A Management Question (Politics) 1

[ICman]

A Management Question

Say I hired a young man, for his first job, and he's been on the job two weeks. He's eager to learn, does his job, and looks promising. We'll call him Johnny.

Now say another manager, same level as me, wants our senior manager to fire Johnny. This other manager has been with the company for several years, and I am fairly new (but older and much more experienced in management). The other manager has seldom worked with Johnny, but he apparently presented plausible reasons to the senior manager for why Johnny should be canned. One more thing: the other manager believes he is up for promotion, but I've been told (in private) that he must prove himself here, or he may be shown the door.

Why does this other manager want to fire Johnny? Here's what I think:

* I may have fired someone that the other manager hired.
* He may feel threatened by me - that I will be promoted ahead of him.
* He wants to prove that he has greater power than me.
* He's just a jerk.

I have a personal friend that is coming to work on a part-time basis. I fear that the other manager may try to get him fired, as well (for whatever reason).

What should I do?

 

[HgTX]

What reasons were given for firing this kid 2 weeks in? He'd have to have screwed up pretty bad for that to be warranted!

Hg

 

[ICman]

Assume that I don't know.

Also assume that the business is a restaurant. (Management is management.)

 

[JAE]

First I'd understand what your company policy is about hiring and firing. In most companies, you can only be fired by the individual that hired you, or by any supervisors above your direct supervisor.

In the best scenario, your supervisors would and should visit with you about the reasons and causes for firing YOUR employee.

You would be wise to ignore the motives of your other manager and just stick to the facts and be professional. Deal with the employee (Johnny) and ask for solid reasons and examples why he should be terminated.

Staffing should normally follow a rational plan within any company based on projected work loads, performance, desired staff expertise and strategic planning. Hiring Johnny in the first place should have been based on these parameters. What has changed to cause termination? That is the question. And would termination require immediate hiring in the near future such that the hassle of firing and hiring outweighs the incentives to fire.