Questions
Is the issue worth fighting over?
Do you have the power to handle it without involving the third designer?
Do you feel that the junior designer in the second situation is both willing and capable of being salvaged?
G. Below are some ideas (steps) how to handle different situations. Express your opinion and discuss it with your fellow students.
1. Before hiring:
a) analyze your company’s personnel budget, b) make sure staff members are not doing tasks below their skill-level, c) write a job description for the position you’ve created, d) hire someone to handle tasks that take you away from creative and billable work, e) decide whether to make the job you’re hiring for a freelance or staff position.
2. When writing a job description, include:
a) job title, b) supervisor, c) all primary duties and responsibilities, d) education and skills required, e) all desirable personal characteristics for this position, f) all possibilities for advancement.
3. When reading résumés look for:
a) focused, consistent achievements, b) specific detailed descriptions of duties performed, c) awareness of and orientation toward profit making, d) upward career moves rather than lateral job-hopping, e) educational achievements and other awards, f) a coherent, organized résumé format.
4. When judging a portfolio:
a) immaculate execution of design, b) problem-solving rather than “decoration,” c) design diversity, d) varied applications for the same design.
5. When conducting an interview:
a) listen rather than talk, b) ask open-ended questions, c) urge candidates to expand upon résumé information.
6. When setting a salary and establishing benefits:
a) set a salary slightly higher than average for your city, b) possible benefit options: health insurance; paid vacation; life insurance; disability insurance; pension plan; profit sharing or bonuses; small perks, such as parking or health club memberships.
7. In building a winning team:
a) enlist the team’s help in planning the project, b) set goals, ground rules and deadlines by consensus, c) don’t ignore problems – work them out with the whole team, d) facilitate, don’t dictate, e) focus everyone on cost control.
8. To manage your staff profitably:
a) make each staff member feel a part of the team, b) set high standards for your staff and yourself, c) require people to approach their jobs creatively, d) let each person see his impact on company earning, e) foster independence, f) always create an environment of open communication, g) praise people publicly and privately.
9. When conducting employee performance reviews:
a) schedule the reviews on a regular basis, b) develop a standard review form with room to add specifics, c) let the employee have input, d) give the employee the evaluation to read before your meeting, e) provide specific examples to back up your criticism, f) deliver negatives frankly but optimistically, g) let the person respond, h) set goals for improvement, j) don’t evaluate personality flaws.
10. When firing an employee:
a) give fair warning, b) set a probation period, c) keep an accurate, documented employee file, d) have all checks, insurance forms and other documents ready, e) always be sympathetic but matter-of-fact.
Case Study
Read the text and express your opinion about an executive at IBM and his management style.
Caring
One of Patterson’s pupils was Thomas Watson, who later developed at IBM extensive programs in education, health care, and recreation. Watson was not simply an executive who declared that his door was always open and then waited for people to come to him. He was continually visiting factories and spent hours talking with the workers, so that many of them considered him their friend rather than their boss. One day an employee flew in from Endicott to New York to see Watson. Doctors had just told him that a younger brother had an incurable disease and would not live long. The distressed employee thought maybe Watson could do something that was beyond the medical resources of a small community. Within hours, the patient was under the care of a famous specialist in a top hospital, thus relieving his brother’s anxiety. The employee then tried to apologize for perhaps overstepping himself, but Watson interrupting him: “When I said bring your problems to me, I ment exactly that.”