Reference no: EM132829312

Fatihah wasn't talking to Fattah anymore. Since her first day at Alton Goods, she had always been suspicious of him; he always seemed distant and aloof. At first she thought that he resented her MBA, her company's rapid growth, or her sense of mission and ambition. But she was determined to get along with everyone, so she took him out for lunch, praised his work as much as she could, and even kept an eye on the Little League features of her son.

However, all this ended with the hiring of the new marketing director from Midwest. Fatihah had her work views and felt her chances were fine. She competed at her rank with three other managers. Fattah wasn't running because he hadn't graduated, but his voice was meant for the top brass to carry a lot of weight. Fatihah had less seniority than any of her rivals but her division had been the company's chief and she had been loudly praised by senior management. She assumed that she would get the job with a positive recommendation from Fattah.

However, Faheem was promoted and transferred to Topeka. Fatihah has been devastated, has been devastated. It was bad enough that she didn't get the promotion but that Faheem was selected she couldn't bear. She and Fattah called Faheem "Mr. Intolerable" because neither was able to tolerate his pompous arrogance. She thought his selection was an insult to her; she had her whole career rethinked. When the grapevine confirmed its belief that Fattah had a strong effect on the decision, it agreed to minimise its involvement with Fattah.

Office ties were very cold for nearly a month. Fattah quickly gave up trying to get back into the favor of Fatihah, and only in brief, unsigned accounts did they start talking. Finally, Fauzi, their immediate supervisor, could no longer tolerate animosity and summoned the two to a meeting. "We're going to sit here until you two become friends again," he said, "or at least until I find out what's bugging you."

Fatihah resisted for a few minutes, denying that anything had changed in their relations, but when she saw Fauzi serious, finally she said: "Fattah seems more interested in dealing with Faheem." Fauzi came to the redemption.

"Faheem has been safe on the floor, thanks in part to Fattah, and neither one will have to deal with him in the near future. However, if you are upset about this promotion, you should know that Fattah had nothing else than praise and continued to say how this split will suffer when we bury you in Topeka.

Embarrassed, Fatihah stared at Fattah, who grinned and asked, "You want to go get some coffee?" Fatihah told Fattah about the coffee what she had felt for the past month, apologizing for unfair treatment. Fattah clarified that what she saw as aloofness was admiration and something close to fear: he found it brilliant and successful. He was also very careful not to offend her.

The next day, the office almost returned to normal. But there had been a new ritual: every day, Fatihah and Fattah took a coffee break at 10. Everybody they worked with soon loosened up their fun and teasing rivalry.

Questions

A. Based on your interpretation of the situation, what kind of contact obstacle did these two parties involve?

B. What might have happened if Fauzi hadn't intervened?

C. Are Fatihah and Fattah generally or uniquely misunderstood?

D. What are the challenges to organizational communication and how do you think these obstacles can be overcome?