Reference no: EM132751982

Question: Johanna was furious. She has been the foodservice manager for a 500-studen middle school for the past 15 years. She remembers how she felt when she was first hired as a cafeteria line person in a school in her hometown, 25 years ago. She was so excited to have the job, and she had always wanted to work with kids. Since she also loved food and wanted to go on to college, this would be a job she loved and one that could help her earn money for college. She loved her job. Or, as she often pointed out, she loved most of her job. The kids didn't always like the food, and they could sometimes be "difficult," but since Johanna was close to their age, she was often the one they came to with complaints. In the beginning, she would pass them on to her supervisor, who usually said there was no money, or the equipment was old, and nothing changed. Johanna eventually stopped passing these comments on and vowed she would run things differently. So why is she furious today?

She can't remember when it happened, but one day she noticed that her employees no longer seemed to care. The cafeteria line was messy, the lines repeatedly ran short on food, workers never smiled at kids, and, worst of all, they frequently called in sick. She hated Mondays because she was always having to work at least two jobs in addition to her own. She wished she had some way to catch these people out having fun when they had called in sick. It happened again today and for her, it was the last straw. She went to see the school district's HRM director and told her story. "Why," she complained, "can't we get the right people these days? I would have loved to have one of these jobs. You have got to find me some good people ..."

Leon, the HRM director, compared Johanna's departmental turnover numbers with those of other middle schools in the district. Her turnover rate was much higher and complaints about the food were increasing. This made Johanna even more furious and she told Leon she might quit. Leon said that was not the solution. He said he could help her design a plan "to find her employees doing something right." Johanna heard that phrase, and something in it reminded her of something she learned in school. She calmed down and told Leon she wants to try.

- You are now Leon. List the things you are going to ask Johanna to do.

- What skills do you think Johanna may have stopped using over the years?

- What can she remember from her days as an employee to help her?

- List some resources Johanna may want to use.