1

Incident 3: What Am I Going to Do about Stella McCarthy?

Introduction
In this incident, Jim has taken over a position as the supervisor of the companys
accounting department. While the majority of his team is working well under him, he is
encountering some issues with an employee named Stella. Stella has een taking sick
days and dealing with personal prolems during work time. !fter speaking with Stella,
Jim has learned that she is having some marital troules, and this is responsile for her
ehavior at work "#effler, 1$$$%. &ue to this ehavior, Stella has missed the deadline for
completing the month end numers and turning them in to Jim in order for him to present
them to the companys president.
&efining the Issue"s%
'he issue presented in this incident is how Jim, who is still estalishing himself in
his new position, must deal with an e(isting employee that was hired not long efore Jim
took over. Stellas performance in missing her assigned deadline may in turn make Jim
look ad when he cannot provide the reports to the president on time. Jim, eing aware
of Stellas personal issues, has to decide how est to handle this situation. 'o est decide
how to proceed, we must analy)e the data presented in the case.
!naly)ing the *ase &ata
'he data provided in this case is very clear. Stella is dealing with a life+altering
situation at home that is having an impact on her aility to perform at work. 'his has
caused her to miss a deadline in providing Jim with reports that he must present to the
president of the company. !s her manager, Jim depends on Stellas work and aility to
perform in order to perform his jo description ade,uately "-ierce . /ewstrom, 0111%. 'his lack of
performance no only impacts his aility to fulfill his re,uirements, ut as he is still relatively new in
this position "only si( months% it may put his position in jeopardy. With this in mind, we can start to
develop alternatives to this situation.
2enerating !lternatives
*onsidering Jim took the time to speak candidly to Stella previously, we can assume he wants
to resolve this situation in a way that not only enefits him, ut Stella as well. In that respect, he needs
to come up with a way to control the damage that can e done y this situation. 'he first alternative
suggested is that he e very proactive on the situation. 'his would allow him to get an e(tension with
his oss and work with Stella to prepare the reports as ,uickly as possile. !nother alternative would
e to immediately pass this re,uirement on to one of Stellas co+workers or completing them himself in
the hopes that they can get it completed as ,uickly as possile. ! final alternative would e to fire
Stella for her performance and inaility to meet her deadlines, and then e(plain the situation to the
companys president. Jim would still have to find a way to get the reports completed as ,uickly as
possile. #ooking at these alternatives, we can consider the criteria necessary to make an informed
decision.
Selecting &ecision *riteria
In order to decide which alternative provides the est conclusion, we must look closely at the
criteria. !n effective alternative would allow Jims department to complete and present the monthly
reports as efficiently and timely as possile. It is important to weigh this criteria heavily, as it will
allow Jim the most leverage in dealing with the companys president on the delivery of these reports.
!naly)ing and 3valuating !lternatives
When taking the criteria aove into consideration, we can look again the proposed alternatives
and analy)e them. 'he first alternative has Jim e(plaining the situation to the president, proposing a
new deadline for this month, and having Stella complete the ooks as ,uickly as possile. !s finishing
the monthly reports has een Stellas responsiility, she is presumaly the est ,ualified in the
department to complete it, or is at least the one most familiar with the process the company follows in
compiling these reports. 'his would also open up a situation that would allow Jim to speak with Stella
aout her performance and how her personal life is impacting her work in a serious way. 'he prolem
with this alternative, however, is with Stellas work ethic eing so flimsy, Jim is putting his trust in her
that she will e ale to meet this proposed deadline when she could not meet the original one.
'he second alternative has Jim passing Stellas work on to one of her co+workers or completing her
work himself. 'his may allow the work to get completed ,uickly without putting trust in Stella to
complete the task timely. 4owever, as mentioned, Stella may have this responsiility in the first place
ecause of her ,ualifications or ecause of the work+load the others have. !s manager, Jim proaly
has more pressing issues to deal with and should not have to complete the work of his employees
ecause they cannot complete it timely. 4aving to complete Stellas work may put the other employees
ehind on their own deadlines or oligations.
5inally, Jims other alternative is to fire Stella for her inaility to reach the deadline. 'his would give
him the opportunity to go to the president and e(plain he had to let Stella go due to her work
performance, and that ecause of that the reports will e a little delayed. 'his still leaves him or his
other employees having to complete her work, and also adds the e(tra process of dealing with her
termination and replacing her in the department. *onsidering her other responsiilities of providing
support with the service department, this could e a damper across more than just the accounting
department.
Selecting the -referred !lternative
*ompanies work on a pattern of interdependence6for everything to run smoothly, managers
and employees need to work together, and departments must e ale to work together as well. When
there is a weak link in the chain, it is not just one individual that suffers "-ierce . /ewstrom, 0111%.
Stella is showing herself to e that weak link in the chain, ut Jims method of handling her as a
manager has een lacking as well. Jim must stand up and e more assertive with her and what he
e(pects of her as an employee, her personal life aside. With that in mind, I think the second alternative
may e most eneficial in this case. Jim must either pass this work on or complete it himself as ,uickly
as possile, and turn it in to the president as re,uired. 4owever, he must also incorporate the act of
speaking with Stella aout her performance and how it will not e tolerated going forward. 'he rest of
the department cannot e e(pected to pick up her slack or cover for her when she is coming to work ut
not focusing on it. In this way, Jim would e treating it as if Stella was not present as work physically
in order to complete these reports "as if she was sick, for e(ample%, the reports will get done, and Stella
ends with a formal warning aout her performance.
&eveloping an !ction7Implementation -lan
'his plan would e rather simple for Jim to e(ecute. 4e should egin with a sit+down with
Stella to address the situation, his proposed solution, and gather the materials necessary to complete the
reports. 'his is the opportunity for him to address her performance formally. 'hen, he may do well to
initiate contact with the president and e(plain the situation riefly++that the reports are late and he
reali)es that, ut that they will e coming y a set date. 5inally, he or one of the other co+workers
should complete the reports as ,uickly as possile.
8easuring the success of this plan depends on Stellas reaction. If she accepts the seriousness
of her performance and the impact her personal life is having on her jo and is putting it in jeopardy,
she may egin to make more of an effort to leave it ehind while she is at work. In that case, it would
work itself out and save Jim from having to proceed further. If she does not, Jim can proceed with
terminating her position and finding a replacement. 9y eing proactive and e(plaining to the president
the delay, Jim can also show initiative and hopefully prevent himself from troule with his superior.
'he est outcome of this alternative would e Jim ecoming a stronger and more efficient manager.
*onclusion
Its not uncommon for personal issues to impact an employees performance in the office. If an
employee has a ad day, management can typically overlook it as things get ack on track the ne(t day.
In the event, however, it ecomes haitual as Stellas has and she is missing important deadlines,
management must ecome more proactive and deal with the situation ,uickly. 9y not handling it
correctly, management sets the precedent and can impact their performance, the departments
performance, and ultimately the performance of all related departments in the company.
:eferences
#effler, ;. "3&% "1$$$% Critical incidents in management. /eedham 4eights, 8!< -earson *ustom
-ulishing.
-ierce, J. #., . /ewstrom, J. W. "0111%. The manager's bookshelf: A mosaic of contemporary views.
"$th ed.%. /J< -rentice 4all