold shoulder towards Allen, while Allen doesn’t have

any idea what went wrong and hasn't even got the chance to explain his side or atleast

find out if there was something he had unintentionally done. Interpretive competency

would be a great alternative for this problem. Possessing interpretive skills should a.)

have an active listening and strive to improve them through self-training, b.) a good

memory retention skills, c.) be able to take notes during the interpretation assignment to

ensure accuracy of the information given and d.) be able to mentally transpose and

verbalize into the target language (Multi language corporation, n.d.). These skills will be

both beneficial for Mr. Martin and Allen if both of them will possess this, thus it will not

just overcome miscommunication, but to also give to the both of them an avenue for

growth. Furthermore, interpersonal skills would also be an inclusion in becoming an

effective interpreter, because it should always start in the person. If the person really

wants something to change, then it must start on his or her self. Interpreters shall a.)

have strong communication skills, b.) be polite, respectful and tactful, c.) be able to

relate well to people and have good judgment. (Multi Language Corporation, n.d.) If this

interpretive competency will be successfully instilled to the mind and heart of both Mr.

Martin and Allen, it would be beneficial for them.

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CONCLUSION

The capacity to interpret a message from one language to another in the

appropriate mode is part of the interpreter's interpreting competency. It entails being

able to examine and comprehend the original message before translating it into the

target language without any omissions, additions, or distortions. It also contains the

interpreter's understanding of his or her own role in the interpreting experience. Being

an interpretative competent kind of person or employee in an organization, a better

environment would be naturally reflected and people will have confidence and feel the

sense of unity, harmony, love and peace. This will make people creative in the task they

are assigned to because they cannot feel any doubts, fear or disappointment if people

around an employee possess interpreting skills and interpersonal skills. Relatively,

negativity bias is present in the case where it can also help to avoid potentially harmful

stimuli in the absence of learned information about ambiguous situations. Though

people tend to focus on negative situations rather than on the positive aspects of life,

people are more likely to prolong the agony yet soft enough to make a decision for the

common good and so much willing to loosen their pride if someone will take the first

move.. In conclusion, in order to overcome negativity bias and miscommunication, Mr.

Martin and Allen should possess the interpretive competency with an inclusion of having

interpreting skills and interpersonal skills. These skills are considered to be a strong

foundation that everyone should possess to excel both verbal and non-verbal

communication..

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the conclusions, the following recommendation are hereby offered:

1. Cooperative Principle

- According to Richard Nordquist in his article updated last September 08,

2019, cooperative principle is the assumption that participants in a

conversation normally attempt to be informative, truthful, relevant and

clear. In his 1975 article "Logic and Conversation," philosopher H. Paul

Grice maintained that "talk exchanges" were not simply a "succession of

disconnected statements," and that they would not be reasonable if they

were. Instead, Grice proposed that meaningful communication is

distinguished by cooperation. "Each member identifies a single purpose or

set of purposes, or at the very least a mutually acknowledged direction, in

them to some extent." This kind of communication principle will make all

employees in an organization believe that cooperation is a must for the

success of an organization. In addition, organizations are composed of

different kinds of people coming from different cultures and shaped by

different values and beliefs, but everyone is important and through

teamwork and cooperation, success can be achieved.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation is the process of putting a decision into effect, it is about

executing the possible plan and without implementation the plan would be useless. In

that sense, an interpretive competence shall be implemented to the organization

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especially Mr. Martin and Allen. The reason why all employees are included is to

prevent future incidents with the same scenario but different people. To begin with

establishing a plan, requesting all employees to join and discussing ways on how to

become interpretive confident. The following practices are to be discussed:

a. Interpretive skills

b. Interpersonal skills

This implementation would take effect as soon as Mr. Martin and Allen both agree to

attend the conference together with the other employees. Interpretive competence is

indeed both beneficial and one of way of overcoming miscommunication.

REFERENCE

Facial Feedback Theory. (n.d.) In Alleydog.com’s online glossary. Retrieved from

https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Facial+Feedback+Th
eory

Buck R. (1980). Nonverbal behavior and the theory of emotion: the facial
feedback hypothesis. Journal of personality and social psychology, 38(5), 811–824.
https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.38.5.811

Frank, M.G. (2002, November 02).”Facial Expressions” International

Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Pergamon.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767017137#

Moore, C.P. (2021, April 26). What Is The Negativity Bias and How can it be
Overcome? Retrieved from:
https://positivepsychology.com/3-steps-negativity-bias/

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 Carretié, L., Mercado, F., Tapia, M., Hinojosa, J. A. (2001). Emotion, attention,

and the ‘negativity bias,’ studied through event-related potentials — International

Journal of Psychophysiology, 41(1), 75. Retrieved from

https://positivepsychology.com/3-steps-negativity-bias/

Nordquist, R. (2019, September 08). “The Cooperative Principle in

Conversation.” ThoughtCo.

The Cooperative Principle in Conversation (thoughtco.com)

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