1) John is standing in line waiting to punch the time clock at the end of a long, hard day.

Jack,
one of the older workers, crowds in front of him saying, Watch out, sonny, I belong at the head
of the line! After this Jack and John refuse to work together and this interferes with line
productivity. Jack and John workers are sent to the HRD office for mediation. How should HRD
handle this situation?
2) Joe, the driver of the truck, always plays the radio too loud and too often. Chuck decides to
mention this to him. The situation escalates over time and the two employees end up in the HRD
office. How should HRD handle this situation?
3) Betty and Jane have just finished repairing a customers TV and are driving back to the
warehouse. Betty wants to stop for a drink before clocking out. Jane does not think this is right
and reports Betty to HRD but wants to remain anonymous. How should HRD handle this
situation?
4) As Art is pulling out of a customers drive, he scrapes the fender of a car parked on the street.
Instead of stopping, he pretends it never happened. Bud, who is riding with Art, asks him to stop
so they can find out whose car it was. Art replies, Why ask for trouble? Bud reports the
incident to HRD. What should HRD do?
5) Bob is a secretary for the local credit bureau. He is responsible for keeping good will between
the bureau and its customers. When he answered the telephone one day, a mans voice
demanded to talk to the head of the office. Bob told him that he was not in the office and asked if
he can be of any help. The man answered in a loud voice, using abusive language. Bob put the
receiver down with a bang. The telephone rang, but he refused to answer. This is not the first
time Bob has done this and the manager wants to talk with Bob about his behavior with an HRD
representative present. What should the HRD representative do?
6) As the HRD employee, you are responsible for employee training at a company in the US.
Recently, following a company-wide training session, it became obvious that a number of
employees did not understand much of the training. You realize that the employees are struggling
with company correspondence and other documents written in jargon or obscure language. This
makes it especially difficult for non-native speakers of English to comply with written
instructions and company policy, and you suspect that many documents are written at a level that
even native speakers do not fully comprehend. This scenario may require services never offered
before, and the companys not sure where to begin. You talk with the manager of the nonEnglish speaking employees and he gets very angry and tells you that anyone living in the US
should know English or go back where they came from. What should the HRD employee do at
this point?

7) The HRD office has received a call from an American high tech company needing assistance
with a group of employees in Bangkok. These employees are Thai engineers working for the
company. The engineers are well educated and understand ninety-five percent of the spoken
English used in the workplace. The engineers do not actively participate in team meetings. HRD
has been asked to talk with the Thai employees and get them to be more active at meetings. How
should HRD handle this situation?
8) You serve on the staff of the local workforce development board. Recently you received a call
from a high tech manufacturing company that is hiring increasing numbers of entry-level
employees with limited English language skills. Some are turned away during the hiring process
because they cannot pass a test administered by the company. Those doing the hiring recognize
that many of these individuals possess skills needed by the industry (dexterity, keen attention to
detail, a strong work ethic). Others pass the test, but it soon becomes evident that limited English
proficiency is a barrier to their successful and continued employment. Management also
recognizes that some of its employees do not understand the culture of the workplace and the
companys employment-related expectations. Middle management has suggested that offering
English language classes on site would be an excellent investment of time and money, with an
immediate impact on employees, the production line, and quality control. Middle management
has received approval to establish an onsite ESL class for a new group of employees. They must
participate in the onsite classes and improve their English language skills in order to remain
employed after an initial probationary period. The company is seeking an appropriate service
provider.
What are some of the questions the employer should ask the provider?
What additional information does the provider need?
What support services are critical to the success of a program of this nature?
What is the role of the local workforce development network?
9) John and Mike work in the same department. Mike is a new employee. John has worked at the
company for a long time. John and Mike do the same job. They have the same job title. They have
to work together.
John likes to do things they way they have always been done. He is very vocal. Because hes been
there so long, he thinks he knows how to do things. And he tells others about it, whether or not
they ask.
Mike tries hard to follow company rules. Mike is a very quiet man. He doesnt talk much. He has
conservative and traditional values. Employees must clock in within 5 minutes of the start of
their shifts. They are supposed to clock in at their own buildings, but there isnt any way to

check this. John always clocks in at another building so he wont be marked as tardy. He always
gets to his work station at least 10 minutes late.
At least a couple of times each week, somebody asks Mike where John is. Mike is tired of
covering for John. He has kept it in for a long time. Finally, one morning, John is 20 minutes
late. Mike has to cover for John 2 times. When John finally appears, Mike tells him hes not
going to cover for him anymore.
John says, Hey, I clocked in. Ive been doing this for years. As long as you dont say anything,
nobody will ever know. Just shut the %&# up and do your job. Mike and John start shouting at
each other. The team leader walks in just as it looks like John is going to hit Mike. The team
leader sends John and Mike to HRD for mediation.
10) At the ABC Auto Parts Company people work in teams. When a line doesnt have enough
parts, the workers are sent to other lines. Sue is a complainer. She whines all the time.
She is sent to a new line for the day. Andy greets her. Andy smiles and says, Were glad to have
you as part of our team today. We like having people from other departments help us.
Sue answers, This isnt what I was hired to do. Im only here because I have to be.
Andy tries to explain the work on the line. But every time he says something, Sue whines.
Andy decides to try to make the best of it. On the morning break, several other
team members complain to Andy about how much Sue complains.
Later in the day, the line stops while more parts are brought in.
Sue whines, This is stupid. Why cant management get it right? I dont care if they pay me to sit
here and do nothing. When the line gets up and running again, Sue whines that she was just
getting comfortable,
and theres only an hour and a half left in the day anyway. Andy tells her that they need her
back on the line because the customer is waiting for the order. Tomorrow, he says, she will be
able to go back to her own department and do her own job. The next day, Sue arrives on Andys
line again. She starts whining right away. Andy cant take it anymore and goes to HRD for help.
11) Two of your fellow employees are having a verbal argument in your office. They are fighting
over who is responsible for the tasks that the boss has just assigned to the three of you. How can
HRD solve this problem?
12) Five of your fellow employees have just been let go. The workload of the five employees has
been divided up between two other employees. These two employees continue to complain and
are very resentful of the employer. HRD has been assigned the problem of handling their
complaints.
13) David has been working on a team project that is to be presented to your boss by the end of
the week. One of the team members continually makes fun of two other team members. The two

team members have decided that they will not speak to the woman who continues to make fun of
them. All the team members have remarked about the tension in the workplace. Davis asks HRD
for help.
14) You are really sick, but you have an important HRD meeting to attend at work today.
Ironically the meeting is with two employees about calling in sick all the time. What do you do?
If you call your boss on the phone, what do you say?
15) Mary is a new employee. Mary complains to HRD and states that one of her coworkers has
been rude to Mary from the first day. When Mary asked him for help because he was the only one
around, he pretended not to hear her. When Mary asked again, he spoke to you in another
language that she didnt understand, even though Mary knows he speaks English. What should
HRD do?
16) John shows up to work in an outfit that he considers to be dressed up . John notices that
most of the other people in your workplace are dressed more formally (less skin showing, less
flashy, maybe). The employee asks for your advice about the dress code. What should the HRD
employee tell the new employee?
17) Youve been working in a particular workplace for a couple of weeks (+). You find that, most
days you are doing mostly menial (mindless-physical) work sweeping up, cleaning, dusting,
packing boxes, putting things on shelves, etc.). You know that this is part of your job, but you
would like to get more experience with the type of work that your mentor does.
18) You are at your workplace working on your own on some project. While you are working, two
other employees at your site are having a conversation about something which is inappropriate or
which makes you feel uncomfortable (you decide what the topic is). Youve only been there a
couple of weeks and dont want to antagonize your co-workers.
19) You are working in a retail situation. There is a sale going on and the store is extremely busy.
A customer comes to you and asks you a question about a particular product that you sell. You
know a lot about this product, and discuss it with him/her but, for every question that you
answer, the customer comes up with another one. It is clear that this customer is interested in
your merchandise, but that he/she also is interested in keeping the conversation going.
Meanwhile, there are other customers who need help (checking out, other questions, etc.). What
should you do?
20) Your mentor is the owner of a business. He/she spends time with you regularly, but there is
also a business manager to whom you are expected to answer. At first, this is no problem. What
this manager asks you to do is reasonable, and he/she often engages you in conversation. Over

time, this manager seems to be getting more and more friendly towards you. He/she never says
anything which is clearly inappropriate, but you begin to feel uncomfortable. After two or three
weeks, the manager asks if you might like to hang out after work sometime. How should you
respond to this situation?
21) Tommy is working in a local solicitors office. It is his fourth day and yet again he has found
himself sitting in the staff kitchen with nothing to do. His supervisor appears to be uninterested
in Tommys placement, giving him nothing to do and being quite dismissive when Tommy
approaches her for some work.
Discuss what Tommy should do.
22) Ella is thoroughly enjoying her work at the local newspapers press office. She has plenty to
do, learning a great deal and everyone is being very friendly. Her supervisor, June, always
appears to be very busy and on her third day Ella has still not been shown basic health and safety
information that Ella knows she should have been told. Discuss what Ella should do.
23) Todd is working in a car mechanics garage. One the seventh day of her work experience Todd
slips on some oil that has been spilled and badly hurts her ankle. The first aider on site treats her.
Discuss what Todd should do now.
24) Ben is working in a high street music store. Although he is enjoying the work, he is finding
his colleagues unfriendly and there is one person in particular who is making his life difficult by
laughing at his clothes and telling him the wrong things to do. Ben is worried that by saying
something he will make things worse, but doesnt want to continue the rest of his work
experience in this way. Discuss what Ben should do.
25) Jay is working in a local hairdresser and has been asked to prepare some hair dye for a
customer. She asks for some gloves to wear, understanding this to be the right thing to do. Jay is
told that they do not have any gloves and not to worry as nobody else bothers. Discuss what Jay
should do.
26) Your friend, Holly, confides in you that Mr. Leech, the yearbook moderator, has been
criticizing her in front of the yearbook staff. Holly is ready to quit the staff because shes tired of
Mr. Leech calling her stupid and making fun of her. What should you do?
27) You usually wait outside your school for one of your parents to pick you up after basketball
practice. Lately you observed two of your schools cafeteria workers loading boxes of paper and
food supplies into a van and driving off. Youve seen this occur three or four times, and you
suspect they may be stealing. What should you do?

28) Your friend, John, is a computer whiz, and the principal asked him to help enter some data
into the school computer. Now John is bragging to you that he hacked his way into the student
grade reports. You dont know if he has changed any grades or not. What should you do?
29) Your English class has a research paper assignment due tomorrow, and you havent started
yours yet. While waiting in line, you overhear a student mention a great Internet site where you
can download a completed research paper on any topic. You think this might be the solution to
your problem. What should you do?
30) You work at an auto repair shop with a co-worker named Dante. Last week Mr.
Perez, the owner, turned down Dantes request for a raise. Dante told you, Perez is going to be
sorry he did this. Today you arrive at work and find broken windows and graffiti on the walls.
What should you do?
31) You and your two friends, Portia and Melanie, work in the same department of a large
discount store. Melanie frequently shows up an hour late for work, looking tired and bedraggled.
You and Portia have been covering for her, but your supervisor is getting suspicious. What should
you do?
32) Lorna is an administrative assistant in the Human Resources Department. Her good friend,
Bill, is applying for a job with the company and she has agreed to serve as a reference for him. Bill
approaches her for advice on preparing for the interview. Lorna has the actual interview
questions asked of all applicants and considers making him a copy of the list so he can adequately
prepare.
33) Emily works in Quality Control. Once a year, her supervisor gives away the refurbished
computers to the local elementary school. No specific records are kept of this type of transaction
and Emily really needs a computer for her son who is in college. Her supervisor asks her to
deliver 12 computer systems to the school.
34) Marvin is the secretary in the Facilities Management Department. He has just received a new
computer and wants to try it out. Though his supervisor has a strict policy about computer use for
business purposes only, he wants to learn the e-mail software more thoroughly than his training
can provide. One good way to do this, he figures, is to write e-mail messages to his friends and
relatives until he Agets the knack of it.@ He is caught up on all his work and only has 30 minutes
left to work today. His supervisor left early.
35) Richard and Conway are talking in the hallway about the employee benefits program.
Conway, who has had some recent financial trouble, explains to Richard how the benefits

program has a loophole that will allow him to receive some financial assistance that he really
needs to help pay health care costs for his mother. Cathy, a fellow worker, overhears the
conversation. Later, Cathy is approached by her supervisor who says he heard a rumor that some
people were taking advantage of the company benefits program.
36) Jennie was recently hired to work as a receptionist for the front lobby. As receptionist, she is
responsible for making copies for the associates. Her son, Bruce, comes in and needs some copies
for a school project. He brought his own paper and needs 300 copies for his class. If he doesnt
bring the copies with him, he will fail the project. The company copier does not require a security
key nor do they keep track of copies made by departments.

Scene One: First Day On The Job

Sheila felt ready to get to work after her one day job orientation for new
employees. When she got to work, however, she was shocked. She was
not prepared for the fast pace, sophistication and skill level found in her
new department. By noon that day, Sheila felt like she was not cut out for
the job. She felt underskilled and under prepared to meet her department's
challenges.
On her way to the company cafeteria one of her co-workers, Tammy,
caught up with her and they had lunch together. Sheila was glad that
Tammy was so friendly to her and she was able to relax a little bit. During
lunch Tammy talked about their manager, Mr. Smith. Sheila learned that Mr.
Smith was in trouble with his superiors. Next, Tammy told her about James,
the computer programmer. She told Sheila that James spread rumors and
was not to be trusted. She talked about Mrs. Tyler, the accountant. She
said that Mrs. Tyler was an alcoholic and frequently took sips from a whisky
bottle in her desk.
Tammy asked Sheila to join her for coffee after work. She said, "Trust me,
Sheila. Once you come to understand how screwed up everyone is around
here, and get the feel of the place, you'll do fine."
Question: Why would Tammy be so friendly towards Sheila? What
might happen if Sheila gets close to Tammy? Have you ever been in a
similar situation?

Scene Two: What's Your Style?

During his first week on the job, John was eager to learn everything and to
know everyone in his department. He gave his opinion freely in
discussions. He worked overtime and did excellent work. Everyone seemed
to like him. One man who had been with the company for a long time said,
"You can't help but like John, but you can tell that he'd leave this
department in a second if it meant getting closer to the top."
Erica started work on the same day as John. Unlike John, however, Erica
kept more to herself. She concentrated on her job and stayed in her area.
She made an effort to learn from others and listened to others in order to
understand situations before jumping in with suggestions. One of her coworkers said, "Erica is a really nice gal. I think she's going to make a strong
employee. I like her."
Question: What do you think the future will be like for John? For
Erica?

Scene Three: Are You Ready?

Just before Doug went home from his job as a cook on Friday night, the
restaurant manager informed him that she would be taking the next two
weeks off, and that she was appointing Doug to take her place starting
Monday.
Although Doug has more seniority than the other employees and is an
excellent cook, he doesn't feel confident in being able to handle the
manger's job. Doug doesn't feel comfortable dealing with the customers,
using the cash register, or handling conflicts that may arise between
employees. He feels that he will fail at being able to fill her shoes.
Question: What should Doug do?

Scene Four: Moving Up, So Fast?

Rosa feels really good about her new job. Her supervisor seems happy
with her performance. She's learned everything she needed to learn and is
all around proving herself to be a good employee.
Most people at the factory are close to one another and seem like a family.
Rosa hasn't spent any time getting to know any of them since she has
been spending her time learning her new job. Now, she can perform her job
as well as or better than any of the other workers.
Lately Rosa's been thinking about the possibility of becoming a supervisor
at the factory. She figures that since the job comes so easy to her that she
needs a new challenge. She plans on making an appointment with her
supervisor next week to discuss what steps she would need to take in order
to move up to a supervisory position.
Question: Do you think it would be a good idea for Rosa to move
ahead on her desire to become a supervisor? Have you ever been in a
similar situation?

Scene Five: Absenteeism

After having spent a great weekend camping, Kyle woke up Monday
morning with a fever and a bad stomach ache. He loved his new job, but
realized that he would have to call in sick. The others would have to pitch in
to do his work. As it turned out staying home Monday wasn't enough. He
also had to call in sick on Tuesday and Wednesday. Even after three days
at home he still didn't feel well, but figured that he had better get back to
work in order not to jeopardize his job. He went to work on Thursday and
struggled through until the weekend.
The next Monday Kyle feels in top shape and everyone, including his
supervisor, is friendly to him and glad to see him feeling better. Kyle starts
telling them all about the fun he had on his camping trip. He could talk of

little else all day. He was so busy talking about his fun weekend that he
forgot to thank his coworkers for covering for him. Soon he began to notice
tension between himself and his co-workers. His supervisor also seemed
more demanding.
Question: What mistake did Kyle make? Is there anything wrong with
being absent when you first start a job?

Scene Six: Decisions

After one year on the job, Lima was called into her supervisor's office. Lima
was nervous and thought back over the last few weeks to see if she had
made any mistakes at work. She couldn't think of anything she had done
wrong.
Lima was relieved when Mrs. Peterson asked her if she would like to take a
higher paying position in one of two departments. As it turned out, both
departments had openings and had heard about Lima's excellent skills and
work performance. Lima could have her choice between the two
departments.
Department A is supervised by Mr. Kent, a long-term employee.
Department A has the reputation for promoting its employees faster than
any other department. On the other hand, Mr. Kent is known to be highly
authoritarian and have a short fuse if things don't go the way he wants. In
fact, his employee turnover rate is higher than that of any other department.
Department B is supervised by Ms. Lee, a young manager recently out of
college. Under Ms. Lee's supervision people seem to be very productive
and have a good time in the process. Many workers envy the people who
work in Ms. Lee's department. On the other hand no one has been
promoted from Ms. Lee's department in the two years since she's been
manager.
Question: What should Lima do? Why?

Scene One:
Maybe Tammy's co-workers have rejected her for some reason, and that's
why she talks bad about all of them. She is trying to get Sheila to be on her
side. Sheila needs to make her own judgments about her co-workers. If she
becomes too close to Tammy too fast, her co-workers may figure that she
is just like Tammy and not want to get to know her. Sheila needs to get to
know everyone on an equal basis. A close relationship with Tammy may do
Sheila more harm than good.
Scene Two:
Both John and Erica are doing well. In some environments, John would
make more progress due to his outgoing attitude. In others, Erica would
come out ahead. Erica's attitude is less threatening than John's. In the long
run Erica may do better than John, because she is taking the time to
develop stronger relationships with her co-workers.
Scene Three:
Doug should call up his supervisor before she leaves on vacation and
share his feelings with her. Perhaps she will be able to give some of the
responsibilities to other employees, reassure Doug that he will do O.K., or
give Doug specific advice on how to handle various scenarios which may
arise during her absence.
Scene Four:
Rosa's performance probably got her off to a good start with the company.
She has underestimated, however, all that it takes to be an excellent
employee. In general, moving into a supervisory role requires that the
employee has had excellent job performance over a long period of time.
Rosa is also unaware of all that it takes to become a supervisor. She
should start spending more time getting to know her co-workers and
supervisor.
Scene Five:
It might seem unfair, but being absent when you first start a job is generally
more damaging than being absent later on. When Kyle, or anybody for that
matter, starts a new job, he or she is still a big question mark in people's
minds. New employees have not "paid their dues" yet. Kyle shouldn't have
talked at length about his wonderful camping trip, and he made a big
mistake when he didn't thank his co-workers for taking over his workload.
Kyle's reputation has been damaged. It will take some time for him to be
seen as a responsible person by others.

Scene Six:
Lima should get as much information as possible about the two
departments from Mrs. Peterson. Mrs. Peterson has seen Lima work, and
could possibly predict which department would be better suited to her. She
could advise her to go to one department over another. If Lima decides that
having an opportunity for quick advancement is important to her, she
should go with Mr. Kent. On the other hand, she might become more
motivated by Ms. Lee's style and be happier in that department in the long
run.