Management Communications with Technology Tools
Ashford University
January 9, 2012
Case Study Analysis The case study I chose to evaluate was Oak Brook Medical Systems, Inc. The manager, Jackie, is known as a “no nonsense” kind of manager who is credited with large increases in business accounts resulting in a $40 million dollar addition to the corporate bottom line. She is a valuable corporate asset but has considerable communication issues with staff members. This is a so called “armchair” case study that is based on the fictional documentation produced by O’Rourke in case 10-1 (2010)
Business Problem Part of the problem faced by Oak Brook Medical Systems is Jackie. She is difficult to communicate with and on occasion, makes other staff members feel their contribution to the welfare of the company is less important than her own. Workers feel unappreciated and Jackie is sometimes short tempered and condescending toward her coworkers and subordinates. Jackie believes the issue to be no more than a hurdle that has been faced by many who went before her. She believes that the issues with her subordinates are no different than those faced by every manager or superior, not suspecting that the issue may actually lie with her. From Jackie’s perspective, the staff problems are due in part to her race. Jackie is of African American descent and, as such, is perhaps a little more observant of people’s attitude toward her than other employees would be. She is beginning to believe that the company may prefer to have a non-black in the position she currently holds; and would rather she not advance any further with the company. Jackie has known nothing but success in her life and is having difficulty recognizing hurdles to advancement because she has not faced failure in her past. She cannot understand the reason she is not progressing more within the company and does not
References: O 'Rourke, J. S. (2010). Management communication: A case-analysis approach (4 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Vlachoutsicos, C. A. (2011). How to Cultivate Engaged Employees. Harvard Business Review, 89(9), 123-126.