Running head: CERNER CORPORATION: A STINGING OFFICE MEMO BOOMERANGS 1

BUSI 892 Communications in Cross-Cultural Environments

Assignment # 3

Ankita Moore

MBA 1B11 - BUSI 892

February 19th, 2019

Running head: CERNER CORPORATION: A STINGING OFFICE MEMO BOOMERANGS 2

Discussion Questions

1. What’s the principal business problem here?

a. It must be noted that Patterson like many other CEO’s approach communication as

a common occurrence and one that does not require any review. In reading the

case, the problem with the use of emails is that it’s a breeding ground for

egocentrism, or our failure to step outside ourselves and take the perspective of

someone reading our words. Based on the memo sent, it expressed a lot of

communication mistakes taken by top managers. The CEO, Mr. Patterson, berated

his staff about their declining performance, which has affected the decline of work

ethics in the organization. For instance, the email outrightly stated that staff is not

satisfied with the work environment which has caused a decline in the work hours

and in turn has impacted the performance and the expected output of the

organization. In fact, the principal business problem, in this case, is a lack of proper

communication on the part of the CEO. Some of these communication problems

are as follows:

i. The memo sent by Patterson contained extremely tough remarks that came

across very harshly.

ii. The memo contained numerous words placed in capital letters, example

''NO LONGER.'' And ''SICK''.

iii. Patterson also used threatening sentences that states his intention to “lay off

workers”, “hiring freezes” and a “shutdown” of the employee gym.

iv. In constructing his memo, Patterson did not stop to consider the impact his

message could have on the staff and the company’s investors/customers.

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2. From the company’s perspective, what would an optimal outcome look like?

a. From the company’s perspective, an optimal outcome would involve creating a

better way to communicate critical information, such as the one placed in the email

through a better mode of communication. Creating a strategic communication plan

would have helped Patterson confront communication difficulties before they arise

and work them through. Additionally, Patterson could have also called a general

meeting to inform staff of the decline in sales rather than sending an overly

aggressive email of that magnitude. By calling a general meeting he would have

conveyed his dissatisfaction with the staff’s performance in a more professional

manner. As stated in O’Rourke, Management Communication “e-mail can seem

especially cold and inhumane if you’re delivering criticism” (2013, p. 186).

Therefore, if Patterson had chosen to call a meeting instead, the company would

have avoided the bad publicity due to the leaked e-mail.

3. Who are the key stakeholders in this case?

a. The key stakeholders in the case are the employees, investors, managers, customers,

and anyone directly or indirectly linked to doing business with Cerner Corporation.

For instance, the employees (current and potential) and investors (current and

potential) are considered key stakeholders since they either work with the company

or have made large investments in the company. Also, management, customers and

anyone directly or indirectly linked with the company would experience some level

of conflict.

4. If Mr. Patterson were to ask for your counsel on this matter, what would you advise?
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a. If Mr. Patterson were to ask for my counsel on the matter, I would firstly advise

him to consider creating a Business Communication Strategy. This communication

strategy would help him identify his key messages, pinpoint his target audience,

define what exactly the audience must know, create a content distribution strategy,

and measure the success of communication. By creating a communication strategy,

he could enhance the delivery of his message whereby employees and other

stakeholders would have a level of clarity in what he is trying to express. Secondly,

I would advise him to seek some level of damage control to restore the reputation

of the organization and likewise, the confidence of stakeholders. Evaluation of the

mode of action that should include factors that would lead to the correction of the

prevalent issues in the company. This should include a careful analysis of the

outcomes, identification of the right medium for communication and measures to

rectify the problem. For instance, putting proper supervision in place to ensure that

employees are productive and increasing employee engagement in the office, rather

than implementing strict rules that act as a demotivator for staff.

b. Hence, by providing feedback in person Patterson would be able to read, visual

cues and immediately address any issues his audience might raise, to grow to

understand and communicate more gently where necessary. Fortunately, advising

him to take precaution with his mode of delivery and attitude can prevent or at least

mitigate the damage that might incur from a leaked email and avoid situations like

the one described in this case.

5. Which actions would you encourage him to take first? What measure would you use to

determine success in resolving the business problem identified in question number one?
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a. If I were to offer any encouragement to Patterson, I would encourage him to focus

on damage control. Making this his priority would help in restoring the confidence

of stakeholders by focusing on corrective measures to resolve the prevalent issues

in the company. To mitigate these problems, he would need to include a careful

analysis of the inadequacies in the business processes and measurements.

Thereafter, he should consider using unique and innovative communication

channels to rectify the issues in the business. One way of ensuring this is by

evaluating that employees' time spent at the office is meeting the company’s

productivity goal and doing weekly updates and meetings.

6. What sort of problems did Mr. Patterson create for himself when he chose e-mail as his

communication medium?

a. Patterson should not have used email to communicate this harsh message to his

managers. The wrong email at the wrong time can make any company look terrible,

hurt sales and damage the brand reputation. Because of this Patterson created a

major communication problem when he released such an inflammatory email to a

wide audience. Using such methods would practically invite a recipient to relay

such a message to outside sources. He, also, created a false sense of bravado,

whereby he stated things via email he probably would never say in person.

Delivering a criticism isn’t easy, especially when it’s done via email and in that

manner. Instead, he could have used this opportunity to address them in person by

calling a general meeting. Or he could have used online video conferencing, which

might be hard to record or leak.

7. How should discussions of this sort be conducted?

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a. As CEO, Patterson should have considered the ramification that could arise from

sending the email. He should have maintained his composure and remained calm.

As anger trigger our stress levels increases, and our ability to communicate well

decreases. Such discussions should never be sent via email while you are mad and

should be avoided on any media that is easily accessible by the public.

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References

O’Rourke, James S., IV. (2013). Management Communication: A case-analysis approach.

Prentice Hall. New York. p. 205-209.

SHRM. (2018, July 25th). Managing Organizational Communication. Society for Human

Resource Management. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-

and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingorganizationalcommunication.aspx

Wong, Edward. (2001, April 5th). A Stinging Office Memo Boomerangs; Chief Executive Is

Criticized After Upbraiding Workers by E-Mail. The New York Times. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/05/business/stinging-office-memo-boomerangs-chief-

executive-criticized-after-upbraiding.html