Findings
The jewelry store is a family business, and the head of the business is the son of the founder. Unlike his father who was a skilled jeweler, he was more of a salesperson. John managed to move the jewelry store to a higher end location which increased its profitability until the global economic crisis of 2008. Profits started going down, and when John lost a salesperson and a jeweler to other employers, he decided not to replace them. An employer should be able to offer a value proposition which will ensure that the employees remain loyal to the business and are not easily lured away by competition with better incentives. The next six years were tough on John has he had to accept a meager salary and work many hours in the sales store and the workshop. He was having trouble paying suppliers and settling his debt at the bank. In his struggle to keep the business afloat, he forgot how to make long-term plans for the company. In 2014, John came to the realization that if he was to sustain the business, he had to come up with new strategies.
John uses direct supervision for his employees by being an example for them, and he also knows that his employees are his most important asset. The store offers its customers excellent customer service by offering customized products for its customers and taking the time to assist customers that are looking to buy off the shelf. Stiff competition has made pricing a major issue as customers are looking for the best quality at the best price. The once elegant store has since lost its elegance. The stock has also reduced tremendously at the store, and the store is beginning to get a bad image. Richard, the manager, at the sales store, has been showing signs of stress and John is worried about his performance. As a manager, Richard, should oversee activity at the sales store, but instead he seems to want to deal with every customer personally. Although he is a very hardworking employee, he has been has made rash decisions such as offering large discounts to customers in an attempt to beat the competition. Due to his over concentration with customers, Richard has overlooked his other responsibilities and jewelers are complaining that he brings customer orders late, and they are unclear, and in turn customers are experiencing delays on their orders. Richard is a hard working employee, but he is very defensive when confronted with issues.
The administrative assistant at the store is John’s daughter, and she is supposed to report to the sales manager, but instead, she reports directly to John, who is the manager. Julie has shown excellent customer service on numerous occasions, but her lack of confidence has seen her refer several clients to Richard. John has been micromanaging the workshop too closely and runs a risk of demotivating the jewelers. After the loss of one of his jewelers, John decided to remain with the two, and he has noticed that the two are getting more work done. The workshop is, however, old and is still using the old equipment as John is currently unable to acquire new equipment for the store.
Willem, the foreman at the workshop, is highly skilled and has even come up with some helpful suggestions for the workshop. He acts as the team leader of the jewelers, and if he were to leave, the store would be devastated. Mark has been with the store since it was founded and is currently in his early 50’s. With his eyesight beginning to disappear due to old age, Mark has become less productive. Elise is a fresh graduate who has shown a lot of potential for growth, but with the store being extremely busy, there is no one to offer her the training that she needs. She is not keen on instructions and often makes one mistake after another as she does not anticipate problems in her work. The open relationship between John and his employees have caused him communication problems and John has been experiencing problems giving work orders to the employees. The computer system at the store does not allow employees to record all their work automatically, and some of the work has to be done manually, and most of these employees are likely to skip most of these procedures. Due to quality assurance concerns, John has been getting his supplies locally, although he could get these supplies from markets such as India at lower prices. John has been in business with his supplier for a long time, even during the financial crisis, and he feels as if he feels a sense of loyalty to him.
Competition has increased in the country with most dealers getting their supplies overseas at extremely low prices which enable them to offer better prices as compared to solitaire. One of the leading competition for solitaire is looking to retire later in the year, and this is an opportunity to gain a part of its market share. Other opportunities include getting into partnerships with hotels and tournaments and use its new collections by Elise as prices during these competitions. The country is currently filled with both local and foreign customers who have a better economic status as compared to previous times. Most stores have invested in a Mandarin speaking sales person so that they can tap the foreign market. Solitaire has embraced social media by putting up a website, but the site needs to be managed and updated regularly. Solitaire Corporate social responsibility is demonstrated by recycling gold and acquiring its supplies from credible sources. Most people in the industry are concerned about the legitimacy of the sources of stones such as diamond. Solitaire is in need of more funding to invest in better equipment to enhance manufacturing at the store. The Computer Aided Design Package / CAD is a computer software used by most designers and which saves on the amount of time used in a design. Staffing at solitaire is in need of serious reviews to increase the teams’ efficiency. Changes need to be implemented properly into the system to keep the employees motivated.
Discussion
Human resource management involves a wide range of processes and activities which are aimed at attracting, retaining and developing employees at the workplace. It ensures that organizations are staffed with the right kind of people and their full potential realized. Employers attract a quality workforce through, selection, recruitment, and hiring. The workforce can be developed through career development and orientation. The workforce is retained through proper management of turnover and retention, performance appraisals, benefits and compensations, and management of labor relations. Human resource planning ensures that the workforce is filled with the right kind of people, and those in various positions are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities effectively. The human resource manager has to review the objectives of the organizations and link the organization's strategic plans with the human resource objectives. Human resource needs can be established through analysis of the job description, expectation, and specifications. The workforce can be developed through mentoring and apprenticeship. An appraisal is a formal method of accessing a person’s performance and evaluating them. Career development is achieved by matching an individual’s personal goals with their career development goals. A quality workforce can be achieved through promotions and early retirement. The foreman should be promoted since he has shown signs of effectiveness, while Mark should be offered an early retirement which comes with certain benefits.
Strategic planning ensures that all the elements of an organization are aimed towards similar goals. Fundamental actions and decisions are involved in strategic planning. These decisions encompass the entire process in the external and internal environment of the organization. The nature of business processes at solitaire cause potential risk to the business. Most customers are concerned about the sources of the supplies such as diamonds used to make the jewelry. The behavior of others in the industry is a risk to the business entity. A good corporate responsibility program which involves the stakeholders is a good way for a company to exonerate itself of such risks and threats.
The organization theory argues that there is the need for measures to ensure job satisfaction and performance among its employees. Unmet needs motivate human beings in their personal lives. When their position at the company enables employees to achieve these needs, employees are more likely to be motivated in the workplace. McGregor’s Theory Y argues that for employees to be motivated employees have to derive intrinsic motivation from their work. The employees have to derive satisfaction from their work. Employers have to love what they do at these organizations.
Contingent leadership dictates that the leader has to match their leadership style to the current situation. The leadership style is defined by three factors which include the nature of the relationship between the leader and the members, their position, and the task structure. An acceptable leadership style of an organization often leads to employees who are motivated, trusting and confidence in their leaders. Effective leaders have clear guidelines as to how the end product is achieved. Positional power is ineffective if subordinates do not report directly to their superiors.
Culture is dynamic, but even then the forces of globalization have failed to influence culture. Core elements of culture which are norms, beliefs, language and values are resistant to the forces of globalization. Language is one of the core determinants of culture. When businesses look to venture in foreign markets, they are forced to learn the culture of its demographics so as to enhance customer interactions. Business people are expected to come up with effective ways that will enable its employees, and the entire organizational structure becomes respectful of other cultures. Cultural differences pose as barriers to the success of businesses. Businesses have to merge their value proposition and marketing strategies with the culture of the target market.
A value chain process is an important activity for all business who intend to gain a competitive advantage over its employees. The process involves clearly defining each part of its businesses processes and proceeds to identify areas where improvements or eliminations can be made to increase efficiency. These adjustments are beneficial to the company by cutting cost or increasing productivity. In the long run, customers are presented with lower prices, which will be beneficial to the business.
Teamwork at the place of work can be improved by hiring the right people for the job, an in-depth knowledge of each of the employees, identifying strengths and using them to the advantage of the organization, and a collective definition of the goals for the group. Employees should also be encouraged to speak their minds, especially when innovation is part of the requirements of the business. The management should be keen to reward its employees when achievements are made. Team building activities and relationships should be fostered at the workplace. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined and distributed among team members. Fairness in the allocation of tasks in the workplace should be ensured. The tasks at the place of work should balance with the personal needs of employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current business practices at solitaire are in the dire need of adjustment to ensure the sustainability of the business. John as a manager is doing an excellent job as a leader since his employees are motivated. Richard as a sales manager has failed to perform his role since he is overlooking his most important role which is to manage the sales personnel and not to perform the role of a sales person. The sales person has been showing signs of stress, which can be attributed to the lack of the current business practices to take care of his personal needs and as a result, his job performance has been compromised, despite his good qualities as an employee. His positional power is also weak since the administrative assistance should report directly to the sales manager, but instead, she reports to the manager. Another contributing factor to this insubordination is the fact that the administrative assistant is the manager’s daughter, and her roles and responsibilities might not be clearly defined. The personal needs of the employees at the workshop have been overlooked as the employees are overworked. The foreman has done an excellent job of keeping the workshop running. Since he is a great asset to the company, he should be rewarded with a promotion to workshop manager. Mark, who is a jeweler, has become less productive due to his aging state. Solitaire is acquiring its supplies at a higher cost as compared to its competitors, denying the store the privilege of offering its customers competitive prices. The lack of proper equipment and information systems has made it difficult for the store to become efficient and makes it difficult for the manager to keep track of the performance of its employees. The decision by the store to stop importing alloyed metals and alloy metals at the workshop was a cost effective measure.
Recommendations
The personal needs of the employee should be balanced with the needs of the store to ensure job satisfaction and performance. Employees at the store are seen working long hours, a factor that is associated with stress among employees, and inefficiency in the performance of their roles. The store should look for cheaper sources of their metals which will enable the store to offer their customers competitive prices. Mark should be offered an early retirement since his age is interfering with his productivity. Benefits' should accompany early retirement to encourage employees to take them and as a way of appreciation for their many years of service. Richard’s performance at the store is exemplary, and he should be rewarded with a promotion since he has shown the potential to run the workshop, and John is not skilled in the jewelry sector. The roles and the responsibilities of the employees at the store should be Cleary defined to enforce the position of the sales manager and ensure the sales manager and the administrative assistant fulfills their job expectations. The store should hire a sales representative with a masterly of the Mandarin language, to enable the store tap the foreign market. The store should invest in technologically advanced equipment to enable the manager coordinate employees more efficiently and reduce the amount of time spent in the manufacture of the end jewelry.
