Attila the Hun Paper

"You're a new supervisor of 20 employees at a local fast-food restaurant. The recently departed supervisor was well liked by a few of the employees, but overall morale is low. There is very little teamwork, or shared sense of purpose. There is also stiff competition for labor and for customers." Given this situation, what would Attila do?

Attila the Hun says that discipline is what builds morale; therefore, the initial step is to be a disciplined supervisor. Because the supervisor is disciplined, employees will be more willing to work for him or her. A supervisor should always give their workers a direction or else they will meander. Attila would lead by example rather than just words alone. Although discipline is demanded of employees, it should not be excessive or unrealistic. If discipline is too much, employees may feel overwhelmed and mistreated. A good supervisor should only make goals that can be realistically obtained so that the employees feel that their work is productive. This will bring a sense of enjoyment in the working environment and raise the staff's spirits about the duties at hand.

The supervisor must want to be a great leader. Without the desire to lead, the supervisor cannot be an effective leader. They will appear to the employees as uncommitted. This will diminish the effort that all of the employees put into their work and ultimately weaken the discipline and morale of the group. Attila would say that supervisor should not have the position because they do not want to have it, and a leader that does not want to lead lacks authority and influence.

Leaders have to be sure of themselves if they want to be effective. Attila says that being confident will cause others to support the decisions that have to be made. If a supervisor lacks confidence in their own decisions, then so will others. This can be extremely harmful to the supervisor's credibility. It can also damage the image of the restaurant as a whole in certain situations.

The fast-food business is very similar to an assembly line where each worker has their own jobs to perform and rely on one another to get things done so that everything goes smoothly. Being the new supervisor for this local fast-food restaurant would not be an easy feat even for Attila. The supervisor would have to help the employees realize that everyone's job is easier if each individual does their part; each employee should know and want to know their responsibilities as a member of the team. Through this realization discipline will occur, and it will strengthen the morale of the employees.

The supervisor should give everyone a sense of responsibility and hold employees accountable for their duties. Rewarding employees who excel in their performance and showing others that doing more than is expected pays in the end is not only a responsibility but an inherent part of being a leader. This will promote a healthy competition between employees and increase productivity within the restaurant. Rewards also show the workers that you value their extra effort, respect them, and notice what they contribute to the workforce.

Although rewarding employees is a good positive reinforcement, the supervisor should not over reward or reward for things that should be expected of them already.

The supervisor should only give rewards that are meaningful to everyone. A small reward should be for little tasks; supervisors should always save big rewards for their employee's best efforts and deeds. The supervisor should realize that everyone has a significant role, so it is important to let every member of the staff know how much their work is a contributing factor in the overall success of the restaurant.

Teamwork will improve only after gaining discipline and morale; the employees will come together for a common purpose. The way the restaurant runs after each employee learns his or her job will be an improvement. The supervisor would give out more responsibilities and trust in the top performers, so that the rest of the team could learn from their example. The team would become one in purpose and in action. The employees will hold each other accountable and try their best to live up to each other's level of excellence. By this point, each employee should know his or her purpose on the staff.

As the staff learns its purpose, they will become closer to each other. The employees will become a type of family or in Attila's case a tribe. Each member's personality will play a factor in the overall attitude of the group. The supervisor should