#6
1) Assignment Westside Health Systems responsibility as the employer in this case is to take
reasonable care in hiring, training and assignment of employees to jobs. (Bohlander &
Snell) They must also operate the business and provide a safe environment for the
employee, and ensure they operate in an effective, efficient way. (Dragoni, L) Westside
Health Systems must honor their employees rights, or else they could be subject to
lawsuits, damaging the organizations reputation, or hurting the employee morale.
(Bohlander & Snell) It is the employers responsibility to discipline any employee that
does not conduct themselves properly in the workplace. Discipline should consist of
either a treatment that punishes orderly behavior in an organizational setting, or training
that molds and strengthens desirable conduct- or corrects undesirable conduct- and
develops self control. (Bohlander & Snell)
2) In order to understand this disciplinary problem, the employer should investigate the
problem, which Maryanne seems to have started to do. She should ask the questions
what is the offense, did the employee know that he or she was doing something wrong, is
the employee guilty, are there extenuating circumstances, has the rule been uniformly
enforced, is the offense related to the workplace, and what is the employees past work
record. (Dragoni, L) In the interviews conducted with Rhonda, Susan and Brenda,
Maryanne has found answers to all of these questions. Susan assaulted a coworker, did
not think she did anything wrong (I certainly do not think my gesture was threatening),
is guilty of assaulting the worker (both parties admit physical action was taken), have no
extenuating circumstances (it is unclear whether or not Brenda truly became agitated over
the issue), violates the standards of behavior policies at Westside Health Systems and
should therefore be uniformly enforced in discipline, is related to the workplace, and
there has been research of Susans past work record.
This situation is an extremely sever situation. Not only has Susan had past
problems at Westside, but this is the second time she has acted to harm a coworker,
evident when she threw a pencil at a fellow employee. She has been cited in the past as
having erratic behavior as a side result of the drugs that she takes for clinical depression.
This should be taken into account because she is on Prozac and Klonopin. Brenda has
seen her take Prozac on the job, which could be for medical reasons, or could be evidence
of a drug abuse problem. Susan could be overdosing on Westside Health Systems drugs
in the workplace, which is dangerous to her own health and is a serious violation of the
standards of behavior policies, because employees are not supposed to work under the
influence of the misuse of prescription drugs.
3) Because of the severity of this situation, progressive discipline needs to occur.
Progressive discipline is the application of corrective measures by increasing degrees,
with examples such as verbal, written warnings, as well as suspension and discharges.
This type of discipline is thought to nip the problem in the bud, which needs to occur if
there is any of hope improving Susans behavior in the workplace. (Bohlander & Snell)
To address the situation I recommend hat Maryanne take the correction action of a special
review. Susan should be under special review because she has been reported as having
substandard performance a number of times and has violated rules and regulations. She
has been reported as having substandard performance a number of times due to the stress
of having to work at a fast pace and having pressure to make no mistakes, which was
caused her numerous times to yell at fellow employees. Susan has violated rules and
regulations such as reporting to work unfit to assume assigned duties, fighting or
attempting to injure another person on the premises, unsatisfactory job performance, and
the usage of threatening or abusive language towards patients, visitors, or other
employees. Brenda also mentions that Susan had been popping Prozac in her mouth at
work, which would also be another violation of the Westside Health Systems rules.
Additionally, Susan should be given a special review because she changed the inventory
control computer system, causing the management information systems department to
take three days to fix it.
While conducting this special review, Maryanne should also make a call to
Susans prior employer if possible. If she was to do this, she could find out the truth
about the rumors of why Susan was terminated from her last job. Speaking with the past
employer would help Maryanne determine if her behavior was due to the pressure of the
pharmaceutical job, or if she truly had erratic behavior towards employees.
A special review in this particular case would be beneficial because it closely
monitors an employees conduct and performance for 60 days, and has opportunities for
interaction with management to discuss problems, and assists the employee to overcome
deficiencies. Maryanne will be able to watch Susan herself over a period of time instead
of having to judge Susans performance based on Rhondas account. Susan will also be
able to talk to Maryanne directly, which is beneficial because it enables her to feel
comfortable to discuss anything with her employer in a safe environment. This direct
contact can help Susan fix the problems that are occurring in the workplace, and
hopefully overcome them. This type of progressive discipline should help improve
Westside Health Systems. Progressive discipline is the best form of action because it lets
employees know where they stand regarding offenses, let them know what improvement
is expected of them, and helps them understand what will happen next if improvement is
not made. (Bohlander & Snell)
Brenda should not be subject to any type of corrective action policies because she
did not commit any type of violation of the companys rules and regulations. It should be
strongly encouraged, however, to all of the companys employees to report any type of
future incident that happens.
Bibliography
Bohlander, G., & Snell, S. (2007). Managing Human Resources (14th ed.).
Australia : South- Western.
Dragoni, L. (2009, November 23). Employee Rights and Discipline. Lecture
presented at ILRHR2600, Cornell University.