Please answer the questions directly without jargon

1.Is there a problem?

2. What should Gene do?

Background Information Gene Jenkins has been acting supervisor of the Accounts Servicing Depart- ment of Wilson's for the past two months. Wilson's is one of the premier de- partment store chains in the region, and the Accounts Servicing Department is responsible for maintaining, updating, and adjusting the credit accounts of Wil- son's 20,000 charge customers. Gene was moved into this position after the pre- vious supervisor left abruptly in anticipation of a reorganization. Gene was told to keep the operation running until final decisions about a reorganization could be made. There are four account service representatives in the department. All four are women in their mid- to late 20's. They have been in the department for an average of five years. Each representative is responsible for approximately 5,000 accounts. In order to complete their duties, they must often deal with other employees throughout the chain of stores as well as with the customer's themselves. Thus, in addition to the skills needed to manage, adjust, and service the accounts, the "reps" must be very polite and tactful when talking with oth- ers. Before being promoted into his current supervisory capacity, Gene worked as a rep for three years. During that time, he mastered the job and knew that with a little concentration and discipline, it could be both challenging and satis- fying. Therefore, he could not quite understand Kathy Showers. Kathy, 27 and single, has been in the department for a little more than two years. During that time, she learned the job well. She can process the paperwork quickly and without error and, indeed, will often finish her work before anyone else. Because Kathy commutes to work over a long distance via public transit, she often arrives early. This explains in part why she finishes her work ahead of time: She frequently starts working half an hour early. In spite of a good record, though, Kathy's performance has started to slip re- cently. In fact, Kathy has become a big problem for Gene since he became act- ing supervisor. As one of her co-workers put it when complaining about Kathy the other day: "She's enough to drive you crazy." Kathy has become very unpredictable and moody. When a customer or co- worker irritates her, her first reaction is to give everyone the silent treatment. Since her behavior is so obvious and affects everyone who works in the same office space with her, the tension level in the office has risen significantly. When dealing with customers or other employees over the phone, she tends to be abrupt and curt to the point of being rude. Or, when she must deal in person with someone, she will often sigh impatiently as they approach her desk or sim- ply continue talking on the phone while they wait. Gene has started receiving complaints from both customers and co-workers about this. And when she be- comes really upset, she loses all control, shouting and sometimes swearing to whomever is nearby. The problem seems to stem from her boyfriend. Gene learns from some of her co-workers that she makes personal phone calls to him several times during the day. On a number of different occasions, she has ended the phone conversa- tion by yelling into, then slamming down, the phone. She then will jump up from her desk and leave for a long time, and when she returns, she will cry very easily when asked where she has been. Some of the other employees in the department now "walk on tiptoes" around her, while a few others enjoy fighting with her. Although, things are far from smooth and harmonious in the unit, Gene knows that something must be done but is not sure how to proceed