After reviewing the given scenario, I would confidently say Benny is not an efficient manager nor is he an effective one. Benny is not an effective manager because productivity declines indicates that he is ineffectual at identifying the problem and implementing a proper solution to resolve the performance deficit. I also do not think Benny is an efficient manager as the problem became severe enough that the production manager had to reprimand him for it. In fact, it may be easier to say that Benny might not have developed the forethought of the consequences of granting Alec a pay raise without communicating to the entire cutting room team the reasoning behind his decision to do so. According to equity theory, employees become unhappy if they perceive others are overrewarded. By providing an explanation with data such as in an open-book management system, Benny is able to reconcile the differences in perception between employee and manager. Despite these shortcomings, I believe he has the personality traits that would help him be a good manager if he is given formal management training as he is inexperienced.

Given the context of the situation, I think training methods such as on-the-job, job rotation, workbooks/manuals, and classroom lectures will be the most effective and efficient method of training all of its staff. Based on information I have found online, cutting garments in a garment factory involves some form of skilled labor so it is most sensible to provide a form of both formal classroom education on the best methods of cutting in order to provide employees with a better understanding of the underlying mechanics of their tasks. Many can agree a more educated worker is a more efficient worker and if the company has the budget to spare, it would not hurt to provide form of formal education to ensure everyone is up to par. On that note, on-the-job training is also a good alternative method as it reduces the need to dedicate resources and labor hours to specific training, although this is, of course, dependent on the intelligence of the employee, the effectiveness of the trainer, and the company budget. I believe implementing job rotation would be a good choice regardless if formal or informal training is chosen because it will help the employees find the roles they are most suitable for, therefore increasing productivity while also increasing their job satisfaction. I also think training material such as workbooks or manuals will be beneficial for any training program as it is an additional resource that do not consume another employee’s time, therefore it is efficient assuming the company can afford to bear the costs of the printed material. But wait, we live in the digital age now where documentation can be distributed through digital means, effectively eliminate all material cons of using workbooks/manuals. I believe having a combination of training methods would be most effective assuming budget allows because every employee has a different way of learning. If you can provide variety and incentive to improve, there is little doubt there will be an improvement in productivity.

In order for Benny to perform his job well, he must take on several roles from Mintzberg’s managerial roles such as Leader, Liaison, Monitor, Resource Allocator, and Disturbance Handler. The interpersonal roles such as Leader and Liaison is essential for Benny to perform his job as he needs to effectively provide directives to his subordinates while also coordinate with his superiors (in this context, the production manager), without these roles he would be quite useless as a manager. A necessary information role would be Monitor, as it is essential for Benny to monitor the performance and behavior of his staff in order to ensure they are reaching the necessary productivity levels. Lastly, Benny would also need to play decisional roles such as Disturbance Handler and Resource Allocator. The former role is necessary for his line of work as it is paramount to mediate conflicts between team members as to not affect the overall productivity of the business unit. The latter role is important because, in order to maximize efficiency, you need to put the right person in the right place in order to maximize productivity, efficient use of company resources, and maximize employee satisfaction as mentioned before in my answer to question 2.

The information provided does not paint a very precise picture of the situation so I can not provide an optimal situation. However, for the sake of answering this question, one suggestion I could provide Benny is setting team goals with guidance and providing incentives on the attainment of said goals. According to McClelland’s three-needs theory, staff members are far more likely to work better when there is a need for achievement. If Benny were to set a production goal, he will create a need for employees to achieve this goal as to both improve their “face” to management and to avoid any negative consequences for underperforming. If Benny provides guidance, this method also instills a sense of self-efficacy as employees are more likely to enjoy their work as they see themselves improve. According to expectancy theory, employees are more likely to perform when provided with attractive outcomes or rewards such as after-work events, cash bonuses, or possible promotions. If Benny were to design an appropriate rewards program, such as pay-for-performance program, his employees will be significantly more likely to improve their work performance.

Performance appraisals by nature require information from quantitative data that has been analyzed in order to draw inferences. One metric a manager would most likely be interested in for this situation is productivity. Obtaining the maximum output at the least possible input which can be expressed as . One system that can be implemented in Benny’s situation would be an internal benchmark with a lower-performance boundary for disciplinary action and an upper-performance boundary for rewards or recognition. Efficiency and performance, in this case, can be mathematically modeled as the following: . Implementation of this system on a per-employee basis can help identify employees that are exceptional and employees that may need guidance in order to perform their best.