MGMT2100
Delivering Bad News
AGENDA
1-2
Difficult Conversations
Delivering Bad News
Common Bad News
Creative Negative Messages
Specific bad news
Difficult Conversations
Delivering Bad News
Types of Difficult Conversations
• Negative performance appraisals
• Disciplinary actions
• Layoffs
• Pay cuts
• Denying requests
• Introduction of organisational policies that are
perceived negatively by employeesOr simply just saying
“No”
Why is it hard to
deliver bad news?
• Anticipated unpleasantness
• Emotions: fear, guilt, shame, anger
• Defensive behavior
• High levels of stress
• Lack of communication skills
• Demanding and stressful work
conditions
(leads to win-lose framing of issues)
Common mistakes
when
communicating in
difficult situations
• Framing the situation or decision in a way that is too narrow (not considering
alternatives) and binary (win- lose).
The frame is a decision maker’s image of a situation—the way he or she
pictures the circumstances and elements surrounding the decision.
• Refusing to change the frame during interaction.
• Not listening and/or selective perception
• Not paying attention to non-verbal cues
Fundamental
Attribution Error
• The fundamental attribution
error, also called the
correspondence bias, describes
the tendency for observer’s to
attribute other people’s behavior
to internal or dispositional factors
and to downplay situational causes
• (Gilbert & Malone, 1995).
overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore
situational factors
Why do we commit
errors in framing?
Fundamental attribution
error (leads to overly
simple interpretations)
Subconscious mindsets
that lead to binary
framing
False consensus effect
(assuming that others see
a situation as we see it)
Stress
Erasing in
The manager recognizes a situation/problem, crafts a
solution, and then asks the employee a set of carefully
crafted questions to help him/her reach the same
conclusions.
Problem:
• The manager might not get the
answers he/she seeks.
• The manager is only prepared for
the ‘correct’ answers.
Actionable Feedback
WHEN YOU GIVE FEEDBACK THINK ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE
(WHY MIGHT THEY HAVE
SAID/DONE SOMETHING.
DON’T ASSUME/ATTRIBUTE
REASONS WHAT EVIDENCE DO
YOU HAVE)
CONSIDER ALTERNATE
EXPLANATIONS
WHILE ITS EASY TO
COMPLAIN/STATE THERE IS A
PROBLEM YOU SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO DISCUSS A
SOLUTION AND STEPS ON
HOW THIS COULD BE DONE
WHAT MAY BE THE
CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR
SUGGESTION/ADVICE IF THEY
REALLY DID IT (THINK WIDELY
NOT JUST WHAT ARE THE
EFFECTS ON YOU)
Really Important
• Before you complain
• Before you criticize
• Before to rush to Facebook
• Before you give bad news
Think very carefully…
• Avoid
• Go behind a person’s back
• Behave in a way that suggests everything is ok and
then suddenly
give a negative message
• Use social media to deliver bad news
Crafting Negative Messages
Crafting
Negative
Messages
• Consider your purpose thoroughly.
• Identify and gather information your audience requires in order to
understand and accept the message.
• Define your main ideas.
• Rather than saying no to a subordinate who asked for a raise, explain
how he/she can improve performance.
• Be diplomatic and use language that conveys respect. Avoid an accusing
tone.
• Establish credibility
• Select the right medium. Best delivered in person if possible.
Crafting
Negative
Messages
(Cont’d)
• Make a clear statement of the bad news
Maintain a calm, professional tone that keeps
the focus on the news and not on individual failures.
• Immediately and sincerely express sympathy and offer help if
appropriate, without admitting guilt; then seek the advice of your
company’s lawyers before elaborating.
• No matter how trivial or serious the situation, if you do apologize, make
it a real apology. (otherwise DON’T APOLOGIZE)
Crafting Negative
Messages
(Cont’d)
Choose positive words
Crafting Negative
Messages (Cont’d)
Crafting Negative Messages (Cont’d)
Types of Buffers
Closing on a positive note
• Avoid a negative or uncertain conclusion
oRefrain from expressing any doubt that your reasons will
be accepted (e.g., “I trust our decision is satisfactory.”)
Avoid
• Limit future correspondence
oEncourage additional communication only if you’re
willing to discuss your decision further.
Limit
Closing on a positive note (cont’d)
• Be optimistic about the future
o If the situation might improve in the
future, share that with your audience.
Be
• Be sincere
oSteer clear of clichés that are insincere
in view of the bad news.
Be
3 Key Points
• Focus on the issue, not the
PERSON
• Ask questions
• Try and get the person to come
up with solutions
(where applicable)
Specific Examples
Some specifics
Job Rejections
Apologies
Rejection Letter - Not so Good
Dear Applicant
Thank you for your interest in the. . position at. . . company. I
am sorry to inform you that we will be unable to pursue your
application at this time. We wish you success in your future
plans.
Sincerely yours,. . .
Improving applicants’ reactions
to rejection letters
• 380 business students (undergraduate, MBAs, and PMBAs)
were asked to assume the role of a potential job applicant.
Participants were randomly assigned to a study cell:
• Would Reducing explanation
• Should Reducing explanation
• Could Reducing explanation
Improving applicants’
reactions to rejection letters
Reducing counterfactual thought patterns
• Would reducing explanations (i.e., explanations detailing qualifications of the individual who
received the job) – I would hire you but there is someone better”
• Should reducing explanations (i.e., explanations of the appropriateness of the selection
process) – “We should hire somebody with X qualifications and you don’t ,..”
• Could reducing explanations (i.e., explanations of external conditions that led to a hiring
freeze) – “ We could hire you but…”
Recommendation Intentions
Explanation provision increased rejected participants’ intentions to recommend the organisation to
others.
Two types of explanations in combination tended to lead to greater recommendation intentions than
no explanation or one explanation.
• Would
• Could
Those who received the Could Reducing explanation were more than twice as likely to reapply for a
future position with the organization than those who received a standard rejection letter
The Service
Recovery
Paradox
(SRP)
A situation in which post-recovery
satisfaction is greater than that prior to the
service failure when customers receive high
recovery performance.
Components of
good apology
Not all apologies are created equal.
Components of a good apology:
• Acceptance of responsibility
• Expressions of empathy
• Offers of compensation/help
• Must perceived to be trustworthy, genuine,
and sincere (a bad apology is worse than
no apology)
Apologies
The knowledge that guilt and/or shame
motivated the apology increases
forgiveness. In contrast, knowledge
that pity induced the apology
decreases forgiveness
(Hareli & Eisikovits, 2006)
Functions of an apology
“All I really wanted was an apology, and only when
they would not apologize did I decide to sue”
• The status equalizing function (removes the insult
from the injury)
• Re-establishes trust
• Repays a moral debt (if the transgression is a moral
violation)
• Re-establishes personal credibility
• Conveys the importance of the relationship