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WHEN PEOPLE COMPLAIN

Using Communication, Negotiation

and Problem Solving to

Resolve Complaints

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Vhen People Coplain Using Comunication, liegotiation and Problem

Solving to Resolve Complaints

12- PERSONAL ALITORMS

Aggens, Lorenz W.

13a TYE OF REPORT jl3b TWAE COVERED 114DATE OF REPORT (YeaiwMond~,Day) 15. PAGE COUT

Final FROM____ - TO 1991IJune 117

16. SUPMtMENTARY NOTATION

[ 17F COSATI CODES 18& SUBJECT TERMS (Continue on revoerse if necesay and identify by block number)

FIELD GROUP ISU3-GROUP inplaint Hangement Program, complaint behavior, problem

solving, conflict management, communications

19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number)

This hankbook sets forth the principles that have been found to be effective ina the

arenas of environmental conflict management, and customer service complaint management. At

the end of some chapters there are more detailed exercises or case studies for classroom or

study group use. The basic premise of this text is that effective communication makes

learning and teaching possible, and opens the door to cooperative problem solving. If such

mutual learning and teaching does not remove or lessen the actual causes of citizen annoyance,

it can nevertheless lead to the enchancement of USAREUR relationships with citizens, and the

enchancement of their satisfaction with USAREUR procedures used in reponse to complaints.

2DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY OF ABSTRACT 21 ABSTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

ffI UCLASSIFIED1JNLIMITEO 0 SAME AS RPT 0 DTIC USERS Unclassified

22a NAEO EPNIL NIIUL22b TELEPHONE (include Area Coe2c OFFICE SYMBOL

Mark DunnP..(0)355-3090 77 CEWRC-IWR

DD FORM 1473,84 MAR 83AReiinmyb sdutlehutdSECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE
WHEN PEOPLE COMPLAIN

Using Communication, Negotiation and

Problem Solving to Resolve Complaints

Produced for:

Office of the Deputy Chieff oStaff. Engineer

US. Army. Europe. and Saenth Army

-

June 1991 IWR Report 91-R-4

41 09
FOREWORD

wMI MoMMW5 mbzdrbg em on

and nim co am in Genrny. As usd in ths

bandlodk, coI maccgen refers to e 2pVkcfom of stegiis, conpiain handing sgems

and skiifls to increme the lewd of German citizen

-Jfactio wvih te US. Army presence in their

The develO penz of such strategies, systems and

skills to effectively deal with complaints is the

second of a two part initiative by the US. Army

- Europe (USAREUR) to deal with the collision

of US. military and German civilian interests.

The first USAREUR initiative provides for the

assessment of military noise sources and impacts, and an exploration of the measures that

can be undertaken to prevent or mitigate these

impacts. ReportsI on these studies can help the

interested reader understand the means of

reducing sound levels at their source, or protecting people from military sounds with structural

or institutional actions.

This handbook sets forth the principles that have

been found to be effective in the arenas of environmental conflict management, and customer

service complaint management At the end of

some chapters there are more detailed exercises

or case studies for classroom or study group use.

Citations for publications, studies, and ideas

identified by a superscript numeral - like this0

can be found in the References section at the end

of the text

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers

Institute for Water Resources
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

he aemecn of us bmt in Coamit

gaim reflects h initiatii, sPoiam, ideas ofa

numba of the uSAREUR saff %rho haie firshand experence in this ~wrk.

Special thanks is due to Pl Huber, fomerly

of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for

Enpineerin, HQUSAREUR, for his effots in

applying the pinciples of conflict resgution

and problem solving to the management of environmental issues in USAREUR. The success

of these efforts led to t initiation of this pro- ject.

Lieselotte Kahn, Benton G. Moeller, and Chris

Holshek of the Office of the Deputy Chief of

Staff, Host Nations Activities, sponsored the

further application of conflict resolution and

problem solving principles to the complaint

management process.

The help of many USAREUR field personnel

who contributed their time and experience in

the development of this Handbook is also

gratefully acknowledged.

This handbook was written by Lorenz W. Aggens; INVOLVE: Lorenz Aggens and Associates; Wilmette, Illinois, in consultation with

Dr. C. Mark Dunning; Institute for Water Resources; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Fort

Belvoir, Virginia.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Fr-ewword ............................................ iii

Acknowle( ments ----------... v

Table Of Cont ts ....................................... vii

I Introduction ...................................... 1-1

I Complaint Management Program ........................... 2-1

III Understanding Complaint Behavior .......................... 3-1

IV Complaint Management The Basic Principles ..................... 4-1

V Complaint Management Program Elements ...................... 5-1

VI Communications ................................... 6-1

VII Conflict Management ..................................... 7-1

VIII Problem Solving ........................................ 8-1

References ............................................ REF-1

Appendix A: Model Standard Operating Procedures For ...................... A-1

Complaint Management

Appendix B: Complaint Worksheet And Instructions ....................... B-1

Appendix C: Complaint Handling Functions ........................... C-1
I- INTRODUCTION

A. PURPOSE AND CONTEXT E Studies have been conducted to develop a

better understanding of the ways in which

The United States is one of several nations pro- military noise can be reduced. The findings

viding armed forces to the North Atlantic Treaty and recommerations of these studies are reOrganization (NATO). Maintaining readiness othr resorce documents. Iin 1

requires frequent and realistic training. Military N A strategy and supporting policy is being denoise and other environmental problems were veloped so hat USAaU R staff can present

discounted by military personnel, and tolerated a aeonsstnt consistent approach arEac t t andlingent to the handling of

by the German citizen, as unfortunate by-prod- noise complaints.

ucts and necessary risks that went with the job.

Germans understood, or were told that it was not 0 Resource materials and training have been

in their best interest to complain, about these an- created to help staff increase their skills in

noyances that were directly related to their na- handling complaints and managing controtional security. Among those who did not feel a versy, effectively. Chapters III through VIII

national security risk, it was felt that there could of this handbook are aimed at that goal.

be a personal, economic risk if military noise and

environmental complaints resulted in a reduction B. OVERVIEW OF THIS

in the military presence in their community. HANDBOOK

In recent years, however, as the population of This handbook, and its companion course in

citizens who have never experienced a national noise and environmental complaint management,

security threat has increased, the level of accep- identifies strategies, systems, and skills to intance of military noise and environmental degra- crease the level of German citizen satisfaction

dation has decreased. Recent studies suggest a with the U.S. Army presence in their communigrowing intolerance among German citizens aald ties. Chapter ! presents the reasons for having a

communities for pollution associated with Army Complaint Management Program, and how such

activities. Litigation, political pressure, citizen programs are used in private industry and in

opposition and controversy associated with this other government agencies. Chapter III explores

growing intolerance are seen to pose threats for the question of why people complain in order to

the Army's ability to train and maintain readi- develop a better understanding of how comness. plaints can be more effectively addressed. ChapNow, as fences and walls between East and West ters IV and V present the basic elements of a

are breached, even greater changes in attitudes complaint management program.

about national security and military readiness Three chapters of this handbook are devoted to

can be expected. In the new political envi;on- the principles and thought processes upon which

ment, effective complaint management is a mat- staff skills in effective complaint handling can be

ter of critical importance to misoion developed. These chapters cover COMMUNImaintenance. Complaints, if ignored or misman- CATION (Chapter VI), CONFLICT MANAGEaged, can contribute to the sorts of pressures that MENT (Chapter VII), and PROBLEM

pose serious threats to the USREUR's ability to SO,,ViNG (Chapter VIII). These, and other

continue to train and operate as its mission re- chapars, include exercises that can be used in

quires. the training program; by a complaint manageAs a result of the increased necessity for effec- ment unit pursuing its own study and skill develtive complaint management, USAREUR has opment program; or by individuals who are

taken the following actions: using this text for independent study.

1-1
The basic premise of this text is that effective

communication makes learning and teaching

possible, and opens the door to cooperative problcm solving. If such mutual learning and teaching does not remove or lessen the actual causes

of citizen annoyance, it can nevertheless lead to

the enhancement of USAREUR relationships

with citizens, and the enhancement of their satisfaction with USAREUR procedures used in response to complaints.

1.2
H- COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

A. WHAT IS A COMPLAINT It is also likely that an effective complaint manMANAGEMENT PROGRAM - agement program will increase the number of

complaints received. What then, are the pay-offs WHY IS IT NEEDED? of the implmentation of such a program?

The term" Complaint Management Program" re- In fact, there are two pay-offs for effective cornfers to the policies, procedures, and techniques plaint management.

that will be applied within USAREUR when citi- 1. By making it easy for people to complain,

zen complaints about military activities are re- and by documenting and analyzing those

ceived. complaints, USAREUR can learn a lot about

its relations with its host communities and

The objective of these policies, procedures, and citizens. Working with this information, and'

techniques is to ensure that the following actions with the people whose satisfaction is at risk,

take place: USAREUR may find ways to increase its aca Information on the citizen complaint will be ceptance and service in a time in which hisdocumented and analyzed to identify the torical values about military security are

causes of citizen annoyance. likely to diminish.

E This information will be communicated to 2. By building effective complaint handling

appropriate staff to determine if some nis- procedures and developing relationshipsion-consistent action can be taken to reduce building communications, USAREUR can

or eliminate the cause of the complaintL create more positive feelings about the U.S.

E Where remedies cannot be found, staff will military presence in Germany. Good will

interact with annoyed citizens in ways that may not solve the problems that trigger the

demonstrate that citizen complaints have complaints, but it will decrease the need to

been taken seriously, and that efforts have escalate a localized dissatisfaction to conflict

been made to respect their values and inter- that is argued in larger institutional and poests. litical arenas.

a Records of the causes of citizen annoyance, These pay-, ffs may be clarified by citing some

reflected by their complaints, and the actions of the actions that are being taken by private sectaken to respond to these complaints, will be tor organizations to effectively manage cormaintained and reviewed with all incoming plaints about their products and services. It may

staff with responsibility for conducting mili- not be stretching imagination beyond the realities

tary activities so that actions taken to resolve or mnagd noie eniromentl pob- of present day European politics to ask you to

or manage noise and environmental prob- picture German citizens as the customers for

lems will be'continued. U.S. military services.

It must certainly occur to many who have been

handling complaints about U.S. Army activities B. COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT

in Germany that complaints have been effec- PROGRAMS IN BUSINESS AND

tively managed for many years without such a GOVERNMENT

program. This is true. In fact, the complaint management actions established by this program In the past ten years, and especially in the last

probably will not differ significantly from the ef- two or three years, there has been an explosion

fective complaint management activities already of interest in complaint management by private

being taken in several USAREUR units. sector companies. Government agencies are now

2-1
following these examples. Many research studies makes about its business policies and prac- have been conducted on complaint behavior and tices.

institutional responses to complaints. Some of

the findings of these studies are summarized be- The literature of customer service and complaint low:3 management has many examples of commitment

* Dissatisfied complainants tell twice as many and oraiton.Temutofesrcsefr, innovation by private sector and government

people about their bad experience, compared organizations. The amount of resources, effort,

to the word-of-mouth communications by and emphasis that some well-known corporacomplainants who are satisfied or who have tions place on developing customer satisfaction

had manager. a positive interaction with a complaint through effective complaint handling is impres- sive - even astonishing.

" Where dollar values can be calculated for

customer satisfaction and repeat business,

complaint handling departments often show

that they are significant profit centers - re- ER ICE

turning more money to the company than it SERVICE

costs to handle complaints. The Wall Street Jounal October 6,1989

" More than half of businesses surveyed report "Companies increasingly are finding that bad

that the telephone is the way that the major- servicecostscustoiners. who switch Sevcnoftencustomers from one company to a competitor

ity of their complaints are received. More citepoorservice-notpriceorquality-asthethan 40% of these businesses publish toll reason."

free numbers to encourage customer com- "InarecentsurveyO, 86%of6l 'FortuneS00'

plaints or comments. senior executives polled named 'quality of cus-

* Nearly 90% of businesses maintain records tomer service'as 'extremely important' to their

of consumer complaints, more than three- conpany, and a higher priority than 10 other

qcuarter omeselbuineses ue tat a items, including productivity and company quarters of these businesses use statistical reputation. That is up from 68% who cited analyses of complaints in policy decisions customer service as 'extremely important' in

about their products and services. 19860."

" Seventy percent of the surveyed businesses "Companies also are trying to wrest customer

give communication skill training to the staff servicefrom low-leve4 untrainedpersonneL In

who handle complaints. Philadelphia, Fidelity Bank raised the average annualsary of its 100 custonerservice repre.

sentatives 58% to $19,000 and authorized them

to resolve problems involving sums up to Among the policy implications of the report to $1,000; before, they had to get a supervisor's

the Office of Consumer Affairs, two strategies approval to resolve any problem involving

s'and out: money. A survey taken after Fidelity made that

change and centralized its customer service op. 1. Complaints should be proactively solicited eration found over 90% of customers would

from dissatisfied customers. previously." recommend the bank to afriend up from 65%

2. Complaint handling practices that maximize "Many companies struggle with service be.

cause they haven't effectively tracked customer customer satisfaction should be adopted. satisfaction. Traditional market research de.

partments which gather information on trends,

It can also be inferred fr, i the report that effec- demographics, or market segments, dk.n't de. five complaint management requires a third strat- termine whether customers actually got what egy: they wanted. 'A printout wiltell you what color

customers are buying, but not what color they

3. Complaint data should be recorded, ana- askedforthat you didn't have,' says an official

lyzed, and used in decisions the organization of O a spectaty retailer."

2-2
n General Electric aggrzssively advertises its Safety Hotline that collects information on autotoll free, 24 hour a day, seven days a week, mobile safety problems. The Auto Safety Hotline

customer contact unit, the "GE Answer Cen- has a staff of 13 people who handle an average

ter". In 1985, the Center received approxi- of 20,000 complaints each month.

mately 2.6 million calls. Only 5% of the calls

were werecomlains; he rmaider erere- The Department of Defense has a complaint han- complaints; the remainder were requests for service or help with problems. The dting unit that receives approximately 180 corncustomer contact agents receive five weeks plaints each month about dissatisfaction with the

of training for their work. GE brings 90% of service or products of the Army and Air Force

all calls to closure on the first call. Exchange Service. This Customer Relations Office has the equivalent of 4.5 full time staff to

U Polaroid operates a toll free telephone con- deal with letters and calls about its more than

tact service - the Customer Resource Cen- 200 Exchanges, worldwide. Seventy percent of

ter - that handles as many as 1,500 calls a the complaints are received by telephone call.

day. Ten percent of these calls are com- Congressional inquiries are handled within 48

plaints. The Center and five field offices are hours; all others are responded to within seven

staffed by 40 to 50 people. The 800 number working days.

is embossed on all Polaroid cameras and

printed in bold type on its other products. The most common complaint management acSenior corporate management receives a fre- tions taken by government agencies may be

quent analysis of complaint data to use in those of commercial airports. Many airports

correcting and preventing future problems. were opened before travel by air became the

norm, rather than the exception. The advent of 0 General Motors has toll free telephone numbers the commercial jet, added to air traffic never an- that can be used to reach its automotive

Divisions. In 1985, the Buick Division ticipated by airport and community planners,

logged more than 250,000 calls - most of brought aircraft noise and high levels of annoythem were requests for information. Tele- an into the lives of millions of people. Most

phone complaint handlers are trained in how major airports now have staff whose responsibilto talk with angry people. Among other ity is to receive, document, and respond to airthings, they try to keep the complainant on craft Aroti noise complaints. hcgfreape At O'Hare International oeta

Airport in Chicago, for example, more than the line to give them time to "ventilate" their 12,000 complaints are received annually. These

anger as well as to give information about complaints are computer analyzed to give operatheir complaint. Computer links to dealers

near the complainer forward complaint data tions managers information about noise annoyance by any combination of these variables: time even while the dissatisfied person is on the

line, of day, day of week, month of year, community

of complaint origin, type of aircraft involved,

Many agencies of the Federal government have type of disturbance, type of operation, activity

major complaint management responsibilities, disrupted, and number of times the same person

Most of these units function as pass-through han- has complained.

dlers of complaints, or receive complaints in the

course of performing regulatory functions. Ex- C. IMPLICATIONS FOR

amples are the Environmental Protection USAREUR

Agency's action on complaints about toxic and

hazardous waste handling by local industries or Studies of complaint behavior and private sector

waste haulers, and the Department of Labor's trends in complaint management lead to these

documentation and follow up on unfair labor conclusions about a USAREUR Complaint Manpractices or discrimination. agement Program:

The Department of Transportation's Highway w USAREUR hears from only a small percentTraffic Safety Administration offers an Auto age of the people who are dissatisfied with

2-3
the effects of the U.S. military presence in

theircommunities. The people that are heard

from are those who feel the negative effects

on their lives have been -large, and they are

often very angry. To improve its understanding of the problems Germans have with

U.S. Forces, USAREUR should adopt a proactive program to increase its complaint-related communications with German citizens

and public officials.

" USAREUR should give serious consideration to the complaint data it collects, using

this information to continuously assess the

effect of its mission requirements on local

quality of life, and to eliminate or reduce the

sources of annoyance and dissatisfaction

when those mission requirements permit.

" USAREUR should provide guidance and

training to staff with complaint management

responsibility so that they can increase citizen satisfaction with the procedures used,

and the relationships experienced in interaction with U.S. Forces.
EXERUSE

HAVE YOU ER AMDE A FORMAML COMPLINTABOU SOEn G - HAVE

YOU WRITTEN A LETTER, CALLED OR PERSOYALLY CONFRONED AN

ORGAAIZATIONABOUFA PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

> If you have NOT made such a complaint but can think of something

that really annoyed or dissatisfied you, why did you NOT complain?

> What did you do to dea with your annoyance, anger, or dissatisfaction

(how many people did you tell about your experience?)

> If you DID make a complaint, what happened?

* Were you treated fairly, and courteously?

* Do you think your concerns changed tie way that organization

offers its products or services?

If you have a choice, would you do business with that organization

again?

2-5
HI - UNDERSTAINDING COMPLAINT BEHAVIOR

A. INWRODUCION u s s 2s wise% it is 2so cm tai ft

team ,wiseeius2 vay wit& SanLe of

L te fiks two sectiom of ti rmls two soas th lm e a adheVSC, C (=-

iMlPM= facwus hne bun iZ=Tnrd that P-2 tn, or amwong effect. Some sotares n me

tfity to a USARELR Czaint 1memrm ot amkom - ihs may, in fart be qite sWt in

ProerAM. frms of &aCwt measm - c2a be iez 2nwoy1. Noise is the cmiim t prb of g-eaest concern to Genia citizens. 2d US. The poimnt to Imember is that the mn .-ed krl

miiitaz acthiiks in Gmnv m a sIa of a soamd and the effect of that sound on a percam ir I in the Mlse prommea. son is not ceswly direcly related - at kast

iXofzX as that peM's respoMe o the sound iS

2 Only a relati~vly small propoition of peole conceraed. Moseovr, individuals may respond

who are d fised, an omod, or aggered by to the same sound in quite different wavys One

a negahe condition or expe ee in their persn may be highlY annyed by the s , and

liVes, acaM y tak Cao to COMp12M about call it "'noise, while another person may only

it. be moderately disturbed by the sae somnd. A

third person might be spised that anyone is

This section of the !iandbook explores some of even sligbuy disturbed, and ask: "What noise?"

the faoms tha contribute to individ:-d annoyance, and the conditions that impel some people

to take complaint action. Understanding annoy- HOWLOUDISADECIBEL?

ance and complaint behavior will help complaint Soundismemuredin gaits eddedbe (J)

managers as the pinciples of conflict manage- Con~w e touk aboe 70dB is

ment, problem solving, and hiih stress commu- c b

nications are presented in the following sections

of this book. Here are sawe fwuniar sounds - and #%eir

dedbdevds:

This examination of complaint behavior will fo- SOURCE B TEM,

cus on noise as an environmental hazard and

source of annoyance that may result in com- Airral(4om)slren 130

plaints. Many of the social and psychological Jetattaeoff 120

factors that relate to noise annoyance and to

complaint behavior can be assumed as factors AMid rock mxtk 110

that apply to the other actions of the U.S. Army (Loud).Motmce 95

that impact German citizens and communities.

Where these other, non-noise actions, have a

specific importance in complaint management, Heavytrat'c 80

they will be identifieJ. (Loud) Vacuum Cleanr 75

B. GENERAL CONCEPTS Noalnconasaflon 60

Ratnfall 5o

"Noise" is a term that is laden with subjective

feelings and values, as well as decibels. While it SofWhrsper 30

is true that, for most people, there is a direct Source: U.S. Environmental Protection

relationship between sound volume, or decibel Agency

level, and the feelings that cause them to label

3-1
tpia hzwrd adL cmrr _. - fvma vmy

load ==L fm i c 5s to ecd s 4 ITLEAV RJ MIACESfl7IEFA S

23d fromt cmzin firrpecid of r-w pieb of ft

oim An o=ra singewr' iroy ag bab wz

Fs=cr 3 &m As id -rn th 1 --m =d. d e Asocid

tba =ay be causd frnw mm din = 1~r aJ CUMe Adt thal ?m pta o kj$1 nff uraige ime efects of so=m S.M& Oti c2=se it to dfaYfiWe do A"d bhi- aa. WVkm= MM

be caled "wnie-" Amoag tft most commoa of r-ap s.ax .hzfs.xi rko,1

ts e fth distinbmr of siep an comnceca- g:io hasJw.nLio-ede -oi

Ji, imerferice %ith cmmunication - hear- he 'WS. hariagagrmd-faidock

ilng or Weing hear4 and the jilical reactions oaf*ek pii Aada fyst

when starded by a unexpected sound or no Vanefor.egrVUP),

After this immediae effect comes the delayed (Th7mi)aionyfafgareecouraction of annoyane. Annoyace may lead to pesfdthde l suit 4af" ying to xegoae

either reflexive actions or considered actions to wi* (the church) for bro nmat The bel

protect against the harm or annoyance of the chhweachdayunarlyeinL. Theys*Ae

noise, or to lessen or eliminate the experiencing heors

of the noise in tle future. These may include

actions to modify the annoyed parson's behavior 'We could raise Ae vouae a [a hthe, but

or environent (moving away fom twere respecting the neighbors," said Rev. (churchman, pastoral (the church). 'We did

the noise, or closing a window or door to make a respt the neighbor who goes fo bedeady, and

banier to the sound), or actions to deal with the wequitsAing thehourat7pm."'

noise at its source (turning the volume down, or

asking others to do so).

Complaining about noise A wealthyparishionerofa Catholic church left is an example of an mnyt h hrhi i il-o h neyq to the church in his wil - for the

action to deal with the source of annoyance. But, purchaseandinsta dnofreabefsJorepiace

as has been previously rioted, not everyone who theeectronic bellsthathadbeen usedforyears.

is annoyed by noise complains about it. Rela- With muchfanfare the real bes were installed

tively few people who are annoyed by noise, and and readiedfor lhira use

potentially put in harm's way by it, complain Whe nthesignalwassiven, the bells peaedabout noise. For this reason, complaints must be andthroughoutthechurchneighborho4 peoconsidered a very poor indicator of the degree to plecameout ofterhousestofndout what was

which people are annoyed, and possibly harmed, going on. The bells are very loud - much louder than the electronic bells they replace. by military noise. And the voune cannot be turned down on the

It is very important to understand the difference real belts.

between noise annoyance and noise complaints. A debate has sinmeredeversince the realbels

The following paragraphs describe some of the were instaffed. It's not exactlya Cathoic versus

factors that contribute to noise annoyance, and Protestant debate, according to church offiwhat it is that causes some people to complain cials. But, they admit, most of the complaints

seem to comefrom people who are not affdialed about their annoyance while others, who are with that particular Catholic church.

equally or even more annoyed, take no complaint action. The argumaent that, when you buy a house witdin sight of a church bell tower you ought to

expect to hear bells, did not work very weg and

it has been quietly dropped Some people wish

that is what would happen to the bells.

3-2
C. FACTORS THAT 5. H Whe walheEfkct people think that the

CONTRIBUTE TO ANNOYANCE noise they hear may hare a negative health

effect - like causing a hearing loss, or inWITH NOISE ducing nerousnes and irritablity - their

Again, as ageneral r, te te annoyance increases. Health effects can re- : Aginas agenralrule, te loderthes~ud sut foise Annoyance is related to the

the more it is likely to be a source of annoyance sult no thom is migtyane, ra the

to people, and be labeled "noise." But, what are tan toay evidence that the health is, in

the factors that cause other, lesser sounds, to be fat bn avecti

annoying? fact, being affeced.

The research of Fields and Hale on the "Corn- 6. Non-noise Impat: If the source of the noise

munity Effects of Noise" identifies six factors seems to be related to other negative impacts

related to personal attitudes and feelings that on people or their community, annoyance incontribute to raised levels of noise annoyance: creases. Air pollution from idling truck en1. Fearfulness: People seem to be more an- gines makes the sound of these engines

noyed by noise that they associate with pos- annoying. The noise of a military convoy

sible danger or harm. The sound of military can be more annoying to the person who is

aircraft lying, over a community may not be stuck in the traffic jam caused by the conloud enough to cause annoyance, but the voy.

vivid TV images of destruction and death

caused by the crash of a jet into a row of There are other factors that can turn relatively

homes can cause annoyance over the anxiety low levels of noise into highly annoying noise.

and fear that it could happen again. Some sounds have tonal qualities that make them

very intrusive. For example, the sound of chalk

2. Preventability: When noise seems unneces- or a fingernail 'ing scraped on a blackboard can

sary, or when there would appear to be ac- cause a sharp reaction and annoyance if repeated.

tions that could be taken to reduce noise, The screech of steel wheels at a curve in steel

annoyance increases. Annoyance is made rails can be more than just intolerably loud. The

even greater when little or nothing is done to wail of a siren (or someone disc's baby) can be

actually prevent preventable noise, or when penetrating and arouse the attention as well as

noise makers refuse to acknowledge respon- the annoyance of those nearby. Annoyance with

sibility or apologize for preventable noise. noise can also be related to personally held values. The sound of a chain saw in a forest can be

3. Noise Sensitivy: Some people are more music to the ears of a lumberman, while that

sensitive to the intrusion of sound than other same sound is a cacophony that pains the envipeople. A person who values quiet and tran- ronmentalist. While studies conflict over the efquility, or whose baseline for what consti- fect of economic connections to noise sources -

tutes noise was set in a quiet community, the sounds of the factory in a mill town, for exwill have a low tolerance for noise and a low ample - there is evidence that patriotic values

annoyance threshold. can lessen annoyance with very noisy sound

sources. For example, levels of annoyance with

4. Nei~hhorlood Evaluation* When people Concorde jet noise at Heathrow Airport were

have little difficulty in finding faults and found to be associated with patriotic attitudes

probem problems iteirculty in their neighborhood ni d f - s wnd when about (Fields the and British Hall) 4role in Concorde development

they are already annoyed by things other

than noise - it is a small and easy step for

them to be disturbed and offended by noise Closely related to values and preventability in

at levels that may not annoy people who feel the creation of noise annoyance is the factor of

good about their neighborhood. "appropriateness", which often has a cultural ba3-3
sis. Most Americans do not find the sound of a 3. Belief that individual or group action can

lawn mower on a Sunday afternoon to be inap- lJadt.... hn People who habe been effecpropiiate (although somewhat intsive if it is live in influencing the world around them -

ot cutting your grass). But this sound is consid- or who feel they could do this -feel that

ered to be very inappropriate and annoying to complaints make a difference in the way

most Germans. Noise during a funeral, or during things turn out. People who have not been

"quiet hours"; a loud party that goes on beyond able to make changes through personal corn10 P.M.; or a radio or tape being played on a munication with identifiable authority evenboom box in a public place - are examples of tually give up trying - or resort to collective

noise that fail the test of appropriateness, and action with others. Because personal efficacy

create noise annoyance. is often related to higher levels of education,

income, and social status, noise complaints It must also be noted that preventable noise is correlate more closely with these factors

sometimes made purposely to annoy. It can be than with high levels of measured noise.

used in one-sided humor; to flaunt differences in

culture, status, and rules; and as a weapon to 4. Awareness of the means for making a corn-

"get even". When noise is used in this manner, pliinl: People who do not know how to

annoyance is compounded, and conflict escala- make a complaint usually do not go to the

tion begins, trouble to find out how to do this. When the

mechanisms and processes for making a

D. FACTORS THAT TURN noise complaint are made known, the nuniNOISE ANNOYANCE INTO

NOISE COMPLAINTS GMTING TO THEBOTTOMOF TINGS

Sometimes, with no neasurable increase in

mitary activities or noise levels, Army cornThe "Community Effects of Noise" study plaintmanagers notice an increase in thefnuii-

(Fields and Hall) identifies six conditions or ber of complaints about noise. In some of these

caves, effective complaint managers have been factors that affect citizen action to reduce or able to identify other causes of annoyance that

eliminate noise through individual or group corn- have apparently lowered people's tolerance of

plaints: noise (or other problems) and resulted in the

increase in conplaints. It takes effective cons1. Dissatisfaction with existing noise condi- nunicafion to get to the bottom of things, like

ins: Complaints about noise are generally this:

the result of repeated annoyance events, or a Installation safety and legal officers recoincontinuing noise annoyance, rather than a mended the closing of public access to a road

single noise event. The decision to complain that cut across the installation. When this was

about noise requires the growth of dissatis- done, some people who had been able to drive a

faction to the point where the person an- relatively short and direct route into town now

found that they had to drive all the way around noyed by noise decides that tolerance is no the installation to get to town. Noisecomplaints

longer an option. from people living in this sector increased sud

denly.

2. Identifiable object or authority: Complaints When posted Government land was declared

are usually aimed at a specific annoying "closed" to hunters just before deer hunting

season opened, noise complainto soared. When noise source, or at someone who, it is be- these lands were reopened for hunting - and

lieved, could "do something" to lessen or promises were nade that this would be the case

stop the noise. It is hard to find a focus for a during the next deer hunting season - noise

complaint about highway noise. In contrast, conplaints dropped to levels below what they

it is easy to find an object or authority at had been before the closing

which to aim an airfield noise complaint.

3.4
ber of complaints increases But the number In these stressful moments it is difficult for the

of complaints is not a good indicator of the complaint manager to avoid the use of defensive

magnitude of the noise annoyance problem. communications that further jeopardize the relaThe absence of complaints cannot be a sign tionship. It is for this reason that special commuof effective noise management if the noise nication skills, more often acquired through

complaint filing process is obscure, training than through experience, are needed. It

is also difficult to avoid the value laden conflicts

5. Introduction of a new focal point for action: over what "should" or "ought" to be done. UnWhen new equipment or procedures are in- derstanding the principles of conflict managetroduced, or there are other changes that ment and cooperative problem solving can help

might affect the noise environment, people the complaint manager in these situations. These

will be stimulated by these events and topics will be presented in other sections of this

changes to initiate or renew noise com- handbook.

plaints. The equipment or procedures do not

need to be proven more noisy to stimulate E. IMPLICATIONS FOR

complaints. USAREUR

6. Social and political structure facilitates pub- Although there are other, larger political agendas

li action: Noise annoyance creates noise that motivate some German citizens to complain

complaints when there is effective communication and interaction in a cohesive community, and when the political system permits HOW WE REA CT TO NOISE

and fosters individual and group critique. Reactions to a temporary threa such as a sud.

Military noise complaint management pro- den, loud noise:

grams are probably a low priority among the

armed forces of the Warsaw Pact. • Adrenaline tlows Into bloodstream

- Heart rate increase

Fields and Hall4 also identify common charac- • Blood pressure rises

teristics of people who make noise complaints.

Although complainers are willing to invest more * Muscles tense

personal effort than others in the community Reactions to constant threa4 such as a pro.

who were equally annoyed, they are not unusual longed noise:

members of the community insofar as their sen- • Chronic hypertension

sitivity to noise is concerned. They do not have

psychological problems that impel them to com- • Heahdltls

plain. Their willingness to act is related to their • Depression

greater ability to describe their problems and

their greater confidence in dealing with authori- Anxiety

ties. • Nightmares

Anyone who has dealt with someone annoyed Source: Roosevelt Hospital - New York City

enough to complain about noise, or any other

problem, can certify that these interactions are

marked by high levels of feeling and emotion on "Children who lived near (the flight path of a

busy airport) did markedly poorer than others the part of the person who is doing the complain- on sotvingjigvaw puzzles -andperhaps nwre

* ing. The complainer usually feels a sense of significantly - they gave up much more eas.

righteous indignation, and as communication de- d, 0y."

velops, there is a tendency for more colorful

verbs and adjectives to be used to match these Source: "Noise: The lnvisibleRisk"

feelings and drive home the point.

3-5
about military noise, the people who handle

ths complaints as installation or Host Nation

representatives report that most complaints are

related, genuinely and specifically, to personal

noise annoyance. As demands for German national sovereignty increase, and the perceived

need for U.S. military deterrence in Europe decreases, the willingness to accept noise annoyance as the cost of national security will

diminish. Noise complaints will certainly increase if U.S. Army training and readiness missions are continued at their present level.

Effective noise complaint management strategies

and systems, and knowledgeable and skilled staff

are needed to develop and maintain the levels of

citizen satisfaction and community relations that

will support a continued U.S. Army mission in

Europe. However, the summary findings of the

Fields and Hall study of noise annoyance and

complaint management seem particularly applicable to the activities of USAREUR. These findings are as follows:

"Though a variety of steps may enable the policy

maker to reduce complaints against noise, the

noise annoyance research has not discovered any

step that might be taken to reduceth annoyanc

with persistent noise sources except that of reducing noise levels." (emphasis added)

Reducing the number of complaints is NOT the

goal of a USAREUR Complaint Management

Program. It IS the goal of a program to use complaint data to try, within mission limits, to reduce

the annoyance felt by those people who complain

about noise and other environmental problems

- and by the many more people who are annoyed, but who do not complain.

It is also the goal of a Complaint Management

Program to handle the complaints of annoyed

people in ways that will prevent their irritation

from increasing because of inappropriate procedures or insensitive communication and interaction. It is in the interest of the Army that these

efforts be made to eliminate procedural and relationship dissatisfaction and, by doing so to lessen

the need for complaints to be escalated into political conflict that can threaten the USAREUR

mission.

3.6
EXERCISE

THINK ABOUT'TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN ANNOYED BY" SOUNDS THAT

HAVE INTERFERED WITH YOU AS YOU HAVE TRIED TO SLEEP, RELAX,

CONCENTRATE, READ, WRITE, COMMUNICATE, OR ENJOY YOURSELF.

> What are some very soft sounds that have been noise to you?

> What was the context in which those sounds were heard that made

them annoying, and therefore noise, to you?

> Was there anything different about your physical or your psychological

makeup at the time that made noise out of a sound that normally would

have left you not annoyed?

> What are some very loud sounds that you do not consider to be noise?

> What is it that makes these noisy sounds acceptable to you?

3-7
IV - COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT: THE BASIC

PRINCIPLES

A. INTRODUCTION

Cdnitinued...

At the core of an effective Complaint Manage- mentProramis apricipe tat i baic ~So o thezse folks took out their energies by corn.

met Program is a principle that is basic to a- plaining. Theyconpaine4 withnoavailtothe

most every arena of human interaction - insallation PAO, to the Chief of Staff, to the

including managing conflict, negotiating, super- Commanding General They complained tono

vising, teaching, parenting, buying and selling, avai4 to their state adfeder-l representatives,

curing, loving, and even leading an Army. To and to the President of the United States. They

bet peven tried to get the Federal Aviation Admini- begin an understanding of this principle it might strationtotakeoverthlegrass airstfip at the edge be helpful to think about a time when something of town and declare theAir Forcejels in violahappened to you that made you feel angry, frus- tion of regulatedairspace - to no avaiL

trated, unfairly treated, confused, discounted, or

It looked as though these people were destined

a hundred other bad things. It could have been a tofalU as sudden, cardiac victims of the "startle

memo from the boss about your performance, or effect" as the experts called what they were

some organizational change. Maybe it was a no- complaining about. Butthensomethingunexice from your bank, credit card company, or pectedhappened.

landlord about a financial oversight or delin- One day, when thejets paidtheir startling visi,

quency. there happened to be a wildlife biologist from

All of these situations involve a direct or indirect the Fish and Wildlife Service in town. He had been making a study of the Woodland Stork in interaction with other people, some of them act- the swanp behind town that was a "wldlife

ing in roles that reflect organizational or personal refuge" on the inap. When he heard that this

knowledge, authority, responsibility, or power. was ni I the first, nor was it likely to be the last

All of these interactions need next steps in the tinme that the jets flew over town - and the

continuing negotiation for satisfaction in our v/dlife refuge - he sai4 "We'll see about

It turns out that the Woodland Stork (or whatTHEY GOT WJAT THEYWANTED, BUT ever it was) was an Endangered Species that

THEY'RIEMOREANGRYTHANEVER was to be protected byfederallaw. 7he law said

The residents of a snuw14 rural'conununity ad. that whenever there was a question about the

jacentto an Army installation (in the USA) were survival of the species, the species was required

really annoyed. It wasn't the noise as much as to WINover whateveritwasthatwas erdanger.

it was beingscared half to death by the two, high ing it. In this case, the biologist contended the

perornmanceAir Forcejets thatpracticallytook noise of the jets might happen just as a pair of

down your television antennas on their twice-a. Storks were thinking about breeding - and

month fly.over after a practice bombing and that wod be the end of that romance - and

strafing run at the Fort just maybe, the species.

If people could have been warned when this So the jets were ordered to go sonewhere else,

would happen, they probably would have gone and they have. The people have what they

out in the street with their kids to watch. It was wanted to get - quiet, or at least Freedom fron

quite a show for those who got to see it But Startle. But are they ever mad! The way they

mostly, thejetsjust appeared at tree top leveton see it, it wasn't the people that got taken into

an otherwise quiet day, and left people with their consideration by the government it wasa Stork

adrenalinepumping, heartrateandbloodpres. in the woods. And that leaves them feeling

sure way up, and muscles all tense and wanting pretty annoyed with the whole process, and the

to pound on something (all known reactions to people that ran it. Their muscles are all tense

sudden, loud sounds). again. Watch out!
lives. Our lives are filled with the need to re- need to work on increasing the amount of

spond to proposals, contracts, treaties, promises, satisfaction that can be obtained from the

pacts, vows, regulations, and complaints that way that things are done. Procedures that

arise out of our interaction with people. seem fair and honest, can in somemeasure

compensate for the satisfaction we fail to get

B. THE NEED TO DEFINE AND in substance in our interaction with others.

DEVELOP SATISFACTION For example, when an election is conducted

without fraud or duress it is our satisfaction

The degree to which we move ahead with these with election procedures that will help us to

interactions - implementing, fulfilling, main- accept the defeat of our favored candidate or

tamining, or abiding by our part in them - de- proposition. If that procedural satisfaction is

pends upon the degree to which we feel satisfied absent, citizen often seek to overturn election

by what is happening. That satisfaction has three results - violently, if necessary.

components (Figure 1).5 If German citizens achieve little or no sub1. Substantive Satisfaction stantive satisfaction in their complaints about

U.S. military activities procedures used to

We necd to see that progress is being made handle and consider complaints which are

toward the realization of our interests and visible, open and fair can give these citizens

needs; that our concerns are being cared the satisfaction they need to prevent their

about; that our problems are being solved; concerns from being escalated to higher pothat our values are being honored. While we litical levels.

seek to maximize these substantive satisfactions, we are aware that other people have 3. Relationship Satisfaction

different and sometimes conflicting goals.

Therefore, we recognize the need to negoti- It also helps us to accept decisions that proate our substantive satisfactions with others, vide 'less than full substantive satisfaction, if

and prepare to settle on ,ptions that may not we come out of our interactions with others

give us the exact am', . of satisfaction that feeling OK about ourselves and about them.

we want. Relationship satisfaction does not mean that

we have to be friends with everyone with

Complaints to USAREUR about military whom we negotiate life's substance. But it

noise or other environmental issues have does mean that the way in which we were

often been countered by the argument that treated, and the way in which we treated othconcessions cannot be made with the na- ers, helped us and them to maintain self-estional security mission of U.S. Forces. Ex- teem and self-confidence.

cept for locally negotiated operational

agreements that may, or may not, be honored Relationship satisfaction might be called

by subsequent Community Commanders, psychological satisfaction to more clearly

this argument has prevailed in most cases, distinguish it from procedural satisfaction.

This has often left the German citizen or Procedural satisfaction can be objectively

community substantively dissatisfied, defined and measured; psychological satisfaction is subjective, and therefore, harder to

2. Procedural Satisfaction define and neasure. But calling it "psychological" we may infer that actions taken to

Because we rarely can get the exact amount develop this satisfaction are only therapy for,

of substantive satisfaction that we want with- or manipulation of, complainers. The purout the costs of competition, or give others pose is far from this. The end product of

the exact amount or action that they want relationship satisfaction is the feeling that we

without the costs of accommodation, we have respected, and have been respected;

4.2 . ...
Relationship Procedure

Satisfaction

Substance

Figure #1 - The Components of Satisfaction

4.3
that we have accepted (not agreed), and have personnel. Earlier chapters have pointed

been accepted. out that population density in Germany

leaves little room for day-to-day living

In complaint management, relationship satis- activities, let alone military operations,

faction means that, whatever the substantive that do not take neighborliness into conoutcome, and whatever the procedures were sideration. Americans need to underthat were used, both the USAREUR staff stand and accept the Germans' feelings

and the German citizen can feel that they about the natural environment; about prihave been engaged in useful communication; vacy and quiet; and about the importance

that neither has discounted the interests of of special times set aside for relaxation,

the other. family activities, and religious observance.

C. IMPLICATIONS FOR

USAREUR b. Avoiding annoying and complaint-triggering actions and behaviors need to be

Actions attentive to substantive, procedural, and a continuing part of the planning of oprelationship satisfaction can be taken by the erating units. This thought process

Army that can prevent and. reduce annoyance should extend into the off-duty and offand citizen complaints, installation activities of all personnel.

Complaints have been triggered by mili1. Preventing Citizen Complaints tary convoys operating on the Autobaln

on German holidays; by Little League

It is an assumption of this handbook that ball gaes on Sundays; by maneuvers in

U.S. military personnel will be taking every prime recreation areas; by loud music

technically feasible action to reduce the from "boom boxes" caried by soldiers

magnitude and the frequency of noise and on adofu b y heier ds

environmental problems caused by their wash day; and by many other actions

equipment and operations. In addition, it is that could be better planned, or avoided

assumed that a systematic recording and entirely.

analysis of complaints will have a feedback

to USAREUR operating units so that correc- Many of the citizen annoyances that lead to

five action can be taken where problems are complaints can be prevented with increased

identified, and where mission requirements communication and coordination among

permit. Other publications in support of this USAREUR units and between military comComplaint Management Program detail the

opportunities and the technical means for

prevention, corrections, or mitigation of

noise and environmental problems at their 2. Reducing Citizen Complaints

source. 1

Where substantive satisfaction cannot be inThere are other, non-technical actions that creasea by reducing or eliminating the

can be used to lessen annoyance of German source of noise or environmental annoyance,

citizens with U.S. military activities. Preven- it may be possible to modify German citizen

tative actions, such as those below, should be attitudes about the activities that create these

given emphasis at all levels of command. problems. Both in the United States and in

the foreign arenas where U.S. military activia. Learning about, understanding, and ac- ties take place, it has been found that citizen

cepting German norms and values need annoyance with these activities decreases

to be an important part of the indoctrina- when there is a clearer understanding of the

tion of all U.S. military and civilian purpose of the activity, and of the efforts

4-4 .
being made to lessen negative impacts of the

activity.

Public affairs activities, such as open houses

and tours of military facilities, have helped

in areas where there are general complaints

about U.S. actions. The effectiveness of public information seems to increase where

these efforts focus on specific problem

equipment and operations. Advance warning

of activities that might cause annoyance

seems to lessen, rather than increase, the filing of complaints - especially when people

who are likely to be annoyed are specifically

notified, and told when the annoying activity

is scheduled to begin and end.

When this kind of planning is evident and

clearly takes community impacts into consideration, it is possible for people to schedule their own activities to lessen their

annoyance, or to work with military communities to better coordinate the scheduling of

necessary military activities and sensitive

community events.

Many of the actions that can be taken to prevent or lessen annoyance and reduce citizen

complaints contribute to procedural and relationship satisfaction as well as to substantive

satisfaction. And even though efforts to increase procedural and relationship satisfaction may appear to be compensations for the

inability to deal with the substance of noise

and environmental problems, unexpected

substantive satisfactions may occur as the affected citizen sees, hears, or feels events differently.

D. SUMMARY

An effective Complaint Management Program is

intended to improve communication with German citizens and public officials. It is sensitive to

the interrelation of substantive procedural and relationship satisfaction, and to the possibilities for

trading off among them to reduce citizen annoyance and complaints. Complaint management

policies, procedures and techniques build on this

principle can protect the Army's interests.

4-5
EXERCISE

TtI INK ABOUT' NOISE OR ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINTS THAT YOU OR

SOMEONE ON THE USAREUR STAFF HAS RECEIVED IN THE PAST. CHOOSE

ONE THATDID NOT TURN OUTWELL - WHERE THE DISSATISFACTION OF THE

CITIZEN OR PUBLIC OFFICIAL CONTINUED AFTER FINAL USAREUR ACTION

HAD BEEN TAKEN.

> Was there anything that was done that caused procedural dissatisfaction?

> What could be done to increase procedural satisfaction in a future

complaint management of this kind?

> Was there anything that was done chat caused relationship dissatisfaction?

> What could be done to increase relationship satisfaction in a future

complaint management of this kind?

4-6
EXERCISE

RFMEMER A COMPIATMAT YOU MDE TO SOME ORGOVZATION ABOUT

HTS PRODUCTS OR SER17M~c Y'OUR EXPMOMA'E MY4 /L41E BEEN GOOD, OR

1TAYHAVEBEENBAD.

> If you were generally satisfied i~h the experience, was there something that was done that increased your procedural satisfaction or your

relationship satisfaction?

> If you were dissatisfied with the experience, %as there something that

contributed to your procedural dissatisfaction or your relationship dissatisfaction, or was your dissatisfaction entirely substantive in nature?

> Can you think of a complaint nanage-ent experene that you or

someone else has had (either as a complainer, or as a complaint manager) that ended with the complainer substantively satisfied, but nevertheless, dissatisfied because of procedural or relationship problems?

4-7
EXERCISE

A U1 COMUMfY COMMANDER SAID, 'MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS WE GET

ARE lE RESULT OF OUR DOING DUMlB TYINGS THATHAVE NOTINVG TO DO

WITH OUR MISSIONCAPABILIY.

> Recall and list some of the complaints that you have had to deal with,

or that you have heard about, that are the result of U.S. Forces or U.S.

military or civilian personnel doing unnecessary, avoidable, or "dumb"

things.

> What are som examples of smart things that have been done that have

taken German norms and values, or community needs into consideration - while preserving U.S. military mission capability?

4-8
V - COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT: PROGRAM

ELEMENTS

A. INTRODUCTION management emphasis and recognition is only a

part of what is needed. In fact, if any of the three

The story is told of a factory that was having elements reflected in the story of the factory was

financial troubles because the product it made missing, organizational effectiveness - quality

was not as good as tiwe product of a competitor, in the case of the factory - would not have inThere seemed to be little question that what was creased. The three elements are:

needed was increased quality. To fix this prob- E STAFF Skills

lem, the factory manag rs decided that all machine operators should be sent to training * Effective SYSTEMS

programs in quality control, and that each opera- s Organizational STRATEGY

tor's performance should be recorded and reported. This was done. Quality did not improve

signiicanly. STRA REATGIC Dent of Cmpai

Upon furtier study of the quality control prob- Management

lem, opemiors reported that many of the ma- PaeS ervetctie

chines were older by far than the people that e £. a J. was Presdent of rhe

worked them, and that it was very hard to main- Mariott l chain, he read eveyone of

tain quality control calibrations and setting on approxiuatey30,000customer lettersthat were

the machines. Machines were repaired and re- receied in ayearIs tne. Now, as Chaiman of

placed. Quality did not improve significantly. the Board of Marriott, he still reads about 10%

of the customer lette, and 2% of the approxi. The foremen were then called in and asked what matdy 750,000 conment cards received each

should be done. They reported that their workers

did not feel that quality was as important to man- FdityBankPresidentRosemarieGrecoread

agement as low cost and fast delivery, and that all letters sent to the President by customers of

foremen were required to penalize poor perform- the bank, which includes 124 aneh banks in

ance rather than reward good performance Phmadih She reads summaries ofaf othr

among machine operators. They recommended

that top management come down "on the floor" A senior Vice President of Della Airines caLb

of the factory and talk directly to the workers al custonseir who write comjdaint letters about

about the importance of quality, and that recognilion of high performance be a top management L. Fortune fagadbne; "How 7 Han & Cus.

responsibility. lbs was done. Quality increased tomer's Gripes';'lO024188.

dramaticAlly.

B. THE ELIEMENTS OF These three critical elements are an intentional

part of the design for increasing the effectiveness

PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS of the USAREUR Complaint Management program:

The quick, intuitive reaction may be to attribute 1. The STRATEGIC Element for Program Efthe change in quality to top management empha- fectiveness

sis and positive reinforcement. However, studies

in organizational effectiveness - measued in A strategy for effective complaint managequality, or cost, or delivery, responsiveness, or ment - just as for quality products and servwhatever terais - increasingly indicate that ices - requires top management emphasis,

5-1
resource support, and recognition of positive solving and a change in the conditions that

results. More than directives and slogans, the have caused the annoyance and the comcritical element of strategy requires the lead- plaint. If that is not the result, the systems

ership of command example. This strategic should at least contribute to the development

initiative must of procedural and relationship satisfaction.

be clearly and repeatedly stated, made under- Because there is a wide variety of military

standable by actions as well as words. and activities that cause noise and environmental

reinforced by word and deed at every level annoyance and complaints - some of them

of command. unique to a single military community -

each complaint management unit needs to

Strategic emphasis requires more than a pol- design its own systems for recording, analyzicy statement. It requires that the actions of ing, and following up on complaints. A comevery person with command authority or plaint recording procedure/SOP and data

program responsibility - from CINC, to form to help serve as models are offered in

Community Commander, to the Duty Offi-: Appendices A and B.

cer, to the Platoon Leader - from Host Nation Director, to Airfield Operations Officer,

to Public Affairs Secretary - be consciously The SYSTEM Element of Conplaint

focused on the goals of effective complaint Management

management. Private Sector Perspective

Putting complaint management at a level of When Coca Cola company introduced "new

Coke'; ny people tried to catg the company to

strategic emphasis also requires that this complain. To facilitate this, the conmny in

strategy be congruent with each and all of stalled a toll-free telephone number (1-800-

the strategies that define the other activities GET-COKE). Complaints rose from 400 per

of USAREUR. There cannot be a strategy day, to 12,000perday-andon thedaythatthe

for complaint management that is at odds "old Coke" was returned to the marke4 18,000

with the strategy that winds the spring for the people called the company. Coca-Cola reports

thatcustomerloyalhy is higher today than it was

Training Office, or the Office of the Judge before they introduced "new Coke" -and the

Advocate General. Meshing these strategies hot-line.'

is not easy work, or work that, once done, is American Epress reports that i costs them five

permanent. All activities will require a high to ten times more money to handle a complaint

level of communication among their operat- with a letter, than to talk to the person on the

ing units to coordinate strategies. telephone - and the telephone call builds

greater customer satisfaction. Some experts beI The SYSTEM Element for Program Effec- lieve that a company has a 30% greater chance

of retaining customer loyalty from a telephone

tiveness response, than from a letter response.'

The systems that are used to help staff im- Half of all companies with nwre than $10 million in sales have 1-800 telephone numbers for plement the Complaint Management Pro- customers to use if they have a complaint

gram must be designed to serve both the

person who is annoyed enough to complain, 1. Fortune Magazine; "How To Handle Cusand the people who initially handle and later

manage that complaint. The systems must be

"friendly" as well as theoretically effective. Other systems to assist complaint management

through the possible reduction in German citizen

The systems must invite use because they are annoyance may also be needed such as:

seen by both the staff and the complainer as a The prompt indoctrination of incoming militools that move them toward problem tary and civilian personnel concerning

5-2
complaint management strategies, policies, SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

-principles, and procedures.

" The coordination of German community CONTROL

events and citizen plans with schedules for Internal Follow-up

U.S. military activities. Referral Follow-up

" The briefing of new military Community MANAGEMENT

Commanders and newly elected or appointed Statistical Generation

German public officials about problem solv- Policy Analysis

inf processes and past agreements. Input into Policy

" The maintenance of records of agreement Evaluation

between U.S. Forces and German communi- Planning

ties and individuals. Accountability

n The creation of greater public awareness of Incentives

the purpose of U.S. military activities, and Staff Selection and Training

the actions being taken to reduce, mitigate, PUBLIC AWARENESS

or eliminate sources of noise and environ- Creation PUbLIC of Public Awareness Awareness

mental annoyance.

Tohelpcomplaintmanagers inthedevelopmentof

effective systems, a study of complaint handling This organizing scheme was offered for the conmethods was commissioned by the U.S. Office of sideration of Federal government agencies who

Consumer Affairs. The research program exam- have complaint handling responsibility. It is

ined the systems and procedures used by the com- gaining credence as more and more agencies of

plaint units of more than 300 private and U.S. government are making complaint managegovernment organizations that provide or regulate ment a strategic priority. cosme X~hcs n eri.7

consumer products and services. Appendix C contains a brief summary of the role

.that each of these functions play in insuring the

TIe study's report lists 19 complaint handling effectiveness of the SYSTEMS element of a

functionsthatwerefoundtobecommontothemost Complaint Management Program. This informaeffective complaint handling programs. These tion should be taken into consideration, along

functions are organized in six "key sets" within with the model Standard Operating Procedure at

two principal groups, as follows: Appendix C, to design the SYSTEMS that will

best serve individual programs.

OPERATIONS FUNCTIONS 3. The STAFF Element for Program EffectiveINPUT ness

Screening The selection and training of staff who can

Logging and will use the effective and "friendly"

Classification systems to implement the Complaint Management strategy is equal in importance to

RESPONSE the creation of the strategy and the developResponse Investigation ment of the systems. But because this handResponse Formulation book and its companion training program are

Response Production intended for this staff development purpose,

the remaining chapters will focus on the

OUTPUT STAFF element.

Distribution

Storage and Retrieval

5-3
USAREUR personnel who find themselves This does not mean that staff who self-evaluwith complaint management duties are more ate themselves as being different from this

likely to have these jobs because they are the model complaint manager should drop out of

"goes-with" of other responsibilities - like complaint management work. For almost

Public Affairs, or Airfield Operations. At everyone, the requisite skills of communicaleast initially, complaint managers will not tion, problem solving, and conflict managehave been specifically selected for this work. ment can be learned, and tolerance can be

But, in the most effective of public and pri- developed for in-coming complaints that

vate sector complaint management organiza- seem illogical, irrational, and badly motitions, careful selection of personnel is a vated. Few people, even among the best of

primary ingredient of success. complaint managers, get up in the morning

looking forward to another day as a target

for people who are annoyed or angry.

The STAFF Element of Coniplaint Management It should also be said that there are some

P' trPerspectve people who perform valuable and skilled S St Pservices with dedication and excellence, but

Procter and Gamble complaint handleis get who should not be placed in the job of dealfour to five weeks of classrootnwork in'cons ing with angry and emotional people. It

plaint himdlngandprobemsdlvlng. should never be held against them that they

JohnsonandJohson(Tytenol adotherhome cannot do the work of complaint manage-

,health products) gives 300 hours of trainin g to ment without making the annoyance of oththe infoirnation speciaists that staff its 1z800 ers worse. It should be to the credit of

customer service spec aasts, anyone who knows enough about himself or

.Toyota. ranks, its customer service repre- herself to ask others to do this work. That, in

sentatives on their courtesy in telphone (ad itself, is an important form of staff selection.

personal conta'cs with customers.

General: Electric cusiomer service representativesareevaluatedontheiratiiludeadthe C. IMPLICATIONS FOR

qiiality of service they give.U

Digital'Equipment Con any's customer serv.

ice offce is in Colorado Srpings. Telephone

service represenli tivessit at desks with windows The important work of developing procedural

overlooking the Rockie Mountains. Managers and relationship satisfaction during the search for

have offices without windows substantive relief from noise and environmental

1. Fortune Magazine; "How To Handle Cus- problems, requires STRATEGIC emphasis and

tonmr's Gripes"; 102488. recognition at all levels of responsibility. It requires the development of SYSTEMS that are

user-friendly and provide for data analysis, up- Careful staff selection will identify people ward reporting and organizational change. Fiwho, as a matter of personal values and nally, STAFF trained in people skills are needed

style, give other people large measures of to implement the program.

relationship satisfaction, easily and naturally.

Effective staff selection will also identify USAREUR is developing a Complaint Managecomplaint managers who have a high will- ment Program to be made operational throughout

ingness to accept divergent values and strong the command. The policy that is being promulemotions in other people. These staff will ac gated clarifies this direction and establishes it as

quire, with enthusiasm, the people skills of a STRATEGIC priority. This policy will be rehigh stress communication, problem solving, vised and updated as conditions and experience

and conflict management. warrant.

5-4
SYSTEMS for the implementation of a Complaint Management Program have been sug- Coninued..

gested, and examples or information for the When ihecomplaintmaiagerstrtodinterviewdevelopment of some system elements have been ingcomplaisawhatwastataitren

included in Appendix A and B of this handbook. interfered with or interruped by the training

USAREUR staff will be given latitude to de- noiseradtft&m what ad caused the noise,

velop the system elements they feel will be he found the 12:30 connecion. Twelvethirl.}

needed to meet the performance requirements for -give or tke Afew ininutks was about the ltne

a'Complaint Management Program. thatpeople got homefrom Sunday church services ,- it w!s theirfust chance to get on the

The balance of this handbook describes STAFF 'phone andail up the Army t complain about

skills that are critical in the work of building " te ois they had (ien iteyawa e of during

the moments of quiet and prayer during the procedural and relationship satisfaction with service. These were times that the ministers

German citizens and communities, and in the worked hard at making into tranquil and con.

communication, education, and problem solving templativetimes What was almost disregarded

efforts that may discover ways to prevent or re- background noise at other *sbecame very

duce noise and environmental problems. apparent and annoying foreground noe. In

some cases, the minister's open frustrations

about ths caused congregations to act as units

TIME OUT - WHEN IT'S NEEDED -farflung on the nose dot map, but united in

After the-Installation Comnander asked for yan

more deailedrecord-keeping on the noise com- The solution? Feed everybody at the same time

plaints coming in to the For4 apattern began to - 11:00 to 12:00, Use field kitchens and ra.

appear. tions instead of the mess haI and get it all over

with in a "time out"from training, carefully A lot of the mission at this Fort was to provide scheduled to coincide with Sunday services .-.

for Army Reserve training, and this meant that and at the same tine, make feeding the troops

weekends were the times when things redly got morelikeitwouldreallybeifthis was 'for real"

fired up and noisy. So it was not surprise that instead ofjust weekend training.

noise complaints showed a peak during this

time, The map spotting the homne location of

each person making a complaint did Mlj show

any pattern, and this was surprising.

The training areas had very limite4 and inten.

sively used fwing ranges, and people lived all

around the perimeter of the Fort It seemed

logical to assume tha there would be clusters of

complaints in the built up areas closest to the

firingpointsandthe impact areas. Thatwas not

the case. In fac4 some of the complaints were

coming fron pretty far away fron these noisy

areas

The pattern that did emerge was in the TIME

of the complaints. There was a big surge of

complaints right after 12:30 on Sunday afternoons. These peaks were not related to any

particularly noisy activity. As a matter offact,

there was something of a lull in training between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30p.m. as the training

units were pulled in for lunch, one at a time.

Something was happening that caused higher

levels of annoyance, and complaints, right

around this time.

5.5
EXERCISE

THINK OF A TIME WHEN YOU HAD AN UNSATISFA 0RY EXPERIENCE WITH

SOME 'ORGANIZATION (PERHAPS YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION). YOU CAN

PROBABL'Y .TELL MANY STORIES ABOUT THE TROUBLES YOU HAVE

ENCOUNTERED IN PLANNING TRAVEL, AND CARRYING IT OUT (OR IN GETNG

REIMBURSED. FOR IT) IF SOME OTHER EXAMPLE DOES NOT COME TO MIND.

> Were your problems cause by a lack of skill or caring on the part of a

STAFF element?

> Was the staff willing to be helpful, but was hampered by a SYSTEM

deficiency?

> Could you detect a lack of STRATEGIC emphasis in the actions of the

staff, or the functioning of the SYSTEMS?

PERHAPS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE COMES TO MIND.

> Can you identify the way in which the elements of STRATEGY, SYSTEMS, and STAFF worked together to increase your substantive procedural, and/or relationship satisfaction?

5-6
]EXERCISE

IF YOu WkfE A qfT1ZEN ANNoYEb BYAU..MILITARY ACTIVITIES THAT

CRFA TED NOISE OR OTHER ENVIRAMENTALPROBLEMS, AND IF YOU WERE

MOTIVATED To 7OMPL4INABOIJTTHIS TO A'USAREUR UNIT - SAY, THE ONE

YOU RE4LLY WOKkFOR WHAT GRAPE ()DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD GIVE

USAREUR ON-THESECompLAiNTMANAGEMEvT ELEMENTS:

" Organizational STRATEGY:___

" Supporting SYSTEMS:___

" Implem-enting STAFF: ___

5= Outstanding

4 =Excellent

3 =Good

2= Fair

1I Poor

0= Tenible

WHAT DO YO U THINK IS NEEDED IN yo UR COMpLAINT MANAGEMENT UNIT To

RAISE ELEMENTS RATED "0"- "3 "TO AT LEASTA "4" (Excellent)?

5.7
VI - COMMUNICATION

A. INTRODUCTION number of his or her emotions triggered by what

is perceived to be a damage, a threat, or an insult

This section of the handbook, and its parallel to something highly valued.

training program, will help staff understand the

principles of high stress/high risk communication Emotional people are unlikely to be sensitive to

and the skills they will need to develop to be the feelings of the person to whom they are comeffective complaint management communicators. plaining. In fact, they may ha,'e built up their

own feelings through rehearsals of what they

want to say or, if the complaint is written, the

B. WHAT PEOPLE WHO less colorful verbs and adjectives may have been

COMPLAIN WANT TO edited out in favor of words that get attention by

ACCOMPLISH stinging.

The reaction you may have is to discount the Effective complaint management communication complaint as being illogical, irrational, badly

is difficult because there seem to be severalverifiable substance.

things that people hope to accomplish when they motite anding in veab sbe.

fin t soeoe wom he ca cmplin8 Pe- But those stinging words do have an effect. What

find someone to whom they can complain. Per- happens when any of us are confronted with

sons who are annoyed and angry want: threats, but our response is limited to words, is

0 To be taken seriously that we tend to use one or more of these "high

a To be treated with respect risk responses".9

* To get immediate action 1. ORDERING, DEMANDING: "You must...,"

a To receive compensation for damage or in- "You have to..."

convenience 2. WARNING, THREATENING: "You had better..," "If you don't, then..."

To a know that those responsible will be repri- 3. ADMONISHING, MORALIZING: "You

manded should,.." "You're responsible..."

* To make sure the problem will never happen 4. PERSUADING, ARGUING: "Doyou realize..,"

again Ie fats show that..."

a To be listened to 5. ADVISING, GIVING ANSWERS: "Why don't

you.," "Let me suggest..."

When USAREUR military activities are the sub- 6. CRITICIZING, DISAGREEING: "You are

ject of a complaint, it will be very hard for you, 6 o.I, "You soEd not..""

the complaint manager, to provide immediate ac- 7. PRAISING, AGREEING: "I approve of.. "You

tion, compensation, evidence of reprimand, or

guarantees about the future. But you can listen to w. RIG hen...

the person with the complaint, take their con- 8. RES uG S P HI "Don't

cerns seriously, and treat them with respect. worry.., "You'll feel better.."

9. INTERPREfING, DIAGNOSING: "YourprobC. COMMUNICATION lem is..," "You need to..."

10. PROBING, QUESTIONING: "Why..," PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS "Who..," "What.," "When..."

A person who complains is someone who has 11. DIVERTING, AVOIDING: "Let's discuss it

become especially annoyed by the noise or envi- later..," "Can't be helped"

ronmental impacts of U.S. military activities. 12. KIDDING, USING SARCASM: "When did you

This means that the person has probably had a last read a newspaper?"

6.1
Use of such responses can convey a lack of acceptance of the complainer's feelings and the Confidued...

values upon which they are based. The result can

be to increase the defensiveness or aggressive- Henry reporb that Maude stopped short in her

ness of the person who is complaining (the usual tirade andsaid: "No,.it's not the noise!

"fight" response), or an unwillingness to con- it'salltheshaking-andt4facthatyou never

do it on the same day, or at the same tiwe! Now tinue the conversation (the "flight" response). P'vegotanotherrunedcakeinleoven. Seems

Obviously, communication breaks down when lik eveiv time Idecide to Mfr you decide to

both sides want to either stand and fight, or quit j f

talking. It is up to the effective complaint man- Weilthewaythingsarenow, MaudeandHenry

ager to avoid these high risk responses to in- are on afrstndme bas4, and she cal him first

coming "stingers" and by doing this to develop thing every week. He tells her when the planes

and enhance relationship satisfaction, are coming infor'bmbingpacticidud when

the heavy aitillery is going to befiring. Maude

plans her baking around that information. It A PA Y-OFF FOR LISTENING :turns out that she's pretty strong for national

'One of the neighbors of a major Army instaa, security, and all that that requires.

lion had a reputation among training and pub.

fie affairs personnel as a Hell-raising Henry even called Maude one day - to apolotroublemaker. She complained regularly, gize when some visiting VIPs required an unloudly, and with much feling, about the inten; scheduled bombing demonstration. Soon,

sive training activities that was, the mission of Training and PAO will have forgotten who

the installation. Maude is - until Henry retires,

No one wanted to take her complaint calls. No

amount ofpublic information about the inportance ofthe training to national security seemed

to impress her. Because of her insistent com- D. INCREASING

plaining, many of the installation staff had la- COMMUNICATION

beled her as "anti-military", and possibly "unpatriotic" EFFECTIVENESS: LISTENING

As saffchanged, warnings about Maude (we'll AND ACCEPTING

call her) were passed on to the newcomers who

quickly adopted the defensive communication The problem that arises in the search for increasstyles of their predecessors. Maudeoftenfound ing communication effectiveness is that the

tlwtappropriate targetsforherconiplaints were "high-risk" responses - sometimes called "the

"...not here right now," lnfac, one day, no one dirty dozen" - cover almost all of the responses

seemed to be thered

that are conventional, and even normal. There is, Maude persisted. Finally, she was connected in fact, nothing wrong with using these responses

with the Range Control Officer - Henry (let's when there is little or no stress that needs to be

call him). Henry was wassomeone Maude had

never talked to before. He was pretty harassed dealt with, or when there is a solid relationship to

without Maude being on the 'phone. Every build upon. A "bull session" among good

training unitand wingseemedto wantto impact friends, for example, will contain many of the

something on the same place at the same time. "high-risk" responses.

But he took Maude's call- and got an earful

without hearing protection. There is another response that can be used when

But Henry, who hada housefid ofhis own and there is stress and the preservation or enhancesome adopted kids, was a natural-born "Active ment of relationship is important. This is listenListener" Hehadtobe. So hejust let Maude ing. Listening infers that the communication is

go on and onfor a while, and when she came verbal, not written, in form. But the principles

up for air, he observed (he reports): 'Tou that support listening as a relationship-building

sound real angry 'cause we have to make so

much noise over here." response in stressful verbal communications also

apply when sensitive, relationship-building

6-2
responses are needed to, address a written com- 2. The Listening Process

plaint. 1In its simplest form, listening requires only

1. Why Listening Builds Relationshipl ° the attentive presence of someone - a reEach person has a uiique and distinctive set ceiver - to whom a message can be sent.

of values, experiences, training and upbring- This, of course, is not possible when the

ing that shape that person's reactions to life's Ths se is n t posslehe t evens, he relites motona or ne er-message is being sent by telephone - most

events. The emotional- realities for one per- of which is the case in many complaint hanson are unlike the emotional realities for any dling situations. Attentiveness that contribother person. What makes emotional sense to utes to procedural and relationship

one person may not make sense to another, satisfaction grows when you give undivided

There is no standard by which a proper attention to another person in one-on-one

emotional reaction can bejudged. communication. A complainer's annoyance

Many communication problems occur when can be compounded if other business or teleone person tries to impose his or her emo- phone calls are allowed to intrude upon the

tional reality upon another person. If you ac- listening process. If a telephone complaint is

cept the premise that each person has a received at a time when you have other

separate set of realities that are the basis for pressing business and do not have the time to

that person's emotions, then effective com- listen attentively, it contributes to procedural

munication is the process in which people try and relationship satisfaction if you tell the

to understand and accept one another's emo- caller something like this:

tion-forming realities.

t - i e e"I am concerned about the problem that

If someone is upset, it does little good to tell you arereporting, andlreallywanuttohear

them not to be. They already are. In fact, all about it - but right now I can't give

when feelings are resisted, when people are you the time I think your call deserves. Is

told they should not have that feeling, then there some time this afternoon or this evethey will usually feel obliged to defend or ning when I can call you and have you

justify the feeling. Rather than cause the explain the problem to me7'

feeling to change, the feeling is strengthened,

and the person feels obliged to prove they 3. Active Listening

have a right to their feelings. Effective listening often requires more than

When feelings are accepted, there is no need an attentive message receiver. Active listener

for the person to defend or justify them. participation in the communication can conThey may elaborate on their feelings, or finn to the sender that his or her message has

move on to another feeling - but they do not only been accepted, but is clearly undernot have to hang on to their original feeling, stood as well. Understanding involves an inrecycling it with increasing stridency in ef- terpretation of the emotions and feelings in

forts to be taken seriously. Effective listen- the message, as well as technical content.

ing occurs when a person knows that his or

her message, including its feelings and emo- High stress messages, like complaints, will

tional realities, has been accepted - not probably contain both the technical content

necessarily agreed with -just accepted. Re- of the complaint and the feelings that the

lationship satisfaction grows out of accep- complainer has about a noise or environtance. mental problem. But some complaints will

be almost entirely technical content, seemingly without emotion or feeling; while other

complaints may be so filled with feelings

that any technical content is hidden or omitted.

6-3
The mistake that many listeners make is to Sundays, very early in the morning, we have

discount the feeling part of a high stress been rudely awakened by the noise of your

message. This is especially true of listeners helicopters. They are allowed to run for a

who 'have highly technical backgrounds. long time before anyone uses them, and this

They tend to use the "high-risk response" of is not only noisy, but it pollutes the air as

probing and questioning in search of the well. It is sickening and probably dangerous

facts that they believe are the most critical to our health as well as to our peace of mind.

ingredients of good communication. Feelings When the helicopters finally take off, they

are facts for the people that are annoyed and must aim at my house. They pass directly

angry with the way they are being treated. overhead, so close that it must be against the

law. All of my neighbors are very angry Active Listening honors these feelings. By about the noise and smell. Even the pets are

providing a way for pent up emotions to be araid of the noise. If this keeps up, we will

vented, as well as accepted, Active Listening have to ask our local officials to formally

can clear the way for a complaint manager have t as our coficito foronwho needs to find whatever technical content protest this abuse of our community environment and our religious beliefs. You should there may be behind the annoyance and an- be more considerate of u!

ger. It may take a lot of Active Listening of

these feelings before a complainer is emo- ComlplainIt :

tionally ready to go into the structured questioning required for data collection. If you people don't stop making noise on

Sunday mornings, we will make many prob- Here are some examples of noise complaints lems for you. You make our community inthat show different mixes of technical con- tolerable with nerve-wracking noise and

tent and feelings: probably poisonous fumes. There is no question but that you are ruining our minds, our

£~oxnplainiA: health, and our real 6state values. Even the

At 6:30 this Sunday morning, a helicopter dogs are made sick and 'worthless. We are

was started at the airfield that is on the north made to wake up when we should be sleepborder of my property. My wife and I were ing. Those of us who wish to commune with

awakened by this noise which continued for their God are unable to do so because of

thirty minutes. During this time, there was a your shameful treatment of our religious valstrong smell of exhaust and fuel. At 7:00, the ues, not to mention our homes and our chilhelicopter took off and it passed directly dren. Every Sunday, we are made to

over my house. It shook my roof, rattled remember that we are an oppressed people

windows, and set the dog to whining. The who have no rights when it comes to your

helicopter had one blade and was shaped like warmongering. But mark my word, we have

a pear. It was so close that I could clearly many friends in high places. You will hear

read the markings on it. This is the third Sun- from them if you do not immediately stop

day in a row that a helicopter has been your noise making.

started and has taken off at these times. This Obviously, CplainA is high in technical

is a great disturbance to the Sunday morning content and low in emotional content. cjal

peace of our neighborhood, especially those plint offers almost no technical informawho wish to be in church. Please make this tion, but it is heavy with feelings. Complaint

stop so that we do not have to advance our D. has a mixture of content and feelings.

grievance to higher levels of authority.

Complaint B: The challenge is to build procedural and relationship satisfaction with each of the three

This is really too much! Sundays are days persons making these complaints. The skill

that are for rest and meditation. For several required is Active Listening.

6.4
4. Constructing an Active Listening Response When you are uncertain about the feelings that are being expressed, you may want to

The challenge of Active Listening is to be so ta r en xrseyi a att

start the Active Listening Response in a tenattentive a listener that you will be able to tative or testing way, like this: YOU SEEM

describe the feelings you heard, and para- (feeing. wa THAT... or, IT APPEARS

phrase or reframe the technical content when THAT YOU ARE (feeling word)...

the complainer finishes his or her message

(or pauses for more air). You will be trying Notice that the word "feel" is not a feeling

to develop a "yesable" Active Listening re- word. The response, "YOU FEEL THAT

sponse - one that the complainer might ac- WE SHOULD NOT DO THIS," does not

knowledge with statements like these: "Yes describe any feeling that the complainer

that's right" or, "You got that right" or, might have. You could just as well have said,

"You'd better believe it!" "YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD NOT

DO THIS," or, "YOU BELIEVE THAT

Tb. question is often asked: Doesn't Active WE SU oT DO THI."

WE SHOULD NOT DO THIS."

Listening just encourage the person to go on

complaining? The answer is YES - and that When there is no feeling expressed, do not

is exactly what effective complaint manage- make up feeling words to fill in the blank in

ment is all about. It is getting annoyed and the Active Listening model. Just skip over

angry people to stay on the line - to keep this part, as in the sentences above, or with a

talking - or to switch from a typewriter to statement like, "IT SEEMS TO YOU

the telephone or a personal visit. It is getting THAT..." But when feelings are evident, try

people to understand that their feelings are to find the words that best describe the emounderstood and accepted so that the commu- tion being expressed. You may discover that

nications about conflict management and you have a very limited, tip-of-your-tongue

problem solving can begin, vocabulary of feeling words.

Active Listening responses may miss the ac- .

curate capture of a fact, or the acceptable

interpretation of a feeling. And that is OK -

because it gives the complainer a chance to Many people developing Active Listening

restate a fact or feeling, to correct or expand skill have trouble finding appropriate words

upon what has been said so that it is more to describe the range of feelings expressed

clearly understood. The procedural and rela- by people who are annoyed and angry. "Antionship satisfaction that is developed by Ac- noyed" and "angry" are two words that

tive Listening may come as much from the come easily to mind - along with "construggle to get it right as from getting it right cerned" and "frustrated". And then the

the first time. words seem to thin out.

A simple sentence can serve as the basic The reason for this is that, for many people,

model for an Active Listening response. advice and even rewards in life have come

When both feelings and content are ex- from "keeping the lid on" personal feelings.

pressed, it can look something like this: As children, students, soldiers, and professional men and women, many of the mesYOU ARE (feeling word) BECAUSE (content ororohlem) sages we received from our parents,

Other words can be uscd in place of BE- teachers, leaders, and role models was that it

CAUSE, such as ABOUT, WHEN, or was not OK to talk abovt feelings.

THAT. The sentence can be reversed, put- A page of feeling words (from the thousands

ting the content phrase first, followed by the of feeling words that must exist) is presented

description of feelings, like this: at the end of this chapter as a help to those in

WHEN (content or problem) YOU ARE (feeling word), need.

6.5
6. Lc FrC-M n eaO CZ Y M 2i M (or orGood o m kimr qmjtres nmm m9 - EYmm Idmcp(MM Of feelings Or _Cemhy for 2nCO"

peason. An effethe lisu- .- mmi ao ive g iM rmMzed 6MM ('thae nui

an 2cau- t undersuamg- :Ile we= or po m") 29d offers ft kr ifilkaio

substamiv e messge thit is cained w a fkraceway.

complaint. Giving wcwA~e feeiback of -d he=UeaMn cf2Yj M 

,Minteil may dmi_C z v cf i fte i o 1 Omsdue to nisinformation or mnisprazeio. t in de deai Cm expai or ehlarm

Sometimes the comena of a complahin is = mayCoe M n

harder to undeistand than ae: the emooms -bmmfm dmis I imand feeling,. ib complaint manager may be PX-fordC Ioix f krsom

hit with a lorkg list of prblems and d-r- "i a "3s rcspoas" has been cooances that have no apparent szwctuze. Major sxuriSt &

issues may be sandwiched betwver minor

problems. Or, the concerns may be vaguely

stated, or imply a knowledge of the isss 7. Wt - C ambout Active: Listhat the complaint manager may not have. tening

There are several content feedback tech- M U 1 2 U O arISC

niques that may be used to clarify content of abd"xr their fe"lin-o r their Pmblem , wn't

a message for both the listener and the I be aZen~ o i the ?

speaker. The most common feedback techniques involves simple paraphrasing - re- AcveL donsdow offere uafiom

stating the content using different words - or sdlwions, 2nd te do nm commit 3ou to any

and summarizing - condensing the content aAio.Adti seL resposes onlys wnmaize

elements into fewer words. Other feedback orre fi x ne u =hasb ensaid,anddsu-befeeling

techniques "reframe" the content of the uim they are present - acceping, but nitr

message, putting it in a different form, and aoreein nor disgeng, with the content or the

making it more manageable in size or scope. feelins

Reframing can also increase the acceptability

of the content by toning down or omitting Frexample::Coan "Youkeeptellingustha

the words that sting. noise studies will be made, and that new training

methods are being devloped. But nothing hapSuch reframing content feedback techniques pens It'sjust as noisy now as it was eve was.'

include:

Active Li.tenin response: "It sounds as

0 Ordering: The Active Listener sorts the though you are pretty fed up with the procontent elements into a logical sequence gress we are making."

based on such things as importance, size, timing, and amount. Complainer response: "That's right. We

o Grouping. The Active Listener organizes don't know how to make our own future

the content elements according to com- plans. It would be helplul to know if and

mon ideas and issues, like aircraft noise, when there will be changes." vehicle noise, installation noise.

o] Fractionating. The Active Listener The Active Listening response did not agree

breaks a large and complex problem or that noise studies had been dela)ed, or that

idea into smaller parts that can be more training method,, had nut been introduced.

6-6
The FCVMq or.% rm l %t fte W=I- - bt %ta Tit g ive sUO~g e-Vidc&

PIMWrvrr lC== b --- r=1 & yur = ah the fta vpem srmiiq! Coit ft Az~v U~2- O1y W trechg tMe cor=plaieer r,!h

Vigi ofrespcct, is Actitie Liserac is TVpshzr

* it dvs'1 fec-I ui~'hE hr I u Ac'ti"€ u "-

. e,.,, "Yotfr a ._ri. Feri-,n it fe"s "fike". ae w, lie '' I

uch has: been donr,. a iUs soil prery sydld really be s;

wis _Active LiUninlg is a new form of conmaaic2Wo for MOSI PO& a6i, like ant

CegWm 'Sin = *VU 0= o-niew it akes pratice before it feels ri11.

ing to do? Howv can we =a25 vb3I )lVS3O say? IDh e it is used, Lim moae naural and)

comfoxtable it will seem.

j Sali" o fr CIMC UirY I ive OU will find that ou can loosen up the

Active I Jcr= Zr=, 113 " UJ- one sentence, fill-in-the-blanks model and

t2 M3& 3 ____ structure Actie Lig-ing responses that fit

Active Usiseing isnix -- l tobethe iato you style of tAking and relating to pwAly resonse ) OU ei In -,' feth pie.. But just reading about and thinking abut Active Listening does not give you the V611l use -high risk: responses" in many of )va eclian-e during a jomplaint c - skill any more than reading and thinking

your exchanges during a iloalt commal~- aliout tennis mae you a tennis playe.

nicatio If *ou have information that can be

related to the conent of the complaint, and Practice Active Listening whenever you can

the authodity to release this o d - i restaurants in taxi cabs, at the ticket

it Getting accurate, substantive responses to counter. Don't wait until you really need the

the issues is what the complainer really skill to get practice with it An easy way to

wants - even if this response does not re- practiceAite ito use when

practice Active Listeningistusitwn

solve tho-e i , someone has good feelings about something.

"I guess you're pretty proud that the report

Active Listening is effective and appropriate you wrote made it all the way to the top."

in these situations:

* l~n'! Acive Listenin? iu'st herapy for people

- When you are confused about the con- with lAti of feelinos? jVor the ee trouo h

tent of a complaint, Active Listening - - - -

gives you a way to check out what you it, and resent A?

think the other person is saying. Thrps are very good at Active Listenina But

- When feelinms are high and emotions are they use it because it greatly increases their ability

rising, Active Listening gives people to undestand what pel think and feel. This is a

evidence that their feelings are being step in the problem solving process of therapy.

heard and accepted. Complaint management's goal is to greatly in-

- When a person keeps repeating the same crease USAREUR's ability to understand what

point, it is a sign that person still does peqolethinkandfeelasascpintheenvironmental

not believe that his or her message has andnuwonmaitenanceproblemsolvingprooss.

gotten through. Active Listening shows

that the point has been understood and

accepted. No matterhow good you are with the skill of Active

When you want to summarize what has Listening, it will feel awkward to you, and it will

been said when several people are talk- beseenthroughandrtedbycomplaisifyou

ing, Active Listening is the way to check reallydo not cam about listening to, understanding,

out what you have heard and get confir- and accepting the things that concern, frustrate,

mation from the group. disappoint, confuse, and anger them.

6-7
E. INCREASING meDL that obscure what is really intendedL

These three categones also apply when we

examine the typical, instinctive ways in

EFFECTIVENESS: GETTING which we try to send our own messages to

YOUR POINT ACROSS others.

The time comes in the handling of almost every 0 Evlta:m We say, "'You don't have

coinp l when, as the coPaim anager, the knowledge...", or "You don't

need to be heard. You need to break in on the care...", or "You are illogical and irramooolcgue being delivered to you to get clarifi- tional...", or "You have ulterior mocation on some issue. Or, you need make a sug- tives...", or "You are inconsiderate and

gestion for handling the complaint that will rude..."

speed things up, or increase procedural satisfaction. There may be times when what you really Evaluations, even under the best of cirwant to say is: Please, for Heaven's sake, just be cumstances, cause people to raise their

quiet for a minute and let me help you, if I can!" defenses. Relationship is the first victim

of messages that start out this way. It

There are ways of sending messages to other may be true, but it does not get through

people that are "high-risk" insofar as procedural when we say: "It's really your fault that

and relationship satisfaction are concerned, just there is this noise problem. We have

as thiere are the "hiai-risk7" ways of w nding been on alert and training here for 40

to thers.Taere i alw-risk way of s g years. You let them build these houses

to others. There is a low-risk way of sending all around the Kaserne. You made the

messages that is a big help in getting your mes- mistake, not us."

sage through to other people when emotions and

feelings - yours and theirs - may interfere 13 S tllQns: We say, "You should do

with communication. Let's look at both the this...", and "You should do that...", or

"high-risk" and the more effective way of get- "The way to solve this problem is to...",

ting your point across. or "The only thing that we can do is..."

1. High Risk Message Sending The solutions that come first to mind are

those that take care of our interests and

Earlier in this chapter it was noted that, in needs. These rarely solve the problems

high stress situations, like complaint man- that other people have, especially when

agement, there is a temptation to communi- their problem is with the way we take

care of our interests and needs. Therecate with others in ways that are instinctive fore, the people to whom a solution mesand part of our survival mechanisms of sage is sent go on the defensive the

"fight or flight". We tend to be either offen- minute they even think they hear a solusive or defensive, framing our own messages tion coming their way.

or our responses to others in terms that seem

designed to irritate and ignore other people's co Indirect Message: We say, "Oh, never

feelings and needs. Through offensive and mind...", or "It would be nice if some

defensive communication, we decrease our people did their share of the work," or

willingness to accept others and are, in turn, "Read my lips...", or "Don't you know

made less acceptable to them. it's Sunday?"

A closer examination of the "dirty-dozen" Indirect messages do not build proceto incoming, high stress messages dural and relationship satisfaction. When

responses oncon hat tey cage they are used in ways that are sarcastic

leads to the conclusion that they can be or are a "put-down" of other people,

grouped in three "high-risk" categories: they damage relationships.

C.aluations of the other person; solutions

sent to the other person; and indire, .state

6-8
2 Using Congruent Sending to Get Your Point this program,andthatinaccuatestatementswil

Across be ep rted to the community."

Congruent Sending 12 is the name used to de- It is also appropriate for the sender to make a

scribe a way of increasing the chances of suggestion that will change the condition, albeing heard and understood in high stress though this goes beyond the simple congrusituations. It is a close relative of Active Lis- ent message:

tening because it requires you to identify the

feelings, as well as the content, of the corn- %ugestion forr Change: "I would apreciate itif

munication. It is called Congruent Sending Icouldaskseveralpeopleheretorestate, inyour

because there needs to be a match, or con- own words, each of the main ideas of the progruency, between the words that you use, gram after I review them again."

and the actual feelings and realities that you

are experiencing that make you want to send Finally, because this suggestion is a form of

the message. solution, however congruently sent, it is a

good idea to check out the suggestion to see

Congruent messages put the focus on the if it is acceptable to other people:

sender, not the receiver. The "high-risk"

messages sent as evaluation, solutions, and Chek ot fr ccetane:"Does anyone have

indirect statements put the focus on the re- ojctionstothisiorabetterwaytodothis?

ceiver by starting out with the word "You". ore"How oes id o you?"

These "high-risk" messages are often called

"You Messages." The Congruent Sending message is complete

at the end of the first of these three, linked

In contrast, congruent messages start with statements. But people often have the need

the word "I", and are therefore called "I to do more than simply state their feelings

Messages" in some communication texts. and their perception of the problem. When

The important principle is that the sender this happens to you, use the Sugpesibn for

clearly takes ownership and responsibility Change and the Check out for Acceptance

for the feelings in the situation described, after opening with the Congruent Sending

The model sentence structure for Congruent message

Sending looks like this:

Here are some other Congruent Sending

I AM feeling word) ABOUT (descrilion of the toblemHe

message examples:

Other words can be substituted for ABOUT,

such as BECAUSE, WHEN, THAT - and Instadof: "It's time for us to get the meeting

the sentence can be reversed to put the prob- started again!"

lem description first, followed by the feeling

word and the important ownership word "I". Say: "I would like to get the meeting started

again!"

Congruent Sending can also be used to deal

with a problem in which the complaint man- we w ekhi ingeeing f on tanent

ager hears his explanations of a noise abatement program being twisted and purposely SU. "I am womerid thatif we don'tstickwith our

misused by citizens who may be trying to agenda, wewon'teabletofinishontime."

have damaging statements planted for media

use. isteado: "Let's have alittle order here. Everyone can't talk at the same time. We will have to

Congruent Sending statement: "I am worried go back to recognizing only those people who

that I am not being clear in my explanations of have their hands raised."

6-9
Sa: "I am having trouble hearing when every- questions. The person being interviewed loses

one talks at the same time, and I'm worried that control for all practical purposes, and the person

something important won't get heard. 1 would being questioned feels that loss of control. They

appreciateitifthosewhowanttosaysomething do not know where things are going. Conwould signal that by raising a hand. Can every- sciously or subconsciously, they guard their anone agree with that?" swers so that they do not find themselves-boxed

in or trapped by something they said earlier.

Yes, it often takes more words to send a congruent message. But the extra effort is well Information gathered by using Congruent Sendcompensated by the increase in relationship ing and Active Listening leaves people feeling

satisfaction among those with whom you are more psychologically satisfied than when the

trying to communicate. same information is gathered using questions. It

may take a little longer, and the information may

F. THE PROBLEM OF not click right into place, but again, the proceQUESTIONS dural and relationship payoff is worth the effort.

Here is an example of how Active Listening and

As a complaint manager asked to gather and re- Congruent Sending might be used to begin an

cord complaint data systematically, you might information gathering interview with Citizen B,

wonder why this is required when asking ques- who made the complaint described earlier:

lions is one of the "high-risk" modes of commu- Complaint Manager: It's pretty clear that the

nication. What is it that is wrong with asking sound that our helicopters make on Sunday

questions? mornings is very annoying to you and your

First of all, let it be clear that you are not being neighbors. asked to stop using questions, and the other "irsk 

"high risk" listening 

isteing resons 

responses 

and e mhe- Citizen B: You'd better believe it! Sunday is and sending m es- f rs e p n a e n a i g a n c r a f s sage. hve t Yu us wil the attime. ~for sleeping late, and having a nice breakfast sages. You will have to use them at tim es. M en wt h a iy n h n g i g t h r h

you do, you should remember that they can jeop- with the fam, a th going thrch.

ardize relationship satisfaction - especially if A nd t t ame you e a s n e to

the relationship is under stress to start with. Use bing sound. It wakes you up, and then it's

the "high-risk" modes with care, and if you feel with you all morning.

the relationship slipping, switch to Active Listen- CM: You just can't get away from it...

ing and Congruent Sending whenever possible.

CIT: Right. Oh, there are times when one of

Now, about questions and the suggested Com- the helicopters flies off somewhere and the

plaint Worksheet. There are a lot of questions on noise stops, for a while. But you don't notice

the worksheet, but only a few of them need to be that. What you are aware of is when another

asked directly. The others can be filled in, if nec- one st up. ar 

essary, from what you learned in a low-risk,

open-ended conversation with the person who is CM: So the noise you hear comes and goes

making the complaint. If the relationship seems - it's not continuous - but it grinds on you

solid, there is no reason why you cannot ask spe- nonetheless.

cific questions. CI: You got that right! I guess that what

makes it so annoying is that it seems so unBut because questioning seems so important to necessary. If they started one up and then

complaint management, you should keep this in flew it away, you could understand that. But

mind- the problem with questioning as ar inter- they just let them sit there, roaring away, usview or information gathering technique is that, ing up good fuel for nothing, and polluting

as soon as a question is asked, the control of the the air for no good reason. You'd think that

communication goes to the person asking the you guys could get your act together - put

6.10
together -a schedule so that you didn't start day, but seeing that is the day when the probup the engines until the people were ready to lems occur...

fly. ... and so on. In the case of Citizen B, Active

CM: You and your neighbors find it hard to Listening, and then some Congruent sending will

understand why we let the helicopters warm make it possible to get into some serious, direct

up for so long before we let them take off. questioning from the Complaint Worksheet, with

little concern that the relationship will be damsome Yfe And whateall gets lookEkeabi that aged by this questioning. But if the complaint some of them - the ones that look like a big magehdlunedrhtiotewrket grashoper itha gass ead- hve his manager had launched right into the Worksheet

hgasshoper wintha glisshea thidog crazquestions s without building up a reserve of rela- high pitched whine. It drives the dogs crazy. tionship, interview might have gone something

Mine hides under the bed. I just wonder what ike his:

like tl~js:

that kind of noise is doing to my kids.

Complaint Manager: We have received your CM: It's not only confusing when you don't letter of complaint and a file has been started

know what's happening, but it has you wor- on you. You may want to make note of your

ried too when you think that some of our identification number in case you want to

equipment pose a special risk to your family. contact us again. It is 89-1234. I have a numCI: That sure crosses my mind on Sunday ber of questions that I need to ask you ...

mornings. CitizenM: Wait a minute! What's this busiCM: It would be very helpful to me if I had ness of starting a file on me, and giving me

some more specific information about this an identification number? I don't like it

problem. it puts me in an awkward. position when your government starts a file on me.

to try to go to the airfield Operations Officer What's that got to do with making it quiet

and not have facts to use as we look for ways around here?

for us to do what we have to do, without CM: Sir, we need an ID number so you can

causing you this Sunday morning problem. be entered into our computer, and found

For example, it would help a lot if I knew later.

what kinds of equipment seemed most annoying to you, how often this equipment ap- CI: I would prefer to use my name. Many

peared to be in use, and for how long, and of us have bad feelings about the use of idenwhether the problem was there on other days tification numbers. And you will have no

of the week, or just on Sundays. trouble finding me. I still ask, what has all

this to do with making it quiet around here?

CI: Well, I can answer some of those questions for you, but I'd have to start keeping CM: It will speed things up if you let me ask

records to answer some of the others. I'd be the questions. I have 26 of them, and I

glad to do that if it would help you to do need...

something about the problem. CIU: Twenty-six questions! I see no reason

CM: That would be helpful - and I'd really for this kind of interrogation. The problem is

appreciate it. In the meantime, I would like very simple. Your helicopters ruin our Sunto do two things. First of all, I would like to day rest and our family and church activities.

go over this form that we use to try to identify and analyze noise problems. We can see CM: Is Sunday the date of the incident you

how many of the questions can be answered wish to report?

right now. Then, I would like to find a time

when you and some of you neighbors could Suno Sue

come over to the airfield to see what is going

on. I'm concerned about suggesting a Sun6.11
CM: But it happened this past Sunday, right? things so the dog doesn't wet under the bed

I have to have dates to put in our computer anymore. Maybe if I invite my friend who is

- and the time, too. in the Bundestag, you will bring your GenCIT: For time, write down "all day." eral. This will be a fine Sunday morning! CM: (to himself) Ho boy!

CM: Your letter said it was Sunday mornings. Can you be specific about the time of Obviously, a farfetched turn ofpevents. Or is it?

this incident? I need data to feed our com- Remember that, among the many people who are

puter. annoyed by military noise and environmental

problems, those who come forward with comLIT: Feed the computer? My data? I've told plaints are those who have the sense of personal

you all the data I have. It is Sundays - sev- efficacy that enables them to deal confidently

eral Sundays - many Sundays. Mostly it is with authorities.

in the morning of Sundays. Sometimes it is Building relationships is the communication goal

all day on Sunday. It probably happens dur- of USAREUR strategies, systems, and staff

ing the week too, but no one is home on skills. Active Listening and Congruent Sending,

week days. The dog has been wetting under used when appropriate in high stress interactions,

the bed when we are gone. This is new. It will help USAREUR staff increase its complaint

probably means that the noise happens then management effectiveness, and reach this goal.

too.

CM: The dog wets under the bed? This is

ridiculous. There is no place where I can en- AfTTLBIT F r(ano nshce) KES

ter that kind of data... THE (annwance) GO DOWN

In r&.ntyea, all U.S. military installations

have bee, :'quired to measure the noise they CIT: So there is specific information re- make, and draw .'ps showing noise hazard

quired by your form to feed your computers, zones that neighboring communities should

and y=i are going to fill in that information consider in planning for the-development.or

about me? Is that right? redeveopmenwt of land in these zones. This is

the "Installation Compatible Use Zone" or

CM: Sir, that's not the way it is. I can't an- ICUZprogram

swer that question. National Guard as well as regularArmy instal.

lations have conducted these ICUZ pr ogrwns.

CI: You can ask me questions, but I can't To help in this work, both the Arny and the

ask you questions. Is that the way it is? I National Guard have used "outside" technidemand an answer to my question! cians and consultants. Some of these outsiders

have observed that for comparable levels of

CM: You're not cooperating. If you would militry noise and other disturbing activity, the

cooperate, maybe we could find out what is National Guard gets significantly less conscoio ere plaints fom its neighbors, compared to neigh- going on here. bor complaints about regular Army operations.

CI: If you would listen instead of asking National Guard compiaint nmanagers offer this

dumb questions, you would by now know explanation. They contendtha, unlike regular

what is going on here. I have an idea. Why Army personnel who are in their duty stations

don't you come to my house next Sunday for only afewyears, and who often live on-post

before being replaced by a new 'person, the morning - say at 6:30 - and have some people who staff National Guard installations

kaffee and stoellen with my wife and me. are usually permanent residents in the neighThen, we can meet some of the neighbors boringconmmunities. Mostofthem holdcivilian

and go on a little tour so you can find out jobs in theseconmmunities, and they are part of

what is going on here, fill out your form, the civic and social life there.

feed your computer, and maybe change

6-12
One ltiqAd G"uard; cottp nt managq o6.

ien%4d tat mnyof the people, who call hins

auntioisefrobleins contathbn at 0173e ia

knW h'soignadWh6i'it's $010ngto

Another Natonal Gwwd'commander..noted

atformal noise compasftrom one conmuniy rose, steadily,from. "almo!t'none", .to

"Inany, when the Range Confol Seigea

moW.ed t another part of townI tgeta Uater hosefr h.growing fhily. "When theSer'.

gean :move4, thenoise we make iic e'an

anonymous thing to people who had been able

to chat about it with the man who m adeit ashe

wailed home every night" the c6nmander

concluied

A reguarArmy installation that had noticeable

success in complaint management can correlate that period of relative tranquility (in spite of

high levels of noise) with the tour of duty of a

Commanding General who was known as the

person who (1) had personally called upon

some of the citizens who were persistent in their

complaints; (2)'had his staff (and sometime he

hinsef). go on local television to announce

when and why particularly annoying ilitary

activities were scheduled to begin and end; and

(3) had b'een the local area winner in the IDetty

Crocker Cook-off" competition. In developing

personal relatinsh, thLs General seemed to

have been "a natural".

6-13
EXERCISE

SAMPLE LIST OF FEELINGS

A. scan of he dictionary under the letter '!A " reveals more than 125 familiar words that

'can be associated with feelings. In, addition to the tip-of-the-tongue words ANGRY,

ANNOYED, and ANXIOUS, there are other useful words, such as: ABANDONED,

ABASHED, ABRADED, ABUSED, ACCEPTED, ACCOSTED, ACQUITTED,

ADAMANT, ADRIFT,- ADVENTUROUS, AFFECTED, AFFIRMED, AFFRONTED,

AFRAID, AGGRAVATED, AGGRIEVED, AGHAST, ALARMED, ALIENATED,

AMAZED, AMBIVALENT, AMBUSHED, AMICABLE, AMUSED, ANGUISHED,

ANTAGONIZED, APATHETIC, APPALLED, APPRECIATED, APPREHENSIVE,

APPROVED, ARGUMENTATIVE, ARMED, AROUSED, ASSAULTED, ASSURED,

ASTONISHED, ASTOUNDED, ATTACKED, AUTONOMOUS, AVERAGED, AVERSE,

A VOIDED, and AWFUL.

Here are some more feeling words from among the thousands that are listed, or

that can be constructed to describe human emotions:

CONCERNED ENTHUSIASTIC UNCOMFORTABLE DESPERATE

PUZZLED CONFUSED THREATENED DISTURBED

STYMIED REJECIMD FRUSTRATED HURT

IN A BIND DISCOURAGED DELIGHIED OVERWIIELMED

INFURIATED BELITILED SURPRISED RIPPED OFF

PATRONIZED SCARED BETRAYED PUTDOWN

TERRIFIED CORNERED UNDERSTOOD UPSET

JOYFUL TURNED OFF UNCERTAIN DISAPPOINIED

PLEASED IMPORTANT HOPEFUL GUILTY

UNCOMMRTABLE RESENTFUL TURNED ON GREAT

BLAMED MISUNDERSTOOD CONTENT IRRITATED

ON THE SPOT SI lAMED ISOLATED UNIMPORTANT

DEFENSIVE LEFtouIr HOPELESS DISCOUNTED

RELIEVED ENCOURAGED EMBARRASSED CARED FOR

CONFIDENT PROUD ENVIOUS CONSIDERED

UP TIGHT DISSATISFIED INTRUDED UPON WANTED

WORRIED UNFAIRED AGAINST INTIMIDATED IGNORED

6.14
EXERCISE

NOT LISTENING EXERCISE

Angry Citizen

You have come to the end of your endurance with the military activities of the U.S.

Forces in Germany. The range of things that you feel are insults and damages to the

things you value is astonishing. The time has come to do something about it. Your self

esteem is at stake.

Yesterday afternoon, it took you two hours longer than it should have, to return home

from a holiday weekend in the country. Traffic was backed up on the Autobahn for

miles, and the cause was a slow moving convoy of Army trucks that never should have

been allowed on any road during the holiday.

And you holiday hiking trip in the Forest Preserve was ruined by the fact that there

were soldiers and tanks everywhere in the woods. Your favorite overlook had been

taken over by a group of laughing, swearing soldiers with paint on their faces. They

said they were on a training exercise, but who ever heard of disciplined soldiers sitting

around all day listening to tape recorded rock and roll music? It is a travesty!

Then, last night, the music from the NCO Club at the garrison went on until well after

midnight, and soldiers returning to their barracks after a night on the town were

shouting and disorderly. When your neighbor, Frau Schmidt, complained to a group

that was cheering on two soldiers who were fighting in her front rose garden, they said

things to her about her age, her sex, and her nationality that were unbelievable and

infuriating. Their entire unit should be punished for this terrible behavior. But when

you followed these ruffians to the gate and pointed them out to the guard on duty there,

she told you that she did not see them doing anything wrong - that they were just

having a good time - and that, if you were having a problem, you should take it up

with someone in the "PAO Office" in the morning.

This morning, it was the helicopters again. They finally took off, five of them, at seven

o'clock - after almost 30 minutes of "warming up". Although their airfield is almost

a kilometer away from your house, they are only at tree top height when they pass

overhead, as they always do. The whacking noise they make is enough to make the

dishes on the shelf rattle. Tante Anna called a few minutes later from the other side of

town, near the Air Base. She said she was frightened that the fast jets that were taking

off and landing in formation, would crash into her house - like the pictures of the last

accident that she saw on television. How she can stand the noise, you do not know.

You can sometimes hear it all the way across town.

Now, you are again at the Guard House. You have been waiting for thirty minutes for

someone from the PAO Office to come to the gate to escort you to wherever it is that

you can file your many complaints. You tried all morning to telephone this Office, but

no number for them could be found. Someone has now showed up and asks: "What

can I do for you?" Such insolence! What can they do, indeed! You'll tell them! Right

now!

6-15
EXERCISE

NOTlISTENING EXERCISE

PAO Civilian Staff Member

Talk about Bedlam and Chaos! No place or condition could come close to being what

the Public Affairs Office is like today. Life is too short to put up with the kind of

nonsense and abuse that gets dumped on people like you by both the public and the

"green suits" - not to mention the people over at the Maneuver Rights and Host

Nation offices who seem to think they have no responsibility for keeping the lid on

things.

At 0800, the General's Aide showed up personally to bring your boss, the PAO, over

to a special Commanders' meeting that had been called - probably to chew everyone

out about what must have been a bang-up weekend. The complaints are stacked up

knee deep, and cover everything there is that can be complained about. Maneuvers,

convoys, drunken behavior, clashes between citizens and soldiers, helicopters, jets,

boom boxes, you name it, and today, we've got it.

As she left, the PAO dumped all of her crises on you, and, until she gets back (if she

gets back) you are IT - the single lightning rod for everything that has the word

"public," or "citizen," or "problem" attached to it. Not the least of your impossible

list of chores are these things:

o You have to have a speech written for the Colonel's noon speech to the Rotary Club. It is

supposed to be on "Ihe Mission of NATO in a Changing Europe." You have only the notes

you took on a TV program last night, before you were called in to deal with "a problem" that

was created when the Colonel failed to show up for the Little League awards banquet. It seems

that he got stuck in a German holiday traffic jam.

a You have to have a draft letter on the General's desk in 20 minutes that will be an official

response to the Lord Mayor's complaint about the Little League playoffs that were held last

Sunday morning and aftemoon. The cheering and a hom-honking cavalcade were protested

to the Lord Mayor by the Clergyman's Association.

o The TV stations have been on the 'phone since daylight wanting to know why they am being

kept from filming the efforts to free the tank that got wedged between two buildings while

attempting an unauthorized short cut through a village during the weekend maneuvers. They

say that all they have is air views of a gridlock that spreads out from the village for several

kilometers in all directions.

Then there are the plain vanilla complaints that have to be investigated, documented,

and answered. One of them involves someone who is down at the main gate, demanding to see the PAO. The guards there say that you have get there "on the double" to

get this angry person off their backs. As you head for the gate, you remember this is

the morning you promised to take an hour off to go watch one of your children in a

school play.

6-16
EXERCISE

IDENTIFYING FEEINGS AND CONTENT

For each of the following statements, identify the feelings of the sender, and paraphrase, summarize, or reframe the content of the message.

1. You can't let them nn tanks through these woods! This is The Wilhelm Wald! It's one of

the last stands of virgin Black Fir in this part of the world, and it is the habitat of the Stag.

Do you have any idea what these things mean to the people of this country?

FEELINGS:

CONTENT:

2. I guess it doesn't make any difference what we think or say. We've been telling you for

years about the noise your helicopters and aircraft make, and how it disturbs our way of life.

Each time there is a new commander, we have to start all over. It doesn't seem to matter to

any of them. Over and over again we hear: "These are the sounds of freedom." Then they

go home to their freedom.

FEELINGS:

CONTENT:

3. When your tanks and tracked vehicles come out of the fields and onto our roads, they leave

mud all over the place. It makes driving very slippery, and in wet weather, our cars get

covered with dirt. You promised that you would either clean your tracks, or clean our roads,

but you don't do either of those things. Someone is going to skid and get hurt or killed

because of this. We demand that you keep your word.

FEELINGS:

CONTENT:

4. I appreciate the prompt and courteous response you gave me when I complained about the

noise.

FEELINGS:

CON'IENT

6-17
EXERCISE

CONSTRUCTING ACTIVE LISTENING RESPONSES

For each of the statements that follow, identify the sender's feelings and the content of

the message. Then write an Active Listening response that follows this model:

YOU ARE (feeling word) BECAUSE* (content or problem)

* you may use other words here, like WHEN, THAT, ABOUT

When you have done this, give the Active Listening response orally to the others in

your group - but deliver it in a more conversational style.

For example, in Situation #3 on the preceding page, the feelings and content might

have been these: "irritation," and "mud on the road and on our cars"; and, "worry,"

and "someone might get hurt." The double Active Listening response, adhering

strictly to the model above, would be like this:

YOU ARE IRRITATED ABOUT THE MUD ON THE ROAD AND ON YOUR CARS

AND YOU ARE WORRIED THAT SOMEONE MIGHT GET HURT.

When you actually give this response, you might loosen it up and say it in a more

conversational way, like this:

YOU SEEM PREITY IRRITATED ABOUT THE MUD THAT GETS ON THE ROAD, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT GETS YOUR CAR DIRTY IN WET WEATHER - AND IT WORRIES YOU THAT SOMEONE MIGHT SKID ON THE MUD AND GET HURT.

Now, develop Active Listening responses for these statements, and share your responses with the others in your group.

5. I'd like to get some facts into this discussion. About one-third of the people in this area work

for the U.S. Army, or run businesses in which soldiers are major customers. I am one of

those businessmen, and I have this to say: If you people keep complaining about the noise,

and the Army starts giving in to those who say there should be less military activity here,

you will have only yourselves to blame when many of us are unemployed and some are

homeless and starving!

ACTIVE LIS'INING RESPONSE:

6-18
6. I don'twantto sound like I don't care about peace and our national security, but things ARE

changing, and some of your military activities seem less necessary to us than they seem to

you. It is especially annoying when these activities take place at night, or on our holidays.

ACTIVE LISTENING RESPONSE:

7. It's notjust the noise at night - it's the flashes and the flares that make it like a continuous

lightning storm. It wakes my children and frightens them. They cry. Can'tyou do something

about that?

ACTIVE LISTENING RESPONSE:

8. We used to do our work in this factory by hand - with machine tools and operators. Now,

many things are electronic, and we have some things done by robotics. The vibrations of

your tanks, trucks, and firing sometimes cause our sensitive equipment to lose calibration,

and your own electronics cause power drains and surges that ruin our programs. We must

object to these effects on our economy.

ACTIVE LISTENING RESPONSE:

9. Enough is enough! For more than thirty years you have been setting yourself apart from the

laws and customs of our country. It's time you behaved like the guest you are now supposed

tobe!

ACTIVE LISIENING RESPONSE:

6-19
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S~~I theY COE inM o Imir Ih*, do miweIm d ink Ubm hey &i& ba

They 4t-2k b04 to cm wuam A s-n de w-p- IVm~ bhleg tey c= be

solks bave discplin an do nt cre th= badi mn~xemom mji fceLs =OmiI te

iilma M 3w3 90ing- tO dO 2bUI fis? An4 bY te %2Y. te Kasemn nw&d a nmw sqmw

IneamenplatL The saieff is uabeinbW

ACIIVEUSTENIMG RESPONSI________________

12. Why don't you paint numbers on your planes and tanks and trucks that people can read

from adisance?Thlat way, we could tell you who it is thiat is niakng noise- and causing

othe problems. Then, you could punish the people who are nwsponsible.

AMITVE LISTENIN RESPONSE ________________

6-20
EXERCISE

BUEIAY ACT ELLS7TEWGSKTLIS

You w1 wt feel co fetble using Active U=ipg until you bgin to inLibg it into

yor c mmumicaion style and bWs E-m thm, most people w o frind Active Listening to be cefot.able and helpful repoa tha they ae consios of its use - it is not

somehing ta many people can do with nconscious competence. One of the best

places to begn the acqustion of Active Listening skills is through practice with

several oiher peopfe who can obse-ve and coach, or react and critique one another.

I

Tis is an exercise to eive you high intensity practice in Active Liening Te exercise

does NOT auiempt to model a real conversation or interaction that you might have with

other people using Active Listenin_. Football linemen practice blocking for hours to

develop skill This does not look like or feel like a real football game. Golfers hit

dozens of golf balls with a five iron at a ding range to develop their skill with this

club. It does not look like or feel like a real golf game. And so it is with this Active

Listening practice. It does not look like, sound like, or feel like a real conversation.

Each person in your small group will have a chance to be an Active Listener, and an

Observer. Each person will have several chances to be a Sender of messages that

should be short and filled with feeling. The several Senders in the group will bombard

the Active Listener with one-liners for - minutes. The subject for these one-liners will

be chosen by the person who is doing the listening. It should be a subject that the

Active Listener might have trouble just listening to, without getting involved in an

argument or using the "dirty dozen" high-risk responses. The task is to communicate

acceptance and understanding, not agreement or disagreemenL I

After each one-liner, the Senders should give the Active Listener a chance to respond.

If the Active Listening response is on target, the person who originated that one-liner

should signal that the response was "yesable" by saying YES, or RIGHT, or THAT'S

IT, or OK. If the Active Listening response was not "yesable", its Sender should say

so, and require the Active Listener to try again. The object is to give the Active

Listener as many chances to practice this skill as possible in the time allowed.

At the end of - minutes of practice, thL Observer-(Timekeeper) should call STOP, and

begin the minute period of feedback, following these steps in rapid succession:

1. Observer asks Active Listener how he or she felt during the practice, what was done well,

and what could have been done better.

2. Observer identifies specific Active Listening responses that he or she felt wer done well.

Skip those that might have been done better.

3. Senders try to recall specific Active Listening responses that ,ould have given them

relationship satisfaction. Skip those done poorly.

6-21
EXERCISE

BUILDINGACTIVE LISTENING SKIMlS (continwed)

Concentrate on the positive results of the practice, and the feelings that effective

Active Listening can build. At the end of the - minute feedback session, move on to

another round of practice with someone else stepping up to the Active Listener role,

and another person takiLng on the Observer (Timekeeper) role.

Sinmal the Instrm or if you need help

NOTE: The Active Listener can choose any topic that might involve a high level of

feeling - real or role-played - among the Senders. Senders may want to reflect

opinions and positions that differ from those they would take in a real discussion of the

chosen topic. This helps the Sender keep their messages short and intense. People who

send their real feelings and opinions often use up valuable practice time developing the

rationale for their positions. Don't do this. Practice listening, not sending.

Here are some subjects from which the Active Listeners might choose if some other

"hot" topic does not come to mind:

GUN CONIROL (or ASSAULT RIFLE OWNERSHIP)

SEX EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS

MANDATORY, RANDOM DRUG TESING OF GOVERNMENTEMPLOYEES

SCHOOLING FORCHILDREN WHO HAVETHEAJD.S. VIRUS

G2EATING ELECRICITY WII NUCLEAR ENERGY

LIfMING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES' USE OF GREENIOUSE GASES

COMBAT ASSIGNMENIS FOR WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES

ACADEMIC STANDARDS FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES

ABORTION

USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS TO PROVIDESHELIER FOR TIE HOMELESS

LAWS REQUIRING ONLY ENGLISH TO BE USED IN U.S. SCHOOLS & GOVERNMENT

Remember, the object of this exercise is to give the Active Listener practice with high

stress/high risk communications. Put a lot of feeling into your real or role-played

one-liners on these subject - but use most of the time making the Active Listener

prove that he or she IS listening.

6-22
EXERCISE

BUILDING CONGRUENT SENDING SRILLS

Many people find Congruent Sending easier to do than Active Listening. This seems to

be because, in Congruent Sending, you have more time to think about what you are

going to say - you do not have to react to what someone else is saying, on-the-spot.

But practice is necessary in the development of Congruent Sending skill. For some

people, the big step is in taking ownership for feelings, and then sharing those feelings

with others. -

In this exercise, several topics are identified for your small group to use in developing

Congruent Sending messages, following this model:

I AM (feeling word) ABOUT* (description of situation)

*NOTE: You can use other words here, like BECAUSE, WHEN, or THAT

As with Active Listening, when the message is finally sent to others, it can be put in a

more conversational, less stilted style. However, this exercise is not designed to model

a real conversation with others. It is designed to force practice with Congruent Sending

(and incidentally, with Active Listening too).

Everyone in the small group should take a minute or two to assess his or her own

opinion and feelings about the topic announced for Round 1 of the practice. Then, each

person should take a turn sending a congruent message about the topic - with this

Ground Rule: each person (except the first one to send a message) must give a "yesable" Active Listening response to the previous person's congruent message before

sending his or her own congruent message.

When each person in the group has delivered a Congruent Sending message, and if no

one wants to send an additional message, the exercise should be repeated using the

topic for Round 2 - and finally, Round 3.

Here are the topics for each of the Congruent Sending practice rounds:

Round 1: What I think, and how I feel about -

Active Listening and Congruent Sending.

Round 2: What I think, and how I feel about -

the USAREUR Complaint Management strategy and

the suggested system for recoding complaints.

Round 3: What I think, and how I feel about -

the prospects for change in German citizen

attitudes about USAREUR activities.

6-23
VII - UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING CONFLICT

A. INTRODUCTION often believed to be achieved by damaging, or

beating one or more of the parties involved. The

It would be a relatively easy job to be a corn- results of conflict resolved in this way are often

plaint manager if all that was required was to negative for one or more of the involved parties

listen to people who were annoyed and to correct - or sometimes, for everyone. We are all painthe problems that were reported. If substantive fully aware of the human, organizational, and sosatisfaction could be found for every complaint, cial costs of protracted conflict.

procedural and relationship satisfaction would al- However, conflict can have positive results. Conmost surely follow. flict can be used to right wrongs and produce

But the reality of the Army's mission require- new and more satisfying standards, institutions,

ments will not allow USAREUR complaint and patterns of relationship. Conflict, in fact, is

managers to simply wave a magic wand of sub- an essential and desirable component of a free

stantive satisfaction and correct every condition society. How can these two components or charthat causes annoyance and complaints. What wl acteristics of conflict - the destructive and the

be possible for complaint managers is the docu- productive elements - be reconciled?

mentation of annoyance, the reduction of its Part of the answer is in our attitudes and behavcauses wherever mission-consistent action can iors toward conflict. Conflict is not inherently

be taken, and the protection of procedural and bad; it is our attitudes about conflict and how we

relationship satisfaction where substantive action fight out our differences that is the problem. We

cannot be taken. Doing so will require complaint have the capacity to influence whether the outmanagers to increase their understanding of con- come of conflict will be productive or destructive

flicts that occurs whenever people with different by how we view conflict, and by the means we

realities interact. It will also require complaint use to resolve our differences and move from

managers to increase their skills in the processes conflict to cooperation.

of conflict management. These processes include

COMMUNICATION, which is necessary for the Conflict generally involves a collision of differlearning and teaching needed to engage in ences of reality and need between two or more

PROBLEM SOLVING. people. Since people differ from one another, we

all are potentially in conflict. Most of the time

Communication for learning and teaching was this conflict is latent. When we become aware of

the subject of the preceding chapter; problem these differences and they cause a problem in the

solving will be explored in the following chapter. attainment of our interests or the honoring of our

This chapter develops an understanding of con- values, conflict becomes real. Frequently, it is

flict management principles 12 that can be used to competition or change which sparks this awaresharpen the focus of communication for learning ness.

and teaching, and to set the goals for problem

solving. The conflicts arising from the awareness of different interests and values often threaten the parB. ATTITUDES ABOUT ticipants in the dispute who, in turn, adopt

CONFLICT defensive behaviors to protect themselves. These

self protective behaviors can cause unproductive

What comes to mind when you think of the word conflict which is characterized by poor commui t nication, the stereotyping of people as "bad" or "conflict"? Probably words like fight, struggle, "4good", and escalating emotions.

pain, harm, win, lose, war. Conflict is often defined as competition over mutually incompatible

goals or the control of resources. Its resolution is

7-1
Unproductive conflict behaviors are based on 1. Relationship Conflict:

these attitudes and assumptions:

Relationship conflict often results from the

" Someone must win, and someone must lose, expression of strong emotions, mispercep-

" Each person believes that he or she has a tions, stereotyping, poor communication, or

non-negotiable stake in the outcome. patterns of repetitive negative behavior. The

" Honor or personal integrity must be de- resulting disputes often are unnecessary in

fended. that they are not based on substantive disagreements. A focus on maintaining or

[ The other person is totally wrong - illogi- building positive relationships - good feelcal, irrational, and badly motivated. ings, accurate and positive perceptions, productive communications - can significantly set conflicud is: clessen the possibility of unnecessary relaset of attitudes: tionship conflict.

" No one person has a monopoly on the truth,

or knows all the answers. In complaint management, attention to relationship begins with the first person who is

There is probably more than one satisfactory contacted by a citizen or public official who

solution to the problem. is annoyed with U.S. Forces activities. The

" Satisfaction of one's own interests does not skill most required at this critical point of

require the sacrifice of another person's in- first contact is the ability to communicate

terests. well - especially to listen.

" The results of conflict can be beneficial to all

parties. 2. Data Conflict:

The principles and skills of conflict management Data conflict results from a lack of informado not lead to conflict avoidance. They are used tion, misinformation, different interpretato turn conflict into opportunities for cooperative tions of data, and different views about the

problem solving that will produce high quality relevance of specific data. A frequent cause

outcomes for the individuals and organizations of controversy is the failure to exchange inthat are involved, formation that is necessary for a full understanding of the issues.

C. CAUSES OF CONFLICT Some data conflict is unavoidable because of

Most disputes are caused by several factors: genuine disagreements over what information is needed, or because of conflicting

a Relationship problems opinions about what information is important

0 Data or information difficulties to resolving the conflict. Disputing parties

often have different standards for evaluating

n Competing interests information, and they often believe that other

* Structural tensions parties are manipulating information to cre-

* Differing values. ate an advantage.

In USAREUR complaint management, data

A closer look at these causes of conflict will help conflicts can occur over such things as the

conflict managers, and complaint managers, to amount of noise or environmental impact

break down a dispute and decide where the most that was created by a U.S. Forces activity;

productive, or the easiest place is to begin to the identification of the units or personnel

communicate, learn and teach, and problem involved, or the nature of previous agreesolve. ments that, it is claimed, have been breached.

7-2
3. Structural Conflict

NOISE iS OZYNDIDON'TVALJE Structural conflict is caused by patterns of

There is.a man (we'll call him Mr. Hale) who human relationship. This type of dispute may

lives at the Wersection of two helicopterfly- be the result of the distribution or concentraways. One of these i the rout. used by Arniy tion of authority and power; an unequal conhelicopters transporting VIP.staff from their

Headquartes to an airport where executivejet trol of resources; geographic relationships;

aircraft can ind and take off. The other route time; organizational structures; and legal is ad by Coast Guard helicoptdrsflyingfrom constraints.

their aififeld to a control pointfrom which they

recre for small craft emergency and Some structural causes of conflict are, or

rescue workon one of the Great !,akes. they appear to be, things over which conflict

On a summer weekend, when there are a lot of, managers have little control. But often,

people boating near this urban shoieine, there

are many more Coast Guard helicopters flying structural conflicts are caused by the procriscu missions over Mr.Hak's o a esses and procedures that are used to deal

theeareArmyhelicoptersflyingseniorofficers with the conflict - they create procedural

over his head To the unfrained eye and ear, dissatisfaction.

both theArmy and the Coast Guard helicopters

look thesame, andsoundthesa e. Thesound In complaint management, the way in which

of these helicopters is veryouda complaint is handled can create, or prevent,

The load sound of the olive colored Army heli- structural conflict. The systems and procecopters caises Mr. Hae t shike his fist them dures used in gathering specific information

and exclaim something like: "There they go

again, disturbing the peace and wasting all that can be structural causes of data and relationtaxpayer money flying Generals to places they ship conflict. The centralization of authority

probably don't need to go. If they do need to get in a military organization can cause time dethere, theyoughtto takethe bus ora cab like the lays and multiple referrals of a complaint.

rest of us. What makes them so special? It's

realy quite intolerable!" The inability of a citizen or public official to

When the white helicopter with the red stripe get attention to his or her complaint without flies overhead, more often, and just as lotud

Ilie mroten ovrhea; andJus ax oudbureaucratic frustration may be one of the

sounding, Mr. Hale has been heard to say, "I bigest pr sfr SaE staff to

hope they get there on tie - 'hamner down' biggest problems for USAREUR staff to

boys', Mr. Hale does not own a boat himself, solve in creating an effective Complaint

and to the argument that the Coast Guard is Management Program.

using taxpayer's money to rescue people who

are wealthy enough to afford expensive boats, 4. Interest Conflict:

and imprudent in their use, he replies, "Wel,

that's theirjob." Conflict also develops over seemingly in-

* **** compatible interests. Interests are needs or

A National Guard installation that provides tangible results that a party must have satisranges for tank and artillery training has re- fled as an outcome of a dispute for the settleceived a steady flow of complaints for severalbe satisfactory and durable. Interests

years (to which the installation conmmander re.

spondspersonauy). Complaints about military can be substantive in nature; they may refer

noise and the presence of these troops in the to the process by which a settlement is

community declinedsharply when the National reached; or they can refer to the relationship

Guard began using its fire fighting equipment and psychological needs of the people in the

to provide "back up" (and sometines firsttoarrive)fire protection to its ruratneighbors, a conflict.

emergency medical service along an adjoining

Interstate Highway. In USAREUR complaint management, interests can be varied and complex - especially

at this time of changing realities and

expectations in Germany and Europe, There

7-3
are legitimate interests that relate to the sub- the feelings and emotions that arise when our

stance of German relationships with NATO values are put at risk. Values are involved in

pacts and forces; the procedures for insuring what we accept and what we reject in the

national defense in an apparently less hostile data and information that is a source of conenvironment; and the psychological need for flict. "Hard data" that seems so logical and

increased national autonomy, rational to one person, can seem quite illogical and irrational to another person - the

These latter procedural, relationship, and difference being the degree to which they

psychological interests may be as much at "value" the data, or the way in which their

the root of complaints about U.S. Forces ac- values color the importance and interpretativities as are the substantive interests of tion of "facts."

quiet, clean air and water, and troop behaviors that respect community norms and val- The vast array of interests that we hold, proues. The interests of USAREUR must also tect, and seek to advance, are clearly a prodbe accounted for in managing conflict and uct of the system of values in our selves, our

complaints. U.S. interests are also multiple organizations, our neighborhoods, and our

and complex, involving procedural and psy- pations. Certainly, the different experiences

chological factors as well as the stated sub- and environments in which German citizens

stantive interest: "protecting mission and USAREUR military and civilian personcapability." nel have been raised must be deeply involved in the way each assesses personal

Understanding interests is a critical skill of annoyance, formulates or receives a comeffective complaint managers. Section of this plaint, and seeks to communicate and manChapter will highlight interests as the foun- age conflict.

dation for cooperative problem solving.

5. Values Conflict:13 D. CONFLICT ESCALATION

If they are not managed, conflicts frequently esValues conflict develops when disputants calate and may become uncontrollable and dehave different criteria for evaluating conflict structive. While some escalation may be

outcomes, have different life styles or goals, necessary to make a problem visible to all the

or hold different ideologies and religious be- parties involved, people in disputes should be

liefs. Values are often the foundation for the concerned with preventing unnecessary and uninterests that may be the more visible con- productive conflict, and with de-escalating situflict. Some theorists hold that all conflict is, ations that impede effective resolution.

at its roots, a conflict of values. Unmanaged conflicts tend to follow a general

Values affect our relationships. We quickly pattern of escalating intensity, time, involveevaluate people as being GOOD or BAD; ment, and costs.

EASY or DIFFICULT to deal with; RIGHT 1. Precipitating event: This is an event which

or WRONG; PROPERLY or IMPROP- focuses attention on the conflict and raises

ERLY motivated. Sometimes we do this awareness that a problem exists. The precipiwithin moments on the basis of how people tating event might be the one-too-many takelook, what they wear, or how they conduct offs of a helicopter, or the disruption of a

themselves. And as we do this, other people holiday outing in the country by maneuverprobably are making the same value judg- ing troops.

ments about us.

2. I iDj n: The parties involved define the

Values are one of the critical elements in the problem, determine what is at stake, and consider

communication of "individual realities" and outcomes. Often, thisisdoneindividually -which

7-4
fiequenfly results in misperceptions, stereotyping, At this point, the costs to the disputants

and misguided action.Dispute definition may take themselves are very high and often expand

the form of a resolve to complain personally to the and impact indirectly involved third parties

CommunityCommander, ortothe Lord Mayor, in or neighboring publics. Direct action is often

order to restore the conditions that a person values taken by one or more of the parties to either

-to Iotectvaluedinterests from what appears to try to win in the dispute, or, at least, to dembe thoughtlessand uncaring U.S. Forces. onstrate their resolve and the means they are

willing to employ to achieve their desired

3. Dispute expansion: As the primary parties end state conditions.

interact with others, the boundaries and issues of the dispute, the parties involved, and

the emotional levels of the participation At this final stage of conflict escalation, resoluchange. Feelings based on past dealings with tion is beyond simple complaint management. the other parties emerge. People formn alli- Effective complaint management is intended to

ances and coalitions. New issues are inaro- prevent not only this stage of conflict, but all the duced, stages that precede it and turn dissatisfaction and annoyance into problems that can be solved

Dispute expansion can occur when an annoyed rather than contests to be won.

person finds a neighbor who was also annoyed. A

petition is circulated. A letter of complaint is sent E. IDENTIFYING INTERESTS,

to USAREUR, or to local officials, on behalf of a POSITIONS, AND ISSUES

neiglflhood, ratherthan an individual. ACouncil

is formed and named. Contributions to support A key to understanding conflict management

political action arm gathered. principles is the clarification of the terms INTERESTS, POSITIONS, and ISSUES, and

4. Polarization and stereotyping: Each group in knowing when and how to use these terms and

the growing dispute defines its position the things they stand for in the communication

sharply, emphasizing differences between its and problem solving processes of conflict manown interests and the perceived interests of agement.

others. There is no "middle ground", and

people are either "with us, or against us." 1. Interests are the specific needs, conditions,

Stereotyping reinforces the polarization by or gains that a person or group has that must

projecting exaggerated negative images of be met if any agreement is to be considered

adversaries based on traits which lend them- satisfactory. Interests may involve the subselves to labeling, stance, or content that is the subject of the conflict, or the interests may be related to

In the complaint management environment, specific procedural concerns or relationship

polarization and stereotyping behavior can needs. Interests are revealed in response to

take place among USAREUR staff as well as the question: WHY do you need this to hapamong or German citizens and officials. pen?

5. Destructive conflict behavior: In the final In USAREUR complaint management,

stage of conflict escalation, the dispute holds environmental interests may be for quiet

center stage and is the focus of nearly all communities, cleaner air and water, less disactivity. Relationships are ruptured. Non-dis- ruption of civilian activities. Interests discovpute related production comes to a halt. Par- ered in answer to the question: WHY? may

ties refuse to communicate with one another reveal procedural needs concerning the

or, if they do, they engage in vicious argu- communication channels among military and

ments. Each side seeks resolution by abso- civilian leaders, or relationship and psycholute victory over the other. logical interests related to issues of

7-5
governance and autonomy, as well as per- The key to effective conflict management is to

sonal self esteem. get the people who are in conflict to start learning and teaching each other about their interests.

2. Poiions are statements that are made by aparty to Then, issues will become clear, and positions can

adisputethat showhowthatpersonorgroupthinks be stated that reflect solutions that test the degree

the conflict should be resolved. A position is the to which all parties' interests can be met, rather

solution favored and oposedbythe partybecause than being solutions that meet only the interests

ofabeliefthatitthebestwayforaparticularinterest of one party.

to be realized. Positions are made in response to the The communication skills of Active Listening

question: HOW do you think this should be e- and Congruent Sending grow in importance and

comfort when they are used to move people in

conflict to discussions and new understandings USm omofhep inorso man at aie of their interests - procedural and relationship,

more of the positions or solutions that an annoyed or psychological, as well as substantive. And

person advocates, than the interests that person when parties in a conflict situation can talk about

wants to protect or advanle A position might WHY they need to have something happen or

sound like this: "Stop all take-offs and landings turn out in a particular way, as well as HOW

after 1900 hours", or, "You should never hold they think that might be done, the problem solvmaneuvers or allow convoys on the roads on Ger- ing process becomes much easier.

man holidays", or, "Baseball games on Sundays

have nothing to do with your NATO mission!" F. INTEREST-BASED vs.

3. 1= arethestatements thatclarify whatthe parties POSITION-BASED CONFLICT

in a conflict disagree about. Issue statements, when MANAGEMENT

completely elaborated, describe the interests (not Understanding the difference between INTERpositions) that create the conflict and that must be ESTS and POSITIONS is critical to the work of

addressed in any resons agreement. tothequetio: W AT Issues s te are poblm? stated in ES complaint t an management as s ctil well to as thecworkiof to conflict

response to the question: WHAT is the pnblem? management. To distinguish these two methods

of communicating about conflict, the terms "In- Itis impoilant forUSAREiURcomplaintmanagers tercst-Based Conflict Management" and "Posito be specific in stating issues, including a desctip- tion-Based" Conflict Management have been

tion of the interests that am at stake on both sides of coned coined.

the pblen. This will help everyone involved to

understand the need for cooperative problem solv- The conflict manager or complaint manager who

ing. Stated this way, a USAREUR complaintissue seeks to develop new understandings, mitigating

might be: "...the need to maintain pilot's night actions, or resolution of a dispute may choose

flying skills and, at the same time, protect the from a number of techniques ranging from the

residents near the airfield from aircraft noise that improvement of communication, the conciliation

disturbs their sleep." of relationshlips, and the facilitation of problem

solving, to negotiation, mediation, arbitration,

There is no way to predict or control how problems, and litigation.

issues and positions will be stated in a conflict. Often, In each of these techniques, the two most comdisputing parties plunge right in to presenting and de- mon approaches are based upon either the clarifbating their respectivepositions. They may notbeclear cation of interests, or the bargaining of positions.

about what the issues really are because neither side has In this exploration, taken from the U.S. Army

learned from, or taught the other, about its interests. Corps of Engineers training manual for the exSometimes there is an effort made to define the issues, ecutive "Alternative Dispute Resolution" probutthismayfailtoclarifytheconflictifthepattiesdefine gram 13 the technique discussed is negotiatlon (or

the problems in terms of favored solutions, bargaining), but the approach applies to other

7-6
techniques, including communication and prob- characterized by a predominance of one aplem solving, just as well. proach or the other. Negotiators who take a positional bargaining approach will generally use

I. What is Position-Based Bargaining? interest-based bargaining only during the final

Positional bargaining is a negotiation strat- stages of negotiations. When interest-based baregy in which a series of positions are se- prdcswereiiosnashtramutf gaining is used throughout negotiations it often

lected by a negotiator, ordered sequentially produces wiser decisions in a shorter amount of

aectedibyngoto rferr ordcmer uen nd l time with less need for adversarial behavior.

according to preferred outcomes, and presented to another party in an effort to reach G. CONFLICT OUTCOMES AND

agreement.

STRATEGIES

The first, or opening position, represents

that maximum gain hoped for or expected in In the previous paragraphs, reference was made

the negotiations. Each subsequent position to several results, or outcomes that a party in a

demands less of an opponent and results in conflict might want to achieve. Knowing what

fewer benefits for the person advocating it. outcome is preferred, it is then possible to select

the conflict management strategy that is likely to

Agreement is reached when the negotiators' produce that outcome, the technique (concilipositions converge and they reach an accept- ation, negotiation, facilitated problem solving,

able settlement range. litigation, etc.) that might be employed to implement the strategy, and the approach (position2. What is Interest-Based Bargaining? based or interest-based) for communicating with

other parties.

Interest-based bargaining involves parties in 1. Possible Outcomes of a Dispute:

a collaborative effort to jointly meet each

other's needs and satisfy mutual interests. The diagram on the next page (Figure 2)

Rather than ffioving from positions, to shows five end state conditions, or outcomes

counter positions. to a compromise settle- of a dispute. Party A's satisfaction is plotted

ment, negotiators pursue a joint problem on the vertical axis of the diagram and

solving approach and attempt to identify in- ranges from LOW ("loses") to HIGH

terests prior to examining specific solutions. ("wins"). Party B's satisfaction, described in

these same terms, is plotted on the horizontal

After interests are identified, negotiators axis.

jointly search for a variety of alternatives

that might satisfy all interests, rather than ar- W outcomes occur in the upper left

gue for any single position. The parties select hand, and lower right hand corners of this chart.

a solution from these mutually agreed op- The difference is in who wins - A, or B.

tions. WIN/LOSE outcomes are most common when:

This approach to negotiation is sometimes 0 One party has overwhelming power and does

called "integrated bargaining" because of its not need the cooperation of another to win.

emphasis on cooperation, meeting mutual • Future relationships are not of great concern.

needs, and the efforts by the parties to ex- * The stakes for winning are high, and a party

pand the bargaining options so that a wiser cannot cooperate or compromise without losdecision, with more benefits to all, can be ing everything.

achieved.

LQSELLSF outcomes are shown in the lower

Naturally, all negotiations involve some posi- left comer of the chart. This results when parties

tional bargaining and some interest-based bar- are not able to come to an agreement. The

gaining, but each negotiation may be LOSE/LOSE outcomes occur when:

7-7
A's

Satisfaction

A Wins A Wins

High 0 B Loses * B Wins

A Wins Some/Loses Some

B Wins Some/Loses Some

0

A Loses A Loses

Low S B Loses BWins

Low B's Satisfaction High

Figure #1. Possible Dispute Outcomes

7-8
0 Neither party has enough power to force the Sometimes the product will be about relationship

issue. itself, or about psychological satisfaction - how

E There is a lack of trust, poor communication, to maintain the authority and self esteem of a

excessive emotions, or an inadequate resolu- local official who agrees to USAREUR mission

tion process. requirements instead of pressing a constituent

complaint on to higher political authority; how to

* The stakes for winning are low, and neither let all parties "save face" when the product for

party cares about the dispute. each is only "half-win".

WINS-SOMEILOSES-SOE or half-win/half- Each of the outcomes described on the preceding

lose outcomes are represented in the center of the pages results from a particular conflict managechart. This result is obtained when all parties ment STRATEGY that establishes the attitudes

give up some of there goals in order to obtain and behaviors that will be used in working for

others. The outcome of WINS-SOME/LOSES that outcome.

SOME is likely to occur when:

* Neither party has the power to totally win. 2. Conflict Management Strategies

* The future positive relationship of the disputants is important, but they do not trust each The diagram on the following page (Figure

other enough to work together. 3) gives names to the conflict management

strategies that lead to the outcomes pre-

* The stakes for winning are moderately high. viously described. Note that although the coWINIWIN outcomes occur in the upper right ordinates of the "Conflict Management

corner of the chart. This result is reached when Strategies" diagram are the same as those

used in the diagram of "Possible Dispute

all parties feel their interests have been met. uedein the arm of " o Dispte

WIN/WIN outcomes occur when these condi- Outcomes", the perspective is now from the

tions are found: point of view of Pal.A only - the strategy names are those that would be used by A to

* Both parties are not engaged in a power describe its conflict management intentions.

struggle.

N A future positive relationship is important. - the way to WIN/LOSE setpossible outcomes chart here tlements. In some situations, a party's interests

are so narrow that they can be met by only a few

* The stakes are high for producing a solution. solutions, none of which are acceptable to the

0 Both parties are assertive problem solvers, other parties involved. The party may choose to

compete for the outcome and to strive for a

Usually, the product in each of these outcomes is WINpe OS se ttl me n espec i e tha

WINALOSE settlement, especially when that

an agreement between disputants that satisfies at party believes that it has more power than its

least some of their interests. This may be true opponent Competitive strategies include litigaeven when both parties appear to "lose". tion, arbitration, referral to a higher authority for

In complaint management, the product that is decision, or executive decree.

needed may be substantive - to avoid a claim, When USAREUR chooses a strategy of COMlitigation, or political pressure; to get agreement PETITION, it is because it believes that mission

on the time, place, and duration of a maneuver; capability will be irreparably and permanently

to develop a Standard Operating Procedure to decreased if the "annoying" activity of U.S.

govern airfield operations. Forces is stopped, decreased, or modified in any

The outcome may also be procedural - gaining way, and that this present interest is more imporagreement on what measures will be used to ob- tant that future relationships.

jectively assess noise impacts; or developing a

forum for the discussion of future relationships.

7.9
A's

Satisfaction Competition Cooperation

High 0

Compromise

S

Avoidance Accomodation

Low 5

Low B's Satisfaction High

Figure #2. Conflict Management Strategies

7-10
ACCOiOI)DAM n' -itiv in too ds emt,, h ftaire of cvon±ivp 2

interesms Accem&o c OCIN ws be o=ejFty eml=2fn= &%U =

Sgim in to t inierests of = ar r ft C"he e oveoab in iMA y, em sgre'gy hse ==

of its ourn nccd. Accommmhdtve sa-gy is a mom omn re for ft == mi of

pursued v6-xn the saruim af sa=n inStrests is ConflirL

required to maintain 2aOSV TCsIiveialoiSP, Incwstopacl x n=* 6nrom irbn it is drsirable oj~ni~on inerstsateexr~nawintr- to d or~i onrzor foswe co- tmMcete0S=i tro. fr-e the w o~ is ec w as ste&iino the divisim of

depMaenor - a fixed set of reurce coopu vera pre sohin seeks to cn! he M rae of am-zivms

When USAREUR chooses a sb-azey of AC- or "'iteae ft pie" so t3 211 ft pe

COMMODATION, it is Wmase th "'anno)ing" nC! eL

actiity of US. Forces is no rehled to minim When USAREUR dwes the swlte y of COcapaility, or that this capahlijv is not as inpor- OPERATION, it is becam it belimcs ti2 thm

wait to loeg range USAREUR imerests 2s is the m : be solution to the probems creaed by U.S.

maintenance of good relaioships wAith German Forme activilks, but that fiding these solutions

Citi7,ns and officials- vil require the creafive cnergy of all parties.

AVOIDANCE - the straegy of dsenagenrinLH

Conflict avoidance can be both productive and H. SUMMARY

unproductive in the sderdacm of disput. Po- In this chaper, attitudes about conflict and the

pe avoid conflict for a va of reasons - fear, common sources of conflict have been identified.

lack of knowledge of ether conflict man gement lie impolant dfinitioms of INTf'ERESTS, POprocesses, absence of inter-dependent interests, SrTIONS, and ISSUES have been given, along

indifference to the issues in the dispute, or belief with decriptions of the Interest-Based and Posithat agreement is not possible. tion-Based approaches to conflict managementWhen USAREUR choosesastrategy of AVOID- Finally, the five most common outcomes of a

ANCE, it may be to avoid being drawn into a conflict have been reviewed, and their correconflict situation; Co try to manage the problem sponding conflict management strategies have

without making its actions public; or to maintain been described.

a less that optimum status gun when the issues With this understanding of conflict and the prininvolved are relatively unimportant to all parties. ciples of conflict management, USAREUR comCOPOIE- dividing up the pie. Compro- plaint manager ou Ioiint rbould omnctoswt be in an improved noe

mise is achieved through bargaining or negotia- position to focus communications with annoyed

tion. This strategy is selected when the p s citizens and public officials on the learning and

recognize they do not have sufficient power or teaching that must be done to initiate problem

sources to compete to win, or when they do not solving processes.

perceive the possibility of a WINAVIN situation Keeping ia mind the limits and constraints that

that will meet their needs. mission requirements place upon the conflict

management process, it is nevertheless appropriWhen F it willbech se aiving strate of ate for the complaint manager to understand the

Pitses it whi beeaue ging ur oe te processes by which substantive agreements on

its interests is what is needed in order to get the complaints may be rt.,.hed through cooperative,

other parties to accept their diminished interests interest-based, facilitated problem solving -

without appealing to higher political authority, which is the subject of the next chapter.

COOPERATION - meeting the needs of all

parties. Cooperative problem solving is less familiar to most people than competing to win, or

bargaining and negotiating a compromise. How7-11
EER CISE

INGS THATHFPIVRESOLVING ORL4A4GING CONTLICT

THINK OF A CONFLICT THAT YOU HA VE EXPERIEN CED IN YOUR WORK THAT

WAS SEM IZD FIU REL477 VELY HIGH LEVELS OF SATISFACTION FOR ALL OF

THE PARTIES INVOLVED.

> Try to identify what things were done by some or all of the participants

that contributed to the development of the productive settlement.

> What could have happened inat would have resulted in there being no

settlement of the conflict, or a settlement that would have been less

satisfying to some or all of the people that were involved?

7-12
EXERCISE

HOIVATJJTUDESAFFECTCONFLICTBEHAVIOR

THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE WORKED WITH IN USAREUR

COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT - ON THE USAREUR STAFF, AMONG THE

MILITARY OPERATING UNITS, AND IN THE GERMAN COMMUNITIES.

> Try to find words to characterize the attitudes those people had - both

positive and negative - about the people on the "other side" in the

conflict.

> List these words on two separate sheets of paper - one for POSITIVE

attitudes, and one for NEGATIVE attitudes.

> For each of these lists, describe the kinds of behaviors that people used,

and the procedures and relationships that resulted from these behaviors.

NOTE: See pages 7-3 and 7-4 for information on attitudes about conflict.

7-13
EXERCISE

IDENTIFYING CAUSES OF CONFLICT

(part 1: Relationship, Data, Structure)

THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE NOISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINTS AND

CONFLICTS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED. TRY TO FIND EXAMPLES IN WHICH

CONFLICT WAS CAUSED BY ONE OR MORE OF THESE THINGS:

> Present or past RELATIONSHIP problems.

> DATA or information differences and interpretations.

> STRUCTURAL tensions or complexities

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO REMOVE (RESOLVE) OR LESSEN (MANAGE)

THESE SOURCES OF CONFLICT?

NOTE: See pages 7-4 through 7-7 for information on causes of conflict.

7-14
EXERCISE

CAUSES OF CONFLICT

(part 2: Interests)

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INTERESTS OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE WHO

MIGHT BE INVOLVED INA USAREUR NOISE OR ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT?

> The military Company or Battalion Commander whose troops created

the problem during routine field training - the Commander has three

months to go on his tour in Germany.

> The Community Commander whose installation is used by many units

for field training - the Commander has three years to go on his tour in

Germany.

> The citizen who is annoyed by noise from an airfield and who has

written a complaint letter to USAREUR Headquarters - see "Complaint A" on page 6-6 of this handbook.

> The Mayor of the town who was sent a copy of the complaint letter by

the annoyed citizen, with a request that the Mayor meet with the citizen

and some of his neighbors.

> The Public Affairs Officer for the installation who has been asked to

respond to the citizen's letter, and to brief the Community Commander

on the actions he should take regarding the Company/Battalion Commander, and the Mayor.

> The Host Nation representative for the District who has been asked by

Headquarters to arrange a meeting with the Mayor and the annoyed

citizen to try to resolve or manage the conflict.

NOTE: Do not think about what these people should do or say - just try to identify

what the INTERESTS are that each person has that he or she will be trying to defend

or advance in whatever interaction follows.

NOTE: See pages 7-6, 7-10, and 7-12 for information on Interests.

7-15
EXERCISE

CAUSES OF CONFLICT

(part 3: Values)

THINK OF THE INTERESTS YOU HAVE THAT AFFECT YOUR ATTITUDE AND

YOUR BEHAVIOR TOWARD YOUR WORK, THE OTHER PEOPLE WITH WHOM YOU

> Make a list of the Interests that you will be trying to advance or protect

in your interactions with other people.

> For each Interest that you identified, try to think of the word or phrase

that describes the VALUES that you have that create this Interest, and

impel you to act on it.

NOTE: See pages 7-7 and 7-8 for infornation on Values.

7-16
EXERCISE

IDENTIFYING CONFUCTMANAGEMENTSTRATEGIES

IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST COMMONLY EMPLOYED

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES WHEN YOUR UNIT HAS BEEN

REQUIRED TO DEAL WITH A CONFLICT BETWEEN USAREUR AND GERMAN

CITIZENS OR LEADERS?

> Competition

> Accommodation

> Avoidance

> Compromise

> Cooperation

CAN YOU THINK OF AN EXAMPLE OF COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT ACTION FOR EACH OF THESE FIVE STRATEGIES? (Note: Sometimes it is necessary to shift from one strategy to another as conflict management proceeds, but you do

not engage in more than one strategy at a time.)

DOES YOUR COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT UNIT TRY TO PREDICT WHAT

QUTCOME OF A CONFLICT IS (a) MOST DESIRABLE, AND (b) MOST LIKELY

BEFORE YOU DECIDE WHAT TO DO?

NOTE: See page 7-13 for information on Outcomes, and page 7-16 for information on Strategies.

7-17
VIII- PROBLEM SOLVING

A. INTRODUCTION volved in the problem must agree to meet with

one another. This condition presupposes that inThe two previous chapters aimed at establishing dividuals and groups are not so hostile to one

the importance of developing rclao onsp..sais another that they would not agree to talk. These

faction through effective COMMUNICATION, parties must have enough trust in one another's

and the need for building procedural satisfaction sincerity in approaching the problem solving

through effective CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. process that they will be willing to work toUnderstanding the principles of communication gether.

and conflict management, and developing skills in these processes, is essential work for the Another prerequisite is that no one party can feel

SA U cpint maesproessna r k fthat it has sufficient power to unilaterally deter- mine the outcome of the problem solving procWhen the opportunity to talk and be heard is ess, and impose this solution on others. When

clear and trusted, and the processes are available there is a party that believes that its interests are

for teaching and learning about interests and val- paramount and can be made to prevail over the

ues, the two important prerequisites of complaint interests of others, there is little incentive for

resolution are in place - communication, and them to participate in a cooperative problem

education. When the principles and skills of solving process - and other parties may choose,

PROBLEM SOLVING are added, the chance for or be forced to compete to win as well.

s satv stsato is made possible. An important prerequisite for the cooperative

USAREUR mission requirements may make it problem solving process is that all of the parties

impossible for the changes to be made that an- with an interest in meeting and working together

noyed citizens and public officials suggest - or believe that the USAREUR staff who facilitate

demand. In these cases, the importance of using this process are capable of acting fairly and imeffective complaint management principles and partially.

skills to build relationship and procedural satisfaction has been stressed. USAREUR complaint managers will quickly

recognize that these conditions cannot be met for

But there may be substantive solutions that are many complaint situations. Getting people "to

different than those proposed by annoyed and the (problem solving) table" is one of the most

angry complainers, or envisioned by military complex and vexing challenges of complaint and

leaders who feel trapped between mission re- conflict managers. For some people, self-image,

sponsibility and their concern for environmental reputation, and career seem more related to being

protection. The search for ways to meet the a winning competitor, than an effective cooperaneeds, advance the interests, and honor the val- tor.

ues of everyone involved in an issue surfaced by However, there are examples among USAREUR

the complaint management process is the pur- complainthmanageme s wrooprAtE pose of problem solving. 14 complaint management units where cooperative problem solving activities have been organized,

and solutions have been found to problems that

go unresolved in other USAREUR areas. In

SUPPORT COOPERATIVE some of these efforts, the cooperative problem

PROBLEM SOLVING solving has been undertaken with an existing

community organization, or one that has been

There are several prerequisites that need to be formed by citizens or public officials for this

met before cooperative problem solving can take purpose. In other cases, the cooperative effort

place. The first condition is that the people in- involved groups of citizens whose were

8-1
organized for that specific purpose by [ When people feel that the process for

USAREUR'staff. reaching a decision has been fair - that

their views have been considered and

have had a chance to influence the outC. PRINCIPLES OF come - they are far more committed to

COOPERATIVE PROBLEM implementing the solution that have

been developed, even when it is not their

SOLVING preferred solution.

The cooperative problem solving .process is 0 When people can see that a fair and sysaimed at increasing the ability of people who tematic thought process and clear proce- dures have been used to create, organize, recognize that they have interests' that are at risk, and evaluate information and ideas, they

damaged, or unfulfilled because of the interests have a better sense of progress and diof others, to work together to develop ways to rection, and a willingness to "let go" of

satisfy these interests or needs. There are several the need to gather more and more data to

principles that characterize this approach to support their interests before a decision

problem solving, is made.

1. Belief in the value of PARTICIPATION: 3. Belief that effective and durable solutions result when people help one another to protect

or advance individual INTERESTS. This

This principle is derived from an assumption princthe IdES of is

undergirding the democratic process - that principle is based on the ideas of interestpeople should have the right, and they do bsdcnlc aaeetpeetdi peploudhave the res b ig , ande ther on Chapter VII. This principle holds that people have the responsibility, to manage their own adognztosati asta rtc

affairs. From this assumption, a number of and aan thi in and va t is

implications follow: and advance their interests and values. It is

natural for them to enter into situations in

which interests and values conflict with an [] When people feel a sense of genuine attitude and strateg that aims at insuring

participation in the decision making gy

process - when they feel that their par- that the outcome of the conflict is a "win"

ticipation can make a difference in the for their side.

outcome of a decision - they are more

likely to become sincerely and coopera- Experience has taught most people that,

tively involved in that process. while it may be possible to dominate the deo] When people feel that, because of theirvoeinrstshnrdathexpsef cision making process and ensure that a faparticipation, they have some control vored interest is honored at the expense of

over the process that generates solutions, other interests, this approach is generally not

they are more likely to be willing to con- effective and does not produce durable resider and evaluate proposed solutions in suits.

a serious and responsible manner.

0 People who feel their interests have not

2. Belief in the value of PROCESS: been met have many ways to obtain the

power to redress their grievances, inThis principle, though supported by research cluding the use of the courts, the press, and civil disobedience.

in the field of group dynamics, is more a

matter of faith, feeling, or experience for 0 People who feel their interests have not

most people. It is directly related to the need been met can fail to implement their part

everyone has for procedural satisfaction - of imposed solutions, or upset a solution

that the = in which something is decided by withholding full cooperation - or

is often as important as what is decided. even by malicious compliance with the

Those who value PROCESS understand or solution's terms.

feel:

8.2
t3 People who feel their interests have not The assumption in these jlescriptions is that a

been met in one problem situation can group has gathered for the specific purpose of

withhold their cooperation in another trying to solve some problem. This means that,

situation where they cannot be domi- for USAREUR staff participants, the decision

nated or overcome, has been made that some change in the activities'

By definition, the cooperative problem solving or operations of U.S. Forces is possible - that

process isnot an arena for competition. In addi- whatever the problem is, its cause is not so contion (and surprising to some people), it isnot a strained by mission requirements that discussion

process used in a search for "commofi ground". and negotiation is impossible. Both USAREUR

The cooperative problem solving process is an and community leaders see that there is an intereffort by people who believe that individual or dependency of interests that makes cooperative

group interests are separate realities that are to be problem solving possible, and necessary.

accepted (neither agreed with nor disagreed While the problem solving meeting does not re- with), and that no one solution is likely to honor Wietepolmsligmeigde o e these multiple interests. quire that participants are friendly, or that they are unpolarized in the pQsitions they initially adInstead, the cooperative problem solving process vocate (see Chapter 7), it is unlikely that coopuses the creative synergy of all participants to erative problem solving will take place in a

find the several solution ingredients that advance meeting with people who are gathered because

or protect individual interests, and tailor an of active hostility to U.S. Forces activities or

agreement or plan that is a group product rather presence in Germany. It is easier to picture coopthan a surviving solution picked from among erative problem solving taking place at a meeting

competing options, called by USAREUR staff to deal with a specific

problem, than to picture it taking place at a meetIt does not always work out this way. There is no ing at which USAREUR staff presence was deguarantee that cooperative problem solving will manded by people intent upon taking and

succeed. It is not easy work. But cooperative strengthening public positions.

problem solving does increase the chances of

success - and even when the best effort only

results in a compromise, the procedural and rela- E. USAREUR STAFF ROLES IN A

tionship satisfactions that have been developed COOPERATIVE PROBLEM

often make it possible for people to continue to SOLVING MEETING

work in good faith and spirit on other problems.

One of the significant characteristics of a coop- D. THE COOPERATIVE erative problem solving meeting is the identificaPROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS tion, and separation, of three USAREUR staff

roles. These are (1) the Facilitator, (2) the TechIn the following description of the procedures nical and/or Policy Representative of USAREUR

and participant roles for cooperative problem - hereinafter "USAREUR Representative",

solving, the environment that is portrayed is one and (3) the Recorder.

in which a group of people have gathered to deal

with a conflict of USAREUR military activity 1. T

interests, and German community or neighborhood interests - a cooperative problem solving The Facilitator's job is to ensure that the way

meeting. The point should be made that coopera- the meeting is conducted is consistent with

tive problem solving can take place between as the basic principles that undergird the coop.

few as two people, and it can be done over the erative problem solving process. The Facilitelephone, or by mail (though personal contact tator plays a lead role - but the Facilitator is

greatly improves and speeds the communication, not the leader of the group. The success of

and the teaching and learning processes). the meeting is not the responsibility of the

8-3
Facilitator; the Facilitator's job is to help th Although it is helpful if the Facilitator has some

gwu to have success. knowledge of methods and procedures that can

help the group to create, organize, evaluate, and

The Facilitator does not evaluate the sub- make decisions about data and ideas, it is more

stance or content of the group's work, or important for the Facilitator to be the impartial

coach group members as they develop con- servant of the group, helping the group to help

tent. The Facilitator d=e coach the group on itself over the hard places. In doing this, experimeeting process and procedures, making enced Facilitators make

suggestions that may b ph..ru to cre- ate, organize, and evaluate information, frequent use of the Active Listening and Congru- opinion, and ideas. ent Sending communication skills. Figure 4 shows a Facilitator working in a problem solving

The Facilitator, free of meeting content and meeting.

decision making responsibility, is able to It may be helpful in thinking about what Facilitaconcentrate on group process and sense pro- tors do, to identify what Facilitators should NOT

cedural and relationship needs of the group. do.

During a cooperative problem solving meeting, a Facilitator might do these things:

o help the group establish an agenda; agree

on a meeting process; set time limits and

ground rules

o have participants identify themselves;

suggest and model a communications

environment that helps group members

overcome any reservation they may have

about participating

o call attention to group progress and accomplishment; note when the group appears to be getting off track, or hung up

on some point or issue

o acknowledge and summarize group

member's contributions; make sure that

everyone who wants to say something

gets a fair share of meeting time

o] help the group to accept feelings and

emotions by using listening skills to ac- Figure #4- The Facilitator

cept and interpret them

cr Facilitators should not make content or

o identify points of dissension; sense ten- substantive suggestions to the group, adsion among group members; urge mem- vance an idea or position, express a perbers to focus their comments on the sonal or organizational interest, advocate

problems and issues rather than on other what some group member has proposed,

members or argue with a group member.

[o check for understanding on key points; 0 Facilitators should not press the group to

call attention to emerging themes; ensure make a decision that the group is not

that agreements are clearly worded and ready to make, or make decisions for the

accurately recorded group - even on matters of group process.

o help the group to identify objective ways

to evaluate ideas and move toward con- [ Facilitators should not insist that a spesensus or closure cific procedure be used by the group;

8,4
they do not need to be "in charge" or should be conducted. Facilitation of meet-

"in control" of the group to be effective. ings is a new idea to many people outside of

o1 Facilitators should not talk too much; the United States. Skepticism should be exthey should help the group get on with pected. The problem solving process, if it

problem solving, proceeds at all, may have to use the services

It has been stated several times, that a critical of someone outside USAREUR to be the

element and a precondition for cooperative "leader", or "chairman" or "moderator"

problem solving is the credibility of the Facilitator's assertion that he or she is impartial Facilitator impartiality, credibility, and acand working to help the group. In gaining the ceptance is made even more difficult to obtrust of the citizens and community leaders tain when the USAREUR Representative is

in this kind of meeting, the relationship be- obviously a person who out-ranks the Facilitween the Facilitator and the USAREUR tator. When this condition exists, it must be a

Representative becomes one of great impor- matter of clear understanding - first betance. tween the Facilitator and the USAREUR

Representative, and then between the

It is the presence of the USAREUR Repre- USAREUR Representative and other group

sentative in a problem solving meeting that members - that the Facilitator will be exmakes it possible for the Facilitator to be im- pected to treat the USAREUR Reprepartial, and to do that job effectively. At sentative in exactly the same way that other

best, the Facilitator will have to overcome participants are treated.

the understandable skepticism of group

members when he or she defines the Facilita- If this relationship between the Facilitator

tor's job, and claims to be impartial. The co- and the USAREUR Representative cannot

operative problem solving meeting camot go be honestly and comfortably made within

more than a few minutes without the roles of USAREUR. it would be better to forg et

the USAREUR Facilitator, and the about trying the facilitated. coo~rative probUSAREUR Representative being clearly ex- lem solving process.

plained

If the Facilitator is a mid-level civilian staff

And more than explanation will be needed, member, and the USAREUR Representative

The meeting cannot proceed until group is a Colonel or General Officer - and there

members have been given a chance to dis- is any hint to other participants that there

cuss the proposition that a meeting Facilita- will a "head-rolling" or "performance retor be used, and that this person come from view" meeting back at the office when this

the ranks of USAREUR staff. In Federal problem solving meeting is over - the

agency use of the facilitated meeting process credibility of the process will be destroyed;

in the United States, an "outside" Facilitator structural conflict will be introduced; and the

is sometimes used. This can be a hired pro- hard work that has developed enough relafessional, or a person who does not have an tionship and procedural satisfaction to get

interest in the substance of the decisions that things this far will be lost.

come out of the meeting. It is possible that

the Facilitator role could be assumed by This does not mean that the USAREUR

someone from the German community as Representative has be equal or lower in rank

well, if the group concurs, than the Facilitator. USAREUR can be represented at this meeting by the Community

If the problem solving group does not agree Commander or even a higher authority. As

to the use of a Facilitator, the problem the long as the expectations of other participants

group must solve first is how the meeting are accurate and realistic about how the final

8-5
decisions will be made, and the Facilitator is the substantive leader for USAREUR, and

given- believable freedom to treat all partici- the staff should discipline itself to this leadpants equally, the rank of the USAREUR ership.

Representative is not an issue.

3. The Recorder

2.. The USAREUR Representative: The visible record of individual comments

and ideas is an important part of an effective

USAREUR interests are at stake in any co- meeting - for these reasons:

operative problem solving effort that is the

result of the Complaint Management Pro- 03 It helps the group to focus its energy.

gram. Someone reflecting the USAREUR in- 0 It helps to keep participants from repeatterests will be an important participant in any ing things that have been said before.

of these meetings. It may require more than [3 It is a powerful symbol of acceptance of

one person to adequately present these inter- an individual whose contributions might

ests. otherwise be discounted or overlooked

by the group.

From the standpoint of German citizen or 0 It develops both group procedural satis- community interests, it would be ideal if the faction and the personal, psychological

USAREUR Representative could make bind- satisfaction of individual members of the

ing policy decisions - right there, on-the- group.

spot, in the meeting. coul d be ringthe That evauatd way, meeing solutions andParticipants should be urged to monitor

could be evaluated during the meeting and what the Recorder IS writing, and ask

no time would be lost while an organiza- for corrections to be made when their

tional review was made of the meeting's im- point is improperly recorded. The Repact on USAREUR interests and positions. corder may ask for the meeting process

to be slowed down, or for some idea to

It may not be possible to have a USAREUR be restated so that it can be accurately

pol;lx Representative at every problem solv- heard and recorded. When the pace of the meeting is slow enough, the Reing meeting, but it will be necessary to have crer sl y ou the e corder should try to use the same words

someone participating who can at least speak

on the technical and administrative points of

USAREUR interests. This job cannot be

done by the Facilitator.

Conversely, the person who will represent

USAREUR interests cannot be an effective

Facilitator - in that meeting. The Facilitator

must be impartial insofar as content is concerned. But an effective problem solving ) '

process requires USAREUR interests to be

presented assertively, and argued persuasively.

If the USAREUR Representative is not a

person who can make final decisions during A_

the meeting, this fact must also be part of the

expectations of other participants. If there

are several USAREUR staff at the meeting, Figure #5- The Recoder

someone of this staff should be identified as

8-6
that a group member uses when recording that person's idea or concern. Figure 1. Identifythe Problem

5 shows a Recorder at work in a problem

solving meeting. 2. Develop a list of Solution Ingredients

F. STEPS IN THE 3. Evaluate the Solutions

COOPERATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING PROCESS: 4. Pick one Solution to Implement

5. Develop an Implementation Plan

There are many books and training programs on

the problem solving processes. 6. Monitor the Solution

When processes are compared, most of them

have a common sequence of steps - the differ- Figure #6 -The Interest-Based Problem Solving

ences being in how finely the steps are subdi- Process

vided, or how coarsely they are aggregated.

When people who have never read a book or Step 6: Monitor the solution - most

attended a training program on problem solving agree that this follow-up is

are asked to identify the steps they think should necessary, but some omit it.

be included in a problem solving process, they

quickly develop something like this list: Here is a way of integrating INTERESTS into

the 6-step problem solving process identified

Step 1: Identify the problem - some above (Figure 6):

people separate the listing of Step 1: Identify the Problem

symptoms and causes.

It was noted in the chapter on communications

that people often identify problems in terms of a

Stem2 mevel a innto o y n r- preconceived or favorite solution. The example

some make an inventory of re- used there, and in the description of the positionsources at this point, some do based approach to conflict management, dealt

not. with sex education in the schools. Here is a different example:

Step 3: Evaluate the solutions - some "The problem we have with the Army in our

separate the analysis from the community is that you schedule Little League

evaluation to distinguish ob- baseball games on Sunday, and you let the soldiers living off-post cut their grass on Sunday. jective from subjective judg- That's the problem!"

ments.

The interest-based approach to this step tries to

identify the problem in terms of unfulfilled or

Step 4: Pick one solution to implement endangered interests. Example:

a variety of separate steps "The problem is that Sunday is supposed to be

can be found to do this job. a day of rest and meditation. That is not possible

in our community because of the way U.S. famiStep5: Develop an implementation lies schedule their recreation and chores. That's

pku - most agree that a plan the problem!"

is needed that tells who, does People do not naturally talk in terms of interests.

what, when, where, and how. They will not automatically understand the need

8-7
to do tUS- or D.C 2be to do t1.1 sirVy bet:s SL-p" Er3-r- he StCVv,

the Rarilitanr suggs ts 2Jp~mh to pwbem

i~ntilkaiion. At Cgis poi=~ in a Co ong~im irolhem soling

TdntiCft pmbkg m. v s in i Mms f oiCJ or proz~ssthe elhv i v ar4- ccEIk~ iS fMed Sih only a few, iy p k~e altemna

endangered ixgerzesa is usmilv ft FaciLVas W- 0 asok~gM AWiit -hV lh -ezh Of-Ath C~n be 2 wikWfniUS jb, 2and this reqpres the re of Actize istdn ao 23d amy 2swdikd i =st group. Evaluand COi,zuent Sending cominmicaziognsillS. IJlat t eo..enticml 17re can bnS

The Wo is to reframe w110 the g-. 7 m s "siesw e of t" 

initially vreset in respiose to the qaessio -O&I !r feft i-4d&

'Wat is the pobem?" Doing good job of _exemI10 lrezi a &end its own

de-~ poitio, or solmion pa r2gt, 2nd to 2tack the pcuitioo 2mholed anio eefeaded by Odi Ob- sciptions of their underlyinrg ifes-s s jeti - Of t alternative utions besubsequent steps in Cooperative probl/a Slring come dfiCUIL

easier.

In the interest-based apxoach there Can be a Step 2 DevelopaT li~tnj 5' ,]tuu Tndient,' long list of relatively small, or at k= discrete,

solution mian.edie,. Each of these solution inThis apparently easy step is mra difficult and gredients can be ev-luated in terms of its ability

complicated when e&h group membL,, in nun, to 5f the interest with which it has been asries to solve the whole problem (or 2i least the sociated. Tme may be several solution dipart in which they havc a sake) in one, corn- ents listed for each interesti Those solution

pletely pa..kaged solution statemenL Having ingredients that undermine or harm one interest,

staked their own, or their group's, honor and even as they satisfy thoff, are dropped.

reputation to the comprehensive solution they If an identified interest stands without an accepthave authored, people become inflexible and able solution ingredient the creative energy of

non-negotiable about how the problem should be ft entire group is called upon to think of ways solved, rejecting other people's completely pack- that this interest can be advanced or protected.

aged ideas.

Although it may be more difficult to keep track In the interest-based approach to this step, par- of who authomd what solution ingredients - esticipants are asked to develop a list of sept. te pecially when an ingredient is the product of

and smaller ideas, each cf which appears to ful- group innovation - attacks on certain solution

fill one of the interests identified in Step 1. The ingredients may still be launched because of the

list should accept conflicting solution ingredients author's personality or affiliations, rather ,han

as long as each of them fulfills or protects a spe- because the ingredient lacks merit.

cific interest.

However, in contrast to the evaluation of major (.'--,p n-m,bers should be encouraged to suggest solution packages in the conventional problem

se -' solution ingredients for their own and for solving process, people find less need to launch

c i people's interests. "Brainstorming", aid preemptive attacks on individual interest-based

other processes that enhance creativity and inno- solution ingredients. No single solution ingredi- vation, can be used to enrich the list of solution ent poses the risk to their inte:ests that they may

ingredients In the interest of creating a long list feel when they face only the all-or-nothing-at-all

of solution ingredients, group members should prospects of major solution packages.

be asked to suppress, for now, the natural inclination to combine items on the list or to declare Step 4: Pi]kkQ.S1lu " T--,lI

any item as unworthy of further group consideration. As product in conventional proble, ,olving, the end of cooperative interest-based problem

solving needs to be a single set of solutions that

8-8
can be impienwiid. Bnt, in te i- of a soiM inprC&A is uRMly SM21l, it WCms

apiOMrh theMU is n list Of parkbge sOLtriOo to be eas for pp tl a2 M th2sb 9=ybfrom wvhic to hDos. namsd, tft -Acup musa lems.

DMW tailor OW O More SO M p M fB!znm camw b? assigned to peo* ib1ise solute solton ingredients tdig satisfy gmzp iE tion-aubarship was faulty ibMen the solution is a

group-ailed pnxdoL Evei3ve has a stAe in

Folow-up stuies on the eonorsolu- any intere that cominues to go unfulfilled or

tWnas show that i beu the solion is something endangaed Recycling a portion of an interestthat was built by the group fron among imere,t- bal solution for furh- cooerative problem

based ingfedent instead of being the sniv slving is a small job compared to starting all

in a position-bawd compromLs the commitment oer again with a coprehensive solution packto imptementalion increase and conflict after- age that has failed because ofone of its pat.s.

math decreases.

~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ G. SUMMffARY coeaiepo~ This is coss with the bsic Miciple de- G U M R

scribed earlier in this chapter - that paticipa- The facilitated, interest-based, coop tive prbtion fosters ownership in the process and lem sohing process is more than a complaint

commitment to its produc At the end of Step 4 management tool. Because only a few of the

it may be possible for participants to say. 'I like people who 2re annoyed by USAREUR activities

%~ftIwedid!" finally complain about noise and environmental

Step5: Develop an Implemenation Plan problems, complaints must be regarded as symptoms of more widespread annoyance and frustration that is being experienced by German The work of identiing who does what, when, citizens.

where, and how is similar in both conventional

and interest-based problem solving. But, because Cooperative problem solving to the search for

the process described here is a more cooperative ways to fulfill the USAREUR mission is more

effort that develops higher levels of commitment than a socially friendly act between military and

to a tailored solution, it is usually easier to find civilian neighbors. It can become one of the pripeople willing to continue that cooperation into mary ways in which the U.S. Army can work to

the implementation program. assure its continued acceptance and support by

German citizens and officials.

As the detailed work of developing and implementation plan unfolds, it is sometimes the case

that other interests are found - interests that

were not apparent at a more generalized level of

problem solving. It may also be that implementation requires the help of people who are not a

part of the cooperative problem solvin: group,

and the interests of these new people ,iust be

assessed. Sometimes, the process has to recycle

back to Step 1 at this point.

Step 6: Monitor the Solution

In the interest-based approach, the data base of

interests to be advanced or protected makes it

possible to do small scale monitoring of the effectiveness of the tailored solution package. Because the impact of a lapse in implementation, or

a miscalculation in evaluating the consequences

8-9
REFERENCES: Text Notes

I. Repots on militay noise assessntx, meas- 4. Fields, James M., and Frederick L Hall;

meiMe, and mitigation include these docu- "'Commnity Effects of Nois"; in Nelson,

ments and, by inclusion, the references cited P.M.; Tmnspoafin Noi-se Butteronths

FI by their 2autho Ltd.; Cambridge, Great Britain; 1981.

A. Dunnr C. Mak, and Danfdl . Ndiou 5. The concept and importance of developing

"Deftmentofa NosManagemnt Po- procedual and relationship (or psychologigimnfor Had US.ArmyEmrop- cal) satisfaction in addition to substantive

a Sfa'V6mn RCport"; Institute for Water Re- satisfaction in dispute resolution was brought

sore US. Army Crps ofEneines; Fort to the attention of the handbook authors at

Behvir, Vrginma 226O, Sepembxr, 1988 different times by these people:

(daf) and Apt 1989 (fia4

03 Dr. Susan Carpenter; (formerly with

B. Titir-e for Noise Research (l wIfsseldcf, ACCORD Associates); Washington,

Federal ReLic of Germany) and Paning D.C.

and Management Consultants, Lid. (Cxbon- 13 Dr. Chri~tophff MOWr; C.D.R. Associdake Illinois, USA); "he Noise Situation in 0 r.s;oder oore;o.

Germany"; Office of the Deputy Chief of

Staff, Host Nation Activities iieadarte [] William Lincoln; National Center AssoUSAREUR; Sepjembr, 198& ciates, Tacoma, Washington.

From them, the idea of procedural, relationship C. P1xandMageent~ anls, Ld.; (psychological) anid substantive satisfaction has

"Examintion of M r spread into the work of other trainers and practiflules in the United States"; Institute fr tioners, and it can be found as a thought process

Water Resouces US. Army Corps of Engi- in staff development programs in problem solvneer, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060, Decem- ing, communication, supervision, leadership, huher, 1988. man resource management, and public

D. Planning and ManagementConsultants, ld.; involvement - as well as in programs for nego-

"A Noise Management Handbook for tiation and mediation training.

USAREUR Noise Management Program"; 6. The Complaint Management Program eleInstitute for W=1~r Resources, US. Army ments of Strategy, Systems, and Staffing

Corps of Fhnreers; Fort Belvoir, Virgina have been adapted from two sources.

22060, October, i989.

2- Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe, Office of 0 These three elements were identified as

the Deputy Chief of Staff for Host Nations categories for the identification and soluAffairs; "The Community Commanders Fakl.oad tion of organizational avr problems nvriyby Dr.

Smart Book on Host Nation Relations (First

Draft). 0 The same three elements are an organizing theme in ServceAme.rica by Karl

3. Technical Assistance Research Programs In- Albrecht and Ron Zemke: Dow Jonesstitute; "Consumer Complaint Handling in Irwin; Homewood, Illinois 60430; 1985.

America: An Update Study", United States 7. Technical Assistance Research Programs InOffice of Consumer Affairs; Washington, stitute (TARP); "Consumer Complaint HanD.C.; March, 1986 dling in America: An Update Study, Part I";

United States Office of Consumer Affairs for

the Consumer Affairs Council; Washington,

D.C.; September, 1985.
REFERENCES: Text Notes (Continued)

. Morgan, Rebecca L.; Calmina TIP= Cus- sociates of Boulder, Colorado (see reference

tci. Crisp Publications, Los Alto Car- 12).

fornia 94022; 1989.

12. The handbook materials on conflict manage9. The concept of "high risk responses" to ment have been quoed or adapted from sevmessages with high levels of '-otion or e

feeling has been an important ingredient of

more than 15 years of training program pres- 1 Negotiating. Bargaining. and Dispute

entations to many Federal agencies of the Resoluton- This training manual was

United States govmemnt It was first pr- first publis ed in 1983 by the U.S. Army

Corps of Engifieers. Its principal author sented in the context of public involvement has been Dr. Clsopher Moore, Partner

training for the US. Army Corps of Engi- of C.D.R. Assoc,,ates; Boulder, Coloneers by Synergy Consultation Services. Dc rado. The text also acknowledges the

James L. Creighton, founder of Synergy, contributions to its development of

was the author of the training program use of Colonel (Retired) James W.R. Adams,

the "high risk responses" as a means of in- William F. Lincoln, Dr. Jerome Delli

troducing Active Listening and Congruent Priscoli, Dr. James Creighton, Dr. Wil- Senin Atve Liliam D. Coplin, Dr. Donald J. McMaster, Sending skills. and Dr. Michael K O'Leary.

These 12 responses also appear in the work 3 Alternative Dispute Resolution: This

of several other authors in the field of com- training manual is a derivative of the

munication. Most well known among these manual cited immediately above. It is

is Dr. Thomas Gordon, whose b , used in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conflict management training for Effectiveness Trainin2 (as well as several senior civilian and military leaders. The

other books based on the some communica- publication was initiated by Lester Edeltion concept) describes these responses as man, Chief Counsel of the Corps of Enthe "dirty dozen." The listening skills pre- gineers. Its authors include William

sented by Drs. Creighton and Gordon (and Lincoln, and Drs. Christopher Moore,

others) are foundation skills in such profes- Jerome Delli Priscoli, and James Creighsions as Psychology, Psychotherapy, and

Counseling, and in this context, they are 0 Installation Compatible Use Zone Trainoften attributed to Dr. Carl Rogers, whose ing.Manala: This text was developed for

first reported use of the skills was in 1940. use in training programs for the U.S.

Army Training and Doctrine Command

whose installation commanders are re10. Creighton, James L.; "Citizen Participation quired to develop noise sensitive land

(and) Public Involvement Skills Workbook"; use plans with the local officials and citiSynergy Consultation Services; Cupertino, zens of adjoining communities. This

California 95014; 1972. text was written by Dr. James Creighton,

and revised by Lorenz Aggens.

11. The concept of refraining is widely used by E National Guard TCUZ Training Manual:

mediators, negotiators, and others involved The requirement to involve local citizens

in conflict management and problem solv- and public officials in efforts to develop

ing. Refraining concepts upon which this military noise sensitive land use plans

was extended to include National Guard handbook is based can be found in the train- mobilization sites. This training manual,

ing manuals prepared for the U.S. Army based on the TRADOC ICUZ program

Corps of Engineers by Dr. Christopher iferenced above, was written by Lorenz

Moore, then associated with ACCORD As- igens (L. Aggens and Associates) and

REF- 2
REIERENCES: Text Notes (Continued)

Dr. John Singley (Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).

a! Action Leadeship; life Cyle Proect

Maupcinen; IjmnRsuc Management Ileadership elemens): Each of

these manuals for Corps of Engineers

staff development programs includes

conflict management elements that were

adapted by Lorenz Aggens from the

publications referenced above, and from

other materials developed by Mr. Aggens for his training programs in public

involvement, group dynamics, supervision, and leadership.

13. The use of Values as a basis for understanding the causes of conflict and the principles of conflict management was originally

presented in the public involvement training

programs and manuals (Reference 10 -

James Creighton). It was incorporated as a

key element in the training programs in conflict management and human resource management (Reference 12 - Moore and

Aggens).

14. Significant portions of this Chapter have

been adapted from Collaborative Problem

Solving for lnstallation Planning and Deciioa..Makiag; Report 86-R-6; Institute for

Water Resources; Fort Belvoir, VA 1986,

by C. Mark Dunning.

REF-3
REFERENCES: Books and Reports

Chess, Caron; Enc oing Effective Risk Corn- fairs i. America: An Update Study; Consumer

munication in Government: Suggestions for Affairs Council; United States Office of ConAgeny. Management; Environmental Communi- sumer Affairs; March, 1986.

cation Research Program; Rutgers University; Technical Assistance Research Programs InstiNew Brunswick, New Jersey; December, 1987. tute (TARP); The Assessment of Complaint

Creighton, James with Jerome Delli Priscoli and Handling Practices in the Federal Establishment

C. Mark Dunning; Public Involvement Tech- - Part Ill of Consumer Affairs in America: An

niques: A Reader of Ten Years Experience at the Jpdate Sudy; Consumer Affairs Council;

Institute For Water Resources; Report 82-R-1; United States Office of Consumer Affairs; FebInstitute for Water Resources; Fort Belvoir, VA; ruary, 1986.

1983.

Dunning, C. Mark; Collaborative Problem Solving for Installation Planning and Decision Makjug; Report 86-R-6; Institute for Water

Resources; Fort Belvoir, VA; 1986.

Elgin, Suzette Haden; The Gentle Art of Verbal

S f Defense; Dorset Press; New York, New

York; 1987.

Fisher, Roger and William Ury; G;ingToYes;

Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company; Boston

Massachusetts; 1981.

Gordon, Thomas; Leadership Effectiveness

Training; Wyden Books; New York, New York;

1978.

Katz, Neil and John W. Lawyer; .Cmmunicatio

and Conflict Management Skills For Personal

and Professional Effectiveness; Henneberry Hill

Publishing Company; Dubuque, IA; 1986.

Levitt, Theodore; Industrial Purchasing Behavior: A Study of Communication Effects; Division

of Research; Graduate School of Business Administration; Harvard University; Boston, Massachusetts; 1965.

Sandman, Peter M.; Hazard Versus Outrage;

Symposium on Science Communication; Annenberg School of Communications; University of

Southern California; Los Angeles, California;

December, 1988.

Technical Assistance Research Programs Institute (TARP); Complaint Handling Practices of

Business. State/Local Government. and Private

Voluntary Agencies - Part II of Consumer Af-

• V P-
REFERENCES: Articles

Cancian, Maj. Mark F. (USMCR); "Whose Base Marketing; Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.;

Is It Anyway?"; National Security Program; (North Holland); 1985.

John F. Kennedy School of Government; Har- Sandman, Peter M.; "Risk Communication:

ard University; (publisher unknown). Facing Public Outrage"; Environmental ProtecDunning, C. Mark and Claudia Rogers; "Corps tion Agency (EPA) Journal; November 1987.

of Engineers: Keeping Customers happy"; Pro-_ ; "How to Handle Customer's

g[am Mana= Defense Systems Management Gripes"; Fortune Magazine; October 24, 1988.

College; Fort Belvoir, VA; November-December, 1989.

Esehenbarger, William; "Hell's Decibels"; Chicago Tribune Magazine; November 12, 1989.

Farnell, Claes; "Increasing the Organizational

Influence of Corporate Consumer Affairs Departments"; The Journal of Consumer Affairs;

Volume 15, Number 2; Winter, 1981.

Farnell, Claes and Birger Wernerfelt; "Defensive Marketing Strategy by Customer Complaint

Management"; Journal of Marketing Research;

Volume XXIV November, 1987.

Farnell, Claes and Birger Wernerfelt; "Managing Complaints"; Institute of Management Sciences; Providence, Rhode Island; and Incentive

Magazine; September, 1988.

Giebel, Lt.Col. J.F.; "Handling Noise Complaints"; Air Staff RNLAF; Binckhorstlaan 135;

2516 BA The Hague; The Netherlands; (publisher unknown).

Goodman, John; "The Nature of Consumer Satisfaction"; Quality Progress; American Society

for Quality Control; Volume XXII, Number 2;

February, 1989.

Johnson, Raymond and Larry Petrovic; "Accounting for Risk Perceptions"; Health Physics

Society Newsletter; April, 1989

Markham, James; "Over the Screeching Jets,

Germans Cry 'Enough'"; The New York Times;

August 10, 1988.

Richins, Marsha L. and Bronislaw J. VerHage;

"Cross Cultural Differences in Consumer Attitudes and Their Implications for Complaint Management"; International Journal of Research in

REF-5
REFERENCES: Interviews with USAREUR Staff

Hans-Joachim Bauer; Public Affairs Office; Tay- Klaus Murman; Airfield Manager; Coleman

lor Barracks Army Airfield

Peter Dressier; Public Affairs Office; Heidelberg Larry Rosenberg; Public Affairs Office; Mainz

MILCOM MILCOM

Phil Huber; Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Doris Scott; Public Affairs Office; Mannheim

Engineers, HQUSAREUR MILCOM

Benton G. Moeller; Assistant Deputy Chief of Jay Stotzky; Airfield Manager; Hanau Army AirStaff, Host Nations Activities; HQ USAREUR field

Lieselotte Kahn; Assistant U.S. Forces Liaison Lenka Warner; Public Affairs Office; Taylor

Officer (Rheinland Pfalz and Saarland); Mainz. Barracks

Hans-Joachim Koenig; Public Affairs Office;

Baumholder MILCOM

Hermann Maurer; PAO/Political Advisor; Wiesbaden MILCOM

RESOURCES: Interiews with Others

Richard Carlson; Carlson-Nathonson Group;

Evanston, Illinois

James McGuire, Center for Public Dispute Resolution; Department of the Public Advocate; State

of New Jersey; Trenton, New Jersey

Fred Pelzman; Public Affairs Office; Federal

Aviation Administration; Washinton, D.C.

Al Perry; Perry Communications; WinstonSalem, North Carolina

Nancy VanDuyne; Air Transport Association;

Washinton, D.C.

REF-6
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A

Model Complaint Management (1) Cooperates with the PAO or desigStandard Operating Procedures nate in the conduct of complaint investigations.

This Appendix contains instructions, procedures, 4. Definitions.

roles, and responsibilities that can be used to develope local complaint management procedures. a. Complainant: The person or group lodging a complaint against U.S. Forces or

SUBJECT: Complaint Management Stand- activities.

ard Operating Procedures (SOP)

SEE DISTRIBUTION b. Complaint Management: The application

of procedures and techniques to reduce

1. Reference. the public's need to complain and to reUSAREUR Supplement to AR200-1 (Chap- duce the escalation of complaints into

ter 7). the political realm.

2. Purpose. 5. Complaint Worksheet.

The Complaint Worksheet will be used to This SOP is published to standardize all pro- record information about complaints, and to

cedures and policies pertaining to complaint describe the processing history of commanagement at (name of MILCOM or unit). plaints. Detailed instructions for using the

3. Responsibilities. Complaint Worksheet are also attached.

a Community Commander (CC). 6. Complaint Management Process.

Figure A-1 (following page) provides a sche-

(1) Responsible for the overall supervi- matic of the complaint management process,

sion and enforcement of the contents noting relevant paragraphs of the SOP that

of this SOP. provide guidance.

b. MILCOM Public Affairs Officer (PAO). 7. Complaint Input Procedures.

(1) Administers and coordinates Com- a. Oral Complaints.

plaint Management Program. (1) Persons who receive complaints

(2) Maintains Complaint Log. should have German language skills,

and need to be familiar with the SOP

(3) Investigates circumstances of com- and Complaint Worksheet. Each Ofplaints, and makes recommendations fice where complaints could be refor addressing complaint issues. ceived via telephone or personal

contact will maintain a supply of

(4) Prepares complaint response letters. Complaint Worksheets. Personnel in

the office who have German lan-

(5) Prepares complaint analyses as re- guage skills will read this SOP, and

quired by the CC. will be able to use the Complaint

Worksheet to gather information

c. Unit Commander about complaints.
Input (paragraph 7)

Complaint - Complete complaint

worsheet

- Forward worksheet to

PAO for further processing

Logging-in Complaints (paragrap 8)

- PAO assigns ID number

to complaint - Enters information into

Complaint Log

Investigation (paragraph 9)

PAO investigates to determine: Response Formulation

- Validity of complaint (paragraph 10)

- Unit responsible - Description of complaint

-Details - Results of investigation

- Violation of US/GE agreement, - Corrective action

- Corrective action possible

I

Response to

Complainant

(paragraph 11)

Complaint Analysis Distribution (paragraph 12)

(paragraph 13) Copies to:

-Trends ...... - Community Cmdr

- Problems - Responsible unit

- Recommendations - File copy in PAO office

Figure A-1. Complaint Management Process
(2) When an oral complaint occurs, the 8. Logging-in Complaints.

recipient of the complaint will ask

the complainant questions from the a. Assignment of Identification Number

Complaint Worksheet, and will

complete as much of the form as (1) Every complaint received will be aspossible. After gathering informa- signed an Identification Number and

tion from the complainant the recipi- will be logged-in by the Public Afent will forward the Complaint fairs Office.

Worksheet to the Public Affairs Office (ATTN: Complaints) for further (2) Identification numbers will consist

processing. of three parts: a three digit identifier

of the MILCOM or Higher Head-

(3) Complainants calling to find out the quarters receiving the complaint; a

status of a complaint already made two digit number indicating the calshould be directed to the PAO. endar year the complaint was received; a three or four digit number

b. Written Complaints. indicating the sequence in which the

complaint was received. For examWritten complaints should be forwarded ple: "WUR-89-00I" indicates comto the Public Affairs Office (ATIN: plaint number one in Wurzberg in

Complaints) for processing. 1989.

c. Referred Complaints. b. Complaint Log

Referred Complaints are those which (1) Information on complaints will be

have been forwarded from another of- entered into a Complaint Log book

fice. upon receipt. The Complaint Log

will contain the following entries:

(1) An oral referred complaint occurs

when someone who has made a

complaint via telephone or in person o1 date complaint was received

has been transferred to another office. 03 date of final disposition of the

complaint

o3 Oral complaints should not be 0 name of complainant

referred

[] remarks

o3 If, however, a complainant has

been referred, the receiving office should complete a Coin- (2) Complaints referred from a higher

plaint Worksheet and follow headquarters will be logged into the

oral complaint procedures. receiving office and given a new

identification number. Any identifi-

(2) Written referred complaints are cation number assigned by other ofthe'e which have been sent from one fices will be noted in the

MILCOM to another, from higher REMARKS section of the Comheadquarters to a MILCOM, or from plaint Log.

a MILCOM to a higher headquarters. Written referred complaints (3) MILCOMs referring a complaint to

should be routed to the Public Af- another MILCOM or higher headfairs Office (ATIN: Complaints) for quarters will assign the complaint an

further processing. identification number, and will enter

. .... ... ... . .... .... • 4r' - 7g a -. d -
it into the Complaint Log. They will investigation has, or is likely to take

note that the complaint was referred, more than 15 working days, an interim

and the name of the receiving office reply should be provided to the cornin the REMARKS section. The date plainant either in writing or by teleof referral will constitute the date of phone.

disposition in the Complaint Log.

10. Response Formulation.

9. Complaint Investigation.

a. After completing the complaint investia.The objective of the complaint investi- gation, the PAO should formulate a regation is to determine the validity of the sponse to the complaint.

complaint, to determine facts surrounding the incident, and to identify if correc- b. The response should contain the followtive action is warranted and/or feasible. ing:

b. The complaint investigation will be con- [3 description of complaint from

ducted by the Public Affairs Office or complainant's point of view

can be assigned to another office if ap- 0 results of complaint investigapropriate (e.g. Airfield). tion showing that complaint

was, or was not, caused by U.S.

c. The complaint investigation should ob- Forces Activities

tain the following information:

[] pertinent circumstances that

E] validity of the complaint - ie. contributed to the incident

was it, in fact, caused by U.S. E3 corrective action, if appropriate,

Forces? that will be taken to minimize

o unit responsible for causing the the problem in the future

complaint 11. Communication of Response to Complaiao details about the complaint from ant.

the unit's point of view

a. Responses can be communicated

violation, G if any, of existing through written, telephonic, or personal US/German agreements visit as appropriate.

[o corrective actions, if any, needed to prevent fjrther com- b. The date of communication of response

plaints to the complainant should be entered

into the Complaint Log and Complaint

d The processor should enter this informa- Worksheet as the date of final disposition on the Complaint Worksheet and re- tion of the complaint.

cord the progress of the investigation on

the Complaint Worksieet's last page. 12. Distribution.

e. The processor should confer with appro- a. The Public Affairs Office will forward

priate management at the MILCOM to one copy of the complaint response and

determine if feasible alternatives could the last page of the Complaint Workbe employed to eliminate the substance sheet to the CC, and to the unit responsiof the complaint. ble for the complaint.

f. Complaint investigations should be con- b. The record of the complaint should be

ducted expeditiously. If the complaint maintained by the PAO for one year.

-A .P .. N D [Y A - 4 .. . . .
13. Complaint Analysis. (5) Percentage of the complaints occurring on holidays.

a. Upon request of the CC, the PAO will

perform an analysis of complaints re- (6) Average processing time for corceived. It is suggested that such analyses plaints, in days.

be performed on a quarterly and on a yearly basis. (7) A Table showing the disposition of

complaints, as follows:

b. The analysis should, at a minimum, con- COMPLANT DISPOSITIG.4 NUMBER PERCEN

sist of the following: Corrective Action Taken xx xx

Corrdo. Recommended

(1) A table showing the total number of But NOtTaken xx xx

complaints received, delineated by No Corr. Act. ReoPe mended xx xx

the type of complaint, as follows: dK

TYPE OF COMPLAINT NU)MBER PERCE NT Ta XXX 100

Noise xx xx

Air Pollution xx xA (8) Assessment of any trends that appear in the data (e.g. complaint clusManeuver Damage xx xx ter associated with communities, or

Water Pollution xx xx days of the week, etc.)

Dirt or Dds xx xx

Other -a _K (9) Potential problems with respect to

Total xxx 100 any incidents.

(10)Recommendations for the Community Commander to consider.

(2) A table showing the total number of

complaints received, delineated by

the noise source of the complaint, as

follows:

TYPEOFCOMPLAINT NUMBER PERCE

Heavy Weapons xx xx

Helicpters xx xx

Generators xx xx

Ught Weapons xx xx

Troop Activities xx xx

Construction xx xx

Fixed Wing Aircraft xx xx

Convoys'Tracked Veh. xx xx

Recreation Activity xx xx

Other xx xx

Total xxx 100

(3) A table showing the total number of

complaints by the day of occurrence.

(4) Percentage of the complaints occurring during "quiet hour" periods.

APPENDIX A - 5
APPENDIX B

M&s Appeafth IN e NDW Ouib'p
1. Da 41 Orii pinyo ___________ .T m mbs ___________ IPwm.

17. Fwd cmpist Tebhu coo _L P , A*

&5 CINW ci CMukat - d cman __Ibad toskes" n so COMMON*

Rled bow HOF

Hole: UsePwu,* I. aciv.o~ amrw~e c c aadd ae-%=9 asi~ - nedey.

19. .o d kidmt (IMDY):________ 11- Tom _________&J21nL

12- OW(circhcns) U T W 7h F Sa Sa I lDu&Vgquid hows? _YON; _No

14.30 appicabo nmc d In holidwy duing Midh Me incidert took phew

I5. TYPe Of coNiduat -Noise Uwmw dermuge - DWtDbis

-Air pohifon -WAIIII polkifon - 01hw (spDCi)____

16. (w~ of cwvwit~ Hefty Weapons - LQMl WeaOqn - Faced wing okcrdt

Heicoplem Troop acoisis - Convoy's/Tncked equipmt

GeneriorsCvnsrucdn Usrdrene actiiti

-Othr(pcj_____________________

17. Damage claimed as a result of the incident? __YeN. _ NO

18. N yes, describe:_____________________________________

19. Desrpioilidwenication or markings of Unit involved in the incident

20. Has; anyone else been contacted about this Inident (if so, who)?________________

IL Complainant Information

1. Name of complainant: _____________________2. Organization represented:

3. Address: ____________________ _____ 4. Phone: _________________

5. Classification: __Private German citizen __Local public official - Linder Official

__U.S. militaryldependent __interest group leader

-Other (specify)___________________

6. Does the complainant want a report of the complaint? -Yes __ No
IV. Cmoat~ AaalVsis &A Dispoon Summay

(10 be coffew led alrCwu~t igWOSS9

1. Caro " Fwed tV by (na-e: 2. OgnidinO e __

3. Phone: 4. Final disposilion dale:

5. Was the complaint vad? __Yes No

6. If no, wfiy?

7. Were US/German or local agreements violated? - Yes __ No

8. if yes, describe:

9. Were those responsible for the incident identified? - Yes __ No

10. If yes, identify unit_

11. Corrective Action Recommended:

12. Any other follow up actions required? (specify)

APPENDIX B- 3
Complaint Worksheet Instructions

General Instructions

Ire at for pas to the Complaint Wo&t

PatI: I-- CunjiaiDetails, 7his section of the form asks for he basic informalion alxut the inident that

the person is co"mplaining about Tbis section of the form should be completed.

PutIk caPlai n fa. Ibis section asks for information abow the peron making the comnplaint. It should be completed, if the person making the complaint provides this informatin or is

%rilling to do so.

Part MII:Remarks. This section of the form p roids space for adding any additional informatkm.

Pa rtIV: AmlsIs rd ion Summ.y. i.bCmntn2 Ibis portion of the form is to be completed by the

person perfomaing the investigation of the complaint after it has been received.

Keeping in mind the advice of the Complaint Management Handbook's Chapter on COMMUNICAlIONS (- the risks of questioning -) it would probably be a good idea to do a lot of Active Listening

and noe taking at frs, and then ask only those questions for which information is still missing.

Snadfic Istructions

I Leave this area blank. The number will be assigned by PAO.

1. Date of Complaint (MOOYr: Enter the current month, day and last two digits of the year,

separated by slashes.

2. Time Received: Enter the time the complaint was received. Both military and civilian times are

acceptable but, if civilian time is used, circle either a.m. or p.m. (whichever is appropriate).

3. Received By (Name): Enter the name of the person who is receiving the complaint information

and recording it on this form.

4. OrganizationlOffie: Enter the identifying symbols associated with the person who is receiving

the complaint; either place of work, (for example, CEWRC-IWR-R), or the location and name of

the office.

5. Rank/Title: Enter the rank or the title of the person who is receiving the complaint information

and recording it on the form.

6. Phone: Enter the office phone number or any other numbers where the person who is receiving

the complaint can be reached during the day.

7. Form of Complaint: Indicate how the complaint was delivered.

APPN[ -4
W - inof C=0im: Indicase sere the complaint ongaily came from. MLac1m indicates

the compla was directly receiied from th complainant

Re al from Higher H~s" indicates the complaint was sent to you from some Higher HQs

Referra from elset- in die commni indicates tht the complaint was sent to 3ou from some

other past of the MILCOM

9. Descrito of imident- Describe, in the complainants own vwds, the pertinent details of the

complaint (particularly any details Which may not be adequately covered by the remaining questions in the survey). Use the "Remarks" section (Pat Ill) for more space if necessary.

10. Date of incident ,MffDYr : Enter the actual date of occunem of the complaint incident by

stating the month, day and last two digits of the year, separated by slashes.

11. Tam Enter the time during which the complaint actually occurred. Both military and civilian

times are acceptable but, if civilian time is used, circle either a.m. or p.n (whichever is appropriate).

12- Day I.(i .ow: Circle the day on which the complaint incident actually occurred.

13. During quiet hours? Indicate whether or not the complaint incident took place during the daily

German quiet hours.

14. If apWlicable, name of the holiday during which the incident took place: Enter the name of the

holiday.

15. Tpe of complaint? Check the general area under which the complaint incident should be classified. If multiple types are mentioned, check the = that seems most appropriate. Determine the

most appropriate response through the use of probing questions such as, "so the complaint is

primarily about...".

16. Source ofcompaint: Check the physical activity from which the disturbance originates. If none of

the items listed are appropriate, write in the cause in the "Other" category.

17. Damage claimed as a result of the incident? Do not ask about damage. Record such information

only if the complainant volunteers descriptions of damages which have resulted from the incident

in question.

18. If yes. describe: Describe the damages claimed by the complainant.

19. Unit involved and location: Enter any identifying information which will help to pin point the

specific parties involved in the complaint incident. Information should be specific enough to

enable contact either with the parties involved or with their commanding officer. Note any

identifying marks which the complainant might remember.

20. Has anyone else been contauted about this incident? Report the names of any other persons or

organizations the complainant contacted before calling this office, (for example, police or government officials).

APFNI BpnVr - 5
IL QMGWUM1 TnfarwMainn

1. Nam of = Phh- Eder the name Of th PM Who is giV g the ail conce ning the

2 _=U&Xion tRomm t If the complainant represents a govenment agency, envirommental

group or odier ssociion, ener the name of tis group.

3. Adrw Ener ft complete ad ess, home 2xVor offimce, wbich will enable furher contact with

the complainant if necessary.

4. Pho: Fme the complete phone number, home andor office, which will enable further contact

with the complainant if necessa-y.

5. CWsifW= Indicate the background from which the complainant comes.

6. Does the caller want to be contacted for a repor of the complaint? If the complainant wants to be

sent a report of the complaint If the complainant indicates "yes" the complainant's current phone

number and address should be obtained.

Il. Remarks

Use this space for additional information or details as necessary.

IV. Complaint Analysis and Di.osition Summary

1. Complaint followed up by (name): Enter the name of the person who is following up the complaint report and recording the resulting actions and recommendations on this form.

2. Organization/Offic: Enter the identifying symbols associated with the person who is following

up the complaint report; either place of work, (for example, CEWRC-IWR-R), or the location and

name of the office.

3. Phone: Enter the office phone number or any other numbers where the person following up the

complaint can be reached during the day.

4. Final dismsition ate: Enter the date of the final action taken concerning this complaint incident

by stating the month, day and last two digits of the year, separated by slashes.

5. Was the complaint valid? Based on the facts in this case, indicate whether you think the incident

was valid and the complainant justified in reporting it.

6. If. ._why? If you do not consider the complaint to be a valid one describe the supporting

evidence which caused you to arrive at this alternative conclusion.

7. Were US/German or local agreements violated? If formal or informal agreements were involved

enter "Yes".

8. If yes. describe: If applicable, enter the circumstances and pertinent details under which the

incident is in violation of existing agreements.

APPENDIX B -6
APPENDIX C

A. Complaint Handling Functions

RESPONSE

T infmmion cMitd in is Appenix has been Response Investigation

exnated fmarept thComwAffaz sCoimci Response Formulation

nmcesd by the United Sles Office of Comm Response Production

Affsa, mif CONSUMER CO MPLAINT HANDIUNG IN AMERICA AN UPDATE SlUDY (Pat OUTPUT

I). The ntpot was prepmed for the USOCA by the

Teduical Assistance Research Programs Institute Storage and Retrieval

(TARM); Washingtk D.C.; in Sep tmber 1985. SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

CONTROL

HOW COMPLAINTS ARE HANDLED: A Internal Follow-up

FUNCTIONAL APPROACH Referral Follow-up

TARP has defined complaint handling practices MANAGEMENT

in functional terms. After visiting more than 300 Statistical Generation

primary and third-party complaint handlers, Policy Analysis

TARP has been able to identify six key sets of Input into Policy

functions that must be performed in order for Evaluation

consumer complaints to be handled properly. Planning

These functions are divided into two groups: OP- Accountability

ERATIONS and SUPPORT functions. Incentives

Input, Response, and Output comprise the OP Staff Selection and Training

ERATIONS functions. They are the day-to-day PUBLIC AWARENESS

steps taken in responding to complaints. The Creation of Public Awarenes

SUPPORT functions of Control, Management,

and Public Awareness ensure that consumers 1. INPUT

know where to send their complaints and that

complaints are handled according to established procedures. 1.1 Sgir.u ing: Screening is the sorting of complaints from general communicaThe six sets of complaint handling practices con- tions flow and the directing of those

sist of 19 discrete functions. These 19 generic complaints to the offices designated to

steps must be performed by business as well as handle complainant problems. In certain

government agency and private voluntary or- cases, it may be necessary to refer comganization complaint handlers. They apply to plaints outside the organization to more

complaints submitted via mail, telephone, or per- appropriate complaint handling offices.

sonal visit. Improper screening may result in assignOPERATIONS FUNCTIONS ment of complaints to inappropriate offices. This, in turn, is likely to result in

INPUT substantial J:elays in responding to the

Screening consumer's problem due to the need for

Logging reassignment. Moreover, the greater the

Classification number of times the complaint is

APPENDIX C. I
:transferred among offices, the greater problem and then obtaining data for use

the risk that the complaint will be mis- in the response formulation. Improper

placed, lost, or forgotten. response investigation may cause serious

problems. Firt, the collection of inaccurate an&or incomplete data may lead to

1.2 Lzggia: Logging is the centralized re- an inappropriate problem resolution.

cording of data elements that describe Second, among all complaint handling

the status of individual complaints. The practices, investigation is the major

log serves as a data base to be used in cause for delayed responses. Tardiness

performing various operations and sup- in investigation can delay the response

port complaint handling practices. for weeks or months. Third, investigaWhere a computerized file medium is tion is often the most labor-intensive

utilized, log entries may constitute a complaint handling practice. Therefore,

complaint file. Aggregate data drawn improper investigatory techniques can

from the log may serve as a basis for result in inefficient and costly use of

statistical reporting, policy analysis, in- staff time. Proper investigation proceput to policy, and evaluation. The range dures and resources can avoid these

of data elements recorded determines the problems.

uses to which the log may be put. Data

may be -recorded on the log at every 22 Response Formulation The second step

stage of input, response, and output in response is response formulation. The

complaint handler decides how to resolve and respond to the complaintants 1.3 laifl ali n: Classification is the cod- problem. This decision is based on data

ing of complaints according to predesig- obtained during problem investigation

nated descriptive schemes. The results of and epin of intan

classification provide a principal data d ple stion guielines. dling problem resolution guidelines.

base to be used in the statistical genera- Problem resolution is the most important

tion and policy analysis functions and, in

addition, support performance of the

evaluation function. If complaints are 23 Response Production: The last step in renot properly classified, statistical genera- sponse is response production. On the

tion and subsequent policy analysis are basis of decisions made during problem

severely hindered. In addition, classifica- resolution, the complaint handler pretion may supplement screening by pro- pares the text of the final response and

viding an additional criterion for routing transmits it. The response text should

complaints to the most appropriate com- state the complaint handling office's deplaint handling office/analyst. Classifica- cision and the rationale for this decision.

tion data may also be used in defining If the decision is adverse to the comthe issues to be investigated during the plaintant, routes of appeal (where availproblem investigation phase or to drive able) should be delineated. The second

response formulation if no investigation stage of production is the mechanical

is required. preparation and transmission of the final

response.

2. RESPONSE

3. OUTPUT

2.1 Response Investigation: The first step in

response is usuah. response investiga- 3.1 Disributio: Distribution involves sendtion. This consists of first identifying the ing out the final response to the comissues that define the complaintants plaintants request for assistance. Other

APPENDIX C -2
interested parties may also receive infor- dealer, a retailer, or a field office. Theremation copies of the response. When the fore, the adequacy of an office's referral

response is distnibuted, the complaint is policies can have a significant impact on

logged out Prior to logging out the corn- the percentage of complaints that are ulplaint, disposition entries may be made timately resolved to the consumer's saton the log. isfaction.

32 Storage and Retrieval" The PAO main- 2. MANAGEMENT

tains complaint complaint files. Often

separate filing systems are kept for open 2.1 Statistical Generation: Statistical generaand closed complaints. Storage and re- lion consists of the tabulation of aggretrieval policies govern the maintenance gate data describing the complaints

and accessing of such filing systems. received (e.g., number of complaints on

The complaint files may serve as data a certain subject) and the operation of

bases for logging, classification, re- the complaint handling office (e.g., numsponse formulation, control, statistical ber of complaints to which it took more

reporting, policy analysis, and evalu- than 10 days to respond). Logging and

ation. Data from complaint file docu- classification are the principal data bases

mentation is coded for logging and for such reports. Data presented in statisclassification purposes. Responses are tical reports is used as the basis for conformulated on the basis of complaint file ducting policy analysis and subsequent

documentation. These files may also be input into policy. However, these printreviewed for tracking complaint pro- outs our table are never distributed as is

gress as well as for identifying problem outside the complaint handling office as

trends. Complaint files are frequently they are usually unsorted, uninterpreted

audited for evaluative purposes. data which would confuse rather than

enlighten senior management. Statistical

B. SUPPORT FUNCTIONS data is also used for evaluating complaint fhandling office performance.

1. CONTROL

2.2 Policy Analysis: Policy analysis consists

1.1 Internal Follow-up: Internal follow-up of interpreting the data presented in staconsists of controlling the disposition of tistical outputs. The aim of such analysis

complaints handled in-house. Standards is to uncover the root causes of conare set for response time and quality. sumer problems. Once problems are

The degree to which these standards are identified, the cost of not eliminating

being met is then monitored, If standards them is quantified and solutions are proare not being met, management acts to posed. The conclusions resulting from

correct the deficiencies. Performance of this policy analysis serve as a principal

internal follow-up ensures that com- data base for input into policy. V,4ile

plainafit receive responses to their re- performance of the operations practices

quests for assistance. may resolve individual consumer complaints, the results of policy analysis

1.2 Referral Folow-up: Referral follow-up may have a greater effect by preventing

consists of the controlling of complaints future problems.

that are referred to other complaint handling offices in headquarters, in the field, 2.3 Input Into Policy: Input into policy conor in another organization. In many of- sists of two steps. First, the conclusions

fices 0 a large percentage of the incom- of policy analysis are puc into their final

ing complaints must be referred to a format. A number of written reports are

APPENDIX C - 3
producbd or oral briefings are p*epared. methods of preventing complaints due to

Second, the report/briefing is submitted the policies and procedures of company

to a range. of constituencies, including "back office operations".

senior management. it is through such

linkages with line management and sen- 27 Incentives: Incentives are rewards and

ior management that complaint handling penalties. They are used to encourage

personnel contribute to the formulation the prevention of consumer problems

of policy. Without such linkages, it is and the proper handling of consumer

difficult for the complaint handling of- complaints. For example, sales personfice to attack the root causes of con- nel can minimize consumer problems by

sumer problems. using proper marketing practices. Problems concerning product quality should

2,4 E alu tio: Evaluation is the assessment lessen if assembly line workers do their

of complaint-handling office perform- jobs correctly. The best complaint hanance. Such assessments measure whether dling policy is to prevent consumer

the performance objectives set forth in problems by rewarding such positive job

the office's forward plan are being met. performance. In cases where such preEvaluation identifies problems in the vention measures have failed, incentives

performance of the operations and sup- are used to encourage the proper hanport complaint handling practices. Man- iling of consumer complaints.

agement upgrades complaint handling

practices on the basis of feedback from 2.8 Staff Selection and Training: The comevaluation, plaint-handling office staff members

must be selected in such a manner that

2.5 Planning: Planning is the process of set- they have the appropriate personality

ting complaint-handling office priorities traits as well as the technical qualificafor a fixed period of time. Planning ad- tions to perform their jobs. This is espedresses the two operational goals of the cially true in telephone or face-to-face

office (handling of individual complaints complaint handling situations. They then

and identification of the root causes of must be given the appropriate training to

problems) as well as the goal of office both handle and prevent complaints.

maintenance. Without appropriate selection and training, turn-over will be high and perform2.6 Accountabiliy: Accountability consists ance will be low.

of assigning complaint handling and

complaint prevention responsibilities to 3. PUBLIC AWARENESS

specific offices and personnel. Responsibility is assigned for performing each of 3.1 Creating Public Awareness: Public

the operations and support practices. awareness is created by informing conGiven the press of other duties, com- sumers that complaint handling offices

plaint handling may not be performed exist and then teaching the public how to

adequately unless such an accountability utilize those offices for obtaining assispolicy is adopted. If an account- ability tance. First, consumers are told that their

policy is adopted, the manager will complaints are welcome. Second, comknvw where the problem lies if com- plaint handlers' jurisdictions are defined.

plaints are not handled properly. Addi- Third, consumers are taught where to

tionally, the assignment of complaint complain. Fourth, they are told what inprevention accountability to all depart- formation should be provided in their

ments, including those without direct complaint in order to obtain problem

customer contact, is one of the best resolution. Unless public awareness is

APPENDIX C- 4
cread, the full marketing benefits of

complaint handling cannot be realized.

Properr public awareness reduces the

-percentage of misdirected complaints, as

well as the percentage of customers who

experience problems and do not request

assistance. It also lessens the need to recontact complainants for the purpose of

requesting additional information.

NOTE: Readers interested in'learning more

about these 19 complaint handling functions

should refer to the 74 page report from which the

information in this Appendix is quoted. For each

of the 19 functions, ideas are presented that deal

with these facets of system development:

general approaches; issues to be considered;

evaluation of the function; and common problems in implewaenting the function.

u.s.GOvEmr PRINTING omCE: 19 9 1 .281 -521(,2531 APPENDIX C- 5