Shanequa Palm struggled to manage a situation where additional towels were needed for rooms. She begged an employee to help rather than directing them. As a manager, she needs to establish her authority and make clear job expectations. In the future, she should delegate tasks to her team and provide warnings if expectations are not met to avoid being taken advantage of. Proper management involves clear communication of responsibilities and consequences.

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David Felix
Hosp: 3033
Individual Assignment 1
Individual Assignment: The Makings of a Housekeeping Manager
Due Date 12/05/16
1. How would you judge Shanequa Palm’s management role in that specific situation?
First of all, it is not mentioned whether or not this was a union shop. With that said, assuming
this was a non-union shop, an employee that says “that’s not my job or it’s not in my job
description” is challenging the manager, not to mention infuriating and insubordinate. The
expression “catch more flies with honey than vinegar” might help here. One of Shanequa’s
mistakes here is delegation. It takes a team to run the laundry and Shanequa made herself an
island. She shouldn’t have “begged” a subordinate to join in and help. She needed to “highly
suggest” or ordered the employees that WERE there to pitch in and help. Rene and the team
supervisor must be utilized.
2. How effective do you think her management approach will be in the long run?
Not very effective if she doesn’t establish who is boss. She made herself a doormat. Shangequa
was stressed and in panic mode but she needed to establish who the boss is, taking care of the
immediate situation and then for longer term, down the road. Being a working manager means
having to jump into various roles and working side by side with Rene and the team supervisor is
not to get them to “like you” but to respect you. This would free up people to be able to put out

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fires, like delivering those two extra clean towels. Later, after the panic is over, I would consider
warnings of insubordination to let the subordinates know WHO is in charge. The team supervisor
needs to be reminded of the “pecking order”.
3. How would you have dealt with the situation?
First of all, a smile goes a long way. I would have asked Rene to come with me to the laundry
room and started the laundry while showing him how the machine works. The team supervisor
should be reprimanded and told what a “team” means. The more hands on deck, the better. If you
are an Assistant Executive Housekeeper, you don’t beg subordinates to perform their job
function. I also might have called other laundry workers who had the day off, to see if they could
come in. After the “storm” is over, I would hold a meeting with all departments concerned, and
tell them how I expect things to go in the future. In fact, I would have done that from day one
and explained what I expected from the entire team. The two employees scheduled to work and
called in, should be given verbal warnings. It is the responsibility of those employees to have
their child-care and car issues to not become the problem of Shanequa. But there are always
bumps in the road. That is life. But they need to be put on notice that their time is also their
money.