Management Style
Scenario:Charlene and Ms. Crisp
Charlene worked in a large fashion store for women. She was a sales clerk in the
sportswear department, and her manager was Ms. Crisp. Charlene never heard anyone ever call Ms. Crisp by her first name. Ms. Crisp was quite old-fashioned in her approach to management.
Charlene needed the job, as it gave her almost 40 hours a week, nights and weekends,
which was great for her, as she was a student trying to pay for her schooling. It wasn’t easy to work for Ms. Crisp. If the department ran a sale, for example, none of the sales staff knew what was on sale until the sale started. There was never enough staff scheduled to handle the crowds, and Charlene and the others rarely got their scheduled coffee break or lunch.
Instead of being excited and pumped up about the sale, they were angry and resentful about it, and took unscheduled breaks or spent more time in the stock area just to get away from customers or Ms. Crisp.
Most of the sales clerks in other departments that had been there as long as Charlene had received a performance review, and many had also received a raise. None of the sales clerks in Ms. Crisp’s department had had a performance appraisal or a salary increase.
Ms. Crisp loved order, and yelled at the staff if the merchandise looked untidy. Charlene remembers many times when Ms. Crisp would tell her she had no taste, or was lazy or sloppy. No one had ever heard her compliment any of her employees.
Ms. Crisp had a specific schedule of duties for each person, which often meant time in the stockroom, even if the sales floor was busy. Her employees felt it was more important to serve customers, but no one dared question Ms. Crisp, and she never asked anyone else for their opinion. It was Ms. Crisp’s way all the way.
Identify which management style Ms. Crisp is demonstrating. Support your conclusion with three examples.
