In this exercise, please read the mini$-$case and answer the questions that follow.

Anita Dell had been having a rough year. Her youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. In addition to the emotional toll this took on Anita, she also had to miss work often to take her daughter to doctor's visits or to be at home to help her. While at work, Anita had trouble concentrating and her work performance was severely declining. Her manager had approached her several times about her performance. Although she was trying to improve, her work continued to deteriorate. She noticed that the assignments her manager was giving her as the year continued were at lower and lower levels of complexity, and she felt that he was trying to prod her to resign.

Anita's manager had a difficult time deciding what to do$.$ Muffins, Inc. had an employment$-$at$-$will doctrine, but it was unclear if it would apply in this circumstance. Because Anita did not have a specific employment contract with the company, the doctrine of "employment at will" should apply in this situation. However, Anita's manager was unclear whether this would be a sufficient reason for termination. He felt bad because of everything that had happened to Anita over the past year and he had tried to remain supportive despite all of the mistakes she was making and the extensive time she had been taking off of work. Despite his recommendations and attempts to lessen her work load, it seemed like she was no longer able to effectively perform her job. Although he believed the right decision was to let her go$,$ the manager offered her a generous severance package in recognition of her years of service and to assist her with paying medical bills.

Anita's manager should have discussed her ongoing poor performance by