It Depends: Employee Relations Case Studies for Human Resources Students an... Scenario 1 Ben is a twenty-four-year-old employee at The Prince Group, a large engineering firm that specializes in civil engineering projects, such as roads, bridges and infrastructure. Ben has been with the company for eight months; prior to this, he worked as a retail sales clerk for a men's store, but joined The Prince Group because he wanted to have better career oppor- tunities. He works in a team of six from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. as an Accounts Receivable Representative, and his work includes calling customers regarding outstanding invoices, processing payments, and issuing invoices. While he is not a star at work, he is considered a steady employee who makes few errors. Ben has an easygoing and pleasant personality. In general, his coworkers like him, and he occasionally goes out for drinks after work with a group of guys from his office. He also just joined the company hockey team. However, Ben has come to work late four times in the past two weeks and his coworkers are starting to notice. Aside from this, there have been no performance or absenteeism issues. When his manager, Jeff, spoke with Ben about his lateness, Ben replied, "Well, I guess I'm just not a morning person. Jeff mentioned this to you, his Human Resources representa- tive, in passing during a conversation you were having about other staffing issues on the team. Discussion Questions 1. How would you approach this situation? 2. What advice would you give to Jeff? 3. What questions would you ask Jeff or Ben? 4. What are the contextual circumstances that have to be considered in this scenario that might have an effect on the outcome? 5. Would you recommend disciplinary action for Ben? Why or why not? If yes, what sort of discipline would you recommend? 6. Would your approach and advice differ if this was a single event versus a repeated event? How would it differ? 9 of 99