Respect. Such a rudimentary idea but often forgotten in the shuffle of the corporate world. I stumbled upon this video (check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW-Q_OctIs8) while browsing around YouTube for inspiration. The man interviewed talks about the importance of respect among owners, managers, employees, etc. in corporations and, more specifically, small businesses. This got me wondering, how much is a small business’ success based on respect and trust? It seems to me that respect is a two-way street. If management respects their employees as people and respects their ideas for business, the employee is likely to do the same in return. Management must respect their employees enough to where they can take constructive criticism and use it for the betterment of their business. Also, if employees feel that their opinions and beliefs are treated with respect, they are more likely to pass that respect onto customers and other businesses they may come into contact with. In my opinion, it is a continual process and will do nothing but help a small business thrive due to the relationship-based nature in which business is conducted. Along with enhancing business, respect can reach beyond business hours, encouraging management and other employees to act beyond their job description by partaking in organizational citizenship behaviors. The only problem that may come into play is determining whether someone is truthfully respectful or if it is all just a façade. All in all, I believe respect is a way of management and absolutely crucial to a small business’ ultimate success. So, do you think respect among management and employees in a small business is as important as I have made it out to be? Or is it all just a mask used in order to conduct business and nothing more?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
I would have to agree with you on this topic. Small businesses have trouble competing with large companies. They do not have the same access to resources or the ability to bargain with suppliers. Their relative size and purchasing power render small businesses helpless when competing with big box stores based on price points. However, small businesses do have an equalizing factor: trust and respect.
ReplyDeleteTrust between the customer and the business serves as the lifeblood of so many small companies. This can be illustrated by the Ma & Pa shops, small hardware stores, and local general stores. Everyone knows everyone by their first name in a small town. This relationship is the only thing that keeps small businesses' doors open.
This relationship is not exclusively between the owner and the customer. The employees must also contribute to the continued success and survival of the business. The relationship between employees and employers is extremely important. Payrolls are usually much smaller and the worker:manager ratio is higher. The company's success depends on the cohesion of the workforce. In a large corporation, financial success can be achieved absent a strong employee-employer relationship. Look at the plethora of lawsuits brought against Walmart. However, these issues would cripple a small business.
Respect between employees and employers is very important for small businesses. I would feel comfortable saying this trust is more important to them than it is to large corporations, who can spread losses throughout operations and cover expenses with investment activity. You have done a great job stressing the importance of respect to small businesses.
-Jarek Palmer (BBB)
I agree with you. Effective management in any type of business is crucial to the organization's success. If my manager doesn't notice all my hard work and doesn't ever reward me with a raise or promotion I'll get discouraged and stop trying. As we learned in class, hygiene factors decrease job dissatisfaction. Management controls those factors. If a manager doesn't do his or her job by improving or evaluating hygiene factors job dissatisfaction can occur, which will hurt the business.
ReplyDeleteLuis Otero - Glass ceiling blog
Those are both points that I hoped to get across through this post. Small business most often cannot come close to investing in the massive amounts of capital or produce the revenues that corporations do, so they must find something else to set them apart. Respect truly becomes a backbone of many small businesses and one of the few differentiating factors. As Jarek noted, employees are everything in a small business, making respect all the more important in order to prevent issues to could potentially be detrimental to business.
ReplyDeletePosted By: Brittany Meredith