The student will have to identify an organizational operational challenge and propose a management approach based on one, or more, management models and theories presented in class. The challenge can be of any type: administrative, distribution, finance, production, customer, innovation, change, leadership, teaming management, etc. The organization can be an existing organization or a hypothetical organization of any type of activity and in any geographical place. The management approach must use one or more (in combination if needed) management models presented in the class or related to the course, and shall address in the solution with creativity and effectiveness. An introduction to the challenge, the approach selected, the way to implement it and the expected results have to be documented. The student has the freedom to address the challenge based on the type of management strategy he/she selects. Success indexes shall be associated with the expected results where needed, and the overall implementation approach shall include graphs, charts and or tables that can present the architecture and thinking. There should be a clear delivery of the student’s own creativity on selecting or combining the best management practice(s).
Introduction
In an organization, the management can face several operational challenges. The most important thing is to use or select an appropriate management approach to tackle the challenge and regain growth and success. The challenge for management in the operational process is an issue that must be resolved early to reduce the impact on business performance. Many organizations contain the team building culture, and several challenges can occur accordingly. This study revolves around Walmart’s team management challenge in the operational process. It seems interesting to derive the impact on this challenge and use an effective management approach to eliminate this challenge.
The Management Challenge (Non-Performance Team Members)
In the team building process, the team leader or manager allocates resources and delegates tasks to different team members according to their skills, abilities, and specialties in Walmart. However, it looks difficult to gather all team members on the same platform to gain goals and objectives of both team and organizations. The biggest challenge that the team management usually faces in the team is the poor performance of some team members. The poor performance of team members creates an impact on the performance of the whole team. It is tough to obtain expected or planned goals or objectives due to these team members. In the modern business era, every team member has to integrate with the team objective and some efficiency measures. The challenge occurs when one more than one team members try to resist due to lack of skills, abilities, personal interest, and poor management or team behavior. This challenge is a great threat of the team as well because it can impair productivity, reduce the quality, and decrease morale in the team (Mourdoukoutas, 2016).
Improving the performance of the team members is a big challenge for the management of the company. Based on the nature of the problem and business, it is important for the management to use the right management approach to understand the challenge and come up with a workable solution. In other words, the management has to use an effective approach to face this challenge.
Management Approaches
Walmart is facing poor team performance in different retail stores. However, some approaches should be executed by the management to improve the performance of team members. It is a fact that the performance of team members in Walmart can be improved in different ways. Therefore, multiple approaches are to be used to create a favorable impact.
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Promoting Culture of Urgency and Standards
The appropriate management approach or practice to tackle this issue in the Walmart store is to create urgency. Creating a culture of urgency is the best option for management to increase the assertiveness of different team members. The team management should be asserted in the creation of urgency. It can make team members active in a team. The culture of urgency in the team can deliver the most meaningful purpose top of all team members, especially who contain average or below average performance. However, the expected performance of the team members will be triggered by the high-performance standards. For Instance, after creating the urgency and standards, the performance can be judged to evaluate employees and make key decisions accordingly. The probability of higher team performance by using this management approach is high in Walmart (Kotter, 2008).
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Encouraging Opinions and Ideas (Democratic Approach)
Organizations are using new motivational techniques to motivate employees. Financial benefits for employees are motivational but not enough to improve team performance. The team member in Walmart needs the democratic approach of the work culture. Walmart management must encourage opinions and ideas of team members. For Instance, when managing the sales team in stores, it is necessary to interact with the members because they know the latest customer trends and expectations. Considering opinions and ideas can enhance the visibility of motivation, and every team member can work according to the purpose, plan, and objectives. It seems like a new technique to motivate team members, especially in a democratic management culture (Hiriyappa, 2013).
Ways to Implement
Several steps are to be implemented by the management to create urgency in the team to foster the performance of team members. The first step that the management can take is to specify the task or work. It has been revealed that the performance of team members decreased due to the poor understanding of the situation. Thus, the urgency through specifying the task or work is mandatory in the first step. In the next step, the management of this retail store must clarify the consequence of the teamwork. If the member is not performing well, telling them the consequences of combining personal, and organizational interest can work. The third step to implement the urgency and standard work is to recognize team members express the sense of urgency. It can motivate other employees or members to derive insights and improve performance. The second management approach, which is encouraging opinions and ideas, can be implemented in different ways in this company. For Instance, the first step is to foster team involvement. Interactions with team members can be increased to derive key ideas and opinions. The next step is to conduct different team activities to encourage opinions and ideas. In Walmart, creating innovative zones and brainstorming sessions to streamline thoughts, opinions, ideas, and reservations is workable to implement this approach effectively. As mentioned above, the performance of team members can be poor due to the resistance. Resistance occurs when the team member does not agree or support procedures, purpose, goals or objectives. Thu, to motivate and increase performance, the next step for the management is to be open to criticism. Employees want to share reservations and present new ideas, and it opens ways for new work techniques (Dyer & Dyer, 2013).
Expected Results
By streamlining the urgency and standardization, the performance of team members can be improved, and it seems the main result. However, it can also bring integrity or harmony among team members. People will collaboratively conduct the team process and improve performance. Integrity and improved work performance are two expected results. By encouraging ideas and opinions, the management- employee relationship can be improved. It can support the democratic culture in the company that can power up each team member to explore ideas and rationale it. These expected results are in favor of the company. The execution of these steps is mandatory in this company to produce these results (Dyer & Dyer, 2013).
Conclusion
In the end, it is to conclude that the Walmart company can improve the team management process by improving the performance of team members. The non-performance of team members has been illustrated as a big challenge for this company. Two management approaches or practices, which are creating urgency and encouraging opinions and ideas, are presented for this company to face and eliminate this challenge. Expected results are also in the limelight, and the core purpose of the company is to gain these expected results by the effective execution of these management approaches.
References
Dyer, W. G., & Dyer, J. H. (2013). Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Hiriyappa, B. (2013). Team Building And Group Dynamic Management. Booktango.
Kotter, J. P. (2008). A Sense of Urgency. Harvard Business Press.
Mourdoukoutas, P. (2016, January 30). Walmart’s Outdated Management Style Is Failing Customers. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2016/01/30/walmarts-outdated-management-style-is-failing-customers/#1f9e9c913ae1