Issues at the Workplace, a Written Contract between Employer and Employees - Case Study Example

Issues at work place Introduction Whenever an employee is outside a company’s building, they represent that company to those they are in contact with. That is the reason why positive attitude among employees is vital to a company. A dissatisfied employee does not only does a shoddy job but can cause loss of clientele by painting a negative image, which can cost a company major losses. It is therefore very important for an employer to ensure that they not only hire employees with a positive attitude but they can retain that attitude within their workers. This paper reviews a case study on Josh Martin, an employee at the Centre Street Settlement House. It examines the various issues at the workplace, as raised in the study. Discussion One of the problems identified is lack a job analysis which can be looked upon in two perspectives. First, there is no job description governing what Josh does at work. This means that there is no written document which details his responsibilities at work and therefore, they keep on changing at the pleasure of his boss. According to the case study, his responsibilities have “increased exponentially over the last few years”. It is due to the same shortcoming that Josh gets to be blamed for small things such as a missing tile in the cafeteria, a job which is very likely not supposed to be his responsibility. Developed around 1900 as a management technique, job analysis entails analyzing a new position being created within an organization or an existing position which needs to be filled (Clifford, 2007). It looks at the type of job being done, the responsibilities involved, time taken, salary position and such facts of a position. A job analysis has two outcomes namely a job description and a job specification. In the case under review, the agency seems to have overlooked both of them. Second, Tom Saunders lacks a job specification to fit into his current role as Josh’s boss. According to the study, Saunders in inattentive to the agency’s details and in the absence of Josh, he cannot accomplish tasks as is required of him. On keenly analyzing the case, Tom Saunders lacks a proper job specification. A job specification outlines the minimum level of education, skills, experience and other attributes which are necessary to maintain a certain standard of work done. A specification addresses issues such as minimum education required, minimum level of professional experience that one should have, abilities, skills, knowledge and those attributes that can be developed on the job and how long that would take (Holmes, 2007). According to the case study, due to Josh’s absence, Saunders had to “cancel an important meeting to supervise an agency fiscal audit”. Being Josh’s superior, Saunders should be have the capabilities to shoulder his responsibilities or to delegate them in his absence. Mary also says that without Josh, nothing would get done within the agency, meaning that Saunders lacks the skills and knowledge required to shoulder the responsibilities expected of him and therefore heavily relies on Josh to take the load off him. The other issue emerging within the case study is lack of effective job description for Josh. A job description is a summary of the duties which come with a specific position. The statement details the responsibilities to be assumed by the person taking up the job, the accountability or reporting procedure and authority of the position holder within the agency including the limits of authority when it comes to activities such as decision making, expenditure and making company decisions(Grant, 2006). Having a list of duties eliminates the possibility of employees arguing that they are doing a job that is “not theirs” or employees offloading their responsibilities to those under them. This is clearly seen in the case study where Josh’s work seems to be growing exponentially within a span of few years. Due to lack of a proper job description, there seems to be no one responsible for certain jobs like processing invoices for agency vendors, a job, which is claimed to be a shared responsibility between Josh, Saunders and the agency’s accountant. For this same reason, Josh seems to get blames over “little problems” within the agency which are not within his job description. This oversight gives Saunders a right to blame Josh for anything that goes amiss in the agency. The fourth issue pointed out in the case study is the lack of a signed contract between Josh and his employer. A job contract is a legal document that is supposed to protect both the employer and the employee. In this case, although Josh enjoys various benefits coming with his role at the agency, he could loose them at the will of his employer as there is no document biding his employer to continue offering them. It is said in the case that Josh has no written Contractual agreement and essentially serves at the pleasure of Saunders. Some of the requirements of a job is a written agreement , also known as a contract, which in most cases is a legal document detailing the terms and conditions of employment. Upon signing it, the employee agrees to be bound by those terms as long his term of service with this particular employer lasts. A job contract is also supposed to protect both the employee and the employer during the time that they are working together. Some of the terms listed in a contract include; names of both employer and employee, job title, employment date, end date in case of a temporary contract, working hours, employee’s compensation package, health insurance, severance clauses and bonuses such as minimum notice required either from the employer or from the employee and benefits coverage Holmes (1996). Due to lack of a written contract to which he can refer, Josh suffers issues like extended working hours, and lack of proper and detailed pension scheme in the case that he retires. As mentioned earlier, although he has an attractive compensation package, this can be recalled any time as there is no written agreement that bides the company to provide the benefits he enjoys. Also, good to note is that despite the fact that Josh has served with this agency for twenty years, he can be terminated easily as long as his employer wills so, since there is no legal document which states the terms of terminating the contract. He could also lose his termination benefits in the process. The last problem raised in the case is the issue of bad staff attitude. This is especially comes out when Saunders screams at two of the agency employees in the cafeteria about a missing file. Looking deeper into his words at that moment, Saunders considers himself to be doing everything within the agency. According to Mary, one of the employees in the cafeteria at the moment, Saunders blames Josh for every little problem that comes up within the agency. A job is an agreement or a transaction between a buyer and a seller, where the employee is the one selling while the employer is the buyer, Mullen (2011). For both parties, this transaction is voluntary and like any other transaction, the buyer (employer) offers to buy the services of the seller (employee) at a price which is affordable to them. In retrospect, the employee decides whether to accept the terms offered or not. As earlier mentioned, this is a review of a case study where Josh Martin, an employee at the Centre Street Settlement House is dissatisfied with his job due to the attitude of his direct supervisor Tom Saunders amongst other reasons. How to address issues at the workplace One of the ways to address some of the issues raised in the case study is to draw a job description which shows all types of tasks that an employee is supposed to undertake. It should also clearly spell out and elaborate the boundaries of a work role to ensure employees perform well without undertaking tasks allocated to another person in the company or engaging in activities which are likely to cause conflict with whatever tasks others are performing. In this regard, a job description is supposed to limit the scope of involvement in an organization by an employee (Ellis, 2005).If this were effected in the case study, Josh would not have to be blamed for a missing tile, neither would he have to share responsibility over a role of preparing invoices for agency vendors and consultants. A job description would also ensure that he is entitled to certain working hours. This would serve in motivating him and changing his attitude for better performance. A job specification details knowledge, skills, educational qualifications, experience and even the attitude of a potential employee (Ellis, 2005). Employee attitude is vital to the survival of a company. In an attempt to analyze Saunders job specification in the case study, his knowledge, experience and attitude do not fit the role that he plays within the agency. Saunders is unable to conduct certain activities in the absence of Josh who is a level under him. He is also said to be inattentive to the agency details and to have a poor attitude towards work and other employees as observed when he “screams” at two of his employees and when be places blame on an employee for tasks not under his role. If a job specification was to be done properly by the agency, Saunders would not be the right person to hold the job title of an autocratic executive director to the agency. Finally, the major solution to the issues raised in the case study is the development of a written contract between Josh and the agency. A contract of employment is considered to be of vital importance to any organization (Ellis, 2005).It shows the terms and conditions of the employment which. In this case, terms and conditions of Josh’s employment are at the discretion of Saunders as there is no contract outlining them. A work contract also protects an employee from such vices as unfair dismissal and sex and race discrimination (Grant, 2006). It stipulates the number of hours one is supposed to work and which solves the problem of Josh’s 24 hour working schedule. The most important factor of a work contract is the fact that it has details of one’s job description. As such, it solves the problem of Saunders delegating work that is out of Josh’s scope to him. It also ensures that one’s contract cannot be terminated by either party without following the necessary steps to do so. In addition, the compensation package will be part of the written agreement and as such cannot provide a basis for one to do work beyond his scope. A contract further contains benefits as mandatory sick leave in case one is ill, the right to join trade unions if so wished and it offers time off for public duties amongst other benefits. Conclusion After carefully analyzing the case study, many issues arising can be solved by issuing of a written contract between Josh and his employer. Amidst all other solutions, signing of a work contract has emerged to be the best with most advantages (Grant, 2006). Despite it having many benefits, stating the terms and conditions of your employment and having a detailed job description, a written contract is a legal documents which bides the two parties until their stipulated time of contract expires or is terminated by either party upon following of the necessary procedures. Breaching of a work contract by either party can result into legal action being taken against them ((Ellis, 2005).That way, both parties are protected against extortion by either one of them. Some of the benefits that Josh would reap from a contract would be: protection of his compensation package, retirement benefits and pension allowances, working within a stipulated number of hours, a proper job description which would bind him to his work role and the ability to serve under his own pleasure and not that of his boss amongst other advantages (Grant, 2006). References Clifford, J., P. (2007). Job analysis: why do it and how should it be done. Chicago: University Press Ellis, N. (2005). Employment law II: the importance of employment contract. Publisher: British Medical Association Grant, C., P. (2006). Industrial management/ job descriptions: what’s missing. Publisher: Institute of Industrial Engineers Holmes, A. (2007). Black enterprise: sign on the dotted line. Publisher: Graves, Ltd Read More