Maxine has been a coder with the hospital for nearly 15 years. She has been exceedingly loyal and hard working. Her performance record had been outstanding, until this past year. The transition to computer-assisted coding has not gone well for her. Other coders in the department have made the shift in job duties to auditing and clinical documentation improvement. She has not been comfortable with these changes, particularly the new technology, and her productivity has decreased compared to coding quality and quantity performance benchmarks. The manager went easy on Maxine during the last performance appraisal cycle due to the change in job description and in light of her outstanding personal qualities. Recently, another coder came to the manager to voice concern that she might be expected to pick up the slack for Maxine. Something will need to be done soon to address the performance issue and prevent additional staff issues. Maxine is getting older; she has seniority with the organization, but is not yet at retirement age.

1.Discuss the manager's choice to go "easy on Maxine" during her last performance appraisal. Was this a good management strategy? Why or why not?

2.What employment law or laws should the manager need to keep in mind in handling this situation?

3.The situation has not improved. This manager is now considering disciplinary action to address Maxine's performance issues. Do you agree? If yes, describe the first step in the disciplinary process. If not, what alternative next step do you recommend? Be specific; relate your answer to facts of the case