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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Personal effectiveness

A finance director notices that an employee, Tom, has taken on far more tasks than his role requires, never delegates, works late daily, and now makes frequent errors and appears withdrawn. Which action by the director is the most appropriate first step in addressing the situation?

The best first step is a private, supportive discussion with Tom to understand his workload and agree priorities and support. The symptoms point to overload and stress, so discipline, unilateral removal of duties or waiting for the annual appraisal would not address the cause and could worsen it.

  1. AHold a private discussion to understand Tom's workload and agree support and prioritiesCorrect
  2. BIssue a formal disciplinary warning for the errors
  3. CReassign all of Tom's tasks permanently without consulting him
  4. DWait until the next annual appraisal to raise the issue

Explanation

Signs of overload and stress call for early, supportive discussion to identify causes and agree priorities, delegation or resources. A disciplinary warning ignores the underlying cause, removing tasks without consultation may demotivate him, and waiting for the appraisal allows the problem to worsen.

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