Author Archives: Natalie Khan

Retention

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Like many of us, I am sure one time or another have been in Harper’s shoes. In my experience with feeling unappreciated, overworked or overwhelmed the best course of action is to communicate as soon as those feelings arise. The course of action I took to address these concerns were different at every position that I held in Starbucks. When I was a barista and felt undervalued or overworked, I would communicate it to my shift supervisor, if I felt as though my concern went unnoticed, I then voiced my concern to my manager usually that conversation led to a positive outcome. When I was an ASM in Starbucks and grasping the new role often times that  meant prioritizing my work day so I can complete administrative tasks as a newly promoted ASM I had to step away from the team many times and if we had a burst of customers come in I was not on the  floor to support them the team felt neglected, as soon as a barista made me aware of the concern I thanked them for the feedback and became more aware of when they needed my help. I also communicated to them that there will be times where I will need to step off the floor and I need them to be focused on their roles, whether I assigned Susan to make drinks or Brian to take orders, giving them clear cut direction and expectations and always thanking them, keeping the vibes positive and making work fun helped me build better relationships with my team. In the case of David, as an HRM I would advise him to start looking for cues, such as not smiling, withdrawn behavior, negative attitudes, or positive attitudes, and engaged behavior. As a manager I can tell you I manage personalities more than I manage the business because the business part is easy but managing people can be challenging but if you are like me and you genuinely enjoy embracing everyone with peace and positivity you will not have a problem. I would advise him to start analyzing his team as a whole and see which one of the team members can be able to help alleviate the workload Harper carries. I would suggest team building exercises to break the ice with the everyone. Once trust is built the morale would surely be better. I would also suggest David to have a one on one with Harper and express his gratitude for having an asset like Harper on his team and simply listen to what she has to say. Sometimes just venting can make you feel better because you got it off your chest if done so sincerely.

unions

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In my opinion, I believe unions are slowly diminishing because companies are doing everything in their power to avoid unionization. Some companies are providing better workplace environments, offer more benefits so employee satisfaction is higher thus eliminating the need for a union Companies like Amazon are investing millions in software geared to track employees organizing together to plot against them. Amazon has hired some of the nation’s best lawyers and anti-union consultants to help keep unionizing at bay. Currently, Europe is the only area where in which there is a union. Jeff Bezos Amazon CEO has implemented a strategy to ward off unions in the United States such as embracing and encouraging open communication between employee and manager and constantly surveying the workplace environment for dissatisfied employees. Based on the two articles provided, I believe that unions can sometimes hinder a company’s success interfering with innovation, I personally have a family member who is a part of a great union but not the best employee, constantly calls out, unapproachable at times, difficulty getting along with others, but because they passed their probationary period, cannot be terminated because their union delegate fights to keep him employed. So, it stops innovation because in my example, the wrong person is occupying the wrong job title, little to no production is being done, had that union not been in place, the company could have properly performance managed him and offered the position to a qualified individual.  If a company invests programs such as employee recognition, creating a friendly work environment and create transparency across all levels without the fear of retaliation there would not be a need for a union.

RBG

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Natalie Khan

BUS 311

Professor Buckler


Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a pioneer in changing the way the government views gender roles. She helped pave the way for all genders to have equal representation. RBG set precedence in her role in the Women’s rights movement, LGBTQ’s movements and simply equality for everyone. She dedicated her career to ensuring that disregarded or minority groups received justice and was known for skillfully disagreeing in court. The laws that RBG helped pass were “employers cannot discriminate against employees based on gender or reproductive choices”. As an assistant manager in Starbucks I cannot express the attitude shift and disregard for me when I announced my pregnancy to my manager. This is still an ongoing issue in the workforce because family planning is something that should not concern an employer. I was even told to consider a demotion if I could not manage the job duties. I presented this issue to the HR department and made my manager aware that I was knowledgeable on the policies of working while pregnant as it states in the department of labor flyer in the backroom office.  Another important law she helped pass was “women have the right to financial independence and equal benefits”. As a woman it is very disheartening to work the same role for less income because of who I am and not what I know. I am proud to have lived in an era where women such as RBG have continued to make these strides for us so we can have our rightfully deserved treatment. As a woman I will continue to push through barriers as well.  “Men are entitled to the same caregiving and social security rights as women”. This law helped demolish the idea that only women can be caregivers. Equality for all means we can all do each other’s job and there are no gender specifications excluding anyone from it. She also helped pass the law that women are just as much entitled to occupy a seat on a jury, in 1979 it was still just an option for women to participate in jury duty. It was argued that women have household obligations that exempted them from participation, RBG argued that our participation was just at much our civil duty to comply with as men. I have encountered a handful of unequal treatment due to gender bias and as I have learned to push through those stereotypes by addressing the issues with management. Making my voice heard also helps, and challenging the status quo when necessary.  


Risk Management

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Natalie Khan
BUS 311
Risk Management  
2020 has been a year that will go down in history as the monkey wrench year. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever believe we would be dealing with a pandemic crisis.  Covid-19 has reshaped the way the world conducts everything, from family gatherings, business, education. We were not prepared for it. I had to relearn a new routine that incorporated this abrupt new lifestyle. Likewise, businesses and organizations had to devise a new risk management approach that addresses new Covid-19 safety and practices. During my time in Starbucks (2003-2018), there was not any mention of pandemic preparedness in the risk management segment of the employee handbook. There was no mention of social media guidelines, MySpace launched that year and Facebook, February 2004. This year Starbucks had all partners comply with an updated form to the then social media guideline that gives Starbucks the permission to filter through your social media more closely in the event a suspicion arises of any messages that are not aligned with the mission statement. This is due to address the recent surge of hateful messages from partners about the recent civil unrest and protests going on around the country. If found in violation of the policy, the partner may be subject to termination. A recent positive change in the risk management sector is the acknowledgment of holding mental health to the same standard as physical health. Taking a day to decompress your mind when you are not in the right mental head space is just as important as taking that same sick day to recover from a cold. Thanks to Covid-19, mental illness has been on the heavy rise and it is imperative to seek help, take breaks and when you are feeling overwhelmed. Companies should invest in programs to address the rise of these concerns. Maybe factoring in an additional  10 minute mental break like to the teacher whose class was a little rowdier than usual, or the factory worker who has been on their feet all day or the barista that just had
an unpleasant rude customer yell at them in front of everyone. In addition to personal, sick and vacation time, more companies should also invest in Mental Health time, which would be available to use when the person needed it most, free to use to attend a therapy session of their choice or just a day to unwind from the stresses that come with life. Companies that can afford to, should follow in reputable companies such as Google and Zappos that have paved the way on how they strive to elevate employee morale. Companies that do not have the financial means should offer other cost-effective alternatives like an additional break or extra day off if possible. Lyra is also a good network of mental health providers that is being offered by more companies as well as apps like Headspace that is designed with guided meditations aimed to help with anxiety, stress, sleep and more. If more companies put mental health on the forefront of their employee’s success the outcome of productivity will greatly increase. In my own experience when I was not feeling well both mentally and physically it sometimes did hinder my performance but when I felt my best, I did my best.