Which factors contributed to motivate the troops to go ahead for such a difficult task as recovering a damaged vehicle from such a difficult and treacherous terrain and getting it repaired in such a short time
Which factors contributed to motivate the troops to go ahead for such a difficult task as recovering a damaged vehicle from such a difficult and treacherous terrain and getting it repaired in such a short time
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Professional Communication Skills
All
case are compulsory:-
Case
I - HAZARDS OF HILLS
INTRODUCTION
This case is based on an actual incident
which took place in an Army Unit deployed in field area. A part of a Battery
(about ¼ of an Artillery Regiment) was deployed in a snow bound high altitude
area of Kashmir. This was the first time, an artillery unit was deployed in an
area with roads and tracks still under development. Preparation of this area
for such a development needed a lot of digging for guns, pits for ammunition
storage, living place of the personnel, slit trenches and weapon pits for local
defence against any possible enemy/terrorists’ attack on the position, place for
storage of rations, cook-house and communication trenches, etc. The total
strength of the party deployed there was
a)
Officer - 1 (Second Lieutenant with about one
year service)
b)
Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) - 1]
c)
Jawans – 40
The Battery Commander (BC) remained with
the Regiment Headquarters at Srinagar (with the remaining part of the Battery)
as per the orders of the commanding Officer. There was a vehicle with the part
of the Battery which was deployed at high altitude to assist in the daily administration
of the troops like collection of ration, stores for preparation of defences,
water, and ferrying of personnel from one place to another. The vehicle could
go only upto a limited number of places due to bad road conditions and steep
gradients. Only one driver was kept for this vehicle to reduce administrative
problems due to more number of personnel. The vehicle completed about 35 to 40
kms. of running daily in its routine commitments. The part had just been
inducted about two weeks back. The defences were being prepared which involved
lot of effort in digging of hardened ground due to the cold winter months of
November. The defence stores were to be collected, once the digging was
complete, from another Engineering Unit located about 5 kms. to the rear. The
roads were treacherous; with a number of stones and slides falling down
occasionally during drizzle due to precipitation in atmosphere, there were
steep gradients, narrow roads with sheer falls on one side due to the road
having cut into the side of hills. The digging was complete by end November. In
the month of December, snow fall at that location was expected any time, as it
had already started snowing in the higher reaches and tops of mountains. The
digging had been completed in a record time of two weeks. The party under the
stewardship of the young officer had done a commendable job. In the first week
of December, the only driver of the vehicle reported pain in the chest and
problem in breathing. He was evacuated by helicopter the next day with
instructions to inform the unit to send another driver for the vehicle. It took
about three days for any one to reach this area, with staying of two nights
enroute in order to acclimatise by stages. The detachment was to be without any
driver for about three days. Another driver was detailed to proceed to this
area, after having been medically examined and found fit. A day after the
dispatch of the driver, the young officer with this party arrived in the unit
and reported that the vehicle had fallen from a hill-side road and was
completely damaged. The office was in a complete state of disarray and shock.
What actually had happened goes something like this. After the first driver of
the vehicle was evacuated, the weather started turning bad and it seemed that
it was going to snow that day. The officer realised that in case of snow fall
all the efforts put in by the troops would go waste, if the dug-ins were not
covered. Realising this, he borrowed a driver of an ambulance from a local
medical unit to direct his vehicle for collection of defence stores. After the
stores had been collected and dumped at the site of defences, the vehicle was
being driven back to the party’s location. Before it could reach this location,
it had to negotiate a dusty and steep track. At a steep climb the vehicle
stalled and got switched off. All the men got down, prevented the vehicle from
reversing by putting stones behind the wheels and started checking what had
gone wrong. After the check on the engine had been carried out, the bonnet
cover slipped off the hands of the driver while closing it and fell to closing
it and fell to closing position with a bang. Because of the jerk thus created,
the stones placed behind the vehicle slipped off. It was later discovered that
there was a glassy smooth layer of ice under the thin layer of dirt which could
not hold the stones firmly and stopped upside down because of the obstruction
created by a big boulder. As there was no one in the vehicle, there were no
injuries to personnel. On close inspection by the officers, it was found that
the vehicle body, cabin, bonnet steering wheel and two of the four wheels were
badly damaged. The office, being quite young and inexperienced, could not
ascertain the real condition of the engine and chassis. He thought those too
were damaged, whereas because of some providential chance, the chassis and
engine remained intact. The BC was given the responsibility of getting the
vehicle back to the unit. He was given a vehicle fitter and recovery vehicle
with a driver. The BC took two more Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and
proceeded to the location to retrieve the vehicle. It took two days to reach
with a few hours of the last leg of the journey in complete darkness in that
snow bound area with treacherous slippery roads. On reaching the location, the
Commanding Officer of the local unit, who happened to be the Station Commander
of that sector, expressed his unhappiness on their taking such a great risk.
With the assistance of all ranks of that unit, who came in willingly, it took
two days to get the vehicle out of the boulder strewn area on to a track. It
was a minor military operation in itself in that hostile terrain, and inclement
weather of high altitude. The troops and officer had a very good rapport with
those of the local unit and there was not much of a problem in getting the men
of that unit to assist.
While coming back, the hazards of night
journey were very obvious. There was a thick layer of snow on the road with
slope towards the khuds as layers after layers kept on accumulating, freezing
before the water could roll down the complete slope. There were steep falls on
one side. Both these phenomena, peculiar to hilly terrain, were not very
discernible because of the darkness. The headlights of the vehicles exposed
very little. There were frozen nalas where the vehicle would skid, aligning
itself in the direction of the frozen nala, which tended to prove quite
dangerous at times. At such places, the few troops and officer available would
get down, push the vehicle to keep it aligned to the road and in turn slip down
themselves on the frozen snow, most of the times face-down, in an attempt to
push the vehicle. Though the situation was quite grave, it sometimes bordered
on being humorous with everyone laughing spontaneously. At one place, the BC,
pushing the vehicle to keep its tail and aligned to the direction of road, fell
down, slipped a few feet down the frozen nala and landed up head down in a
frozen khud about five feet deep. But for the direction of landing, the slip
and fall could have proved quite dangerous. There was complete silence. The
vehicle was gently stopped on the snow itself, secured with pegs along the
wheels and rescue operation commenced for the ditch. There were several humorous
remarks by the BC and the tension was relieved at once, with troops working on
the vehicle with renewed vigour and strength once again. At another place, the
recovery vehicle with the damaged vehicle behind it at suspension toe slipped,
but because of the dexerity of the driver, it was saved from going down a nala
by putting it on the left. The BC himself was in the recovery vehicle to give
encouragement and moral support to the driver, sharing all the risks which his
troops were facing. He did all that the troops did, while directing,
controlling and executing. The party with the vehicle, reached the unit
location on the evening of the second day after starting from a high altitude
area. The problem of recovery of the vehicle being resolved, the question of
enquiry into the caused embarrassment to all those in authority in the unit and
also the officers and jawans of the sub-unit/battery. Meanwhile, the inspection
of the vehicle was carried out to assess the extent of damage. It was found
that the engine and chasis were intact and the rest of the items of the body or
fitment were damaged, either lightly or severely. To avoid embarrassment to the
unit and loss to the exchequer, as well as in view of the administrative
difficulties, the BC decided to have the vehicle put on road with the units’
efforts and at the earliest. Meanwhile, the cabin-hood of the vehicle had been
purchased for about Rs 650 and was paid for by the BC, from his own pocket,
thus setting an example to others. The JCO and jawans were also keen to pay for
other damages. The offer was appreciated but declined. The Officer-in-charge of
the local Army Workshop happened to be an officer with commendable helping
attitude, positive bent of mind and with an understanding of peculiarities and
problems of the area where such accidents were quite frequent and possible.
When approached to assist, he listened to the whole incident very
sympathetically and promised to assist in whatever way he could. This officer
was a contemporary of the unit in a previous station and had excellent
relations and interaction with the unit. Some items were offered by the
workshop officer and replaced accordingly. The vehicle was made roadworthy
again within a fortnight and put on road for duty. All the enquiries were dispensed
with and there was no loss of face by anyone at any level. It is pertinent to
mention that it had snowed in that location as soon as the recovery party came
out of the hills.
QUESTIONS:
- What
are the qualities of a good leader? In this case, how were they applied?
- Which
factors contributed to motivate the troops to go ahead for such a
difficult task as recovering a damaged vehicle from such a difficult and
treacherous terrain and getting it repaired in such a short time?
- Which
incidents indicate the importance of good interpersonal relationships with
juniors, peers and superiors and what is the importance of good
interpersonal relationships?
Case II - Checking Out a Guest
A guest walked up to the front
desk agent in an upscale hotel, ready to check out. As she would normally do
when checking out a guest, the agent asked the guest what his room number was.
The guest was in a hurry and showed his anxiety by responding, “I stay in a
hundred hotel rooms and you expect me to remember my room number?” The agent then asked for the guest’s
name, to which he responded, “My name is Mr. Johnstein.” After thanking him,
the agent began to look for the guest’s last name, but the name was not listed
in the computer. Because the man had a heavy accent and the agent assumed that
she had misunderstood him, she politely asked the guest to spell his last name.
He answered, “What? Are you an idiot? The person who checked me in last night
had no problem checking me in.” Again, the agent looked on the computer to find
the guest. The guest, becoming even more
frustrated, said, “I have a plane to catch and it is ridiculous that it has to
take this long to check me out. I also need to fax these papers off, but I need
to have them photocopied first.” The agent responded, “There is a business
center at the end of the counter that will fax and photocopy what you for it.
Haven’t you ever heard of customer service? Isn’t this a five-star hotel? With
your bad attitude, you should be working in a three-star hotel. I can’t believe
they let you work here at the front desk. Haven’t you found my name yet?” The agent, who was beginning to get upset,
asked the guest again to spell out his full name. The guest only replied, “Here
are my papers I want faxed if you are capable of faxing them.” The agent
reached to take the papers, and the guest shouted, “Don’t grab them from my
hand! You have a bad attitude, and if I had more time, I would talk to someone
about getting you removed from your position to a hotel where they don’t
require such a level of customer service.” The agent was very upset, but kept
herself calm in order to prevent the guest from getting angrier.
The agent continued to provide service to the guest, sending
the faxes and making the photocopies he had requested. Upon her return, the
agent again asked the guest to repeat his last name, since he had failed to
spell it out. The guest replied by spelling out his name, “J-o-h-n-s-t-o-n-e.”
The agent was finally able to find his name on the computer and checked him
out, while he continued to verbally attack her. The agent finished by telling
the guest to have a nice flight.
 |
| Which factors contributed to motivate the troops to go ahead for such a difficult task as recovering a damaged vehicle from such a difficult and treacherous terrain and getting it repaired in such a short time |
Questions:
- Is
it appropriate to have the manager finish the check-out? Or, should the
front desk agent just take the heat?
- Would
you have handled the situation in the same manner?
- What
would you have done differently?
- Communication
improvement is required for both of the parties involved or any one of
them? Justify your opinion.
CASE III - EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW OF R P
SINHA
Mr. R P Sinha is a MBA.
He is being interviewed for the position of Management Trainee at a
reputed company. The selection
committee’s is chaired by a lady Vice – President. Mr. Sinha’s interview was as follows :
Committee : Good morning !
Mr. Sinha : Good morning to
Sirs and Madam !
Chairperson : Please, sit down.
Mr. Sinha : Thank you (sits
down at the edge of the chair, keeps his portfolio on the table)
Q. Chairperson : You are Mr. R.
P. Sinha
A Sinha : Yes, Madam. This is how I am called.
Q. Chairperson : You have
passed MBA with 1st Division.
A. Sinha : Yes, Madam.
Q. Chairperson : Why do you
want to work in our organization ?
A Sinha : It is just like
that. Also, because it has good
reputation.
Q. Member A : This job is
considered to be quite stressful. Do you
think you can manage the stress involved.
A. Sinha : I think there is too
much talk about stress these days. Sir,
would you tell clearly what you mean by stress ? I am very strong for any
stress.
Q. Member B : What are your
strengths ?
A. Sinha : Sir, who am I talk
boastfully about my strengths. You
should tell me my strengths.
Q. Member C : What are your
weaknesses ?
A. Sinha : I become angry very
fast.
Q. Member A : Do you want to
ask us any questions ?
A Sinha : Yes Sir ! What are the future chances for one who
starts as a management trainee ?
The member tells M. Sinha the typical career path for those
starting as Management Trainee. The
Chairperson thanks Mr. Sinha. Mr. Sinha
promptly says in reply, “you are welcome,” and comes out.
Questions
:
1. Do
you find Mr. Sinha’s responses to various questions effective? Give reasons for your view on each answer given
by Mr. Sinha.
2. Rewrite the responses that you consider most effective to the
above questions in a job interview.
3. Mr.
Sinha has observed the norm of respectful behaviour and polite conversation. But, do you think there is something gone
wrong in his case ? Account for your
general impression of Mr. Sinha’s performance at the interview.
Case IV - Outsourcing Backlash Gets
Abusive, Ugly
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect
to your boss in the US,” hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a
Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could. At another call centre, another day, another
yound girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, “ Yound lady do you know
that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.” The outsourcing backlash is
getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and
women taking calls at these outsourced job centers. Supervisors tell them to be
“cool”. Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based
consultancy firm says,” Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and
India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly
surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone.”
Vashistha says Indian call centers should train their operators how to handle
such calls. Indeed, the furore raised by the western media over job losses
because of outsourcing has made ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact
that their call are being taken not from their midst but in countries, such as
India and the Philippines. The angry outbursts the operators face border on the
racist and sexist, says the manager of a call center in Hyderabad. But
operators and senior executives of call centers reguse to go on record for fear
of kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies’ losing
clients overseas. “It’s happening often enough and so let’s face it,” says a senior
executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, “This doesn’t have any impact on
business.”
Questions:
- Assume
you are working as an operator at a call centre in India and are receiving
irate calls from Americans and Lodoners. How would you handle such calls?
Conceive a short conversation between you and your client, and put it on
paper.
- “Keep
your cool.” What does this mean in term of conversation control? Do you
agree with the view that such abusive happenings on the telephone do not
have any impact on business? Justify.
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