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Donna And Kelly Assume Employee Relations Specialist Essay

Donna and Kelly assume employee relations specialist company. The supervisor responsible project advice issue. Members group assigned tasks completing project. Ideally, pieces puzzle smoothly completed. Kelly working overtime ensures piece project completed meet deadlines.

Scenario: Donna and Kelly

In the scenario presented, Kelly does not feel as if her colleague Donna is 'pulling her weight' on a project to which they are mutually assigned. Kelly has not confronted Donna about her anger. Instead, she has quietly allowed her emotions to build as she has grown increasingly frustrated with what she perceives as Donna's lackadaisical attitude about work deadlines. Now, Donna is taking a weekend vacation, leaving Kelly with even more work. In this specific instance, 'ownership' of the problem lies in Kelly's hands. This does not necessarily mean that only Kelly is at fault. However, "for every set of conditions or outcomes, there are some people who are affected adversely by them. These people are the problem-owners. They own the problem, because they suffer the consequences and therefore have the responsibility to resolve the problem" (Owning the problem, n.d., Problem ownership). From everyone else's point-of-view, the project is going smoothly, and there is no record that Donna's actions are causing lowered morale and project delays -- yet.

From Kelly's point-of-view, Donna's behavior is inconsiderate. Kelly works hard to meet her deadlines. She believes that Donna should be aware that adhering to...

Kelly is a conscientious worker, while Donna may be a procrastinator, feels she works best under pressure, or simply takes deadlines more literally than Kelly. Kelly also believes that Donna's decision to take a vacation during a critical part of the project shows a lack of sensitivity and places an extra and unexpected burden upon Kelly. This decision seems to be the 'straw that breaks the camel's back.'
While Kelly's displeasure is understandable to some degree, Kelly did not apparently discuss her concern about the deadlines with Donna in a meaningful fashion. Nor did she bring up her concerns with a supervisor, detailing how she believed that Donna was receiving preferential treatment and/or that Donna's work habits were affecting morale or the project. This could mean that Kelly is not well-versed in terms of handling conflict, or simply that her grievances are more personality-based than they are truly about the impact of Donna's actions upon the project. Regardless, rather than letting the problem fester, Kelly should have brought up this issue to Donna or to a supervisor rather than waiting until the problem grew to be overwhelming.

However, neither Kelly nor Donna is entirely at fault. The company should have clear policies about meeting deadlines for projects, when it is acceptable to take vacations, and how much notice people are given when they need to work overtime or cover for other employees. Additionally, the…

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References

Owning the problem. (n.d.), Problem ownership. Retrieved:

http://highriskopportunity.com/Problem%20-%20Ownership.htm
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