Hunter-Worth: Critical Analysis of Communication

Hunter-Worth: Critical Analysis of Communication Breakdown and Cultural Disconnect

Vanessa Lyle

GM501-01N

Management Theories and Practice ll

May 17, 2013

Professor

Joel Olson

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to analyze how Hunter-Worth and the Mexican manufacturer could have communicated better in order to meet the deadline of the toy shipping schedule. In this critical analysis case, Chuck Moore, Hunter-Worth’s national sales manager, sent an email to Vicente Ruiz inquiring about the late shipments and asking for a “production schedule for pending orders and a specific explanation as to why the Mexican plant seemed to be having such difficulty shipping orders on time (Daft 2012 p.506).” Ruiz’s secretary responded to the email confirming that she had received the email and that all of the orders would be shipped in the next ten days.

A fuming Chuck Moore decided to email Michael Santo, the executive vice president for sales and marketing, because he felt that Vicente Ruiz was not taking him seriously. Soon Vicente was on the phone with Moore asking him as to why he felt the need to include his supervisor in the issue. His secretary answered the email because she thought if the situation was as important as Moore thought it to be, he would have called Vicente on the phone instead of simply sending an email (Daft 2012 p.506).

Analysis

The issue in the case study is that the difference in the way that the Mexican’s and American’s communicate was not addressed until it was too late. Instead of Chuck Moore sitting dumbfounded by the response that he received via email by Vicente’s secretary, Moore should have called Vicente to make sure that the message was clear, concise, and to the point. As Vicente stated, he did not realize the situation was so important because the message was conveyed through email.

Moore should have chosen a better channel in which to communicate his message. “Although eye contact, posture, and other body...