Case Study 150 words Public Health

Case Study The Independent Employee Page 1 of 3

Employee Profiles

Bob Trent, the “Independent Employee”

Bob Trent began his employment at Valley West Medical Center nine years ago. Dependable and friendly, he has had the reputation of going out of his way to try to please the staff. Bob is also a strong “union man”. Two days ago, Bob had a run-in with the Assistant Administrator, who had just been hired. Bill Barrow, the new Assistant Administrator, had requested that Bob stop by and adjust his office chair. Bob tried to explain that he was an electrician, not the person who handled routine maintenance and repair of office furniture at the Center. Barrow was rude to him, insisting that since he was the second-in-command to the CEO, and since Bob was “expendable”, Bob had better “hurry up and get this done”. Bob dropped what he was doing and immediately went to Barrow’s office. After a few simple adjustments, Bob fixed the problem and excused himself. The two had not been friendly since. Bob chose not to file a grievance with his union because he felt Barrow was new and inexperienced.

Assistant Administrator Bill Barrow, the new “second in command” to CEO Larry Wingard at VWMC. Bill Barrow was recently hired away from the Akron Central Hospital System (ACHS) in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Just prior to his departure, ACHS was acquired by The Northern Ohio Medical Group. Bill found out that his job was going to be eliminated as part of the planned downsizing of ACHS after acquisition: in moving to a new job, he had dodged losing his job at ACHS. The problem, from Bill’s point of view, is that if he (Bill) doesn’t like his new job at Valley West, he doesn’t have a job to go back to. While at ACHS, Bill gained the reputation of being a stickler for detail, a trait that impressed his boss at ACHS but annoyed the people who worked for him. He was usually a good boss but could be inflexible and petty over relatively small things.

The Independent Employee, continued… Page 2 of 3

Jim Wood is a recent hire at Valley West: he has been there for six months. During that period of time, he has established himself as a competent maintenance supervisor. His only problem is with Assistant Administrator Barrow, who seems to go out of his way to embarrass Wood and his staff in weekly staff meetings. Barrow was constantly complaining about Bob Trent, in particular. (Jim Wood is Bob Trent’s supervisor). The CEO, Larry Wingard, had routinely dismissed Barrow’s comments, and had tried to smooth over difficulties between the administrators (Barrow and Wood). When Jim Wood met Bob Trent for the first time, he liked him very much. Coincidentally, they both went to the same church, and their kids played in after-school sports together. But recently he has felt as though he spends most of his time trying to get Bob to learn to prioritize his work. The current problem was a case in point.

Jim Wood, the frustrated Maintenance Supervisor

The Challenge: Delegation/Empowerment: Leadership, Motivation, Supervisory Authority

On Monday of this week Wood realized that the laboratory air-conditioning unit was due for its semi-annual servicing and inspection, a task that either Bob Trent or the one other mechanic usually accom-plished. Wood further realized that if this job was not done by noon on Wednesday, it was not likely to get done for some time. Other problems also erupted: new equipment was scheduled to arrive on Thursday that had to be installed right away in the Imaging Department, and Trent’s fellow mechanic would be gone on vacation the following week.

Wood customarily tried to assign Trent two or three days’ work at a time, as once he was underway Trent could usually be found (or not found, as was often the case) just about any place in the building tackling his assigned tasks—and often a number of unassigned tasks—in seemingly random order.

Wood gave Trent the file on the Laboratory air-conditioner and said, “You don’t necessarily have to do this first, but I’d like you to take care of it today or tomorrow. In any case, it has to be finished by noon Wednesday.”

Trent simply shrugged his shoulders and took the file. Wood did not see him again until the Thursday morning coffee break. The Laboratory air conditioner had not crossed Wood’s mind until the sight of Trent reminded him of it. He approached Trent and asked, “Any trouble with the Lab air-conditioner?”

“Haven’t done it yet,” said Trent.

“Why not? I specifically told you it had to be finished by noon Wednesday.”

“I almost got started on it,” said Trent, “but the new Assistant Administrator collared me and told me he wanted the fan coil unit in his office fixed right away. I had to tear the whole thing down to do it, but I figured that was more important than the air-conditioner in the Lab.”

The Independent Employee, continued… Page 3 of 3

Wood felt a sense of frustration. He said, “Bob, this is the fourth time at least that I can think of when

I told you specifically to do something and you went and decided something else was more important.

Just what do you think I mean when I delegate something to you, anyway?”

Trent shrugged again and said, somewhat defensively, “I don’t know, Mr. Wood, but I figure when I see something that’s more important than what I’m doing at the moment I’d better take care of it. Anyway, if the Lab air-conditioning was so all-fired important, how come you didn’t say anything about it until now?” “Why wasn’t it a top priority with you?”

The Resolution of the Problem?

1. Analyze the foregoing occurrence of incomplete delegation, criticizing the conduct of both employee and supervisor, as necessary. Should Jim have been aware of how Bob felt about the Assistant Administrator? Could Jim use this problem as a “teaching moment” to help Bob

prioritize his daily work? From a professional viewpoint, does it matter how Bob, Bill and Jim

feel about each other? (50 words)

2. Spell out those steps (at least 3) you believe Jim Wood should take in the future to assure that

Bob Trent follows through on the tasks Wood assigns in a timely manner, so that Trent doesn’t

get sidetracked by other requests. (50 words)

3. Is there anything inappropriate from an administrative point of view, concerning the actions taken by CEO Wingard or Bill? (50 words)