You Are the Director of Human Resources for a Medium

question 18

Essay

You are the Director of Human Resources for a medium sized company private company and have discharged Aimee, a 25 year old black at-will employee for poor work, constant tardiness, and taking longer breaks than authorized by company policy.  She is not well liked by her fellow workers and her work is indeed slightly below satisfactory levels. Company files evidence numerous sub-standard reviews and that her conduct persisted despite numerous written warnings.  You are confident that the company has proper cause to terminate Aimee whether she was at-will or not.  When you call her into your office to notify her of her termination, she gets very indignant saying that her work is fine and that she's not the only one late or abusive of break periods.  She then asserts that she's being singled out because of her sex and her race.  She asks about severance pay and you notify her that there will not be any.  Aimee then informs you that she is going to sue the company for wrongful termination based on discrimination and for severance pay.  The company does not want Aimee to work there any more under any circumstances but does not want the cost or publicity that a law suit would bring.  What would you suggest to possibly abate the law suit?

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Definitions:

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist known for his research on classical conditioning, demonstrating how organisms can learn to associate neutral stimuli with reflexive responses.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others and the outcomes of those behaviors.

Congressional Hearing

A formal meeting or session held by a congressional committee to investigate, discuss, or review public matters or legislation.

Bandura's Theory

Refers to the social learning theory, which emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors of others.