July 17, 2015

Rules and Rewards

In my work system what we do is based solely on a Rules and Rewards system. There are protocol to be followed, timelines to meet, and standards to achieve. This goes for me as well as my individual team members. There are rules set out by upper management that organize the affairs of the company and dictate what is to be done, when, and how often. As a supervisor I have a list of things that I am responsible for and I need to organize my time accordingly to accomplish those things that are outlined by my managers and the company. These rules are set up across the board for all supervisors no matter which center we are employed at.

Page 89 of the text says that "rules constrain our actions, but they also simplify our organizational lives." In my case the rules that are set and the procedures that we follow do simplify the situations that occur. Whether they be infractions or simply performance. Having guidelines set in place makes it easy to come to a decision of action based on the performance (or lack of an employee) of an employee. The rules specifically outline what action is suitable for certain behaviors which limits the possible questions that can arise when there is no set guideline. Having these policies also simplifies it across the board. Due to the high number of employees with varying circumstances, there are many possible scenarios that can explain certain behaviors. The implementation of rules and policies helps to control ambiguous circumstances and places all employees on a similar level based on performance. Of course there is a little bit of wiggle room depending on those circumstances, but as a whole it is "do for one. Do for all".

For rules to succeed (pg. 89) they need to clear enough to understand yet general enough to apply to a wide range of situations that can occur. They also need to be specific enough to give specific guidelines for action within the day to day performances. Our rules for infractions provide this wiggle room based on the behaviors, attitudes and circumstances of individual employees, yet outline the guidelines and procedures for those infractions. This way, the employees (as well as the supervisors) know what is to be expected in certain behavioral situations and the supervisor can make adjustments as to the severity of disciplinary action required based on past performance, current situation, and time between incidents.

Alongside with the rules to implement rides the rewards associated with the behaviors and expected performance. The guidelines that are set for performance or the achievement of certain levels needs to be recognized and be fair based on the specific standards. On page 90 it talks about how rewards need to be based on this performance and not friendships or biases on the part of the supervisor or manager. We have objectives to meet and specific ways to qualify scores and performance. For example, with testing, we as supervisors score each individual the same way based on their individual performance on the weekly test. Their score is not based on whether or not we know them personally. The reward for their score and the score itself is dictated by their individual performance and nothing else. If they want the rewards that come from scoring high, they will take advantage of the system and resources that we make available to them to increase their skills and abilities and in turn increase their performance.