With 15 convenience stores in different locations and 150 employees, StopNShopToday Inc is by any standards, a big enterprise. For this reason, it is supposed to have a well structured management training policy. Developing managers to create real, ongoing value for your organization, in measurable, co-ordinated and repeatable ways should be one of your primary people objectives. Tailored management training is one option of achieving this development (McClean, 2011). Ideally, each branch is supposed to be run by a manager who is trained in business management. A look at how this enterprise is being run reveals the following;
- The company is hiring assistant mangers from within.
- The assistant managers have no formal training as they acquire the skills from on job training.
- There is no training policy or manual so the store manager uses discretion in training.
- The assistant manager is working extra hours with no overtime pay.
- There is an element of indiscipline among cashier as they fail to report to work without notice.
- There is no clear chain of command and role segregation.
The above observations have implications on the overall performance of StopNShopToday Inc as elaborated below.
Promoting managers from within the organization may be good as it motivates the staff with prospects of growth but it has its own inherent risks. Some of the disadvantages of promoting from within are lack of new ideas, perspectives and diversity. While the internal candidate may be technically proficient or even technically superior, their managerial competencies may not exist, may not be apparent or may not have yet been proven (Javitch, 2005). This can also lead to resentment by other employees who feel that they deserved the promotion more than anybody else.
It appears the store managers have a free hand in the training process; this may pose difficulties in developing the talents objectively. This is because the manager may have personal biases against certain individuals and this may affect performance. The company should have a policy on recruitment which should include procedure on hiring, promotion and training. The other observation is that the assistant manager is interviewing and recommending the hiring of cashiers. The assistant manager‘s role should be to assist in the day to day running of the business and not staff recruitment. These duties are solely the responsibility of the Human resource department at the corporate office.
Duties like totaling daily cash receipts are not the duties of an assistant store manager; this is a role that can be done by a head cashier who is also supposed to supervise the other cashiers. The assistant manager can take on big roles like bulk ordering and preparation of branch management reports. The assistant manager is working extra hours; the reason being given is that there are unscheduled absences by cashiers. This shows that the assistant manager has no control over his juniors and is ready to perform their duties to cover up their misconducts.
The assistant manager may be adequately compensated but the fact he is not entitled to overtime rate expose the company to litigation as it’s against the provisions of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA stipulates that an employee is entitled to a minimum wage and over time pay of not less one and a half times their regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek (FLSA, 2011). The assistant store manager working 50 to 60 hours in a week with no overtime pay is clearly not in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Based on the above observations, it is important for the management of StopNShopToday Inc to adopt the following recommendations (U.S. Department of Labor, 2011).
The role of recruitment of cashiers and any other staff should be left to the human resources department at the corporate office. This is because the department has the requisite manpower and skills to carry out the process. Recruitment is more than on job training as is the case here; it involves induction, talent identification, remuneration, promotion procedures and employee motivation. It also helps the organization have an up to date database of its workforce.
The assistant manager should be given more substantive responsibilities, for instance he should be allowed to make some orders for merchandises that are uniquely in demand in his area of operation. The assistant store manager should be qualified in management and finance matters such that they should prepare branch management
INC reports to help in determining the profitability of each unit. By doing this, the corporate office management will be left with more time to craft a strategic plan for future business growth.
There should a clear chain of command so that we don’t have the cashiers reporting to the store manager but following the instructions of the assistant store manager. This scenario may have given rise to cases of unauthorized absences by cashiers as there is no control on their movement. The assistant a manager should also have the authority to discipline the junior staff over misconducts such as dereliction of duty.
There is need to create the position of head cashier to supervise the work of cashiers. The duties of a head cashier should include; preparing the cashiers shift schedules, totaling daily cash collections and banking. The head cashier will relief the assistant manager off the mundane tasks that he is currently doing. The assistant manager should be paid the over time rates for the extra hours otherwise he should be released after the regular time to avoid litigation for contravening the provisions of FLSA.
There is need to overhaul the current management training program and also assign more substantive duties to the assistant manager. Proper recruitment and training of the management staff will help the mangers have control of the day to day running of the business.
References
- Javitch, D. (2005). Selecting the best manager.
- McClean, C. (2011). Management training courses and solution.
- U.S. Department of Labor. (2011). Fair Labor Standards Act.