Case Study 1: A Real Communication Problem!

People are always saying that this or that problem occurred because of a communication problem. And this is when everyone speaks English! What about when people are trying to communicate and they dont even speak the same language? Now thats a real communication problem!

Dave, a supervisor in the hotels maintenance department, was chatting during a coffee break with Tony, a supervisor who works in the propertys food and beverage department.

We seem to be constantly recruiting great employees who, unfortunately for us, dont speak English very well, Dave continued. Because English is their second language, some of my employees really struggle with it.

Its an issue in my department, too, Tony said. I guess you just have to deal with it as best you can. But its definitely a challenge. It can create communication problems for sure!

Case Study 1: Discussion Question

Question 1

What can Dave and Tony do to better communicate with employees who are not native English speakers?