In the past
(1) Formal face to face communication. For
internal, supervisor will talk to the employees in conference room. For
external, organization hires research agent to conduct face to face interview
to customers in the street.
(2) Formal but indirect channel such as
questionnaire. For internal, Human Resources department sends questionnaire to
employees to seek for their comment. For external, like restaurant,
questionnaire is put on the table for customers to leave the comment.
Nowadays
The communication becomes informal and
indirect. For both internal and external organization, employees and customers
can share their complaint in social media such as Facebook, Openrice and
Youtube.
Shift
factors
(1) Rapid communication
In the
past the communication platform between organization & stakeholders was
restricted to just by on the telephone, mail and questionnaire. The length of
time for both organization & stakeholders to receive complains and
suggestions would take a very long time. Nowadays with the internet became our
main social media platform; sharing became much shorter and can then avoid time
consuming process for complaining even for giving suggestions. Because of that,
not only the complaining and suggestion process became easier and shorter, also
the actions & response time for organization also became faster.
Furthermore, in the past customers tends to not complain and silent protest by
not visiting the same restaurant for example; but due to the rapidness of internet
convenience, we can complain via Apps such as Blackboard forum, openrice..etc.
this help foster for those silent protestor to voice out; also from
organization perspective, they can get a more information from various parties
(passive & active people)
 |
| Photos from www.openrice.com |
(2) More information sharing/ More
integration
As today’s
internet is a social media platform for a collective of online channels for
communities to interact and respond. This is then became one of the most
important ways for customers and organization to share and get information.
Online reviews, comments and online venue such as Facebook [2], twitter [3] and
online forums [4] can also share comments and complaints. Therefore,
organization can use these platforms for immediate responds to customers and CRM
monitoring.
 |
| http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/walmart_emp.html |
(3) Harmonious
environment
The new
environment rapid communicate had bring us is not only just convenience but
also help from human side to avoid direct face-to-face complain. Indirect
complaints and suggestion can help lower the conflicts between organization and
customer. On top of that, it could also avoid unnecessary gestures between
direct human interactions.
 |
| Source from:http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20110218/00176_055.html |
(4) Flattening the
organization chart/ Avoid power distance
For
both organization and customer context, the ease of sharing information via
various internet/intranet platform have also lower the power distance between
them. They can freely comment (informal complain) rather than formal complaints
which would harmonized the inter-relationship of the 2 parties.
 |
| photo from http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/walmart_emp.html |
 |
| Photo from www.facebook.com |
Why do organization
& customer benefit from complaints & suggestions?
1. More
methods to show Logos to organization. Logos are “content of the argument,
reasons, data”. As the increasing of communication, more and more information
can be shared. Consequently, stakeholders aware what their benefits are and
comparison will push them to get more. As a result, the only way to get more is
enlarge the pin (Thompson), and get improvement, due to everyone wants more. As
David said, “Persuasion promoted understanding; Understanding breeds
acceptance; acceptance leads to action”(Garvin, P9).
2. BATNA (is best alternative to a negotiated
agreement) is balance to employees. Not like before that people found the job
in the same town where they lived, but now where there is the good opportunity,
people will go there. All the stakeholders have their own BATNA, and the way to
keep them in competitive advanced is getting them improvement.
3. Organizations need for Learning
organizations (win-win). The more communication, the more they can interact
each other. The more interact, the more they can learn from each other. In the
other ways to say is that complaints and suggestions are helping each other to
get improvement. According to Hansen said, “As long as there’s an
organizational culture where there is no incentive for contributing, there will
be no contribution”. (Hansen, P3)
References
[2] www.facebook.com
[3]www.twitter.com
[4]http://www.discuss.com.hk/
Garvin, D,; Roberto,
M.(2009). Change through persuasion. Harvard
Business Review.
Hansen, M,; Nohria,
N.; Tierney, T. (1999). What’s your strategy for managing knowledge?. Harvard Business Review.
Thompson,
L.(2009). Win-win negotiation: Expanding the Pie. The mind and heart of the
negotiator, Pearson Prentice Hall.
