Reference no: EM132577137

Case study:

In the same month, Bill Connors turned 45 years old and began the start of his eleventh year with the Bay State Service Corporation.Bay State Service provided various maintenance, clearing, and repair services for apartment complexes in the greater metropolitan area. Bill had been hired initially to work in the Transportation Department as a driver. About four years ago, he moved to a job in the mail room. Even though the mail room job required more lifting and carrying, in Bill's mind, the salary increase more than justified the added work.

It turned out to be a good move for him. The pay increase really helped, and although the pace was hectic, Bill kept up with the work. His performance was always acceptable; he consistently showed up on time and was always busy.

When on vacation last year, his tenth year with Bay State, Bill injured himself in a nasty fall while hiking during a family camping trip. His family took him directly to the hospital, where an X-ray showed both a broken leg and ankle. The doctor told him he could not return to work until the bones were fully mended, a five-week rest at the minimum. However, just before he was scheduled to go back to work, he called his boss, Ken Pierce,to tell him that since he was still in a lot of pain, the doctor wanted to put a brace on his leg and keep him home a little longer.

Bill returned to work three weeks later,but things were not the same, and they did not improve much in the following year. Bill's problem all went back to his injury. There was some indication that the leg and ankle breaks had not been set properly. Bill eventually had to wear a substantial leg brace and he occasionally walked with a cane. It became obvious that he could not keep up his former pace of lifting and delivering the bulky boxes, bags and packages that had to be delivered throughout the company. Ken tried to give him as much desk work as possible, but there remained a substantial backlog of items that just weren't being delivered on a timely basis.

Now, not long after the anniversary of bill's eleventh year with the company, some of his fellow employees in the mail room, particularly the newer ones, are beginning to complain to Ken about the extra work they have to do; they claim to be doing twice the work Bill does, at about half his salary.

Ken knows he will be doing Bill's performance appraisal in about three months. Based on the production problems in his department he really wants to just "tell it likes it is" and get rid of Bill. After all, Bill can no longer keep up and it is a physical job. Ken wonders whether he could suggest that Bill be given a transfer. However, Ken is not optimistic that a transfer can be arranged.

Questions

-What are the key issues or problems of the case?
-Prioritize the issues or problems?
-Is it necessary to identify the cause of the problem?
-Brainstorm the options available?
-Evaluate the options:. Advantages Disadvantages
-Select the optimum solution.
-Describe how the solution should be implemented?