Question

Caselet (Questions 97-100): Om Chowdhury was one of the supervisors in the Fire and Safety (F&S) department of Maqsood Textile Mills. He was a distant cousin of Mr. Bhiwani, the General Manager (Personnel & Administration), and the Personnel and Administration department handled all personnel-related decisions. It was often rumored that Om had gotten the job because of his cousin's influence. Om, however, was careful in his work and never gave anyone a reason to complain. He was known to be a quiet man who kept to himself and his duties.

All F&S supervisors reported to Mr. Rabindra, the shop-floor manager. The mill ran on a three-shift basis, and Rabindra allotted supervisors to the different shifts. Supervisors had to stay present through the whole shift and run scheduled checks on the machinery and firefighting equipment. For some reason, Rabindra kept assigning Om to the night shift more often than the other supervisors. Om never objected to this, while the other supervisors often pleaded with Rabindra to be given day shifts instead. Staying awake and alert through the night shift was one of the hardest parts of the job.

After a while, Rabindra noticed that Om seemed indifferent to his work. Twice he found Om missing from his cabin, and others told him Om had been seen wandering different parts of the shop floor. Rabindra called Om in and reminded him of his responsibilities. Om did not argue and promised not to be careless again. Rabindra also raised the matter with Mr. Bhiwani, who called Om in for a personal talk and reminded him that their family tie made the situation awkward for everyone. Om agreed to improve, and soon he became a model supervisor, even going out of his way to help employees with their problems.

Three months later, Rabindra visited the plant at night and, looking into the F&S office, found Om playing solitaire on the office computer. Rabindra fired Om on the spot.

The next morning, Mr. Bhiwani called Rabindra and asked how he could fire an employee like that, and suggested he reconsider the dismissal. Rabindra replied, "This decision has already been made. There will be no turning back."

Question: Of the options below, which could have been a better response from Mr. Rabindra when he saw Om playing solitaire?

• A. He should have clarified his authority to fire employees.
• B. He should have informed Mr. Bhiwani about the incident and asked him to take the necessary action.
• C. He should have asked the employees of the shift about Om's performance of his duties.
• D. He should have checked whether Om had done his duties or not.

Hint:

The missing fact at that moment was simple: had Om's scheduled checks actually been done?

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We need the better first move for Rabindra at the exact moment he saw Om playing solitaire, before he decided to fire him.

Step 2: Key Approach:
The better response is the one that gathers the missing fact, whether Om's duties were actually done, before any disciplinary action is taken.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
What Rabindra actually needed to know at that moment was simple: had Om completed the scheduled machinery and firefighting checks for that shift? If yes, playing solitaire in the downtime after his checks is not misconduct worth firing someone over. If no, then firing, or at least a formal warning, would be justified. So the better response was to verify this fact on the spot, by checking the log of completed checks or asking Om directly, before acting. Option A is about Rabindra's authority to fire, a separate question from what actually happened that night. Option B escalates to Bhiwani immediately, skipping the simple step of checking facts first, and also risks reviving the awkward family dynamic. Option C asks other employees, a weaker, secondhand source compared to checking the maintenance and safety check records directly.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Rabindra should have first checked whether Om had completed his required duties before taking any action.
\[ \boxed{\text{D}} \]