Elizabeths Resignation1
Estates & Properties is a twelve year old proprietary organization into real
estate consultancy, property development and publishing in Goa. It has two
offices, one in North Goa and one in South Goa. The proprietor Mr. Fernandez
is assisted by his cousin in day to day management of E & P, while Mrs.
Fernandez handles all publishing related issues. A manager, Mr. Pai is
appointed in the South Goa office. Mr. Pai is a retired person, who is assisted
by six people, including two drivers / sales boys.
Most of the employees join as either Assistant Coordinators or as Drivers,
depending on qualification and experience. They are moved up in ranks,
depending on their performance based on managements expectations. All
appointments are done at the individual offices and ratified by the Proprietor /
Branch Head. For technical reasons, all administrative matters are handled at
the Head Office and the South Goa office sends all details to the Head Office.
Elizabeth joined Estates & Properties as Assistant Coordinator in 2002, when
E & P decided to open a small office to handle its clients from South Goa.
From 1999, all South Goa operations were handled by Mr. Raman Pai from
his house, and he was reporting directly to the Proprietor. In 2003, Mr. Arjun
Pai, Mr. Raman Pais son joined the organization as a Coordinator. Even
before joining the firm, he was helping his dad in getting new business and in
running errands for him.
Elizabeth joined at a salary of Rs.1,500 per month which was increased to Rs.
2,500 by January 2004, after a couple of increments. In June 2004, couple of
new recruits were taken in at an initial salary of Rs. 2,500. Elizabeth
requested the Manager Mr. Pai for a pay hike, as she had one and half years
experience in the organization. Mr. Pai said he would convey it to the
Proprietor but he never mentioned it to him. She had joined on the basis of an
offer letter, and had not received any appointment order or confirmation letter
till June 2004. She had asked for the same in July 2004, when the proprietor
visited them on some official visit. He had responded very positively, saying
he never knew letters were not issued to her, and said he would follow up with
the concerned person at the Head Office and ensure she received the same
very soon. He also promised a pay hike with effect from July 2004.
But she neither received the Confirmation Letter nor the Appointment Order till
September 2004, when a pay hike of Rs.500/- was paid from the month of
August 2004. She asked the Manager about the discrepancy, as she was
expecting the hike from July and hence she should get Rs.500/- more in her
salary as arrears. And she was not happy over the fact that she got only
Rs.500/- as increment. She expected at least Rs.1,000/Elizabeth was an orderly person, opened different files and registers and took
initiative to maintain records, even if not asked. She expected her colleagues
1
Case written by Dr. R. Nirmala, Member of the Faculty of Management Studies, Goa University based on a real life
situation. 2007. Edited by A.Sreekumar, Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Goa University
to be equally systematic. As the father-son combine seemed to work together,
she felt left-out of discussions, and felt like an outsider in the firm. Her
approach towards people and issues had been straightforward, and she did
not hesitate to answer back immediately or question the working of the boss.
This led to difference of opinion between the Manager and Elizabeth and each
was trying to blame the other for most of the problems.
The situation worsened when a new employee Lata joined. Lata was taken in
as Assistant Manager through a campus interview from an MBA College. The
relation between Lata and Elizabeth was cordial. The policy of the
organization was not to reveal the salary offered to the employees and
Elizabeth was curious to know how much Lata was getting. Once she came to
know that Lata was getting a salary of Rs.8,000/- she complained that the
organization did not take care of its existing employees growth, though she
had no specific complaints against Lata or her pay.
Meanwhile Mr. Fernandez brought in a consultant to advise on HR (Human
Resources) issues, as he felt it was important to improve the motivation of
existing employees and to train them for improved performance. Mr. Pande
was a management teacher and he had agreed to meet the employees and
help the management with basic HR issues. He visited the Head Office once
a fortnight and meet all employees. During one of these sessions, he came to
know that confirmation letters were never issued to the employees and it was
a major concern to them as they could not apply for loans from banks, etc.
when required. Concern was also expressed about Provident Fund and other
benefits. When discussed with the management, they had no problems with
issuing letters or implementing PF, it was just that no body had given it much
thought, as they were always busy with business issues. All formats and
procedures were developed by Pande and were put to use immediately by the
management. Head Office employees were quite happy with the changes
introduced.
It was suggested to the South Goa office that at least one employee from
there should be present in the Head Office during every interaction with the
consultant, but for some reason they were either reluctant or unable to make
it. After four such occasions, Pande made a visit to the South Goa Office
along with Mr. Fernandez to meet South Goa Office employees.
During individual interaction with employees, it was noticed that Mr. Pai and
his son were restrained and said everything was fine in South Goa office.
Lata, being a student of Pande, had mentioned about the rift between the Pais
and Elizabeth and suggested he speak to her in detail, as Elizabeth was
considering leaving the organization.
During interactions with Elizabeth, she was initially hesitant and said
everything was fine. On probing more into interpersonal relations in the office
and personal issues, she slowly opened up and came out with all problems
she faced, that she never received confirmation order nor were any benefits
given to employees, etc. She was told that matters were being taken care of
and she would be getting her letters very soon. She was disappointed that her
Manager never thought it appropriate to mention it to the staff. She wanted to
quit as there was no recognition for good work, whereas some employees
were able to get away with irresponsible work behavior due to personal
relationships. After counseling, she agreed to stay back for some more time in
the hope of positive changes in the organization.
After fifteen days, the proprietor called Mr. Pande and requested him to talk to
Elizabeth as she had put in her resignation and the Manager had forwarded
the same to him. He was worried over the fact that it was difficult to get
efficient and trained employees to take her place, and it might have an
adverse impact on the organization. When Mr. Pai was asked about the
reasons for Elizabeths resignation, he said her behavior was inappropriate
and he would be better off without her services. He was confident of finding a
good replacement at the earliest, and was willing to consider her staying back
only if she apologized to him and assured disciplined behavior. Despite the
Proprietors inclination, the Manager was not willing to reconsider.
Should Elizabeth continue in the Organization?
