questions to answer: 1. Which guidelines of empowerment did Larry or Gail violate? 2. What guidelines of delegation did Larry of Gail violate? 3. What should Gail plan to discuss with Larry? What issues need to be raised ? 4. What does Gail need to do to obtain the necessary elements of empowerment and delegation? What does Larry need to do to facilitate Gail's success? 5. What advice would you give to Larry and Gail regarding their working situation ?

E Exercise 18-D Case Study: "Am I the Manager?" Gail was hired at the apparel manufacturing company to be the office and production manager. She was very excited about her new position; the job responsibilities seemed to be a perfect fit with her skills and strengths. Her responsibilities included running the office and the ordering department and coordinating the production facilities. Larry, the owner of the company, handled all the financial aspects of the business. L.J., the plant manager, was Gail's direct supervisor. On the first day of work, Larry instructed Gail to make the order and production department more efficient. Gail soon began to realize that there were a few employees in the ordering department who were very inefficient and lacking in motivation. One employee in particular, Kathy, would come in 10 to 20 minutes late, have several personal calls that lasted anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes, and refuse to answer the phones when anyone else seemed to be free. She would simply say to the other order people, "I need you to get that call; I'm busy doing my account summaries." Larry had already warned Gail of Kathy's unacceptable behavior and informed her that Kathy had several documented violations and notations in her personnel file. Larry felt that Gail should try to work with her, but if she was not able to change her behavior, he wanted Gail to document one final complaint and terminate her. Gail decided to have a feedback session with Kathy, during which Kathy was very defensive yet said she would try to change her behavior. Kathy insinuated that even though she did these things, Larry liked her and he was not really bothered by them. Over the next two weeks Kathy did not change her behavior, so, with the documented results of the feedback session and the other citations in her file, Gail decided she would terminate Kathy. Kathy caused a scene in the office and ran into Larry's office. After a considerable time period, Gail was called into Larry's office. He told Gail that Kathy was not fired and that "Gail just needed to help Kathy improve upon her behaviors." Gail left the meeting feeling as if she had just been undermined in front of the entire staff. page 454 Another situation that had been developing dealt with Gail's reorganization of the production department. To gain efficiency between the ordering staff and the production department, there needed to be an order and prioritization schedule. After developing a new system, Gail proceeded to explain the new system to both the ordering department and to Maggie, the production supervisor, and her staff. Not much was said, and Gail felt confident her new system would work. Soon she discovered that nothing had changed. Maggie was making her own determinations regarding production regardless of the orders put in and prioritized by the order department. Gail went to discuss it with Maggie, and the reply she got from Maggie was, "This is my department, I have been here much longer than you, and I'll have them produce what I want them to. Go cry to Larry if you don't like it. Until I hear it from Larry, I will do as | please." This dream job was starting to seem more like a nightmare. The final straw came regarding ordering materials. Gail quickly realized that they did not have the necessary materials to make the high-demand products. She worked on an inventory count with L.J. and between the two of them they were able to come up with an accurate count and an order plan to get production back on schedule. Gail then proceeded to place an order for the necessary supplies. At least she had control over something around here. Two days later, Larry called her into the office, furious about the orders. "How dare you order supplies!" Larry stormed. "You do not have the right to requisition materials; I handle the finances, and this just put me in a bad spot with a supplier I owe money to. I make the decision on when we purchase materials. Understand?" Gail was beginning to understand all too well. She was mad, frustrated, hurt, and disillusioned all at the same time. "What have I gotten myself into with this organization?" she thought