Managing Organizational Behavior 2nd Edition by Timothy Baldwin,Bill Bommer,Robert Rubin

Exercise 15

Managing Both the Problem and the Star Employee
Your assistant operations manager, Ken, is truly a great guy. Everybody loves him. He's funny, very social, and good-looking. He also seems to be a great source of support for other employees. Indeed, several fellow employees would claim Ken among their best friends. Ken seems to have everything going for him. There is only one problem-Ken doesn't get results. In the two years Ken has worked in your store, he has never once met a single goal. You've met with him on numerous occasions about his performance, and each time he tells you the same thing, "I'll work on it, boss. You don't have to worry about me." After these conversations, Ken puts in a few good weeks and sometimes shows improvement. Shortly thereafter, however, his performance slides again.
What steps should you take to deal with Ken's subpar performance? What needs to be done first? How strict or harsh should you be? Should you be concerned about damaging the positive employee feelings toward Ken? One of Ken's peers, Venkat, is very quiet and reserved but has had exceptional performance over the last year. In what ways should you manage Venkat differently than you do Ken?