Homework Help: Business communication

Posted by cool kat on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 2:15pm.

You submitted what you thought was a masterful report to your boss over three weeks ago. The report analyzes current department productivity and recommends several steps that you think will improve employee output without increasing individual workloads.

"Brilliant," you thought. But you haven't heard a word from your boss. Did you overstep your boundaries by making recommendations that might imply that she has not been doing a good job? Did you overwhelm her with your ideas? You'd like some feedback. In your last email to her, you asked if she had read your report. So far, you've received no reply. Then yesterday, you overheard the company vice president talk about some productivity changes in your department. The changes were ones that you had recommended in your report. Now, you're worried that your boss submitted your report to senior management and will take full credit for your terrific ideas. What, if anything, should you do? Should you confront your boss about this? Develop a solution to this sticky situation and present it on the Discussion Board. Explain your rationale.

Business communication - SraJMcGin, Monday, September 17, 2007 at 3:16pm
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. It is a very good rule with any written communication to keep a copy (or even the original if you suspect something like this might happen) in safe place so you could verify the date you wrote and delivered this and to whom. Especially in film, play scripts plagerism happens often and not necessarily immediately. You may have read of the author that had to prove 20 years later that the script claimed by another person was in reality his.

Rather than an email, with no response, try to make an appointment with that boss so you can determine what actually happened, face to face (or "eye to eye.") You might even have a small tape recorder with you to record the conversation. It will be legal if one person knows the taping is being done.

Of course, you don't want to be accusatory just say you are doing a "follow up" since you had heard nothing?
Business communication - Ms. Sue, Monday, September 17, 2007 at 5:01pm
Keeping copies or the original of everything you write is an excellent idea, as SraJMcGin recommended. (We've all heard of papers that teachers and professors have misplaced or lost.)

I also agree that you should make an appointment with the boss as a "follow-up" about your report. However, I wouldn't recommend using a small tape recorder, although you could take notes by hand. Keep this meeting low key and non-threatening. You could also ask if your boss has any improvements to suggest for the report. By all means, don't mention what you overheard from the vice president.

By keeping this meeting low-key, you've alerted your boss that you still are concerned about your report. If some of your suggestions become company policy (and they may not), then you might be in a position to claim ownership of these ideas. But remember, your boss is still your boss, and you want to maintain a good relationship with her. Passing on a subordinate's ideas is not an uncommon practice in business and government.

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