Diane Jackson is the new operations manager of the Distribution Center for Deerfield Hospital Supply, Inc., a mid-size, non-union healthcare company located in the upper Midwestern United States. The Distribution Center is a $40-million-dollar-a-year operation that employs 50 people, including 15 minorities (African-American, Asian, and Hispanic) and 18 women in the workforce. Four of the minorities are female. Jackson, a 25-year-old college-educated woman, was transferred from another operations position in the company to fill this position because of some serious performance problems in the Distribution Center that had resisted previous attempts at improvement. The Center had experienced a high rate of errors among orders taken from client hospitals. Jackson accepted the assignment knowing that top management would expect her to improve the performance of the Distribution Center in a relatively short period of time. Jackson's first few weeks on the job were revealing, to say the least. She discovered that the five supervisors whom her predecessor had selected to lead the Center's workforce had little credibility with the employees. They had each been selected on the basis of their job seniority or their friendship with the previous manager. The workforce was organized into three categories. Pickers identify supplies by code numbers in the storage area, remove packaged items from the shelves, and sort them into order baskets. Drivers operate forklifts and electric trucks, moving baskets and boxes of supplies to different locations within the distribution center. Loaders transfer supplies onto and off of the forklifts and delivery trucks. For purposes of successfully completing this assignment, you are to assume the persona of Ms. Diane Jackson, Distribution Center Manager, for Deerfield Hospital Supply, Inc. After taking a few weeks to observe the goings on within the Center, conferring with your supervisors, and speaking with your boss, Ms. Dana Foster, the Distribution Center Director, you've confirmed that numerous issues are, in fact, plaguing the Center and require urgent attention. In your opinion, it is best to work collaboratively with your 5 supervisors to effect change, since their buy-in and support with be necessary to achieve the desired outcomes. Of course, you'll bring other stakeholders into the process as necessary, such as Ms. Foster and Human Resources. Ms. Foster likes your approach and would like for you to formalize your plan to address the identified issues and ensure sustained improvement over time. The plan should be presented in a GANTT CHART and attached as an enclosure to the PROPOSAL MEMORANDUM. The plan should identify the issues impacting the Center, what needs to be done to address each issue (tasks), who will be responsible for making sure the tasks to be completed (resource or resources), when the tasks are to be started and completed (beginning and end dates). Furthermore, the plan should incorporate a communication plan. How would like this? Also what is a gantt chart ? 1. An introduction, which should contain a clear purpose statement. 2. A detailed description of the problems presented in the case. 3. Identify the decision-makers. 4. The proposed solutions. In the solutions section, you should be clear how the solutions will potentially benefit the Distribution Center. Resolving the Problem In determining the most appropriate solution to the situation that Diane Jackson faces, you may wish to consider these questions: 1. What are the most important issues Ms. Jackson faces today? Which is most critical? 2. Can you identify the cause of the conflict? 3. What should Ms. Jackson do to settle the conflict? Should either or both of the employees be punished for their behavior? 4. What can Ms. Jackson do over the long term to ensure that incidents such as the one described in this case are less likely to occur? 5. What role (if any) do gender, ethnicity or age play in this situation? 6. What can Ms. Jackson do to develop a group of supervisors who can provide the support she requires and who can properly direct the work of the employees in the Distribution Center? 7. How important is communication in this case? What should Ms. Jackson do to improve the quality of communication in the Distribution Center? Here is the background info Background Note Diane Jackson is the new operations manager of the Distribution Center for Deerfield Hospital Supply, Inc., a mid-size, non-union healthcare company located in the upper Midwestern United States. The Distribution Center is a $40-million-dollar-a-year operation that employs 50 people, including 15 minorities (African-American, Asian, and Hispanic) and 18 women in the workforce. Four of the minorities are female. Jackson, a 25-year-old college-educated woman, was transferred from another operations position in the company to fill this position because of some serious performance problems in the Distribution Center that had resisted previous attempts at improvement. The Center had experienced a high rate of errors among orders taken from client hospitals. Jackson accepted the assignment knowing that top management would expect her to improve the performance of the Distribution Center in a relatively short period of time. Jackson's first few weeks on the job were revealing, to say the least. She discovered that the five supervisors whom her predecessor had selected to lead the Center's workforce had little credibility with the employees. They had each been selected on the basis of their job seniority or their friendship with the previous manager. The workforce was organized into three categories. Pickers identify supplies by code numbers in the storage area, remove packaged items from the shelves, and sort them into order baskets. Drivers operate forklifts and electric trucks, moving baskets and boxes of supplies to different locations within the distribution center. Loaders transfer supplies onto and off of the forklifts and delivery trucks. Jackson found that her employees were either demoralized or had tough, belligerent attitudes toward management and other employees. Part of the problem, she soon learned, was a lax approach to background checks and prior job references. Five employees were convicted felons, two of whom had been imprisoned for violent assaults on their victims. The previous manager had made all of the hiring decisions by himself without bothering to check on the applicants' references or backgrounds. Jackson soon discovered that it was not unusual for employees to settle their differences with their fists or to use verbally abusive language to berate people who had offended them. Her predecessor had unintentionally encouraged these disruptive activities by staying in his office and not being available to the other workers. He had relied largely on his discredited supervisors to handle their own disciplinary problems. Before long, the Center employees felt they could handle their own affairs in any way they wanted, without interference from management. The Loading Dock Incident While sitting in her office one morning, planning to make several policy changes to improve the efficiency of the Distribution Center, one of Jackson's supervisors entered and reported that two of the loaders had just gotten into a heated dispute, and the situation on the loading dock was very tense. The dispute was between Edwin Williams, a black, male employee, and Buddy Thomas, a white, male employee, and focused on which radio station to play on the loading dock sound system. Williams is the only black employee who works on the loading dock. The company's policy permits employees to listen to music while they work and, in recent years, workers have considered listening to music to be a benefit that improves their working conditions. Williams insisted that he couldn't stand to listen to the country-western music that Thomas preferred to play. For his part, Thomas claimed that Williams' rap music was offensive to him and made working conditions difficult. An emotional and angry argument developed between the two men over their choices in music, and each yelled racial slurs at the other. Neither the company nor the division had a policy governing the choice of music permitted in the workplace. Apparently, whoever arrived at work first chose the music for the day. Both Thomas and Williams were known as tough employees who had previous disciplinary problems at Deerfield Hospital Supply. Thomas had been incarcerated for 18 months prior to being hired by the company. Jackson knew that she should take immediate action to resolve this problem and to avoid a potentially volatile escalation of the conflict. Her supervisors told Jackson that, in the past, the previous manager would simply have hollered at the two antagonists in the conflict and then departed with no further action. Jackson's objectives in resolving the conflict include the establishment of her own control in the workplace. She knew that she would have to change "business as usual" in the Distribution Center so that employees would respect her authority and would refrain from any further unprofessional conduct