Exam 11: Bad-News Messages

Vanessa, the customer relationship manager at Silver Fish Inc., has to decline an unreasonable claim made by a customer. Vanessa will not be able to replace the product or provide a refund because the cause of damage is not covered by the product warranty. Which of the following is the best teaser statement for Vanessa to use in the subject line of her bad-news email?

Research on Uno Motor Corp. revealed that the company shows signs of the mum effect. As a result, Uno Motor is likely to

One characteristic of high-performing organizations is that employees will share bad news with superiors but not with each other.

Geraldo's tendency to be evasive when delivering bad news will not affect the way others perceive his credibility.

Which of the following is an ineffective way to soften the blow of a bad-news message?

In performance reviews, providing feedback only on observable actions typically provokes defensiveness.

The power of delivery often outweighs the content of the message in feedback situations.

Delivering bad news without knowing the details tends to cause unnecessary anxiety among receivers.

For the majority of bad-news messages, it is advisable to

One advantage of giving bad news in a written communication is that you can ensure that you state the bad news with more care and accuracy.

When reviewing your bad-news message, which of the following questions will help you evaluate the "impacts" aspect of the FAIR test?

Catherine heads a sales team, and most of her subordinates have performed well. However, one of the team members, Dave, has been performing poorly. Catherine has created a file that records Dave's performance issues and contains a few emails from colleagues criticizing him. While delivering the negative feedback to Dave, Catherine should

The following is a quotation from a negative performance review delivered by a senior manager to a team leader: "I know you and your team have the potential to turn things around for our next performance review; hence, we need to totally focus on getting everything right from now on." The performance review is ineffective because it

An email that rejects a colleague's idea should ideally start with a(n)

What is meant by the mum effect? How does it affect businesses?

Ace Machines has been using batteries supplied by its long-term vendor Thorium Inc. in all its products. Recently, a competitor of Thorium agreed to provide superior batteries at the same price, so Ace Machines has decided to change its supplier for batteries. The most appropriate way for the purchasing manager at Ace Machines to convey this bad news to Thorium is to

List the guidelines for delivering bad-news messages.

During a difficult performance review, a person with high emotional intelligence is most likely to

In her message, Bettina first explained that one of the company's major clients went bankrupt and then she said that several employees had to be laid off. This is an example of a less-direct message.

At an annual training meeting, Watson says, "Managers have to stop using the good news-bad news-good news approach for performance reviews. It gives poor performers a false sense that their work is acceptable." Watson is asking the managers to stop applying the ______ approach to delivering bad news.