Case Study
You are the head of a large department and several supervisors report to you.
Recently you were confronted with a knotty problem. It seems that one of the supervisors
had gotten into a loud and disagreeable argument with an employee. You called the
supervisor to your office to hear his story.
The supervisor admitted losing his temper and shouting at the employee, but he
believed it was justified. He had been observing the employee over the year the man had
been with the company. During this period the employee had been frequently late, and his
absentee rate was above average. In addition, the supervisor went on to say that the
employee was a socializer on the job, frequently leaving his work to talk to other
employees and to use the telephone for personal calls. The supervisor then said that the
proverbial last straw caused his outburst. The employee had come in late, and after about
an hour of work he made a telephone call which the supervisor had timed as lasting 14
minutes. The supervisor then started his tirade. The employee denied being on the
telephone that long, the supervisor called him a liar, and they continued the vituperative
exchange which ended when you called the supervisor to your office.
After listening to the supervisor, you asked him if he had disciplined the employee
before, since apparently he had a poor record. You also asked if the employee had been
placed on probation or had been warned. The supervisor looked at you sheepishly and
seemed reluctant to answer. You pressed him, for an answer, and he finally blurted out that
he was afraid to discipline the employee because he was black. He stated that the
impression he had from you and higher management was that black employees should be
given special treatment so that they would feel welcome and not discriminated against. He
felt the company wanted to impress the public with its forward-looking employment
practices and didn't want any trouble with the black community. As a result, he was lax in
discipline and had kept a hands-off approach with all black employees until his outburst.
He said he couldn't stand it anymore, and the 14-mintue telephone call caused him to lose
his temper.
1. Introduction
Template of the Case Study
Identify the key problems and issues in the case study.
Formulate and include a thesis statement, summarizing the outcome of your
analysis in 1-2 sentences.