Individual Assignment ( The analysis Should be in Word Document Written ( Comput
ID: 388735 • Letter: I
Question
Individual Assignment ( The analysis Should be in Word Document Written ( Computerized ) )
• Read the story ( High Employee Turn Over At Main Street Bakeries ) Page 160 - 161
• Analyze the Story
• Identify the deferent action made by Ben
• Comment and advise
• Not less than 750 words
Explanation / Answer
a. Story Analysis
The plot highlights the high employee turnover at a particular store (number Seventy Five) of a bakery chain named Main Street Bakeries. The main characters of the plot being:
The story deals with a chronological set of events which depict how Ben deals with the increasing turnover at store no. 75 by undergoing a root-cause analysis. To understand why are the turnover numbers increasing, Ben interviews some former assistant managers & frontline employees so as to gauge the reason for their dismay and exit. These meetings & interviews help him understand that the root cause of several exits was the overtly bullying nature of the store manager Jane. According to the interviews, the store manager Jane exhibited characteristics of a bossy and rude manager. Not only did she pressurize the employees, but also charged punitive measures and accused them for not working off the clock. Moreover, she also portrayed an uncollaborative and biased nature towards certain sets of employees respectively. These were some of the reasons why the employees felt dissatisfied with their jobs and opted to resign.
A store/line manager is the first point of contact for the frontline employees towards the business’ management. A decent store manager is effectively required with his/her colleagues offering help, offering support and conveying positive and useful feedbacks daily. Line Managers strongly impact a frontline employee’s job fulfilment, satisfaction and commitment, and thus, hierarchical efficiency and also leading to much consumer loyalty. Thus, the challenge in front of Ben was not only to decrease the turnover numbers but also to help store no. 75 get a store manager worthy in terms of job-culture fit.
b. Deferent actions displayed by Ben:
The deferent action portrayed by Ben was that he did not straight away fire Jane even after hearing several negative feedbacks about her. Instead, he tried to create a win-win strategy wherein he expected to reduce employee turnover and simultaneously help Jane become an effective manager. We can also say that Ben approached the root cause of the issue not as person but as the job being done by the person, thus treating the person and her role as two separate entities. He tried to create an environment in which all the employees can thrive, including Jane.
For this purpose, Ben tied the store manager’s bonuses to workplace climate surveys of the direct reports, that is, they were added as the Key Performance Area (KPAs) of the store manager. Also, exit interviews were arranged for the employees leaving the store in the coming six months so as to gauge reasons for their dissatisfaction. Moreover, to help Jane explore her managerial potential, a coach was also arranged who would counsel her to become an effective manager. Though these measures did not work for Jane and she ultimately resigned, the next store manager showed positive results under the same circumstances and also the employee turnover got reduced. Also, the customer satisfaction numbers were high.
c. Comments & Advise:
Conclusively, the story highlights the role of a collaborative manager in case of conflicts resolution. Ben portrays following characteristics which can be used to highlight the traits of a true collaborative manager:
Moreover, as an advice from the story, it is understood that: