Managing Organizations in a Global Environment

1. From Week 2 Pre Recorded Case Study

(a) What are the four critical management skills? How do Candace Stathis and Sue Ryan apply the four critical management skills in their roles at the company? 

Managing a group of people or an organization is not an easy task to do, the four main critical management skills are communication skills, time management skills, delegation skills, and problem-solving skills. The leader or manager should always communicate with their employees in order to work more efficiently and not only with the employees but with the customers as well. Notifying the employees about the deadlines and making sure that employees are submitting their works within the time is important, besides that motivating the employees and encouraging them to think creatively in order to come up with solutions for the issues in the organization. The managers and leaders have to face various problems; sometimes those problems require an instant solution (Samson, and Donnet, 2017).

Candace Stathis and Sue Ryan both are hardworking people and completely devoted to the organization. Candace makes sure that the employees are well organized and doing their job properly and also monitoring the time management of the employees, Candace always wants the employee to be on time. Where Sue Rayan who is the owner of the champion managing the other problems like dealing with the customer, especially those who are really miserable and then checking that the dogs are well treated or not, Rayan also deals with the payments. Candace is a little bit strict with the employees because as a manager there are responsibilities that require strict discipline. Rayan is more into building strong relationships with the customers which gives the ability to the customer to trust the organization and come back for their services. Both Candace and Rayan want a management team that improves the work efficiency and helps to develop the organization. Rayan also keeps an eye on the employee's necessities and problems, like providing a flexible time schedule for Candance and motivating other employees. All these initiatives are based on four critical management skills.

(b) Which of these skills do you think is the most important skill for a manager at Camp Bow Wow and why? 

According to the information given in the scenario, the most two important skills for the manager at Camp Bow Wow are communication skills and problem-solving skills. It is already shown that the manager at Camp Bow Wow is very strict with the employees regarding being on time in work and well organized at the workplace, but the manager has some issues in order to deal with the people and interacting with the customers. As per the case study, Rayan is the one who is always better with the customers and it is also very obvious that most of the big challenges come while dealing with the customer so as a manager Candace should interact with the customers more and try to solve their queries. It is very obvious that day by day when customers are going to increase Rayan would not be able to deal with all of those customers, in this case, Candace has to take some responsibility. This will give an opportunity to improve the problem-solving skills as it helps to develop as a person as well.

As a manager, Candace needs to improve communication skills as well because in the case study the manager clearly accepts that there is a problem which the manager is facing and the problem is dealing with the humans, which means there is a lack of communication between the employees and Candance. As a manager, Candace has to improve this skill no matter what because less communication will lead the employee in the wrong direction which will create chaos in the work environment (Lobel, 2016). Misleading the employees can cause a lot of damage, so Candance has to communicate with the employee and solve their doubts, giving instructions, and listening to their problems. Interacting with customers also improves communication skill and this will help to build a strong bond and faith in between the manager and the employees of the company.

2. From week 3 Pre Recorded Case Study

(a) How would you describe Black Diamond’s ethics in terms of how it treats its employees at the company’s factory partners in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh? 

The organization has extremely high-quality principles and ethics towards its global business and to its employees as well. The organization believes that in order to become a global brand it not only depends on selling products globally but thinks globally also. It is very important to the organization that the team is working to make a strong position in the global market of the organization, and should definitely be involved in the decision-making process and working with the leadership team side by side (Ife, 2019). The perspective and idea of every employee in the organization are important, the organization has a diverse work culture and appreciates each and every employee for presenting their idea for making the company successful globally. The factories in China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh are really in a healthy and safe condition. The workers are getting three meals a day, there are other facilities for the workers like, healthcare center, English learning classes, additional money for future education, the factories are hygienic and safe as well. The organization provides each and every minimum facility which helps its employees to grow more and contribute more to the organization. Black Diamond has some values which contain pretty unique and rich principles, the organization believes that in order to bring global operation the employees should also get the facilities like, have their own growth in individuals career path, increasing their innovative site and using the pointy as a weapon against the threats. The organization is training their employees in a way where the employees can easily deal with any problem or issues. The employee at the organization is very much loyal towards the company and strongly feels for the company and is doing hard work to make the organization globally successful. The organization is giving priority to every employee’s perception not only to the Americans but people who are from China and Switzerland or belong from any other part of the globe there are no cultural barriers and the organization is strictly against the discrimination.

(b) Do you think that it is appropriate for firms like Black Diamond to scrutinize its partner factories like this? Why or why not? 

According to the case study of the Black Diamond organization, the firm is inspecting all the factories closely and thoroughly, and yes it is important to scrutinize the partner factories because it's the organization's responsibility that the people who are working for the company should get the facility and comfort which they deserve (Sage et al. 2019). 

There are organizations which are involved in unethical work practices, the firms which have a global presence and the partner factories are also spread across the globe then the organization should keep monitoring the work practices for the sake of the employees after all those workers are also doing the work for the Black Diamond. Sometimes when the partner factories are not able to provide their employees properly facilities or flexibility in their work, not providing much help when the employee’s needs then the employee turnovers are taking place, and if the employee turnover is getting increased then the organization going to face a problem with manufacturing products and not be able to deliver the product in the market on time. It is better to take precautions from early and inspect that the employee and the worker are working in a safe, healthy, and positive work environment (Ife, 2019). There are also unethical and barbaric work practices in the factories of those places, so it is important that the resource and the finished product should come from a place that is not taking any kind of participation in unethical work. In those countries there are some issues with laborers like, those countries are encouraging child labor, not giving the workers minimum amount of salary which, they deserve, then make the laborers work more than the daily working hours. These are the reasons every company should keep an eye on their partner companies.

3. From Week 4 Pre Recorded Case Study

(a) Besides the “Shop,” how else does Barcelona try to maximize employee fit?

The restaurant Barcelona takes some serious and very unique approaches to maximize employee fit. The company is using some sort of different methods of taking interviews, and complete reading the candidate’s attitude and potential for being an employee in the company. The type of employees the company is looking for is not only skilled but also very much vibrant, able to connect with the customers, providing high-quality customer services, and making a strong presence on the floor. The company is looking for new people every day, taking interviews around 4 to 5 interviews daily, the company is not afraid to let go, people, because if the employees are not at their best performance then the company has to fire that employee. The hiring process is very much quinine in the company with different stages (Garrido, and Codó,2017). The company never feels hesitate to let go of people but that doesn't mean the company never tries with their existing employees, the company often tries different types of techniques in order to develop the employees' working quality. Like according to the case study the manager had the incident with employee D.J, people were complaining that they are not welcomed properly and it is not just felt like the usual days. The manager knows the potential of the employee and understands that it's just a day for D.J so the employee gets another several chance. But the company knows other skills can be trained but enthusiasm, vibrant personality and ability to deal with the customers can be trained, it needs to be hired (Hughes, 2018). The organization is being very much strict with the employees and on the day of the interview, the interviewer being clear about the expectation of the company from their employees gives a brief description of what they are getting into if the person is selected as an employee. The company is believed that human resource is the only way to make the business more stable and successful because in this industry everyday people are in and out, so the company needs to keep hiring people. 

(b) What other suggestions do you have for the company to improve new hires’ fit with the job and organization?

The recommendation which can be very much beneficial for the company are more specific while hiring people, the candidates have to be much more specific like, the college students who are really looking for some jobs can be very beneficial for the company (Treweek et al. 2018) because the type of the employee the company is expecting are much more fun-loving, enthusiastic, intelligent and fast at learning, all the qualities can be found in a college student, there are other types of people company can hire lie, housewives who are looking for a job as a chef, those people can be very beneficial again because housewife’s daily routine is to provide food to their family is not like the professional chefs because those people are learning it for earning money, but housewife has that ability naturally. Then the company has to focus on the employee's background and more into social skills, like what are the interests of that person. Giving the candidate some sort of scenario and asking their perspective in order to deal with that situation, these types of activities make a very clear understanding of the candidates (Treweek et al. 2018). Not focusing on traditional education and more focus on their ethics and morals while gives the interviews an idea about the candidate teds loyalty. Giving the opportunity to the fresher will be more beneficial for the company because freshers are happy to learn and more productive and dedicated to the work.
4. From Week 5 Pre Recorded Case Study

(a) Explain the goal-setting theory of motivation.

The goal-setting theory of motivation is a tool that gives the employees various challenging and difficult goals, and those goals become a motivation factor for the employees. The easy and vague goals make employees lazy and not much attentive regarding the work, which makes the work environment boring for the employees. These types of goals make employees feel triumph when the particular goal is achieved, it makes employees feel like having a growth in their career path and starts being more productive. These types of specific and clear goals help to generate better output and performance. The more challenging the goals the greater will be the achievement, and because of these successes, the employees are getting much more motivation for accomplishing the tasks. The goal-setting theory will make employees more engaged with the workflow and encourage the employees to work hard, which improves their career and their skill sets as well. This particular theory is helpful for increasing self-efficiency into employees' personalities and gives confidence which prepares the employees for accomplishing all the future goals. 

This theory makes employees more devoted to their work and increasing their effort towards daily tasks. The goals are the responsibility which makes the employee give their commitment in order to accomplish all those organizational objectives. There are some advantages of these setting goal theory, those are it helps to raise incentives for employees to finish their work faster and effectively, this theory helps increase the motivation, effort in the work, better performance, increasing dedication and makes employees satisfied with their job profile. Every organization is now adapting this theory in order to make the employees more responsible and help to make improvement in their career. The goal-setting theory requires hard work and complete devotion in order to achieve the goals which are not only their daily tasks provided by the manager or team leaders but somehow those tasks are becoming the personal goals for the employees which makes individual growth in a person. 

(b) Describe Brad’s motivation in terms of the goal-setting motivation theory? 

As per the given study it can be depicted that higher degrees of motivation can help in developing a personal connection with the people in the company. Brad keep the team motivated by keeping one door always open for their feedbacks and contribution for constant improvement of the company. This can help the employees to be more loyal to the company, as it can be depicted from the concept of goal setting motivation theory that the workforce might not only be associated with the list of task but they also need to have a sense of feeling that they are participating in decision making of the company. Moreover, it has been given in the case study that the main aspect of the goal setting theory is direct involvement of the owners in the business operations and daily activities that are taking place in Flight One. 

The point of view and state of mind of leaders can be one of most important aspects of motivation. In the given case study, the leaders are not tolerant for poor work performance and lack of dedication in the stores. The owners have been patient with the learning process of the employees and help them to enhance their skills by recognizing the contribution so that they can be productive for the company. Moreover, in the company it is also realized that giving feedback is a two thing, the employees need to give feedback for the company’s performance and vice versa. The employees making efforts for improvement are complemented in the company and are also provided with the positive feedback. Flight One’s owner Brad has also been taking certain aspects like respecting the employees and taking their feedbacks seriously as they need chance to express their views that can help in enhance their level of skill, dedication and hard work. 

5. From Week 6 Pre Recorded Case Study

(a) Describe the “norming” stage. 

There is a model which helps the teams to work together and develop mutual understanding and trust in between the team members. There are five stages and normingis one of those stages, it means that the members of the team started resolving the differences among the team members, appreciating each other's perspective, value each other's point of view and respect the authority as a team leader. This process helps the employees to know each other properly and build more strong relationship with the team member. The team member now seeking for help with each other and asking for feedback on their works. Basically, all the members of the team will get the opportunity to explore each other's personality, talent, perspective, and from those, the members will learn a lot of things from each other (Maseet al., 2016). 

It allows the employees to grow together not only as a team but as individuals as well. The leader will now see the progress in the team and can proceed with other stages. These stages will teach a lot of things about teamwork and the power of working together as a team, which is very important that the employees should understand. This stage establishes a strong bond between the core of the team, and makes all the tasks very smooth and efficient as well, the team members now know where the individual talents can be used in order to make the teamwork more productive. The norming stage is not easy to archive as a team because there are various personalities and each personality has their own perspectives so the rate of conflicts is usually increased at the starting but when the team started exploring each other and finding interest in others talent then norming stage slowly started to increase. The norming stage helps the employees to achieve their objectives and goals as a team.

(b) How might Nathan Decker lead effectively as the team starts “norming”?

As given in the case study it can be realized the first major step in norming is the proper use of communication. Nathan Decker playing the role of leaders has been trying to incorporate a uniform language that can help in passing the message and helping the team to communicate in an effective manner. As leader Decker has been trying to direct the team and helping them to realize that each and every department of the team is very important. Therefore, request and feedbacks of every department are well entertained in order to build a more effective team. The team members are also given the choice to provide feedbacks to their fellow mates. This can help the team members to realize others about the mistakes they might have made in their work (Lockeand Latham, 2015). The team members might also need to give both positive and negative feedback because the team needs to norm in a more effective manner. 

As depicted from the case study it canbe stated the Decker is focused on various decisions that can help the team in norming stages with proper development of the team. The team in this particular phase is more emphasized in certain a bond and building an identity for itself. There are several drawbacks as every member of the team is not quite happy with the negative feedbacks. However, in this stage the team under the leadership of Decker as help developing a sense of synergy that is used for the member to feel more accomplished and to be together in a proper manner. The team members are trying to resolve the difference and queries along with that helping to enhance the strength of every department in order to keep the team aligned with their goal.