Reference no: EM133179010

Gloria:

Gloria came to work at your technology security company about six years ago, and during the time she has been employed, she has taken on increased responsibility and has proven herself to be a valuable member of your team. When new employees begin, Gloria has informally taken on the role of acclimating them to the environment. When someone has a question about something, they come to Gloria first. One employee recently said, "Gloria knows a little bit of everything She has the answer to a question right away."

As a group of mid-level managers, you have now come together to discuss Gloria's situation. Recently, she disclosed that she has been diagnosed with an eye disease called age-related macular degeneration. After research, you learn the disease is the leading cause of vision loss and currently has no cure. Gloria's eyesight is already diminished, and over time, it will slowly get worse. She will eventually lose her vision completely.

One member of your group immediately responded.

She said, "I don't see how she can continue to keep her current responsibilities if she cannot see the computer screen She manages a lot of high-level client relationships, and with the recent downturn we cannot afford to lose any of them by appearing unable to quickly and efficiently answer their questions and concerns. How will Gloria continue?"

Another person said, "I agree. I think we should recommend to Gloria that she move to a different department. She started in the call center answering routine customer service calls and routing them to the appropriate place. She should return to that. She will have to have some training or something, but honestly, I'm certain it's the only thing she's going to be able to do. I know her husband just got a big promotion, so she probably won't mind the cut in pay. She might be relieved to go back to something simple."

A third person brought up Gloria's requests: "It says here that Gloria would like a short leave to learn computer software called JAWS and she wants the company to pay for it. That's not fair to other employees. We have not granted that type of leave for other people who want to learn things and we certainly don't buy people computer equipment. I am all for professional development, but this goes too far. We wouldn't grant this type of leave if someone wanted to, say, learn French or something. Let's skip the training and recommend the call center switch."

Questions:

1. What issues from Bell's text do you recognize in the conversation among the managers? Please include the page number for your reference. What are their general attitudes toward Gloria? How have their attitudes changed since this diagnosis?

2. What do you think about Gloria's request and her ability to continue in her current role managing client relationships? Look up the JAWS software. What do you think?

3. The third manager is quoted as saying "That's not fair to other employees." What do you think about his statement?

4. What is the law in this situation?

5. If you were in the room with the managers, how would you respond to your colleagues? What solutions or ideas can you offer?