Multiple choice

Your are a project head in a public sector undertaking. You are approached by an important team member of the project who is seeking 10 days leave for going on ‘leave travel concession’ (L.T.C) [ The organisation reimburses the employee's to and fro expenses for travel of the employee and his family to a holiday destination once in four years]. He is to proceed on leave after a week. He states that his L.T.C. option is going to expire in a month’s time, if he does not avail of it. Besides, he has already got the reservation of train and hotel bookings done (as they have to be done well in advance). As such he will suffer monetary loss if leave is denied. You know that the project is to be completed in another 3-4 months time and his absence of 10 days is likely to affect a part of the project, unless you or somebody else put in additional effort in his place. In such a situation which of the following course of actions would you adopt?

  1. Reject his leave application as organisational need is supreme and leave is not a matter of right. Besides, he had not taken your permission before getting his train reservations and hotel booking done for the LTC.

  2. Ask him to reduce his leave applied for, to 5–7 days and also recommend the name of a colleague who can be given additional charge of his work.

  3. Ask him to put in additional effort in the next 7 days (before he proceeds on leave) so that the work required to be done by him in the subsequent week is completed before he proceeds on leave. Assign additional responsibility to someone who can handle the remaining work in his absence.

  4. Refer the matter to your superior officers. If they reject the leave, the employee will not hold any grudge against you and if they grant leave, they cannot hold you responsible for the delay in the project caused by his absence.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

2.5 marks for option (c) 2.0 marks for option (b) 1.5 marks for option (a) 0 marks for option (d) Rationale/Reasoning (c) Asking the employee to put in additional effort, so as to cover up for the work to be done in his period of absence is the best course of action. It strikes a balance between the organisational need and employee’s aspiration/request. (b) Asking the employee to reduce his leave, though may be well within the administrative norms, may not be feasible for the employee. This is so as he would have to change his travel plans and reservation which may not be possible at the last moment. This may lead to disgruntlement. But besides this shortcoming, this option also helps in striking a balance between organisational requirement and personal aspirations of the employee. As such it is the second-best course of action. (a) Though leave is not a matter of right in most organisations, denying it ruthlessly leads to disgruntlement and dissatisfaction amongst employees. The employees holding important posts should themselves consult their superiors before proceeding on long leave. However, where replacement or alternative arrangement is possible and the situation is not a critical one, a more humane approach is expected from a group leader. As such option (a) is not the best course of action although it does indicate the significance you attach to the organisational objectives. (d) Option (d) is indicative that not only you are evading your responsibility, but also not confident of your decisions, because of which you are passing the buck on higher ups. Sense of responsibility and confidence in one’s own decisions are traits essential for a project leader. Values/principles tested Balance of judgement Confidence in decision making Empathy for subordinates

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