In 100 words state if you agree or disagree with the summary given for the Scena
ID: 326836 • Letter: I
Question
In 100 words state if you agree or disagree with the summary given for the Scenario. PLEASE reframe from using Overuse of ambiguous terms such as it, this, and they should not be used.
Scenario Part 1:
Workplace unrest Environment: You are the Director of a team of employees that do various PA duties. The team consists of 15 employees that are assigned duties in different building locations and collocated with other PA personnel from other directorates in a matrix type set up. Three of your personnel provide project IT (Information Technology) engineering support to another PA program. Your three employees are intra mingled (cubicle environment where each person has a workstation) with four other employees that are not under your control. Most of the employees both those under your control and not under your control have work together for at about five years. The workload is fairly steady but there are times when program deadlines can stress the team. Your boss, the Executive Director, works in Washington DC so you are depended upon to handle all work and personnel-related matters. However, your boss and HR have to approve higher level personnel actions such as promotions and dismissals.
The players:
Jack: Jack has been with the organization for about eight years and is known as a highly competent worker known for his expertise in Agile methodologies. Last year, you made Jack the team lead for personnel that are located in his building. You have known Jack for about 10 years and have a great working relationship but little off work interactions. Jack just turned 40 and has a wife plus two children. Jack can be a little overly aggressive personality wise and is very passionate about his job. He has an outstanding reputation with coworkers and especially customers.
Jill:
Jill has been on your team right at one year. When a vacancy came open, Jack recommend her and you hired Jill. Jill is known to be a competent IT engineer. With two children fresh out of college, Jill and her husband just became empty nesters and love to travel. She is not overly satisfied with her this job as her last job involved hands-on IT development work where the current job only involves reviewing development by other developers or IT engineers. Your interactions with Jill have been cordial and positive in nature. If you were to categorize her personality, she is not being overly type A nor passive like a type B.
Tami: Tami has worked in the organization and this section for about six years. She is fairly close to Jack and their families occasionally socialize. Tami provides program management and financial expertise to the IT systems. She is a no-nonsense type worker (does not joke around much) and is very competent. Tami does not like conflict in her personal or professional life. Tami’s husband just retired and she’s a year maybe two behind him. Situation: You are getting ready to head home from work on Friday when you receive a call from HR. The HR representative states that Jill has filed a complaint against Jack for bullying. HR received a phone call from Jill on how to file a complaint and the HR representative took a verbal statement from Jill. The HR representative stated to you over the phone that Jill feels she is not challenged job wise and her and Jack were not getting along. She considered herself bullied and had enough earlier in the month after returning from the vacation where people thought she was sick as she was coughing and blowing her nose a lot. She said she was not sick and Jack wanted to send her home and wouldn’t let up. Jack ordered her into the conference room to discuss the matter in private, which she did not want to do. She also stated that her working relationship with Jack continues to decline and she is not going to put up with his ordering her around demeanor in the work center or meetings. Jill was not sure what to do so she called HR. HR stated that she did not want to come to you first because you are too close to Jack. HR is handling this situation off to you to handle at your level but you are to follow up with a formal report back to HR. They want to know your initial plan by mid-week. Jill is working next week but Jack is on vacation.
SUMMARY:
The variables in this specific scenario provide the complex set of issues for any supervisor to address. As the superior for each associate, a proper investigation must receive the details from both sides and compare the accounts while taking into consideration the perceptions of each individual. Measuring the commonalities of the situation while speaking to each associate is key. By applying the logic behind the actions of the associates, it will be possible to make an official determination as to any breach of policy.
The first step is to engage HR and schedule 3-5 separate meetings with an HR representative as an over the phone witness. Monday will include a meeting with Jill to discuss the following issues and establish a groundwork. JIll's Meeting The meeting must establish the following guidelines: recognize concerns of bias and reinforce impartiality by highlighting the cooperation with the HR department, emphasize that a workplace which allows victimization is not tolerable and that the issue will be properly addressed in a reasonable amount of time.
The meeting must discover the following: what was the specific topics and words said that caused the perception of bullying, were there any witnesses to these specific actions, is there a specific reason that Jill felt uncomfortable being in a one-on-one setting with Jack and what Jill’s preferred outcome would be from this process. In addition, there must be a discussion of the challenges of Jill’s current position and determine if there is an underlying intention to move to a separate department that is more gratifying citing HR concerns as the justification for an immediate move.
Associate/Witness Meetings
Tuesday through Thursday will include two-three separate meeting with subordinates of Jack, which may include Tami and any potential witnesses. If there are no direct witnesses the meetings will be conducted a general leadership review without communication of the specific reason for the review. These interviews would include asking questions about leadership style, communication tactics and any specific details that may be recalled about the event.
Jack's meeting
The third phase would be to conduct a meeting with Jack on the next Monday after he returns from vacation to inquire about the following: does Jack already recognize the reason for the meeting, after being informed that complaint was filed regarding an employee does he bring up Jill, does Jack recognize that there were any specific behaviors that may not have been appropriate in the way that Jack addressed the illness situation with Jill, does Jack have any additional factors to consider which may not have been revealed in the prior interviews, what was Jack’s logic in behaving the way he did? Based upon the result of these interviews, a formal report would be completed listing the factors involved and logic behind both Jack and Jill’s actions.
Explanation / Answer
I agree with the summary of scenario. It is important to analyze both sides of the coin that is Jill's statements and Jack's point of view. At the same time, an independent view can be presented by analyzing the viewpoint of Jack's other subordinates, peers, and colleagues. The summary of actions clearly tries to remove biasness felt by Jill in the system and at the same time, it is not ruled out that Jill's complaints could be frivolous just to get a transfer from this work.
In the summary I would add the following:
During the whole analysis, you must have another person (not related to Jack) in the room as a witness of proceedings. Since Jill feels you are close to Jack, any report acquitting Jack of Jill's accusations may be labeled as biased by Jill. Having a second opinion and thought in the report would help. Though HR would be a phone witness, in this situation it may be important to note non-verbal cues.