SECTION A

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS BELOW WITH REFERENCE BEING MADE TO THE CASE SCENARIO IN YOUR RESPONSES.

FitForLife is a pharmaceutical company with operations in several countries across the

world. The Latin America and Caribbean operations are headed by one of FitForLife's

Vice Presidents, Mrs. Rayne Poyser. Reporting directly to Mrs. Rayne Poyser is Mr.

Hanif Mahabeer, Head of Caribbean operations, and Mr. Eddison Leighton, Head of

Latin America operations. Mr. Roger Hanson, Commercial Manager of the Caribbean

reports directly to Mr. Mahabeer, who communicates regularly with Mr. Leighton.

FitForLife's sales team in Jamaica is comprised of four representatives, all of whom

report directly to the supervisor, Mrs. Andrea Wilson, who in turn reports directly to Mr.

Hanson. Each sales representative is provided with an I Pad loaded with presentation

slides for use when communicating with the pharmacists that they ought to visit daily.

On a monthly basis the sales representatives provide their supervisor with vital

information on challenges and opportunities realized when working with the

pharmacists. One particular sales representative, Mr. Fred Smith in discussion with a

pharmacist, who is a key member of the Pharmacists' Association of Jamaica (PAJ),

realized that there was an upcoming meeting of the PAJ where FitForLife could seize an

opportunity to present information on Nutra-AZ, its newest nutritional supplement. Mr.

Smith made the suggestion to his supervisor who then sought approval for FitForLife to

present at the next PAJ meeting.

An arrangement was made for Dr. Luke Parchment to come to Jamaica and present the

information on Nutra-AZ at the meeting of the PAJ. Dr. Luke Parchment, an Italian by

birth, and the lead researcher on Nutra-AZ, is no stranger to giving regular

presentations to his peers in the world of research. He speaks English very well, but

due to his heavy Italian accent, he can be often misunderstood. At the PAJ meeting, his

use of gestures made him look outrageously animated, and distracted the pharmacists

from what he was actually saying. Additionally, his PowerPoint presentation had far too

many tables which were overcrowded with information. Several of his messages were

unclear and perplexing to say the least. Dr. Parchment relied heavily on his PowerPoint

to do the presentation for him, instead of speaking freely and persuasively. The

members of the Jamaican FitForLife team at the meeting observed all these things and

wanted to tell Dr. Parchment, but thought it was already too late because the

presentation was already on its way and they were not too sure if they would have

made the situation worse. And as if things could not get any worse, at one point, there

was a three-minute disruption in the electricity supply causing the presentation to stall.

1. Explain the SIX steps that are generally involved in an effective communication process. (6 marks)
2. Identify and explain FIVE communication barriers in this case study and say what can be done to remove each barrier. (10 marks)
3. Barriers to communication may bring about conflicts. As a Business Communication student, distinguish between the TWO types of conflicts and explain THREE ways conflicts can be countered. (5 marks)
4. Dr. Parchment conveyed information in an organizational context. However, it is clear that his audience was left somewhat dissatisfied as his communication lacked certain vital elements. List four characteristics of Business Communication and say how they could have improved Dr. Parchment’s presentation. (4 marks)