Supervision Case Study

You will build a case study and present this at the final class. You will work on a separate part of this during each Learning Plan. The goal of the case study is to analyze a basic problem and to practice your Management and Leadership skills in order to attempt to solve the problem. Utilize Power Point in order to collect and present your findings. This is done for two reasons; many of your future employers will look for skill in Microsoft products and they will also look for skill in collecting and presenting information. This class is a great place to practice both.

You will use skills that will be presented in the class in order to build your argument for solving the case study. Remember the process is the key part. Be creative and do some outside research.

The Case

Bill and Ted own an excellent grocery store. Their store is not one of the huge corporate stores, it is a small store that have served the community for 15 years. Bill and Ted focus on providing quality products with great service. They are not the cheapest place in town, but the customers are generally loyal.

Bill and Ted are a Limited Liability Company. They signed a 30 year land contract and there is a provision for early buy-out with no early pay penalty. The value of their land fell by 50% with the recession but has recovered to the original contract price. Typical grocery stores are 75,000 to 100,000 square feet. Bill and Teds and 40,000. They have parking for 75 cars. They have a small deli with a focus on high quality deli meats, cheeses, and a small case for deli salads. Bill and Teds has a small produce section compared to other stores but they only select the highest quality produce. They are somewhat limited in the space dedicated to meat but they have a great reputation. When Bill and Ted’s opened it had plenty of space for beer, wine and liquor but with the selection available now they struggle to have the variety of other stores. Bill and Teds is open from 5 AM until Midnight 7 days a week.

Bill and Teds has a staff of 50, 30 of these staff are full time. They pay well above minimum wage and above the market for grocery stores. Bill and Ted have pulled back on their direct supervision in the past few years. In order to do this they hired Mary to be the store director. Mary was proud of her promotion from shift leader but did not have any formal training beyond her job experience. This caused some frustration with Jimi who was the other shift leader when Mary was promoted. Jimi is still serving as shift leader. The rest of the leadership team is as follows: Shift leaders: Suzy, Pat, and Iggy. Meat Manger: Dan. Deli Manager: Sara. Produce Manager: Jerry. Grocery Manager: Andrew. Dan has been a meat manager for over 30 years and has been with the store since it opened. Sara was hired when the store opened as a clerk and took over the deli 5 years ago. Jerry has only been the produce manager for 1 year. He worked his way up in the store from cashier to where he is now. Andrew has been the grocery manager for 8 years. He came from another grocery store chain.

Everything was going great until 2 years ago. In this time 4 other grocery stores have expanded into the general area. Bill and Teds has lost some market share in this time but they are still profitable. The leadership team seems to think that this is actually a good outcome, but Jimi thinks that it is mostly due to Mary’s promotion. To be fair, Mary did not really establish herself to leadership team but just started telling the staff that she was the new boss. The employees in general are content, but the older employees would like to see Bill and Ted to be more active again. One year ago three separate parcels across the street were purchased by a holding company. Ground work started shortly after and the rumor around town was that the huge company, Wally World was building on the site. As it turn out, this was accurate. This information has not been well received by anyone at Bill and Teds.

Bill and Ted have now panicked and have decided to hire a consultant in order to deal with this new perceived threat. Mary did not agree with this plan.  She does not think that Bill and Ted’s loyal customers will go to Wally World. You are the consultant. You will spend the next five weeks putting together your proposal on how to deal with this new threat.

LP 1-4, 25 Points

You have arrived at Bill and Ted’s and have started to get to know the staff. Your meeting with Bill and Ted was very straight forward. They told you the story above which is why they hired you. When you asked Bill and Ted what their Value statement/Mission statement was they looked a little puzzled and said “I guess it would be Were Great” while standing close to a Kellogg’s cereal display. You then had a short Meeting with Mary that was not very effective. She said she was very busy and did not have a lot of time to talk. The only question you really could get; what was the Value/Mission statement? Her reply was “We know what we need to do we do not need a constant reminder.” The meeting with the other leaders mostly focused on some of the specifics of their departments.  Jimi did pull you aside and said that “You know, some of the staff know that there are problems that have nothing to do with that silly Wally World.” He then pointed to some of the cashiers and baggers.

How would you start your consulting plan? What would your first recommendations? For this assignment submit: 1. Your plan based on the case material to this point. 2. Your deliverable to Bill and ted in the first week. Think about how values and missions translates to plans. Maybe define a problem or two? You are not only creating your own plan but you plan for Bill and Ted at the same time. Keep in mind this should be as a presentation. Use an effective combination of words, pictures and format to tell your story.

LP 2-4, 25 Points

You decided to observe the staff. You did this over the course of several days and shifts. You noticed that Mary is a very hands on manager. She spends most of time on the floor assisting staff and customers. Jimi on the other hand spends most of his time observing. He would jump in at busy times but otherwise would stand back. The other shift leaders floor availability seemed to be between Mary and Jimi. When asked what Bill and Ted thought of this, they said that the staff mostly knew what to do and each shift leader could run their shift the way they pleased. One problem with this is you observed Mary was very specific regarding how money should be counted and how cashiers should approve checks. The cashiers knew that they should get Mary for every check approval. Jimi did not feel it was important how the money was counted. His rule about check approvals was if the number was above 2000 then the check can be approved. Mary would often help grab carts outside. Jimi would pull a bagger to get the carts. The issue you noticed is this creates a bagger shortage during busy times. Mary said she thinks Jimi is wrong. Jimi said that a staff member should grab carts as he needs to be available to run the shift. The other shift managers get frustrated by this. They never really know if they have someone to get carts or if they will need to do it. Iggy went so far as to say that he was pretty sure that Wally World had cart runners scheduled. Mary scoffed at this and said that “Wally World probably has a person to do everything.” Two cashiers told you that there was no real plan for getting breaks and determining who gets to leave first. Bill and Ted know this but they want to leave that for the shift managers. You noticed Mary override Suzy several times trying to schedule breaks. You also noticed that Jimi would get the cashiers together before a shift to schedule breaks and departures.

What do you think of the current plans? I think they might need to be addressed. Using what you absorbed from the Learning what would you deliver to Bill and Ted regarding plans and Standard Operating Procedures. For this submission: 1. Modify and further refine your own plan regarding your consulting role. 2. Determine what you would suggest to Bill and ted regarding their Plans and goals. Keep in mind that this is a presentation and you might need to do a little research. 3. Take it to the next level and suggest some specific goals and plans that might improve things immediately.

LP 3, 25 Points.

In order to understand structure you sit in on a leadership meeting with the shift leaders and department managers. Everyone is on time for the meeting but it does not really start until Bill and Ted say it is time to get going. At that point Mary starts going department by department. She starts with Dan and asks if everything is fine. Dan replies that all is well. Mary asks if there is anything he would like to add and he states that the price of beef will be falling for the foreseeable future. Mary then asks Sara how things are. Sara starts going down a long list of items but all of this seems to be directed to Bill and Ted. You notice that after each item Mary interrupts to ask a question. The answer is still directed to Bill and Ted. Mary then starts gilling Jerry about the quality of produce lately. Jerry just shrugs his shoulders and states that it is a bed time of year for produce, and he would like to use a different vendor. Mary looks at Bill and Ted and asks if this is acceptable. Bill and Ted tell her that it is her decision, but they have worked with the existing vendor for a long time. Mary then states that answers the question. Andrew then jumps in and states that one of his vendors has produce and has a great reputation and that he mentioned this to Mary. Bill and Ted ask Mary if this is true. Mary states that it is but she knew that the existing produce vendor has been a favorite. Bill and Ted state that it is fine to try some other sources if it improves things. Jimi then jumps in and says; “Now that we are making actual decisions can we all agree on the front end cashier procedures?” Mary stated that everyone knew the procedures. Jimi stated and Pat agreed that there are different procedures for different shifts. Before an obviously agitated Mary could reply, Bill and Ted stated that each shift knew what to do and declared the meeting over. As the meeting broke up you asked Dan if this was the way most meeting went. Dan stated that some are fine but the ones like this do happen since Mary became the store director. He left you with this statement; “Mary is a hard worker, but some of the staff here really defer to Bill and Ted.”

This offers you as the consultant a wealth of information. What exactly do you think of the meeting? What is the leadership dynamic? How is control structure? There is a lot to analyze. For your assignment this week do the following: 1. Specify the different types of leadership that you see and discuss the leadership dynamic. 2. Analyze Mary’s performance from the perspective of the functions of management. What does she do and what is she not doing. 3. What would the One Minute Manager think of this meeting and the interactions? Keep in mind all of the information in the case up to this point is available for you to draw on to make your suggestions.

LP 4-4, 25 Points

After the meeting Jerry walked up to Mary and said; “You treat me differently than the other managers, it is not fair. You also knew that Andrew’s vendor carried produce and you did not support me in the meeting.” Mary looked at him and said; “I know that you are upset, but I am trying to do the best I can to do what Bill and Ted think is right.” Jerry then said; “Sometimes you have to do what you think is right.” Andrew then came over to Mary and said; “I know that you are trying to do what is best, but sometimes you seem to think that everyone thinks the same way.” You decide to walk over to see what is going on with Jerry and notice he is talking with Jimi, Suzy and Pat. You cannot hear all of the conversation but you do hear the following from Suzy; “I went for my interview at Wally World last week. They told me that I would be a front end manager. It is a little more money.” Jerry then asks; “Are you planning on taking the job and are they still hiring?” Suzy stated that she was not sure, she liked Bill and Teds, but she was worried. Jimi then jumped into the conversation; “I agree and you should be worried. Wally World is going to take customers and Mary does not want to accept that. She thinks that everything will be fine and we can go on making it up as we go.” He then lowers his voice and says; “Look, I like Mary, we were great together, but Bill and Ted put her in charge and did not really put her in charge.” Jerry then said; “Look, I like the small atmosphere and it is like a family. The problem is I need this check. I barely make ends meet and if they look to cut I cannot be without a check for even a week. I would rather take a little less and work at Wally World and know I will have a check. Mary seems to think that everyone works here because they love it.” Suzy then jumps in and says; “I agree, this is my only job and I have child care to boot. I can’t take a chance.” Pat then says: “I know what you guys are saying. I am older then you. My wife makes great money. I do this so some day we will be snow birds! But you need to take care of yourself first. I think if you talk to Mary, she would work with you.” Jimi then said; “Maybe you both should talk to Bill and Ted.”

You take some time now to reflect on the past hour. What you thought about what you knew about the basics of motivation here have changed. You watched some attempts at coaching with mixed results. You thought you knew how some leaders thought just to see that it might not be the case. You immediately head to Bill and Teds office. When you arrive they are both discussing how the different produce vendors preform. You ask them directly what they know about Maslow. Their puzzled looks and are capped with the question; “Is that some type of polish sausage?” You giggle and then know you have some work to do. Your assignment for the Learning Plan: 1. Discuss the coaching methods used and their effectiveness. What would the One Minute Manager think? 2. Discuss the different types of motivation and how they work. What works more or less effectively? 3. Give Bill and Ted a presentation on Maslow and how Maslow helps to give direction of different types of motivation.

LP 5-3, 50 Points

After your brief conversation with Bill and Ted you make it a point to find Mary. You find her working with a new bagger, telling them what goes in what types of bags on an empty register. The bagger looks a little confused bit smiles and says; “I got it!” Mary then looks over at you and says; “OK, I have not spent any time with you so I will give you 5 uninterrupted minutes.” You reply with a crisp “Great.” You smile and tell Mary it might not even take 5 minutes. You ask her how she trains staff. She says; “I tell them what to do and they go ahead and do it.” You then ask how do you know if they have learned the task? She replies; “I can see them do it!” You ask the big question, how does communication work? She answers; “I am a really great talker, everyone can understand me!” You agree and ask her to take a look at a manual you have on your computer. It is a training guide from McTacoKing that includes training diagrams and a brief quiz that employees take in order to go to the hands on phase. Mary says she has never seen such a thing, but she was sure that it might come in handy.

Bill and Ted then come find you and ask if you need anything else in order to give them a recommendation on how to deal with Wally World. You smile and say you have enough, and the result might surprise them!

Your assignment for the week is the following: 1. Show Bill and Ted what a complete training plan looks like including assessment. 2. Demonstrate the communication process and how it can be used to facilitate employee performance. 3. Show how the Deming Cycle can be used effectively to assist in employee performance and improvement.

Now bring it all together. Put together all of your deliverable to Bill and Ted with a summery and recommendations for what do to next. Remember, this is a presentation. Be creative! Be complete!