Walmart Case

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2

Question One 3

Question Two 5

Question Three 7

Question Four 8

Debating the Issues 9

Empowerment 9

In Favor 9

Against 9

Motivation 10

In Favor 10

Against 10

Policies and Procedures 11

In Favor 11

Against 11

Hiring Procedures 12

In Favor 12

Against 12

Manager-Employee Communication 12

In Favor 12

Against 13

References 14

Question One

1. What are Claude's alternative regarding attending his father's birthday party? What should he do? Why?

Claude has several alternatives for his predicament. First, he could just go to work and do his shift as scheduled. Secondly, he could call in sick so that he could attend his father's birthday dinner. Thirdly, Claude could all attempt to switch his shift with one of his co-workers who also work in the photo lab. Fourthly, he could put in a request for the day off from the manager and explain the situation. Fifthly, he could pretend to be sick and leave early. Sixthly, he could get his co-worker to cover 20 minutes while he makes a quick stop in at his father's birthday dinner. Finally, Claude could resign from his position at Wal-Mart.

As Claude has several options for a solution to his predicament, he should try different ones to try to get the result he wants. First, he should just ask his manager for the time off. However, this may prove to be useless as the manager has not given people time off in the past, even when they put in requests for it four months in advance, saying that they system that they use will not allow the days off when it creates the schedule. The manager would not even give Claude Saturdays off in the past even though it was for religious reasons. He just stated that the computer would not allow it.

If asking the manger for the time off proves to be ineffective, then Claude should try to switch his shift with one of his other co-workers, Perhaps there is someone who is working in the morning and is understanding of Claude's problem and would be willing to switch their shifts. It is unclear what the policies and procedures are if an employee cannot work a shift and wishes to switch with a co-worker. In most cases in other companies switching shifts are not problems as long as all shifts are covered. If there is no one able or willing to switch shifts, then Claude may be tempted to pretend to be sick so that he can leave early and still be able to attend part of his father's party. However, Claude may have an issue with this because he appears to be a very honest person. Perhaps he could leave work for twenty minutes or so and get his co-workers to cover him while he is gone. This way he will be able to see his father for a little while, while the party is taking place and he would not feel as guilty as if he had missed his entire shift. However, if he is caught, then there could be a disciplinary action for him and the co-workers that helped him and their employment could be terminated.

Another option, which is not very attractive for Claude, is to go to work and complete his shift. If he cannot switch his shift, this would be the most appealing option to his because he is an honest person. He would be upset that his missed the party but he will not feel guilty bout lying and will still have a job. He could however call in sick, but because he already requested time off for that day, it would look very suspicious to his manager that he was sick that day. In addition, because Claude is an honest person, he would have a lot of trouble doing this. Finally, the last thing that Claude should do is weigh the importance of his job and compare it to the importance of attending his father's birthday dinner. If the dinner is more important then he should quit his job. This would lead to the lose of income and could mean that if he cannot find a comparable position then he will have to take out student loans to pay for his tuition which was one thing that he never wanted to do. Claude's goal was to graduate with his engineering degree and not have any loans to pay back. He may, however, end up working at a lower paying job such as a McDonalds.

Question Two

2. What are Claude's alternative regarding his general employment situation? What should he do? Why?

Claude has several employment options presently. First, he could continue working at Wal-Mart but be constantly alienated and looking over his shoulder all of the time. He could also look for another job if he is truly unhappy in his present position. He could quit his job and look for a new one. Or he may decide to quit his position and rely on his parents to pay for his tuition or he may decide to take out a student loan.

Claude should keep his job while looking for a new job. His goal was to graduate from university with his degree and not have any student loans looming over him. He would not be able to accomplish this if he is unemployed. He could also quit his job and get a position at a lower paying company, such as McDonalds, although it is unclear as to whether or not these pay rates will be enough to keep Claude out of debt as there is a two-dollar difference.

Claude could also ask for his parent's assistance. However, since Claude has a very closely knit family and he has to work to pay for his tuition, it is reasonable to assume that his parents cannot afford to send his university, so this may not even bee an option. Finally, if all else fails, he should quit his job at Wal-Mart and get a student loan. Since he is almost finished his education, he would not have to borrow