Reference no: EM132230950
Case Study: An Effective Communications Management Plan Devised to Save People from the Clutches of Cancer The exponential growth of cancer patients in Punjab, the northwestern state of India, triggered an investigation by the Punjab Agricultural University (aka PAU) located in Ludhiana city of Punjab. In 2010, the university initiated a project to find the root cause and suggest a sustainable solution to control this epidemic. The project team led by project manager Dr. Pritipal Singh conducted thorough research and found that the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers in the state over the past 30 to 40 years has led to the accumulation of dangerous levels of toxins such as uranium, lead, and mercury, which are contributing to increased health problems in rural communities. Dr. Singh suggested that the best solution would be to spread awareness among the rural communities in Punjab on the proper use of pesticides and fertilizers in the farming. This would require an effective communications plan. Communications Management Plan By definition, a communication process involves transmitting information from a sender to a receiver. However, for communication to be effective, not only does the message need to be received by the receiver but also clearly understood. This involves selecting an appropriate format or channel to deliver the message with minimization of the barriers to communication (aka noise). Tailoring the Message An effective communications management plan involves tailoring the message and the delivery channel for a target audience. The objective of the PAU project communications management plan was to deliver the following messages to the target audience: 1. Handle, use, and dispose the farming chemicals per instructions. 2. When in doubt, don’t guess; contact PAU immediately. 3. Attend regular, free training sessions offered by the university. 4. Switch to organic fertilizers as much as possible. PAU identified various potential sources of noise or communication barriers, which included the following: • Carelessness of the rural farming community • Unavailability of clear and complete information from the manufacturers of the chemicals used • None or limited access of the target audience to the communication media To achieve the target objectives, the PAU project manager Dr. Singh devised a communication management plan for the target audience that included both internal and external stakeholders. The key internal stakeholders included the PAU project team and project sponsor PAU administration and external stakeholders included the target farming community. Table 3.1 shows the project communications customized for the target audience. Table 3.1: Matching Communications with the Target Audience Using the Right Communications Channels For effective delivery of the messages to the target stakeholders, PAU project management team selected multiple communication channels, as shown in Table 3.2. Table 3.2: Communication Channels Case Conclusion It took some time for the target stakeholders to learn about the PAU project initiative, its purpose, and potential benefits to the community. After that, PAU received tremendous support from all stakeholders. The project team members led by Dr. Pritipal Singh traveled from village to village to understand the public’s concerns, empathize with them, guide them on treatment sources for health issues, spread awareness among them about the proper and careful use of chemicals, encourage them to prefer organic fertilizers over the synthetic ones, and become champions of the change. PAU has already started observing the change in the public’s behavior and their approach toward the use of chemicals. The university expects more significant improvements in the situation in the near future.
Case Questions 1. What communication challenges did the PAU project team anticipate?
2. How did the project team prepare to meet the communication challenges?
3. Assuming the number of stakeholders in the communication loop to be 1,000, how many communication channels existed among those stakeholders?
4. Describe the communication channels used by the PAU project team.
5. What lessons did you learn from this case?