Reference no: EM133419824

Filing fiasco Dawon Abrego's work space is filled with stacks of papers. He has three neatly piled stacks on his desk and at least eight stacks on the floor. Although Dawon has two vertical filing cabinets, it appears most of the documents do not make it from the stacks to the cabinets. Many of Dawon's coworkers tease him about his unique filing system, but they are impressed that he can locate information in a short period of time. In fact, Dawon's system seems to work quite well for him. He has never had a problem locating information in a timely manner.

Two weeks ago Dawon requested an extended leave from work to take care of personal matters. In his absence, several projects were reassigned to other employees. The majority of these projects could not progress because the employees were unable to locate the necessary information in Dawon's stacks. One employee contacted Dawon, but Dawon could not guide him in locating the information. Although Dawon's supervisor did not approve of his filing methods, it was never an issue previously because Dawon was able to find information quickly. Now, however, the supervisor can see how Dawon's method has an impact on the workplace. Dawon will not be back in the office for at least three months.

How can the supervisor handle this situation so the work gets done? What suggestions could you make to the supervisor to prevent this type of problem from happening again?