Post 2 Week of May 9-15

2). NEW QUESTION: Review the Observation of an Outside Group project. What did you find useful/not useful? Did you like this project? Why/why not? Why did you choose the group you observed for this project? In short, briefly introduce your project to the members of the class, and discuss its usefulness, frustrations, etc.... (I expect for most, that the answer to this question will be quite long - go ahead and make it as long as you'd like).

I observed my manager giving two employees their assessment reviews, which was specific to their position and their responsibilities. I found it useful because one of the employees has been in the job for 4 years, while the other currently reached 10 years. The reason I chose to observe the two different employees was to gain a better understanding of how the two reviews can be different depending on status. Each employee had different responsibilities due to employment history with the company and job functions. Although the 10 year employee has the same goals as the other individual, her duties can sometimes create difficulties in achieving her goals. The usefulness of the observations was in the structure of the dialogue for each employee. Personally, it was helpful to distinguish the type of dialogue to the two employees whom are different in job title, but have the opportunity to do the same work. If the 4 year employee was given the chance to learn a few of the duties that the 10 year employee was responsible for, then she would be able to advance.

I observed the frustration in the 10 year employee’s manner when she stated that the demand to perform well and accomplish her tasks was difficult. It was hard for her to have the same goals as the other employees when she in fact has more responsibilities that are both time consuming and sometimes new to her. The managers’ response was that she has been with the company for an extensive amount of time and that she should be able to attain her goals. The goals have slightly changed due to the economy, but they are still reasonable. The reason they have not lowered her goals is because she has surpassed the target every quarter; therefore, it is possible for her to balance goals with operational tasks.

I thought it was unfair that her goals are similar to the less experienced employees and she has more responsibilities than everyone else. The pressure to take on so much work and become overwhelmed is frustrating. I’ve heard the expression, “I don’t get paid enough for this,” and I think this is how the employee was feeling. To have more work and specific goals to accomplish are reasons to feel less valued and overloaded. Being the most experienced employee has its challenges because her expectations have increased and she can’t reduce her responsibilities.