Identify Verbal Behaviours

Read the following statement and write your inferences using your understanding of verbal
communication model. Give proper justifications with citation.

Case 1
Group 1,3,5 and 7
Mark Davis is a Managing Director of an Electrical Power Company. Mark is chairing the
monthly meeting with Senior Managers to discuss important issues.

Mark started the meeting by welcoming everybody present and thanked them to be on - time
and not being late for the meeting like last month.

He informed all that John, Customer Relation Manager will be an absentee member due to
family problem. Also, confirmed with everyone if they had received the copy of the agenda
for the meeting which he had sent through e-mail.
Ben, Sales Manager informed that he didn’t receive the e-mail sent by Mark however Paul
forwarded the email to him.

First Agenda: Plans for flexible working hours:

Mark asked Paul, H R Manager to explain the plan for flexible working hours to other senior
managers.
Paul thanked Mark to give him the opportunity to share the plan with the members and show
continuous support during the planning stage.
Once, Paul explained the plans for flexible working hours to the members.

Gina, Production Manager suggested if the relocation can be departmental based because
each department has different working hours and job specifications. She was not pleased with
the presented plan as her department is already short staffed with pressing deadlines.

After Gina’s suggestion Mark asked Paul if the plan can be redesigned.
Paul said if he understood correctly Gina is concerned due to short staff issue and long
working hours. To this Gina agreed.
He added that his team has considered all situations and they have a contingency plan to
address Gina’s issue so, redesigning of the plan will not be required and he further explained.

Second Agenda: Online survey results regarding customer satisfaction:

Mark informed all that, now Ms Rachel will be presenting online survey results regarding
customer satisfaction. She is an external consultant hired to give neutral opinion on the
survey.

Ms. Rachel, Consultant greeted all the members and informed Mark that in addition to the
survey results she has prepared cost breakdown on the losses the company has incurred for
the past 5 years due to customer dissatisfaction and some tips to improve the condition in
future.

Gina commented once the presentation by Ms. Rachel finished, that John, Customer Relation
Manager shouldn’t have missed the meeting today as he is first point of contact. Gina further
added that John must have deliberately missed this meeting to avoid scrutiny by others. She
mumbled that John gets special preference over others.

Once all the agenda were covered Mark summed up by saying Paul’s and Ms. Rachel’s plans
are very comprehensive and detailed never the less we will take the coming week to review it
and discuss further in the next meeting.
And the meeting was adjourned.

Case 2
Group 2, 4 and 6

Krishna is the Assistant Plant Manager for Frame Manufacturing Company and the new
chairman of the ad hoc committee for space utilization. The committee is made up of 8
department heads in the company, 3 of the department managers are out stationed. The Plant
Manager of the company has given Krishna responsibility for seeing whether the various
offices, operations and ware house facilities of the company are being optimal utilized. The
Plant Manager wants to make sure that the currently available space is being used properly.

Krishna opened the first committee meeting and asked the members if they have any
initial observation to make regarding space utilization.

First to speak was the office manager- Madav. He stated “Well, I know we are using every
possible inch of room that we have available to us. But when I walk out into the plant, I
see a lot of open spaces. We have people piled on top of one another, but out in the plant
there seems to be plenty of room”

The production manager - Vikas quickly replied “We do not have a lot of space. You
office people have the luxury facilities. My supervisors don’t even have room for desk and
file cabinet. I repeatedly told the plant manager we need more space. After all our
operation determines this plan fails or succeeds, not you people in the front office playing
with your computers”.

Krishna interrupted at this point and said “Obviously we have different interpretation of
space utilization around here.

Before further discussion, I think it would be best if we have some objective facts to work
with. I would like Divya -System Manager, to provide us with some statics on plant and
office layout before our next meeting”.

Divya replied “Sure I will give full graphic presentation of the matter by the next meeting”

Krishna said “Today’s meeting is adjourned”.