What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of each manager’s approach to management?
One of the strengths of Sharon of UWEAR is her 17 years experience as an HR Manager. This means that she is already very familiar with the organizational culture and the handling of the employees of UWEAR. Another strength of Sharon is that she can be relied on by management for corporate problems which need immediate action. With regards to Sharon’s weakness, one thinks that she decides based on her intuition, which may not necessarily be right at all times. She does not believe in making long-term plans for the company and views it as just a waste of time.
Marcia’s strength is her 20 years of experience in the field of HR. Also, she has an MBA degree which will definitely be an advantage for her position. She is assertive and speaks her mind. She believes in the value of planning, unlike Sharon. Marcia is a team player who gets things done according to plan. Marcia’s weakness is that she might not be able to work on a project that meets immediate action because she goes by the plan. It might also be difficult for her to accept instructions from others because she is too used to doing things without much supervision. Another limitation of Marcia is that with PALEDENIM she only has to deal with 15 employees so she might have a problem managing the personnel of a company as huge as Uwear.
How will you tailor your approach to each manager based on your knowledge of each of them?
Based on one’s knowledge of Sharon, the approach that is appropriate for her is to assign her on projects which does not need much planning. One thinks that she can best handle short-term projects which need immediate action rather than projects that will need a lot of planning. On the other hand, for Marcia, since she can work well with plans, she may be assigned with long-term projects. Marcia is in the best position to handle projects which require a lot of team effort. She is the type who can inspire the employees to work together to get things done.What do you feel will be the challenges faced by each manager in formulating and implementing a policy within a relatively short time line?
Given a short time line, one thinks that Sharon can be expected to deliver more than Marcia. That is because Sharon can work even without planning while Marcia works better with plans. In drawing up policies about whistleblower protection, Sharon might be more effective than Marcia because she can immediately act on the project. Since she does things quickly, she can come up with a policy on whistleblower and implement it immediately. Marcia on the other hand, can work on the whistleblower project provided that she be given a team who can work with her.How do you need to advise each manager to ensure that they formulate and implement the policy?
For Sharon, one needs to remind her that the whistleblower project is something that can be accomplished with the help of plans. The design and implementation of the policies cannot be left to intuition. Sharon must be reminded that one important function of a leader is planning. “Managers must first plan, then organize according to that plan, lead others to work towards the plan, and finally evaluate the effectiveness of the plan”. Although there is a need to come up with a program immediately, the implementation will take a lot of planning so that it can be clearly disseminated to the employees.
For Marcia, she must be reminded that the whistleblower project needs to be accomplished without delay. It must also be emphasized to her that she needs to coordinate with top management to guide her through the project. Moreover, she must realize that there might not be enough time to make plans before implementation.
Both managers should understand that having a whistleblower policy as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 806 is very important for the company. Employees of both UWEAR and PALEDENIM will rely on their HR managers to provide for the proper implementation of the policy according to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act since it will protect them from employers who might retaliate to them when they report an illegal activity.
References
Education-Portal.com. (2013). The four functions of managers. Retrieved from education-portal.com: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/four-functions-of-management-planning-organizing-leading-controlling.html
Sarbanes-Oxley-101.com. (2013). SOX 806: Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower. Retrieved from sarbanes-oxley-101.com: http://www.sarbanes-oxley-101.com/sarbanes-oxley-whistleblower.htm
