discussion assignment 1,2,3

schedule. She used this ability to quickly climb from the bot- tom of the ladder to the top in her department. Now, as manager, things seem to be falling apart for Wanda. Rather than focusing exclusively on tasks, she is finding it necessary to deal with people. Often Wanda's sub- ordinates don't agree with her concern over how best to do the job. They have ideas, problems, and feelingsnone of which Wanda wants to hear about. Her attitude is Forget your ideas, problems, and feelings; just focus on your work and do it my way. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discuss the following questions in class or outside of class with your fellow students: 1. Why might it be difficult for a manager who used to be a talented technician to let employees do their jobs? 2. What personal inhibitors will such an individual have to overcome to empower his or her employees? DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT 3 Patagonia's Opportunity for Improvement Program Patagonia is a world-leading textile manufacturer that spe- cializes in clothing for children and adults. Employees are the primary source of workplace improvements in this company, where empowerment is the norm and the sug- gestion system is called the Opportunity for Improvement Program. Patagonia employees submit written suggestions on a form that asks three questions: What needs improve- ment? Why? and How should the improvements be implemented? Employees keep a copy of their suggestion, send one to their supervisor, and send one to a central office where it is entered into a suggestions database and tracked. Rewards for suggestions that are implemented range from token gifts such as movie tickets to paid adventure holidays. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discuss the following questions in class or outside of class with your fellow students: 1. How does an organization know whether its suggestion system is worth the time and effort needed to make it work? 2. If a suggestion system is costing more to operate than it is generating in terms of improvements, how would you respond? DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT 1 A Lack of Management Commitment The employees of a midsized printed circuit-board man- ufacturer had been excited about their empowerment program during its first several months of operation. A number of solid suggestions for improvement had been made, accepted, and implemented, saving the company substantial amounts of money by reducing throughput time by 19%. During this period, the management was very supportive. Because of its new employee-driven competi- tiveness, the company became a hot item and was sold at a sizable profit. The new management team voiced agree- ment with the empowerment program, but it soon became apparent that management support was hollow and half- hearted at best. Within 3 months of the sale, employee interest in the program had died, and the program had been dissolved. DISCUSSION QUESTION Discuss the following question in class or outside of class with your fellow students: 1. If you were the quality manager for this company and the employee empowerment effort had been your idea, how would you have gained a commitment to it from the new management team? DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT 2 The Task-Oriented Manager Wanda Brown had worked hard to achieve her rapid advancement from shipping/receiving clerk to shipping/ receiving manager. She had an uncanny ability to focus on a task, break it into its component parts, arrange the parts in a logical sequence, and tackle each part in order until the entire task has been accomplishedusually well-ahead of