Hannahs Ice Creeam free essay sample

Background Information Ike Telloni always wanted to start his own business; he completed a Commerce program at the University of Ottawa and later moved on to work for the Waterloo Ice Cream Company. Ike worked at the company as a sales representative and then a regional marketing director but after working there for ten years he wanted to find a job where he could be close to family. So he bought a business that was for sale in Elgin Beach’s main street called Hannah’s Ice Cream. This forty year business was an icon in the town, everyone loved it and reason for that was because of how Hannah (the owner) treated her employees, she made sure they were happy at work and listened to what they had to say. However once the business had landed in the hands of Ike things started to go downhill, revenues and profits were down and the employee turnover was very high. We will write a custom essay sample on Hannahs Ice Creeam or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was because the employees did not work well under Ike’s management method; they found him to be very unfriendly and hard to work for. Being overwhelmed with all the work Ike promoted Nafeeza Shafie, an employee of five years to assistant manager. Hearing about the competition Ike was facing with the new ice cream shop opening up he approached Nafeeza and asked her to create a marketing plan to win over the town on Canada Day. Nafeeza worked hard and did as she was told and created a whole campaign to get the attention of the community, she had asked Ike to submit the advertisement to the newspaper but he forgot and as a result Hannah’s Ice Cream had nothing to do for the Canada Day celebration letting down the community. Step 1 – Identify and Define the Problem The problem in this situation was Ike’s management style, he did not know how to treat his employees and motivate them. This was evident when he yelled at his workers because he thought that was the only way they would learn, and loudly criticized their work by calling them names, and to make it worse Ike cancelled the employee bonus programs such as the weekly improvement meetings, picnics and etc. which less motivated the workers to put in extra effort. Another problem Ike had was the fact that he worked at home more than at the actual business and because of this he didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t have a good relationship with the employees. Also the other ice cream shop opening up in town will cause competition which could be a create problem in the future profits as well as steal Nafeeza the assistant manager. All of these problems resulted in the greatest one of all which was the loss of profits and revenue. Step 2 – Generate and Evaluate Alternative Courses of Action One way to deal with the situation at hand would be to sell the business by doing this Ike will receive some money that he could use however he would not get the total amount he paid for because the business is not as profitable as it was before. However by selling it does mean Ike would no longer have to deal with any more management issues, but it does show him as giving up and not giving his all. Another drawback of this plan is not only does Ike loose his dream of having his own business but he also will have no other source of income or employment which means he would have to start looking for a new job. Another course of action that can be taken is Ike can change his management style this will make the employees work harder and be more respectful toward Ike and if the workers are treated right they will be happy which means they will be more productive and that could cause the business to create a greater profit. An issue that arises from this solution is first Ike must realize that the way he is treating the employees is not correct. Even after he has realized it might be hard for him to change his personality, it could take a lot of time and effort, which Ike has to be willing to put in. One last solution to this problem could be to give more responsibility to Nafeeza by promoting her to manager, this could work because she has been working at Hannah’s Ice Cream for five years and it was said that the other employees respect her and enjoy working with her. Therefore if the employees are comfortable with whom they are working for they will perform better and that will result in the business running better. However some disadvantages of this solution are Ike might not feel comfortable giving up his position as manager to someone younger than him, also it would cost more money for the business because Nafeeza’s salary would have to increase because she at a higher position with more responsibility. Step 3 – Decide on a Preferred Course of Action The best solution to this problem would have to be for Ike to change his style of management. He will have to work on being more kind and friendly to the employees and make sure he listens to what they have to say. By Ike doing all this it will make the employees a lot happier which will result in them being more productive and efficient at work and they will want to give it their best because soon realize that their boss is putting in an effort to make it a good workplace for them. This will be effective because as mentioned it was Hannah’s kindness towards the employees that made then work hard and attract customers, therefore if Ike can work on his management style there is no doubt that Hannah’s Ice Cream can get back on his feet and be better than ever. This is definitively an optimizing decision because after researching and evaluating all the other solutions this seems to be the one that has the most potential that can have the greatest impact on the business with low costs and with a low time period. Step 4 – Implement the Decision Once the best solution has been made a method must be made on how to get it into action. To get this solution working Ike should talk to Nafeeza and apologize to her for his irresponsible behaviour of not getting the advertisement to the newspaper and letting all her hard work go to waste. After that he should talk to her about how they could work together to change his management style. Ike should always ask Nafeeza her thoughts on how to get the business going again and ask her to help solve the problem because after she is the assistant manager. It will also be idea for Ike and Nafeeza to work on creating another marketing campaign to make up for that last one which did not occur on Canada Day. Next thing Ike should do is call a meeting with all his employees and apologize for his very rude behaviour and let them know that he will be returning all the employee programs such as picnics, extra pay and employee meetings. Also he should let them know about how he is going to work on getting more profits and as well as ask them for their opinion on how the business can increase their revenues. Some things Ike can do personally to improve his management style is he could take a course at a local university or collage on management so he could better enhance his understanding and improve his skills. Ike should also work on spending more time at the business rather than at home, so that he builds a better relationship with the employees also so that he is more aware of what is going on in the business. One last thing Ike could do is work on a reward system for his employees so that they are motivated to work hard. Step 5 – Evaluate Results This step is used to see if the chosen solution is achieving the desired results and solving the problem. To make sure the results are achieved for this problem Ike must enrol himself in a management course to improve his management system and continue to hold the employee meetings about two to three meetings a month to discuss on how to improve and make better working conditions. Ike should also continue to have reward system for his employees so that they are motivated which could be selecting an employee of the month. Another important action Ike needs to do is create the new marketing campaign with Nafeeza so that they can start attracting customers. If the employees are working hard and profits are high Ike should reward them by hosting a picnic for the employees and their families. If these actions are continued by Ike and the employees in a few months the profits and revenue should start to increase and Hannah’s Ice Cream will be as profitable as it was before.