managing the boss

[tieguy]

Since the posts got moved I'll start another thread. The debate between upstate and steve is actually a classic conversation that represents the union mentallity versus the mentallity of those who just want to come in and do their job and go home. Steve feels that upstate should ask the boss if he has followed the letter of the contract before helping the boss. Boss the boss mindset.

upstate basically has more of a help the company mindset and feels he should work as instructed without setting up any preconditions or obstacles.

Its a classic conversation that often takes place as the more radical union mentallity conflicts with those who do not want to manage the boss.

 

[Jones]

My day isn't complete unless I boss around the boss a little bit. If he complains I'm quick to remind him "who brings home the bacon around here".

Seriously I don't really look at my management team as "the boss" in the sense of a master/servant relationship. I see them more as fellow employees who work for the company in a different capacity.

 

[Catatonic]

My day isn't complete unless I boss around the boss a little bit. If he complains I'm quick to remind him "who brings home the bacon around here".

Seriously I don't really look at my management team as "the boss" in the sense of a master/servant relationship. I see them more as fellow employees who work for the company in a different capacity.

Great post Jonesy.
This is pretty much how I look at it too.
I always looked at my responsibility to the people that reported to me (personally always hated the term "my people") to enable them to do their job better and to help them when needed.
"Coaching and facilitating" is how I term it at work.

 

[cachsux]

I treat them on a case by case basis. The ones who treat me like a human being get that in return. The slave master finds out exactly how much the slave has to do for him. The nit picker has the real meaning of nit pick defined for him.

I`ve been around long enough to know when a good member of management has been given orders from a bad member of management higher up from him and I`m sympathetic to his plight as much as I can be.

 

[tonyexpress]

I see them more as fellow employees who work for the company in a different capacity.

I agree...good post!

Working together with a common goal to get things done!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I agree...good post!

Working together with a common goal to get things done!

Tony, you quoted out of context in an attempt to diffuse the situation between Stug and I. Here is the full quote by Jones:

Seriously I don't really look at my management team as "the boss" in the sense of a master/servant relationship. I see them more as fellow employees who work for the company in a different capacity.

As you can see, Jones was referring to his mgt team when he called them fellow employees.

I have a good center team in place and would help out any of them if asked. If I am asked to work on a Saturday should it be up to me to ask if they spoke to each of the 8 employees above me before asking me? That is my supervisor's job, not mine.

 

[Catatonic]

Tony, you quoted out of context in an attempt to diffuse the situation between Stug and I.

Tony and I replied very similarly or exactly the same to Jones post.

Maybe Tony was as ignorant as I was that there was situation between STUG and You especially as related to this topic and thread.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having a couple of beers on a Sunday afternoon Dave.

 

[cachsux]

If I am asked to work on a Saturday should it be up to me to ask if they spoke to each of the 8 employees above me before asking me? That is my supervisor's job, not mine.

If you are TOLD to come in on Saturday will you do so happily if those junior to you were not told to also? Will you ask if they will be there or will you rely on your sup for that too?

 

[tonyexpress]

Tony, you quoted out of context in an attempt to diffuse the situation between Stug and I. Here is the full quote by Jones:


As you can see, Jones was referring to his mgt team when he called them fellow employees.

I was not referring to anything between you and Stug but rather to the relationship between Jones and his management team....

Thank you very much!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I was not referring to anything between you and Stug but rather to the relationship between Jones and his management team....

Thank you very much!

I apologize. Dave.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If you are TOLD to come in on Saturday will you do so happily if those junior to you were not told to also? Will you ask if they will be there or will you rely on your sup for that too?

Good question.....

 

[soberups]

Its a mistake to think of your immediate management as "the boss".

That would imply that they have the authority to make meaningful decisions about running the operation. They do not.

While they do have the authority to tell us what to do while we are on the clock, the reality is that they are little more than intermediaries between those of us who perform the labor and those who make the operational decisions from the comfort (and ignorance) of an office hundreds of miles away.

My building is located in Oregon, but all of our dispatch decisions are now being made in Seattle. The center manager has been reduced to a puppet who hands out warning letters and reads the PCM's that are sent from Seattle or Atlanta.

Most of the underlying problems that I face on a daily basis as a driver will never be solved, for the simple reason that I as a driver will never have access to a decision-maker who has the authority to solve them.

 

[22.34life]

i see both sides of this ,in my area if my sup ask me if i want to go home i always ask if he asked the more senior people.this is how it should be,it is your job to make sure the contract and everyones rights are respected not just when it benifits you.this is the problem at ups now these new guys dont respect jack,its all just looking out for number 1 and screw the rest.now i dont try to manage the boss in the sense of the operation,if some new friend/t sup or p/t sup is making stupid mistakes,hey its his area to run in the ground,at least thats how i see it.

 

[brownmonster]

I gave up trying to mange the boss shortly after our marraige.

 

[The Blackadder]

I view management as having 1 goal they want to have their numbers meet what the people above them say it should.

Now if this means drivers jumping all over each other driving by areas to get to other areas it is fine just as long as the numbers look good on paper.

In my center we waste hours in pay each day driving around to make sure we have the right number of stops. But on paper it looks great, so I guess wasting a few 100 dollars each day is fine as long as the numbers look good to those up the line who have no clue how much we are wasting.

The really sad part is in my building they know how much of a waste it is, but they wont say anything they dont want to lose their jobs(cant blame them). But I hope some how some way someone up the line will one day firgure out the amount of money we waste and fix the problem.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If you are TOLD to come in on Saturday will you do so happily if those junior to you were not told to also? Will you ask if they will be there or will you rely on your sup for that too?

OK, I am ready to answer this one now.

If I am asked to work that is one thing. If I am told that I will be working I would most certainly ask if everyone below me will be there as well.

 

[cachsux]

OK, I am ready to answer this one now.

If I am asked to work that is one thing. If I am told that I will be working I would most certainly ask if everyone below me will be there as well.

You are ready to enter the world now,Grasshopper.

 

[tieguy]

Seriously I don't really look at my management team as "the boss" in the sense of a master/servant relationship. I see them more as fellow employees who work for the company in a different capacity.

I don't think the boss has to viewed in the context of slavery but someone does have to be the boss making the decisions.

 

[Jones]

I don't think the boss has to viewed in the context of slavery but someone does have to be the boss making the decisions.

Maybe it's just my mindset. My idea of a "boss" is someone who bosses you around and tell you what to do, and I don't really get that from my management team which is fine with me. I've got the whole package delivery thing down pretty good though, so maybe I just don't require much bossin'.

 

[Johney]

I view management as having 1 goal they want to have their numbers meet what the people above them say it should.

Now if this means drivers jumping all over each other driving by areas to get to other areas it is fine just as long as the numbers look good on paper.

In my center we waste hours in pay each day driving around to make sure we have the right number of stops. But on paper it looks great, so I guess wasting a few 100 dollars each day is fine as long as the numbers look good to those up the line who have no clue how much we are wasting.

The really sad part is in my building they know how much of a waste it is, but they wont say anything they dont want to lose their jobs(cant blame them). But I hope some how some way someone up the line will one day firgure out the amount of money we waste and fix the problem.

Are you sure your from the Northeast? Because it sounds like you work in our building.