People Management and Human Resource - Assignment Example

People Management Introduction Human resource is the backbone of any business. Many a times, the growth of any business organization will be determined by the nature of manpower they have. Everything about employees has to be right for a company to grow and cover a bigger market. The first and most critical aspect of human resource is selection. Selections are done through interviews where applicants are grilled in order to get the right person with the right qualifications and abilities to handle the given duties. Although this is the most critical step, the other auxiliary steps ensure the right people deliver good results in their designated areas. These other steps are of great importance in the marketing sector, where a good relationship with the customer is the ultimate goal( Armstrong, 37) Human resource is one of the most difficult and challenging resources to manage. Humans have emotions as opposed to machines which can be programed to do various tasks. Skills on management of people who are hard to manage are therefore very necessary. Most of the time the hardest challenges have the simplest solutions. First the managers have to accept that management is cumbersome and stop fighting it. This helps in approaching delicate employees’ issues with positivity. Secondly, they should face those issues head on and solve them promptly. In order to handle the challenges effectively, they should see them both from the managerial and employee perspective. Employees can sometimes be very difficult and stressful to deal with, therefore help from others like a colleague, a mentor or one’ own manager, would be very helpful. Their response about a given employee would be very critical in decision making. Setting up of clear and measurable goals is also an important tool when evaluating individual employee’s performance. Lastly, they should view employees from the perspective of “a liability or an asset”. If an employee is an asset, keep him/her but if a liability let go (Richardson, 36). Approach to counter Alexandra’s Poor Performance Following the poor performance, I would do the following; 1. Have a one-on-one discussion with her. Make her free to present her case and listen carefully to her concerns. This will help in coming up with an amicable solution to her problems. Listening to her would save the day because there could just be a mere misunderstanding. 2. Provide her with a crystal clear behavioral feedback. This would involve telling her what she should do differently to regain the trust of the customers. This may entail transferring her to another branch to meet new customers (Neil, 80). 3. Make a list of the mistakes Alexander has done in the past and then help her make an amicable plan to improve on those areas. This is so because the problems are a reality and cannot just go away magically. 4. Be a consistent and constant reminder on the need to improve on her performance until she sees the sense in changing her attitude for the good. 5. Set consequences to be faced in case no change is registered and make her aware of each one of them. For example, she would be let go in case she doesn’t improve on her performance( Thomas, 104). 6. Follow all the company’s processes and procedures in an attempt to keep Alexandra. She should only be terminated in case all the processes don’t work for her. 7. Keep the problem as confidential as possible. Her list of problems should not be discussed with her colleagues under any circumstances. 8. Take the stance of a fair witness. Make an accurate judgment on the possibility of Alexander changing. The stance should not be unhelpfully positive; neither should it be unhelpfully negative. 9. Should it be impossible to change her attitude, courage should be exhibited incase firing her is the only option. This should be done right according to the company’s procedures( Martin 69). Performance Review Questions Briefly highlight the achievements you have made since you were employed by this company. Describe a problem you were able to solve using effective communication. Describe the nature of relationship you have had in the past with the customers, fellow salespeople and the management. For the last three years you have been with us, how often have you achieved the minimum of five sales per month? What do you think we can do so as to improve your performance? In your own view, what new marketing strategy do you think you have brought into this company which was not there before? Do you feel comfortable and fulfilled working with us? Steps to be taken Talk to Alexander and try to understand her problems. Review her previous performance appraisal forms and fill in updated ones. Review her performance history and identify both intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors. Discuss and right in her presence the new performance indicators and reflecting the performance management strategies and motivation tools. Give her a grace period of two to three years to get back to her feet. Propose and discuss with Alexander the support services that would help her improve faster. For example social and career counseling( Wellington, 57). Lastly make clear to Alexander the consequences to be faced in case no improvements are registered within three years. The interview should take at most seven hundred and ten minutes. Termination Letter Date Ms. Alexandra OMalley 28461 Cliff Street Sparta, NJ 07371 Dear Alexandra, This letter has been written as a confirmation of your most unfortunate dismissal from The Volkswagen Company, effectively. This follows your continuous poor performance despite the second chance you were given for improving. Your sales have dropped drastically. You have just made one sale in the last three months which is unacceptable according to the company’s performance policy. You therefore left us no choice but to terminate you employment. You will be required to return the company’s car and submit the keys. The company’s budge must also be returned. The payment accrued during you sick days and vacations will all be included in your final paycheck. You can arrange with your supervisor and pick it up. Your contact information such as W-2 form will be important for future use. You can provide this information to the company. Regards, Johnstone Walker, Sales Manager. Works Cited Armstrong, Michael. Managing People: A Practical Guide for Line Managers. London: Kogan Page, 1998. Print. Martin, Graeme, and Susan Hetrick. Corporate Reputations, Branding and People Management: A Strategic Approach to HR. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006. Print. Neil, Sean, and John Kulisek. Bare Knuckle People Management Creating Success with the Team You Have - Winners, Losers, Misfits, and All. New York: BenBella, 2011. Print. Richardson, Martin. The People Management Clinic Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions. London: Thorogood, 2006. Print. Thomas, Mark. Mastering People Management: Build a Successful Team - Motivate, Empower and Lead People. 2nd ed. London: Thorogood, 2007. Print. Wellington, Patricia. Effective People Management. London: Kogan Page, 2011. Print. Read More