Benny was not exactly a knockout as a documents clerk for the Northern Empire Power and Light Company, but he was reasonably dependable. He got most of his work done on time, and his error rate on document coding was no worse than the average clerk’s rate. His manner was generally pleasant, although he was considered somewhat of a loner by his associates. That has all changed during the last three months. Benny’s output has deteriorated markedly. He no longer meets his deadlines, and his boss, Aretha Ford, keeps discovering costly miscodings in the documents Benny prepares. Benny appears to be working hard, but his results are no longer satisfactory. When approached by other clerks to make corrections in the documents he sends them, Benny flares up. On some occasions, he has been downright insulting. Yesterday, Aretha asked Benny to come to her office to talk about this problem. She opened the discussion by saving: “Your error rate on document preparation has become entirely unacceptable lately. So has your output. This can’t keep on. What can you do to bring your work back into line?” Benny was silent for a few minutes, and so Aretha repeated her question. Then without warning, Benny slammed his fist down on the desk. He shouted obscenities and heaped abuse on Aretha: she was so unfair, played favorites, expected too much of him, didn’t understand his situation; if she wanted him to quit, why didn’t she say so; and so on.

1. If you were Aretha, what would you do now to improve Benny’s Performance?

2. What would be your time line in applying the steps in the “Hot Stove Rule” if Benny’s performance does not improve.