Everyone knows those developers - the ones that just sit there, tapping away, not really getting much done. Their code suffers, their job suffers - and there's not really much that can be done to get them out of this slump.
Well, Builder.com has an interesting article on how to deal with lost causes in the workplace. There's a fine line between allowing some behaviors to continue for the sake of the programmer's skill and allowing them to walk all over the management because of their personal feelings. This piece has several quotes from the members of Builder.com that read more like confessions of times in the past when they've either delt with a prima dona developer incorrectly, or had the knowledge to understand the situation for what it was and got that "lost cause developer" out of their slump and back into a productive lifestyle.
My favorite quote: "Try to deal with your prima donna on an adult-to-adult basis, but never hesitate to take him/her to the woodshed. You simply cannot allow your prima donna to hijack your project.”