CASE 11
Special Checking Is Handed a
Loss
Background Information
Sammy Benson supervised the Special Check Sorting Unit of the Greater
Downtown Bank and Trust Company for over two years. The Special Check
Sorting Unit processed all the "special" checks that came into the bank, such as
odd-sized, foreign, or mutilated checks. Once the checks were sent to his unit,
they were manually interpreted, recorded, entered into the appropriate account
transactions, and filed for return.
Sammy supervised three check sorting clerks in his department. These jobs
were staffed by relatively untrained, entry-level individuals who had just gradu
ated from high school. People who did well in this unit were often promoted
into other positions in the bank. As such, turnover tended to be high and there
was a fairly steady stream of employees through this unit.
During the summer, Greater Downtown Bank hired low-income, disadvan
taged young people for various jobs throughout the company as part of its Com
munity Upbeat campaign. To participate in this effort, representatives from the
Human Resources Department visited selected high schools to interview stu
dents. Since the students were already prescreened by the school, the interviews
were little more than "get-acquainted" discussions. Last summer, Sammy's unit
supplied one of the jobs in this effort.
Juanita Perez was hired in this context to work as a Special Checks clerk.
She was scheduled to begin working in June after graduating from the local vo
cational high school, where she maintained a C average. This was her first full
time job.
When Juanita reported to work in June, she was scared. It was not only her
first day on the job, but the first time she had ever been in the bank. Neverthe
less, she kept up her courage and reported to the Human Resources Department
as planned. After waiting in the lobby for a while, she was taken to a small
meeting room where she and two other new hires were shown how to fill out
and sign various forms and documents. Next, an administrative assistant read to
the new hires a series of personnel policies about work schedules, breaks, over
time, pay secrecy, attendance, and benefits. She signed more forms, wondering
what all this meant.
As the meeting drew to a close, Sammy Benson arrived after receiving a call
from Human Resources. He and Juanita were introduced for the first time.
Sammy escorted Juanita back to the Human Resources Department, showing
her the bank's various offices and other departments. He gave her a quick tour
of his area, introducing her to the other clerks as he went. Sammy was careftil
not to interrupt their work, however, nor did he explain to Juanita what they
were doing. It was obvious by the expressions on their faces that the employees
were surprised to see her.
Sammy gave Juanita the job of processing foreign checks. He felt this task
was the easiest job to learn and do correctly. During her first day on the job,
Sammy spent about 15 minutes showing her the procedure: inspect, record, en
ter, adjust, file. Since he had to prepare for a meeting later that day, that was all
the time he could spend with her.
By the end of the first week, Juanita seemed to be getting the hang of things:
She came to work on time, stayed busy, and was fairly pleasant and easy to get
along with. Sammy intended to spend as much time as possible with her during
this period; however, because she seemed to catch on quickly and he was very
busy, he saw her only occasionally over the next few weeks. He would ask how
the work was going, if she was getting it done, and whether she needed any
help. Juanita would always smile and say everything was going fine.
Then, after about a month, Juanita called in sick one day. A replacement
was brought in, and as she looked through Juanita's desk for a notepad, she
found what appeared to be a large pile of unfiled checks. When Sammy looked
through the pile, he found that there were, in fact, quite a few unprocessed
checks, some of which dated from Juanita's first day on the job. As they were
the more unusual kinds of checks the department handled, Sammy assumed that
she apparently had not known how to process them. Unfortunately, the com
bined value of these checks totaled around $65,000. The bank had lost the
"float" value on them, and Sammy knew that customer complaints would be
commg m soon.
Sammy expected Juanita to come b ack to work the following day, and he
wondered if he should write up a warning notice for her immediately.
CASE QUESTIONS
1. What is the work maturity or competence level of
Juanita Perez? What kind of supervisory behaviors
should Sammy have used with her?
2. Describe the adequacy of the orientation process
which Juanita received. What kind of orientation
procedure should Sammy have used with her?
3. How should Sammy respond lo the problem of the
unprocessed special checks?
4. Sammy is considering issuing a formal, written
warning notice to Juanita upon her return. Is this an
appropriate action to take?
