Jim Black is a sales representative for Noram Canada Ltd in Toronto, Ontario. There were three stressors in Jim's life, the prolong recession, pressure to increase sales, and the possibility of being laid off. These stressors as a result developed strain for Jim in the form of headaches, sleep disturbances, moodiness, job dissatisfaction, lower job performance, and burnout.

Jim was trying to increase his sales by offering discounts and arranging next day delivery to some of his customers. On the other hand, by doing this he lowered his commission and postponed delivery to other customers. Jim demonstrated a lack of good time management skills when he was late for an appointment and had to take paperwork home to complete it. This also created a strain in his family life. Jim was experiencing an interpersonal stressor with his wife to secure a management position with a stable salary and less travel, but he did not want to sit at a desk all day. In addition, he had an interpersonal stressor with senior management to be more productive.

Since the economy was in recession, Jim had the opportunity to increase his sales by persuading the competitor's clients to switch to his company. Another opportunity was the possibility of obtaining a management position if a competitor purchased Noram Canada.

The threats that developed were the competition was eager to secure new clients, the possibility of being fired if sales did not increase, and laid-off if Noram Canada was sold.

There are four alternatives to assist Jim in decreasing his stress 1) do nothing, 2) quitting his job or take a leave of absent, 3) attend seminars/counselling and talk to co-workers, and 4) changing his life style through diet, exercise, meditation, and deep breathing. The recommendation to Jim is to inquire about an Employee Assistance Program and take the time to talk to his co-workers. If there is no program available, he should attend seminars or counselling sessions. Each month he should evaluate their progress in reducing his stress level.

In reading the "Jim Black: Sales Representative  case, I found three stressors that led to Jim's problem of being over stressed. They consequently developed strain for Jim in the form of headaches, sleep disturbances, moodiness, job dissatisfaction, lower job performance, and burnout. The first stressor involved the market which was suffering from a prolonged recession thus putting added stress on Jim to compete for new customers and to keep existing ones happy. The second one was the pressure he was receiving from senior management to increase his sales after the loss of a customer to a competitor. Jim's company, Noram Canada Ltd, was planning to sell their Canadian operations to a competitor. This is the third stressor and with it came the possibility of losing his job. The result of the strain Jim was experiencing manifested itself with extremely high stress levels that had negative outcomes.

Jim attempted to have an advantage over his competitors by arranging to deliver Noram's products in a very timely manner. For his more-demanding customers he would arrange to have the merchandise delivered to their door by the next morning. In addition, Jim would offer discounts to his customers that he hoped would give him an edge over the competition.

Good time management skills are important to all sales representatives. By arriving at his appointment 15 minutes late, Jim showed that he lacked this skill. Furthermore, Jim never had enough time in the day to complete his paperwork and had to do it at home in the evening. This caused a strain in his family life, especially with his wife.

Jim did not give the same customer service to all his clients. While Jim gave special consideration to some clients by arranging next morning delivery, this meant that he delayed delivery to other customers.