Trait Theories - Blake and Mouton

Managerial Grid Model

It is a model that shows a range of five different leadership and management styles.

Concerns for people – y-axis
Concern for completing the job – x-axis

The axes range from 1-9, 1 being low and 9 being the highest in the degree of concern held by the manager.



CLICK HERE to see the grid in full scale.


Improvised Management Style (1,1)

Managers adopt a laissez-faire (managers who prefers to have minimal direct input into the work of the employees) approach and have little concern for either people or the task. Managers may use this style to avoid being held responsible for any mistakes.

Country Club Management Style (1,9)

Leaders adopting this style focus on people’s concerns and feelings whilst there is a low concern for completing the task. This creates a friendly-working environment.

Authority Obedience Management (9,1)

This is opposite of the ‘country club’ style in that there is utmost concern for production and low concern for the people. This is an autocratic style used by the managers whose priority is the completion of the task.

Team Management Style (9,9)

There is a high concern for both people and for the completion of the task. The managers adopting this style will involve employees in the decision-making, encourage teamwork and make employees feel valuable.

Middle-of-the-road Management Style (5,5)

Managers that adopt this style aim to balance the goals of a business and the needs of its workers. Managers are likely to make comprises in order to achieve acceptable performance. However, underperformance may occur due to an ineffective management style.

Conclusion:
The least effective management style is the ‘middle of the road’. Where, ‘team management’ is the ideal management style. Many leaders tend to switch between styles depending on the different situation.

Business Appraisal

Joanna Seraspi
Business Appraisal

Create an appraisal for an employee working as a teller in a bank.
You will need to include:

1.) Brief description of job.

Bank Tellers are usually workers in banks that are responsible in receiving and processing money when customers make a deposit towards their account. They also cash payroll checks, exchange foreign currency, receive loan payments and others. They are also responsible for the money distributed and the recording of the money coming out of the bank in lieu with the customer's account. He or she is also responsible for the validation of the deposits slips within the bank's system of database. Furthermore they are also responsible for the identification of the customer withdrawing money from the bank.

Bank Tellers are expected to be able to do at least the following:
- Transfer money between banks and to other accounts
- Deposit cheques and payout cash
- Resolving customer issues
- Business referrals (trust, insurance, lending, etc.)
- Communicate – customer facing
- Currency exchange and paying bills
- Problem solving and balancing their tills


2.) Goals and objectives for the employee set 6 months before, including appropriate rewards for achieving them.

Here are some of the goals and objectives the employee should achieve during the first few months of his/her work time in the bank:

• Exceed clients’ expectations when conducting a variety of transactions such as accepting deposits and payments, cashing checks, withdrawing cash, etc.
• Flexibility towards the job of being a clerk and other work areas in relation to being a teller.
• Reach the average 35-40 hours a week full-time work hours of a teller.
• Provides his or her time for an overtime per week or every two weeks during busy days especially during the mid-month and the end of the month when people are about to receive their salary from work.
• Ability to handle repetitive work load.
• Shows signs of courtesy towards customers and colleagues.
• Provide referrals to clients and other colleagues that’ll provide them in maximizing their benefits from the bank.
• Complete and be knowledgeable on operational activities (i.e. ATM balancing, vault security, night deposits, etc.) assigned by head teller.
• The teller processes between 20-25 customer transactions each hour with small mistakes through patience, alertness, motivation, and the ability to follow procedures.
• Sell other financial products and services that the bank offers.
• Efficiency in maintaining and balancing a cash drawer.
• Abide by the regulatory standards when securing all of the client information.

Here are possible rewards the employee might receive once these goals and objectives are met:

• Ability to become a head teller, who supervises the work of the tellers.
• Direct trainings for new tellers
• $20 per hour given to overtimes
• Ability to become an assistant manager in the bank.
• Ability to take college courses in banking offered by the banking industry.
• A raise in his/her salary.
• Full-time tellers generally receive a full range of benefits, from life and health insurance to pension benefits.
• Relocation to another country having the same bank branch with the same job expectations.

3.) An assessment of whether the employee achieved the targets; training needs for the future.

Employee Number: 768798

Employee 768798 in her 3 months of work with us has shown day to day continuous improvement in her work ethics towards her colleagues and tasks assigned to her. Positive comments from our clients’ survey response and remarks made by her department's head teller, shows her efficiency in handling their transactions. When asked to position for an immediate clerk position for a couple of hours in replacement for a sick employee during the end-of-the-month rush salary transactions, she has shown interest and motivation in undertaking the position for a couple of hours. Being a bank teller consists of time-consuming bank tasks that requires a few overtime from our employees. Employee 768798 reached the average 35-40 hours a week full-time work hours of a teller and undertook a few overtimes which helped in minimizing the workload of the bank. She has also reached one of the goals which require her to processes between 20-25 customer transactions each hour with small mistakes through patience, alertness, motivation, and the ability to follow procedures. She has followed the regulatory standards with our clients’ information and clearly earned their trust with personal information in lieu with their bank accounts.

Even though she has shown flexibility of being able to work under different situations, she has made a number of mistakes in documents provided to our clients when it comes to referrals towards what steps and type of account would help the client in maximizing the benefits the client might get from the bank. Bank tellers are expected to be knowledgeable beyond completing transactions, like dispersing financial information or even selling other financial products and services that the bank offers. Employee 768798 has not been able to reach this goal and was not able to sell or advertise things that the services the bank can provide our clients. She has also made a few errors in efficiency when maintaining and balancing a cash drawer at the end of the day.

Trainings may be needed for Employee 768798 regarding the strategies to undertake when talking with our clients. Though she may provide our clients with accurate calculations of their bank accounts and other transactions requiring documented files, she has a tendency to avoid conversation with our clients when asked questions, this is noticed by her head teller and maybe due to lack of people skills. Therefore trainings on improving informative conversations with our clients are needed. Other trainings may include a demonstration of operational activities such as vault security and night deposits. Technological updates are done on the bank security therefore Employee 768798 will be part of the compulsory training based on the technological updates done on our bank.


4.) Setting goals and objectives for the next 6 months.

Here are some of the goals and objectives the employee should achieve and aspire for during the next 6 months of his work time in the bank:

• Adhere to corporate merchandising standards and maintain a client-friendly and consistently appealing banking center.
• Specialization of more complex transactions such as real estate loan payments.
• Work area must promote the bank’s brand and minimize distractions and clutter.
• Implement policies, procedures, and programs designed to meet regulatory and corporate objectives.
• Address concerns of clients through active problem-solving and effective communication in internal and external situations.
• Protect the facility and clients information against criminal and fraudulent operations and unnecessary risk or exposure.
• Further exceed the client expectations in every bank interaction.
• Contributes information during meetings or exceeding the service goals of the bank.
• Further show flexibility in other work areas of the bank.
• Achieve positive responses from clients stating excellent verbal interactions from the employee.
• Uncover client needs and connect clients to bank products or other banking associates who can meet their needs.
• Maintain an in-depth understanding of security controls and responsibilities in the event of a robbery or other criminal activity.