Problem
Establishing Plans
The Mailing Place is a full-service direct-mail company, with many clients in the home services industry. Companies such as the Rug Doctor, House Maids and Handyman Inc., use the Mailing Place to send out targeted direct-mail pieces to homes that typically use these types of services. Jill Akers started with the Mailing Place when she was a college student and in four years has progressed to the position of Evening Supervisor. Her responsibilities include assembling the materials for an order, planning for labor to fold, stuff, and run the PC's used to produce labels; and ensuring that orders have the proper postage. There are four full-time workers in her area, and some large orders will require as many as ten temporary positions. The Mailing Place is paid based on the number of pieces mailed and receives a sizable bonus when their customers acquire new business. Jill's boss has come to her and asked for her assistance with a new line of work for the company. The new work is to produce personalized mailings for mortgage and banking companies in support of their call center operations. The new clients will give the Mailing Place a listing of the contacts made in a day. The Mailing Place will assemble materials to be mailed within twenty-four hours. Jill's boss thinks the night shift should handle this work to ensure the type of rapid fulfillment the banks are acquiring. Jill is supposed to come up with a plan to incorporate this work in her area. The night shift at the Mailing Place is currently working form 5 pm to 4 am, four days a week. Each employee needs about one week of on-the-job training to become efficient on all the machines and the PC programs. The labor cost is the major component of the Mailing Place's expenses, and controlling labor is a key to its success. The new line of work will start in about a month, and after three months, the new volume is expected to be equal to their present level of work. Jill's boss is hopeful that with the increased volume the operation will become more productive.
Task
a) What management functions should Jill utilize with the projected increase in business?
b) Will Jill require any specific supervisory job competencies in her new role?