Report On Woonona Fitness Instructor Catrin Ellice De Jonge's Theft Conviction And Management Problem In Business

The story of Catrin Ellice De Jonge's theft conviction

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Woonona fitness instructor Catrin Ellice De Jonge escapes conviction over Lorna Jane active wear theft

Shannon Tonkin

Catrin De Jonge admitted stealing S2.100 worth of Loma Jane clothing while working as a casual sales assistant.

A Woonona woman has avoided a criminal conviction after admitting fleecing thousands of dollars worth of clothing from up-market active wear retailer Loma Jane while employed as a casual sales assistant.

Catlin f nice I k Jonge. 21. had been working part-time as a stylist for the popular brand for three years when a fashion-forward decision brought her deception to light.

Police documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court this week said De Jonge was seen wearing one of the brand's 'cane swim active' bras when she arrived at the Wollongong Central store for a shift on July 23.

The attire raised the suspicion of her colleagues. as the clothing line had only just been released in stores.

An audit of the retailer's sales database confirmed Dc Jonge had not purchased the item from any store.

A week later De Jonge was called into a meeting with Lorna Jane's loss prevention officer and the NSW area manager. where she promptly confessed to having stolen the bra while working at the MacArthur Square outlet.

Asked it she'd taken other items during her time with the retailer. De Jonge confirmed she had swiped several other pieces of clothing. Three days later. on August, 2, De Jonge attended the Loma Jane store in Wollongong. bringing 24 with her other pieces of clothing.

Three days later, on August, 2, De Jonge attended the Lorna Jane store in Wollongong, bringing 24 with her including still-tagged sports bras, tights, tank tops and shirts.

The total value of the stolen goods was $2,100

De Jonge was charged with theft as an employee and made full admission during an interview with police.

In court this week, defence lawyer Neill McCarthy said both he and De Jonge had attempted to contact Lorna Jane to repay the money however they'd been rebuffed.

"I made quite extensive efforts to speak to them but they told me not to contact them," he said.

He told the court De Jonge was no longer working for the brand but still had employment as a fitness instructor at two local gyms.

In sparing De Jonge a conviction, Magistrate Peter thompson noted the size of the case against her was largely due to her own admissions, however said her actions could not be tolerated.

"It shows a significant breach of trust - this is something that will no doubt follow you [for life)," he said.

De Jonge was placed on a nine-month community release order.

A fitness instructor by the name Catrine Ellice De Jonge tried to escape the conviction over Lorna Jane theft. The accused had admitted having stolen goods worth $2100 From Woonona while working as a casual sales assistance. The woman had been working as a part-time as the stylist for their favorite brand for three years until when her deception was brought to light. The police. According to the police document, tendered to Wollongong local court, Catrine Ellice De Jonge was seen wearing one of the brand's while reporting for July 23rd shift. The attire created a lot of suspicions since the cloth line had been recently released in the store. Later, the audit was conducted, and the results showed that the woman had not purchased the attire. The meeting was held in the following where Catrine Ellice De Jonge confessed that she had stolen the attire while working at Macarthur square outlet. In the same conference, Catrine Ellice De Jonge admitted having taken some more pieces of clothes while working as a retailer. Three days later, Catrine Ellice De Jonge brought other 24 items which overwhelmed the shirts, tank tops, still tagged sports bras and tights. Catrine Ellice De Jonge was then charged with theft which shed admitted during her interview with the police. During one of the courts in the week, the defense lawyer claimed that they had tried to compensate the stolen items through their case was rebuffed. However, the Magistrate Peter dismissed his jurisdiction since the accused had admitted having taken the things. Catrine Ellice De Jonge was then convicted and placed on a nine-month release order.

Problem management is the criteria used in managing the Lifecycle of all the issues that might occur within the business (Leopold, 2013).  Its principal objective is preventing incidences like employee theft and problems from happening, eliminating the recurring issues and minimizing the impact of the issues that cannot be avoided. The management problem entails the events needed in diagnosing the foundations of issues and finding the solutions towards those problems. Its as well responsible for making sure that the right measures are implemented appropriately especially through release and changes in management (Cerchione and Esposito, 2017). The management problem will as well secure the information about the incidences in the business, so that's so that the management can reduce their impact over the time. The management problem has a robust interface with the knowledge in management and other techniques like known error database which can be used in monitoring the error in the business. Hence, management problem ensures there is good communication while dealing with the issues and incidents. Some of these management issues are; the difficulties of employees in understanding what the company is striving to achieve in cases where the new managers or subordinate individuals are reporting to senior officials, it’s good to establish clear visions and communicate it effectively. Secondly, the workforce should comprehend their most prominent role in contributing to the image of the organization. Not all the workers must understand or agree with the vision of the organization, but their duties must align with the goals of the institution. Lastly, the employee theft experienced in business. This act can cause a significant challenge to the victim and the owners of the company. For example, in the case above, the Woonona lost a vast amount of 2100 dollar and Woonona fitness instructor Catrine Ellice De Jonge landed in jail.

Management problem in business

One of the critical management issues in many business organizations is employee theft. The workers' theft can be of different forms like time stealing, stealing the official merchandise and stealing of properties like the case of Woonona. When the worker theft is identified, the business management feels violated and might react out of the emotions. The first thing which the company should do in case of theft is taking a thorough check-up of the organization's processes (Kazdin, 2018).

The second thing is doing the background check on the workers. This will help the organization from making the same mistake in the future. The owner of the business should not just assume because an employee is a friend case might be true of the new prospect.

Thirdly, the business management should eliminate the possible opportunities for stealing. The owner needs to create an excellent system of checking, balancing and oversight for significant procedures that make sure various employees performing their roles and often checking each other. Just like the case of Woonona, have an external auditor to conduct unscheduled inspections every time. This will ensure the workers are accountable for their irregularities. In this case, the problem manager is responsible in the management of the lifecycle of issues in providing they are well understood, and the right actions are taken. The primary goal of the problem manage is solving and taking preventive measures in minimizing management issues. He or she should link with the incident management team and the technical management in diagnosing the information captured from the occurred theft incidence. Then the manager can perform the RCA (root cause analysis) to assist the administration in identifying why the theft happened when it happened and the person involved in the matter. The RCA will provide many alternatives in solving the issue, and the problem managers provide the relative cost and risks involved which helps in making the right recommendations. At this time, the manager will be responsible for making sure the knowledge management team is updated to support the owner address the recurring such issues(Cerchione and Esposito, 2017).

The fourth thing that can be done in solving management problem is working with the workers in establishing ways of discouraging theft. This can be achieved by allowing them to design, policies, balances, consequences, and checks. Offering a private platform in which the employees can air their suspicions without fearing the repercussions. This will make sure that the workers to understand that the owners of the business are subject, same regulations and procedures like any other individual in the organization.

Lastly, establishing clear business policies that are comprehensive and consistency to deal with workers' theft. These policies should be distributed to every department in written form. The company should try to avoid the punitive reaction, double standards and mind the morale among the workers. Despite employing consistent across all the departments, the company should as well deal with problems on case by the case basis. The business organization's owners or senior management should also act as the role models. The tone of the trust and integrity begins with the top official in any given organization irrespective of the position at which the theft case happens; it should be acted upon immediately and reasonably (Morgan, 2012).

In the case as the manager you have doubts and think about investigating a problem, do it factually and thoroughly. Any disapproval towards the worker may permanently disorient the link between the company and the clients. Hence, ensure every time the organization is on the substantial grounds before making any accusation. Management problem may best work with the change management and incident management through information technology in ensuring the employees are providing quality services. Information technology can be used in monitoring the progress of the business and recording errors that may happen within the business. The information will then be used in speeding up the resolution period and help in providing a permanent solution.

References

Cerchione, R. and Esposito, E. (2017) ‘Using knowledge management systems: A taxonomy of SME strategies’, International Journal of Information Management. Elsevier Ltd, 37(1), pp. 1551–1562. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.10.007.

Kazdin, A. E. (2018) ‘Parent management training and problem-solving skills training for child and adolescent conduct problems’, Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents., 3rd ed., pp. 142–158. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2017-25888-009&site=ehost-live.

Leopold, H. (2013) ‘Business Process Management’, in Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-04175-9_1.

Morgan, N. A. (2012) ‘Marketing and business performance’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. doi: 10.1007/s11747-011-0279-9.