Working Under different bosses

Working Under different bosses

Working under two people of different character traits is almost inevitable. Mike worked at a fast food joint and later moved to a convenient store. The working environments were visibly different, but what stood out the most is the difference in the managers. At the fast food joint, Mike was used to a particular order and work schedule. Tiffany, the manager at the fast food joint, would always prepare a work schedule and update the list weekly. Therefore, Mike was used to a routine. At the convenient store, however, the manager allocated duties at the last minute, and he never stuck to a predictable routine. Mike concluded that the manager of the fast food joint was organized while the one at the convenient store was disorganized. How the managers run their places of work affected the performance of the employees as well as business output.

Tiffany held employee briefing meetings once a week while Randy held spontaneous meetings. Back at the fast food joint, Mike knew that every Monday, the employees would have a brief meeting where Tiffany would reshuffle the employees. During the Monday meetings, all employees would give their views on the challenges they faced during the previous week and how they overcame them. After the brief sharing session, Tiffany would reshuffle duties and announce who would close the joint at the end of the week. Routine in a workplace increased productivity (The leaders Institute). On the other hand, at the convenient store, Randy held spontaneous meetings. Initially, Mike had trouble adjusting to his new workplace. Due to the unpredictability of his manager, it was impossible to make any plans because one never knew when the manager would call all employees in for a meeting. Besides, Randy never carried out any reshuffling. All employees worked in permanent positions. In the aspect of the work schedule, Mike preferred Tiffany to Randy.

Tiffany motivated the staff while Randy only bothered about the store sales. When employees are motivated, they reach their full potential (Craig). Therefore, Tiffany gave employees a chance to speak up and seek ways to ensure their happiness. At the fast food joint, employees would get a commission above their fixed salaries on days that sales went beyond average. Therefore, employees were fully committed to ensuring that customers got fully satisfied by the food and services to keep the sales more than average. It was a common sight to find an employee at the fast food joint moving from table to table to inquire whether the customers needed anything extra. The financial motivation saw the employees at the fast food joint committed to customer satisfaction, a move that boosted the sales. However, at the convenient store, the employees were not offered any motivation by the manager. Since the employees were not motivated, they did not commit to customer satisfaction, and therefore, the sales at the convenient store never went beyond average.

Tiffany reprimanded employees in discrete while Randy shouted openly in the presence of customers. Tiffany believed that open ridicule only demeaned a person, and she, therefore, opted to reprimand employees in her office. On the other hand, Randy sat on a high chair at the corner of the store, and whenever he noticed an employee slacking, he would shout an offensive word in a bossy tone. The work environment at the convenient store was poor, and employees were always at the end. Randy never bothered to find out reasons behind poor performance. Manager-employee relation difference between the two workplaces affected the outcome.

Mike preferred working at the fast food joint to the convenient store. The routine and weekly schedule at the fast food joint provided predictability and one could make plans easily. Furthermore, the manager of the fast food joint motivated the employees. Work at the fast food joint was more than making sales. Employees were committed to ensuring full customer satisfaction. At the fast food joint, the manager saw to the happiness of the employees by giving them a chance to voice their opinions as well as reprimanding them in private. At the convenient store, however, the manager was not committed to motivating the employees. Employees were not enthusiastic about customer satisfaction. In overall, the working environment created by the manager of the convenient store was poor and de-motivating.

In conclusion, based on the two managers Mike encountered in his different places of work, it is clear that organized people make better leaders. The manager of the fast food joint accustomed the employees to a routine which included a commission when the sales went above average. On the other hand, the manager at the convenient store was unorganized. The employees never worked on a routine, and meetings were spontaneous, and the lack of motivation decreased the sales of the store tremendously.

Works Cited

Craig, Wiliam. Motivating Employees Should Be One of a Leader’s Top Priorities. 20 June 2017. 20 June 2019 https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2017/06/20/motivating-employees-should-be-one-of-a-leaders-top-priorities/#1d7bd7671d7d

The Leaders Institute. Become an Organized Leader. 2019. 21 June 2019 https://www.leadersinstitute.com/leadership-training/become-an-organized-leader/