Suzanne Candor, a cancer registrar, made an appointment to discuss her work schedule with Kerri Lynn Emerson, the cancer registry director. Ms. Candor is nervous about requesting to change her work schedule because Mrs. Emerson has a reputation as a "hard nose". Suzanne has had the same Sunday - Thursday daytime schedule for the past 5 years. As a matter of fact, this schedule was one of the attractions to this job because it allowed her time to easily participate in her kids' school activities. However, her kids are now high school age and she has recently joined a new community church that expects regular participation at worship services and Sunday school. She enjoys her job, has an excellent work record, and does not want to jeopardize her position. However she feels in a bind because of the priority she gives her religion obligations.

Subsequently, she asks her boss to change her schedule to work from Tuesday - Saturday on the daytime shift. Ms. Emerson is hesitant to make this change because she knows that it is challenging to find staff willing to work on Sundays. However, she also knows that Suzanne is a valuable employee and suspects that some religious freedom concerns may be involved. In the interim (while she checks with HR management director on any potential legal risks of denying the request), she ask Suzanne to present a written request with justification for the schedule change, an analysis of the impact of the new schedule, and recommendations for handling any potential problems associated with it.

Let's discuss the following questions regarding this case study:

Assuming that Suzanne demonstrates that the schedule change can be accommodated with minimal impact on the work process and output, should Mrs. Emerson approve the request? Please explain your answer. Under what circumstances relevant to the case might you deny the request? What problems might result by setting this precedent for position-specific scheduling?