Page 5 - PR Communication Age - JUNE 2016
P. 5
Cover Story
PROBLEM SOLVING
AND TRUST IN
CORPORATE
SITUATIONS
Prelude far the most common and simplest way to find out about
problems is to be told, usually by a subordinate or a peer.
Every manager has to spend a large part of his/her execu- It is easy to get news and information when things are going
tive time solving problems, small and big. Managers who well and people love to give the boss good news. But in the
can head off serious problems before they blow up in the time when something unsavory or unpleasant has to be con-
organization's face are two steps ahead in the game. Nip- veyed in the time when` very few are found wanting.
ping troubles neatly in the bud saves needless expense and
time and averts outright disaster. In practice, however, it's Hardly any subordinate is eager to give the boss bad news.
never easy. One stratagem to dealing with problems is to For instance, while it is fairly easy to tell the boss that a
learn about them early. But what is the trick in learning large business account very much in the pipeline may not
them early? How do managers find out that trouble is brew- after all materialize, it's very hard to admit responsibility
ing, where and why? What are their warning signals? for the lapse, and harder still and perhaps dangerous to
blame it on the boss. Yet, it is overly important to get sub-
Most managers have their own intelligence and secret in- ordinates to communicate messages, however unpleasant
formation network with assistance from subordinates and they may be. The sooner a problem is disclosed, diagnosed
peers, and also often through the grape-vine. Many develop and rectified, the better it is for the organization.
a kind of sixth sense for the early signs of trouble. But by
About the author Almost any organization would function more effectively
with completely open and forthright employees. But abso-
A. Ramachandran lute frankness in corporate situations is too much to hope
General Manager & Director (Retd) for. Candor depends upon trust and in hierarchical organi-
United India Insurance Co. Ltd. zations trust has strict natural limits.
PR COMMUNICATION AGE June 2016 5
