Reference no: EM133108785

Wendy Moten leaned back in her chair, sighed heavily and slowly rubbed her eyes in big circular motions. "I don't need all this aggravation," she thought to herself. She had just finished reviewing the report she had requested from her new employee, Michael Page. The entire report was incorrect and would have to be redone.

Wendy supervised Unit B of the Audit Department. The Unit B team had earned the nickname of the "Mod Squad" because they were given the unusual, special audit assignments that cropped up. Unit B also had ongoing audit duties over certain operations departments within the company. The five auditing specialists in Unit B had to complete certain reports every month on those operational units. Normally, this workload was manageable enough. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times.

About three weeks ago, Wendy's superior, Oliver Johnson, gave her a major project to complete in three weeks. The "rush priority" nature of the project stemmed from the decision of the company's Executive Management Committee to install a new type of auditing procedure and program. In large part, this meant adapting to an automated information system. Currently, most of the information they needed and used was being collected and processed manually. In effect, the new system required the auditors to switch from being high-priced clerks to being information-system managers. The auditors, would be able to examine, "test", and display information more quickly, easily, and clearly - so, at least, was the thinking of Executive Management when it authorized the new procedures. Wendy's assignment was to complete an implementation plan for this new system in three weeks.

At the meeting during which he gave her the assignment, Oliver told her: "Look Wendy, I know it is short notice and that you've got those operations reports due out soon, but you need to get your staff working on this project now. You know I'll do whatever I can to help."

Oliver had paused a minute, leaning against the doorway. "Why not let that new guy, what's his name....... Michael Page? Let that Michael Page guy work on it."

Wendy could see no alternative. "I guess you're right," she said. "I'll get him on it today."

Oliver had been referring to the new employee Wendy had hired just last month. Michael graduated two years ago with a degree in accounting and had worked as a junior auditor as a competitor since then. During the interview process, Wendy told him that he would have to be a self-starter and that she expected him to pick up on the work fair quickly.

She now thought back to her words during that interview: "Look, we're very busy here and we get the various assignments. I can't baby-sit you. I'll show you your desk and introduce you to the team members. You're going to have to take care of yourself. Of course, I'm here to help and my door's always open. But you'll have to pin me down and get me when you need my help. After that, you're on your own." Wendy had prided herself on her direct, no-nonsense, up-front communication style.

Michael Page seemed to agree with her philosophy. He replied: "Sure, that's great. I like to work on my own anyways."

In fact, Michael had not been Wendy's first choice for the open position in her department. She was looking for someone who had both auditing and computer experience in addition to a strong background in accounting. Unfortunately, she was unable to pay the salary that the few applicants with that background wanted. Michael Page was the best remaining choice, even though he had very limited auditing and computer experience.

Michael had accepted the job and had been doing as well as could be expected. During his first week on the job, he was placed on an existing audit project and had managed to perform effectively according to the project leader. He seemed to get along well with the other "Mod Squad" team members and was fairly eager to work on the project, although Wendy seldom saw him stay after office hours.
Wendy had called Michael into her office shortly after receiving the new assignment from her boss. She told him about the project and gave him, the deadline. She repeated that the door was always open if he needed help. Michael seemed honored that she had selected him. He tried to ask her for some details about the kinds of plans he needed to work out. Wendy repeated that it was a simple project plan. After Michael's third question along these lines, Wendy said, with a little irritation in her voice, "Look, you can figure this out. Unless you've any other big questions, I've got to get ready for a meeting."

Michael answered that he had no other questions.

Wendy had drawn the meeting to a close with the remark: "Keep in touch."

In the two weeks that followed, Wendy continued to be busy as usual. She occasionally saw Michael in the office. While passing through, she would sometimes stop, put her head through the door, and ask how things were coming. Michael would always say "Fine."
On two occasions, Michael asked to see her. In the first meeting, about two days after receiving the assignment, he tried to get her to explain what exactly she was looking for in the report. He produced a detailed outline. Wendy looked it over and made a broad, vague response. Her irritation at having to tell him exactly what to do showed after about 15 minutes. In the second meeting, he asked for some general guidance and help on many of the specifics of the project. She wondered, at one point, why he didn't look up the answers to some of these questions himself. She had to cut their meeting short in order to attend another meeting. After the second meeting, she had no further contact with Michael.

It was now three weeks since she gave Michael the assignment. The deadline had arrived, and Michael had submitted the report on time, dropping it off on her desk at 5 o'clock, on his way home. Looking it over, she had easily seen that it was incorrect. Oh, it was all there, alright; it was just wrong.

For a long time she continued to rub her eyes, as if doing so would change the contents of the report and it would be correct when she looked at it again.

She thought to herself: "Why didn't he come in and check it out with me to make sure that he was doing it right, especially after he completed this first part? It was really so simple and I took so long to explain it."

Questions

-What is the main problem in the case study above?

-What should Wendy do about the faulty report?

-How should Wendy have supervised Michael on this project? What type of leadership style/ theory should Wendy adopt?