Essay Human Resource Development – Allison Clark Case Study – Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Allison Clark was a reluctant supervisor. As executive assistant to the commissioner of Client Services with the Department of Disability Rehabilitation, she had the responsibility to supervise the day-to-day work of a secretarial and clerical support staff in the Commissioner’s office. While she liked her work, she did not enjoy supervising and she felt she was just ‘thrown’ into this supervisory position. Allison, white, supervised a three-person staff of female minority-group members and had the MBTI personality type of INTJ.

Given her dislike for supervising, she was fortunate that her staff performed their work smoothly and competently, even when they were busy. Wilma Johnson, who hails from Alice Springs, was the senior secretary, having been with the Commissioner for over eight years. Wilma was very professional and competent, able to handle her various tasks skillfully and effectively and she wore this as a badge of pride!

Joan Carter handled more of the technical procedures and operations

associated with disability rehabilitation matters. Joan, in her position for just over a year, was just beginning to achieve proficiency in this complex area and was doing an adequate job. Joan has struggles with her cognition, but has been able to formulate strategies to overcome her challenges and is a star performer alongside Wilma. Both Wilma’s and Joan were grade 8’s in the civil service system and are great support systems to one another.

And then there was Lenora Haskins, a 21-year-old office clerk, grade 6. Lenora comes from a low socio-economic background and had very authoritarian parents growing up. Lenora’s parents did not discourage or encourage the pursuit of education, but could not afford to keep Lenora in school past her fifteenth birthday. They did not spend a lot of time with Lenora in her childhood, as she was mostly left to her own devices, leaving her with very low social skills and always in survival mode. As such, as soon as Lenora completed year 10, she left school to support her and her family. Lenora secured a job with the state government when she was through an employment program designed specifically for school leavers in her position. Lenora is currently living at home with her parents to financially support them.

In recent months, things were not working in out in the department that Lenora has originally started in and was moved into Allison’s department due to the less than favourable circumstances of her last post. Before the transfer, she has been working as a clerk in a nearby regional administrative office. However, her performance in that job was lethargic and uninspired. She had to be supervised closely on a regular basis, and while the work she did met a minimum standard, there were occasional errors and lapses. Non-exempt employees in the department belonged to the State Service Employees Union. Rather than risk problems with the union over firing her, the decision was made to move her to the Commissioner’s office.