When bureau chiefs must meet an urgent deadline and overtime stenography is requested, how should the central transcribing unit respond?

• A. Desirable, chiefly because it enables the bureau chiefs to meet the deadline
• B. Undesirable, chiefly because it creates personnel problems which are often difficult to handle
• C. Desirable, chiefly because it enables the bureau chief to determine which of the stenographers are cooperative
• D. Undesirable, chiefly because resorting to overtime to meet production requirements indicates poor management

Answer: (A)

When a task has to be finished urgently, bringing in overtime to support transcription work is a practical, productive move. Responding with overtime helps ensure the bureau chief can meet the deadline and deliver timely information, which is the primary service goal in this situation. It treats the urgent demand as a priority and uses available resources to prevent delays that would hamper operations.

The other ideas miss the main aim. Overtime isn’t inherently a personnel problem, nor should it be used as a test of who is cooperative, and seeing overtime as a sign of poor management overlooks that meeting urgent deadlines often requires temporary extra effort.