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MGMT 4402 HR Exercise Drinking on the Job This exercise must be typed and completed individually

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MGMT 4402 HR Exercise Drinking on the Job

This exercise must be typed and completed individually.  Evidence of group work on this exercise will be considered a violation of our academic integrity policy. Furthermore, you are strictly forbidden from sharing your answers (i.e. write-up) with anyone currently enrolled, previously enrolled, or to be enrolled in this course in the future.

 

Required Length

There are no specific length requirements for your write-up.  Generally, a well done write-up is probably about 2-3 pages (double-spaced).

Required Formatting

Generally, documents in Size 12, Times New Roman Font with 1” margins that are double-spaced are easiest for me to read. If you use references, they must follow the rules detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition. Please see our formatting document for this exercise in Canvas and prepare your answers accordingly.

General Instructions

 

Read the incident that follows and answer these questions:

1. What course of action should the owner-manager have taken in addressing this matter? Should he/she have indicated to Werst that he/she suspected him of drinking on the job? Or was there an alternative method better suited to handling this situation?  Defend your answer!
2. To what extent should the owner-manager go to try to catch Werst drinking on the job?  How could evidence be collected without administering a breathalyzer or performing a blood alcohol test?
3. What action, if any, should the owner-manager take if Werst confesses to being an alcoholic?
4. Does the owner-manager presently have sufficient proof that Werst is working under the influence of alcohol?
5. Critique the construction company’s alcoholism rule.  Is it appropriate?  Clear?  What other information would you want to know about it?

 

Incident

 

               A reputable northeastern construction company employs six experienced construction supervisors for its various construction jobs. These supervisors have the overall responsibility of hiring and firing and seeing that the construction proceeds as close to time and cost schedules as possible. They also have the responsibility of overall quality control of the construction. Larry Werst, age 55, has been a supervisor for this company for many years. He is never absent and has established a reputation for getting the job done right and close to schedule. He has supervised the construction of several prominent buildings and is now supervising the construction of a college fraternity house. Werst’s approach to handling his employees is firm and sometimes harsh. He does not allow any back talk, and everyone who works for him usually earns his or her pay or is not on the job for very long.

               The owner and manager of the company had become concerned about Werst because rumors were circulating that he was an alcoholic and that he drank on the job. The owner knew that Werst drank a lot and had a stormy home life, but he did not know whether he was drinking on the job.

              One day, when the manager was talking with Werst, he smelled alcohol on his breath. This had happened on several occasions when office and storeroom employees noticed the odor when they talked to him. Also, the storeroom clerk noticed that almost every day Werst would come into the store, buy two Cokes, and then leave in his company truck, presumably to go back to his job site.

               The manager decided to talk to Werst about this situation. When he confronted Werst with the rumors, his alcoholic breath, and the purchasing of two Cokes at a time, Werst denied that he was drinking on the job. He replied that the rumors were just that and that the two Cokes were for himself and his carpenter supervisor. The manager told him that he would have to let him go if he were caught drinking on the job. He reminded Werst that the firm’s progressive discipline system included a rule that states, ‘‘No employee is permitted to go on duty or remain on duty if he or she possesses, is under the influence of, or is consuming an alcoholic beverage. Violation of this policy will result in dismissal.’’

               About a year later, when the construction season was again in full swing, stories began circulating about Werst’s drinking. His fellow employees now pondered over the quart of milk he drank every day. They wondered if he spiked the milk and/or used it to cover his alcoholic breath. Sometimes his speech seemed slurred, but Werst was gravel-voiced and had sloppy speech habits anyway. The workers were amused by the stories he would tell about things that had happened to him. They were just stories, of course, but lately they were becoming pathetically farfetched and made no sense at all.

               The manager soon heard about some of the new rumors about Werst, and he wondered what he should do about the situation again. Werst still had never actually been caught drinking on the job. His construction project was proceeding satisfactorily, but it was a little behind schedule due to the inability to hire good carpenters and laborers at the beginning of the construction season. And worker turnover was perhaps somewhat higher on this project than the average turnover.

 

Grading Rubric

 

Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point
You have met the learning objective(s). Your performance demonstrates mastery of this exercise’s learning goal(s).	You have met the learning objective(s). Your performance demonstrates partial mastery of this exercise’s learning goal(s).	You are approaching the learning objective(s). Your performance provides some evidence of meeting this exercise’s learning goal(s).	You have not met the learning objective(s). Your performance provides little to no evidence of meeting this exercise’s learning goal(s).