Assessment Questions:

1. Read the case study Australian Hardware in Appendix 1.
2. For the above case study, put yourself in the position of the new general operations manager and answer the questions accordingly as per the following scenario.

Your Store Manager has had a stressful month. It is the end of the financial year and sales revenue in the Timber and Plumbing & Electrical departments is down on targets, almost certainly due to increased competition from smaller competitors for trade contractors business.

Just this week, the Store Manager held a meeting in which she yelled at all the department managers and told you and them to work out a way to improve revenue. Obviously, the outburst did not make much sense as the department managers, in such a large business, do not have the capability to raise much revenue directly. Marketing and distribution innovations that could have an effect are mainly a head office responsibility. The Wollongong stores inability to counter the threat from smaller, more nimble trade suppliers has been the main reason for the revenue deficit.

Naturally, the atmosphere around the store and in the management, team is subdued, and a few managers have discussed leaving the organisation; other managers have responded by pushing unreasonable sales demands onto their sales staff.

You are now feeling pressure to do something: to act contrary to budget planning and cut costs or to increase pressure on others to offset poor performance in other areas.

In your opinion, this leadership behaviour was disrespectful to all the managers, created unnecessary concern about job security and undermined trust. There has been a clearly negative flow-on effect down through the store, which is now affecting people at a lower level. You are justifiably angry at the managers behaviour and blame her for making a bad situation worse with poor leadership and poor emotional awareness.

In your written response to the above scenario:

• Describe what you think is the best way to respond to the Store Managers behaviour.Describe how you would model positive leadership behaviour.

Answer:I think the first thing she would do about her behaviour would be to talk to her so that this behaviour will not be tolerated, and she should show more respect for the work team andunder no circumstances can she yell at any of the employees, the second thing she would do would be to Please apologize to the person concerned as no one deserves suchtreatment in your workplace I think that would be enough.

• Describe the principles of emotional intelligence that the Store Manager did not demonstrate.

The principles of emotional intelligence that the Store Manager did not demonstrate are:

self-control:in this case of situation, the person in charge of any area must show calm and speak with the employee who is incurring a fault.

Empathy:a leader must show empathy with his workers and must demonstrate that he can put himself in the situation of any of his employees, that will generate a better performance of the worker.

Self-awareness: you must know your emotions and you must take into account that your emotions can affect the rest of the team.

• Describe how the Store Manager should have acted and communicated. Describe how she should have applied techniques that indicated flexibility and adaptability in dealing with others in the workplace.

The Store Manager should have acted and communicated based on the principles of emotional intelligence, she did not follow any of the principles and that could generate cracks with the team. She must have control over her emotions and converse with the team either one on one or in a group meeting, communication between a manager and his team is essential for the success or failure of the business.

• Describe the connection between the Store Managers behaviour and store morale. Describe what effect the Store Managers behaviour could have on store performance.

The connection between the Store Managers behaviour and store moral could have devastating effects on the work team as this could generate cracks, mistrust, or fear, the team could lose respect for its leader and clearly this will affect the performance of the workers. If any of the workers felt too effected, they could surely abandon the team. I once read someone who said "There are no bad teams, there are leaders who can make a bad team".

• In your written response to the following scenario answer the questions in the end:

• Provide at least two examples of possible misinterpretations of expressions or behaviour that may arise in the context of a diverse workforce.

I have very clear examples of these about co-workers since in the company I work with there are only foreigners and we speak and sometimes there are misinterpretations when we speak English since not all of us speak English fluently. The second example could be that people of other religions wear some clothing that is distinctive or mandatory for their religion and it could be interpreted that they do not want to follow the rules of the workplace, this is not the case, only that sometimes they cannot explain it clearly.

• Describe how you would explain to the employee who came to you with the issue how cultural expressions may be misinterpreted and have been in this case. (Respond to the emotional state of the co-worker).

I would tell you about cultural differences and how vital it is to respect them, because what is typical in one culture can be harmful, disrespectful, or violent in another. Also, some people's personality is shaped by their cultural background.

• Develop a plan for identifying and responding to a range of emotional expressions

Take responsibility for your feelings Your emotions and behaviour come from you, they do not come from anyone else and once you start accepting responsibility for how you feel and how you behave it will have a positive impact on all areas of your life - Take time to celebrate the positive A key part emotional intelligence is celebrating and reflecting on the positive moments in life . People who experience positive emotions are generally more resilient and more likely to have fulfilling relationships, which will help them move past adversity. - But do not ignore the negative Reflecting on negative feelings is just as important as reflecting on the positive. Understanding why you feel negative is key to becoming a fully rounded individual, who is more able to deal with negative issues in the future.

• Discuss how the team can raise their awareness of cultural expression and promote effective communication to avoid misunderstandings in order to resolve the differences.

For this we would have to first know all the workers not completely but at least know their cultural background this will help us understand the emotions in addition to this it would be advisable to learn a little about the culture of these countries today with the internet this is very easy, and it wouldn't take long to learn a little about each culture. I believe that by following these steps you can have a better understanding with the worker or workers from different cultures.

• Explain how to communicate with diverse workforce?

A productive workforce means creating an environment that supports diversity, while balancing the pressures of management, time and cost. There are many resources that provide communication tactics in a culturally diverse organization. Below are four simple tips to keep in mind when interacting and communicating with others in your organization.

• Keep an open mind
• Have at least some knowledge of people's cultural backgrounds
• Practice active listening
• Watch your nonverbal communication
• Maintain a personal touch

• In your written response to the following scenario answer the questions in the end:

• Describe how you would set aside your own emotions to focus on and identify how the employee (probably) feels. Refer to relevant principles of emotional intelligence.

In my opinion, great leaders know their employees and are trying to give them more opportunities to grow in their working area. Employees should have been prepared for everything and always be the biggest motivation for everybody. If some problem occurs, they should have a plan for how to solve it. Yelling is not the solution. Great leaders understand that their success is directly related to those around them. Great leadership is not a one-person show. Support is needed from many people. Great leaders know this and are willing to use other strengths to help obtain their vision and goals. You have to have self-control, empathy, and conflict management. As a result, great leaders know their areas of weakness and support them with others who shine in these areas without feeling threatened.

• Describe how knowledge of, for example, learning styles, personality types or communication styles, might be able to help you relate to and understand the employee better and adapt your response.

For me, by giving them the benefit of the doubt you have to have this;

Open Meeting - It is easier to communicate your passion and how you feel to your team via open meetings. In this kind of forum, they will not only hear what you are saying, but they will also see and feel it. This approach remains one of the best approaches to communicate effectively with a team.

One on One - Experts have proved that some people understand better when you take them aside and talk to them on a one-on-one basis. Ensure that you maintain eye contact with them to enable the message to sink in.

Create a Receptive Atmosphere - To effectively communicate with your team, you must create a receptive atmosphere. Avoid a tense environment at all costs because when you communicate in an overly intense manner, the message you are trying to share might not be well understood or retained.

Display Confidence and Seriousness - Ensure that you display confidence and seriousness to ensure that you will not be taken for granted. When your team members notice any uncertainty and lack of seriousness when you're communicating with them, they are likely to treat the information with disdain or disregard.

The idea is to learn and know about this employee more from the conversation. We need to know why the person behaves like that, what is the reason, so we can react and do something, find a solution. Important thing is to get feedback from other employees.

• Describe how you could use your awareness of your own feelings and those of the employee to adapt your response so that the following needs are satisfied:

• your needs(emotional needs, need for team cohesiveness, need to meet performance standards)
• Employees needs(emotional needs, need to develop and perform within a team environment).

Answer: Self-awareness: A smart approach to start is to talk about how much respect you have for your co-workers. Face-to-face contact is essential since it allows you to receive feedback.

We may either reward this employee or those who engage in trainings or seminars.

Also, if an employee is performing a wonderful job but not participating in the session, we may disregard them because it is a waste of time. I can save time and concentrate on staff who engage in training and operate as a team.

• In your written response to the following scenario answer the questions in the end:

• Describe the relationship between emotionally effective people and the attainment of business objectives.

According to the recent studies, persons with high levels of emotional intelligence have no issues with self-esteem, have high concentration level, and in most cases succeed in everything they lay their hands on. They possess very good leadership skills and have greater impact on their staff as they motivate them to work hard towards realization of the set objectives. They are in a position to constantly regulate themselves as well as taking control their emotions. This means that they do not rush into making decisions that are emotional or compromise their own values by verbally attacking others. Such individuals hold themselves accountable and they do not tend to blame other people for mistakes they have committed. Therefore, emotionally effective people are very much capable of leading a business towards the attainment of business objectives.

• Describe how considering the emotional impact of decision-making could lead to better decision-making (with respect to business objectives).

Emotions can come in the way of rational decision-making. Rage will strengthen employees' commitment to a failed strategy. Managers who recognize these trends may be able to mitigate their negative influence on the firm. Decision-making is at the heart of management. Managers are constantly required to analyse alternatives and make judgment calls on a wide array of challenges. As there are several management styles, there are numerous decision-making methods. Decision making implies uncertainty and risk, and decision makers exhibit varied degrees of risk aversion. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments are utilized in decision-making, and some decision-makers prefer one over the other. Not only objective judgment may inspire decision-making, but also non-rational factors such as the decision-personality, maker's the maker's organizational setting, and so on.

• Describe what a possible process of decision-making that takes into accountemotional impactcould look like. Decisions in this case include, for example, setting particular performance targets, or selecting what programs can be delayed.

A possible process of decision-making could take into account the emotional impact would be time away from family. Setting up performance targets should meet each employees experience and working and supporting them in meeting targets. Time is a common factor as many employees may need to leave to pick the kids up from school therefore office hours are not a long as someone without kids and doesnt need to leave. Also setting up achievable goals within reasonable time frame ensures staff are not overworked and stressed out affecting productivity outcomes.

• Identify policies, procedures, or legislation that will need to be adhered to in order to satisfy internal and external requirements related to managing emotions in the workplace.

Following the legal requirements under The Fair Work Act 2009, The Work Health and Safety Act 2011, and The Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 for each State or Territory (wherever the business is located in Australia) as well as the businesses own workplace policies and procedures is fundamental to managing the emotions in the workplace. All employees are entitled to a fair and just opportunity to correct any misgivings and underperformance concerning their emotional health that is having a negative impact on productivity and performance. Addressing and managing emotions before they become a problem is key to a successful outcome. The key is communication. Identifying what the problem is, how this is to be addressed, and regular feedback on progress is achievable within a reasonable timeframe and the employee is supported throughout, is the rights of the employee and a duty of care requirement by the business.

• Describe how OHS/WHS legislation is relevant to how managers implement business decisions.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that work is carried out safely in accordance with Australian Hardwares ethical and legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe workplace. Australian Hardware recognises its responsibility to provide a healthy and safe working environment for employees, contractors, clients and visitors. Australian Hardware is committed to the continued wellbeing of its employees and to ensuring that all employees are safe from injury and health risks whilst undertaking work-related duties, including home-based work.

PROVIDE REFERENCES