Upward Feedback and Leadership Responsibilities

Upward Communication and Case Studies
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Question 1
First, the managers should have gathered upward feedback informally by wandering around departments and socializing with their subjects. This method is highly effective as it eliminates communication barriers between leaders and subjects, provides direct accessibility between them, and allows open and honest feedback. In addition, managers are able to directly observe employees to understand nonverbal cues of communication. Second, they should have created more opportunities for junior employees to provide their honest feedback. The managers were generally harsh and cold, which dissuaded employees from interacting with them. Third, they should have followed through with the feedback and reacted to the negative comments made about them. Employees respond well when the organization values their input and utilizes it in decision making. Thus, employees’ poor confidence in the managers was caused by the latter’s lack of consideration for their feedback.
Question 2
The company can use upward feedback to its advantage in the future by creating an open feedback system that allows managers and lower level employees to interact freely without barriers. Employees can express their discontent openly without victimization and effectively influence organizational adjustment. Effective use of upward feedback will create a utilitarian culture, where decisions are made for the good of the majority rather than for the few people at the top. Such a culture will lead to a happy and a highly efficient workforce.
Question 3
Nalgene should have fought negative perception by addressing the issue publicly. One of the most efficient ways of disaster control and management is through public relations, which involves communicating the company’s position about a problem and stating the measures that it intends to pursue to rectify it. Failing to address the issue publicly indicated that Nalgene was guilty of public health violations by using BPA in its containers. The company should have come out clearly to defend its actions and then propose a solution by introducing BPA free plastic containers. Although they avoided any disastrous outcome from the scandal, they handled the issue unprofessionally.
Question 4
Nalgene’s spontaneous reaction from its retail store managers and customers allowed them to get rid of BPA plastics from shelves and replace them with BPA free products before any public backlash. The company capitalized on this information and became an advocate for BPA free products. Consequently, customers flocked to its stores as they associated Nalgene’s products with the healthy lifestyle they were trying to pursue. This approach did not surprise me because Nalgene’s reputation was on the line as the poster company for BPA use. Changing its stance on the issue meant that Nalgene valued its clients’ views, concerns, and most importantly their health, which forced it to abandon it...