a case study

a case study

The Importance of Effective Communication in a Case Study

1. Introduction

This paper will be looking at the importance of communication in a case study. This is a topic of much importance as the effectiveness of a message is what the case study hinges upon. ‘A case study is an in-depth investigation of a situation within an organization’ (Einstein 2005: 21). The result of a case study can be used for many things allowing an importance of the results to be known across a variety of issues. The case study is composed of accounts of events, experiences and discussions, whether they be hypothetical or real. These accounts are the information which forms the backbone of the case study. Communication determines the clarity of the accounts and the validity of the information. An unclear account will not give the desired result and information that is communicated incorrectly means an incorrect result. The effects can be devastation as in the example of an investigation of an incident at a nuclear reactor in Canada: ‘For the first seventy-two hours we had virtually nothing. What passed for information was contradictory and full of errors’ (Mccallum, p.106, 1992). This case study concluded on the inadequacy of the information given by that time frame in producing a good decision. Failure to effectively communicate the information led to an investigation outcome questioning the information itself. Effective communication also involves a good rapport in the discussing of interviews and events and is necessary in achieving accurate and relevant information. This is a fundamental requirement for case studying and explains the decision as to why a particular learning disabled group in New Zealand changed their original case study, to a new one studying communication itself.

It has been said time and time again that humans are social animals. We live in a world that is shaped by our communication. The question to ask is what is communication? Communication is the giving and receiving of information. It is the foundation of what we understand of the world around us, it is what we learn and it is how we learn. It is a process that is fundamental to our existence. The efficiency of this process is determining factor for the quality of life we lead. The more effective our communication, the easier it is to understand each other, the easier it is to understand what we need, want, or should do. With effective communication, for example, instructions are understood enabling smooth running of any task with minimal time wastage.

2. Background of the Case Study

In the past, children in the same age range were selected to participate in documenting behavior management using several interventions. This resulted in weak findings in relation to the behaviors and interventions with no strong evidence. This case study will utilize a 9-year-old boy named Timmy. Timmy has been diagnosed with ADHD and is in the 4th grade at a public school. He is known to display disruptive behaviors and low self-esteem. Through gaining an understanding of Timmy’s behavior and factors that influence behavior, Dr. Mario will coach Timmy’s parents on how to increase positive behaviors and decrease negative behaviors by applying various behavior change interventions. Timmy’s parents will implement these plans, and Dr. Mario will observe the behaviors and coach the parents in modifying the strategy to increase effectiveness. This process will continue for approximately 3 months.

Dr. Mario is a psychologist who specializes in treating clients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He has been working with individuals, couples, and families. He also conducts group therapy for people of all ages through a coaching approach. Over the years, Dr. Mario has noticed that parents of children with ADHD have trouble managing their child’s behavior effectively. After coaching and consulting with several parents, Dr. Mario has decided to put together a guide to help parents effectively work with their child in decreasing undesired behaviors and increasing good behaviors. This guide is intended to serve as a resource for parents. The step-by-step approach is designed to provide guidance on how to select and apply the most effective behavior management strategy in the home environment to increase good behaviors and decrease unwanted behaviors.

3. Key Issues and Challenges

Williams and Curtis (2006) state that the effectiveness of navigation in the communication process is a central aspect of the recovery approach within mental health services. In order to highlight one or two issues regarding a patient/service user’s communication problems, Clarke and Barrow (2010) undertook a service evaluation project and researched a patient’s experience in accessing mental health services. They identified many issues regarding the patient’s communication access to services. One example is the assumption made by health professionals that the patient had received and understood information about services, when in fact she had received no information at all. This led to the patient feeling disempowered, as she was unable to exercise choices informed by knowledge and decision making, which is one of the central pillars of client-centered care (Bovet et al., 1995). The patient was also unsure of what help was available and how to achieve it. In his paper, Goldie (2010) found that people perceived as having mental health problems have been and continue to be marginalized in society and are at risk of receiving inadequate services. This can seriously affect a person’s recovery process and is clearly evident in the decrease in life expectancy for those suffering from mental illness (Thornicroft, 2011). Another issue in Clarke and Barrow’s (2010) study was the patient’s inability to get the types of service she wanted and the eventual closure of a service for one of them, a matter which she only became aware of when she telephoned the service to make an appointment. This indicates a lack of continuity at several levels in the information chain between service providers and consumers. A modern approach to mental health care has given birth to a dynamic new set of recovery-oriented models of care. While these largely pragmatic models and extensive evidence base for best practice in various services are encouraging (Williams and Watkins, 2012), there are many people like the patient in this study who fall through the gaps in service availability and necessity. These and other issues faced by those with communication difficulties can often mean they fall back into the far from ideal traditional custodial care modalities of mental health service, designed for those with severe and persistent mental illness (Thornicroft and Tansella, 2013: p584), and with little say in what happens to them.

4. Strategies for Effective Communication

Effective communication is a critical leadership skill, greatly facilitating the powerful alignment of employees toward the intended vision. It is thus important for leaders to learn and exercise productive communication techniques in attempting to translate their visions and messages into the necessary actions. This case study presents an excellent example of a clear misalignment of employee understanding, with a resulting negative impact of communication failures upon employee commitment and engagement. Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory recognises that in all leader-follower relationships, there are distinct groups of followers who vary in the degree of influence and support provided to the leader. In this instance it is apparent that the high level research and teaching focused academics were consistently favoured in resource allocation and informal rewards over their clinical counterparts. Such a distinct variance in the treatment of followers resulted in divided work groups known as in-groups and out-groups, with the former displaying a positive attitude to their work and a willingness to perform tasks beyond their formal job requirements and the latter merely meeting the minimum work standards. This split between the two employee groups important to note, was also propagated by insufficient communication regarding changes to work allocation and the implementation of the strategic reorientation plan. Ball (2009) purports that there are many ways in which leaders and supervisors can engage in effective communication. He recommends regular feedback to employees fostering an open, trusting work environment, consultative decision making involving employees in the decision making process thus making them feel their opinions are valued, and upward impression management ensuring employees have a clear understanding of desired work attitudes and behaviour. An improvement in communication quality and a clearer reflection of change implications may have steered the work groups in a more positive direction. This however would have required consistent leadership across all areas of the faculty, another lacking element leading to failure in the change management exercise. This in itself is an important lesson for the importance of leadership congruence in times of change. High levels of role conflict and ambiguity were experienced by staff, with a perceived lack of leadership and support through the change process. It is known that in times of uncertainty followers will look to their leaders for guidance as to acceptable behaviour and performance, an element Company and et al (2007) have said is vital in improving employee adherence to desired work practice.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, this case study has shown that effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful corporation. Without it, the framework of a well-mannered work environment begins to crumble from the top down, and the effects are prevalent. This can be tied in with the Hawthorne Effect, where it was proven that employees will work more diligently if they know that they are being watched. The simple act of the manager observing the employees’ behavior was precisely what communicated the notion that he cared about their productivity. This observation triggered the employees to reciprocate their manager’s implied concern by becoming more conscientious of their work habits. Such evidence is the first step in effective communication, allocating and assimilating information to further one’s understanding. In this case, the understanding was to fulfill their duties as best as possible. This notion of a simple social act to its wider consequences is amplified in Causey and Thomas’s “Lost at the Bottom of the World,” wherein the Antarctic explorers’ mishap is blamed on their lack of communication, albeit it was merely a one-sided written communication. The fact that the weather relay stating that their provisions had become frostbitten never reached the ears of Scott’s men led to the tragic realization that they were 11 miles away from salvation—a simple turnaround due to easy-to-understand orders and the consummation of such orders. Overall, clear understanding and informed decision-making is the goal to be achieved by effective communication. From this case study, we have seen that it is very relevant to management, in terms of applying an increase in productivity through both supervisory practices and providing a channel for discussion to better understand the employee sentiment. The examples aforementioned have stressed the importance of the communicative ‘how’ which can also be seen in modern-day business involving different cultures and navigating through the several channels of the global market. Communication is adaptable and has many forms, but the wisdom in knowing what information is necessary and the best means to deliver it cannot be overstated. And finally, in respecting the Human Resource profession, it has been made aware that an emphasis on employee-centric communication can potentially avoid disaster recruiting the wrong candidate. No matter the context, all this starts from a simple conversation.