bonus case 6-4
The Supermarket Manager
Fred Ferrell is the store manager of the Right-Way Supermarket in Beaumont, a small suburban area of some 1,300 families. The store’s staff consists of a produce manager, a meat manager and butcher, five checkers, four stockers, and a receiving clerk. The store operates six days per week from 9.00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Last week Mr. Ferrell hired Amy Caldwell to replace the store’s receiving clerk. Since graduating from high school last June, Amy has worked for one other supermarket full time. She applied for the job at Right-Way to gain new experiences and because the job paid $1 more per hour than she was making at the other store. Amy likes the retail food business and hopes one day to manage a store of her own. She plans to start school again next fall.
After two ten-hour days of training under Mr. Ferrell, Amy felt she knew the operation and procedures well enough to proceed on her own. But Mr. Ferrell thought otherwise. For the rest of Amy’s first week, Fred Ferrelllooked over Amy’s shoulder on a regular basis. It seemed that Amy couldn’t do anything without Ferrell’s checking it out for himself. Amy’s tasks included receiving, inspecting, arranging, and stacking inventory received from a central supply warehouse owned and operated by the parent company. She was also responsible for the various inventory control procedures and related paperwork.
Over the weekend between her first and second weeks, Amy studied the inventory procedures and records. She roughed out a system for streamlining inventory handling and felt she had found a way to reduce the amount of paperwork by combining several forms into one and using the computer system to print forms simultaneously. Amy felt if she could sell these proposals to Mr. Ferrell, not only his store, but all stores in the chain, could benefit. After some hasty calculations, she figured that nearly one hour per day would be saved and several hundred dollars in unnecessary forms could be eliminated.
Amy started work at 6:30 a.m. the following Monday, full of enthusiasm. When Mr. Ferrell arrived at 8:00 a.m., Amy was waiting for him at the door, her notes in hand. Before Amy could speak, however, Ferrell asked her what she was doing up front. Amy replied that she had already handled this morning’s deliveries and wanted to talk over a “proposal” with Mr. Ferrell. Ferrell then pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and began to go over each item on this checklist with Amy. When he got to item 10 on the list, Amy replied that she would take care of that this afternoon. Ferrell told her to take care of it now. Amy tried again to explain that she had some ideas to speed up the receiving operation. Ferrell replied, “You kids are really something else. You’ve been here a week and already you’re running the place. What makes you think you know a better way? The procedures we use come from downtown. That is good enough for me. Now get to those cases out back.”
discussion questions for BONUS case 6-4
1.What managerial approach is Mr. Ferrell using?
2.Amy has asked your advice. What would you suggest that she do? What are her alternatives?
3.What advice would you have for the general manager of Right-Way’s Supermarket parent corporation?
answers to discussion questions for BONUS case 6-4
1.What managerial approach is Mr. Ferrell using?
He is applying McGregor’s Theory X approach. It implies that the average person dislikes work and will avoid it if possible, and will avoid responsibility, with little ambition. Of course, he was wrong on all counts. This theory does work, but only with the kind of people who meet the description of disliking work and so forth.
2.Amy has asked your advice. What would you suggest that she do? What are her alternatives?
Note the timing of her approach to Ferrell—she met him at the door at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Could she have picked a worse time? Amy should wait until a more appropriate moment—most likely after work—to discuss her ideas with her boss. She should acknowledge the fact that some employees may prosper by merely following the rules, but that she is more ambitious than that and has some ideas. She may submit those ideas in writing so that the boss can implement them without losing face. If there is no response or a negative response to her suggestions, then, and only then, may she take them to a higher-level supervisor. Since this situation is far from unique, it should make for some lively class discussion.
3.What advice would you have for the general manager of Right-Way’s Supermarket parent corporation?
Management training is a continuous process and managers who fail to adopt the best motivational strategies need to be identified and given additional training or, if necessary, terminated. You could explain the newest concepts, such as employee empowerment, and the motivational techniques that go with them. Theory Y, for example, is much more appropriate for today’s more motivated and educated workers.