Kathryn McNeil Case

Summary:

Charles Foley received several complaints from one of his direct reports about an employee of hers who was not pulling her weight. The company was going through difficult times and required the manager to work very long hours sometimes until 10-11pm then are back early at 7am. The employee Kathryn McNeil was hired on as a single mother with a long commute, over an hour, and informed both interviewers that she was a single mother and had other responsibilities as well as had to arrange for care of her son when she was not around so she would have to know her schedule. During the merger all the other managers worked the long hours but Kathryn McNeil was unable to, because of her maternal responsibilities. Her boss Lisa Walters was concerned because having a missing manager especially one as vital to the project as Kathryn McNeil the account manager for IBM, was damaging her ability to be productive. The merger required a large increase in workload and while Kathryn McNeil attempted to carry the increased load at the office working as long of hours as she can and taking work home with her, but eventually the load became too heavy and Lisa Walter went to speak with Charles Foley about terminating her, because she was unable to carry the heavy workload the job demanded. Charles reluctant to do anything too drastic denied her initial request to terminate Kathryn, partly because he himself had once struggled with his ability to see his own family and he chose work first and regretted it, so he was sympathetic toward Kathryn McNeil. Even when a mandatory meeting was called and Kathryn McNeil was unable to attend because her son had reached a hundred and four degree temperature, Charles Foley took a “Tongue Lashing” from his boss but stood up for Kathryn McNeil. A few days later Lisa Walter put Kathryn McNeil on an indefinite probationary period to asses and determines if she was able to complete the basic fundamental requirements of her job.

Solution:

When Kathryn McNeil was hired on she told the company that she was a single parent and that she had to arrange for the care of her son. She was told in her interview that she would be working Monday thru Friday seven thirty A.M. to five-thirty P.M, and that sometimes she would be required to work overtime but usually no more than twice a month. This is where the problem started. Charles Foley knew that the previous project manager was successful and worked thirteen to fourteen hour work days, six days per week. Knowing this and not passing