The Team Management Activity and Reflection paper

The Team Management Activity and Reflection paper

The Team Management Activity and Reflection paper

Management is an important aspect in any organization as it ensures smooth operation that will realize achievement of the desired growth. Effective management can also ensure that the organization uses limited resources to achieve optimal results. The management level of any organization has the duty of ensuring the effective use of the available resources to achieve the planned results (Roberts, 2018). The five key functions of management include planning, organizing, staffing, leading and control. This task critically looks at these functions of management and explore why they are important for manager working for Amazon warehouse. From the evaluation, the administrative structure of Amazon can be regarded as hierarchical having a senior management team with two CEOs, senior VPs and a worldwide controller that reports to the overall CEO/owner. The heads of the departments also report to the overall CEO. A critical evaluation of the functions will allow the organization to be better and be efficient in delivering the required results as depicted in this task.

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Planning

Planning defines the specific actions that define the leader’s role in exploring the individual actions that the organization has to undertake to achieve the set goals. Furthermore, leaders have to determine the course of action that will help to achieve the set plans. As a manager, I will establish a goal line and the subsequent effective action plan towards attaining the set goal. For instance, using a SWOT analysis can help explore what the strengths/opportunities and the weaknesses the corporation has and how to build on them for better competitiveness (Roberts, 2018). The planning process must also be reviewed from time to time to accommodate emerging needs like changed in the economy, modernization, change in customer expectations among others. Preparation for future fluctuations is thus key for the success of the organization.

Being a leading retail online player in the world, it is important that Amazon maintains its hierarchy structure to respond to the growing market demands. As a manager, it will be important to learn each and every employee in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and come up with an appropriate development plan that taps into their individual strengths. Having meetings with departmental heads and other key players in the organization will not only help in developing a dedicated workforce but also a conducive working environment that promote success in the organization. Furthermore, it will be important to create an encouraging work atmosphere that develops a workforce that enjoys its autonomy and staff has full confidence in the management. Involving other employees in decision-making will set the foundation for positive and virtuous practices that can help in achieving higher customer satisfaction and better productivity as well as improved financial performance.   

Organizing

Organizing refers to the role the leadership plays in securing the resources required and developing the right manner in which the resources will be used to help achieve optimal results. Good leadership will ensure that the organization has the right resources in the required quantities and the mode of use of these resources are well defined. Amazon has to make sure that it brings on board a well-skilled and dedicated workforce that gives the company a competitive edge in the market. Creating specific and flexible job designs is key and the company has to re-evaluate the job designs currently being used in the warehouse (Atchison, 2015). The designs should reflect what the warehouse is looking for in every employee. The second aspect is departmentalization where employees are organized in different departments and that the tasks are clearly separated. Being a warehouse, there is need for job titles for every employee. For instance, having packers, supervisors, shippers etc. Having clear roles for every employee reduces the possible conflicts that may arise in the warehouse.

Staffing

Staffing plays an important role for the success of an organization. Not every prospective employee is cut out to help the organization achieve its desired goal. The best way to staff the organization is through recruitment agencies. Amazon will develop the job design protocol by exploring the skill deficits in the organization so that the recruited workforce can specifically fill the void of the required skills. Referrals will also be used to help get the best workforce for the organization.

Another important consideration is how to replace the current staff members when they leave the organization or when they are promoted. For those that are promoted, the first step in instituting a replacement is by critically evaluating the existing workforce. The employee that fits the required skills set will be the best suited replacement. Furthermore, the best practice in replacing employees at the top management level is by looking at the most skilled and dedicated workforce that qualify to take the management responsibilities in the organization. For those existing the organization, the best practice is to have an exit survey especially when the employee resigns. An exit survey will give a wider perspective of the perception that such employees have on the organization and what they feel needs to be done right to help meet employee expectations (Pascual et al.,2017). With the exit survey, Amazon s able to improve on itself since employees are key stakeholders in the organization.

For the HR process, the standard drug and background can be important for the staffing process. The company wishes to hire the best possible workforce which is dedicated and ready to meet the emerging challenges. During job application processes, carrying out a background check of the job applicants will help in developing a workforce that is not corrupted but rather focused in achieving the organization’s goals. I suggest that the selection process ensures that the new recruits are free from any drug use as that will corrupt their minds.

Leading

To ensure efficiency, the leadership theory to be followed will be transformational leadership theory. Naturally, I like consulting a lot before making key decisions.  This leadership style involves listening to the employees and working towards making their lives better. Appreciating the employees helps in getting optimal performance from them. Therefore, I intend to build a dedicated workforce by involving employees in decision-making and giving them the much-needed autonomy so that they don’t feel pressured or micromanaged. The aim is to ensure that every employee strives to be the best version of him/herself and that they are ready to address any emerging challenges for optimal organizational performance (Baack, Reilly, Charles, 2014). As a transformational leader, I intend to develop a collective responsibility in the organization and develop a workforce that believes in achieving as a team. The use of transformational leadership will also help to lower the turnover costs, creating and managing change and creating enthusiasm among employees.

Controls

Control is another important aspect of being a manager. Controlling is the process of critically evaluating the organizational performance against the set goals and then setting appropriate corrective measures to improve the overall performance of the organization. Some of the controls that will be used include setting the performance standards and evaluating them from time to time to see that they are achieved. Secondly is measuring the actual standards against the set goals and ensuring that they the set goals are attained. Another control and measure that I will implement is establishing methods on how to institute corrective measures for every wrong decision made.

When it comes to controlling, there are four steps that have to be considered. The first step is establishing standards which will be instituted from day one of employment. New recruits will be informed of what is expected from them both in behavior and performance which will be captured when signing the employment agreement. The second step is measuring performance which will be implemented during performance reviews where an employee is given a set of performance target. Thirdly is comparing performance which doesn’t necessarily mean comparing one employee with another but rather using a model or benchmarking opportunity to shape the performance of employees (Haskett, 2015). The last step in control is making decisions that are for the good of the company. For instance, if it means firing a perceived rogue employee so as to attain best organizational performance, then such bold decisions have to be made for the sake of the overall success of the organization.

Conclusion

Being a manager, especially, for a giant retail company is no mean fete and no small task as well. As a manager at Amazon, management strategies such as planning, organizing, staffing and leading will play a critical role in developing a well competitive organization. The warehouse can achieve its mandate better through a skilled and dedicated workforce as well as through critical decision-making abilities of the manager. As a leader, taking charge and empowering employees will plan an important role in realizing the overall success of the organization. 

The Team Management Activity and Reflection paper