Background

Ten years ago, you started working as a clerk for DMD
Medical Supplies. Six months ago, Liz Jakowski, the human
resources director, promoted you to office manager. You
manage two employees: Jack Snyder and Ruth Disselkoen.
Your office provides secretarial support for the four members
of the executive team. Two years ago, Liz had assigned Jack
to support Ralph Alane and Jessica Hilo. Ruth was assigned
to Samuel Daley and Frank Daley. The work flow was
equally balanced.
You’ve noticed that in the last three months Ruth has cut her
breaks short to complete her work, complains of being tired,
and at least twice a month requires overtime hours costing
the company an additional $200 a month. In the last three
weeks, Frank Daley has complained to you a few times about
the poor quality of Ruth’s work.
On the other hand, over the last three months, Jack frequently
seems to have little to do. He has begun coming in late a
couple times a week and taking more than the allotted break
times. What work he does have, however, is always professionally completed.

Clearly, you must investigate to determine what is causing
this change and how to improve the situation. Since nothing
has changed in the personal lives of either Jack or Ruth, you
conclude you must focus on the in-office work situation. You
learn the following facts:
• Samuel and Frank Daley share a part-time administrative
assistant who works only 15 hours a week.
• Ralph Alane and Jessica Hilo share a full-time administrative
assistant.
• Jessica Hilo has been on medical leave for the last four
months, and Liz Jakowski isn’t sure whether Jessica will
be able to return to work.
• Jessica’s duties have been temporarily reassigned to
Ralph and Frank.
Although you don’t have the authority to change the work
assignments of the two administrative assistants or the
executive team, you clearly need to change your office
assignments so that both Jack and Ruth work regularly
without requiring overtime.

Process
1. The background explains the primary cause of the workflow
problem and the negative effects resulting from it.
Your task is to make up a realistic plan which solves
the uneven productivity between Jack and Ruth. Use
prewriting tools like brainstorming, cluster or webbing
diagrams, and freewriting to outline the cause-effect
situation and to develop a specific solution that best
solves the problem. Also ask yourself the following
questions to expand your prewriting.
• How long has this situation been going on?
• Why did the problems begin when they did?
• Am I able to solve the problem at its root cause or
am I only able to manage the impact of the problem?
• Is this a temporary or permanent problem?
• How has the company been affected?

• How have the employees been affected?
• What’s in my power to change? What must stay the same?
• What are two or three ways to improve the efficiency of
my office?
• How much work, time, and money would be required to
implement each solution?
• Does each solution stop all the negative effects?
• Are there any benefits to the change beyond stopping
what is occurring?
• How exactly would each change affect Jack, Ruth, and
the executive team?
• What would I have to do to make sure each change goes
through as planned and to monitor the situation once
the solution is in place?
2. From your prewriting, develop the single best solution to the
situation described in the background. Obviously, you won’t
be able to use everything you’ve prewritten, so your first step
is to choose what’s most important for the purpose and
audience. As you outline a solution, you may need to make
up more specific details that define the steps of the plan and
describe particular benefits of the plan.
3. Next, sort your details and information about the problem and
the plan into one of the two sections given below. Don’t
worry about complete sentences for this sorting stage; merely
list the information under the appropriate section. Use
information from both the background and your prewriting.
Section 1
• Facts and figures that define the problem (the cause)
• Details that show the impact of the problem (effects) on
Jack, Ruth, and the company
Section 2
• The steps needed to change the situation
• Reason to implement each step, including the benefits
to your employees, your supervisor, and the company
• Information about your role in the change

I have all my information,brainstorming, webbing, but I'm having trouble putting it together. Can you give me any ideas?

If you follow these steps, you should be able to put together your information.

2. From your prewriting, develop the single best solution to the
situation described in the background.

Section 1
• Facts and figures that define the problem (the cause)
• Details that show the impact of the problem (effects) on
Jack, Ruth, and the company

Section 2
• The steps needed to change the situation
• Reason to implement each step, including the benefits
to your employees, your supervisor, and the company
• Information about your role in the change

Does this start out my paragraph in the correct form for my assignment?

For the past three months, work related problems have accured,causing conflict between co-workers.The ongoing problems require attention,so we can better assist our daily clients.

Should I word it differently?

confused...

Yes, that's a good start.

I think you mean "occurred" not accured. Also, you need a hyphen between work and related because together they form an adjective modifying problems.

Your next step is to explain these work-related problems.

thanks!! I'll repost my paragragh as I continue writing.

Before you repost it, please proofread and run it through a spell check.

This is what I have so far.

For the past three months work-related problems have occurred, causing conflicts between co-workers. The ongoing problems require attention, so we can better assist our daily clients.
The in-office situation came about a month after Jessica Hilo took a medical leave. During this time, Ralph and Frank were temporarily reassigned her duties, resulting in an unequally balanced work flow. Frank has complained about Ruth’s poor quality in work, and I have noticed that she is working overtime at least twice a month, which costs the company additional money. On the other hand, Jack frequently has little work to do, but always completes his work professionally. Ralph has an assistant that works full-time, and Frank’s assistant only works fifteen hours a week.
To be successful the company needs teamwork. I do not feel that the co-workers are performing daily office tasks as well as they can and would like to offer some suggestions. First, I feel we should equally balance the work flow. Instead of reassigning Jessica’s work to Ralph and Frank, let Jack, Ralph, and the full time assistant temporarily take up the slack. When it is determined that Jessica isn’t coming back to work hire someone to take her place.

You copied this from someone else

At DMD Medical Supplies, the employees have not been working together as a team. I feel this is the issue concerning the company to pay an extra $200.00 in overtime. The two employers I manage are Jack and Ruth. If Jack would take over some of Ruth’s assignments it would cut back on her hours. This would fix the company paying an extra $200.00 in overtime. Ruth then would not be so tired and her work would be more efficiently. Also by doing this Jack would have more assignments to do. This would make him a more efficient team member by taking less breaks and not being late. This will make the team at DMD Medical Services run more efficiently.

Certainly! Based on the information provided, let's organize the information into the two sections as mentioned in the instructions.

Section 1: Define the Problem

- Ruth has cut her breaks short, complains of being tired, and requires overtime costing the company an additional $200 a month.
- Frank Daley has complained about the poor quality of Ruth's work.
- Jack frequently seems to have little to do, comes in late a couple of times a week, and takes longer than the allotted break times.

Section 2: Steps to Change the Situation

Step 1: Assess and Understand the Workload

- Conduct a thorough analysis of the current work distribution and workload of both Ruth and Jack.
- Determine if there is an uneven distribution of tasks and responsibilities that is causing the productivity issues.

Step 2: Reassign Work Duties

- Based on the analysis, redistribute the workload between Ruth and Jack to ensure a more balanced distribution of tasks.
- Adjust assignments considering their strengths, skill sets, and the needs of the executive team.

Step 3: Provide Training and Support

- If necessary, provide additional training or resources to help Ruth improve the quality and efficiency of her work.
- Support Jack by providing opportunities for professional development or assigning him additional responsibilities to keep him engaged.

Step 4: Regular Check-Ins and Performance Evaluation

- Establish a system of regular check-ins with both Ruth and Jack to monitor their progress and provide guidance or feedback as needed.
- Conduct performance evaluations to track improvements and identify any ongoing issues.

Step 5: Communication and Collaboration

- Foster open communication and collaboration among the office team to ensure smooth workflow and address any challenges or concerns promptly.
- Encourage teamwork and support among the administrative assistants and the executive team.

Reasons to Implement Each Step and Benefits

- By assessing and redistributing the workload, it helps avoid overburdening one employee and ensures a fair distribution of responsibilities.
- Providing training and support can improve Ruth's productivity and the quality of her work, reducing the number of complaints from Frank Daley.
- For Jack, assigning additional responsibilities or providing training can help keep him engaged and motivated, avoiding idle time or coming in late.
- Regular check-ins and performance evaluations help in tracking progress and addressing any ongoing issues for both employees.
- Effective communication and collaboration contribute to a more cohesive and efficient office environment, benefiting the entire team and the company as a whole.

Your Role in the Change

- As the office manager, you will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the plan and monitoring its effectiveness.
- Ensure proper communication with Liz Jakowski, the human resources director, and provide necessary updates on the progress and outcomes.
- Coordinate with the executive team to ensure the changes align with their needs and expectations.
- Support and guide Ruth and Jack through the transitions and monitor their performance.

By following these steps and considering the benefits and reasons behind them, you can create a structured plan to address the productivity issues between Jack and Ruth.