Blockbuster's Case Summary

When looking for a possible interviewee, I discovered that my brother-in-law used to be a manager for Blockbuster’s sales team before it closed down. He had been a manager there for over 6 years, and supervised between five and ten employees each shift. He had no formal training program before he was hired, but throughout the hiring process they gave him a variety of modules to complete before he could work there. As helpful as it was, he felt that it didn’t help him manage more effectively. Instead, he felt that it was a more on-hand type of job, and the best way to learn how to manage effectively was to try out new techniques and see which works the best. On a day to day basis, the number one issue that had to be dealt with were unprepared employees. They would come into work unwilling to put in any effort, or they just weren’t capable of performing their tasks for the day. He stated that the best ways to come up with a solution were to train the employees thoroughly and teach them to pay better attention to detail so they can effectively complete their tasks. In regards to effectiveness and efficiency, he feels that both …show more content…
While I disagree with one of his points, some of them could be extremely useful. A manager needs to know how to lead their employees and know which tasks they need to get done. Yet if they don’t get accomplished, then the employees need to know that there are consequences.The best lesson is to know to communicate with those I’m supervising. They should be able to trust me with any information or concerns, and I should be easy to talk to and willing to listen to what they have to say. If I’m an arrogant person who isn’t willing to listen to concerns or advice, then I’m never going to succeed as a manager. Being a cooperative, good-hearted manager who is strong enough to lead the team will lead anyone to being