Question 1. Should Rick Lester “turn in his keys”?

The question focuses on “turn in his keys” which contains the meaning of giving
up. In this case study, it is clear that Mr. Rick is in distress with his job. His dilemma
started when he was on duty to deliver goods to Food World supermarket and it was
raining heavily at that time. It is not something new for an employee, who just started
working, to call up to his boss for a solution. In an article on HumanNature@Work, it
states that people who are constantly afraid and insecure in workplaces are the type of
employees who are at risk of "numbing out" to protect their rights. For instance, the
article on HumanNature@Workalso mentioned that we often see it in the blank faces of
clerks, the lack of enthusiasm by front line workers, and in the remarkably insensitive
ways managers and employees treat each other whenever employees feel insecure with
the environment. This is exactly what happened to Mr. Rick when he felt insecure while
doing his job when it is raining, which caused him to make a phone call to his boss.
However, Mr. Rick felt even worst when his boss replied him to get an umbrella or a
raincoat and move on with his job. Hence, making him to feel disappointed and planned
to quit his job.

I totally disagree with Mr. Rick action to “turn in his keys”, if the reasons for him to quit
is due to the obstacles mentioned in the case study. It is because based on my research; I
found out that there are many interesting advice for him to stay on with his job. But for
this research, I am focusing on 3 best advice that should make him to stay with his job –

1. Stay positive: In a news article of the New York Times, it highlighted a research
done by Michael F. Scheier, a psychologist at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
which concluded that optimists handle stress better than pessimist. Hence, Mr. Rick who
is in distress with his situation should not be thinking of changing his jobs because of
difficulty. The proper method he should adopt is to stay calm and be optimistic in his
situation. According to Segerstorm, an assistant professor of psychology at the University
of Kentucky, she says “setbacks are inherent to almost every worthwhile human activity,
and a number of studies show that optimists are in general both psychologically and
physiologically healthier.” Therefore, Mr. Rick should stay optimistic with his problem
although the heavy rain seems to be a setback to his job.
What I suggest to Mr. Rick is to give a call to the person-in-charge of the Food World
supermarket, and to request for assistance to deliver the goods from the van. I am sure
that the Food World supermarket is willing to provide help because of the long term
benefits. Moreover, helping out each other is a way of improving a relationship. In an
online journal titled “The Magic of Small Talk”, it mentioned at the introduction part by
quoting “the more people you are comfortable talking to, getting on with, making
connections with, finding mutually beneficial projects or activities with…… the more
rewarding your life will be. Thus, I am sure the Food World supermarket will be willing
to help Mr. Rick if he requested, because at that moment, the benefit is about
relationship building between Nabisco and the Food World supermarket which will be
rewarding in the future.

2. Time is everything: Mr. Rick should understand that it takes time to make things
perfect. Going for training with his boss for a week is insufficient for Mr. Rick to
get things going especially in sales. Instead of being panic, and thinking of what
other jobs he should apply, Mr. Rick should actually tell himself that he needs
time to build up his experience and credibility.

To improve Mr. Rick’s problem, he should adopt a good time management skills. In an
online article, “How to Manage Your Time in Business”, it mentioned that the first step
in managing our time in business is writing an “ACTION PLAN” at the beginning of
each week. In other words, Mr. Rick should plan his upcoming sales activity before
delivering the goods. From the “ACTION PLAN” itself, Mr. Rick will be able to
determine and foresee any weaknesses or obstacles that will happen because a plan is not
always necessarily be perfect. A plan needs changes to make it perfect by minimizing or
cutting down obstacles or distractions. As mentioned in step 3 in an online article, “How
to Manage Your Time in Business”, it states that we need to cut away as many
distractions as possible when we focus on time management in business. If Mr. Rick
applies proper “ACTION PLAN” and thorough focus on cutting out the distractions, he
would definitely succeed in his job because the obstacles that he will be facing will be
minimized and the challenge to overcome obstacles in his job will be easier.
 3. Solution is everywhere: In the case of Mr. Rick, the way he adapts to his
problem is very poor. Firstly, he called up his boss to ask for an advice to his
dilemma. Secondly, instead of thinking of a solution to his problem, Mr. Rick is
planning to quit his current job and to look for a better job. These two approaches
is the worst solution he could possibly think of because it shows that Mr. Rick is
not capable to be an independent thinker and also a problem solver. Moreover, it
gives the impression that Mr. Rick is relying on others to solve his dilemma.

A research done by Robert Harris (1998) who discusses on creative thinking, states that
problem solving requires two important aspects, critical thinking and creative thinking to
generate the best solutions. He also added that poor thinking ability is mainly disrupted
by our negative perception. For instance, negative perceptions happens when a person
applies the idea of “oh no…another problem, this can’t be done” and “I can’t do it,
there’s nothing I can do”. Hence, it is unacceptable for people to say that there is nothing
they could do to solve a problem because solutions are everywhere as long as we do not
panic and have negative perceptions.

It is clear that Mr. Rick is adopting the negative perception of “I can’t do it, there’s
nothing I can do” in the case study because he referred to his boss to give him an advice
which in return, did not help him at all. Due to this situation, Mr. Rick can’t think of a
better solution to his problem. Therefore, it is advisable for Mr. Rick to apply the first
advice that I have proposed, which is to stay positive to clear off the negative perception
in his mind. This helps as it is essential for a person to have a calm and positive mind to
generate a creative thinking.

In conclusion, the three advise that have been provided based on research, which
are stay positive, time is everything and solution is everywhere is important for Mr. Rick
to apply in his job. For him to succeed, he must have an organized plan for his daily
routine, a positive mentality and a creative and critical mindset so that the problems he
would be facing are easy to be solved. Hence, Mr. Rick should not simply “turn in his
keys” in this case study.