Dennis Glover was the subject of a 30-minute interview concerning his
job title and description, his role at his organization, and common problems he
experiences with his employees. Glover is the Hub Manager for the United Parcel
Service (UPS); he is currently the Hub Manager of the UPS hub in Charlotte, NC.
Glover previously worked as the Greensboro, NC, Hub Manager, and has been an
employee of UPS for nearly 25 years. UPS is a global leader of delivering
packages and supply chain stores. As the Charlotte UPS hub manager, Glover
oversees nearly 1,000 employees that are full-time supervisors, part-time
supervisors, truck drivers, package truck drivers, package handlers, and
warehouse associate, and human resources personnel. Also, as the Charlotte Hub
Manager, Glover experiences several common problems in regards to his
employees.
Summary of the Interview
As the Hub Manager at the UPS Charlotte, NC, hub, Glover handles
several common problems in regards to experiences with employees. Glover mainly
interacts with subordinates who are full-time and part-time supervisors;
because as the Hub Manager he normally plans, directs and finds faults with his
full-time and part-time supervisors. These are the individuals with whom problems
normally occur. However, subordinates of Glover’s full-time and part-time
supervisors are also under his title of Hub Manager; therefore, the problems
that his full-time and part-time supervisors have with their subordinates are also
problems he faces.
Recruitment
and Employee Selection
As for recruitment, Glover had
problems as for recruiting part-time supervisors who could fulfill the job
requirements in regards to the part-time supervisor position. The recruitment
and promotion of numerous internal employees, who were previously package
handlers and warehouse associates, occurred; however, several of these
employees did not possess the necessary ability to supervise other employees.
Also, they lacked the ability to manage effectively their areas of operations,
such as inbound and outbound shipping, and small sort. The selection of employees
chosen for part-time supervision occurred because of an individual’s
performance in his or her job role as either a package handler or warehouse
associate. The selected employees performed well in their previous job roles
but failed as supervisors.
Employee
Motivation
As for motivation, Glover tries to motivate his part-time
supervisors in regards to performing his or her job tasks and as for motivating
his or her subordinates; however, he fails to motivate every part-time
supervisor. Therefore, the subordinates of his part-time supervisors are not
always motivated to perform their job tasks to the best of one’s ability.
Employee
Training
As for employee training, some of Glover’s part-time supervisors lack
the training to effectively perform his or her job tasks; therefore, they ineffectively
supervise their work area, ineffectively supervise their employees, and
ineffectively train their employees.
Identifiable Major Problems
Two of the major problems that Glover mentioned were employee
selection and training. Employee selection is an ineffective process but is
getting better. The solution Glover used to combat this problem was to introduce
assessments for potential part-time supervisor to complete to determine if individual
possessed the necessary skills to take on such a job title as for supervising
other individuals. This solution became an effective measure that weeded out
individuals who were unable to meet organizational goals. Employee training was
a process whereas subordinates trained by watching how part-time supervisors worked.
There was not a particular training program. To combat this problem, Glover
introduced the UPS Management/Supervisory Hub school training program that UPS
used at other hub across the country. This solution became an effective tool
for training and retraining new and current part-time supervisors.
Scholarly Commentary
As for the two major problems (employee selection and training) I/O
psychology says that these two problems are detrimental to and hinder the
progress of an organization. Selecting the right employee influences and affects
the effectiveness of teams within organizations and organizations themselves (Cascio,
1995). An effective selection of employees brings the necessary values, abilities,
and personalities to organizations, which affects the productivity and
performance of other employees and organizations as a whole. Effective employee
selection also eliminates counterproductive behavior within an organization. Training
is the systematic acquisition of concepts, rules, attitudes, or skills that allow
improvements in performance in work environments (Goldstein, 1980). Training
programs are effective and necessary efforts to sustain and meet organizational
goals. Goldstein (1980), “these training efforts are necessary because there is
an inherent faith that such instruction results in better job performance and
increased productivity” (p. 1).
Training programs offset the counter-productiveness that ineffectively
trained employees place on an organization. An employees’ job performance is
only as good as his or her training (Schmidt, & Hunter, 1998). Organizations
cannot meet organizational goals or meet the demands of an ever changing work
environment without proper employee selection and training.
Glover seems to acknowledge the problems that were occurring
within his organization and took the necessary measures to combat such problems
as employee selection and training. Recommendations for Glover are that he
maintains these necessary measures; however, he must take into consideration
that the work place is an ever changing environment. Therefore, he must design
effective employee selection and training programs that include determination for
job performance, behavior necessary to perform such jobs, types of learning
essential to such behavior, and the types of instructional knowledge that suits
one’s ability to continually learn.
Conclusion
In the interview with Dennis Glover, a 25 year employee with
United Parcel Service and Hub Manager of the UPS hub in Charlotte, NC, he
answered several questions concerning several common problems in regards to employees
within the organization. Common problems include employee recruitment, selection,
motivation, and training. Two of the major problems that Glover mentioned were employee
selection and training. Glover tried several solutions to fix such problems,
and not all solutions worked. However, two solutions worked, which were the use
of assessments to qualify potential part-time supervisors, and the UPS Management/Supervisory
Hub School to train and retrain part-time supervisors.
Appendix
Questions asked of Dennis
Glover in the 30-minute interview:
·
What are some of the common problems that you
experience in regards to your employees?
·
What
area as far as managing your employees needs the least attention?
·
What area as far as managing your employees
needs the most attention?
·
Are
there any concerns and problems as far as the recruitment of employee?
·
Are
there any concerns and problems as far as the selection of employees?
·
Are you able to effectively motivate your employees?
Why or why not?
·
Are your employees effectively trained to
perform their jobs effectively?
·
What were the two major problems you faced or
currently face as a manager?
·
What solutions have you implemented to combat
such problems?
·
Did
these solutions work?
Cascio, W. F. (1995). Whither industrial and
organizational psychology in a changing world of work? American Psychologist,
50(11), 928-939. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.11.928
Goldstein, I. L. (1980). Training and organizational
psychology. Professional Psychology, 11(3), 421-427.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.11.3.421
Spector P.E. The relationship of personality to counterproductive
work behavior (CWB): An integration of perspectives, Human Resource Management
Review, Volume 21, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 342-352
Hausdorf, P. (2011). The psychology of personnel
selection. Canadian Psychology, 52(1), 64-66. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/859577256?accountid=458
Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity
and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and
theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological
Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262
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