A sporting goods store has appointed Bill Thompsons as the new manager in Victoria, Australia after he had worked in the company for four years. His goal is to raise the profit performance which is currently below average. Bill has the power to increase the employee’s annual merit list by increasing their appraisal ratings but only with the approval of regional manager. Furthermore, he can suspend or fire employee’s if the case is strong enough. Bill has to maintain the store performance by keeping the cost of employee’s low by making sure they avoid sick days, work efficiently and provide a high customer service. The retail selling job for employees in the company has a low pay, high vacancy, and it requires training. …show more content…
Firstly he holds the legitimate power, which is due to his formal authority as a manager.
He also has the reward power, which comes from his ability to increase the appraisal ratings that directly increase their annual merit or pay. Therefore this maintains employee’s job satisfaction.
Furthermore, Bill possesses a limited coercive power. This is due to the fact that he can suspend or fire his subordinates as a punishment but the final decision will only be from his boss; thus his coercive power is limited.
Weaknesses
He has a few weaknesses as studied from the case of sporting goods store.
Since he has just been promoted from being an assistant manager who handled only minor tasks, to a store manager job a week ago, therefore he lacks the expert power.
He also doesn’t possess the referent power because he hasn’t build relationships with his subordinates so far due to the fact that he is just recently promoted to the new position.
Therefore he lacks both the personal powers. (Expert and referent powers)
Finally, even though he has figured out a few problems that contribute to the low income of the store he holds a little information.
3) ways of using current theories and practice …show more content…
Inspirational appeal; is a strong approach which will not only encourage zeal and enthusiastic contribution from Sally, but also boost her confidence which will in turn result in better customer care quality.
4. Consultations also serve as right tool as it ensures discussing with the entire team, different methods and ways of improving the customer service.
5. None the less, if none of the tactics work, Bill can influence by legitimate tactics, as being in an authoritive position, Sally is bound to follow Bills commands and orders.
Apart from bringing in changes in Sally, for the betterment of the organization, Bill should work on making himself more involved with the employees. He should adopt contingency mode of leadership. He should realize that his position demands versatility. He must work on building trust relationship with his employees and keep them satisfied so that he can retain the employees in the firm. Since he has reward power he should recognize and reward his employees accordingly.
4) -personal experience and personal ideas.
We prominently believe that when in an authoritive position, it is highly recommended that one uses his/her powers ethically and avoids power