The Case of Misrouted and Dropped Calls
By Teresa Yohe
Crown College
Prof. Steve Graham
Business Research Methods
January 11, 2015

CASE
The case that we are working on today involves complaints that have surfaced recently that an increased number of incoming calls are being misrouted or dropped. Yesterday, when passing by the main reception area, I noticed the receptionist fiddling with his hearing aid. In the process, a call came in and would have gone unanswered if not for my intervention.
This particular employee is a 20-year veteran of the company and could retire. He is well liked and seen as a fixture in the company. First choices, though, seem to be retirement or firing. Both choices seem to be drastic and more information is needed.
RESEARCH
The best research I could find comes from Jerry L. Yanz, PhD. Dr. Yanz is Vice-President, Education and Training, Micro-Tech Hearing Instruments, Starkey Laboratories, Inc. The following are excerpts from his report on hearing aids and their history.
“In 1947, Sam Lybarger developed a solution to the problem of acoustic feedback that is generated when a telephone receiver is held close to a hearing instrument. Taking advantage of the inductive leakage from the phone's dynamic receiver, Lybarger placed a receiving coil in the instrument, thus providing an alternative transduction path for the phone output. For the first time, a person wearing hearing instruments could use the phone effectively without acoustic feedback. The ensuing 50-plus years have seen varying degrees of success with the telecoil.
While the telecoil proved a boon to those who wore hearing instruments, recurrent issues have compromised its success. Some of these issues and their resolution are outlined below.
The output of early hearing instruments in telecoil mode was often weaker than in microphone mode. As a result, wearers often had to turn up the volume control to be able to use amplification in inductive mode. This situation was caused by a lack of amplified telecoils or inconsistency in the electromagnetic output of the telephone handset.
In today's hearing instruments, amplified telecoils are more the rule than the exception, and the best telecoils are also fully programmable. Furthermore, landline telephones now meet minimum requirements for magnetic flux strength, pursuant to the 1988 Hearing Aid Compatibility Act and using criteria set forth in EIA Standard RS-504, which was first issued in 1982.
Electromagnetic noise
Sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI), including fluorescent light fixtures, dimmer switches, computer power supplies, monitors, copiers, and fax machines, can create a buzz in a hearing instrument equipped with a telecoil. While shielding efforts have provided some relief, finding refuge from these noise sources can be challenging in today's electronic environment.
Switching
Some patients have difficulty manipulating, or even finding, the small switches on hearing instruments that turn the telecoil on and off. Most dispensing practices have encountered the occasional wearer who comes into the office complaining that his hearing instruments are not working, only to find that the switch has been inadvertently left in the telecoil position.
The development of the Touchless Telecoil®, an automatic telecoil introduced by Micro-Tech in 1999, has helped many hearing instrument wearers use the telephone more effectively. When the telephone handset is brought close to the ear, the proximity of the telephone receiver engages a reed switch in the hearing instrument, which automatically switches from microphone to telecoil mode. When the telephone handset is moved away, the reed switch disengages, and the hearing instrument automatically goes back to microphone mode (Yanz, 2005).
More information was found from oticon.com on other problems with hearing aids. The following table shows these common problems and the solutions.
How to fix common hearing aid problems Problem | Cause | Solution | Whistling or howling when inserted | Ear wax accumulated | Get your ear canal checked by a doctor | | Hearing aid is not inserted properly | Remove and reinsert hearing aid | No sound | Worn out battery | Replace battery | | Clogged sound outlet | Clean sound outlet or change wax filter | | Clogged microphone opening | Clean microphone opening with a brush | Distorted sound | Dirty or corroded battery contacts | Open and close the battery compartment several times | | Dirty or corroded battery | Clean battery surfaces with dry cloth or replace battery | | Hearing aid switched to telecoil | Switch to microphone signal (M) |
If none of the suggested solutions solves your problem, please consult your hearing care professional (Hearing Aids: Care and Maintenance/Troubleshooting).

Now that I have some information on hearing aids and the problems that they can cause, I have come up with the following hypotheses.
HYPOTHESES
1. Employee's hearing aid isn't working properly, check battery or get repaired. 2. Employee has an older hearing aid and it is difficult to set it properly for telephone use. 3. The fluorescent lights, power supplies, or some other electronic devices are interfering with employee's hearing aid.

Research question format 1. Is the employee's hearing aid working properly? 2. Does employee have an older hearing aid model? 3. Are there fluorescent lights, power supplies, or some other electronic devices that are interfering with employee's hearing aid?

Using the double movement of reflective thought, show how you would test these hypotheses. 1. Have received complaints that an increased number of incoming calls are being misrouted or dropped.

1. Why are calls being misrouted or dropped? 2. Employee's hearing aid isn't working properly. 3. If the employee cannot hear properly, the calls will continue to be misrouted or dropped.

4. Employee needs to get his hearing aid repaired. 5. Misrouted and dropped calls will be eliminated if the employee gets his hearing aid repaired.

1. Have received complaints that an increased number of incoming calls are being misrouted or dropped.

1. Why are calls being misrouted or dropped? 2. Employee has an older hearing aid and it is difficult to set it properly for telephone use.

3. If the employee cannot hear properly, the calls will continue to be misrouted or dropped.

4. Employee needs help with getting his hearing aid set properly or needs a new hearing aid that automatically switches to "telephone" mode.

5. Misrouted and dropped calls will be eliminated if the employee gets a new hearing aid or learns to set his hearing aid properly.

1. Have received complaints that an increased number of incoming calls are being misrouted or dropped.

1. Why are calls being misrouted or dropped? 2. The fluorescent lights, power supplies, or some other electronic devices are interfering with employee's hearing aid.

3. If his hearing aid is receiving feed-back from the fluorescent lights, power supplies, or some other electronic devices, he cannot hear the telephone properly and calls will continue to be misrouted or dropped.

4. Move or turn off the offending electronic device to reduce the feed-back in the employee's hearing aid.

5. Reducing the feed-back will allow the employee to stop misrouting or dropping telephone calls. Now that I have the research into hearing aids and have come up with some hypotheses, I will want to speak with the employee and find out exactly what the problem seems to be. Answers to these questions will determine what next steps should be taken.
If the employee is unwilling to follow these steps, then retirement or firing will have to be an option.

References
(n.d.). Hearing Aids: Care and Maintenance/Troubleshooting. Oticon. Retrieved from http://www.oticon.com/support/hearing-aids/care-and-maintenance/troubleshooting.aspx
Yanz, J. (2005). Phones and Hearing Aids-Issues, Resolutions, and a New Approach. The Hearing Journal. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2005/10000/Phones_and_hearing_aids__Issues,_resolutions,_and.7.aspx