Gwen Fine is the HRM manager at Johnson Stores plc, a large department store located in SE England. One Monday morning in January, Norman Smith, a trainee manager in the hardware and electrical goods department, walked into Gwen's office, sat down and broke the news that he was terminally ill. But that was not all he said. He rambled on about a friend who had died of AIDS. Both of them knew what he was trying to say, but neither knew how to express it. Finally, Norman stopped and asked: 'You know what it is, don't you?' 'Yes, I do,' replied Gwen. 'It's a terrible thing in our society.' Norman went on to tell her that he could expect to live two more years, at best. Later that morning, Gwen reflected on the meeting with Norman and felt ashamed of her insensitive comment. She confided in a close co-worker her feelings. 'What a stupid, impersonal thing to say,' she chided herself. 'The man is dying.'

Norman was on sick leave for six weeks following the meeting in early January with Gwen Fine; a doctor's note described his illness as shingles. The staff in Norman's department were an understanding group and carried the extra work. In February, Norman phoned Gwen Fine with good news. He was feeling better and the store could expect to see him back at work the following Monday.

When Norman walked into the store his co-workers were overwhelmed by the stark change in his appearance. 'My God, he looks terrible,' Gwen thought when she met him later in the day. At 43, Norman was a handsome man. Yet he had lost 30 pounds since Gwen had last seen him. Dark rings circled his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken. His tall frame seemed unsteady as he leaned on a walking stick he was now carrying. The illness had also caused unsightly skin eruptions and irritation on his legs.

Norman was confident, until returning to work, that he could keep his condition private. He had offered himself as a 'guinea pig' to a group of specialist doctors searching for an AIDS cure at the regional hospital. The treatment demanded Norman leave the store once a week. 'Why are you always going to the hospital?' his co-workers began asking. Rumours began to circulate in the store about Norman's illness, focusing on his sexuality and the possibility he had AIDS. Co-workers began behaving differently to him. Staff in his department avoided Norman and attempted to ostracize him. Employees in the store also refused to use the water fountain, cups in the canteen, or the toilet. As another department manager stated, 'The linking of Norman's illness to AIDS triggered irrational things in people and Johnson's entire employees simply panicked. People are totally misinformed about AIDS.'

The reaction from Norman's co-workers began to affect morale and cause disruption. In April, three long-serving employees in the hardware and electrical department requested a transfer. The sales in the department fell sharply in the first quarter. Shortly after the release of the quarterly sales figures, Gwen Jones received an e-mail message from her boss, Stan Beale, the store's general manager, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss Mr Norman Smith.

1. If you were in Gwen Fines' position would you have handled the case differently? Explain.
2. Drawing on the concepts in this chapter, and your own research, what policy or procedural changes could be instituted at Johnson Stores plc to prevent such disruption in the future?