Archives for the Month of December 2005 on Shawn White's Online Journal
Discipline in the Workplace
How to discipline employees in the workplace is again a difficult problem that faces managers. Often cases can be very complex and raise ethical and moral questions. Many cases are challenging because it is hard to draw lines on a slippery slope. It is normal for circumstance to play a large role in an individual case. As a manager it becomes extremely difficult to set standards that apply to every case, in fact, almost impossible.
The most important part is to be consistent and as fair as possible.
Performance appraisals
Performance appraisals are a very useful tool in having an effective and efficient work environment. I thought that the 360 appraisal was the best method because it accounted for the most variables. I thought it was unique in that it allowed for bi-directional feedback between the manager and employee. The process also allows for input from peer workers. It seems to be the most comprehensive plan for this type of evaluations. It is a much more solid system because it gives an individual feedback from all directions in an organization. This system provides ways to catch employees which have “fallen through the cracks” in other evaluation methods.
Coaching
Coaching employees is one of the hardest roles as an HR manager. Employees need guidance at work for direction. It is a fine line between helping employees and doing their work for them. It is important to approach employees in a non-invasive way so that they do not feel that they are being babysat. It is also important to have open communication channels between manager and employee so that ideas and thoughts can flow freely between the two.
SMART Goals
I think that the SMART goal strategy is a great way to achieve goals in an efficient way. I know that most goals that I have never come to fruition, because they are often not useful. SMART goals have direction and guidance on how to achieve a goal. The main goal is broken down into several small steps that are much easier to achieve. For me this was the best way to set a goal for a summer internship. The SMART system forced me to set small deadlines that should be easy to achieve so that I can obtain my final goal.
HR Simulation Quarter 8
Our group just finished the input for quarter eight in the HR simulation manual. The two years of inputs and outputs have brought about many choices through both hard and good times. We were faced with tough staffing decisions and other HR problems. The simulation was most effective in showing how difficult it is to determine which of the inputs affected which outputs. It finally came together in the end and I feel that our team succeeded over the two years of inputs. The project is almost complete, except for the final annual report, which should be a useful reflection on what did and did not work.