Case 4-A: Supervising Volunteers

4-13 ) what do you think about using volunteers to do work that other people get paid to do ?

=> Volunteer's don't get paid for the work they are doing. Some people feel happy when

volunteering or helping others. The happiness, experience they get in return is their actual

pay .People volunteer to get academic credits, to meet new people, gain knowledge, and also to

gain experience. They get chance to experience real world through hands on work. Though

volunteering is not paid, it can a good learning or good life experience.

4-14) If you were in Mark Studnesss position, what would you must be concerned about in this

arrangement? How would you manage that concern?

=>If i was in Mark Studnesss place i would be concerned on how to manage or handle the

volunteers work. Since they are not paid you cannot either force them or punish them for doing

something wrong . But you can motivated them and rewarded them. Relationships with the

volunteers is a key factor in this case of management. Though the volunteers are not paid there

we should come up with some other ways to appreciate their good work or motivate them to

improve their efforts.

4-15) How do these volunteers fit into an organizations structure? Take each of the six elements

of organizational design and discuss how each would affect this structural approach.
=>The six elements in organizational design are work specialization, span of control, chain of

command, unity of command, authority and responsibility, centralization and decentralization.

Volunteers specialization is limited to certain areas in the organization. In the chain of command

the volunteers can be said as first line employees. As first line employees, volunteers don't have

span of control. The manager or supervisor will have span of control. Volunteers may be free to

give their opinion but , they are not authorized to make decisions for the organization.

Case 4-B: A Noble Supervisor

4-16.) What type of departmentalization is evident in the employee grouping of Sarahs

department? Cite specific examples to support your point of view.

=>Functional departmentalization is evident in the employee grouping of Sarahs department.

Sara supervises three individuals who are assigned different job responsibilities in the Barns and

Noble university bookstore. Sara has one employee to see that the order is correct. She has

another one to log the products into the inventory system and then the third individual to unpacks

the products and stock them in their designated area. Sara herself is responsible for signing the

invoice and forwarding it to the bookkeeper. Thus, each of the employee has their own specific

job to do to run the store smoothly.

4-17.)What are the strengths and weaknesses of this grouping?

=>The strengths of this grouping are:

a) Since the work is divided among different individuals it is easy for them to focus on their

part of work. This helps them to have more knowledge of their job or responsibility and they

can come up with ideas to improve the business or how to make the business better.

b) If there is any change or any additional responsibility is assigned then there are different

individuals to share the responsibility or work load. This helps to take the work stress off

their shoulders.

c) Also , during the decision making process the contribution from each individuals will help to

eliminate any biases. This a key factor for running the business smooth with satisfied and

happy employees.

The weaknesses of this grouping are:

a) Assembling the right group could be challenging and time consuming.

b) The employees might lose interest or get bored doing the same routine work every day.

c) The supervisor might sometimes find it difficult to assign equal weight work for each

individuals working. This might bring a feeling of biases faming the employees.

4-18.) if you were asked to group employees and activities in the bookstore in the most efficient

manner from a customer (student) standpoint, what would that grouping be like? Explain your

position.

=>I would also go for Fundamental departmentalization. As Sara i would also group the

individuals according to divisions in store. I would assign one group to work on the cash register.
The same group would take the responsibility of cleaning and organizing the area around the

counter. I would have another group to help and guide customers through out the store. Recovery

is very important. People tend to take stuffs from one place and leave into another places where

they don't belong to . So, I would assign another group to do the recovery of books from different

shelves and place it back to their respective shelves. It would be a nightmare to locate certain

item, if recovery is not done in a daily basis. The most important thing is I would keep rotating

the shifts. This will give the groups to experience what other groups job feels like. This is also a

good learning experience where you get opportunity to learn the store inside out.