Insubordination technicality - advise please.

[Leonp]

Hi

Senior manager gives instruction to employee B in Junior manager C's department to perform a task which affects junior manager D (so we now have a senior manager, 2 junior managers and an employee working for one of the junior managers).

Junior manager D confirms the request 2 months later as it has not been done yet. Employee B says she was instructed by her junior manager C not to proceed, but no communication regarding this decision was given to senior manager or junior manager D, causing junior manager D distress, vat implications and an audit problem at financial year end.

Senior manager does not want to take action against junior manager C or her employee, If it is due to the colour of here hair, or the time they spend working late together, i dare not speculate about.

Can junior manager D charge either the employee (who does not report to her) or junior manager C (who 'sucks' up to the boss) for insubordination?

[Mike C]

I suppose it all depends on who answers to whom.

Senior Manager should have given instruction to Junior Manger C who then is reponsible for passing it on to her employee (or not). That makes the line of authority and communication better and reponsibility is clearly seen. The fact that it impacts Junion Manager D is beside the point. Junior Manager D issued no instruction and therefore no one was insubordinate to him/her. I feel for employee B who has conflicting instructions, one from the Senior Manager and one from a Junior manager.

If anyone was at fault it would be Junior manager C, but if that person is in the Boss's favour, then not much is going to happen.

The best that Junior Manager D can do is to work out how many hours were spent sorting out the issue, and give it a financial value. Present it to the Senior Manager as money wasted, and present it to the Senior Manager for consideration. Junior manager could also suggest a better line of authority on matters which affect him/her directly.

Beaurocracy sucks!

[Hannes Botha]

As I understand it, and assuming Junior manager D and Junior manager C is on same level. Employee B, did obey instruction given to her by her manager to NOT carry out senior manager's instruction. Junior manager D followed up on instruction from Senior manager so no insubordination there. Was Junior manager C even aware of the decision? Junior manager D might be able to lay a grievance against Junior manager C, but taking into account the "blonde hair factor" it might be career limiting.

Seems there is a lack in communication, somewhere. Junior manager C & D should've both been involved in decision making, which would've made the responsibility of junior manager C clear.

If I was manager C and wasn't aware of decision, and employee B told me she was busy with a instruction from manager D, I would've thought the are either lying (in which case I would've told them to leave that and do what I tell them) or I would go flip my lid towards manager D...I have the right to control the resources made available to me.

But that's just me...