Statement of the Problem and Who Is Involved

Statement of the Problem and who is Involved

The Village of Jamestown has two men who share similar duties and whose conflicts have caused a great deal of stress among the other village employees and residents. The city council membership team has to supervise these men and report to the Village Mayor the situations that arise between them. The conflict is caused due to one man being hired and given more responsibility than the other who has been with the village over ten years. The residents of Jamestown also do not like the new employee and feel “one of their own” was disrespected due to the hiring. The residents have voiced their concern many times at the council meetings about how the two men fight in the village when things are not done right or timely.

Review of the Information and the Positions

There have been many occasions where the City Council President has been involved in the conflicts between the two men, Mark Johnston and Jeffrey Church. The mayor would listen to the conflict, wait to see what resolution they may come to and then when they both leave with no resolution would go to the other council membership team to discuss the situation. The mayor would then ask those who witnessed the conflict and those who did not to give their opinion or point of view of the situation. Some of the membership team is concerned about Jeffrey’s attitude toward the other employees and Mark. Others are concerned about Mark’s comments about Jeffrey’s short-comings on his understanding of his job duties. The city council is also concerned about how often they are caught in the middle of their conflicts and the lack of resolution of their conflicts.

Mark Johnston was hired as a laborer approximately ten years ago when the village hired him after he left a similar job in another location. After five years, due to a rearrangement in the management structure he was promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Public Works. He worked immediately under the Superintendent of Public Works and was responsible for assisting his supervisor in various duties, overseeing work crews, and filling in for the Superintendent in his absence. Mark held the position of Assistant Superintendent of Public Works for four years and basically served as an errand boy for the Superintendent. At this time, another restructure took place and several more upper management personnel were let go. Mark was then made Director of Public Works, which basically is the same job he already had but with a bit more responsibility. He was now responsible for assignment of work crews and personnel as needed to conduct village projects.

Within this same ten-year period, Jeffery Church was offered the Director of Public Utilities during one of the restructuring phases but refused this position due to the type of pension plan offered by the Village. Since that time, the