George, the new department supervisor, wondered if he couldn’t have spent his retirement from the Navy in a more relaxed atmosphere. He had just accepted a position at the Stevenson Company, which had approximately 350 employees. He was replacing the original supervisor of the Transportation Department. The Department had been created only five years before and was located at a site away from central headquarters. 

It started out employing only seven people and had steadily grown until 45 people were employed there. George had one assistant, two route managers, a dispatcher, an unfilled secretarial position, 23 full-time drivers, 17 part-time drivers, and a custodian. Job descriptions and department procedures had been established during the first few years of the department. It didn’t take George long to find out that the previous supervisor felt no one knew how a transportation department should operate except himself. Consequently, he had handled all the planning, organization, and operating of the department. He had delegated only minor duties to his staff and bailed out when he could no longer handle the increasing work load. To complicate the situation, the secretary who kept the books and department records left at the same time. Neither position was filled for six weeks. 

The assistant supervisor, two route managers, and the dispatcher were apprehensive about the arrival of a new supervisor. All had assumed extra duties with which they were not familiar. Many employees were disgruntled because several drivers had abused sick leave and were neglecting their job duties. This had resulted in an overall feeling that if others could get by with this type of performance, why should someone put forth any more effort than needed? 

One week prior to George’s employment, the supervisor had put Francine, a female minority driver, on probation for taking improperly requested vacation leave, excessive absenteeism, and neglecting her job duties. She filed a grievance with the Personnel Department against the supervisor. The company lawyer had requested the charges be dropped against the driver and the probation be rescinded to prevent an EEOC claim against the company. Employee records were so incomplete that no one could tell what had really happened. In addition, the assistant supervisor had been placed on probation for using improper procedures when putting an employee on probation and having inadequate accounts of the charges against the driver.

What are the HR policies and processes that could have kept the problem from happening?

What can George do to resolve the problems, and establish a more coordinated department?

Which employer and employee rights were violated or jeopardized before George arrived?

Which employer and employee responsibilities were pushed too far or relaxed too much before George arrived?

How should George incorporate disciplinary regulations into new HR policies?