Question 2 (10 marks)
(a) What are the four critical management skills? (2 marks) How do Candace Stathis and Sue Ryan apply the four critical management skills in their roles at the company? (3 marks – 300 words)
(b) Which of these skills do you think is most important skill for a manager at Camp Bow Wow and why? (5 marks – 300 words)
2. From week 3 Pre Recorded Case Study
Question 3 (10 marks)
(a) How would you describe Black Diamond’s ethics in terms of how it treats its employees at the company’s factory partners in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh? (5 marks – 300 words)
(b) Do you think that it is appropriate for firms like Black Diamond to scrutinize its partner factories like this? Why or why not? (5 marks – 300 words)
3. From Week 4 Pre Recorded Case Study
Question 3 (10 marks)
(a) Besides the “Shop,” how else does Barcelona try to maximize employee fit? (5 marks – 300 words)
(b) What other suggestions do you have for the company to improve new hires’ fit with the job and organization? (5 marks – 300 words)

Solution

Critical Management Skills

(a)What are the four critical management skills?

The four essential skills of managing include leadership, planning and strategy, organizational, and communication skills. Leadership skills involve motivating people in an organization and overseeing their work towards achieving a common goal. Leaders should handle leadership duties well through evaluations of employees and professional development. Examples of essential leadership skills involve relationship management, team building, conflict resolution, and motivation (Langemeier, 2019,18). Planning and strategy skills are other critical management skills. It consists in determining the most effective objective for the organization and setting goals. Communication skills as another skill of management involve understanding the needs of a business and convey the information to other people. Organizational skills include balancing the organizational tasks with time.

Both the sue Ryan and Candace Stathis need all these four critical management skills to enhance functional performance in their organization at Camp Bow Wow. Since both leaders are at different management levels in the organization, they need to apply the various management skills according to their position level (Thomas, 2016,20). For instance, as the company appropriator, Sue Ryan should have conceptual leadership skills to improve on the organization’s performance and think about the organization as a whole. Sue Ryan and Candace Stathis should be responsible for assigning workloads, leading meetings, and enhancing collaboration across departments and colleagues. Ryan and should excellent leadership skills will help leaders ensure that tasks in the organization are done within the given time. Ryan and Stathis should have planning and strategy skills that identifying gaps in business and works towards identifying their solution. Examples of strategy and planning skills include brainstorming, conflict resolution, critical thinking, and adaptability. Ryan and Stathis should be able to enhance building relationships, collaboration, active listening, among others, in their organization (Langemeier, 2019,18). They should also have excellent organizational skills that include event coordination, filling, deadline management among others

(b) Which of these skills do you think is the most important skill for a manager at Camp Bow Wow, and why?

According to my perception, the essential management skill for the manager of the Camp Bow to use is interpersonal communication skills. In this context, a good manager for the organization should have the best communication skills through which members of the different departments can exchange their ideas and knowledge effectively. With the help of proper coordination and understanding, the company will grow faster. For every company to grow, interpersonal skills are the most critical skills required; this is because there is a good flow of ideas between the employees and their boss. Interpersonal communication skills promote includes motivating and understating groups or individuals within a group to excel and perform better. Communication skill enables group members to have an idea about challenging and complex situations in an organization (Langemeier, 2019,18). With the help of these skills, people will be able to enhance the success of the organization, and performance will be improved. Communication interpersonal skills can also be considered to be one of the essential natural talents people within an organization should have. In this context, natural ability enables an organization to find solutions for some scenarios in an organization that are difficult to control. The company can also apply the conceptual skills of management in the Camp Bow Wow as a required thinking abstract. With the application, the business will be able to define various organizational tasks needed by the company to handle particular things in the organization. Conceptual skills also allow managers in the Camp Bow Wow to improve performance and motivate them to increase their success. With the help of these improvements, the Camp Bow Wow will be in a situation to maximize its profit as well as reaching more customers. Therefore, it is of considerable significance for the organization to consider interpersonal and conceptional skills.

2. From week 3 Pre Recorded Case Study

Question 3 (a) How would you describe Black Diamond’s ethics in terms of how it treats its employees at the company’s factory partners in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh?

Black Diamond’s business helps its partners across various countries to upheld good organizational ethics. The excellent business principles help the company in treatment of its employees better in accordance with the ethics. For the particular factories that must pass through basic needs such as well-lit and ventilated factories, Black Diamond offers them a certification program. Furthermore, the factory provides extra money for education for its partner companies, human respect and programs in English languages to all the employees to understand. The organization’s top management is responsible for the rest of the employee’s treatment. In this context, the senior executive managers should be accountable for controlling the organization’s activities. It should also be responsible for ensuring good coronation and respect among all the organization employees. One of the most effective methods for instilling ethical, moral values in an organization according to the principles of ethics is through ensuring the right control measures. Another important process is scrutiny since it ensures there is no one-time inspection but a continuous one.

Black Diamond has high moral measures for the consideration of its laborers in the production line inside the gathering, which is Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh. They have a strict rule of moral sourcing requirements Because that is critical to them and their Values. They have examiners which go to the manufacturing plants and check them. Dark Diamond works an affirmation program that must meet specific necessities like a ventilated and sufficiently bright processing plant. Moreover, the association gives workers three suppers a day. English language administrations, medicinal services, extra cash for schooling, ensure uniformity and evenhandedness so that bias can be disposed of, and everybody gets an equal chance and, most fundamentally, singular pride. They treat their representative as a significant resource, who ought to be esteemed.

(b) Do you think that it is appropriate for firms like Black Diamond to scrutinize its partner factories like this? Why or why not?

For firms like Black Diamond to scrutinize its partner factories, one of the most significant things it should do is inspecting the partner factories. Through the inspection, the organization will be able in a situation to inspect all the activities of partner factories and their impacts to the reputation of the organization. Moreover, inspection will enable the company to compete effectively in the world full of competitors. There have been many issues where a partner is found guilty or accused of unfair labor practices and using underage for an organization’s labor (De Klerk et al.,2019, 105). However, the particular situation of unfair labor or child labor practices mostly affects the partners’ factory since an association affects the other organization as well. Through the movement of partner factory inspection, the organization will benefit from improved partner responsibilities. Therefore, the organization would be likely to experience economies of scale, and at the same time, it will be able to maximize its profits. Inspecting the factory partners helps the organization owners use the appropriate practices to increase the demand for the organization’s products and image. Inspection also increases the impacts of the organization activities to the community. Sometimes, the organization does not inspect the factories for its partners, thus increasing the likelihood of partner not to follow the measures agreed by the two parties strictly. Inspection helps in increasing the responsibility and transparency of the organization and its partners. With increased accountability and transparency, the company always checks all its activities and operations to avoid further mistakes and misunderstandings. Moreover, the organization will be able to uphold high standards with its partners through inspection that promotes openness and responsibility. And therefore, the quality of the organization’s products will be increased, boosting its profits in return.

3. From Week 4 Pre Recorded Case Study

Question 3 (a) Besides the “Shop,” how else does Barcelona try to maximize employee fit? 

There are some reasons why some people are excellent in their skills and end up not recognized as good workers or collaborators in an organization. In this organization or individual who their skills do not link with their performance need to work hard to excel in both. It is of great significance for the organization before employing workers to ensure that their skills meet their individual’s experience, qualification, and performance. In other words, employees in an organization need to be qualified with an opening for any job. It is of great significance to accept all our specific employment according to our qualifications and perform accordingly. Our skills and experience have to line up with the workforce and organization. In the Barcelona restaurant, it utilizes the applicable rule (Stringer, 2016,40). In this context, the Barcelona cafe considers a few distinctive procedures of determination in which it enhances and promotes the attack of its representatives. To every candidate in this organization, he or she is briefed during meetings about the firm’s data. The conference is usually unstructured and around 20 minutes in time. In this context, meeting which are unstructured refers to the not scheduled or founded on foreordained inquiry list. According to Lawton, an unstructured session means a meeting that does not show a bit of the employee’s significant fit information. The Barcelona restaurant utilizes some skills in which competitors are tossed into a move to perceive how their clients are likely to react progressively. The organization gathering is extensive and lengthy, although it helps in selecting the ups and comers who are most vulnerable. The Barcelona gathering will also help the organization in recognizing the individuals in the organization who are the most gifted to be legible to be employed in the Barcelona group.

(b) What other suggestions do you have for the company to improve new hires’ fit with the job and organization?

This could be gained from the case that Barcelona café gathering should chip away at any of the accompanying things: First, the unstructured meetings could be composed. Related inquiries concerning interviews are business-related. They are additionally inviting to approach opportunity since all up-and-comers in a similar request answer similar inquiry. Organized meetings represent greater objectivity. They work best in group selecting situations and gathering interviews where there is less hazard that individual preferences meddle. They likewise make it simpler for candidates you are holding in your ability pool to offer meeting input. The pre-determination process must incorporate situational appraisal tests, culture fit assessments, and so forth to guarantee that lone those candidates that can coordinate the activity and friends are picked so as to maximize by and substantial effectiveness, execution, and so on. Secondly, it is imperative to lessen turnover (Stringer, 2016,35). Decreasing the turnover of laborers ought to be a need for each organization. It can cost a representative’s pay twice to discover, recruit and train a substitution, specialists state. What’s more, turnover will hurt your residual specialists’ spirit, decrease profitability, and make it harder to select new abilities. It is imperative to make the set of working responsibilities and obligations straightforward with the newcomer and let them recognize what precisely is anticipated from them while endeavoring to cause them to associate with different specialists to guarantee that they fit in easily with the position and the association.

4. From Week 5 Pre Recorded Case Study

Question 1(a) Explain the goal-setting theory of motivation. 

The goal-setting theory of motivation was put forward in 1960 by Edwin Locke. The theory of motivation, according to Locke, states that task performance is connected with the organizational goal setting (Schmidt, 2019,252). The theory also states that the challenging and specific with the help of the appropriate feedback within the organization contributes to better organization task performance. In other words, motivation theory within an organization gives the employees a sense of direction on how to grow their efforts and what is needed to be done. There are various characteristics of goal setting theory that enhances motivation within an organization. These features include the ability or the willingness of individuals within an organization to attain specific objectives. In the general context, particular and challenging organization goals are the most significant motivating factors than vague and manageable goals. Motivating factors should be specific and clear. In this context, accurate and clear goals within an organization lead to better organizational performance and output. The goals should be clear and measurable to reach the deadline.

 Moreover, the goal-setting theory of motivation should also be challenging and realistic. The more a goal is challenging to achieve, the more it gives people motivation to achieve it. The goal-setting theory also needs the participation of employees fully in a desirable method. Partnership makes goals easier to achieve. Goal setting promotes motivation since people can have a sense of direction for their organization, persistence, and strength. Moreover, in goal-setting theory, the objectives of an organization can be achieved through motivation and developing strategies to keep people actively engaged in the organization.

(b) Describe Brad’s motivation in terms of the goal-setting motivation theory?

Flight 001 proprietors use strengthening to improve the inspiration of their representatives. Brad John let the laborers to conclude how to carry out their responsibilities and accomplish their objectives. He gives laborers day by day provides details regarding business benefits. Award rewards to staff when the organization meets yearly execution objectives. Emily Griffin, Crew Development Director, says, “”Brad John and John Sencion are just a summon from the 001 “groups. There’s an entryway open for everybody. This is the fundamental explanation individuals feel associated and spurred. Workers simply don’t feel they need to finish the undertaking, and they think they’re a piece of the organization. Assistant Store Leader Amanda said brad john frequently visits the store and looking into it. This gives staff a sentiment of having a place and gaining from their supervisors. It should likewise be substantial for supervisors on the off chance that it is significant for supervisors. Brad acknowledges every single representative in the organization’s commitment. Feedback is given to individuals at 001, which is the best wellspring of inspiration for workers. Giving acclaim for their work, being commended and getting surveys are only a couple of the proprietor’s endeavors. Where staff is simply viewed as numbers, they don’t feel connected. Clair, the store pioneer at flight one, says that she feels associated with her working environment since laborers are investing a great deal of energy over yonder and on the off chance that it doesn’t occur along these lines’ life endure. On the off chance that laborers are getting support, they feel esteemed. Attention is invigorated to the common of the group individuals. At long last, this creates a more prominent feeling of certainty and commitment. Representatives who know they’re a piece of an organization’s development are bound to: Feel locked in. Brad Helps laborers comprehend their aptitudes and give them work that utilizes these abilities to help them.

5. From Week 6 Pre Recorded Case Study

Question 2 (a) Describe the “norming” stage.

The Norming stage is the process through which people involve themselves in any type of group; they start bonding with each other. During the development and bonding stage of the group, it can solve the storming stage’s conflict issues. The process of resolving conflict helps group members to develop harmony within themselves. With the storming stage in a group, group members can share their common working interest as a team rather than individuals. During this process, a synergy can be developed. In this context, a synergy is a process through which group members feel that they can accomplish great things together in groups rather than as individuals (Gavrilova et al.,2019, 235) . The norming stage helps members within a group to establish their roles and responsibilities. During this process of norming, group members feel free to agree on their behaviors, values, and rules, thus leading to the success of the business. Resolving organization issues through the storming process enhances motivation among the different departmental levels.

Motivation in a group promotes efficiency and effectiveness in a group. Therefore, it is correct to say that the norming stage within an organization develops the achievement of performance objectives and goals by establishing excellent and extensive opportunities for the organization. Although the norming step is of considerable significance to the organization, it has some drawbacks. The drawbacks of norming within an organization include employees losing focus in the business activities since they become too comfortable and end up losing focus. As the group becomes more united, group members become too social; thus, they spend most of their time socializing. Socializing, in this context, can be avoided through firm commitment and leadership that is effective. 

 (b) How might Nathan Decker lead effectively as the team starts “norming”?

Through the norming stage, Decker uses it to enhance negotiation and leadership skills to improve the organizational team’s creative services. With the help of innovative services within the organization, members can work in their own space and have brainstorming sessions that are conflict hidden. Since individuals in the organization had no idea of how to share power and leadership skills, Becker helped them make group decisions (Black et al.,2019, 80). Moreover, Becker uses his leadership skills in assisting the group in teams to learn. In this context, Becker helps the team learn through bringing members together for post-mortem discussion. The discussion is the process through which members within a group can review how things can be executed differently and learned. As the e-commerce director, Becker promotes team leadership among the various group leaders. Becker also ensures that there is an examination discussion among all the employees after the project is finished. The examination discussion helps the team to understand how different things can be implemented and learned. Therefore, for future development, members within a team can develop new habits and practices to include in their future development procedures. By implementing this strategy of finding future development procedures, the group members of the organization were brought together. Before the beginning of the norming process of development, Becker ensures that there is a particular calmness within the organization, and this all the negativities can be solved with the right method. After the organization’s small teams undergo the norming stages among themselves, the sizeable norming process within the organization starts. With the whole of the norming process within the organization, people start resolving their differences, and colleagues appreciate each other for various achievements and respect to their leaders and capabilities. As a good leader, Becker should lead the team effectively as it begins the entire organizational norming process. Becker should support the members within the organization and teach them the most effective leadership skills.