PMEpisodeII.docWhen Life Interferes with Work . . .
Liz, one of the Genesol Safety Officers, has a problem that’s very common today: balancing work and family obligations. Her coworkers try to understand, but they still rely on Liz to get her work done.
Four months ago, she separated from her husband and is now solely responsible for taking care of her two small children. She asked permission to leave early on days when her babysitter cannot pick up the children from pre-school. You granted her request on the condition that she complete those hours from home and as long as leaving early did not affect her work.
One month ago she came to you again to let you know that she is caring for her elderly father who has Alzheimer’s. She assured you that her work would not be affected and asked for your patience until she could find someone to care for her father on a permanent basis. Liz has been a loyal employee of Genesol for five years. Her work, until four months ago, was always exceptional.
The two Genesol Safety Officers (and SMEs) are scheduled to present a workshop on Terrorism and workplace violence in one week. You have asked to see their final outline by noon today. You must approve the outline of each presentation at least three days before the training. While you still have a few days, two days ago you formally requested the outline by noon today through e-mail to both safety officers. As terrorism is a sensitive topic, the president of Genesol has asked you to forward her the outline to share with her board of directors at their meeting tomorrow.
You are in the storage room looking for some files. The storage room is attached to Liz’s office and you can easily hear any conversations that take place near Liz’s desk. While you are looking through the file cabinet, you overhear the following conversations:
Conversation One: The two Genesol Safety Officers, Bill and Liz are talking at Liz’s desk.
Conversation Two: Liz and the Admin Assistant, Julie, are talking at Julie’s desk.
It is now 12:00 and the outlines are due to you. You receive e-mail from Bill.
You leave your office to get some lunch. Walking by Julie’s desk, you notice that she is visually upset. You ask her if she would like to go out for lunch. She replies that she is not having lunch today. As you walk away, you hear her grumble:
As you pass Bill’s office, you notice that he too is noticeably irritated. He is on the phone with his wife. You hear him say . . .
TASK ONE:
As the Project Manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that your team works well together. You see that Liz’s problems are affecting the rest of the team and decide you must take some sort of action. Read through the following options and chose the one you think is most likely to help the team.
Options:
A. You meet with Liz and suggest that she take a leave of absence to take care of her personal issues. You assure her that her job will be reserved for her as long as she returns to work within four weeks. Choose
B. You meet with Julie and Bill separately. You explain in general terms that Liz is going through a difficult time and ask that they continue to support her however possible. You praise them for being loyal team members and suggest that Liz would do the same for them should they need her support. Choose
C. You meet with Liz to explore the possibility of a formal flextime schedule. You discuss in detail ways to help Liz complete her work and balance her home and professional roles. Choose
D. You meet with Julie and Liz. You ask Bill to respect and meet his commitments to Liz, and Liz to be very clear about her time constraints. Choose
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The two Genesol Safety Officers, Bill and Liz, are talking at Liz’s desk. |
BILL: Liz, I need your part of our next presentation now.
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LIZ: It's not done yet. BILL: But they've pushed the training up to tomorrow and (the PM) wants to run through it one more time. LIZ: Bill, I can't possibly finish this before tomorrow. No one told me they changed the schedule.
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BILL: Anyway, you knew we needed it today for PM’s review. Why didn't you finish it yesterday? LIZ: I couldn't stay late. And I thought I'd have time to finish it up early this morning. |
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BILL: Liz, I've to tell you. People are starting to lose patience with your schedule lately. I know things are tough for you at home with your Dad and kids and all, but the bottom line is, we need the presentation now. I noticed you had time to stop in at the office happy hour yesterday afternoon. |
LIZ: Bill, I'm doing the best I can. My work is done on time, and I've never failed you or PM or anybody else in this group, no matter how the schedules change. Yes, I did stop in at the happy hour - for about forty-five minutes. Can’t I ever get a break? BILL: Fine. Whatever. I'll tell PM that you'll be done by noon. But it better not be any later. BILL SHRUGS and walks away. LIZ NOTICES Julie, the Admin assistant, PASSING THROUGH AND CALLS TO Her. |
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LIZ: Hey Julie, have you finished typing up the curriculum I gave you this morning?
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JULIE: I should get to it later this afternoon, maybe around three. |
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LIZ: But yesterday you said you would do it this morning. It’s got to be approved today and I'm leaving early this afternoon.
JULIE: Sorry Liz, you just gave me the notes a half an hour ago and I've got more important stuff to do.
LIZ: Well listen, it shouldn’t take you very long, it’s only a few pages. Can you just type it up now? |
JULIE: Look, Liz, I don’t understand why your schedule problems end up putting pressure on my workload. |
Task One Result:
(A) Liz decides that some temporary relief from her work pressures might give her a chance to make arrangements for some extra help at home. She agrees to take a four-week leave of absence.
Go to Task 2
TASK 2
With Liz gone, you now have an opening you need to fill. News of the temporary opening spreads around the office and several people are interested. You must choose someone to temporarily replace Liz. You interview each of the following employees. Below is a summary of your discussion with them. Be sure to check the budget and the effort reports before making your decision. Once you choose which employee will replace Liz, click on the picture of the employee you choose to see the result of your decision.
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Julie Admin Assistant |
Kelly Temp worker |
Jack Teacher |
CraigEmergency Plan Developer
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Julie has been interested in teaching for a long time. She would like to give some of her current responsibilities to another admin assistant in order to free up 20% of her time to work on the project. She has no formal teaching experience but knows a lot about the subject matter and has been with the company for 10 years. |
Kelly is currently temping in similar position for a different department. She would like to get some extra hours. She has only been with the company for 3 weeks. |
Jack is a teacher who works for another company. He has done numerous trainings. He is well respected for his work. His salary demands would mean cutting back on another part of the budget. |
Craig is the SME with the most knowledge. However, he has a reputation for speaking over the heads of everyone else. He is most likely the most expert on the topic. He is willing to hone up his teaching skills for this project. |
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Genesol Corporation |
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Emergency Plan and Training Project Budget |
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April 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 |
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PERSONNEL |
Pay Type |
Effort |
Salary |
Fringe % |
Fringe $ |
Soft Cost |
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1. Project Managers |
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Bell |
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Annual |
25% |
12,188 |
33% |
4,022 |
16,209 |
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Mannion |
Annual |
25% |
12,188 |
33% |
4,022 |
16,209 |
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Stephenson |
Annual |
25% |
13,125 |
33% |
4,331 |
17,456 |
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2. Safety Officer |
Annual |
20% |
9,000 |
33% |
2,970 |
11,970 |
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Safety Officer & Assistant Safety Officer's Breakdown of Effort |
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(Effort for each assumed to be identical) |
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TASK |
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Fire Safety |
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Natural Disaster |
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Violence/Terror |
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Bio-haz/Chem Safety |
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CPR |
Task Total |
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Provide SME to the ID |
4 |
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4 |
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4 |
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8 |
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0 |
20 |
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Review Training Prototype |
5 |
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5 |
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5 |
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6 |
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2 |
23 |
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Prepare to Deliver Training |
6 |
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6 |
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6 |
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6 |
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0 |
24 |
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Deliver Training Sessions |
54 |
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54 |
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54 |
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54 |
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0 |
216 |
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Sub-Total of Hours: |
69 |
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69 |
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69 |
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74 |
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2 |
283 |
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Hours of effort |
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Total work hours |
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% of Effort |
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283 |
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1440 |
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20% |
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Result of choosing Julie:
Julie was appreciative for getting the opportunity to try something new. However, as she had no teaching experience, she needed additional time to prepare for the workshop. She ended up spending 50% of her time on this project and her other duties suffered. Furthermore, the other administrative assistant who took Julie’s responsibilities quit just two weeks after the switch. In her resignation letter she said that she was frustrated with the agency for not compensating her for the extra work she was given.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Kelly:
Kelly completed the workshops without a problem. As she was already doing similar work, she had no trouble adjusting. However, unexpected things happened as a result of hiring Kelly for the project. Kelly had only been with the project for a few weeks. Julie, who had been with the company for years, was very upset that she was passed up for a newcomer. Since the hiring of Kelly, Julie’s behavior has changed. She frequently calls in sick and puts less effort into completing her tasks.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Jack:
Jack is a well-respected teacher and his workshops were a great success. However, hiring Jack at a higher salary affected the project’s budget. The budget will have to be adjusted and the temporary admin position may need to be cut.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Craig
While Craig promised to hone his teaching skills, he didn’t make much progress. He was unable to teach the information he knows so well. His workshop was a failure and led to frustration amongst the staff and project managers.
(END OF TASK)
Task One Result:
(B) Julie and Bill agree to help Liz out as much as they can. They thank you for complimenting their work. They leave feeling inspired but soon their mood changes.
TASK 2
Word gets out that you asked Julie and Bill to help Liz’s work. Others on the team begin to feel resentful. They too have extra work and no one has offered to help them. Soon Julie and Bill become overwhelmed with their workloads. Liz feels terrible that her personal problems are taking a toll on her team. They each ask to meet with you to offer you a suggestion. You can only choose one suggestion. Whose advice do you follow? Once you choose, click on the picture of the person whose advice you take to see the results of your decision.
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Julie Admin Assistant |
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Bill Safety Officer |
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Liz Safety Officer |
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Julie is willing to take over Liz’s position. She has been interested in teaching for a long time. She would like to give some of her current responsibilities to another admin assistant in order to free up 20% of her time to work on the project. |
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Bill would like to hire, Craig the SME, to fulfill part of Liz’s obligations. He is an expert on the subject matter but not an effective teacher. |
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Liz feels it is in everyone’s best interest if she takes a leave of absence in order to get her personal life in order. |
Result of choosing Julie:
Julie was appreciative for getting the opportunity to try something new. However, as she had no teaching experience, she needed additional time to prepare for the workshop. She ended up spending 50% of her time on this project and her other duties suffered. Furthermore, the other administrative assistant who took Julie’s responsibilities quit just two weeks after the switch. In her resignation letter she said that she was frustrated with the agency for not compensating her for the extra work she was given.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Bill:
Liz is furious that Bill’s driving convenience is placed ahead of her personal needs. She turns in her letter of resignation. You must now hire her replacement or convince her to stay.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Liz:
Liz decides that some temporary relief from her work pressures might give her a chance to make arrangements for some extra help at home. She agrees to take a four-week leave of absence. You must hire someone to replace her.
Task One Result:
(C) You work out a flextime schedule with Liz. Due to her personal needs, she requests to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Normal working hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). While this would help Liz to complete her work and take care of her family, it would also lead to additional logistical problems for you to solve.
TASK 2
Liz’s requested flextime schedule does not match well with Bill’s schedule and the needs of the SMEs. Craig, the subject matter expert, can only meet after 3:30 in the afternoon due to his schedule. Further, the workshops are scheduled for 2 to 4. Further compounding the issue, Bill would now like to take advantage of flextime as well. While he has no pressing reason to need flextime, he feels that if Liz is offered flextime, he too should be offered flextime. Bill lives far from the office. Traffic in the morning is unbearable and he must leave home at 7 a.m. to make it to work by 9. He would like to come in at 10 and leave at 6 in order to avoid the traffic jams. If you grant both requests, scheduling will become a nightmare. You have three choices. Choose the solution you feel is best and then click the picture to see the results.
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Liz is granted her request |
Bill is granted his request |
Neither request is granted |
Result of choosing Liz:
As a result of Liz’s new schedule the rest of the staff must take on additional work. Much of the work falls on Bill. In order to keep Bill happy, you increase his salary by 10%. You must now cut something out of the budget in order to make up for the difference.
(END OF TASK)
Result of choosing Bill:
Liz is furious that Bill’s driving convenience is placed ahead of her personal needs. She turns in her letter of resignation. You must now hire her replacement or convince her to stay.
(END OF TASK)
Result of not granting either request:
Liz’s performance problems continue. As she is unable to leave work early, she often must call in sick or finds another excuse to get out of the office. Bill continues to resent the extra work he is given as a result of Liz’s performance problems.
(END OF TASK)
Task One Result:
(D) You talk to Liz and Bill about working together more efficiently. The talk does not go very well. Both leave frustrated.
Go to Task 2
TASK 2
Liz and Bill ask to meet with you individually. They have different ideas on how to solve the problem. Read their suggestions below and then decide if you would take their advice. After you choose, click on the picture to find out the results of your decision.
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Liz requests flextime. She claims if she could work from 9 to 5 she would be able to complete her tasks without a problem. |
Bill agrees to help out Liz under one condition: that he be allowed to start work at 10 in order to avoid the traffic jams he normally faces in the morning. You have already denied a request for flextime by Liz. |
You decided not to grant either request. |
“I guess I won’t get a break until some one gets her life in order and stops loading her work on me!”�
�
“Sorry I won’t be able to meet you for lunch today, honey. I have to stay and complete someone else’s work. I know, I know, I’m sorry. Tell your dad I’m very sorry and I promise to be available the next time he’s in town.”�
�
