Prior to the comment on the approach of Betty Liu in the management of Best
Food Forward, the SMART goal setting must be first defined. According to (2006) SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Tangible. Moreover, according to (2006) it is an instrument that is applied in establishing the goals and objectives of an individual or an organization.
In the case of Betty Liu her approach in management will not pass using the SMART goal setting as criteria. First Betty is working in an organization in which goals must be achieved not only by the supervisor but the staff or the subordinates, as well, and in this case the employees under the supervision of Betty Liu. The performance of every subordinate of Betty has an impact in the overall performance of her team. In any team or organisation, it must have an establish goal, according to (1990) goals increase the performance levels of an individual and the group. Moreover, (1990) stated that performance goals are the regulators and the causes of the performance of employees in the workplace.
According to (1999) being specific- the goals and the methods of attaining those goals must be clearly defined and determine. In this case alone, Betty will not be able to pass with her style in management because she does not have a specific goal for the whole organisation. She was also not clear on her aims and objectives, her objectives are too broad which is to increase the performance of the sales of each employee. She did not specifically state what products must have an increase in sales. Aside from that Betty did not ask her subordinates about the goals they want to reach as an organisation. Participation of employees was not employed under her management. Definitely in this aspect Betty did not pass according to the SMART goal setting criteria.
In the second aspect, Schwalbe discusses that the goals must be measured quantitatively or numerically. In this criterion, Betty also failed because she only stated an objective and that objective was not backed-up by numbers. The goal of the company is too broad and cannot be measured numerically because it does not state a specific area in which it needs an increase and up to how many percentages the organization wanted to reach. Another is that Betty does not have a particular timeframe in which she wanted to attain the goals. It is an essential part of an objective to have numbers in which the company wants to achieve and the time in which it must be done.
In the third aspect is the goals must be attainable, the A in SMART criteria can also stand for agreed and appropriate. Attainable goals must be possible. Achieving goals are usually a stretch especially if the goal is quite ambitious; those goals are just fine because it makes an organization want to reach the desired goal. According to Lorenzo (2006) “when you set goals that channels your passion, your brain works and determine ways to make it happen.” Betty provided a goal that is somewhat attainable because her only goals is to increase the sales performance, however she missed the point that goals that are set must develop skills an knowledge of her, as well as, the employees. Her goal does not convey any passion; employees will just listen to her but they will not exert an extra amount of effort in order to surpass the goal. The objective set by Betty is not powerful enough to arouse strong interest among the employees, added the fact that they were not able to participate in the goal-making process which makes Betty’s goal more unenthusiastic to attain. Apart from those, her goal is not specific and not measurable which makes it more difficult to attain.
The fourth aspect is realistic; a realistic goal is when the supervisor and employees are both willing to spend time and effort in order to attain and achieve the desired outcomes. Betty’s goal is realistic in a sense because it only wants to increase the performance of the sales of every individual under her supervision, however, Betty have forgotten that in an organization teamwork is an important aspect. According to (1998) teamwork develops an element in a broader movement in creating a lean production and workforce that have high commitment in the organization. Betty is not able to impose teamwork because she talks to her subordinates individually. Her goal is somehow unrealistic because her team does not have a strong commitment to the goal, as well as, the team.
The final aspect is time-framed, a goal or goals must have a specific time-table on when it will start and finish. Betty failed in this aspect because she does not have a time-frame, therefore her goal may not be attained because her subordinates do not know when will the goal began, thus some of them may not increase their sales performance. Betty must have a particular time which can be in one year, they would increase their sales.
In conclusion, the goal of Betty Liu is not able to pass the criteria in the SMART goal setting.
Betty’s approach has its share of strengths and weaknesses. One of the
Weakness of her approach is it does not have enough motivation. She only talks to her subordinate and do not motivate them to aim higher and increase their sales. Another weakness of her approach is that Betty does not have a particular goal in every employee; she just talks to them individually and tells them the same things. Her words to every employee do not have enough power to motivate and raise their performances.
Another weakness of Betty is that she does not involve her employees in the decision-making process; the employees do not have participation. This may hinder the achievement of the goal because some of the employees may not like Betty’s idea. The goal also does not have a time-frame which will make it more difficult to attain and because of that Betty will not be able to measure if the company have attained their desired goal.
On the other hand, Betty Liu also has her strengths as a supervisor. Her strengths include being a nice supervisor. Her choice of words during individual conversations reveals how nice Betty is, it can bear positive effects because of treatment with her subordinates. Another strength of Betty is that she talks to them privately, employees will feel more important because of Betty’s gesture.
In overall conclusion, Betty Liu is a nice and warm supervisor; however her choice of management approach is inappropriate because it lacks teamwork, in a business wherein Betty works teamwork is an important element. The goal is also too broad, at the same time it does not have a particular time-frame. Teamwork should be foster by Betty to enhance their performance, allowing them to participate in the process of decision-making will also be beneficial to the whole organization.
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