CASE STUDY $7$ Forgetting Claims

Background Information

Betty Warren, $36,$ has been supervisor of the Claims Adjustment Unit for the State Department of Unemployment Insurance for over two and a half years. The Claims Adjustment Unit is responsible for processing claimant appeals concerning either incorrect payments or administrative judgments made on their application. Although the work is often frustrating and difficult, Betty nonetheless enjoyed her job and her work until June Williams joined the unit. That is why the current situation with June is so irritating to her.

When the department went through a cost$-$cutting reorganization not long ago, Betty inherited June Williams, a $54-$year$-$old employee who had been with the agency for over $28$ vears. June was pleasant enough to get along with and could do certain parts of her job fairly well, but, as Betty came to discover, she just could not seem to master one of the key tasks of the unit that all employees needed to know: how to complete the Adjustment Determination Form $1293.$

The ADF $1293$ is the basic form used to record the information and decisions made on each applicant's appeal. The procedure associated with this form includes the following steps:

Verify that all the information supplied in boxes $6-10$ and $14-27$ are correct.

Look up the individual's eligibility criteria from the appropriate table in the state codebook.

Compute the personal exemption rate by using the standard formula: $($number of dependents $*1200)+$ weeks unemployed rate, where weeks unemployed rate $=$ number of weeks unemployed $**\mathrm{.}25$

Compare the results of steps $2$ and $3,$ and record on the attached Decision Report Sheet.

Make a decision and enter reasoning in section $5$ of the form.

On the average, Claims Adjustment clerks are expected to complete $15$ of these forms a day. Betty had found from her experience that it typically took about four to six weeks for new employees to reach this level of performance.

On June's first day with the unit, Betty showed her how to carry out this procedure. June watched as Betty completed each step. She took no notes, only smiled and nodded her head as Betty worked through the procedure. At its conclusion, she asked no questions and said that she understood. Already a little late for a meeting, Betty left June at her desk to start work.

Three days later, Betty received a bundle of $1293$ forms that June had processed, but they were all incorrect. She called June into her office and explained the procedure again. June watched very closely, nodding and smiling and looking very intently at what Betty was doing. Again, June asked no questions. Betty finished the demonstration, and June returned to her desk.

Over the next two weeks, Betty continued to receive incorrect forms that June had processed. Now, after three weeks on the job, June is barely doing $10$ forms a day correctly. However, she has been making some slight progress and the number of incorrect forms has been falling.

Betty thinks: "Boy, June sure has a bad memory. She simply can't recall what she was told. She's been bluffing about learning what I told her."

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Problem and Issue Identification

What are the central facts of this case? What assumptions have you made about this case?

What is the major overriding issue in this case?

What sub$-$issues or related issues, in this case, merit additional consideration?

Analysis and Evaluation

Who are the stakeholders in this case, and what are their stakes?

What challenges. threats. or opportunities are posed by these stakeholders?

What economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities does the person or company have? What are the nature and extent of these responsibilities?

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Recommendations

What are your recommendations for this case?

If strategies or actions are involved, should the person or company have acted as it did?

What action should he taken now? Whv$?$ Re snecific

Select an optimum solution and describe how it should be implemented.