Question: How Sensitive Am I to Equity Differences?

Practising Skills

Tammie Arnold worked her way through college while holding down a part-time job bagging groceries at the Food Town supermarket chain. She liked working in the food industry, and when she graduated she accepted a position with Food Town as a management trainee. Over the next three years, Arnold gained experience in the grocery store industry and in operating a large supermarket. About a year ago, Arnold received a promotion to store manager at one of the chain's locations. One of the things she has liked about Food Town is that it gives store managers a great deal of autonomy in running their stores. The company provides very general guidelines to its managers. Top management is concerned with the bottom line; for the most part, how the store manager gets there is up to him or her. Now that Arnold is finally a store manager, she wants to use goal setting to motivate her employees. She likes the idea that everyone should have clear goals to work toward and then be evaluated against those goals. The store employs 70 people, although except for the managers most work only 20 to 30 hours per week. There are 6 people reporting to Arnold: an assistant manager; a weekend manager; and grocery, produce, meat, and bakery managers. The only highly skilled jobs belong to the butchers, who have strict training and regulatory guidelines. Other less skilled jobs include cashier, shelf stocker, maintenance employee, and grocery bagger. Arnold has come to you for advice on how to design a goal-setting program for her store. Specifically describe how she should go about setting goals in her new position. Include examples of goals for the jobs of butcher, cashier, and bakery manager.