Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work 14th Edition by John Newstrom

Exercise 5

The Work Assignment
Effie Pardini supervised 11 accounting clerks in the budget and planning department of a large computer manufacturer. None of the clerks had accounting degrees, but all were skilled in handling records and figures. They primarily prepared budgetary plans and analyses for operating departments. Data inputs were secured from the departments and from company records. Pardini assigned projects to the clerks on the basis of their interests and skills. Some projects were more desirable than others because of prestige, challenge, the contacts required, or other factors; thus, there were occasional conflicts over which clerk was to receive a desirable project. One clerk who seemed especially sensitive and regularly complained about this issue was Sonia Prosser.
On one occasion Pardini received a desirable project and assigned it to a clerk by the name of Joe Madden. Prosser was particularly distressed because she felt she should have had the assignment. She was so distressed that she retaliated by gathering up her present assignment and putting it away in her desk. Then, she took a book from her desk and started reading it. Since all the clerks were together in the same office, most of them observed her actions. She announced to one in a voice loud enough to be heard by others, "Nobody around here ever gives me a good assignment."
Pardini overheard Prosser's comment and looked up from her desk, noting what was happening. Pardini was angered, but she sat at her desk for five minutes wondering what to do. Meanwhile, Prosser continued reading her book.
Discuss what action Pardini should take. Consider the path-goal model of leadership and the contingency approaches to leadership before making your decision.