Communication As A Supervisor

When it comes to communication at work the criticality can range from taking orders at a restaurant to saving a life. However, your ability to communicate with others is important no matter what the job title. Communication as a supervisor is especially important because supervisors are responsible for many people as well as making money for a company. So that I could learn firsthand how important communication is at work, as well as how to conquer challenges with employees as a supervisor, I interviewed a supervisor at Menards. This supervisor, Nick Renard, is the department head of flooring. I have been working part-time at Menard’s for eight months, and Nick has been working at Menards for eleven years.

As a supervisor in retail, the practice

These informal relationships are how people interact with each other every day at work as opposed to the hierarchy or formal organization where each job is described in an organizational chart. I gave Nick this background of informal networking and asked him to describe his informal network. “My informal network is how I got the job at Menards in the first place. A friend of mine helped me get hired eleven years ago.” Next, I asked Nick how important this network has been in doing his job. “Because of my friendly demeanor, I am easy to get along with, and my employees respond positively. I asked Nick if this informal network helped him advance in the company. Nick exclaimed, “Everyone likes me, and I have always been promoted on the first try. I have worked my way up the ladder to a department head. I feel I have made advancements because I treat my employees fairly and would never ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I treat all of my employees as if they were my friends, and they respond by working hard and not complaining.” This friendly relationship with all his fellow employees and supervisors has allowed him to maintain a positive working environment thus meeting demands, making sales ratios, and profit margins. Therefore, employees come to work on time, follow procedures, have less workman’s compensation claims, which allow for

I explained this approach to Nick. I told him that this approach meant to provide the greatest good for the greatest number while creating the least amount of harm or preventing the greatest amount of suffering. I asked him if he ever had to make a decision using this principle and if he could give me an example. I told him that he could use a hypothetical situation or use a pseudo name. He responded, “I’ll give you a real-life example but use a pseudo name. Bob was causing frustration among the employees in my department. The employees were coming to me complaining about his behavior and attitude, and it was affecting morale in the department. So, I had to decide to cut Bob’s hours to increase work productivity and restore morale. This action pleased my employees, and they began to work harder. Bob’s attitude was affecting others in a negative manner and causing their work ethic to decline. Overall, this would have an effect on the entire store. I couldn’t afford to have my employees not wanting to come to work because of another employee. This isn’t the Menard’s way.” The ethical communication approaches provide guidelines for handling situations in different