Chapter 11_The toxic boss

1. Who are the stakeholders in this case? Explain their interests.

The main stakeholders in this situation are Amy Levitt, the affected employee,
other employees feeling the pressure of a bullying manager, and the company
itself. Employees would feel that they should not be subject to such behaviour
from a supervisor, but seem to be afraid to make a complaint. Steve Lambert, the
manager in question is concerned for output and profit, and has little interest in the
feelings of his employees. Overall, the company may benefit in the short term
from such a management style, but if it continues, the company will lose its best
performers, and company performance and profits will slip.
2. If you were Amy, what would you do?
The obvious choices are: continue as is and try to handle it; report the situation as
bullying, and hope that no negative consequences ensue; or start looking for
another position, and getting out of the company as quickly as possible. Another
possibility that might bring the problem into better focus for the organisation
would be for Amy to go on stress leave.
3. Identify the examples of bullying highlighted in this case. Explain how you would
personally deal with them if they happened to you.
Bullying is demonstrated in behaviour such as telephone calls at inappropriate
times, throwing a sandwich and screaming at the personal assistant. How students
would respond will vary.
4. What long-term costs (financial and non-financial) may Oz Industries face
because of Steves management style?
A bullying supervisor will drive people out of the company, creating a human
capital problem. Over the medium- to long-term this will affect the organisations
effectiveness, leading to poor customer relations, system degradation, negative
organisational culture and the like. Ultimately, if the problem is not resolved
profits will be severely diminished.
5. If you were the HR manager at Oz Industries and Jo and Amy came to you
separately for advice, what would you do?
Student responses to this question will vary, but should cover the issue of
managing harassment in the workplace. The company faces a legal issue in regard
to bullying and the HR manager should be aware of this. Depending on the
influence of the HR manager in the company, some representation should be made
at the executive level. Advice for the employee concerned should include a

discussion of her legal rights in the situation, and a commitment to have

something done about the bullying behaviour of the manager.