3.2. Unfortunate Loss

Jane started at Medical Multimedia as a part-time freelance graphic artist, working on special projects that the full-time staff didn't have the time or resources to handle. As the company grew, her billable hours increased to the point where it was more economical for the company to offer her a full-time position. Even though she enjoyed the freedom of consulting, the security of the full-time position won her over.

A year later, as Medical Multimedia expanded its product line, the need for an in-house high-end three-dimensional (3-D) artist became apparent to Ron, the manager of the multimedia department. Faced with the prospect of training one of the artists who had been with the company from the start or Jane, Ron decided to ignore seniority and send Jane for training because of her aptitude for the medium. After attending the out-of-state program for six weeks, Jane returned to take full responsibility for all of the 3-D graphics work in the company.

In all, it took Jane about three months to become competent enough to create professional 3-D artwork for the company. Meanwhile, the other artists in the company began to voice their desire to obtain additional company-sponsored education in a variety of graphic arts areas. However, with new time pressures, Ron couldn't afford to send any more artists out for continuing education. Instead, he encouraged in-house education by establishing a weekly pizza lunch during which someone from the group could present ...

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