Analysis of HR Department and the Marketing Management Team - Research Proposal Example

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Case background: In light of Catastrophe Concepts financially detrimental year, addressing issues within the company's departments is vital for ensuring future success within the company. Changes must be made in each department to cut costs and lower overhead. Employees in the company are experiencing above-average workloads, increased stress levels, and discontent among the staff. The marketing department is in need of improvement. Caleb McGuire, the Customer Service Manager and a key member of the marketing team, has been declining in performance and ability over the past months. Caleb's time away from work is becoming frequent as he is suffering from illness. Originally, staff members and colleagues proved sympathetic; however, increasing absences and reassigned workload has created discontent among colleagues and is a source of tension on the team level. The marketing manager, Lilly Zheng, has become frustrated with Caleb's absence and his performance. Lilly has begun to receive pressure, not only from the CEOs a result of companywide stresses, but from her subordinates in the marketing department. Mr. McGuire is "evasive" when inquired about his ordeal and has only publicized his diagnosis is a severe case of shingles. However, rumors have begun to circulate Caleb was diagnosed with AIDS. Top performers in the department are voicing such a concern they've threatened to quit if something is not done. 1.2 Aims: The purpose of this report the evaluation of a case regarding a marketing employee (Caleb McGuire) and his job performance as it relates to a current personal situation. The report will evaluate how his condition and his performance are causing disruption between himself and his coworkers and affecting performance not just on a personal level, but on a team and department level. 1.3 Scope: This report expounds on human resources management as a delicate position. Because HR managers are key decision-makers and in place to maintain strategic company goals, it's important HR leaders maintain effective management abilities and use proven strategies while still keeping the individual employee, as well as his or her wellbeing, at the forefront of their responsibility. The source of the problems in the marketing department stem not only from the current situation with Mr. McGuire, but from the company strain as a whole. Given the increased stress levels of employees in the department, it's not unlikely that difficulties between employees would escalate more quickly than average. Mr. Chapel (HR Manager at Catastrophe Concepts) should first address interpersonal employee relations in the marketing department. (Enz and Siguaw, 2000, pp. 48-61) 2.0 Methodology: The methodology for correcting the Catastrophe Concepts’ issues must be one of logic and sympathy/empathy to the needs and concerns of the staff. Given the sensitivity of the matters at hand, a humanistic approach to the analysis must be embraced. There is no ‘black and white’ choice. The entirety of the situation appears to be ‘in the gray’. 3.0 Content 3.1 Obstacles: The source of difficulty in the marketing department begins and ends with Caleb McGuire, addressing the issues with Mr. McGuire should be the initial approach of the HR Department. Given the potential for sensitivity and discrimination due in part to Mr. McGuire's health situation, addressing his performance should be done delicately. To address the situation, HR management should organize a sit-down with Mr. McGuire to establish an open line of communication about his situation. (Dulk and De Ruijter, 2008, pp. 1222-1228) While it is within his legal right to withhold the information, Caleb should be asked to further clarify his condition so management within the marketing department can make adjustments to his work load, as well as a set into motion protocol to protect other employees and improve relationships within the marketing department. The disclosure of his diagnosis will ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including all amendments as updated in 2008. The ADA states, “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” (ADA, 2008) Should Mr. McGuire agree to further elaborate on his specific ailments, HR, and Catastrophe Concepts as a whole will be required to comply with discrimination laws and legal protocol as it pertains to employees with variant disabilities. (ADA, 2008) Much of the action taken by the HR department will depend on the diagnosis of Mr. McGuire. Should Mr. McGuire have received diagnosis for shingles alone, he will face “a painful, blistering skin rash due to acute infection with the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox.” (Shingles: Medline Plus, 2009) If Caleb McGuire has been diagnosed with the AIDS virus, the response of the human resources Department vary. AIDS is defined as “acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is the final and most serious stage of HIV disease, which causes severe damage to the immune system. AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death among people aged 25 - 44 in the United States, down from number one in 1995. About 25 million people worldwide have died from this infection since the start of the epidemic, and in 2006, there were approximately 40 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS. (NLM, 2009) http://img.thebody.com/legacyAssets/61/58/holodniy1-1.jpg Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS. The virus attacks the immune system and leaves the body vulnerable to a variety of life-threatening infections and cancers. Common bacteria, yeast, parasites, and viruses that ordinarily do not cause serious disease in people with healthy immune systems can cause fatal illnesses in people with AIDS.” (AIDS: Medline Plus, 2009) While it is the right of Mr. McGuire to withhold the details of the diagnosis, it is his responsibility to put into action proper protocol to protect himself and his coworkers. It may be wise for the HR department to launch training seminard on dealing with AIDS related issues. However, so as not to draw attention to Mr. McGuire and his current condition, should his condition indeed be a contraction of the AIDS virus, the training would have to be conducted in an anonymous and indiscriminate way. Should Mr. McGuire agree to publicize his diagnosis; training may take on more relevance and may be more successful. On the flip side, publicizing the AIDS virus in an employee, even with the consent of that employee, may cause strain on employee relationships and promote discrimination. (Banta, 1998) 3.2 Objectives: It is imperative the HR department note the failure to handle the situation discreetly and legally could result in prosecution on the federal level. If Mr. McGuire feels he is being discriminated against/victimized because of illness, he should be asked to issue a report with human resources, resulting in proper counseling and support. While it is often stated individuals who have disabilities don’t want to be considered different, it is still important the HR personnel develop policies to address individual cases as they arise (Barlow, Hergenrather, Rhodes, Turner 2008) The HR department should develop policies that are put into practice upon hire. AIDS awareness should become part of the training protocol prior to the revelation or diagnosis of any individual employee. It may be beneficial for the HR department to offer support for those infected with the virus (or any variation of terminal illness) as well as their families. Appropriate action taken on the part of the human resources department will depend on Mr. McGuire's willingness to publicize his illness and or his willingness to confide in his HR manager concerning his diagnosis. If Mr. McGuire is willing to confirm his diagnosis, then proper steps can be put into place to address how his condition may affect his performance. Privacy laws do state that any personal information or records cannot be disclosed to a third party unless done so by the employee himself. Mr. McGuire’s publication of his diagnosis versus his desire to keep his diagnosis private will dictate the protocol by which human resources puts into place an AIDS awareness or sensitivity training program for existing and new employees. (NLM, 2009) It should be noted any and all training (AIDS awareness, sensitivity, efficiency in illness, etc) can be done without publicizing Mr. McGuire's diagnosis in any way. Upon having addressed the issue of Mr. McGuire and his existing diagnosis. (Morgan and Vardy 2000, pp. 472-485) Given the strains on interpersonal employee relationships in the marketing department as a result of McGuire’s frequent absence and his inability to handle his current workload, establishing a maintaining an adequate workload for Mr. McGuire's abilities will be imperative. Mr. Chappell should assign Lilly the responsibility of adjusting Mr. McGuire's workload based on Caleb’s assessment of his own abilities. Lilly should hold a meeting with him to discuss how he feels about his recent performance and require he give a realistic estimate of his abilities. After which Lilly should be open about her intent to lighten his workload based on performance and circumstance, not only will this adjustment help to reduce strain on other employees, but will maintain privacy and will allow Mr. McGuire to save face with coworkers by adhering to a chain of command. (Barlow Enz and Siguaw, 2000, pp. 48-61) By reestablishing a proper workload for Mr. McGuire, the marketing department can assign tasks left undone accordingly, and can hold Mr. McGuire accountable for any work he does not complete. By allowing Caleb to give his own estimate of his abilities, the marketing department and human resources will be able to allocate duties while still holding him accountable for his performance. While it is imperative HR and the marketing department not discriminate against Mr. McGuire based on his ailments and his inability to work at an increased demand, it is imperative Mr. McGuire be still considered as an employee and not given special treatment where his performance is concerned. (Dulk and De Ruijter, 2008, pp. 1222-1228) While Catastrophe Concepts should maintain sensitivity in dealing with employees’ specific ailments, it is important the HR department and the marketing department maintain a level of professionalism as Catastrophe Concepts is, above all, a business. Work must be completed in a timely fashion and interpersonal issues among employees much must be addressed expediently in order to avoid lapses in performance and stress on departments and managers. In an effort to maintain order and improve relationships, Mr. McGuire should be asked to adhere to company policy in terms of sick leave, especially paid and unpaid time off, as well as any protocol set forth by insurance terms and policy information regardless of his diagnosis. Special treatment should be avoided as discrimination in can be considered a two way street. Discriminating against an employee, in this case Caleb McGuire, based on an illness can be considered as inappropriate and illegal, but so too is discrimination in the reverse. Allowing Mr. McGuire special treatment and the leeway to come and go as he pleases, or perform substandtardly, can be considered discrimination against his fellow employees. (Barlow, Hergenrather, Rhodes, Turner 2008, pp. 48-61) 4.0 Conclusion: The HR department and the marketing management team should approach Mr. McGuire's performance by first examining his confirmed condition. By being open and in front with Mr. McGuire about his performance, and outlining management’s expectations of his performance, problems with the employee relationships and workload can be rectified quickly. It is important HR, management, and Catastrophe Concepts as a whole adhere to discrimination laws and privacy acts, but it is also important the company deal with Mr. McGuire’s situation on an individual basis. Should he confirm his ailments are less severe than rumored, he should be dealt with as would any other employee by perhaps first issuing a warning and, should the poor performance continue, the termination of employment. 5.0 Recommendations: The human resources department should set into motion training protocol for not just marketing department, but for every department in every facet of the company for dealing with disability awareness, AIDS awareness, sexual discrimination, and the many other factors that can create tension in the workplace. By launching this training protocol in an inconspicuous manner, Mr. McGuire’s privacy can be protected if he so chooses. (Morgan and Vardy 2000, pp. 472-485) The three most vital components should be: 1) To establish and maintain an open line of communication for Mr. McGuire and the HR manager as well as the marketing manager. 2) To establish and maintain a realistic assessment of Mr. McGuire's abilities to perform in the workplace based on his diagnosis and his need to be absent (given Mr. McGuire agrees to adhere to company standards for paid and unpaid leave). 3) To launch training programs for sensitivity and awareness in new hires and existing employees in every department. In order to operate efficiently and avoid continuing problems present in the marketing department, thereby helping to achieve the company wide goal of reducing overhead and improving performance, the HR department should implement a plan that can be followed to the letter for all employees with disabilities and hardships. Setting a company standard will ensure all employees are aware of protocol and are assigned a workload based on their ability to perform. Reference Page "AIDS: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. 20 Aug. 2009 . NLM – see National Library of Medicine "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,AS AMENDED with ADA Amendments Act of 2008." ADA Home Page - ada.gov - Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act. 20 Aug. 2009 . Badawy, and K Michael. "Managing Human Resources." Research-Technology Management 50.4 (2007): 56-74. Banerjee, Rupa. "An Examination of Factors Affecting Perception of Workplace Discrimination." Journal of Labor Research 29.4 (2008): 380-401. 17 Aug. 2009 . Banta, William. AIDS in the Workplace. New York: Lexington Books, 1998. Barlow, Julie, Kenneth C. Hergenrather, Scott D. Rhodes, and Andrew P. Turner. 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