Case Study:
Reply to these cases with 125 words each.
1. From Christopher
What inspires employees to provide excellent service, market a company's products effectively, or achieve the goals set for them? Answering this question is of utmost importance if we are to understand and manage the work behavior of our peers, subordinates, and even supervisors. Put a different way, if someone is not performing well, what could be the reason? Motivation theory is thus concerned with the processes that explain why and how human behavior is activated. If the task at hand was to complete a motivational theory it would be a theory based on Seniority. Seniority is a key in making employees feel as if they are accomplishing something by staying with the company. As a small business owner currently there is experience with the use of seniority as a motivational standpoint because drivers that stay with Centenary Trucking Company for long periods of time get better trucks. The newer the truck the less breakdowns and the greater ability to earn more money weekly. It is not fair for a brand new driver to be able to be placed in the same category as the drivers that have been with the company for a while because they have earned their position. This approach proposes that unsatisfied needs motivate behavior (i.e. the younger drivers want to make more money), and that as lower level needs are satisfied, they become less important. Higher level needs, though, become more important as they are satisfied, and if these needs are not met, a person may move down the hierarchy. Thus, as a company the need to fulfill the needs of the senior drivers become priority and that will ensure a smooth running company.
2.
Recognition is the best motivation, people like to see their hard work be noticed and feel like they are making a difference, it meets basic psychological needs that goes much deeper than what money can buy. "No amount of money employers pay for our time will ever be sufficient to meet all of our multidimensional needs. It's only when employers encourage and support us in meeting these needs that we can cultivate the energy, engagement, focus, creativity, and passion that fuel great performance" (Freifeld, 2011, p.18). Employees want to feel like their leadership, boss, or company owner actually appreciates them and cares about them, in order to fulfil these multidimensional needs, employees need to be recognized. Recognition can be given in many ways through a simple "good work" can go a long ways or a more detailed approach that feels more genuine "I appreciate how you did _________ it helps us ________." Recognition can also be given through promotion and career advancement, or through employee recognition programs like employee of the month. For me personallygenuine acts are what motivate me, feeling like I am more than a "number" and that my opinions being listened to an actually taken into consideration, as well as knowing that my hard work is valued is important to me. According to an article in Forbes that discussed a survey that said less than 1 in 4 non-management employees are motivate, the article went on to discuss motivation techniques to increase employee performance (Llpman, 2013). These included taking a genuine interest in employees, listening, caring about their career path and goals, and the general rule of respect doing unto others as you want done to you (Llpman, 2013). The recognition needs to be at all levels, but in many large corporations it tends to stop at the top levels and the general employees never see the results. The recognition needs to be based on employee loyalty and hard work, their position, age and gender do not matter everyone is equally "entitled" assuming the put in the equal amounts of hard work and dedication.
3. Jarett
After completing the management worksheets , many management strengths were revealed. There are some weaknesses that my company can work on as well. J & A's management style will be to have minimal oversight of all employees. The expectation will be to provide timely, precise and quality work for customers while maintaining outstanding customer service. With minimal oversight, I want all employees to know that they have my trust in doing the best job to their ability. I consider minimal oversight of employees as strength of the management style at J & A. A weak point that I found when completing the worksheets was lack of management experience for me. To mitigate this weakness, I intend on hiring a manager with experience in the industry and in addition, an administrative assistant.
By having minimal oversight of employees, I can almost eliminate micro-management. No micro-management means that I am empowering my employees. This is capitalizing on my strength. An article at Entrepreneur explains that some companies are "building environments where people actually seek accountability and act as owners of the business, in turn eliminating the need for you to hover over them" (Erb, 2016). This is the approach that I intend on using at J & A.
As the owner of J & A, I will have minimal experience managing within the electrical contracting industry. As identified above, this is a weakness for me to overcome. In dealing with this issue, I will hire a manager and assistant manager to oversee daily business operations. In hiring the right candidates to manage my company I will need to screen appropriately. Pacor offers steps in making sure the right candidates are chosen including; education, references and background checks (Paycor, 2014). Following these steps carefully will help in my choosing of the right manager and assistance manger for J & A.
Choosing the right managers can be a challenge for many entrepreneurs because the talent pool is flooded with qualified applicants. This means that many are demanding higher wages with benefits and other incentives such as sign on bonuses. The costs of hiring qualified candidates to run a business can come with a high price. Therefore, it is essential that I take my time in the hiring process and find a good fit for J & A.
4.
After completing the Management and Organization plan it highlighted many of the strengths and weaknesses that I have and had in the business prior.
One of the main major weaknesses that was present when the business was more active was that there was not a distinct line on where ownership responsibilities ended and where they began. That lead to quite a few redundancies, frustration, and wasted time which is never good in any form of business.
Another major weakness was a lack of true organization within the business since much of it was done while learning on the fly as to what positions and plans were truly necessary in the eSports business. It would be unsatisfactory for a business to pay for unnecessary costs and employee positions. That being said, it was a hard balance because many risks needed to be taken capital wise in order to ensure the best chances of success for the future of the business, regardless of full knowledge of all the steps that needed to be taken.
One major strength from the plans would have been centered around my attention to detail. My business partner was a pure extrovert and was one of those guys who was great at schmoozing and networking in order to get things done on that level. My strength was an asset when it came to scrutinizing contracts, rules in regards to the professional league, and the tedious nature of payroll, bills, and the like.
Another major strength my business partner and I both shared was passion. We both were willing to invest a fair amount of capital and tons of time (most valuable resource) in order to try to accomplish our dreams. Passion can honestly make or break businesses in my opinion. I find this to be especially true if the business or company is large and does not have leadership that cares for the present and/or future success of the company and those that work underneath it. Passion paves the way to success in many aspects. That's not to say that it is all you need to be successful, but it is a great boon.
The best way to capitalize on the strengths would be to utilize them to save time and to motivate the various aspects of the business to run as efficiently as possible. The best way to improve upon the weak points would have been to clearly define the roles and attempt to try harder to network with other organizations in order to find out what was truly necessary for staffing and business purposes.
Lastly, I believe this will always be a challenge for entrepreneurs (today, yesterday, and tomorrow) because it is hard to evaluate your own business. It is also extremely difficult to be masterful in businesses that will never be perfectly run because there is always something that can be done better, no matter what anyone tells you.