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 non-English
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.