International Journal of Business and Social Science

ISSN 2219-1933 (Print), 2219-6021 (Online) DOI: 10.30845/ijbss

A Hint of Pink among the Green
C. Kenneth Meyer, Lance Noe, Jeffrey A. Geerts, Julie Dean

Abstract
The sage advises that nothing is quite like it seems! And that was the situation with Mary Rogers, a long-time employee of Silver Lake State Park--a scenic, majestic park that captures the essence of quietude. Mary was the quintessential employee: Prompt, diligent, courteous, competent and productive. Her personality did not jive with Jim Canfield, her new co-worker who was capable, but "cranky." With a change in Mary's demeanor and spirit, her manager was apprised that she was suffering from stage-four cancer, and her supervisor, Pete Waldorf, was saddened by the news. As the maladies associated with the disease grew, she went through the various stages of grief that are associated with loss, Mary continued to work, but did not have her usual resilience and strength. Some job accommodations were made to enable Mary to work, receive health care benefits and take some added rest periods. But what about Jim Canfield? Who asked him about the work-life balance responsibilities he was facing before he was terminated? Did anyone know about his wife's serious illness? And, as Pete read the obituary section of the local newspaper, it became painfully obvious of what had transpired in Jim's life. Simply: "Margaret Canfield, wife of Jim Canfield had lost her long fight with cancer..." and in lieu of flowers, condolences and contributions to her memorial fund were preferred. The case concludes with artistically written and managerially challenging set of Questions and Instructions.

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