1. Comment on the handling of this case by the supervisor, production manager, and director of human resources.
2. How much concern should organizations show employees before taking disciplinary action for personal family problems? Explain.
3. To what extent were consistent discipline and due process applied prior to the discharge?
4. If Kinder's discharge went to arbitration, how would you decide the case? Why? What arguments would labor and management present to support their respective positions?
The meeting lasted only 10 minutes, since all those present quickly agreed that Tom Kinder should be fired. According to management, Kinder had caused the company numerous problems over the last 18 months, and the incident that Saturday had been "the straw that broke the camel's back." Plant managers believed they had rid themselves of a poor employee, one the company had offered many opportunities for improvement. It seemed like an airtight case and one the union could not win if taken to arbitration. Tom Kinder had worked for the Aero Engine Company for 14 years prior to being terminated. He was initially employed as an engine mechanic servicing heavy-duty diesel engines. For his first nine years with Aero Engine, he was considered a model employee by his supervisors and plant management.
Kinder was also well liked by his fellow employees. His performance appraisals were always marked "exceptional," and his personnel folder contained many commendation letters from customers and supervisors alike. Supervisor Chen Lee described Kinder as "devoted to his job of building and repairing engines."
Through company-sponsored training classes and courses taken at a local trade school, Kinder had acquired the knowledge and experience to build and repair specialty engines used in arctic oil exploration. The Aero Engine Company, with headquarters in the Midwest, was engaged primarily in the production and maintenance of specialty engines used in drilling, heavy manufacturing, and diesel transportation. The company had experienced very rapid growth in sales volume, number of products produced, and the size of its workforce since 2012. (At the time of Kinder's termination, the company employed about 1,700 employees.) Aero Engine avoided hiring new personnel and then laying them off when they were no longer needed. Company policy stated that layoffs were to be avoided except in extreme circumstances. When heavy workloads arose, the natural solution to the problem was to schedule large amounts of overtime and to hire temporary employees through one of the local temporary help services. Kinder's work problems had begun approximately five years prior to his discharge when he went through a very emotional and difficult divorce.
He was a devoted family man, and the divorce was a shock to his values and his way of life. The loss of custody of his children was particularly devastating to his mental well-being. He became sullen, withdrawn, and argumentative with his supervisors. Several of his close friends said they thought he was depressed. Aero Engine has a comprehensive employee assistance program (EAP) for employees experiencing personal and family problems. Kinder's supervisor, Gordon Thompson, had recommended the services of the EAP to him, but it was unknown if he had used counseling since the EAP program is voluntary and confidential. Management professes that it took a very proactive and humanistic approach toward Kinder, an employee the company valued and respected. However, regardless of the company's concern for Kinder, his work performance had become problematic.