One of Bob's errors mentioned from the scenario is that he was letting shipments go out, nearly
every shipment, with defects. As with any organization, sending out shipments with defective parts
tends to illustrate a lack of attention to detail on the manufacturer's end. Customers see this as
irresponsible behaviour and tend to view this as a negative because the customer must deal with
the return, refund, etc. which can cost them employee time and effort on their end for the
supplier’s mistakes during the product review stage of shipment. As Bob and the plant manager
have a good working relationship, it is important to ensure that the conversation to be had with
Bob is one of constructive criticism rather than only highlighting recent negative work output.
Personally, it is important for supervisor/management to take into consideration what might be
going on outside of work for Bob and how that may be affecting his current work production, since
it appears his poor work productivity had just started to surface this fiscal quarter. Providing
empathy towards employees during times of their lives in the workplace tends to go a long way in
terms of morale and overall productivity--Bob's current situation could be hard enough as it is
without this supervisor on his case for a spurt of poor work performance. I think it is significant to
use this as a learning experience and implement a change in the process to help curb some of the
defects being shipped out without being identified. The change that could be implemented would
be to bring in another higher-level employee to review the shipments before they get sent out, to
add another layer to the process and hopefully be able to lower the number of defective products
being sent to customers. As the plant manager, the best way to support Bob through this change is
to ensure that he understands that the reason for this change is not solely because of him, but to
better the company processes to provide better results for their customers.
As the plant manager, I believe it is best to address Bob’s performance verbally. Our text informs us
that face-to-face reviews are among the most stressful regarding workplace communication. The
key to delivering the bad news is to ensure the review is done tactfully and constructively. As the
appraisal concludes, the recipient should be aware of expectations and consequences if no progress
has been made. “It shows character when you are completely honest and transparent” (Cardon,
2021).
Our scenario is centred around an employee, Bob. Bob is tasked with managing outgoing
shipments. Recently, the plant manager has received complaints regarding defective items and
discrepancies in inventory, which all are Bob’s responsibilities at work. It is not clear what is causing
Bob’s poor performance but the manager must quickly address the situation before it impacts the
organization more broadly. As the manager, I would inquire Bob’s perspective and try to identify the
root cause of his poor performance. As mentioned, I believe the appropriate communication
channel is to express performance concerns orally. The advantage of oral communication is to
effectively clarify and explain the bad news. It has been seen that quite often change in the
workplace comes with resistance and aversion. The mistake is believing that others comprehend
the issues and feel the need for a redirection. The best change management programs always
ensure that they reinforce the core messages by means of regular and timely advice which is
practical and inspirational. Also, communication needs to flow from the bottom and move up to the
top and it should be directed to provide the employees with the right kind of information at the
right time.
To propose a change, I would utilize total quality management (TQM). Total quality management is
a structured approach to overall organizational management. The focus of the process is to improve
the quality of an organization's outputs, through the continual improvement of internal practices.
The standards reflect both internal priorities and any industry standards currently in place.
In this performance review, I would meet with Bob with pleasant greetings and ask how he is doing.
I would also like to know if he has anything to share about his department. Does he see any issues
or areas that need to be improved that would increase quality and performance? I would
demonstrate active listening. After listening to his suggestions, I would keep in mind if he pointed
out any areas that connected to the noted problems that were brought to my attention. I would
thank him for his input and for being a part of improving the operations to help our organization
meet our goals. I will share how his department fits the company’s overall strategy (Agovino, 2023).
Then, I would share the customer’s complaints over shipment defects and discrepancies with him. I
would then ask for His feedback on those accounts and if he has anything he wants to add.
Next, I would share how important it is to meet the organization’s goals to eliminate these
complaints and improve our shipping operations. Then, ask for his thoughts on improving the
shipping operations to prevent these complaints (Agovino, 2023). Next, I will inquire if there is any
way that I or the organization can support him in these improvements. We will then come up with
a strategy. Then I’ll tell him how important it is to meet this goal and prevent issues in the future
quarter. After this discussion, I’ll ask if he agrees that it is important to meet this goal. Then I’ll
schedule a biweekly meeting for that quarter to ensure we are on the same page and to keep up
with communications on this goal. During these meetings, I will share updates, support, celebrate
or provide constructive feedback to Bob and provide space for him to do the same.
References
Cardon, P. W. (2021). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world (4th ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Naidu, N. V. R., Babu, K. M., & Rajendra, G. (2006). Total Quality Management. New Age
International.
Agovino, T. (2023, April 29). Reimagining the performance review. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/hr-
today/news/all-things-work/pages/reimagining-the-performance-review.aspx
