: It Was Really So Simple Handout $($page $2)$

pin me down and get me when you need my help. After that, you$$re on your own.$$

Brenda had prided herself on her direct, no$-$nonsense, up$-$front communication style.

Bill Stanley seemed to agree with her philosophy. He replied, $$Sure$,$ that$$s great. I

like to work on my own anyways.$$

In fact, Bill Stanley had not been Brenda$$s fi rst choice for the open position in

her department. She was looking for someone who had both auditing and computer

experience in addition to a strong background in accounting. Unfortunately, she was

unable to pay the salary that the few applicants with that background wanted. Bill

Stanley was the best remaining choice, even though he had very limited auditing and

computer experience.

Bill had accepted the job and had been doing as well as could be expected. Dur ing

his fi rst week on the job, he was placed on an existing audit project and had managed

to perform effectively according to the project leader. He seemed to get along well with

the other $$Mod Squad$$ team members and was fairly eager to work on the project,

although Brenda seldom saw him stay after quitting time.

Brenda had called Bill into her offi ce shortly after receiving the new assignment

from her boss. She told him about the project and gave him the deadline. She repeated

that her door was always open if he needed help. Bill seemed honored that she had

selected him. He tried to ask her for some details about the kinds of plans he needed to

work out. Brenda repeated that it was a simple project plan. After Bill$$s third question

along these lines, Brenda said, with a little irritation in her voice, $$Look$,$ you can fi gure

this out. Unless you have any other big questions, I$$ve got to get ready for a meeting.$$

Bill answered that he had no other questions.

Brenda had drawn the meeting to a close with the remark, $$Keep in touch.$$

In the two weeks that followed, Brenda continued to be as busy as usual. She

occasionally saw Bill in the offi ce$.$ While passing through, she would sometimes stop,

put her head through the door, and ask how things were coming. Bill would always say,

$$Fine$.$

On two occasions, Bill asked to see her. In the fi rst meeting, about two days after

receiving the assignment, he tried to get her to explain what exactly she was looking

for in the report. He produced a detailed outline. Brenda looked it over and made a

broad, vague response. Her irritation at having to tell him exactly what to do showed

after about $15$ minutes. In the second meeting, he asked for some general guidance and

help on many of the specifi cs of the project. She wondered, at one point, why he didn$$t

look up the answers to some of these questions himself. She had to cut their meeting

short in order to attend another meeting. After the second meeting, she had no further

contact with Bill.

It was now three weeks since she gave Bill the assignment. The deadline had arrived,

and Bill had submitted the report on time, dropping it off on her desk at $5$ o$$clock$,$ on

his way home. Looking it over, she had easily seen that it was incorrect. Oh$,$ it was all

there, alright; it was just wrong.

For a long time she continued to rub her eyes, as if doing so would change the

contents of the report and it would be correct when she looked at it again.

The Management Training Tool Kit: $35$ Exercises to Prepare Managers for the Challenges They Face Every Day, $2012$ HRD Press.

Published by AMACOM Books, American Management Association, www$.$amanet.org.

$67$

Handout $($page $3)$ Case $13$: It Was Really So Simple $$

Brenda thought to herself, $$Why didn$$t he come in and check it out with me to make

sure that he was doing it right, especially after he completed this fi rst part? It was really

so simple and I took so long to explain it$.$

CASE QUESTIONS

$1.$ What is the problem?

$2.$ What should Brenda do about the faulty report?

$3.$ How should she have supervised Bill on this project?