My Diary
1st day
The day started with the Marketing Department Manager informing my Production Department of the increased demand for fresh milk on the market. The new demand was up by 20,000 liters of fresh milk; meaning that our production was to rise from 100, 000 liters to 120,000 liters. I informed my Supervisor of the increased demand for milk and how to make sure that we meet the requirement by surpassing our daily production. The Supervisor called for an urgent meeting with all employees from the fresh milk department in order to share the information. It was established that the production department did not have enough facilities to cater to an increased supply of fresh milk. The finance manager called upon the Company accountant to provide funds for the purchase of new equipment and the accountant adamantly refused to say he cannot allocate any money for such expenses. It was after the Managing Director intervened and warned the Accountant against withholding funds that he released the funds for the purchase of new equipment. The Managing Director used coercive power to warn the Accountant and the Accountant complied by releasing the funds for the purchase of new equipment
The employees were unhappy with the increase in workload and demanded that the management tells them exactly how much will be added as a pay increase before they agreed. With a promise for extra pay for an extra hour worked, they agreed to the new terms. They worked until 6:00 pm, two hours past the normal working hours and eventually, the target was met.
It also happened that some two co-workers were fighting each other at the Gate of the company claiming that one of them had refused to refund the money lent to the other. The Managing Director drove past and saw them. He immediately brought them to the Office and instructed the Personnel Manager who was present to investigate the cause. the personnel manager warned them that the next time they will do such an act will be the end of their jobs. They signed down that they will never again repeat the primitive act. The other workers were surprised but it taught them a lesson that fighting was not the solution to solving problems. The Personnel Manager exercised coercive power by warning the fighting employees of the repercussions.
2nd day
According to the company’s regulations, employees in the fresh milk production department work a half a day on Saturdays, starting from morning to mid-day. In order to achieve the same target, they were to work up to 4:00 pm. The personnel Manager was therefore forced to come in and explain to them politely why it was necessary and critical for all of them to put in extra effort by sacrificing to work a full day on Saturday and meet the company’s target for the sake of prosperity and increased sales. After the Sales manager set an example by agreeing to work on Saturday. As a role model, he made the employees to be convinced and therefore agree to work a full day. They however wanted to be assured that their overtime extra payment should also be paid on this day. We agreed with them and they settled down on work.
At the end of the day, a roll call was taken to ascertain the number of employees present and it was ascertained that 5 employees were known to be so notorious for absconding their duties before the time of leaving. The supervisor held a meeting with the human resource manager and later, their contacts were given and the supervisor warned them of tire consequences if they cannot change. The employees sought an apology and promised never to abscond their work again. The manager used coercive power to warn the employees and the employees accepted to change and therefore complied.
3rd day
There was a board meeting to discuss the progress made so far regarding the situation and what measures had been taken in order to avoid recurrent supply shortages in the future. The Managing Director informed the employees that as a result of the acquisition of new equipment to cater for the increased production, the salaries and wages for all the employees may delay. There were roars and murmurs among the people present and the Managing Director knew that the employees were dissatisfied with his comments. He called them to order and assured them that he will try to make sure that the money is availed on time. There was a request by the employees to the supervisor to communicate with the top management so that they can have a day off the following day since it was a public day. The employees claimed that being a public holiday, they ought not to work but rather work with their families. The supervisor after informing the personnel manager of the employee’s request was told that it was impossible to ground all the services of the company for the sake of a public holiday. He, therefore, told them their request was not granted. The supervisor used affiliation power on the employees and the employees complied by agreeing to come to work the following day.
The Supervisor told the employees who were working in the production department to throw away the milk packets that had been torn and leaking in the dust bin. The employees resisted throwing away the torn milk packets claiming that it was better if the milk was poured into the churns and repackaged rather than thrown them away. The production supervisor told them to follow his instructions since he told them based on the hygienic factors. The supervisor used legitimate power to instruct the employees and the employees reacted by at first resisting and then complying. The employees murmured as they obeyed the instructions. The supervisor warned them that murmuring at the place of work will next time lead to interdiction from work.
What every Manager should know about using Power in My Organization
In management, human relations aren’t the most unyielding and important conditions but power is. Power means the ability to influence people and be able to produce a positive effect on them without compromising with your own behavior. Power, therefore, possesses the capability to influence other people. At the workplace, supervisors and other personnel should use different and unique types of power at various times to augment productivity. Power gets things done appropriately. Cohesive and integrated problem-solving management is all that a competitive company or business embraces in order to attain its optimum success. The correct and competent use of different kinds of power is key in achieving optimal performance. In this paper, I am going to look at different scenarios and how dissimilar powers were used to salvage the situation (Daft, 2007).
The first day activities involved the deployment of reward power where the drastic change and increase in fresh milk demand was met by promising the employees extra pay in form of overtime to make them comply and work to meet the new target. For instance, extra pay was wholly embraced by the fresh milk production department workforce given their perception of being underpaid by Brookside Dairy Co. Ltd. The suggestion by the personnel manager for overtime pay was taken honestly by all casual and full-time employees in the department, consequently, they also understood the immediate underlying need of the market as the festive season was present in their minds. My inclusion of all department employees gave them a sense of importance and belonging hence they felt to be part and parcel of the company. The lack of finance to acquire new resources to meet the demands was resolved by the management when they opted for an overdraft from their banker. The threats to sack the two men who fought in front of their boss made them commit themselves never to commit such acts again. The two employees failed to comply with the company’s regulations.
Power, therefore, exists on two levels of motives and behavior. The power of the supervisors in an organization is always embedded in the networks of social participation which are inclusive of the work environment. In most cases, the person who exercises power tries to influence it upon the recipient. In some situations, the attempts to influence the recipient may be reciprocal where the exerciser of power can exchange places with the recipient. It is a known fact that the recipients will deem power positively when they know there will be benefits in the situation which may either be personal, symbolic or economic. The win/win character interaction can only be created if the people on the receiving end perceive the power to be positive. In most instances, the manager who widely uses information power, reward power and expert power stands a higher chance of influencing the characters of other people in positive ways.
In order to maintain the Company’s reputation and brand image on the market, the employees agreed in unison without hesitation to work in order to meet the requested extra 20,000 liters. They complied with our genuine request and got committed to their work throughout the ten hours that they worked. The day was a success with no resistance from any of the parties. The overtime pay that we promised them acted as a motivational factor and in fact, they felt that the management cared for their welfare. Reward power is a key to unlocking various hitches when it comes to meeting critical and eventual situations in the company’s production departments. Nevertheless, reward power is the most successful tool in solving such vital conditions. The sacking of the two men who fought in front of their boss was a display of coercive power by the Managing Director. Coercive power is the opposite of reward power and it is applied when the leaders have the right to fire or demote subordinates. To cause that kind of power the two men, who did not heed his boss’s directions, used resistance because they disobey orders and in that way limit the effectiveness of the leader, who rely solely on position power (Daft, 2007).
The second-day crisis was salvaged by the use of both referent and charismatic power. The culture and traditions of Brookside Dairy Co.Ltd to have employees only work a half-day on Saturday, presented a real challenge to the personnel Manager under the crisis at hand since as the team leader, I needed to make sure that the production meets the requirements of the marketing department. My personal involvement and indirect request for the workforce to work full day was taken positively. I displayed myself as loyal, respectful, and friendly to my subordinates regardless of my managerial status.
Although the task was not an easy one, I explained to my employees that the target was achievable provided we worked a full day. My passionate concern about the situation gave me a personal touch with all the employees and they took me as a good team leader and a role model to them. I never forced them to work a full day but was consistent and persistently requested for the exercise of loyalty and friendship among the production department employees. My use of referent power was a success. The employees agreed to follow my advice and the Saturday Company operations prevailed for the whole day with all my subordinates committed to their duties voluntarily. The subordinate reaction is a commitment because my employees adopted my viewpoint and followed my instructions. They were satisfied with my leadership and performed the immediate tasks without hesitation. Charismatic and referent power are both inclusive and hence subordinates identify themselves with the team leader and undertake the present duty with regard to the advice from the leader (Daft and Soon, 2004).
As we have learned the advantage of using power is to listen, learn and apply the feedback. The activities of the third day which was a Sunday involved convening a boards meeting in order to salvage the immediate current situation in the firm. The prevailing religion in the company’s environment is Christianity and Sunday is not a working day in the Company’s calendar. We convened in the afternoon, and all decision-makers of the company were present. In the meeting, I used expert power to inform the board members of the new needs that required to be met in the company’s production department in order to achieve or meet the new demands of the market.
I informed the board that, in order to maintain a consistent and steady supply of fresh milk to the market, they needed to employ more part-time employees to increase the manpower needed to package 120,000 liters of fresh milk per day. The employees requested that I talk to the management so they could offer an incentive for the extra hours they were to work. With support from the marketing manager and other stakeholders, we managed to influence the board. They increased the pay package of the existing employees and also introduced overtime pay. They resorted to the second option for it was the best and available (Daft and Soon, 2004).
It is of utmost importance for supervisors to know that there exist different bases of power. Most supervisors use them without giving another thought or knowing it. During our course of duty, we normally use three or four kinds of power in different situations without knowing what we are using. Productivity and the quality of work can be improved greatly if all the power bases are effectively put to use. Power is perceived and therefore, we can only make others believe we have power only if we have it. Power can reside in the group synergies process, giving out rewards, having information at hand and knowing the right people.
I wish to conclude by noting that, a management strategy that is all-inclusive, invites for consultation in decision making, and identifies itself with the subordinate is bound to succeed in its daily operations. My organization has used different types of powers but the major ones include; reward, Coercive, charismatic, referent, and expert. These powers take into consideration the welfare of the employees as well as the company’s growth and development.
References
Daft, R.L and Soon Lim. (2004). The leadership experience in Asia. New York: Cengage Learning Asia
Daft, R.L. (2007). The leadership experience. London: Thompson South-Western