Elise Smart's Problem - Essay Example

 This is a case wherein Elise Smart will assess Darlene Ketchum who has been given by the vice-president of the Millennium Insurance a rating of ‘excellent” during the performance assessment. Elise Smart problem is that she must decide what performance assessment to give to one of her employee who has, uncharacteristically, failed to meet one of her key objectives for the year. The situation is difficult for Smart because of the following reasons: the causes of the unacceptable performance are not clear; the employee has previously received excellent appraisals, including a recent one by the vice president; and the employee was absent for a good part of the year on maternity leave. The various factors that influence sustained performance (ability, motivation, resources, role clarity, reinforcement) are examined, as well as steps leaders can take in improving performance of those for whom they are responsible. Assumptions: Since Elise Smart was so sure about the rating of Ketchum, Elise will suggest that Ketchum will undergo further training and understanding of her position in the organization. Because of the appraisal that she was getting Darlene Ketchum maybe is assuming that she is still doing the right thing. But Elise Smart sees it in a different way. Ketchum is no longer functioning as what she was before. Maybe because of several factors the performance of Ketchum declines without her knowing it. Elise Smart must show proof and facts that her observation on Ketchum performance is valid and accurate. Problems to solve: The case of Elise Smart in the Milleneum Insurance are quiet tough. Smart must be able to show proof and facts that Darlene Ketchum deserves to have a very low appraisal such as data on poor performance and other mistakes that Ketchum has committed to correlate it with Elise’s report. It will be hard for Smart to convince the organization since Ketchum was appraised before as to be one of the excellent employees of the company. The problem is how will Smart will be able to show that her assessment and observation to Ketchum is valid. In the company during appraisal Elise need to discuss the assessment made to Ketchum and she will sign the assessment form. The problem of Elise is that whether Darlene Ketchum will accept the evaluation or not. How will Elise show the appraisal if Ketchum still assumes that she will have the excellent rating? Darlene Ketchum needs to sign the said evaluation before Elise Smart will be able to forward it to the vice-president. In Elise view there is one important problem that needs to be resolved; this is whether Darlene will still be able to lead the group effectively in the next one to two years. With the evaluation like that Elise feels that she need to confront and deal with the performance of Darlene Ketchum candidly. Is the added obligation of Ketchum in her family affects her performance in the company? This maybe consider as one of the main factor since Ketchum has a new baby and it may distract her attention. Recommendations: The problems stated above can be resolve with the help of the persons involved in this evaluation. Considering that every company follows certain criteria in assessing an employee, Elise Smart can discuss this first with Ketchum before showing her the evaluation done (Recommendation 1). This is a team work and Ketchum should lead her group well if she is not functioning well she need to know this by informing her. Since Elise Smart is the one assigned to her evaluation she must be the designated one to explain the need for improvement and how she must function as the leader of the group. Elise Smart should not be intimidated by the evaluation done by the vice-president, she should present what she thinks need to be presented. The company might thank Smart in the future because of the accurate evaluation that she had presented. It will be an opening eye for Ketchum because of the evaluation Darlene Ketchum may become a better leader. Of course the factors mentioned seem really to affect her performance and Ketchum must be the one who make steps in recovering from the low performance rating. Another option would be asking the help of the team (recommendation 2), the team can help Smart explain everything to Ketchum. Since the best critique would be her team mates then they are the best person to tell her of her weaknesses. Ketchum may take the evaluation positively or negatively depending on how this will be explained to her. Implementation: Recommendation 1 can be implemented (1) by asking Ketchum for an appointment. Smart may invite Ketchum to a private talk explaining to her how she came up with that evaluation. This private conversation maybe done inside the office or any place. This will lessen the tension upon presenting the evaluation. Recommendation 2 can be implemented (2) by having a close door meeting with Ketchum together with her staff. The group will have the opportunity to tell Ketchum on their problem regarding her leadership. This will serve as an open forum for the group any complaints and request can be presented here. Evaluation: The advantage of the first recommendation is that the result of the evaluation will be clearly presented to Ketchum. Any question regarding the evaluation will be directly addressed to Smart who did the evaluation. The rating will be explained to her in details starting from the least to the bigger problems. In the second recommendation, the advantage is that the problem will be settled by the group itself. Since the concern people will be the group of Ketchum it will be best to settle any problem by the group itself. The disadvantage of the first recommendation is that Ketchum may be hurt and may have a reaction from the evaluation. She might be confident that she will have a good rating and presenting this to her might cause her to question the credibility of Smart. The disadvantage in the second recommendation is somewhat the same in the first recommendation. Ketchum might think that the group does not want her to be their team leader. It all depends on the proper approach and communication. Knowledge on what you suppose to be doing is important. Action Plan 1. Evaluation of the employee (by Elise Smart ) 2. Presenting the rating with proper explanation of the details 3. Recommending some actions that needs to be done to improve the performance of Ketchum 4. One on one talks involving Ketchum and Smart regarding the evaluation. 5. Team meeting together with Ketchum and Smart. Reference http://books.google.com/books?id=P85wUZKfKVAC&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=%22elise+smart%22&source=web&ots=M4JK_fQp6v&sig=nGK6B2kiDV40L77LgZ_RYhhJ0_Q  , date viewed October 18, 2007. Read More