50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

236

Case 45 (continued)

Case Discussion:

The Worst Part Was That She Often Was Right

Summary

Wanda Vaughn was made supervisor of the four service representatives in the Consumer Credit

Services Department of Winston County Savings Bank when the previous boss was promoted.

Wanda was the senior representative in the department at the time.

Wanda had worked closely with—and even become friendly with—Beverly Beutell. Beverly

had been in the department almost as long as Wanda. Beverly tended to be very open and direct.

This behavior had a tendency to put people off, making them see her as defensive and belligerent.

Thus, when Wanda was promoted, she selected a more junior and more agreeable employee as

her assistant manager. At that point, Wanda’s relationship with Beverly began to change.

Wanda wanted to show that she could manage the department effectively and became a very

hands-on manager. She did not hesitate to make decisions and issue directives. However, it

seemed to Wanda that Beverly increasingly criticized her decisions and often did so in front of

the other employees. To make matters worse, Beverly was often right.

Answers to Case Questions

1. Does Wanda have a supervisory problem with Beverly?

Wanda has a problem, but it is not clear whether it is a supervisory one. Wanda is feeling

threatened by Beverly’s critical reactions to her decisions. However, these reactions bring up a

good point; that is, Beverly is providing good input. Unfortunately, that input is coming afte

r

Wanda has announced her decisions. This makes it appear that Beverly is attacking Wanda.

2. If there is a problem, what is it?

The problem centers on how Wanda is supervising Beverly and in how Wanda is interpreting

Beverly’s behavior.

Wanda is using a very directive supervisory behavior with Beverly, when a more participative

approach is called for. By including Beverly in the decision-making and planning processes,

Wanda can obtain Beverly’s useful input before she makes final decisions, thereby increasing

the chances of securing Beverly’s commitment to the decisions. Also, Beverly’s comments

will not come across as such direct personal attacks.

3. What steps could Wanda have taken in order to reduce or avoid the problem after she

was promoted to the supervisor’s job?

The problem might have been caused in part by Wanda’s rejection of Beverly as an assistan

t

manager. There are several considerations here.

First, why was it necessary to have a formally designated assistant manager? In such a small

group, appointing a person as an “assistant manager” may not be necessary. It might be possi-

ble to operate on an informal seniority basis instead.

Case 45: The Worst Part Was That She Often Was Right

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Case 45 (concluded)

Second, if it was necessary for Wanda to appoint an assistant manager, she should have been

very careful in picking someone out of the line of seniority. In some ways, the problems

Wanda is experiencing with Beverly are predictable in this context. Wanda should have used

a very careful and well-defined selection procedure, identifying the criteria that were most

important for the job and perhaps interviewing the job contenders. If, as a result, Beverly was

still rejected for the position, Wanda should have met with her to explain why and to negoti-

ate an effective means of working together.

4. What steps should Wanda take now to deal with the issues at hand?

Basically, Wanda should begin supervising Beverly in a more participative manner. She

should include Beverly in evaluating issues and making plans.