Chapter 12 Case study exercises

Activity 1

Read through the following scenarios. For each scenario, use the principles outlined in the chapter for before, during, and after the interview to do the following two exercises:

• Write out some specific strategies you would use before, during, and after the interview to maximize your competitiveness for the job described.
• In your job interview, your future employer asks you to share a story about a negative experience you had at work. Brainstorm what you would say in this situation and provide an example that is a negative experience but also leaves you looking like an ideal candidate, without having to stretch the truth or lie about the outcomes.

Nursing Scenario

A nurse manager job in the pediatrics department at your city’s hospital has been posted. You have been nursing for the last five years in the pediatric emergency room at the same hospital and know several of the pediatric nurses who work in the department where the job is posted. You definitely have the skills to work in the department and have had some experience in management during a fellow colleague’s parental leave. You will be applying for the job.

Additional exercise:

You are at the interview for the nursing job you have been wanting. You know that the other nurses from the pediatric unit also applied. Some of those nurses are your friends, and they did not get asked to an interview. If you do not get the job, how will you integrate back into the workplace, knowing that some of your colleagues were jealous that you got an interview and they did not?

Business Scenario

Three full-time faculty positions have been posted at your local community college. For the past two years, you have been a teaching assistant at the university while completing your graduate program. You love to teach, and this position would move you into the right career path sooner than expected. The faculty position requires that you complete a 20-minute teaching presentation on a topic of your choice as well as complete a formal question-and-answer session following the presentation. This is the perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your teaching strengths.

Additional exercise:

During your job interview and presentation, there are a number of questions from the interviewers about your previous teaching experience. They have asked you to share an example of when you crossed the line with a student. Define what this means and how you would answer this kind of question in an interview.

Communication Scenario

A new Internet company is looking for a communication consultant to provide expertise in recruitment, advertising, and creating media spots for the company. This will be your first job interview since graduating from your communication management diploma program this fall. You will be applying for the job and are nervous about making a good first impression.

Additional exercise:

While preparing for your job interview, consider how you will introduce yourself. What will you share about yourself, what will you highlight, what will you deliberately choose to leave out, and why?

Activity 2

Practicing Upward, Downward, and Horizontal Communication

To communicate appropriately and effectively with superiors, subordinates, and peers, construct messages with the right tone and level of formality for your workplace audience.

• Messages to superiors should be the most formal. It is best to use clear, concise language and stay away from informalities, such as writing “U” when you mean “you.”

• Messages to subordinates and peers can sometimes be less formal and use more casual and personable language. Even with peers and subordinates, however, you want to communicate professionally.

Suppose you want to ask your boss, your co-workers, and your subordinates for their feedback on a new parental leave policy.

1. Construct an e-mail message, directed at your supervisor, in which you ask if he or she would review the policy and offer you feedback.
2. Construct a similar e-mail message asking your peers and subordinates to provide feedback on the policy.
3. Compare your messages for their tone and formality. Pay attention to whether your language is appropriate for each audience.
4. What did you do to create differences in the tone and formality of your two messages?

Activity 3

Culture Shock

Around a conference table in a large U.S. office tower, three American executives sat with their new boss, Mr. Akiro Kusumoto, the newly appointed head of a Japanese firm’s subsidiary, and two of his Japanese lieutenants. The meeting was called to discuss ideas for reducing operating costs. Mr. Kusumoto began by outlining his company’s aspirations for its long-term U.S. presence. He then turned to the current budgetary matter. One Japanese manager politely offered one suggestion, and an American then proposed another. After gingerly discussing the alternatives for quite some time, the exasperated American blurted out, “Look, that idea is just not going to have much impact. Look at the numbers! We should cut this program, and I think we should do it as soon as possible!” In the face of such bluntness, uncommon and unacceptable in Japan, Mr. Kusumoto fell silent. He leaned back, drew air between his teeth, and felt a deep longing to “return East.” He realized his life in this country would be filled with many such jarring encounters and lamented his posting to a land of such rudeness.

1. Why do you think Mr. Kusumoto was shocked by the American executive’s outburst?
2. What, in your opinion, caused the American executive to become exasperated in the first place?
3. Were you in the shoes of Mr. Kusumoto or the American executive, how would you have responded?