Background: Accident Insurance Group was company specializing in pursuit of compensation claims for victims of accidents either at work or elsewhere. Company pursued claims for compensation on behalf of victims and takes slice of compensation award if successful. Following fall in success rates for personal injury claims and withdrawal of main financial backer, company ceased trading in late May 2003. Roughly 2500 staff lost their jobs. Rumours about future of company start to circulate amongst staff when some received text messages advising them to look at their bank accounts as there were problems paying salaries; later text messages advised them that their salary hadn't been paid. There were then stories of company actually notifying staff of dismissal by text message. Chairman of company, Mark Langford, claimed decision to tell workers they had been made redundant through text message was not his and blamed the administrators, PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Problem Set:
Describe what communication processes were adopted in case (there may be more than one)?
What message/information was sender trying to send out?
Explain how successful was that person/body in communicating that message?
What barriers to successful communication did information experience?
Suggest sender on alternative approach which may have had different results.