Case Study: From Alcoholic to Workaholic

Abstract

The least liked part of their job for supervisors, managers and executives are dealing with employee performance issues. This includes performance appraisals, monitoring, discipline, and termination. Because of the dislike for this part of their job, many managers ignore problems and issues with employees until they become so severe. Some managers never deal with the problems. They push off the to someone else or they themselves leave for a different job. So, what do supervisors, managers, and executives do when faced with problem employees? There are six solutions offered to solve the problem. (1) Deal with employee problems promptly. (2) Get help from others. (3) Learn how to do progressive discipline. (4) Set a good example and teach others what you expect. (5) Stay up-to-date on laws, union regulations, and personnel policies. (6) When faced with a difficult situation, feel the fear and press forward anyway. While discipline and termination are not pleasant tasks, there are many options for dealing with them early that can turn the situation into a win/win for both the manager and the employee. There are many other reasons why organizations should improve key decisions. More positively, there are new insights, technologies, and methods that can guide decisions. Scientific advances in neuroscience and behavioral economics provide new insights for decision-making. Relatively, new technologies, including analytics, decision automation tools, and business intelligence systems, make it possible to make better use of information in decisions. 'Wisdom of crowds' approaches and technologies allow larger groups of people to participate meaningfully in decision processes. Organizations cannot afford to ignore these new options if they wish to make the best possible decisions. In this case, the writer wishes to implement alternative solutions which state: get help from others, and set a good example and teach others what you expect. These are considered the highest value option and therefore will provide the most optimal result which is a win-win solution. This case study is related to a problematic employee dealt with the management who later became an asset to the organization.