Employment at Will - Article Example

Employee Inability to learn and acquire new skills and competencies In any workplace environment, expectations must be met while maintaining professionalism at all times (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). In this particular situation Jennifer fear learning new skills to enhance her performance. This emotional reaction can be countered by the manager initiating the following procedure. Ask for questions and concerns: the manager should validate the legitimate concerns and the negative effects that Jennifer is expressing.

Jennifer will automatically reveal where the problem really lies and what is making her not to effectively acquire the needed computer skills and competencies (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Ask for feelings and opinions: Jennifer seems withdrawn from what she is required to learn, in this regard the manager should reassure her that what she is feeling is common and it is safe and better to express her concerns. The manager can for instance also express the importance of computer skills and how they are vital to the company (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010).

Resist becoming defensive: the mistrust between the manger and Jennifer is detrimental and must be addressed. The manager should not be defensive but rather make an effort to listen to Jennifer instead of arguing with her. He/she should encourage communication to win Jennifer’s trust (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Be visible and involved: it is the duty of the manager to make sure that he/she is visible and accessible to Jennifer. The fear of the unknown in Jennifer will be alleviated only by the present and transparent management style.

The manager should spend some time with Jennifer to encourage her to learn the needed skills (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Provide information: the constant provision of information will help Jennifer manage her learning and working processes. The current facts should be made available to her; this will help Jennifer understand what is required of her and work hard enough to meet her expectations (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Management, behavior and performance In this particular circumstance, the manager should follow the following disciplinary procedure to address Jennifer’s situation.

Establish the facts: the manager should carry out an intensive investigation to establish Jennifer’s gross misconduct. The investigation can be conducted by different people thus allowing the manager not to rely on evidence from one person in the disciplinary hearing. Similarly Jennifer can be summoned to an investigatory meeting and if possible she should be suspended to allow for thorough investigation (Freelance Advisor, 2008). Inform the employee of the problem: if Jennifer is found to have a disciplinary case to answer, she should be notified through writing, where the notification contains enough evidence of the alleged misconduct; in this case lateness to work, poor performance, and unruly behavior.

The notification letter also provides the employee with details of the time and venue where the disciplinary meeting will be held and her right to be accompanied at the meeting (Freelance Advisor, 2008) Hold the meeting to discuss the problem: the disciplinary meeting should be held without any delay and also Jennifer should be allowed enough time to prepare. Both the manager and the employee must be present. The manager