Using the management skills and practices that suit your team and its objectives can help to ensure the team’s
efficiency and productivity. Analyze the provided scenario to determine how management skills and practices
can help support the team.
Scenario
Imagine that you are an organizational consultant for a Pet Supply Company. The director of retail operations
has asked you to evaluate the reason for some of the team's drop in productivity and make recommendations
for their improvement. Further conversations with the team members and managers reveal a conflict in the way
productivity and efficiency is being measured and handled.
The team members say that their managers micromanage them. Each week, the managers send out a task list
for the team and expect them to fill out detailed timesheets every day to cross-reference the task list. Any
deviations from the list must be explained in a separate email. Moreover, some team members feel their skill
sets are not being used correctly, and that they would be better suited to do tasks that are not being assigned
to them. This has led to some resentment within the team, not to mention high levels of stress to meet the
managers’ demands.
The managers maintain that they have just been following the process that’s been set out for years in the
company. The many unresolved issues are taking a toll on the team’s productivity and efficiency, which then
feeds back into the conflict, creating a vicious circle.
Prompt
Write a brief report to the director of retail operations that explains the management skills and practices you
feel will improve team productivity and efficiency, using the module reading to support your recommendations.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Overview: Provide a brief overview of the problem you have been asked to resolve, making sure to note
specific areas of conflict between management approaches and employee feedback based on the provided
scenario.
Management Approaches: Describe the general functions of management as well as the purpose and benefits
of using established management skills and practices, making sure to use course resources to support your
explanation.
Recommendations: Recommend a new management approach, consisting of a blend of management skills
and practices, that you believe will help improve the team’s productivity and efficiency. Explain why you believe
these approaches will be effective, and make sure to use course resources to support your recommendations
Sample Solution