Appendix 1: Case Study - Housefriends Homewares: Business Description

Assessment Task 1
BSBMGT502B Manage people performance
Appendix 1: Case study Housefriends

Homewares
Business description
Housefriends is a homewares retailer specialising in bathroom fittings,
bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items. Housefriends caters to the
furnishing market for new and renovated dwellings. Currently, a chain of
eight stores are situated around the greater area of each states capital
city.
Current Operational Plan for your store:

Trading
hours:
Housefriends stores are open 8.30 am5.30 pm

Monday to Friday and 9.00 am3 pm on Saturdays.
Range:
Mainly imported bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings,

mirrors and decorative items
Payment
types
accepted:
Cash, credit cards, cheques and gift cards.
Credit policy:
(Trade customers) Housefriends accounts are invoiced

at the end of each month; terms are 30 days.
Warranties
and refunds:
Housefriends will exchange with proof of purchase but

not refund.
Staff:
Three cashiers, three floor sales representatives, one

supervisor, one bookkeeper/administration role, and
one storeman.
Scenario
As a manager of one of the existing stores, you have been called to head
office to attend an area division briefing by the companys CEO. During the
CEOs address you make the following notes:
In a growing economy fuelled by population growth, the company has
determined to invest and strategically position itself to prosper from this
growth. The goal is set to be the major retailer in their sector across the
city and the state in three years. This will feature doubling the number
of stores around the greater city area with new stores strategically
placed in the growth corridors. Additionally the expansion will include a
store in each major regional town in the state.
Housefriends confidence in its ability to fulfil these goals comes from its
plan to provide customers with a wider selection of merchandise with
2012 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
2nd edition version: 1

Page 1 of 13
Assessment Task 1
great customer service. Housefriends new operational plan will provide

the following benefits to their customers:
Selection. Addition of many locally manufactured high quality
lines of merchandise will provide more choice to consumer whilst

maintaining the higher quality overseas manufactured lines. Range
of bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items
to remain with the recently added range of lighting fixtures will
position Housefriends as best in class.
Accessibility. Customers will gain easy access to the store with
extended opening hours 9 am9 pm, 7 days a week.

Housefriends will Go Green. As a part of this public image we
will promote the Sustainability features of products and energy

efficiency to customers.
A planned layout of current stores will increase shelf space to facilitate
the new lighting range. This will be completed before the extended
hours commence in
eight weeks time from briefing on a Sunday when closed.
Staff expansion to facilitate increase in trading hours from 46 hours to
84 hours per week will also need to be addressed in this period.
Housefriends expansion will be facilitated with a preference for current
staff to be promoted where merited to fill the newly created position.
Casuals will backfill vacancies and overflow work positions. All casuals
are to undergo induction training sessions. Housefriends will actively
support skills improvement for staff.
Housefriends Staff Profiles

The key people in your branch are the Tony (Supervisor) and, Marie
(Bookkeeper/Administration) who is often a caretaker in Tonys position as
the relief Supervisor. Both have expressed ambitions to pursue a career in
company management. To that end this upgrade to the operational plan
may present the best opportunity for both of them.
You are aware that one of the keys in the past in times of change has been
to maintain the enthusiasm of your key personnel to maintain the drive
and cohesiveness of the remainder of your team.
Hence your aim is gain an agreement to help them by providing coaching
and mentoring when you see the need for improvement of their attitudes,
skills or knowledge levels in exchange for their acceptance of greater
responsibility.
Marie
Marie achieved outstanding results in the bookkeeping certificate she
recently completed. However, her lack of real-world experience managing
people makes her uncertain and she lacks confidence to make decisions

Page 2 of 13
Assessment Task 1
and avoids possible confrontation. You have agreed to be her coach and
mentor. She has come to you recently for help and discussed with you a
significant range of issues she wanted help with.
Marie has always had a keen interest in the environment and everything
green. It was Marie who suggested power-saver timers on the lighting in
the storeroom and other sustainability measures around the office. Marie is
very excited about the Going Green plan and is very enthusiastic to do
the train the trainer course offered by head office and become the in-store
trainer in this area. She does, however, express some cynicism regarding
Housefriends motives in this.
At your first meeting, you need to discuss the following issue.
You have seen members of Maries team swap origin of manufacture tags
with Australian made tags while she watched, and she did nothing. Maria
is aware from past conversations of the requirement for high ethical
standards for the stores new image.
The government has introduced a code of conduct for your industry to
clearly mark on the product the country of manufacture, particularly on
imported products.
Housefriends states on its website that it adheres to this code to a high
standard. However, on some items, clearly marking the country of
manufacture on the item may inhibit the sale because that country may
have a reputation of low quality. In these cases, Housefriends marks the
product with the general region rather than mention the specific country.
This has resulted in some items that actually come from countries with a
poor reputation for quality selling very well.
Tony
Tonys approach to the job is quite different to Marie. He has many years
experience and is best described as hands on. Tony is the longest serving
employee in your branch and has the best knowledge of the product lines
and when he puts his mind to it is an effective coach for new staff, this is
despite not having any formal qualifications in this area.
However, recently you have noticed that his attitude to the job is turning
negative. Tony is spending a lot of time on the internet, which he often
calls the future of sales, and cant understand what the Management is
thinking of by planning an expansion that is not based on the internet and
has voiced this objection without a care about who hears it. You have the
impression that he now sees his knowledge as his own intellectual capital
and is reluctant to share it. He has become short tempered and has told
you that he is not paid to share his knowledge and experience. He
becomes annoyed with some staff members who come to him seeking
advice as he considers that they should know it by now. Thus his team
are not developing.
At your first meeting you need to discuss the following issue:

Page 3 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Tony often presents you with ideas for internet marketing that would
certainly boost traffic to the site. Yet you have come to mistrust his
motives with some ideas. You have recently noticed that the companys
website now has links to a home business that a friend of Tonys operates.
This business provides installation of homewares that Housefriends sells
yet you are not aware of any company endorsement of this service from
Housefriends for their customers. You believe this is unethical under the
companys ethical standards.
You need to determine what the source of his negativity is and plan his
performance management. In your one-on-one session with Tony you need
to come to a resolution of a way forward and get Tony fully on board.

Page 4 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Appendix 2: Operational plan

Operational goals
Goal
Focu
s
KPI
Reason/
barriers
Team goals
Team
Deliverabl
e
Goal
Progress
KP
I
Due

Page 5 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Appendix 3: Performance management

plan
Name/position:
Reference from
Operational
Plan
Manager:
Key result area
Indicator of
success/
performance
Managers comments
Review
period:
By
whe
n
Stat
us
repo
rt
Signature
Date
Staff members comments
Signature
Date

Page 6 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Appendix 4: Performance development

plan
Name/position:
Skills to be
developed:
Manager:
How skills are to be

developed:
Review
period:
Priori
ty
(H,M,
L)
Managers comments
By
Whe
n?
Skills
gaine
d
(Y/N)
Signature
Date
Staff members comments
Signature

Page 7 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Date

Page 8 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Appendix 5: Coaching session

Observers evaluation sheet
Coachs name
Phone
no.
Observers
name
Phone
no.
Assessment
site
Coaching
date/s
Time/s
Employees
name
Phone
no.
Satisfacto
ry
Standard of performance
Yes
No
Did the coach utilise the GROW model for coaching his or
her employee?
Did the coach identify the performance issue?
Did the coach utilise a number of communication skills to
reflect and clarify the employees answers?
active listening
clarifying
summarising
Did the coach ask probing questions?

Did the coach allow the employee time to think before
replying to questions?
Did the coach use body language cues to help put the
employee at ease?
Did the coach acknowledge the employee during the
coaching session using positive feedback?
Did the coach provide constructive feedback to the
employee during the session?
Did the coach provide strategies for continuous

Page 9 of 13
Assessment Task 1
improvement for the employee?

Did the coach identify his or her strengths and weaknesses
as a coach/manager?
Did the coach identify areas for self improvement?
Comments/feedback to coach

Page 10 of 13
Assessment Task 1
Appendix 6: Coaching session Coachs

self-reflection sheet
Coachs name
Phone
no.
Listeners
name
Phone
no.
Assessment
site
Coaching
date/s
Time/s
Employees
name
Phone
no.
Respond to these questions with your feelings and thoughts about

coaching. What was your initial reaction to the coaching exercise?
What was your overall assessment of your performance as a coach? Give

reasons for this assessment.

Page 11 of 13
Assessment Task 1
What do you think were some of your strengths during the exercise?
What do you think were areas where there was room for improvement?
What kind of strategies can you think of to help improve your coaching
skills?
What do you think will be the cost of not implementing new strategies into
your role as a manager?

Page 12 of 13
Assessment Task 1
What are some valuable skills that you have learned today to help you in
your role as manager/coach?

Page 13 of 13

Appendix 1: Case Study - Housefriends Homewares: Business Description

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Appendix 1: Case Study - Housefriends Homewares: Business Description

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Assessment Task 1

BSBMGT502B Manage people performance