CASE STUDY 1 Great American market

CASE STUDY 1 Great American market 1IntroductionOrganization Great American MarketEmployee JoanSupervisor SylviaJoan was warned by her supervisor verbally as well as in written for her excessive absenteeism.After the written warning was issued, Joan called work to say that she cant come to the office because she has to stay at her home for taking care of her young child as the babysitter has called in sick.Sylvia informed her that if she didnt report to the work immediately then she could be suspended.Joan didnt return to the work and hence, Sylvia suspended her for fifteen days.Joan protested to this decision by saying that she had no other choice but to stay home for taking care of her child in the absence of babysitter.Sylvia said that the lack of a babysitter was not a justifiable excuse for being absent. Sylvia also pointed out that neither Joan made a good faith effort to find a new babysitter nor she tried to swap her working shift with other a co-worker.Identification of key problemsFor employer, there would be a loss in the productivity as the employee is not responding to the warning letters and not coming to the office.For Joan, she has no alternative as her babysitter is sick and couldnt come to work.There is a communication gap between the Joan and her supervisor, Sylvia.

ALTERNATIVE COURSE OF ACTION OR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONSFor employerAlthough the steps taken by Sylvia has taken steps to the best of her capacity because she offered both verbal and written warnings before issuing a suspension letter to Joan, but on humanitarian grounds when she got to know about Joans problem she would have assigned Joans work to someone else so that the organizations productivity does not suffer.

Moreover after knowing the problem, employer would have taken the following steps:Introducing flextime for working mothersAllowing work-from-home option if the work permitsHaving a day-care center within premises if adequate number of working mothers require so.Having a contract with day-care center out of the premises.For JoanThe various alternatives for Joan were:

Informing the employer well in time so that they find a solution to the problem.

Handing over her responsibility to any responsible co-worker before going for leave.

Otherwise she would have arranged for a:a) another babysitter who would be available when the first babysitter is not presentb) Sending the baby to day care centerc) Parents should plan to work in different shiftsPros of work from homeIf she was allowed to work from home, then she would have been more pacified about her baby that she is there whenever her baby needs her.

She would have been more focused towards work as well as her domestic chores. As a result, she would have been more productive.

Cons of work from homeDifficulty in separating home from work/ distractions.Possible deterioration in employees' skills and work quality.Alienated from daily company developments.Risk of communication problems.Can be harder to maintain team spirit.

Allow employers to increase coverage beyond traditional work hours.

Colleagues working outside the core hours can find a quieter work environment means they can be more productive (e.g. no trivial interruptions) or provide wider customer service (e.g. direct marketing or contact centres).

Working parents find flextime allows for more involvement with their children and the ability to juggle an active family life without sacrificing income or productivity at work.

Pros of flextimeCons of flextimeLack of supervision of employees who work nontraditional hours.Difficulty in scheduling trainings and meetings.Some employees will deliberately 'bank' flextime and need to take time in lieu - usually a full/half day which can be difficult to cover/plan for.Team work gets compromised.Pros of Day Care Center

Increased ProductivityIncreased RetentionDecrease in stress levels of working parents.

Cons of Day Care Center

Increased CostsSecurity Issues

Pros of giving her work to a co-workerShe would have been able to perform her part both as a mother as well as a committed employee.Co-worker may have high productivity than Joan.

Cons of giving her work to a co-workerThat co-worker may not have worked whole heartedly as Joan would do.As a result, output of the Company would have suffered.Pros of another baby sitter (back up)Joan would have been able to attend to her work without getting bothered for her baby.

Cons of another baby sitter (back up)The search for another baby sitter as well as all the formalities needed to be done to recruit her could have made this whole situation more tedious.Pros of parents working in alternate shiftsBeneficial for working mothers.Reduced stress levels, as a result, more focused.

But this may not be possible in those scenarios, where their jobs require a peculiar working time (especially in those cases when their job positions and responsibilities are same).

Instead of firing Joan, Sylvia could have prevented this situation from happening. She could have consulted her management team for introducing a system of Day Care Center because,

It would not only help Joan but also other working mothers in the organisation to concentrate on their work.It will ultimately increase the productivity of the company.It will also help attract new talent, more specifically, working mothers.BEST ALTERNATIVEWas the suspension fair?No , Sylvia could have consulted the disciplinary committee first and she could have adopted the measures such as Leave without payDemotion / Pay Scale Reduction.QuestionsDid Joan act responsibly?As an employee NOIn spite of receiving verbal and written warnings numerous times, Joan just did not put in efforts to make a backup plan for her baby's care. She didnt look for the consequences of her lack of focus on work. Should she be fired?No, she should be given another opportunity after completion of her 15-day suspension period and sort out other options first .Also in the mean time , management should also look for other measure to prevent this situation to happen again.Should the babysitter be fired?No Was Sylvia fair in her actions?No Is there ever a solution for working mothers?Backup BabysitterDaycareWork from home.Flextime.Sharing responsibility with spouse.Should working fathers take turns staying home?YesShould Great American Market provide daycare?YesThank You