The "hot potato" in the first week of starting work
I joined a new company as the manager of the Quality Department last month. On the seventh day of my employment, Supervisor Li took me to the stairwell and whispered to me about his brother - in - law, Chen Qiang, who is an IQC (Incoming Quality Control inspector). Before starting to talk, he sighed and said, "This young man is driving me to quit my job."
Two years ago, in order to establish an internal instrument calibration laboratory, the company sent Chen Qiang to Shenzhen for a three - month training course. At that time, the company spent nearly 20,000 yuan on tuition fees and also gave him a salary raise of 500 yuan, which was a sign of "key cultivation" at that time. However, after he came back, Chen Qiang seemed to have become a different person. He framed his "National Metrology Certification Technician" certificate and hung it right in the center of his workstation. Whenever he met someone, he would pat the certificate and say, "I'm the only one in the whole company with this ability. Without me, you won't even be able to calibrate a caliper accurately." Gradually, he even kept finding excuses to avoid the calibration tasks assigned by Brother Li, saying, "Anyway, you don't know how to operate. It's a waste of time for me to do it."
The transition from a "meritorious official" to a "troublemaker"
The conflict broke out in the distribution of the quality bonus at the end of last year. Chen Qiang thought he "contributed the most" and should get the highest grade. However, Brother Li, based on the actual workload - he only completed 60% of the calibration tasks throughout the year - only gave him the medium grade. Chen Qiang threw the report on the meeting table on the spot and pointed at Brother Li and scolded, "You're just afraid that I'm better than you and deliberately suppress me!" Since then, he has always replied "I'm busy" to any arrangement made by Brother Li. He even deliberately omitted filling in the calibration records, which almost led to the laboratory's qualification being revoked during a customer audit.
Brother Li was so angry that he transferred Chen Qiang to IQC to do the most basic incoming material inspection, which only required checking the dimensions, appearance, and performance according to the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). However, Chen Qiang insisted on doing the opposite: he would issue an OK form for plastic parts without trial - fitting and sign for electronic components without measuring the resistance. In one year, the production line stopped five times due to missed inspections and misjudgments, with a loss of at least 20,000 each time. Brother Li talked to the general manager three times, and the response he got was always: "Let's wait and see. His sister (Brother Li's wife) and my wife are old classmates. It's hard to save face."
The "arrogance" seen with one's own eyes
I began to pay attention to Chen Qiang's work status. Last Wednesday morning, when a batch of mobile phone case plastic parts arrived, Sister Wang, the IQC team leader, went to him with the SOP and said, "Qiangzi, assemble them onto the phone body according to the process and confirm if the buckles can hold." Without even looking up, he stared at the short videos on his phone and said, "I'm very busy. Can't you see I'm dealing with the reports?" But I stood at the door and watched for ten minutes. His report was lying on the table untouched, and his fingers were constantly swiping through the "funny segments" in the short videos.
Sister Wang had no choice but to call Brother Li. Brother Li patiently flipped the SOP to the "trial - fitting clause" and said, "Qiangzi, this must be done. Go to the warehouse and get a prototype to try it out." Chen Qiang directly threw the pen on the table and said, "If you want to try, do it yourself. I'm not your subordinate!" Brother Li's face turned bright red. He turned to me, shook his head and said, "Look, he doesn't even take me seriously."
The "provocation" of tearing up the penalty notice
Brother Li gritted his teeth and issued a disciplinary notice for a minor offense to Zhang Ji. The reason was "missing the inspection of key items + disobeying the arrangement". When Chen Qiang got the notice, he tore it into pieces without even looking at it and threw them at Brother Li's feet. "Who do you think you are? Do you believe that I'll ask my sister to complain about you to the general manager!" All the colleagues in the office stopped what they were doing, and no one dared to say a word. Everyone knew that he "had a backer".
I called Chen Qiang to the meeting room and wanted to communicate with him in a different way. First, I asked him, "Is your sister helping you take care of your child recently?" He was stunned for a moment and said, "What's it to you?" Then I continued, "The way you are now is putting your sister in an awkward position. Every time Brother Li gets scolded by the general manager because of you, he doesn't even dare to tell your sister when he gets home." He interrupted impatiently, "Cut the crap! I earn my salary by my own ability. It's not up to you to lecture me!"
For a full hour, I talked from "If the trial fitting inspection is missed, a hundred workers will have to wait for three hours" to "When your daughter asks about your work, what do you want to say?" He folded his arms throughout the whole process, and finally stood up and slammed the door, saying, "Are you done? I'm going to have a smoke!"
The general manager's "procrastination techniques"
I compiled Chen Qiang's five records of stopping at the line, three penalty notices, and the witness testimonies of his colleagues into a document and went to talk to the general manager. He flipped through the document and rubbed the space between his eyebrows, saying, "According to the regulations, an employee can only be dismissed after three written warnings. There have only been two so far. Let's wait a bit longer."
I got impatient and said, "If we wait for the production line to stop one more time, the client will cancel the order! Last time, due to his failure in inspection, 120 workers in the production department had to wait for three hours. Their team leader came to me asking for an explanation, and I didn't know what to say!"
The general manager waved his hand and said, "Xiao Zhou, I know you're in a hurry, but one should show consideration for feelings. Chen Qiang's sister has helped my wife a great deal. How can I find the words to fire him now?"
I looked at the desk calendar on his table. He was sixty - six years old, with all his hair turned white. There was a photo of his granddaughter pasted on the calendar. Suddenly, I felt powerless. He still clung to the old concept that "human feelings are more important than rules", without realizing that such "favors" were ruining the company's management.
A "common problem" across the entire company
In the next two weeks, Chen Qiang seemed to be deliberately provoking. On Monday, he missed inspecting the pin spacing of electronic components, which caused the SMT line to stop for three hours. On Wednesday, he misjudged the temperature resistance of rubber rings. It was only when a batch of goods was sent to the workshop that it was found they would melt. On Friday, he didn't conduct sampling at all and said, "Anyway, you'll fill in the records later." He tore up the three disciplinary notices into pieces each time and also posted on his WeChat Moments, "Some people just like to make a mountain out of a molehill."
It was the third time I approached the general manager, and he still said, "Just wait a little longer." It wasn't until I had a meal with Manager Wang from the production department that I realized this was a company-wide issue: There was an old employee in the production department who was late for work every day. Manager Wang issued three warning notices, but the general manager said, "We should take care of long - serving employees." The sales department wanted to give a salary raise to the salesperson with the best performance. The application had been pending for two months with no news, and as a result, the salesperson left and joined a competitor.
It turned out that all the company's authorities were in the hands of the general manager. Whether it was salary raises, promotions, punishments, or even the purchase of a printer, they all required his signature. However, when the department presented "irrefutable evidence" and demanded action, he would use "personal relationships" to procrastinate. Gradually, no one was willing to be serious, and no one was willing to handle "things that would offend people".
The last helplessness
Yesterday, when I passed by the general manager's office, I saw him sighing over the financial statements. The customer complaint rate had risen from 5% to 12%, and the employee turnover rate had increased from 8% to 18%. He looked up and saw me, then said with a bitter smile, "Xiao Zhou, am I getting old? In the past, when I managed a dozen or so people, I was very decisive. Now, when I manage hundreds of people, I don't know how to manage them anymore."
I didn't say a word. I recalled how Chen Qiang was watching short videos this morning, Li Ge saying "I'm planning to quit my job", and Production Department Manager Wang saying "If things go on like this, the company will be finished."
When I got home in the evening, I wrote in my diary, "A general manager who can't even make the decision to 'dismiss negligent employees', what right does he have to manage a company of hundreds of people? His so - called'saving face' is turning the company's future into a pile of broken punishment notices."
The wind outside the window is very strong, making the clothes on the balcony rustle. I suddenly remembered how Chen Qiang tore up the penalty notice. He thought he had won, but he didn't know that what he had lost was his sister's face, others' respect, and his own career prospects. And the general manager thought he had saved "face", but what he had actually preserved were a bunch of "old rules" on the verge of collapse and the employees' disappointment in the company.
Perhaps, he really should retire.