What Should the Supervisor Do Next
Answer, in 200-300 words, the three questions following this
incident.
What Should I Do Next?
Kim Allred is relatively new as a supervisor, having been
promoted only two months ago. Before her promotion, she had worked for the
company for seven years as a sales specialist in office equipment. There is no
doubt that she is a whiz at selling office equipment. Because of her accepted
expertise in the field, it was natural for her to be promoted when the
supervisory opening in office equipment sales became available. Yesterday, Kim
received a memo from her boss, Ed Jackson, stating that all departmental plans
for the next fiscal year were due by the end of the month, which was 10 days
away. She immediately went into a panic. She had never prepared a formal plan,
and she had no idea what was required. After worrying over the matter for a
day, Kim decided that the best thing to do would be to ask Ed for some
guidelines.
Kim: Ed, yesterday I received your memo regarding next
year’s plan. I’ve never prepared a formal plan, and frankly, I don’t even know
where to start.
Ed: Calm down, Kim. I apologize for forgetting that this is
your first go-around in the planning process. What I am looking for is a plan
for attaining the objectives that we agreed upon for your department last
month. In other words, the ABCs of how you plan to accomplish each objective.
Kim: In other words, you want a written explanation of just
how I expect to accomplish each objective. Just how detailed should this plan
be, and what format are you looking for?
Questions
1. How would you answer Kim’s questions if you were Ed
Jackson?
2. How would you go about preparing this plan if you were
Kim Allred? (Suggest a framework for Kim to follow.)
3. Do you think Kim’s initial reaction to the planning
process was unusual? Why or why not?
