(Solved): 2. (10 pts) "First Day on the Job... Trial by Fire:" Sara Brown has just become manager of Brennan' ...

2. (10 pts) "First Day on the Job... Trial by Fire:" Sara Brown has just become manager of Brennan's Office Supply Store, one of 10 in the Midwest. Sara's store which is located in the downtown area on a busy street, has an inventory of over one million dollars and over 20000 square feet of floor space. On her first day or work, Sara is inundated with problems. A very expensive custom-ordered desk that was delivered last week received a number of scratches during unpacking, and the stockroom manager wants to know what he should do. She just discovered that the store has not yet paid the utility bills that were due at the end of last month, and she realizes that the store has been habitually late in paying the bills. The accounts receivable department tells her that it has an abnormally high number of delinquent accounts over the past few months, and it wants to know what action should be taken. There is a large pile of boxes in the storeroom from last week that have yet to be opened and inventoried. The impression she has been getting all morning from the 30 employees is that they are all unhappy and dislike working at the store. To top things off, shortly after lunch, a large delivery truck pulls up to the front of the store double-parks, blocking traffic. The driver comes into the store and announces that he has a shipment of 20 new executive desks. Where does Sara want them placed? The employees tell Sara that this shipment was not due until next week and there isn't any place to put them right now. Outside she hears horns of the angry drivers as the traffic jam grows. Carry out a K.T. Situational appraisal (show your work), based on the information below to decide what Sara should do. A. B. C. While boxes on the floor may be an eyesore and awkward to step around, it is not necessary we do anything about them immediately. The situation is not getting worse by having them there, and the importance of not having them opened and the contents shelved is minimal. The next step is to decide who is to open the boxes and when to do it. What to do about the 20 new desks has to be decided immediately because not accepting and sorting such a large order would have major impacts on business. A traffic jam is beginning to form and is getting worse while Sara is deciding what to do. The employee morale needs to be addressed in the very near future. It is believed that lac of care and sloppiness were factors in damaging the custom-ordered desk. The morale, while low, could get worse. We don't know why the morale is low. Sara needs to pay the utility bills fairly soon or the electrical power to the store could be shut off, which would stop all functions of the business. Sara needs to find out why the money due to the store has not been paid. Nothing needs to be done with the scratched desk immediately, but we do need to decide what to do in the not-too-distant future, and we also need to plan how to unpack the desks and other items more carefully. D. E.