Problems with Employees Performance - Essay Example

Introduction         Problems are part of the day to day management of any organization. Managers and supervisors having a direct contact with the labor force have encountered a lot of problems mostly from production, and employee’s performance. This may either because of faulty communication or lack of work motivation. Employee’s attitudes towards work, communication system, disagreement, etc., are among the factors that should be considered in managing and supervising people. A high level management performance would be useless if the leadership skills are low. If the leader/manager cannot handle such situations, company’s productivity and development would surely be hindered. Solving the problems within the company is not a one way process, the leader/manager is not the only picture on the image, rather it should be the leader/manager and the labor force. This paper will give focus on the management problem of Mr. Charley Newton on his new assignment. It will center primarily on the challenges of his leadership skills on how he will address the poor sales performance in southeast region. His ability on how he will manage his new appointment as vice president of southeast region determines his future career in Cabot Corporation. The Problem According to Fernandez, “80% to 90% of the sales are made by 20% of the sales force." This statement is very disappointing to know on what has been contributed by the 80% sales force. It relates to the problem of Mr. Newton in his new assignment in southeast region which is a serious issue that determines his future career. He had handled various assignments in his 10 years of stay in Cabot Corporation that is why the management has high expectations on him. He is being assigned to a worst performing region expecting that he can settle the problems in terms of the sales performance. It had been a problem for the corporation knowing that southeast region has a huge number of perspective customers (farmers), but still it ranks to be at the lowest, and fails the management expectations. The unsatisfactory sales performance of the region is one of the problems that Mr. Newton has to face. He also needs to perceive why is that the 26 divisional offices of the regions considered themselves autonomous. Causes of the Problem The product produced by Cabot Corporation is positively viewed as a good one that is why it is being accepted in the entire world; therefore, this could not be the cause of the problem. Buyers are also not the reason given that there are so many farmers in southeast region. Thus, the cause of the problem is on the management and sales force of the corporation. It has been stated that the 26 divisional offices of the region viewed themselves as autonomous, and not really a part of the total regional effort. With this scenario, I believe that there is something wrong in the teamwork and cooperation among the different offices. If the 26 offices of the regions are operating on their own without much communication, teamwork and cooperation, then it would surely affect on how the employees carry out their tasks. Employees will be demotivated, and it will surely give a negative impact on the sales performance of the company as a whole. Once the employees lose their motivation towards work, they will become less productive making their job performance suffer (“Ten Tips on Improving”). There is no presence of motivation if the employees will not perform what is expected from them. The 26 offices of southeast region considered themselves as autonomous and not part of the total region effort, if this will continue the sales performance of the company will not meet as what is being expected. Communication must be at the higher and lower level so that there would be proper monitoring (“Effective Communication”). Divisional offices in southeast region have a faulty communication, and barriers are present resulting to unmonitored happening of one office to another. The days of isolating one department to another are not applicable today, because if employees did not care about the happenings on the other offices, there is no collaboration in solving the problems and in achieving common objectives. Problem Solving Based on the research of Gallup Organization, “only 29% of employees are motivated and energized with their work” (Kimball and Nink). This is just a small percentage, and it is not enough to help the business in attaining higher productivity and sales performance, thus it should be addressed. Mr. Newton as the new regional vice-president should clarify everything to its employees, such as their roles, responsibilities and expectations. To solve the problems, employees must keep on their tasks, make them move according to company’s common goal and clarified the expectations (McCrimmon). By incorporating this to the employees, they will be motivated to deliver what is expected from them and perhaps do an extra mile. If only employees are being motivated, they can accomplish high performance and eager to do more tasks (Oyedele). Every company today wants to be at the top of the competition, and this 100% success can only be achieved if the employees are being motivated (Gandhi). To motivate employees: 1) there should be sincere sense of caring from the leader/manager; 2) they should feel that they are considered as valuable assets to the company; 3) give them a job fitted for them and do not do too much monitoring; 4) give them the chance to learn and to grow while exploring the company; 4) focus on issues that will hinder high employees performance and, 5) coaching about work related concerns. The other side of the problem is the communication system of the company. Imagine how catastrophic it is if the employees are not properly directed, no interaction with the management and no sense of belongingness, the business will suffer the worst consequences. A good communication model must have a communication representation (Field 2). The communication model must incorporates: 1) the aims and objectives of the company; 2) employees tasks and expectations; 3) performance assessment; 4) recognitions of employees personal needs and concerns; 5) upward communication, from the labor force to the management and, 6) the role of the department in the company. Leadership in Problem Solving Often, managers and supervisors are the management first in line who are responsible in taking the lead to solve management problems (McNamara). In the case of Mr. Newton, it is very obvious that he is the one responsible to take the lead in solving poor sales performance being the vice-president. It is a big task for him, but if the employees of the 26 divisional offices would take their parts as one region, it would be easier. It will start on motivating employees, and firmly implement the communication system. High levels of leadership skills are needed to have an elevated management performance, and so, the performance of Cabot Corporation in southeast region depends on his skills. On the other side of the coin, the employees of the region must be part of the team, be agreeable to the changes and deliver the expectations. Together with his people, the burden could be lighter than what he is expecting. The Problem has been Fixed The problem has been fixed once the employees have been satisfied, there is a sense of belongingness that they are part of the team, the aims and objectives are clear to them, and every effort has been appreciated (Field 1). Individual performance affects the entire team and a sense of motivation is present when employees are empowered to do more than what they are capable of. If the employees learn to assess its own productivity, and extend it to the over-all performance of the whole divisional offices, it means that the communication system has been open to them. These are among the results that would determine that the problem has been fixed. They are now very eager to give more to increase productivity, and be more concern on the position of the region among other regions. Once the certain issues have been modified and addressed properly, the sales performance of the region will give a high-end rating. Conclusion The interaction between the manager/leader with the labor force in the company is needed in solving management problems. There should be understanding on both ends; the manager must understand the labor force so that it will be more agreeable to changes and the labor force on the other hand will do its part. This is easier to be said than done, like the case of Mr. Newton, wherein he and his employees can jointly solve the problems. Once the employees have been given the capacity to make decisions and be involved in the company’s goal, they will feel a sense of responsibility towards work. Works Cited “Effective Communication in the Workplace.” Business Performance. Business Performance Pty Ltd., n.d. Web. 16 July 2010. . Fernandez, Claris. “The Four Most Common Problems in Management and How to Solve Them.” Bizcovering. Bizcovering, 2008. Web. 16 July 2010. . Field, Lloyd M. “Managing Employee Communications.” Lloyd Field. Netscapades, Inc.,n.d. Web. 16 July 2010. . Gandhi, Jennie. “Valuable Tips to Motivating Employees.” Ezine Articles. Ezine Articles, 2010. Web. 16 July 2010. . Kimball, Scott L., and Carl E. Nink. “How to Improve Employee Motivation, Commitment, Productivity, Well-Being and Safety.” Corrections Today. June 2006: 66+. Print. McCrimmon, Mitch. “Improving Employee Performance.” Suite101.com. Suite101.com, 2007. Web. 16 July 2010. . McNamara, Carter. “Basic Guidelines to Problem Solving and Decision Making.” Free Management Library. Authenticity Consulting, LLC, n.d. Web. 19 July 2010. < http://managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/prb_bsc.htm>. Oyedele, Olufemi. “How Managers can Motivate their Employees.” Sci Topics. Elsevier B.V., 2010. Web. 16 July 2010. . “Ten Tips on Improving Employee Motivation.” All Business. D&B Company, n.d. Web. 16 July 2010. .   Read More