IT-525 Communication Framework and Training Plan

The newly appointed Vice President of the Company’s Mobile Division noticed a serious cross-functional dysfunction in the division. The division has four units (manufacturing, marketing, sales, and product development) that were all not working or even communicating well. The units had recently refused to capitalize on a new product opportunity, something Cahill perceived as a big problem.

The other issue the VP observed within the division is that employees have very low morale, which negatively affects their productivity. To him, these issues come down to one thing, "broken communication." Because the company was not manufacturing anything at corporate headquarters, employees residing in these places felt isolated because no one communicated what was going on in other areas. They were in total darkness. The only information they got was what to make and by when. No other information or input was available for them. According to Cahill, that’s another problem contributing to the larger problems experienced in other units.

Spending lots of time observing business processes, Cahill noticed that the various functional departments were not implementing proper business processes. In a meeting with department managers, the VP noted how the units created problems for themselves that affected product quality, delivery timelines, costs, and customers' satisfaction. After highlighting all problems present in each department, he offered a 45-days timeline for the managers to develop a strategic plan that would help improve processes. He encouraged the departments to work closely with each other to ensure that all issues are coherently and collaboratively addressed. Besides that, he asked the managers to ensure that they also incorporate the best communication strategies to help even the most layperson understand the entire business process.

As previously discussed, employees working at the corporate headquarters often complained of poor communication from the top management. They only received instructions of what needed to be done and nothing more. Cahill required communication in this unit to be improved to ensure proper flow of information between the top-management and lower levels of the organizational structure, i.e., employees.

Also, the unit was not collaborating well with the sales department. They always had a problem settling on the most appropriate product prices. Commenting on the issue, Cheng, the new manufacturing unit's director, recalled a reference point when the sales department promised to sell a high-level product at a very low price regardless of the cost of production. The sales department did not bother to consult with other departments to develop a fair price for the product. It did what it thought was good for the customer; even so, it made the company lose money on that particular deal.

Initially, the marketing unit was tasked with performing research on market dynamics hence advising on new products. However, marketing specialists were experiencing challenges communicating with other functional units. They could not get the information to the right people because departmental managers in those units do not keep communication open, which affected how the unit operated. Also, they felt that the organization did have their roles properly defined since other units such as the product development unit focused on the same things as the marketing unit. The other problem is that even after collecting enough information from the market, the departments do not share amongst themselves. For example, the marketing department does not share the information with the development process unit hence letting the unit do its research to do what is necessary at a particular period.

The problem sufficing in this case scenario is the lack of interdepartmental communication. The units are not sharing important information with the business; each department is doing its things while locking others out. According to Cahill, strong interdepartmental communication is necessary to ensure the effective flow of information across and within the organization.

Key stakeholders are the customers, business owners, suppliers, manufacturers, employees, or any person directly or indirectly impacted by poor communication. The units will develop a strategic communication plan to ensure these stakeholders get the right information at the right time. Also, the units will use proper communication channels will be used to communicate that information. For example, if there is a new product that needs to be produced, the director in the marketing unit would need to write a memo informing other departments to contribute their input in decision making. Also, he would need to hold some concurrent meetings to discuss that same information with various stakeholders such as the business owner and the manufacturing department to ensure the product development unit has all the resources and information it needs to produce the product.

Once the product has been produced, the product development unit must provide all the information required about the product. The manufacturing, marketing, and sales department must work collaboratively to ensure the product is sold at the market price.

A communication plan needs to be developed to ensure that information flows from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy and vice versa. BOLDFlash's organizational structure has the CEO at the top, followed by Directors managing various divisions, and below each division are the departments managed by department managers. The company works with cross-functional teams and, therefore, there must be a way for relaying information across all hierarchical levels- top-to-bottom and bottom-up. Such a communication approach can help solve most of the problems the organization faces with its communication strategies (Bass & Avolio, 1994). 

BOLDFlash mobile division has a functional structure. Roger Cahill was the Mobile Division vice president. He has four directors running the four cross-functional units (the manufacturing, product development, marketing, and sales departments). The functional structure is experiencing coordination issues due to conflicts in organizational goals versus functional goals. The differences have now culminated into one critical problem – a communication breakdown that continues to impact the entire organization. A training program will help the Mobile Division address this critical issue. This section provides a detailed description of the various constituents of the program and how it will be implemented to achieve its objectives.

There are so many areas of focus that begins with the broken communication between:

a) R&D department, which is responsible for product development and the Technical Support Team

b) Sales Department and the Manufacturing Department, and so forth.

There are issues with how information is shared between these cross-functional departments and the training program will be designed in a unique way to help improve communication. Strategic methods will be used to deliver the message effectively and efficiently. The communication team will use the following strategies:

For the training program, communication is the key to making it a success. The trainer/the communication team should help trainees achieve a particular objective and, in this case, solve communication issues facing the organization. The best strategy is to approach the training program as a teaching program where different communication strategies will be implemented to get the best results. The first session of the program will be focused on solving management issues within the entire organization. According to Eppler (2007), solving managerial issues should be a prerequisite to solving communication issues within an organization. With this understanding, the management and the department managers will be the first ones in line to receive training. The trainer will use highly creative approaches, such as implementing a trainer-centered approach discussing how the groups of trainees need to handle issues within the organization.

Regarding what Cahill noted, the departments were creating problems for themselves. The reason for that is because there were no effective and efficient processes within the departments. That is a problem the management, with the help of the department managers, could have noticed and rectified. From that perspective, the management and department managers will be taught how to be observant and work closely with team members to identify missing processes, design, and implement them effectively. That will be done through direct instructions and guidance pertinent to those processes.

Team members will be second in line. They will receive training on pinpointing issues within their departments and the best ways to share that information with the management. Since department managers are their first point of contact, the trainer will put the two groups of trainees in one session and demonstrate how team members ought to approach their department managers, concisely communicate the information, and perhaps make sure the issues are addressed. Trainees will be encouraged to interact as if they are solving a problem together in a real situation. That way, the trainer will be providing hands-on skills they could use in different contexts to problem solve.

As Marks (2015) explains, physical meetings are better than email and every other digital communication. The trainer will make sure that stakeholders learn how to engage in productive communications. They will be encouraged to arrange and attend meetings. For example, if there are issues in the sales department and the sales team is unwilling to share them with the top management, the department manager can always call everyone for a meeting where the issue is discussed in-depth and a solution devised. If it is something that will require the management's intervention, they should be sure to present it formally. To help them learn more about that, the trainer will simulate several meetings where trainees will be expected to participate and demonstrate how they would find a solution. For example, they will be asked to assume a misinterpretation of the product requirements, and the R&D team had already started the development process. They should demonstrate how they would approach the management for additional resources or even inform it about the issue and how it possibly happened. The key of such an activity is to ensure trainees get the same message from the conversations and even create an opportunity for honing their communication skills.

Effective communication cannot thrive in an environment where team collaboration does not exist (Johnson et al., 2001). Because cross-functional teams are rather fluid, it is essential to help them build upon their collaboration skills. The training program will be designed in a way that fosters collaboration. It will particularly focus on strategies that could be used to ensure cross-functional departments work cohesively. The trainer will encourage team members to share ideas. For example, in a simulated scenario, members from all the cross-functional departments will be asked to try and solve a problem from all dimensions. If it is the marketing department, it should demonstrate how it could relay its research findings to the manufacturing department. The R&D department should demonstrate how it would share product details with the technical support team and so forth.

All team members will receive training on how to interact one-on-one. That particular strategy will help eliminate conflicts between individuals working in the same department and across departments. There are no ways departments can collaborate if individuals working in those departments run on divided lines (Marks, 2015). So, the first goal of the training plan for collaboration is to eliminate collaboration distance between individual members before even fostering collaboration across departments. If applied effectively, it will become even easier to build a collaborative environment within the entire organization.

It will also be necessary for the trainer to create a session where all stakeholders, department managers, and team members will have an opportunity to share ideas about other strategies that could be used to improve collaboration amongst themselves. A top-down and bottom-up communication model will be encouraged to ensure information flows from the subordinates to managers, top management, and vice versa. According to Bass & Avolio (1994), showing trainees how to implement these two strategies could help fill gaps that allow communication breakdown between the management and the employees. It will also be a strategic way of creating a collaborative environment.

As discussed in this paper, an interactive training method will be implemented in almost all training sessions. It is the easiest way for getting all trainees involved and providing training of a kind. Trainees will get the opportunity to learn more about themselves, have a moment to share their ideas, experience first-hand learning opportunities on how to solve problems collaboratively, and even improve their communication strategies.

Interactive communication is best suitable for all audiences. Better said, it allows face-to-face communication, which is one of the best communication methods that factor in body language, among other factors that facilitate effective communication in a work environment. It is the best method stakeholders could use to provide instructions to the project manager, who then uses it to deliver information to the department managers and also to the various team members and across departments. The method also involves using different channels such as zoom and direct messaging apps that allow audiences to engage in a one-on-one conversation to help solve urgent matters affecting the business. For example, the head of the R&D department can organize an urgent meeting and invite all project stakeholders to discuss key points and bottlenecks of the project.

BOLDFlash had been using push methods of communication every time issues were addressed through memos. The method proved ineffective, coupled with several shortcomings such as misinterpretation and inadequacy of information. An interactive method of communication would be more effective as it would allow all audiences may it be the sales team seeking to know more about the new product or department managers addressing an important issue with the R&D team. According to Hansen & Nohria (2004), an interactive method of communication provides a quick and efficient response that is key in fostering employee productivity and creating a collaborative environment.

To ensure that the training program yields expected results and to ensure that it promotes continued communication, provided below framework and guidelines will be followed.

Stakeholders will be encouraged to attend monthly meetings where matters affecting the organization will be discussed. The CEO will be responsible for arranging the meetings and communicating their particulars and schedule to the department managers, who then inform other employees. The best communication strategies are emails and memos that will be used to pass the message along. The meeting will be interactive to ensure participation from different audiences. The department managers will organize weekly meetings to discuss matters affecting their departments and perhaps update what needs to be improved at the individual level. The organization, in general, will make sure that all lines of communication are open for everyone to share his/her views, concerns, and so forth.

The following steps can be used to determine whether the training program is yielding any positive results.

· They need to determine whether strategies for improving communication and collaboration, which were proposed during the training sessions, are being implemented effectively and, if not, identify areas of improvement.

· To help improve the current situation the organization is in, the management, in collaboration with the department managers, should develop new strategies and overhaul ineffective ones.

· Department leaders should ensure that all strategies are implemented effectively and that no more problems are created in terms of communication and collaboration among team members.

· They should also help select the most appropriate communication channels to ensure information is shared effectively and efficiently within the organization.

· The trainer will help the organization evaluate the effectiveness of the training program and even plan for others in the future.

BOLDFlash has an issue with its internal communication. Cahill would like to see employee's morale improve, deadlines met, and most importantly, cross-functional departments communicate effectively and efficiently. The communication team must restore Cahill's hopes by strategically planning how to overcome silos and support effective interaction between cross-functional teams. The communication team will use the most appropriate communication methods, such as written, verbal, and visual methods, to address issues the Mobile Division faces.

The aim is to develop a training program for the management team, i.e., the heads of the departments. There is no way the management team can foster effective communication without involving its staff members. Therefore, they are also potential candidates who must undergo communication training to improve the communication skills necessary for the various roles within the organization. Analyzing the case study, one would notice some problems with how the head of departments share information across departments and how they communicate with their staff members.

Most of the departments, especially the R&D department, have created silos by focusing more on product development and being unwilling to share information about what they are doing or the kind of product they are developing. They have become self-centered, making their individual goals a priority. That has caused team members to lose sight of the broader goals of the organization. The communication team will make these teams understand those team goals are secondary to the organization's vision and purpose. To do that, the team will begin by analyzing communication issues that each unit presents and tailor their training to address those particular issues.

Functional units are diverse. Team members come from different backgrounds; some have lost morale, while others do not interact well with others due to personal differences. As Cahill noted, the heads of functional departments had not been getting relevant information they need to know when a new product is being developed. The issue has escalated to affecting how they communicate to the extent of blaming each other over missed deadlines.

The training agenda is to address conflicts that have resulted from poor intercommunication and how to make it more effective and efficient. The management, head of departments, and staff members will all receive some training on various subjects pertinent to communication issues that have already been identified.

As mentioned above, the message will be all about how to improve communication within the organization. The conflict between departments is a subject matter that will be addressed with a lot of caution. The communication team will highlight each scenario in which conflict of interest has ensued in the past. From the case study, Chip Bryant explains how his friendship with Kevin Cheng-head of the manufacturing department, does not extend downwards to their team members. The sales and manufacturing departments always have conflicting interests. The sales team does not consult the manufacturing department before sending out proposals; they do not listen or even take orders from any other department.

The marketing department also has issues with how marketing specialists coordinate their activities, contributing to the bigger problem the organization faces with its internal communication. Memos the head of departments have been sending one another are ambiguous, not addressing the subject matter concisely and precisely, leaving recipients guessing what is required of them. This has resulted in inaction and a lot of things being unattended. All these issues are the source of the message the communication team will be addressing. The team will try as much as possible to address the issues concisely to ensure "no table is left unturned." The messages matter a lot because they are intended to help solve communication issues between cross-functional departments, inform how best to improve them, and create a favorable working environment for everyone to help achieve organizational goals.

Having addressed communication issues and solving all the conflicts existing in each department, the communication team will conduct some training on improving collaboration. The training will be focused more on the head of departments because they work closely with staff members. They will be shown how to ensure personal issues do not affect how individuals interact. They will also be encouraged to put their differences aside and focus on collaboration to achieving a common goal. The communication team will also train the heads of departments how to write corporate documents such as how to write a product manual, memos, presentations that are mainly used to communicate important information regarding products and business processes.

When addressing various subject matters, the communication team will demonstrate how it expects the audience to improve their communication skills. For example, it will show the product development team how to design presentations for use by the sales department. It will ensure the department has learned how to create content that addresses customer's needs and is understandable by non-technical audiences. It will also spend time showing the head of departments how to write professionally, for example, memos when addressing sensitive issues within the organization.

To ensure the message reaches the right audience, it will conduct a needs analysis as mentioned earlier in this paper. The analysis will help identify specific issues each department had been experiencing and find ways to address them individually. After effectively delivering the message, the communication team will determine the effectiveness of its efforts. It will do that by closely monitoring the actions of the various audiences, for example, how the heads of departments interact. If there are notable improvements, then that will be a clear indication the training was a success. After the training, the team will ask for feedback to determine how the audience received the messages and evaluate whether the training had any impact on their perspectives and how they communicate. The other method is observing how staff members communicate with each other. If they seem to collaborate well, the training was a success. The other method for measuring the effectiveness of the communication training is to look at the number of issues occurring due to poor communication. A decrease would mean the training has a positive impact.

The training program will specifically focus on improving communication and collaboration within the organization. Therefore, it will be based on a framework that supports those key areas. The steps followed are:

· Performing Needs assessment – the communication team will conduct a needs analysis to identify critical areas or determine what kind of training is needed. The team will also set training objectives it will use later to measure effectiveness.

· Establishing Delivery Mode – the communication must use the most effective mode of delivery. It can consider open workshops attended by all employees or even on-the-job coaching.

· Considering the audience to determine how long they have been with the organization, what departments they work in, and so forth. Answering these questions will help the communication team know which delivery style to use.

· Content development – this is the most time-consuming part of the training. After identifying audience needs, the team will spend time developing messages addressing key areas and concerns.

· Setting a timeline for delivery – the training must be conducted with a specific timeframe, particularly when convenient for everyone.

· Measure effectiveness – the communication team should use models such as the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Using the model, the communication team can:

· Evaluate How the audiences reacted to the training

· Measure the extent to which they improved their communication skills

· Determine whether they changed their behaviors after the training

· Evaluate how the organization benefited from the training

The first artifact/memo is adapted to exemplify the training. Below is the modified version of the first memo sent by the director of product development (Karl Melzer).

From: Karl Melzer – Director, Product Development

To: All department heads

Date: 06/18/2021

Subject: Revised R&D product release process

Dear Heads of Departments,

I'm reaching out to inform you about the changes the R&D department is making to reduce the amount of time required to put this all together. We invite you to virtually attend a zoom meeting that will be held on Monday, June 2021, so you can share your opinions about the changes.

Secondly, I would like to bring to your attention that the new manufacturing package will not include special notes. That is because the notes are always sent to Kevin and already available on our server. Also, the manufacturing package will be made available five business days before production starts. This will put a squeeze on Mfg., but we are trying our best to create more time to work on it.

Finally, the department resolved to address questions coming from the Tech support team after the product has been released. This will allow enough time for R&D to focus on the remaining work and have the product completed as soon as possible.

Karl,

I slightly modified the initial memo to make it more formal. The first paragraph goes direct to the point to capture the reader's attention. To ensure other departments are given a chance to participate in decision-making, I modified the first paragraph to invite them to attend a zoom meeting held on June 21, 2021. The agenda of the meeting is straightforward.

The second and third paragraphs clarify why the department will no longer include notes in the manufacturing package, when the package will be made available, and when the department will be addressing questions. The message is clear and on point. By clarifying the latter, the department does not expect the Tech Support team to make any more requests before the product are released. According to Gerson & Gerson (2017), transparency helps people understand what is going on. That is true because clarifying when the R&D will be addressing the questions clears the air, and the Tech Support team will not sit down waiting for responses or even assume they are being ignored.

In addition to addressing the issue related to lack of interdepartmental communication, the training program will be focused on two out of scope areas that are also critical to business technical communication. The communication plan will be adapted in training the marketing team how to create concise and effective content for its online audiences. The other area in which the training plan will be adapted is on training the R&D on how to do technical writing, for example, on how to write instructions for the sales and technical support departments. The plan will be altered to include both interactive and experiential approaches in training. The experiential approach will be adapted to ensure the training is more instructive and informative in order to help trainees acquire practical skills. They will be trained on how to design graphics and create videos showcasing how to use the product. The marketing team will also be trained on how to create clear and concise content and how to use web communication to reach a larger audience.

References

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (Eds.). (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage.

Eppler, M. J. (2007). Knowledge communication problems between experts and decision-makers: An overview and classification. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 5(3).

Gerson, S. J. & Gerson, S. M. (2017). Technical communication: Process and product (9th ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc

Hansen, M. T., & Nohria, N. (2004). How to build collaborative advantage. MIT Sloan Management Review, 46(1), 22.

Johnson, P., Heimann, V., & O’Neill, K. (2001). The “wonderland” of virtual teams. Journal of workplace learning.

Kirkpatrick, D., & Kirkpatrick, J. (2006). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.