Administrative Assistant Case Study Essay

The following case is about Susie Q. she is an administrative assistant in the transplant department. she has been working as an administrative assistant for three years and she just received a promotion. She will be leaving the department in a couple of weeks. The transplant nurse manager Ms. Hardman is hiring authority for this position. Ms. Hardman asked Susie Q. if she can help her find a replacement, since she knows the job. After the job description has been posted online, Susie Q. has completed preliminary telephone interview and has scheduled in person interview with the three finalists.
Ms. Hardman was conducting the interview. Ms. Hardman Susie Q. has reviews Mary’s resume and interviewed her because she was the strongest candidate for the position. As the interview kept going, Ms. Hardman was asking questions. Ms. Hardman as Mary

is she smokes, and she said that she been smoking for a long time, but currently trying to quit smoking. Ms. Hardman answered her by saying “that’s a deal breaker for me, Thanks for coming”. This is not a good way to handle this situation. Ms. Hardman asked inappropriate question and made Mary feels uncomfortable.
Each party could handle the situation better.

When Ms. Hardman asked Mary if she smoke, Susie Q. didn’t say anything. Susie Q. could have done something to ease the situation but instead she stayed quite. Ms. Hardman doesn’t not have the right to ask the interviewee a personal question. Ms. Hardman couldn’t handle the situation better by making sure the question was job performance related, or she could of act more professional, thanks Mary for coming and told her that she will get make to her. Mary could handle the situation better by refusing to answering the question because she that’s her personal life. This wasn’t a legitimate question to ask because it’s a personal question, and Ms. Hardman should respect Mary’s privacy. Asking an applicant about smoking is legally ok but ethically not correct because it related to the applicant health issues and employers cannot asking about the applicant health issues if its not related to their job performance, also it violates their privacy and they can refuse to answer it. Smoker Protection Laws is in twenty-nine states and it prohibit employers from discriminating against

smokers.
The key learning for this case as a potential interviewee is to be prepare for every questions and also know my right and refuse to answer any question that will violates my right to privacy. As a potential hiring manager I will make sure to ask the right question that will help me choice a strong candidate and related to the job performances. I would make sure to act professional and respect the interviewee privcy. Also If I find out the the interviewee is not a strong candidate, I would make sure still thanks them for coming in and get back to them. If Mary was able to prove that Ms. Hardman was out of line asking that question and was begrudgingly offer the job she shouldn’t take it because Ms. Hardman violates her privacy and it may create problems later on.