Good example of stress management case study

Principles of Effective Time Management Violated by Chet

Chet is not managing his time effectively because he is violating two key principles of effective time management: (1) spending some of his time on important tasks and (2) failure to comfortably say NO (Whetten and Cameron 121). From the case study, Chet is violating the first principle because he is spending all his time on urgent tasks. He also violating principle two because he is seen trying to solve everything that is presented to him.

Rules of Efficient Time Management for Managers Violated by Chet

Firstly, Chet is violating the principle of delegation (Whetten and Cameron 127). From the case study, he seems to be in control of everything from daily tour through the production facility, handling employee issues, answering calls, answering questions from the president and assistant president, analyzing production, scheduling and rescheduling production. What this means is that he has too much to do and since his time is limited, he leaves so much unfinished tasks. His daily work is full of interruptions. Consequently, this results to a situation whereby he is ever working on urgent tasks (postponed tasks or ones that were unfinished the previous day). In other words, Chet is chewing more than he can swallow and this way, he will never have time to handle the projects in his mind.
Secondly, Chet is failing to have personal time out of his normal daily tasks to re-evaluate himself, work on important tasks, relax or be with his family (Whetten and Cameron 126). He should break from the norm in order to minimize work stress. From the case study, Chet is seen leaving his house with his mind on his work, spend every single minute working and return home late and tired. What will happen is that he will slowly develop stress unless he sets some time to do other activities that break this norm.
Thirdly, Chet is failing on rule 10 (setting out some time when there is no interruption) (Whetten and Cameron 126). This could be early morning before his family wakes up and when his mind is very fresh to plan for major and important tasks such as the projects he is thinking. From the case study, Chet is seen doing some quick planning when driving, which is not effective because his thinking is interrupted severally, such as by passing traffic.

Organizational (Structural) Problems at Norris Company Contributing to Chet’s Level of Stress

As much as Chet’s poor time management is to blame for his stress problems, his employer, Norris Company, also has a major contribution particularly with respect to its organizational structure. One will realize, from the case study, that Chet does not have an assistant and he feels that requesting for one is a long-term objective. If the company’s organizational structure was in such as way that he Chet has a personal assistant, he would most probably not be overwhelmed as is the case.

Chet’s Personality that May Interfere with his Productivity and Stress Levels

Chet exhibits the altruistic-nurturing personality especially because of the way he is accommodating the demands of others (Whetten and Cameron 387). This personality may interfere with his productivity and stress level because he might end up accepting too many responsibilities as he accommodates the demands of others. Consequently, this will lower his productivity and increase his stress levels.

Advice to Chet

I would advice Chet to have personal principles, set out daily tasks to accomplish, prioritize his tasks and always track his time. This way, he will be able to comfortably say NO to the demands of others because he will be aiming at accomplishing his daily tasks.

Works Cited

Whetten, David A., & Cameron, Kim S. Developing management Skills (8th ed.). NJ: Prentice Hall. 2011