Reference no: EM133504318

Case: Let's Jettison the Deadwood

Two supervisors, Robert and Janet, were in charge of sections of the building services department of Central Hospital. They had a fairly close working relationship; they were in a position to cover for each other on occasion and usually did so successfully. Overall, however, they had quite different styles of dealing with their employees.

The long-anticipated word came down that declining admissions and sharp cuts in reimbursement rates necessitated staff reductions. Robert's staff would have to be reduced by three people; Janet's staff was projected to lose two people. On Monday they learned officially of the impending cuts; they had to have names turned in by Wednesday, and layoffs would actually occur Friday. Monday afternoon they found themselves discussing the layoffs.

Robert said, "How is this supposed to be done? I missed the meeting with the boss this morning thanks to a toxic material spill. I got the information secondhand, and all I know is that I've got to dump three people."

"Right," Janet replied. "And I have to lose two. These are the times when I'm almost sorry I took a supervisory job.

"Why? Employees come and go. This just means a few have to go unwillingly. I figure on taking advantage of this to jettison some deadwood.

"How can you do that? You weren't there this morning -it was pretty strongly indicated we should go by seniority. You know, last in, first out. Unless there's some compelling reason to the contrary.

"Compelling reasons I've got lots of, Robert responded. "One of mine who's going is the last in, no trouble there. But the other two are major pains I've wanted to get rid of for a long time.

"Got lots of documentation?"

"Who needs it?" Robert tapped the side of his head. "It's here. Overall I'll be getting rid of the three worst producers in the group. Nobody will have any idea how people are picked for layoff, and, anyway, at least two of these bozos should already figure they're on the way out.

Questions

1. Is Robert justified in wanting to get rid of "the three worst producers in the group"?

2. Under what circumstances might he be able to do this without creating another kind of problem?

3. What is the possible exposure to the organization and to Robert if he were to go ahead and "jettison the deadwood" as planned?

4. What can you infer from the case about the supervisory styles of both Robert and Janet?