Question

THE SCENARIO

I am a team leader who works in a warehouse where, we conduct monthly inventory counts. The monthly counts are done by a quick visual check and then matching the numbers to what is showing in the inventory management computer system. Once a year we shut production down for a day and do a full, manual inventory count. We then compare it to the numbers showing the inventory system. If the numbers are off by more than 5%, we are required to determine why there is a difference and submit a report to the supervisor who then submits the report to the operations manager. If the numbers are under the 5% variance, we all receive a letter of appreciation from the company’s president with our next pay stub. It is also posted on our employee bulletin board and included in the company newsletter.

I have been with the company for 2 years; first as a warehouse employee and then was promoted to team lead six months ago. As team lead it is my job to ensure that all employees take the inventory management seriously by entering materials into the management system when it arrives and then removing it when we use the material during production operations. We use a scanner for this as all the raw materials have a UPC scan code on them. But we onl3

scanners as they are very expensive.It is quite stressful as not all the staff follow the inventory count rules. During my first year the inventory count was correct but the second year it was not. Our numbers showed a variance under 5% but when the purchasing manager put in a production run for a customer order that was due to be delivered in one week; it was found that we were short two of the required materials by more than 15% each. This caused a lot of problems as he then had to order the raw materials from the suppliers who couldn’t get it to us for another 2 weeks. The customer then was told they

wouldn’t get their order until 3 weeks. It ended up that they pulled their order. The senior

management team was very upset and let us know about it. Our manager was told to write us up about this and put a warning letter in our employee files. He told us he didn’t want to do that and gave me 2 days to find out why it happened so the correct person(s) could be written up. I believe it is because a couple of the employees are lazy. I know that they take shortcuts. When I catch them lazing around, I tell them to get back to work and do their job properly or they will be docked pay. This warning seems to get them to do what they are supposed to but not for long. I have also heard from other employees that these 2 guys are constantly complaining about the job and management, including me. I yelled at these 2 guys and told them I was going to tell Ahmad, the manager it was their fault due to their bad attitude and laziness. I also told them they would be written up and would lose a day’s pay. One guy told me to GO AWAY and walked off the job.

He didn’t come back. The other guy said it wasn’t his fault and then gave me a list of reasons

why it wasn’t his fault. Looking back, I know I shouldn’t have lost my temper and yelled like that, but I am so stressed out with this issue. I haven’t been sleeping well and am having some difficulty concentrating. I am afraid that I will lose my job if I don’t get this solved. I am thinking maybe I should quit before I get fired.  I don’t want my Record of Employment (ROE) to show I was fired.

END OF SCENARIO

Your Instructions:

Recognize and effectively use your managerial skills to resolve workplace issues.  You are required to analyze and identify the underlying cause of the issue/behaviour and the skills you will utilize to resolve the problem(s) in the above case scenario. You will include a minimum of 5 managerial skills/concepts in your assignment e.g. communication (including listening), time and stress management, recognition, definition and resolution of the problem, motivating others, goal setting, self-awareness, power, conflict management, etc. You choose and apply the five; please note two forms/types of a concept i.e. directive vs non-directive counselling count as one, not two concepts. You are required to answer not only what is occurring and where it happens but also why and then your suggestions for how you would deal with the issue(s)and why you made that particular choice i.e. identify expected behaviour change, organizational impact, personal outcome. You are analyzing and resolving this from the perspective of a manager.

NEED TO DISCUSS PROBLEM AND UNDERLYING ISSUE AND IDENTIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 5 MANAGERIAL CONCEPT.( GOOD AMOUNT OF WORDS AND NOT FROM INTERNET) THANK YOU

Marking rubric:

Issue identification (1 mark), analysis & resolution of org issue(s). The overall total of 5 marks.

Five course concepts identified and properly defined .

Correct application of each course concept to the issue (should be applied to the analysis & resolution) .

Answer 1

Issue identification- The observed variance was under 5% however in reality the production was interrupted because there were shortage of 2 items by more than 15% each. This created lot of problems as the production team had to contact the suppliers and the suppliers said they would be able to ship the product for another 2 weeks. The customer was informed that there would be a delay of about 3 weeks and this made the customer to decline the order. The cause of the shortage need to be identified to resolve the issue.

Analysis – The first mistake that the company makes in conducting inventory audit is that the monthly counts are done by just a quick visual check. This is then matched with the numbers in the inventory management computer system to detect the variance. The reason this is a major error is because the inventory is not counted manually nor any record of it is done. It is just done by visual check which might be deceptive.

Secondly, not all the employees follow the inventory count rules.

Thirdly, the materials are entered into the inventory management system when the company receives it and then removing it from the system when the materials are used during the production operations. This is absolutely a grave error because there is no record of the inventory at all in the system.

Finally, poor people management skills is a great obstacle for employee performance. The team lead was not provided appropriate training about the leadership role. He was just the inventory manager who was promoted to the Team Lead position. His incapacity was shown when he said that he would go to his manager Ahmed to inform about the laziness of the two employees.

Five course concepts in resolution of the case with definitions:

1. Policies and Communication- Policies are the course of action adopted by an organization for its smooth functioning. Communication is exchanging information either through written or oral form. The company should have clear cut policies on the inventory management and this has to be communicated effectively to the employees. The inventory audit should have a procedure and adequate training should be provided to the employees to ensure that they adhere to the inventory count rules.

2. Goal- Setting – This is the process of designing an action plan and guiding the team to achieve those goals. The organization should have vision and mission statements and develop strategies to accomplish the mission/vision of the organization. For example, elimination of waste can be the production goal to achieve the organization mission to enhance the production system for sustainability and cater to the customer’s needs.

3. Self-awareness- This is a conscious effort when one undertakes to understand their own character. The employees should be self-aware of the responsibilities and take accountability for their roles. They should be stressed the importance of their role and how each one of them contribution is valued in the company.

4. Problem and resolution- A situation that is unwelcome as it might interrupt the process or is harmful. Finding appropriate resolution to the problem should be done immediately to overcome the unwelcome situation. In this case, the company should empower the employees to identify problems, solve them and incentivize to resolve them at the earliest. This would most probably solve all the production and operational problems in the company. Scanner is the best tool to be used during the inventory audit. The materials need to be scanned when it is received. However, it should not be removed from the system when they are used for production. Instead, appropriate planning system such as Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) should be used to assess the inventory that goes into production. Inventory list should be maintained at all times and additional reports need to be developed to have accurate inventory audit. There should be zero variance in the inventory audit.

5. Conflict Management- The Team lead should be provided appropriate leadership training including conflict management. Conflict management is the process of enhancing the group performance by increasing the positive aspects and eliminating the negative traits. In this case, the conflict between the two employees and the leadership team need to be resolved at the earliest to avoid employees leaving the company or to avoid lessening of the morale of the company.

Thus, the management should have adequate management plan and control system in place to avoid such big losses in future.

Note- If you like the answer, please provide an up-vote as it would be quite encouraging for me. Thank you.