Read the following Case Study. Discuss the following in your assignment:
-Develop the argument you would be advancing if you were in George Mann’s position.
-Develop the argument you would advance if you were in Sally Carter’s position.
-Assuming the position of the CEO, Jane Arnold, render a decision. (Document your
decision in whatever detail may be necessary, complete with explanation of why you
decided in this fashion).
-Based on your responses to Questions 1-3, outline whatever steps-policy changes,
guidelines, payroll requirements, etc. you believe should be considered to minimize the
chances of similar conflict in the future.
Healthcare Case Study
Question 1: Argument to advance if I were in George Mann’s position
In the setting, which is an eighty-two bed hospital, George Mann is a supervisor in the
maintenance department. The employee who wanted to leave the hospital premises asked for
permission from his supervisor for some time off to attend to some personal business and the
supervisor, George Mann, approved the employee to leave premises for 1 or 2 hours. While
out of the hospital premises, the supervisor asked the worker to go to the equipment
dealership and purchase a number of lawn-mower parts needed by the maintenance
department. The worker did not punch out to indicate he was gone (McDonell, 2011).
In essence, the employee should be paid for the 2 hours that he was gone since
although he attended to personal business, he also attended to an official task assigned to him
by his supervisor – the task of going to a garden equipment dealership to purchase lawn-
mower parts for the hospital’s department of maintenance. As George Mann, I strongly
consider that the staff member needs to be paid for those two hours as I am the one who led
that employee to believe that he will be paid. Furthermore, I strongly believe that despite the
two hours which the employee spent on personal business outside the hospital premises, it
was time that was utilized well given that it actually saved me a trip out of the organization to
the equipment dealership to purchase those lawn-mower parts myself – it saved me time that
I used to do other crucial tasks in the hospital.
Question 2: Argument to advance if I were in Sally Carter’s position
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The employee should have punched out when he left the hospital premises to indicate
that he was actually gone. The personal business of the staff member was in fact the greater
part of his trip outside the hospital and for this reason – even though the employee’s leaving
was approved by his supervisor – he should not be paid for the time period that he was
actually not working. The employee’s supervisor, George Mann, should not have allowed the
employee to go out on personal business on time that should have been spent working at the
hospital organization. The company’s long-standing policy stipulates that any staff member
of this hospital has to punch put when he or she leaves the hospital premises on personal
business. The employee in this case is not exempt from this policy and because he never
punched out, he was in violation of the company policy. All in all, as Sally Carter, I strongly
believe in the company’s policy and the action which was sanctioned by the employee’s
supervisor was really in violation of the company policy.
Question 3: Decision to render assuming I am Jane Arnold, the chief executive officer
Supposing that I am the organization’s chief executive officer, I will thoroughly listen
to the statements of positions made by Sally Carter and George Mann. I will then work
closely with these two people in order to arrive at a solution that is reciprocally satisfactory to
the current problem and come up with a way of preventing such a problem from occurring
again in the future. McDonell (2011) reported that a solution to this case might in fact hinge
on whoever between manager Sally Carter and supervisor George Mann best describes his or
her position. Moreover, the solution reached might be hinged upon the way in which the chief
executive officer Jane Arnold relates individually to both these two people and how this CEO
interprets the policy and its value to herself (McDonell, 2011).
To reach the best solution and make a decision regarding this case, as CEO Jane
Arnold, I would revisit the rarely utilized, dusty policy and procedure manual and make a
final decision basing on this document. This long-standing policy clearly spells out that
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whenever any hospital staff member leaves the hospital and goes out on personal business,
that worker must punch out. As such, the decision that I will reach is not to pay the employee
for the duration that he was out of the premises. The employee himself stated that he was
leaving for personal business and he left, hence he should have clocked out or punched out to
indicate the period of time he was out of work.
Question 4: Policy changes and guidelines
Basing upon the responses to the first and third questions above, there are several
guidelines, policy changes, and payroll requirements which need to be considered in order to
reduce the likelihood of similar conflicts taking place in future. Policy changes and guidelines
include the following:
Every employee has to punch out if he or she leaves the premises for any reason besides
official, permitted hospital business.
If a staff member leaves the premises for any reason besides official hospital business during
the workday, for instance the employee leaves for personal business, he or she will not be
paid for the hours spent out of work.
When an employee leaves the hospital premises for official, permitted hospital business,
he/she should not use this opportunity to also carry out his personal business otherwise he/she
will not be paid for the hours he was out of work.
Every employee has to record any breaks that he/she takes during the workday including
personal time which he/she takes off, medical appointments, lunch – and make a note of that
break in the workday in the time software/timecard (Swanton, 2012).
If you are not able to work for whichever reason, kindly inform the Practice Manager or your
supervisor personally or through telephone as early as possible prior to the starting time.
Punctuality and regular attendance by hospital staffs are vital constituents in the efforts of the
hospital to sustain high client and patient care levels. Revising schedules or reassigning staffs
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in order to accommodate tardiness and/or absences serves to put a burden on every staff
member (Goldstein, 2015).
Staff members are required to report for work promptly. Tardiness for staff members of this
organization would be assessed and points would be evaluated for every single day of work
the worker fails to report as scheduled. The staff member would be awarded 2 points for
coming to work no later than 10 minutes after their scheduled commencing time; and 3 points
for arriving to work between 11 minutes – 60 minutes late. Staff members who come to work
over 60 minutes late would accumulate 5 points.
A worker should not leave his or her work area without approval by the supervisor and if they
have to leave the hospital premises, then he/she must punch out for his or her period of
absence and punch in the moment they come back (Markowich & Eckberg, 2011). Only the
employee’s supervisor can grant permission to leave the premises.
Misrepresenting the number of hours worked is justification for firing (Mikulay, Neuman &
Finkelstein, 2013).
A staff member would be subject to punitive action when his or her points in total
accumulated from unauthorized tardiness and absence reaches the levels shown below in any
6 month period:
Points Disciplinary action
Nine Verbal warning
Eleven Written warning
Thirteen Firing
Whenever possible, every staff member should inform his or her department of tardiness or
absences. An employee who does not contact his/her department causes other employees to
assume extra responsibilities and tasks, which results in an overall loss in productivity
HEALTH CARE CASE STUDY 5
(Mikulay, Neuman & Finkelstein, 2013). Any worker who does not notify his/her supervisor
of any absence according to this policy would be subject to the following disciplinary action:
First failure to inform supervisor about the absence – verbal warning; second failure – written
warning; third failure – dismissal.
Staff members should obey the guidelines for recording the actual hours that they worked. A
missed punched in or punched out is an infringement of this policy and comprises: failure to
timely and accurately report the time worked; and failing to punch in or punch out on their
time clock (Carraher & Buckley, 2011).
Supervisors need to monitor the attendance record of their workers regularly and address any
unacceptable attendance consistently and on time (Dishon-Berkovits & Koslowsky, 2012).
A worker is considered absent when that worker is not available for work as
scheduled or assigned and such time off was not approved or scheduled beforehand as
stipulated by the department notification procedure (Hackett & Bycio, 2013). A staff member
is considered tardy when that employee leaves work before the ending of his or her scheduled
or assigned work time without first being approved by the supervisor and does not arrive at
the workplace at the scheduled or assigned work time (Mikulay, Neuman & Finkelstein,
2013).
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References
Carraher, S. M., & Buckley, M. R. (2011). Attitudes towards benefits and behavioral
intentions and their relationship to absenteeism, performance, and turnover among
nurses. Academy Of Health Care Management Journal, 4(2), 89-109.
Dishon-Berkovits, M., & Koslowsky, M. (2012). Determinants of Employee Punctuality.
Journal Of Social Psychology, 142(6), 723-739.
Goldstein, D. (2015). Inexcusable absences. New Republic, 246(2/3), 32-37.
Hackett, R. D., & Bycio, P. (2013). An evaluation of employee absenteeism as a coping
mechanism among hospital nurses. Journal Of Occupational & Organizational
Psychology, 69(4), 327-338.
Markowich, M. M., & Eckberg, S. (2011). Get control of the absentee-minded. Personnel
Journal, 75(3), 115.
McDonell, C.R. (2011). Health Care Supervision 2nd Edition. Albany, NY: Jones & Bartlett
Publishers
Mikulay, S., Neuman, G., & Finkelstein, L. (2013). Counterproductive Workplace Behaviors.
Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs, 127(3), 279.
Swanton, M. (2012). Attendance policy can be enforced without violating employee’s ADA
rights. Insidecounsel, 23(247), 56-57.