Case Study Bank
Mrs. Jane likes working in the bank. She has undergone a series of tests on her personal attitudes and
interests, which have shown that she is suited to work either in a bank or in librarianship. Because jobs
in librarianship were bad, she applied for a job at a large bank with many branches, and was soon actually
hired.
Her initial experience with the bank was encouraging and gratifying. Because of her education (BA in
English and a postgraduate course in finance), previous experience, obvious intelligence and effort, she
was selected for the very specialized and highly regarded "Bank Management Development" program.
During her first year at the bank, she had to attend lectures on banking procedures and policies while
working normally in various junior positions in her branch in Prague. She was told several times by her
supervisors that her level of work was well above average. Similarly, the HR department, which
coordinated the training and education of all young bank officers, reported that Jiřina was clearly among
the best in the programme.
Although she worked hard and also had to face occasional - due to her gender - innuendos and jokes
from senior bank officials and customers, she developed a strong relationship with banking in general
and with her bank branch. She was proud to be a banker and also to be an employee of the bank.
However, after a year of the study programme and the onboarding experience, Jane found that she was
not learning anything new about either banking or the bank. She had to rotate through one position after
another in her branch, even going back several times to help solve temporary problems caused by
absenteeism, overload, and turnover. Turnover was a puzzle for Jane - she couldn't understand why
someone would start their career in a position they leave after a year or two, even if the position pays
well.
During this time, Jane was repeatedly promised that she would soon be placed in a stable position in
another branch, but as soon as one became available. Two cases have already come up, but the managers
of both branches have turned Jane down without any particular reason, apparently because of her short
experience in banking.
Jane was not the only one dissatisfied in her branch. Her closest supervisor, Mr. Navratil, complained
about the austerity regime in the bank, which meant that customer service positions were not filled,
which he could not provide due to the austerity regime. The branch manager repeatedly warned Mr
Navratil about the unsatisfactory level of service, saying that he had to improve his work. After one such
"reprimand", Mr Navrátil resigned and left for a job with a similar job and a salary of CZK 2 000 higher.
This temporarily put Jane in the position of supervising the work of the people who until recently had
been training her. She was surprised at how many mistakes these workers made and found it very
difficult to correct their bad work habits. All disciplinary procedures had to be carried out under the
supervision of the bank's head office.
After several urgings, Jane was finally placed as Deputy Chief Accountant in another branch quite close
to the one where her training was taking place. Her responsibilities included the work of seven
accountants, some customer service and a lot of paperwork. Thanks to the same cost-saving measures
as the previous branch, the customer service positions were not filled here either. Jane was also expected
to work at the counter in case of large crowds, which was always to the detriment of her own work. She
often stayed late into the night to both catch up on her work and to correct mistakes made by accountants
who had a cash balance problem. To save on overtime, the branch manager would send the bookkeeper
home and tell Jurina that as a senior bank clerk, she had to stay at work until her own work and that of
her subordinates was completed. Jane found that her counterparts in other branches were willing to do
so, so she should do so too. This situation lasted for six months with no sign of any change.
One day, Jane accidentally learned - from a phone call with a friend from another branch - that she
should move, as assistant to the head accountant, to the newly opened branch in Ostrava. She therefore
immediately called the bank's head office, where they confirmed the transfer. Jane's husband was a
nuclear physicist and he could get a job at two or three highly specialized sites in Prague.
Accepting a position in the smaller branches opening up was expected of young clerks who were
interested in advancing and developing their careers. However, the HR director told Jane that she did
not have to accept the post. If he does not accept, he is not at all sure when Jane will get another chance
for promotion.
Depressed, full of anger, disappointment and frustration, Jane leaves the bank.
Tasks
1. Who made the mistake and at what point in time?
2. Is Jane's leaving the bank the only solution?
3. What interventions and at what time would you recommend to avoid a crisis?
4. What would you do in Jane's position?