Mini Case You are the office manager at a large law firm, and several administra
ID: 396167 • Letter: M
Question
Mini Case
You are the office manager at a large law firm, and several administrative assistants have come to you over the past few weeks to complain about Sara, another administrative assistant in the firm. They tell you that Sara is often late, sometimes takes longer lunches than is allowed, and spends considerable time on personal telephone calls. When you confront Sara, she acknowledges that, although she may come in late occasionally or make personal calls, her work is always done on time, and the quality of her work is impeccable. She suggests that this should be the measure used to evaluate her performance, not small infractions.
Questions:
As the office manager, you are a believer in the system management theory that was assigned to you. How would you handle this situation?
Do you believe this is the best approach to the situation? Why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
To handle this situation I will use the systems management theory. As per the principles of this theory an organization is made up of different sub systems and the sub systems should work together in harmony and in a synchronized manner for the entire organization to work and function in an efficient manner. In this case Sara is an administrative assistant and even though the quality of her output is good and as per the standards of the organization her poor work ethic is disturbing her colleagues. Sara’s poor work ethics, if ignored and overlooked, may possibly cause other administrative assistants to get de-motivated and de-moralized. This will reduce their efficiency and overall the impact on the organization will be negative. An organization is nothing but a sum of its parts and each part must work systematically for the entire organization to function properly. To enable smooth and optimal functioning Sara should be reprimanded and should be asked to mend her work ethics by coming to office on time, taking lunch breaks as per the specified and allowed time and not using office hours for personal tasks like making personal calls.
Yes, this is the best approach to handle this situation. Sara is but a sub-system of the entire organization and as a sub-system she cannot be allowed to hamper the efficiency of other employees and other sub-systems. It is only by letting Sara to function and work properly as per the codes, values and culture of the organization that all other parts will function smoothly and in a synchronized manner causing the organization to work and operate in an optimal manner.