THE APATHETIC PLANT MANAGER Plant manager Paulo Dorn wondered why his boss, Leon
ID: 374392 • Letter: T
Question
THE APATHETIC PLANT MANAGER Plant manager Paulo Dorn wondered why his boss, Leona Hech, had sent for him. He thought Leona had been tough on him lately, and he was slightly concerned at being asked to come to Leona's office at a time when such a meeting was unusual "Close the door and sit down, Paulo," invited Leona. "I've been wanting to talk to you." After preliminary conversation, Leona said that because Paulo's latest project had been finished, he would receive the raise he had been promised on its completion Leona went on to say that it was time for Paulo's performance appraisal and they might as well do that now. Leona explained that the performance appraisal was based on four criteria: (1) amount of high- quality merchandise manufactured and shipped on time. (2) quality of relationships with plant employees and peers, (3) progress in maintaining employee safety and health, and (4) reaction to demands of top management. The first criterion had a weight of 40 percent, and the rest had a weight of20 percent each On the first item, Paulo received an excellent rating. Shipments were at an all-time high, quality was good, and few shipments had arrived late. On the second item, Paulo was also rated excellent. Leona said plant employees and peers related well to Paulo, labour relations were excellent, and there had been no major grievances since Paulo had become plant manager However, on attention to matters of "employee safety and health", the evaluation was below average Leona stated that no matter how much she encouraged Paulo about improving procedures in the plant, Paulo never seemed to produce results. She also rated Paulo below average on meeting demands from top management. She explained that Paulo always answered "Yes" to any request and then disregarded it, going about his business as if nothing had happened Paulo appeared surprised at the comments and agreed that perhaps Leona was right and that he should do a better job in these areas. Smiling as he left, he thanked Leona for the openness of the appraisal discussion. As weeks went by, Leona noticed little change in Paulo. She reviewed the situation with a colleague "It's frustrating. In this time of rapid growth, we must make constant changes in work methods. Paulo agrees but can't seem to make people break their habits and adopt more efficient ones. I find myself pushing him very hard these days, but he just calmly takes it. He's well liked by everyone. But somehow he's got to care about safety and plant processes and procedures. When higher management makes demands he can't meet, he typically accepts the demand but might say, '1 cant do that and complete all the other essential tasks required.' Now he has several unfinished jobs because he refuses to say no to management demands." As she talked, Leona remembered something Paulo had told her in confidence once. "l take medication for a physical condition I have. When I don't take it, get symptoms similar to a heart attack. But only take half as much as the doctor prescribed." Now, Leona thought, I'm really in a difficult situation. If the medication is what is making Paolo so apathetic, I can't endanger his health by asking him to stop taking it and I certainly can't fire him. Yet, as things stand, he really can't implement all the changes necessary to fulfill the goals we have set for the next two years. Questions: 1. Explain what you would have done differently during the performance appraisal session. Use this incident and any research to justify why you would have acted in this way? 2. Leona seems to have a dilemma in the last two paragraphs. Discuss what you would do if you were in her place and the possible consequences of your actions? In your teams, write a 2-3 page report and be prepared to discuss the incident in the next class The report should analyse the incident and respond to the questions. If your team has been selected prepare a 10-15min presentation of your response to the questions.Explanation / Answer
Summary:
Paulo, a plant manager, was called to see his boss, Leona at her office. This meeting was unusual and had Paulo worried. After Paulo, arrived at the meeting , he was informed it was about his performance appraisal. The performance appraisal was based on four factors. Paulo did exceptionally well on the first two factors, but was found lacking on last two. The factors on which Paulo was found lacking was, in implementing safety processes at the plant and adhering to the decisions of the top management. Paulo, agreed to make changes and praised the openness in discussion. But weeks passed and nothing changed on ground. It was frustrating for Paulo's boss. Paulo was unable to implement demands of higher management. Leona, remembers that Paulo has a medical condition. He is on medication, which might be making him apathetic. So, she is in a dilemma as to how to deal with Paulo.
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