How Should Mrs. Khan Handle Renu's Declining Job Performance and Possible Alcohol Issue?

Please read the case and answer the questions given at the end.

Ms. Renu had graduated with a degree in foreign languages. As the child of a military family, she had visited many parts of the world and had traveled extensively in Europe. Despite these broadening experiences, she had never given much thought to a career until her recent divorce. Needing to provide her own income, Ms. Renu began to look for work. After a fairly intense but unsuccessful search for a job related to her foreign language degree, she began to evaluate her other skills. She had become a proficient typist in college and decided to look into secretarial work. Although she still wanted a career utilizing her foreign language skills, she felt that the immediate financial pressures would be eased in a temporary secretarial position.

Within a short period of time, she was hired as a clerk/typist in a typical pool at Life Insurance Company. Six months later, she became the top typist in the pool and was assigned as secretary to Mrs. Khan, the manager of marketing research. She was pleased to get out of the pool and to get a job that had more variety in the tasks to perform. Besides, she also got a nice raise in pay.

Everything seemed to proceed well for the next nine months. Mrs. Khan was pleased with Renu's work, and she seemed happy with her work. Renu applied for a few other more professional jobs in other areas during this time. However, each time her application was rejected for lack of related education and/or experience in the area.

Over the next few months, Khan noticed changes in Renu. She did not always dress as neatly as she had in the past, she was occasionally late for work, some of her lunches extended to two hours, and most of her productive work was done in the morning hours. Khan did not wish to say anything because Renu had been doing an excellent job and her job tasks still were being accomplished on time. However, Renu's job behavior continued to worsen. She began to be absent frequently on Mondays or Fridays. The two-hour lunch periods became standard, and her work performance began to deteriorate. In addition, Khan began to suspect that Renu was drinking heavily, due to her appearance some mornings and behavior after two-hour lunches.

Khan decided that she must confront Renu with the problem. However, she wanted to find a way to help her without losing a valuable employee. Before she could set up a meeting, Renu burst through her door after lunch one day and said:

"I want to talk to you Mrs. Khan." "That's fine," Khan replied. "Shall we set a convenient time?" "No! I want to talk now." "OK, why don't you sit down and let's talk?" Khan noticed that Renu was slurring her words slightly and she was not too steady. "Mrs. Khan, I need some vacation time." "I'm sure we can work that out. You've been with the company for over a year and have two weeks' vacation coming." "No, you don't understand. I want to start it tomorrow." "But, Renu, we need to plan to get a temporary replacement. We can't just let your job go for two weeks." "Why not? Anyway, anyone with an IQ above 50 can do my job. Besides, I need the time off." "Renu, are you sure you are all right?" "Yes, I just need some time away from the job."

Khan decided to let Renu have the vacation, which would allow her some time to decide what to do about the situation.

Khan thought about the situation the next couple of days. It was possible that Renu was an alcoholic. However, she also seemed to have a negative reaction to her job. Maybe Renu was bored with her job. She did not have the experience or job skills to move to a different type of job at present. Khan decided to meet with the Personnel Manager and get some help developing her options to deal with Renu's problem.

Questions:

(a) What is the problem in your opinion? Elaborate.

(b) How would you explain the behavior of Renu and Mrs. Khan? Did Mrs. Khan handle the situation timely and properly?

(c) Assume that you are the Personnel Manager. What are the alternatives available with Mrs. Khan? What do you consider the best alternative? Why?

What is the Problem in Your Opinion?

When Ms. Renu's application was rejected, although her expectations about her dream job were high, due to self-demotivation, she lost interest in her current job. Moreover, she was not feeling comfortable with her current job.

How Would You Explain the Behavior of Renu and Mrs. Khan?

Both were having an excellent relationship at the workplace. Mrs. Khan had understood Ms. Renu's situation, which she noticed over a period of time.

Did Mrs. Khan Handle the Situation Timely and Properly?

To my knowledge and interpretation skills, Mrs. Khan tried to do her best for Ms. Renu. Mrs. Khan is a good observer.

Assume That You Are the Personnel Manager. What Are the Alternatives Available with Mrs. Khan?

I don't want to assume, but I would love to help Ms. Renu "to unleash her hidden talent" that could benefit the organization and support her career graph progressing within the stipulated period of time and proportional to her performance.

Due to a boring job, I don't want an employee to feel stagnant at the workplace. I prefer to help those employees who are passionate about demonstrating their skills and want to grow aggressively.

With profound regards,

Looking at the situation from a different angle and not focusing on the question of what could be the problem, let's start with exploring the options available within the organization for this valuable employee.

We have various departments in the company with different requirements. Why don't we consider shifting the person to another department with a different set of responsibilities? You can go through the complete selection process for her, starting with a formal round of interviews.

Secondly, for the company to be on the safe side, you can begin by looking for a trainee to replace her position. This can be temporary for the time being. If the person is shifted to another department, then you can make the trainee position permanent.

For the employee, once her department and work profile are changed, she may find the job more interesting. Any work-related issues can be addressed and sorted out. Additionally, she can be offered counseling sessions either in the office or formally with a professional recommended by the company. The goal is to address and resolve any personal issues that may be affecting her performance.

I hope this is helpful.

Thank you, Mr. Abdul Khadeer and Ayushib, for your useful and thoughtful comments. I have a lot of case studies that I am trying to solve, and once I do, I really don't know whether my opinion is the right one, as the book does not provide the answers. However, suggestions from experts like you give me a new direction and the required energy to proceed further.

If you are interested, I will send a few more case studies for your evaluation.

Regards

In my opinion, Renu has a lot of potential and caliber to take on multiple challenging tasks. The main reason for this is that she has never been interested in her current job from the beginning. She was compelled to take this path, but interests play a significant role. Regardless of the job you do, you need to approach it wholeheartedly with passion, zeal, and love for your career. This element seems to be missing in Renu's case. She has not properly decided on or designed her career path because her qualifications do not align with the job requirements she aims to fulfill.

Assuming the Role of Personnel Manager

If I were a personnel manager, I would love to analyze the situation properly. Renu has good potential in learning new things, but her qualifications are not allowing her to grow. As she is an asset to the organization, I would go to her personally, listen to her, take her opinions and thoughts, and advise her to come back to the office. I would also give her an example to make her realize the importance of the job she is carrying, the future scope, and the advantages she can gain from being part of this company. I would explain to her how she can brighten her career by staying with this organization, the other tasks, ladders, and opportunities she is likely to encounter within the next 5 years.

Thanks & Regards,
Kalpana