A Good Way to Get Up Early

|CASE INCIDENT 7.2 |

|The Vacation Request (Text page 185) |

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|Tom Blair really wants a week off to go fishing but finds out two other employees in the department already have the week off. Tom knows his|

|chances of getting the week off are slim to none, so he sends his request past his boss Luther to Luther’s boss, Harry (also a fishing |

|partner). Weeks pass and Luther indirectly finds out that Tom has gone to Harry for approval for his week off to go fishing. Luther has |

|noticed that this is becoming a pattern with other employees as well. |

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|1. What should Harry have done? |

|Harry has undermined the unity of command rule that exists in the normal structure of a company. By letting employees come directly to him |

|for normal managerial functions that should be handled by Luther, he displaces Luther’s authority and disrupts his decision. Harry has to |

|recognize what is occurring and take the necessary actions to direct employees to the immediate boss. |

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|2. Who is at fault, Harry or Tom?...