Question

Instructions:

Quite often, I have heard many people say that "a managers job is simply to tell people what to do." I sometimes wonder if that is true! Hey, I just thought of a great idea. Instead of just wondering if that statement has any validity to it, let's just ask a manager.

Your task for this week is to interview a manager.  It can be a present or past manager or someone whom you have never worked with. You may choose any organization you wish - perhaps one in which you or a family member/friend have worked. Feel free to choose a for-profit or not-for-profit organization. Below is a list of questions to help get you started.

• What are their responsibilities?
• What is their managerial hierarchy level? How many people do they report to directly?
• What is the most challenging part of their job?
• How many of the four basic management principles do they use? (planning, organizing, leading and controlling)
• What is their managerial span of control?
• How important to their job are technical, conceptual, interpersonal, and communication skills?
• What is their primary leadership style? Does that style work for most situations or do they sometimes use a different approach?

Once you have completed your interviews, develop a summary of your findings that includes:

• A brief summary of the organization and its purpose (you may withhold the name if you wish).
• A description of the industry in which the organization exists (list major competitors if appropriate).
• A description of the manager and his/her position within the organization (withhold the name).
• Your paper should include: Two (2) Full Pages, Typed, Double Space, Font Size 12- Times Roman, MLA Format with a Minimum of (2) Cited Sources.

Your thoughtful input should reflect application of concepts studied in this module, and should reflect proper use of English grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage, sentence structure, and paragraph structure.

Answer 1

I currently work for Uflex Ltd as a HR Manager at their Jammu Location

I have decided to interview the Supply Chain Manager . The excerpts of the interview are given below :

Interview Question	Answer
How much do you enjoy you being Supply Chain Job ?	No role can be as dynamic as being the Supply Chain Manager . There are so many variables around these job that I am always on my toes . I have 20 years of experience in Supply Chain and what I like most about Supply Chain is that it keeps me involved at all times. I am not able to switch off even after I leave the office every day.
What are your responsibilities ?	I am responsible for end to end procurement of materials on one side and supply of finished goods on other side . I get business plans about the finished goods to be dispatched during a period which is generally a month . My chief responsibilities are split into four phases : A. Procurement 1. Planning of all quality inputs (Raw Materials & Regular Spare Parts) required for the running of the factory and for ensuring all business plans are met on time every time. 2. Scheduling of all inputs like providing schedule date to suppliers for supply of inputs . 3. Getting acceptance from suppliers on above schedules and schedule dates. 4. Procurement on all schedule dates of all inputs based upon above schedules . B.Production Constantly following up with production team to produce the finished goods on time for timely deliveries. C. Dispatch of finished goods 1. Planning for vehicles required for dispatch of finished goods 2. Providing schedules to transport service providers for placement of vehicles. 3. Getting acceptances from transport service providers for placement of vehicles 4. Getting vehicles as per schedules from service providers as per schedules given above. D. Team Management All above responsibilities cannot be by me alone . I have a team and I have a series of activities to be performed through them and I can not afford to miss any single activity . So I have to make sure the responsibilities are divided among the team members and all team members are equally motivated as I am to perform all activities on time every time .
What is their managerial hierarchy level? How many people do they report to directly?	I have a dual reporting . Functionally I report to the VP Supply Chain at Corporate Office and administratively to the Plant head at the factory. Five people report to me : Supply Chain Manager Executive Purchase Raw Materials Executive Purchase Engineering Spares Executive Raw Material Receiving and Issues to Production Floor Executive Engineering Spares Receiving and Issues Executive Logistics for warehousing and dispatch of finished goods
What is the most challenging part of their job?	The most challenging part is alignment of all three phases of Procurement , Production and Dispatch
How many of the four basic management principles do they use? (planning, organizing, leading and controlling)	Because of my responsibilities I have to use all the four basic management principles of planning , organizing , leading and control
What is their managerial span of control?	My management span of control is end to end as more often than not I have to go beyond the executives who directly report to me to get the things done on time whether it is in house with internal customers or outside with external customers and service providers.
How important to their job are technical, conceptual, interpersonal, and communication skills?	Technical , conceptual , interpersonal and communication skills are all very important as activities have to be performed right first time . Technical & Conceptual skills are important to understand as we deal with technical products , technical material handling machines , technical people & variety of commercial vehicles and we need to understand a lot of concepts both technically & commercially . Interpersonal & Communication skills are important because it is important that we come to know off all the available information at the earliest to act if required immediately and to seek & provide right information .
What is their primary leadership style? Does that style work for most situations or do they sometimes use a different approach?	There is only one leadership style which I feel is most appropriate for my job . The style is transformational leadership . Transformational Leadership is one of the latest theories based on leaders who transform individuals to work as a unit and achieve common objectives . I have to be with my team all the time helping them execute all complex jobs at hand.

The Company name is Uflex Ltd an Indian MNC . The company is into manufacturing of flexible packaging material . The company has 7 factories in India and have a factory apiece in all the continents except Australia & New Zealand . Its major customers are Procter and Gamble , Britannia , Glaxosmithkline , Nestle , Cadburys , Lupin , Sun Pharmaceauticals etc.

The company is into packaging industry and its major competitor in India is only Huhtamaki PPL Ltd .

The manager is Supply Chain Manager . He is based at one of the company's factories at Jammu . He is at middle management level in hierarchy . He takes care of the company's end to end supply chain for their factory at Jammu . He is a mechanical engineer and a MBA in Finance . He has overall 22 years of experience in Supply Chain . He is with the organization for last one year.