1: Vignette Inside information Donna Bookout-Coe has been informed that one of her drivers, Doug, has a drug addiction, which, if true, would be a liability to the company. Her first option is to take no immediate action and simply monitor Doug. This would be prudential since Dougs upset girlfriend made the claim. Donna could also revise the companys drug policy so that having one witness would be considered reasonable grounds for testing. Testing Doug would then be legal, and the company and its reputation would be protected against any drug related behavior or damages. The third option is to question Doug about any drug use, and to test him without reasonable grounds if he does not admit to usage. Although the company would be reducing the risk of liability, Doug could sue for defamation or take civil action. The best course of action is to subtly monitor Doug for a week and ask employees if they have noticed any signs of drug use in any other employees, not referring to Doug by name. If this gives no reasonable grounds for testing, Donna should revise the drug policy so that only one witness would be necessary, which would also avoid any future drug use accusation problems. By combining these two approaches, Donna would not be naively trusting Dougs girlfriend and would also be taking the necessary actions to protect her company and customers. The third option could result in legal troubles and a ruined reputation for the company whether or not Doug tests positive. The other two options would only be strong enough to enable Donna to maintain her companys reputation and policy of morality and trustworthiness if they were combined. Vignette 2: Youre fired! No youre not! A decision must be made by Donna bout whether she should intervene and re-fire or keep a driver, Dave, who has evidence against him for numerous cases of taking towing money without submitting invoices. Her first option is to respect the companys operations managers decision, as the superior employee in the situation, of rehiring Dave. This would prove her confidence in the manager hierarchy and her employees, especially those that she trusted enough to give authoritative positions. Donnas second option is to overrule the operations manager and refire Dave in accordance with Cyrus, the manager, which would uphold the companys honesty. Cyrus knows the most about the situation and has been a friendly asset for years. The final option is to set up a meeting with Dave and Cyrus and hear both sides of the story. All details would be heard and an objective decision could be made based on the evidence and Donnas evaluation. The preferred option would be to set up a meeting with Dave and Cyrus so that Donna can make her own decision. In this way she would not be undermining either of her managers simply based on who she trusts more, which would show confidence in both of them. If no concrete evidence was found, Donna could put Cyrus on probation and fire him immediately if any future problems occur. This would show a dedication to maintaining honesty, integrity, and trust. Customer relations would not be threatened by thievery. A no tolerance policy would be shown in regard to stealing, setting an example
for all employees. In regard to future stealing managerial and disagreements, all employees would see that issues are not disregarded and are handled fairly. Vignette 3: Customer service problems Donna must decide how to handle a skilled dispatch worker, Albert, who has been consistently rude to customers and coworkers. This is reducing the quality of the customer service department, a major component of the company. Donnas first option is to remove Albert from customer interaction by making him an employee trainer for logistics and productivity. If his personal skills improve, he will regain his dispatch position. If not, he will be fired within a week. The second option is to put Albert through anger management and customer service training and warn him that he will be immediately fired if his behavior does not improve. His calls will continue to be monitored to ensure this. The final option is to just fire Albert, showing a commitment to customer service. The best choice for Donna to make is to put Albert in a position as employee trainer for logistics and productivity while he goes through anger management and customer service training. He will return to his job or be fired, depending on his performance. Albert is a valuable asset because of his geographic and technical knowledge, so the company would benefit from keeping him on. He would not be hurting customer relations in his new position, which is extremely important to Donna. Other employees would be shown that what they have to offer is valued, but also that poor performance is not tolerated. Vignette 4: Why did he get promoted, and I didnt? A decision has to be made by Donna about how to handle unhappiness about the new Garden Glen Manager, Russell, from Jack, who was an applicant for the position. The first option is to keep Russell as manager and convince Jack that he should stay with the company, which he has said he will not do. This could be done by recognizing his hard work and hinting at future promotions. The second option is to keep Russell as manager and design a new position for Jack that has more authority than his supervisor job. This would hopefully appease him and keep Russell, since he has more education and experience. The final option is to remove Russell from the manager position and give it to Jack. Jack has been a great supervisor and has a much more extensive knowledge of Garden Glens workings. Donna should keep Russell as the Garden Glen Manager and give Jack a promotion so that he remains with the company and is not as displeased. Other employees who only have high school degrees will be encouraged by the promotion and see that they too can improve their standings. Putting Jack as manager would show that the company goes back on its decisions and will give in at the sign of any complaint. Also, the way that he reacted by threatening to leave if he did not get his way shows an immaturity that would not be ideal in a manager. Russell has a year and a half more experience and a college degree, which gives the company a higher reputation. Dealing with the situation in this way will allow Donna to uphold her goal of being fair in all aspects of the business and will also show confidence in her decisions, hopefully lowering employee objections to her future decisions.