Introduction
The most effective managers are able to use their power to communicate to
their employees and create a productive work environment. In the movie “The
Proposal” starring Sandra Bullock we are introduced to an editor, Margaret, who has
power in the organization but uses are power to create fear in her subordinates. The
main characters we are introduced to within this scene are:
Margaret – The Editor
Bob – An Employee
Andrew – Margaret’s Assistant
Margaret creates a rather hostile environment, through her communication
processes, and we are able to see how her actions effect the other employees in the
office. We also witness how communication processes work throughout the office
environment.
We have split the movie clip into sub-scenes for easy analysis and
understanding. Provided at the end of our analysis is a conclusion chart indicating
Margaret’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader and how she can become a more
effective leader.
Sub-Scene 1
Synopsis: Margaret enters the main office and walks past other employees. She does
not talk to anyone one her way to her own office. When she gets to her office we see
Andrew and Margaret talking about the daily tasks. This is followed by their exit of the
office and entry into Bob’s office.
Communication: As soon as Margaret enters the main office we witness an example of
horizontal communication. The communication process first used is Instant Messenger
(IM). IM is defined as a process with mid-channel richness. However, we see that using
IM elicits an instant response from other employees which is characteristic of a process
with high channel richness. IM is utilized again when Margaret is about to leave her
office at the end of this subscene. Andrew conveys the message that “The Witch is on
her broom” to the other employees. Margaret’s coercive power forces the employees to
us IM as a tool to alert other employees of her presence instead of using it for its
intended use. Regardless of this fact, we witness the effectiveness of communication
between employees.
As Margaret enters her office we meet Andrew, her assistant. Immediately, we have the
chance to observe their communication process. They communicate face-to-face, which
is considered high channel richness. Their communication is completely in sync and
they are able to understand what the other individual is trying to communicate
without having to finish the sentence. There are no ambiguities in their messages. This
means that they use language that the other understands; whether it be hand gestures
or spoken words. This is especially apparent when Andrew picks up the phone and
Margaret is able to use hand actions to get her message across. She does not need to
look at him to know that he is confused as to what the other person on the phone is
telling him. She can hear it in the tone of his voice and she is able to answer his
question. We know that Andrew has not misinterpreted her action because she would
have been quick to correct his error.
Power: Margaret’s entrance into the main office shows how she has legitimate power
and coercive power. Her subordinates know that they are expected to be working,
instead of conversing, reading magazines and eating donuts. Her presence results the
employees immediately running back to their work stations, as they fear the
consequences of being caught wasting time. The fear Margaret instills in her
employees results in communication apprehension. No one wants to have any sort of
cordial interaction with her. Communication apprehension will cause there to be a lot
of tension in the office between Margaret and the other employees.
During Margaret and Andrew’s conversation in her office, we learn of her expert
power. She was able to get Frank to go on the Oprah talk show to promote his new
book. She was also quick to inform Andrew of her accomplishment, which shows that
without her, Frank would not have gone through with the Oprah show. Margaret is an
expert at what she does. She has the ability to do tasks that other employees, especially
her subordinates, would not be able to do. Although people are fearful of her she has
obtained her job for a reason. Margaret’s expert power allows her to persuade others
because she possesses the knowledge that they are lacking. Margaret has shown that
because of her expert power she is indispensible to the organization. Indispensability is
one of the political tactics that managers should use to gain more power within their
organization.
Improvements: As a manager, Maragaret should learn to communicate more
effectively. For example, when she walks into the office every morning she could smile
and say hello. Over time her change will result in a more friendly work environment
and her employees will be more inclined to do their office work rather than other
things. Margaret will still have legitimate power but she will be liked and respected
more. This will be marked by a decrease in her coercive power and an increase in her
referent power.
Sub-Scene 2
Synopsis: Margaret and Andrew enter Bob’s office. Margaret terminates Bob’s
employment. The conversation between Margaret and Bob becomes heated while
Andrew remains silent.
Communication: In this sub-scene, Margaret makes appropriate use of the message
and medium. Margaret’s decision to have the meeting in Bob’s office is congruent with
the message she is delivering. Bob’s office allows for privacy, and ensures that Bob
knows that the message Margaret is delivering is important. While delivering
important messages such as job termination, it is critical that the deliverer of the
message ensures that the meeting is of high channel richness, i.e. face-to-face, and in
an office instead of an open area such as the lunch room where the employee receiving
the message may be embarrassed, or lose sight of the significance of the meeting.
During Margaret’s conversation with Bob, she is very assertive and confident, which
allows her to effectively get her point across. It is evident that Margaret is probably
not a new boss, as she does not come across as too aggressive or non-assertive.
LOOK FOR ASSERT AGGRESS HANDOUT.
Power: During this scene, Margaret fires Bob for a performance-related issue,
specifically that she asked him “dozens of times to get Frank to do Oprah” but every
time Bob has failed to complete this task. Margaret’s coercive power comes from her
position as manager/editor, which gives her the ability to use threats and punishment
as a way scaring her employees into getting their jobs done.
Bob fails to use one of the “Political Tactics of Gaining Power”. Through his inability to
complete his required task he has shown that he is dispensable and the organization
could function just as well without him. Bob is not a valuable asset to the editing firm.
Improvements: Overall, Margaret uses an appropriate medium to deliver her
message to Bob. Throughout this sub-scene Margaret communicates assertively;
however, to handle the situation more effectively she could have used “behaviourseffects-feelings” statements. For example, she could have said the following to Bob,
“When you are not able to complete your tasks, I am forced to complete them for you
and this makes me frustrated because I end up doing two people’s work. Therefore, I
have no other option than to let you go”.
Margaret could have shown empathy when firing Bob, instead of delivering the
message in a harsh and cold manner. In doing this Margaret could have potentially
prevented the defensiveness Bob shows in sub-scene 3.
However, Margaret insists on Andrew coming into the office while she fires Bob, to act as a prop.
Perhaps this is because Bob has a tendency to lash out, or because she feels that Bob will be more
threatened if Andrew is in the room. Whichever the case, Andrew does not possess any legitimate
power to fire employees, and therefore should not have been present in the firing of Bob. By
having Andrew act as a prop, Bob is likely to get the impression that Margaret would just like to
have a routine meeting with him. Instead, Margaret may have considered bringing with her a
Human Resources Manager or someone of a higher rank. Having Andrew a part of the situation
also has the potential for Bob to get embarrassed or defensive, as this personal message does not
pertain to him.
Sub-Scene 3
Synopsis: After Margaret fires Bob, her and Andrew leave Bob’s office. Bob becomes
irate and starts expressing his feelings towards Margaret outside of his office for
everyone to hear.
Communication: During this scene, (we witness) Bob yell at Margaret in front of the
entire office. His behaviour is a result of distortion during decoding. Distortion during
decoding occurs when the receiver of a message filas to interpret the message as it was
intended because of his/her feelings for the sender. Bob selectively interprets his
termination as a result of Margaret feeling threatened by him and her desire to “look
good to the board”.
Bob is using a response style that fosters defensiveness. As previously mentioned, Bob
incorrectly interprets the message which results in his defensive behaviour. He feels as
if he has been personally attacked by Margaret. Therefore, he wants to redeem himself
and show that his termination is not based on his inabilities but rather Margaret’s
insecurities. This is not how Margaret intended her message to be interpreted.
During this sub-scene Bob has become aggressive towards Margaret. He uses
derogatory language and aggressive gestures when initially yelling at Margaret. This
results in Margaret defending herself. She also becomes aggressive and tells Bob that
he is “incompetent, entitled, and spends more time cheating on his wife than he does in
his office”. (SHEET) Bob’s personal attack on Margaret along with her inappropriate
response to Bob has a negative impact on Margaret gaining any referent power.
Power: This sub-scene in particular displays Margaret’s lack of referent power. It is
quite clear that Margaret’s employees do not admire or respect her. It is evident that
Margaret’s lack of referent power and use of coercive power has a negative effect on
her workforce.
Margaret allows Bob yell at her outside of his office instead of taking their
conversation somewhere private. This is harmful to Margaret’s reputation because
Bob voices his opinion that Margaret treats him and the rest of the employees as her
own personal slaves. If Margaret cared about what her employees thought about her,
she would have tried her best to get Bob to stop talking. Allowing her employees to be
witness to the argument has the potential to decrease the employees’ confidence in her
credibility as a manager. Another result would be that she will not gain any referent
power from this situation as the employees are likely not to admire, or respect her
after the argument. Research has shown that referent power increases worker
performance, commitment and job satisfaction. Therefore, for a manager to be
extremely effective it is important to have referent power.
Margaret again makes use of her coercive power. She threatens to have Bob thrown
out by an armed escort and to have Andrew film it and post it on YouTube. Margaret
threatens Bob to get him to do what she wants. This is characteristic of coercive
power. Threatening an individual is an aggressive behaviour style which results in a
manager being able to influence employee behaviour. Using threats is an ineffective
way of getting employees to work to their full potential. An employee will work only as
hard as they need to so as to not feel the effects of the threat.
Improvement: In order to lessen the severity of the situation, Bob should have first
probed Margaret for further understand as to why he was terminated. For example,
Bob could have asked Margaret, “Are there other situations in which I performed
poorly and is the combination of these situations the reason I was fired? Or is it just my
inability to get Frank to go on Oprah the reason I was fired?”. By asking more
questions he may develop a more comprehensive understanding as to the reasons
behind his termination.
Another improvement would be for Margaret and Bob to control their emotions so
that their conversation does not become a display of aggression and defensiveness. If
they knew of eachother’s temperment, Margaret should have taken the conversation
elsewhere. This would prevent other employees from hearing the disparaging
comments about their manager. Although this will not increase referent power, it will
not have a negative impact on the way employees view their manager.
In situations where an employee is fired, it is hard to control what they say as they are
filled with emotions. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the manager to understand
this and not aggrevate the situation by acting aggressively to any comments they
make. Margaret should have remained assertive and not made threats.
Conclusion
Through this analysis we have shown the positive and negative aspects of
Margaret’s management style. The following chart summarizes the actions and
improvements Margaret can make to become a more effective manager.
(CHART)
Communication is one of the most critical soft skills a manager or employee can
have. Research has shown that to be a highly effective managers you must be able to
communicate appropriately. Overall, Margaret has an effective communication style
but when it comes to delivering non-routine messages, she needs to remain
assertive instead of becoming aggressive.
Managers can have a positive or negative effect on employee performance and
satisfaction based on the power base the manager uses. We have seen that
Margaret’s use of coercive power has a negative effect on employees, while her
expert power instils faith in her employees of her abilities.
Together power and communication, have a considerable impact on employees.
Therefore, it is important for managers to be aware of their managerial and
communication styles so as to allow employees to work to their fullest potential.