Appliance Center Store Supervisor - Essay Example

Job Analysis Job description of a HWP appliance center store supervisor: At HWP appliance center, a store supervisor is the one who handles day to day affair. That is why they only employ those who have five years experience in the same field or in managing a retail store. The HWP store supervisor will be responsible in handling the assistance of those workers who do ordering, receipting and stocking of store merchandise. He will also be the one to assist customers if it is needed. The supervisor will also be the one to monitor all inventories; he must make sure that this is implemented with outmost accuracy. Since he is the link between the management and the workforce, the store supervisors task also require him to monitor the efficiency of his subordinates. It is also his responsibility to provide the necessary training if he feels like his workforce is not working in accordance with the management’s objectives for the company. What is expected from a HWP appliance center store supervisor: To make sure that one person does his job properly, a company lay down job description for each employee that they have. Companies do this to make sure that there is no overlapping of jobs and that everything has been laid down for each worker. The level of asking by the company depends on what is the position of the employee in one company. There is a lot that is being ask for if the person’s position is managerial or supervisory level. Between these two, the supervisory position requires more interpersonal qualities than the other. A supervisor is also regarded as a team leader. A supervisor is one who acts as a representative of both the management and the workforce; he is the link that could not be broken. A supervisor needs to have the necessary skills to function properly as he is faced with great responsibility towards the company and towards the workers. A supervisor must have good interpersonal skills as his job requires him to mingle with different kinds of people, from the one with high positions to the workforce of the company. It might be a very tough job but if he has all the necessary communication skills needed, doing a supervisory job will be a breeze. Communication is a two way process. A good supervisor must be an active listener and should encourage feedback. He should be able to identify what are communication barriers and what is the common cause of misunderstanding within their system. He must also know when to use effectively oral or written communications. In writing memos and instruction forms, a supervisor should be able to employ clarity, accuracy of information and conciseness. He must also be conscious of his grammar, spelling and punctuations as he does his paper. In orally communicating, he must have effective skills in making himself heard, in making the receiver understand his point or instructions. He must demonstrate flexibility and open mindedness in handling those under him and the big bosses of the company as well. He must understand that one’s behavior has an effect in the outcome of the project or the company. Winnet gave four vital steps in effective communication, in order to create a harmonious relationship between the boss and the worker. The four steps that he discusses were Attention, Apprehension, Assimilation and Action. If we would like that our message would reach the receiver, we have to make sure that we have the other person’s full attention as possible as it could be. Distractions must be avoided and genuine respect should be shown so that each will understand the other. Winnet paralleled apprehension with understanding. He suggested that there must be a free flow of input from the receiver to ensure that the right level of understanding is achieved. Merely understanding the message is not enough, this is where Assimilation plays a crucial function. It must be ensured that the information was assimilated in the own being of the receiver. It was also stipulated that this could go a long way to be definite about active participation, and harmonious cooperation, in the workplace. (Winnet) The final step for an effective communication according to Winnet, is Action. It is not enough that he message was conveyed, supervisors has to make sure that something was done by the receiver as to what message was conveyed. An employee must be reinforced in doing the right thing at the right time. A supervisor must determine on why there is that. He is the one responsible in making sure that this is being done since he is the member of the management team that has a direct contact with the workers of the company. He has to show genuine concern to his teammates as well as making sure that they are meeting the goals and objective set by the company. His specific team and their role in the company must be made aware as for them to know how they would properly function. There are a lot of things that needs to be taught to ensure that productivity is being met by the team. Some of them are stages of team development - storming, forming, norming, performing; team roles - team leader, scribe, and process observer. Consensus decision making is a critical skill that one needs to develop. (Howardell, 2004) A supervisor must know when to assert himself. Being assertive has a big difference from being boastful. When one is assertive, it means that he shows confidence in what he is doing and projects a strong self image thus dealing successfully with the people around him and producing a win-win situation (2006). If one would like his peers to believe him and respect him, a supervisor must have consistency in his dealings and use non verbal cues to maintain his stature and validity of the messages that he gives. New employees are thrilled by the new responsibility bestowed upon them but they must remember that they still don’t know it all about the job that they have themselves in. A supervisor must properly orient his new team mate on what would be asked of him and the benefits that he would be getting; the do’s and don’ts of a company. It is his responsibility to mold the new employee in the sense that the new employee will be an asset of the company. A new employee must be oriented about the company’s policies, procedures, and safety practices. It is the task of a supervisor to make sure that the new employee is well oriented regarding these things. The supervisors are the experts in the field that is why they must set a good example regarding what the new employees should accomplish in their job. The supervisor monitors all he employees within his team and he must make sure that he is giving extra time monitoring the newbie because he will be the one responsible for all the doings of the newbie. If the new employees manifest good working, he will part of the praise but if they do a mishap, the supervisor will still have a part in the punishment that will be given since he was the one who is responsible for that employee. Rewards and punishments play an important role in determining how an employee does his job. Supervisors should let their team mates know about the rewards that they could get depending on their performances; this could motivate them to work harder and improve. Punishments and discipline should be effective. One way of making sure that this is effective is being fair in giving punishments to those who have faults, no favoritism in the part of the supervisor. This would make them feel that they are working in as a team and that they are responsible for their action and their teammates as well. Productivity within a team needs to be established for this is critical regarding the success of a company. Work related goals must be set and supervisors must let the employees be aware of these and how it could be achieved. A supervisor should also employ some motivation techniques to make workers more creative and productive. They must have passion for their job to make sure that they are performing at their best. Their needs must be satisfied and a supervisor must use positive reinforcement to boost one’s ego thus making him more productive. Supervisors must be in constant communication with his team mates regarding work status and if possible, personal status of a teammate as well. Supervisors must make their workers feel that they are part of a team, of a family where the success of it depends not just on those at the top but also at the employee’s attitudes and behavior. An employee is motivated to work harder and better if they feel that their superiors are able to notice their deeds and appreciates them accordingly. An effective supervisor makes sure that he has these qualities he need memorize by heart. Supervisors play a critical role in the success of a company since they are the middle man. They could make or break the tie between the ranking and the employees. A supervisor should act as the mediator when conflicts arise. He must do his best to stand in a neutral ground between the two opposing sides. Emotions should be defused and energies channeled to make the two parties see the problem in a better light. Sound decisions could be made if opposing parties are less emotional and more rational. (Abbot) It is important that conflicts should be dealt with as soon as it started to avoid growing it into a bigger problem. A mediator, like a supervisor, needs to have ample amount of sensitivity and genuine concern to solve the problem. (Booher) A supervisor must know how to empathize and how to stay firm as needed. Metaphors could be use in communicating as some may feel to use this when talking about intrinsic situations. Looking beyond the literal meaning of what the pother is talking could give clues to uncover the real story and find a concrete answer to the conflict. (Harper) Evaluation process The success of one company or institution depends greatly on its manpower. Their needs should be address properly and their skills should be enhanced to the fullest. A company lay down factors or guidelines for their services and manpower in order for them to be able to gauge if they met their goals or if there is a problem within and how to address it. There are factors that need to be considered when one company tries to check if its service and manpower are able to meet the goals and objective set. Each level of manpower has their own criteria in evaluating their work. Performance evaluation could not be an all uniform assessment because of the difference in workload and capacities of each profession. The criteria may be different but there could be similarity in the values that are being asked for any profession, it will just vary on the intensity that is being asked for each value used as a criterion. All results have their corresponding actions or appraisal depending on their needs as dictated by the result. “Performance reviews help supervisors feel more honest in their relationships with their subordinates and feel better about themselves in their supervisory roles (McNamara, 1999). Performance appraisals should include name of the employee, date the performance form was completed, dates specifying the time interval over which the employee is being evaluated, performance dimensions (include responsibilities from the job description, any assigned goals from the strategic plan, along with needed skills, such as communications, administration, etc.), a rating system (e.g., poor, average, good, excellent), space for commentary for each dimension, a final section for overall commentary, a final section for action plans to address improvements, and lines for signatures of the supervisor and employee. Signatures may either specify that the employee accepts the appraisal or has seen it, depending on wording on the form (McNamara, 1999). Evaluation is important to review if goals are being met and how well an employee is doing his job and what are the areas for improvement. Performance appraisals should be done six months after the employee is hired, six months after the last evaluation and then yearly evaluation could be followed. An employee’s personality should not be the subject of his evaluation; instead, it should be the result of his performance, if he was able to meet the standard set by the company. Conclusion It must be understood that everyone has a life outside of the business or company. It would help if employees could be felt that superiors are aware of it and that are more than willing to do something about creating a balance between work and private life. Better productivity within one’s work would be achieved if one make has less stress and that one is rejuvenated from time to time to make sure that the workforce will still be able to give the company what is being ask for from them. Employees’ benefits, like health benefits, should be given on time and in accordance with the law to make them feel that they are being taken cared of and that they are important beings for the company and not treated as just mere workers. It must be understood that everyone has a life outside of the business or company. It would help if employees could be felt that the superiors are aware of it and that are more than willing to do something about creating a balance between work and private life. Reference: Abbot, Robert. The Adjusted Winner: An Advanced Communication Approach. Abbott’s Communication Letter. May 11, 2006. http://hodu.com/adjusted.shtml Booher, Diana. Resolving Conflict Without Punching Someone Out. May 11, 2006. http://hodu.com/conflict-resolution.shtml Cameron, Dave. 2006. All's Well Safety Checklist. NACS. May 11, 2006. http://www.nacsonline.com/NR/exeres/0000615ekahlbkkqgboantrc/GenUseWithOneCall Out_Resource.asp?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fNACS%2fResource %2fHR%2femployee_orientation_072699%2ehtm&NRNODEGUID=%7b0961902B- 63C3-43F3-B5B9F9040CC036D9%7d&NRQUERYTERMINATOR=1&cookie%5Ftest=1 Demonstrating Confidence and Assertiveness at Work. 2006. Professional Training Courses. May 11, 2006.http://www.marcusevanspt.com/Html/courseindex.asp?recID=69 Harper, Gary. Conflict Conversations: Deepen Your Understanding By Listening For Word Pictures. May 11, 2006. http://hodu.com/metaphor.shtml Hold on to Key Employees Without Breaking the Bank. 2006. National Federation of Independent Business. May 11, 2006. http://www.nfib.com/object/3174032.html Howardell, Doug. 2004. Seven Skills of a Highly Productive Workforce. ACA Group. May 11, 2006. http://www.theacagroup.com/improveproductivity.htm HWP group employment opportunities. (2006). Store supervisor. Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://www.hwponline.com/careers/pdf/Store_Supervisor.pdf. McNamara, Carter. 1999. Basics of Conducting Performance Appraisals. LLC Library. May 11, 2006. http://www.managementhelp.org/emp_perf/perf_rvw/basics.htm Improving Employee Relations. CME. May 11, 2006. http://www.careermideast.com/Employer/Articles/Improving.aspx Managing employees. 2006. UC Regents. May 11, 2006. `http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/manage/handling.htm Supervisory training. May 11, 2006. http://www.elitetraining.co.uk/management/supervisory.htm Winnet, Azriel. Communicating Effectively in the Workplace: Four Essential Steps. May 11, 2006. http://hodu.com/business-communication.shtml Understand the Business Communication Process. May 11, 2006. http://www.isi elearning.com/content/content_display.cfm/datakey/3/seqnumber_content/70.htm Read More