CASE 15 Don’t Let Her Get Behind You Background Information Part 1, Making Adjustments—NOT! Betty Rolander was a supervisor of the Secretarial Support Unit in Monu- mental Services Corporation. The main responsibility of her unit was to provide secretarial support to the three groups making up the Administrative Support Division: the Property Services, Purchasing, and Auditing departments. See the organizational chart below. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT DIVISION (Bud Fuller) Property Purchasing Auditing Services 1 (Helen Mahan) (erry Corder) Leasing Maimenance Secretarial Support (Betty Rolander) (Lynecia Jackson) Betty supervised the four secretaries in the unit, and during her first year as supervisor, she had to face a major personnel problem in the form of Lynecia Jackson. Lynecia, 28, had been with Monumental for almost six years, holding various clerical and secretarial positions during her career there. Lynecia had a "bad attitude problem" that drove Betty crazy: Lynecia was haughty, abrasive, and even antagonistic when dealing with other people. For example, when Betty noted problems or errors with her work, Lynecia would fly off the handle and become very defensive. Betty told her friend Bob Erhard about Lynecia one day: "At first, I thought it was just me, you know, that Lynecia just didn’t like me. But I checked her Personnel file. Almost everyone of her previous bosses had written complaints about the poor way she dealt with people. But they never did anything about it—and now she’s my problem." 15.1Fifty Case Studies for Management & Supervisory Training The roots of Betty’s problem with Lynecia went back to the reorganization that had led to Betty’s promotion. Shortly before Betty was made supervisor, about a year ago, the centralized secretarial support system in use at Monumen- tal’s headquarter’s office was disbanded and replaced by a more traditional structure. Under the prior, centralized system, all the secretaries in headquarters were hired, managed, and controlled through a single manager Helen Mahan, even though the secretaries worked in other departments. Lynecia Jackson had worked directly for Helen Mahan. They liked each other, got along well to- gether, and Lynecia became a loyal and devoted follower of Helen’s. However, recurring problems with this centralized system caused its demise. Under the reorganized system, secretaries were reassigned to each department and reported to the manager of each division. Helen Mahan was reassigned as manager of a newly formed Property Services Department. To take the sting out of this reorganization, Helen retained the management duties of the secretarial staff in the Administrative Services Division. Betty Rolander was made supervi- sor of the secretaries, and reported to Helen Mahan, In reviewing some of the items in Lynecia’s personnel file, Betty learned that Lynecia had applied for the supervisory job, but had been tumed down. When Betty saw this, she thought it explained Lynecia’s hostile behavior. She also hoped that the hostility would subside as they began to work more closely together. Unfortunately, she was wrong. After a few months on the job, the problems with Lynecia grew worse, not better. One of the most significant incidents that confirmed this trend developed when Better received a complaint from Neal Coleman, Coleman was an execu- tive vice president in charge of Monumental’s Operations Division. One day, he called Betty directly to complain about the rude way Lynecia had talked to Miriam, his secretary, during a phone call that morning. As he explained it to Betty: "She insulted and argued with her. Mariam became very upset, and I don’t blame her. You better do something about her.” He was angry. Betty thanked him for the message, then called Lynecia into her office. Betty told her: "We have a problem, Lynecia. I've just received a complaint from Mr. Colemen about how you spoke to his secretary this morning.” "What did you say in reply?" Lynecia shot back. "I said I would take care of it. You just can’t talk to people like that," Betty said. "You did what?" Lynecia shouted back. "I can’t believe it! I didn’t do any- thing! This is your problem. You've got a bad attitude.” Betty was surprised at the intensity of Lynecia’s reply but continued to ex- plain what Mr. Coleman said and why Lynecia had to improve her phone man- ner. Lynecia continued to deny it forcefully. They argued like this for another five minutes. Throughout the entire discussion, Betty felt like she was the one on the carpet for making a mistake, not Lynecia. The discussion finally ended, but not cleanly or decisively. CASE QUESTION 1. How should Betty have responded to the complaint from Mr. Coleman?Case 15: Don't Let Her Get Behind You Part 2. Betty’s Ears Were Burning After this confrontation, Betty felt that Lynecia was more belligerent and hostile to her. Furthermore, as Betty found out later, Lynecia started talking about Betty behind her back. For example, Lynecia would complain to others, especially any managers who came by, about Betty’s clothes or that she was away from her desk too much or how Betty's ability as a supervisor was poor. In staff meetings, Lynecia would try to sound as if she were speaking for every- one else by making comments such as, "We're really having these problems with you,” or "None of us thinks that’s a good idea.” These remarks were then followed by a discussion of all that Betty was supposedly doing wrong. Betty fi- nally stopped having staff meetings because of Lynecia’s tirades and criticism. Lynecia also complained about Betty to Helen Mahan (her old boss and Betty's current boss). Soon thereafter, Helen gave Betty some “friendly ad- vice":Betty should stay closer to her desk. Shaken and unsure, Betty accepted the advice and limited her work to her desk area, CASE QUESTIONS 1, Is Lynecia guilty of insubordination? is point, what should 2. Given what Betty knows at she do? 153Fifty Case Studies for Management & Supervisory Training Part 3: The Ice Breaks Part of Betty’s job was to support and serve Jerry Corder’s Auditing Depart- ‘ment, which in turn depended upon her help a great deal. However, Betty told Corder one day that she could not help him anymore because of complaints about her being away from her desk too much. Corder couldn’t believe what he hhad heard, and marched into Bud Fuller's office with Betty in tow. Fuller lis- tened to Corder’s complaint and then asked Betty to explain. She told him about Helen’s "advice" and Lynecia’s complaint. It was a Thursday afternoon, The following Monday morning, Bud Fuller called a meeting of his manage- ment staff in the Administrative Services Division and made the following an- nouncements: 1. Betty Rolander and her staff no longer reports to Helen Mahan, but di- rectly to Bud Fuller. 2. Betty is the supervisor in charge of that unit and she is not away from her desk too much. 3. If there are problems with Betty, they should be brought first to Betty's attention, and if that is not satisfactory, then to Bud. Both Helen and Lynecia were shocked by the announcements. Lyneci seemed to improve for a week or two, but eventually began criticizing Bey again. During this time, Betty told Lynecia to train the floater-secretary who was going to sit in for Lynecia during her upcoming vacation. Lynecia indicated she could finish the training quickly, but by the end of that week, Lynecia had not yet trained the floater. Indeed, Lynecia simply ignored her. Learning this, Betty canceled Lynecia’s vacation leave on the grounds that she did not prepare her replacement as directed. Betty gave Lynecia a chance to regain her vacation, though. If Lynecia could train her replacement in the week before her scheduled vacation, should could have it back. Lynecia finally did thio and did it fairly well. During that week, though, Betty received permis- sion from Bud Fuller to give Lynecia a written disciplinary notice. ASSIGNMENT Given this information, you are to conduct a disciplinary mecting with Lynecia. Prepare a written disciplinary -e and use it during your discussion 154Case 15: Don't Let Her Get Behind You CASE DISCUSSIO! Don’t Let Her Get Behind You Summary: Part I. Making Adjustments — NOT! For about a year, Betty Rolander had supervised four secretaries who served the three departments within the Administrative Support Division of the Monu- mental Services Corporation. During that time, she had run into a major prob- Jem in the form of Lynecia Jackson, 28, who had been with Monumental for almost six years in various secretarial positions. Betty was bothered by Lynecia’s arrogant and abrasive manner of dealing with other people. When looking through her personnel file, Betty discovered that Lynecia’s previous managers had had similar concerns, although no one had taken strong action. Betty traced her problem back to the company reorganization that had taken place about a year ago. At that time, the centralized secretarial support system in the headquarter's building had been replaced by a decentralized system. The previous system had been managed by Helen Mahan, Lynecia worked for Helen and became a loyal fan of hers. When the company reorganized, Helen was made a department manager, becoming Betty’s boss, and Lynecia then began working for Betty. Subsequently, the working relationship between Betty and Lynecia had gone downhill. ‘One day Better received a call from Neal Coleman, an executive vice presi- dent, who complained about the insulting way Lynecia had spoken to his secre- tary on the phone that moming. Betty called Lynecia into her office and admonished her for speaking rudely to Coleman’s secretary. The discussion was argumentative and unproductive. Answer to Case Question 1, How should Betty have responded to the complaint from Mr. Coleman? Betty should have apologized to Mr. Coleman and indicated that she would look into the problem immediately. She should have called Miriam to apologize and hear directly from her what happened. She next should have asked Lynecia to describe how she remembered the conver sation, Assuming that the complaint against Lynecia was well founded, Betty should have given her feedback on what exactly she did that cre- ated problems. She also should have restated the standards of appropriate phone cour- tesy. It would be acceptable to have Lynecia call Mr. Coleman's secre- tary to apologize, thus reinforcing the importance of courtesy. Betty may ‘or may not want to be present during that conversation. Betty should also make a note or memo of this conversation and keep it in a working file, 155Fitty Case Studies for Management & Supervisory Training Summary: Part II. Betty’s Ears Were Burning After the Neal Coleman incident, Lynecia became more belligerent to Betty. For example, she dominated Betty's staff meetings and criticized Betty’s job performance, wording her comments so that it sounded as if she was speaking for everyone present. She would talk about Betty behind her back, especially to managers who came through the area, (Betty found this out later.) Finally, Ly- necia complained to Helen Mahan, who was now Betty's boss. Helen suggested that Betty spend more time at her desk. Betty was shaken by this and did so; as a result, she began to limit her work to her desk area. Answers to Case Questions 1. Is Lynecia guilty of insubordination? ‘There are two issues here. First, what is insubordination, and second, is she guilty? First, insubordination is usually understood to mean an unwillingness to submit to a legitimate authority. It appears that Lynecia has not refused to do tasks she has been instructed to do. Instead, she is contemptuous and spreads dissension. This is a gray area: While she may technically not be insubordinate, her actions in spirit seem insubordinate. Second, Betty has no direct evidence of Lynecia talking behind her back. She only knows this from hearsay. But Betty does see Lynecia dis- rupt meetings and try to convince others that Betty is ineffective. Again, there is a gray area here. She is clearly acting in a disruptive fashion, even if her actions may technically not be insubordinate. 2. Given what Betty knows at this point, what should she do? Betty may have a difficult time making a charge of insubordination stick. Nonetheless, Betty is faced with an employee apparently intent on. creating grief. Betty should meet with Lynecia to establish certain stand- ards of conduct, such as bringing any problems she has to Betty's atten- tion first. This new standard could lay the standard for insubordination charges in the future if Lynecia persists in complaining about Betty without first mentioning the problems to Betty. Betty should reinstitute staff meetings. She needs to exercise more con- trol over the meetings, especially when Lynecia begins speaking for eve- ryone else. She can do this, for example, by polling the other people present after Lynecia makes such a claim. She can set the agenda for the meetings ahead of time to control what is discussed. She can give Ly- necia assignments to fix "problems" she brings up. She can encourage other employees to disagree with whatever Lynecia wants to argue about. Finally, she can censure Lynecia for disrupting her meetings if all else fails. Betty needs Helen Mahan to clarify what Betty’s duties are and what authority Betty has to act in pursuit of those duties. Betty should also raise the issue of Lynecia’s "end-run” communications to Helen. Betty should seek clarification from Helen about the proper kinds of commu 156Case 15: Don't Let Her Get Behind You nication "channels" which sthat should run between Helen, Betty, and Lynecia. Summary: Part IIL. The Ice Breaks Betty told Jerry Corder, head of the Auditing Department, which she served, that Helen Mahan effectively restricted what Betty could do, and as a result, she could not serve Jerry in the manner to which he had been accustomed. Corder exploded and talked to the Division manager, Bud Fuller. By the start of the fol- lowing week, Fuller had removed Betty's unit from Helen’s supervision. He now had Betty report directly to him and gave her full supervisory authority. Consequently, Lynecia’s performance improved slightly. In anticipation of Lynecia’s forthcoming vacation, Betty directed Lynecia to train a replacement floater-secretary. Essentially, Lynecia ignored that directive. As a result, Betty canceled Lynecia’s vacation but gave her the opportunity to eam a reprieve if she could still train the replacement in time. Lynecia did so. At the same time, Betty received permission to issue a formal disciplinary notice to Lynecia. Assignment Given this information, you are to conduct a disciplinary meeting with Ly- necia. Prepare a written disciplinary notice and use it during your discussion. In general, itis clear now that Lynecia has been insubordinate in refusing to train her temporary replacement. Given the history of this employee's perform- ance in the department, the discussion with Lynecia should make it clear that her job with Monumental will be on the line if there is any further examples of disruptive or insubordinate behavior on her part, 157