How Colin Mckee Shows the Skills and Abilities of an Enterprising Manager in his Farm Shop and Restaurant.

by leelee716 (student)

Skills and Abilities of an Enterprising Manager

Motivating himself and others…

Colin McKee prides in keeping his staff motivated in the workplace especially through training. The staff of McKee’s are put through hygiene training, to ensure that the goods they sell don’t leave customers feeling unwell and the McKee’s restaurant stays clean in order to maintain a good reputation. When it comes to job vacancies McKee’s advertise internally in order for their current staff to get first choice, this also applies to promotions. Colin does this to keep his staff feeling like they come first in the business and therefore the workforce is happy to work in the McKee’s shop creating a more productive workforce. He also offers the majority of the staff the choice of job rotation, this prevents boredom of having to do the same thing every day when they go to work and also this gives each employee a range of skills which works to their benefit. To get though to his employees effectively, Colin communicates with staff orally, this is so that staff an give feedback and ask questions. This way the staff of McKee’s are happy and confident in what they are doing which increases motivation. To motivate himself Colin provides the best quality goods to his customers, gaining McKee’s a loyal group of customers as well as attracting new customers, this makes a more profitable business and therefore a happy Manager. He also sets new targets for the business each year so that the advancing of the business can be seen. The good relationship Colin has with each individual employee keeps both sides, staff and manager motivated as the business is built on mutual respect.

See opportunities for expansion and diversification...

McKee’s latest expansion was the restaurant that was added to the original shop. Colin states that he felt that he could offer something new to the customers. This shows that Colin is constantly thinking about his customers and what they would like. The way in which he spotted gaps in the market was by orally asking the customers in the shop what they would like from a place like McKee’s and with that Colin worked to build the restaurant which has proven very successful. Colin teaches his staff to keep a healthy and personal relationship with the customers in order to gain customer loyalty, this is also considered as ‘excellent’ customer services by McKee’s current band of loyal customers. In order to come up with new fresh ideas Colin asks staff on their input and ideas of what should happen next, which helps in making staff feel and important part of the business which Colin aims to do at all times. He then goes on to discuss these ideas with his partner/wife and from there, the final decision on moving forward is made. Colin is proud as to how many job opportunities the restaurant opening created for the local people which he gave full training to creating a very skilled and productive workforce. He also hires part-time staff when there is an even that the business have to cater for. Colin and his wife are planning to further expand very soon and there will be even more employment opportunities for the local people, for this reason Colin has seen the need to train current staff on management as he won’t be able to manages that many people on his own. Colin is wanting to passing down his skills and knowledge to his staff, this shows a true enterprising manager.

Striving for excellence...

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Striving for excellence...

Colin McKee uses the company’s mission statement ‘From our farm to your table’ in promoting the very successful delivery runs that McKee’s offer. The downfall is that McKee’s is located in the countryside and not very accessible so McKee’s have delivery trucks and vans in order to meet the demand of all their customers. For this reason Colin has also set up the website where customers can order from the online store in the comfort of their own homes and have everything delivered to them. On top of that he has also introduced outside catering, this means that anything that customers ask of the manager Colin and the business, he is sure to provide it. McKee’s is known for their traditionally excellent and local goods, from the very beginning McKee’s has served the best quality goods that are produced on the McKee’s farm land and Colin has carrying on this cultural approach even in the very modernised world we now live in. This shows that Colin is firmly rooted in the family values of the business and that is the way in which enterprising managers should be, always offering unique goods and services in order to stay in the fast growing market. To make sure that staff are always in the best form possible Colin hold appraisals on a regular basis. This is so that he can see the strengths and weaknesses of his employees and see any indications of potential managers within the staff, this also enables Colin to give training were it is needed to ensure that all staff are confident in their job and know exactly what to do so that they become more efficient. Colin sets targets for staff to reach and once these targets are reached bonus’ are given, this has proven very successful in encouraging the staff to be productive and motivates them to achieve profitable results, staff are also offered 105 off all goods, gives staff further motivation to want the business to be as successful as the manager wants it to be as well. Colin takes an enterprising approach in making sure that all the products are strongly monitored so that only the best goods are put on the shelf, providing excellent quality goods for their customers.

Act with Integrity...

Colin has made sure that everything that is done within the business works in harmony with the environment around. For energy Colin uses wind turbines which are particularly good as McKee’s is located in the countryside where the wind hits the strongest and this also works to the business’ advantage as it reduces the cost of electricity, the fact that Colin has thought this out so well shows traits of enterprising. Colin McKee’s prides in the use of green energy for his business in order to reduce their carbon footprint and preserve the land that they are on so that if he too has children “they can keep the family business running smoothly.” Another thing that Colin has invested in is an energy efficient machine, he describes it as ‘one machine does it all’ this again reduces the overall costs of the business and reduces the strain put on the environment. As the manager Colin tries very hard to pull all staff together with the aim to form a family-like atmosphere in the workplace and encourages his staff to respect each other’s differences, so as to reduce staff disagreements. He also treats all staff equally because he knows that he needs each and every one of them to keep the business successful and knows that if stuff feel unfairly treated then they are more likely to leave the business which he does not want. When it comes to promotions Colin makes sure to give all his staff an equal run at getting the job and always explains to them why a certain candidate got the job. In the process of external recruitment he makes sure to follow employment legislation and always has a statement ready to show as to why he chose a certain person over the rest of the applicants. Colin shows his appreciation to employees by giving them a bonus every Christmas regardless of whether the aims he wanted to achieve had been meet or not, it’s just a gesture of gratitude towards his staff for all the effort they have put in throughout the year and to kick-start them for the year ahead.

Having a customer-centred vision...

McKee’s is run as a business whose decisions revolve around customers and their needs. In relation to customers Colin likes create a direct and personal relationship with them. He states that ‘customers are what make the businesses and gladly welcomes customer feedback in order to improve their services. The way in which market research takes place is that manager, Colin and his staff take the take to have an informal chat to customers when they are in the shop or the restaurant to find ways to improve the business and quality of goods in make them the best it can possibly achieve. This sort of market research is direct, quick and finds out the most relevant customer needs. Colin has stated that customer service and quality is the business’ main priority and another informal but vital training he has given to his staff is to smile, this is something most businesses wouldn’t look at as being particularly important because it makes customers feel welcome and wanted, is definitely a big part of effective management. To ensure that customers are always happy Colin has invested £25,000 on the creation of the business website so that customers can make anonymous complaints or queries and Colin makes sure that these complaints are taken care of immediately.

Plan and Organise

Colin holds staff meetings every morning before McKee’s officially opens for the day. This is to ensure that each member of staff knows what is going on and what they are doing for the day as they use job rotation. In the staff meetings the previous day is discussed and evaluated upon in order to make sure that the current day will be more profitable and productive than the day before. Colin also uses the staff meetings to set goals to be achieved by the end of the day by each department, this is to make sure that all resources are used effectively and efficiently and that profits are increased. Colin has the saying that ‘organisation is the key to a successful business’ and strives to keep structure within the business to achieve a swift day-to-day running. He takes the time to ‘prep talk’ his staff and to motivate them for the day ahead.

Communicate Effectively...

Colin McKee recognises just how important effective communication is, within and outside of the business, it is vital that every stakeholder is fully informed where they are concerned. To accomplish this, Colin prefers to communicate with his staff verbally so as to reduce communication barriers and so that staff can ask questions about what he has said. If it is not an urgent or very important matter Colin communicates with employees using email. When communicating with suppliers he uses telephone so any information missed can be easily repeated, this way suppliers know exactly what is needed of them and less mistakes are made in the ordering of supplies. Communication with customers is done orally, either in person or over the phone as Colin believes in having a personal and friendly relationship with customers. He devised the plan of having the McKee’s website which was basically designed to communicate with potential customers, we see here that Colin is thinking out-side the box as an enterprising manager should. The website can also be used for customers to place orders on the ‘Online Shop’ instead of having to drive to the physical store. Fortunately the business and suppliers are all based locally so language doesn’t pose as a communication barrier.

Being a team leader/player...

In showing team leadership, Colin is not only the manager and owner of the business but he works in the business as well, still taking pride in the farming of goods and taking time to speak to customers himself. This shows that he is not just there to dictate but is setting an example for employees by putting himself on the same level as them. Although his employees respect him as the managing owner of McKee’s, the fact that he is so down to earth makes him easy to approach and he is always willing to help and when staff are going through a rough time, either inside or outside of work. Colin maintains a friendly relationship whilst working amongst the staff but also enforces the necessary boundaries. In the delegation of roles, Colin gives every member of staff a chance to try everything, this results in a multi-skilled workforce so that even when an employee cannot be at work for whatever reason, the business can still go on as usual. Colin encourages employees to talk to him about any ideas they have about the business so that they are fully motivated and know that they play a useful and special role in the running of the McKee’s business. Also just generally having an approachable manager like Colin is enough to motivate staff as they don’t dread going to work every day.

Manage Change...

In keeping up to date and dealing with the constantly changing market, Colin is forever making sure that McKee’s always has something different and unique to offer. The business has adjusted and diversified a lot over the years and now offers almost everything a customer could ask for from what started out as just a local farm. Colin places a huge emphasis on his staff to “ask ask” customers about what they would like from the business so that McKee’s stays ahead in the market and carries on to meet customer demands effectively. When it come to dealing with the latest legislation, Colin tries to “stay on top of the law” so that he doesn’t get into any kind of trouble as it would reflect badly on the whole business and would demolish all the hard work he has already done so far as well as limit him in the things he still wants to do for McKee’s. To ensure that the business stays up to date with the latest machinery, Colin has recently invested in a machine that does it all, which not only works alongside the environment but this enterprising manager idea is also to keep costs down for the business. The way in which Colin has dealt with the issue of McKee’s being so far into the country is by offering delivery and the online store, even though most people would still rather go to the actual physical shop.

Manage People...

In the organisation of training, Colin sent the employees doing the highest skilled jobs on external training and when they came back they provided internal training the rest of the employees. All the employees working in McKee’s now have the same training to enable them to rotate jobs and still remain efficient and productive. Colin has gives each employee to try everything in the business because the more skilled his workforce is, the more profitable and productive the business will be. Colin often takes a lasse-faire and sometimes democratic approach of management toward his employees as they are relatively aware of what they are doing and he trusts them to do it efficiently and effectively. On the other hand Colin has admitted that he becomes autocratic when he needs to be for example when supply is delayed and he has to tell staff on how to handle the matter and make available stock work until the rest arrives. At the beginning of each business year Colin gets his employees involved in teambuilding events where he deals with the issues of communication, problem-solving, decision making and planning. The employees take part in role plays and display what they would do in each of the situations then at the end evaluate their choices. This helps in making sure that employees are all turned on to the same page, it helps motivate, helps staff to get to know each other better which creates a more pleasant working atmosphere, improves productivity within the whole team as one and it’s a practise of effective team working. The way in which Colin sorts out grievances is that he is always open to talk and he takes the time to listen to his whatever problem or issues the employee brings forward and tries his best to work with the employee through it. Colin organises Christmas dinners for his staff and their families round December time, this is to enable staff to bond even more efficiently and also allow the staff to “feel at home” in McKee’s.