scenarios

Misunderstandings happen often in both personal lives as well as in the workplace. It can be difficult to communicate and get through the misunderstandings but it can be done with patience and a calm approach.
The first misunderstanding I experienced was when I work for an aircraft repair station. There were two employees that were working together. Employee “A” was a fifty year old Korean man with a thick accent and a pushy personality who happened to be our Master Mechanic. Employee “B” was a black man who is always a great listener and has a calm laidback personality. While they were working Employee B installed a part on the aircraft that was to be drilled. Normally we would trim this part before drilling but he forgot to do this. This is not a problem; it can be trimmed after drilling. Employee A noticed that the part was not trimmed prior to drilling and stormed over to employee B yelling at him. It was very difficult to understand him through his accent and choppy English. Employee B took offense to some of the words that was said by employee A and the two almost got into a fist fight on the aircraft.
The lesson I learned from the situation was that it is sometimes difficult for some people to communicate properly when they are frustrated and annoyed, especially if English is not their primary language. Stepping back and listening to everything before reacting is was the missing key. Then repeat what you have heard so that the other person can see if you understood what they said.
The second misunderstanding I experienced was at my current job, where I am a quality inspector for Boeing. We had a mechanic that was installing the wrong washers on a particular fastener build up. The drawing, or blueprint, called for a specific buildup on this fastener. It was a bolt with a specific washer under the head of the bolt and the same washer under the nut. At Boeing we build the aircraft first to the blueprints and then to a specification written by Boeing itself