Ted, the manager of a retail store, has approached you to help with an issue that has developed after hiring several new casual employees, some of whom are University of Wollongong students trying to earn income while studying. Hai is 20 years old, from China, and lives on campus with other Chinese students. Domenic, who is 25, has just arrived from Guatemala and lives with his brother who also studies at UOW.

Hai and Domenic's supervisor is Ruth who has been Assistant Manager for seven years. She is experienced, well organised and task oriented, issuing clear instructions about tasks. Rumour has it that she has never been late or missed a day's work. She likes to help new employees and prides herself on her consultative leadership style. She plans to organise a meeting so staff can discuss their ideas to improve work-flow.

Ruth has complained that the new employees are difficult, saying:

"Hai is very uncooperative. We had a meeting the other day to discuss a new work process and when I asked her for her ideas, she wouldn't say anything. When she is unsure about a task, I have to tell her in detail what to do. She's a reliable worker but she doesn't use her own initiative. All of the supervisors have noticed though that she is very respectful and polite".

"... Domenic is so disorganised! Instead of quickly finishing his allocated task and moving on to the next one, he chats with the other workers. Sometimes he looks like he's only partly finished two or three tasks, and sometimes moves on to another one before the job is completed. He doesn't seem to follow the work flow schedule that has been established for employees in his division. His approach to work is very different from mine. Last week he was thirty minutes late because his brother was not well and needed care. He doesn't seem to focus on his work commitments".

CASE 2 BRIEF:

• Use Hall's context model explain Ruth's communication issues with Domenic.