Section 3.5: Roger's Case Study

Perhaps one of the biggest problems in this case study is that Roger keeps making the assumption that his managers need more training whenever issues with their handling of situations come up. Roger does not consider other possibilities: maybe the managers are happy with one or more working conditions or even each others. It seems Roger hasn't asked his managers why they aren't doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Also, it seems possible that the managers all assume that since Roger is the owner of the stores, he will handle everything and always keep in touch and fix everything even while he is away.

Clearly, Roger has done some uncritical thinking in that he did not think it was important to question whether there were any possibilities other than needing more training for the managers' unsatisfactory behavior. Roger thinks that his managers are resentful of the push for more training because they like their job titles but not their responsibilities. He did not consider the possibility that his managers had already had enough training and perhaps need some assurance or a push into taking on their responsibilities. The managers took advantage of the roof repairs to add a new display floor and were proud of the appearance of the store and no longer dreading the return if Roger. This implies that perhaps the managers were unhappy with the appearance of the stores, or they were getting bored of the old surroundings.

One solution to Roger's problems is that he stop ordering training sessions whenever he runs into a problem with his managers. That would only make them more resentful of Roger because they would think that he doesn't understand them at all. Maybe, Roger could even organize a workshop where his prepares several scenarios, like the tree creating a hole in the roof, medical emergencies, unhappy or unruly customers, theft, and other situations. He could either split the managers into small groups and have each group work on how they would resolve a scenario, or work on them together. This might hold the managers' attention and even help prepare them to better handle situations they may come up.

The best advice for Roger is to stop, take a seat, and think. He should consider all the possibilities for why the managers act the way they do. Then, he should go ahead and ask the managers, individually or as a group, what their feelings are about their jobs and