Case Study: Chet Chapter

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time management (page 121-123) violated by Chet.

Chet has no sense of prioritization of his responsibilities. The first and most important principle of the time management is the need to spend time not just on urgent matters but also on important matters. Chet simply deals with things as they come across his desk. Of course, every person perceives his or her matter to be urgent, so this means that Chet constantly finds himself confronted with an ever-growing pile of assignments, which he never truly prioritizes and breaks down into continent tasks. This is explicitly stated in the case itself, when Chet muses: "after a few minutes he decided that the open-end unit scheduling was probably the most important, certainly the most urgent" (1). In other words, he is unable to distinguish between the two definitions of 'urgent' and 'important.' He also is constantly worried about results vs. The method of attacking the principles at hand, which means that he is unable to understand the 'how' of accomplishing tasks, merely the fact that he has tasks to complete. He also never says 'no' which means that he is ineffective in really completing anything, and constantly gets diverted in his focus. Saying 'yes' to everything paradoxically means never getting anything done (121).

Q2. Discuss the three most relevant rules of efficient time management for managers (page 127-128) violated by Chet in this case?

Chet never sets a time limit on activities (127). He seems to be something of a perfectionist by nature, which means that he wants to read each and every single, last word of every document which comes across his desk and wants to deal with everything that arises during a work day. While this is an admirable impulse, this is simply not possible given the many tasks he has to prioritize as a manager. Reading for business-related purposes is different from reading for pleasure: there must be a sense of focus and purpose and there is no reward for reading every word and he cannot give every single matter his full attention each and every single day, simply because people ask him for help.

Chet has no sense of prioritization and seems incapable of having short meetings (127).

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He feels that he needs to get 'everything' done each and every single day, which means ultimately he gets nothing done. He needs a clear list of things to do each and every time he sits down at his desk every day that is realistic. This means having targeted, short focused meetings: instead, he gets diverted with long chats and a long, meandering tour of the facilities when a quick, focused talk would be just as appropriate (3).

Worst of all, Chet seems to have no sense of time. He needs to have his own personal agenda, and set that personal agenda, versus being at the mercy of others (128). Whenever people come to his desk and ask questions, he feels a need to answer them immediately, regardless of what he is doing. In short, Chet needs to be able to say 'no' every now and then.

Q3. Based on the facts presented in this case do you think that there are organizational (structural) problems at Norris Company contributing to Chet's level of stress?

However, although Chet may not be the most effective manager, based upon the facts presented in the case, there are clear environmental factors which are contributing to his stress level. There seems to be little delegation in the company. People are constantly approaching Chet for advice about diverse and relatively trivial matters; also, everything seems to be regarded as urgent, with little sense of prioritization. When managers are told to take care of everything right away, it is very difficult for them to put into place the principles of effective time management because they are being overloaded with responsibilities.

There is little effective use of technology in the company. There is a constant need to have long, overly-involved personal conversations when a quick email or a phone conversation would easily serve just as well. Also, a company should have in place time management practices, such as specific deadlines for tasks and a rationale for the need to be completed by a certain time, versus leaving this solely in the hands of employees themselves. Employees by definition only see what they have to do and lack a sense of the 'big picture.' Upper.....

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