ABSTRACT
Bob Marvin, president of Motor Parts Corporation (MPC), feels a great deal of conflict and frustration about how to deal with the behavior of one of his vice presidents, Al Shepherd. Al’s wife, Ruth, has recently had a recurrence of a malignant brain tumor, and Al is spending more and more time away from work to be with her. Bob believes that Al’s increasing absence from work and his preoccupation with his wife’s problem is causing Al’s performance to suffer. In addition, Bob thinks Al’s behavior is beginning to affect the morale and performance of others who work with Al. Bob is even beginning to question Al’s commitment to the organization.
Bob has chosen not to confront Al directly because he does not want to seem insensitive. Instead, he has asked Mike Jones, a management professor and planning consultant to MPC, as well as a good friend to both Al and Bob, to speak with Al. Al was quite open about his feelings with Bob. Al believed that he was performing his job duties adequately and expressed his loyalty to the company.
When Mike Jones reports the results of his conversation with Al, Bob becomes more puzzled about what to do. Later, when Bob finds out that Al is in Detroit at his mother’s house (who is ill), he becomes really frustrated. (What Bob does not know is that Al is in Detroit closing the deal on a major account for MPC.) Mike asks Bob to talk to Al in a more straightforward way.
