Archives for the Month of November 2006 on Alan Valenti Blogs???!!!!
Cleaning up Cleanup
While working as a car salesman this summer, there was always one problem that persisted to annoy my fellow salesmen. This problem was dirty or scratched cars on the day of delivery. The source of this problem was the cleanup crew at our dealership. The cleanup crew was responsible for making new cars spotless for delivery. Unfortunately, the quality of work and reliability from the cleanup department had its high and low points. The climax occurred when a salesman lost his temper and yelled at a worker in the cleanup department. As a result, tempers flared and the worker threw a towel at the salesman and said, “Do it yourself!” Due to many complaints, the majority of the cleanup crew was fired. The reasons for termination strongly relate to those mentioned in my Management 250 class during the "termination at will" discussion. The cleanup crew exhibited unsatisfactory performance and misconduct. The situation described gives a great example of when employees should be terminated. In a effort to improve the situation, we hired a cleanup crew that was managed by an external company. The problem with cleanup was solved only temporarily. Unfortunately, once the managers from the external company stopped visiting, the same problems began again.
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Termination at Will
In class today we talked about the topic of “termination at will”. This means that a company has the right to terminate an employee whenever and however it sees fit. This only applies when there are no contracts or union agreements that prevent the company from firing the employee. To avoid legal repercussions, the employee should satisfy one of the following five criteria. These criteria are unsatisfactory performance, misconduct, lack of qualifications for the job, changed requirements for the job, and elimination of the job position. I feel as a future manager this set of criteria will allow me to make responsible decisions when determining the future of an employee within my company.
Tom Mendola Case
Today in class we discussed the Tom Mendola case. Tom was a seventeen year old worker at a manufacturing company. He came from a family of ten children and was forced to work because his father had acquired a debilitating illness. Unfortunately, Tom repeatedly performed below expectations despite having been reprimanded several times. In my opinion, Tom should have been fired. He repeatedly showed that he was unreliable and performed below average in multiple departments of the company. It was acceptable for him to receive a couple of warnings due to his young age, but over three was excessive regardless of his circumstances. It was important for Tom to realize that he must perform to the level at which everyone else performed even though he was younger and had a rough home life. The best course of action for the supervisor was to fire Tom because Tom was not able to handle the monotony of a manufacturing job. It would also benefit Tom because he would probably perform better at a job that he found more interesting.
The Jonah Creighton Dilemma
I enjoyed the class discussion about the Jonah Creighton case. It was interesting to hear the diverse solutions to Jonah's dilemma. The most interesting aspect of the class discussion focused on whether or not it was correct for Jonah to direct his time on resolving something that was ethically wrong. Many argued that it was wrong for Jonah to use company time and resources to do something that was not his job. In my opinion, there were several ways Jonah could have solved the problem while still being able to do his job. The most effective way to handle the situation would have been filing a complaint with the company's human resources department. Doing this would have transferred the responsibility from Jonah to another group of people more capable of solving the issue. It also would have saved the working relationship between Jonah and his supervisor. Most importantly, Jonah would have been able to continue his job knowing that he had not compromised any of his values.
Margolis, Joshua D. "Jonah Creighton." Harvard Business School.
Simple Problems Often Require Complex Solutions
Weighing the costs and benefits of every decision made, whether it is a business, economic, or social decision is extremely important. In my human resources simulation group, we have discovered that simple solutions are often deceiving. The expected results of our solutions did not always correlate with the goals that we expected them to achieve. This is because increasing wages or adding benefits are not the only factors that determine success. There are many other factors such as competition within the industry, worker morale, and productivity rates that must be correctly interpreted. In my management accounting class, we have begun discussing decisions that managers must make when presented with data about profit in specific product lines. The most obvious solution is not always the best since there are many factors to take into account. Therefore, the goal of any manager is to carefully analyze every decision being made rather than hastily make decisions.
Productivity and Stress
Dealing with stress is another topic that relates to my previous entry and the points made in The Human Challenge. In a business setting, it is important to be able to handle stressful situations calmly. Stress is especially prevalent when the unexpected occurs. This often happens when there is poor planning or poor scheduling. While working as a car salesperson this summer, unexpected events occurred due to either uncontrollable situations or lack of planning. Everyone at the dealership would handle stress differently. Some employees got angry, yet others were able to handle stress calmly. I found that the calm employees were much more productive. In my previous post, I discussed the poor budgeting of my time while taking an accounting test. The main reason for my poor performance was the stress which was the result of poor planning. If I had paced myself properly, I would have been able to confidently finish the last questions of my test.
Tucker, Mary L, Anne M McCarthy, and Douglas A Benton. The Human Challenge
Managing Yourself And Others in Organizations. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Productivity and Accuracy
Today I realized that productivity is just as important as accuracy. While taking my accounting midterm, I failed to take into account the pace required to fully complete the exam. I started out fine and knew all the answers perfectly; however, as time passed I realized that there was much more to complete than was possible at the current pace. Therefore, I was forced to finish the rest of the exam in a frantic rush. Although I knew the material well, I failed to take into account the importance of productivity. In any business, employees must be able to complete work quickly and accurately. This may be the reason why Case's accounting teachers have begun making their tests longer. As a result of this experience, I will remember to pace myself better on the next exam. Ultimately, I will be better prepared for the real world. This experience also reinforces the points made about time management and productivity as discussed by Mary L. Tucker in The Human Challenge.
Tucker, Mary L, Anne M McCarthy, and Douglas A Benton. The Human Challenge
Managing Yourself And Others in Organizations. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.