Nichols College

Professor Richards

2017 FA (MGMT -398- ON2)

Change and Innovation: Part 2- Semi-Formal Interviews

By: Janina Messerlian

11/19/2017
Interview Context

The organization in which I am analyzing, and held interviews regarding, is Baxters

Jewelry. In this organization my role is somewhat undefined; my family owns the business and

therefore I am put wherever I am needed. However, I think of myself as an Assistant Manager; I

work on the sales floor but also work with the owner and all departments to make sure the

company is running efficiently. Being a small, family run business, we require a lot of our

employees. After you spend a certain amount of time there the store begins to feel like your own,

at least we think it does.

The problem that I have identified within the organization is different levels of dedication

and passion to the company and its growth. I find that my family and I are much more invested

in the company well-being than the other employees. This makes sense because we own the store

but, I think this problem also relates to employee morale and motivation. The employees work

hard but their level of self-motivation and dedication will never match my familys and this can

often times create a divide in the workplace.

Interviewees and Interview Questions

In order to get multiple views, I choose to interview four people from the organization. I

asked each employee seven questions that I felt would help me either prove or disprove the

problem. (The full question and answers from each employee can be found in Appendix 1) The

questions were as follows

1. What is your role in the company?

2. Do you feel that-that is an accurate description of what you do?
3. How do you perceive your potential for making a difference in the organization?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10 where would rate your level of dedication to the company?
5. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself on self-motivation?
 6. If this was your store, owned by you, what is one thing you would change?
7. Overall, how would you describe the value of the company at large?

I asked Kalynn, Emily, Sarkis and Paul to answer the questions for me; and the selection of

interviewees was strategic. I chose Kalynn because I thought she would be very honest and she

has been working at the store for four or so years. I wanted her opinion to reflect the thoughts of

someone who has been there for some time, but not forever, and who had experience in the

industry at stores besides ours. Emily I chose because she is relatively new, it has only been there

a little over a year and this is not her first time in retail, but it is her first time working in jewelry.

She has a very complicated family life, and so I was interested to hear what she had to say about

dedication and motivation regarding the company. Sarkis is the Master Jeweler at the store and

has been there for some time now, I believe about ten years and his dedication I would put on the

level of my families so I wanted to see how his answers would vary from the girls. The last

person I interviewed was my Dad, Paul, I wanted to use his answers as a guide, to show how the

level of dedication was different and to hopefully prove my point regarding the problem at hand.

I felt that these four people would accurately show the levels of dedication in the company and

by doing that would prove my point.

Findings

The way I conducted the interviews was by sending them the questions to answer, I only

spoke to Sarkis and Paul about the questions. Given that I still work at the organization and that

the questions somewhat questioned their dedication to the company my Dad wanted to me

handle the asking a certain way. Therefore, I did not ask them directly what they thought about
the problem I identified; but I asked questions that I felt would answer if they agreed or

disagreed.

Kalynn was first to answer the questions; her answers, as predicted, were honest. From

her answers it seems that the organizational issue/challenge to her is the productivity during the

day. She says that if she could change one thing it would be the location or the level of tint on the

windows of the office. She is taking about my Dads office and how people can see through the

glass window into his office, she would change that level of tint so he did not get so interrupted

during the day. In regards to the issue I identified, I think from her answers she would disagree.

On the issue of dedication, she mentioned how this job is everything to her, how it is her sense of

accomplishment in life given that she does not have many other substantial happenings at this

time. That does not sound like an undedicated employee, she rated herself a ten as far as

dedication is concerned and I do not disagree with her.

The most interesting point Kalynn makes in regards to dedication is in the question about

her level of dedication. She says I am always thinking and absorbing ideas from my day to day

tasks outside of Baxter's to try to bring back the information to work. I even send myself

reminder emails at 1am when my mind is still racing about the days "to-do lists". This directly

disproves my point about dedication. I said that the employees clock in and clock out whereas

my family never clocks out, and from this answer two things are made clear, one Kalynn would

disagree and two I am wrong about the clocking out mentally after the day is over.

Emily mentioned training a lot in her answers, from that I think she would say the

organizational issue/challenge is not motivation and dedication but rather the level of training the

employees receive in each department. I think for Emily this point makes sense, she has not had

much experience in this industry other than Baxters and so wanting more training in the
different departments in order to better help the company is a reasonable and efficient problem to

solve. As far as the problem I found, I think she would disagree. She rated herself a nine on a

scale of one to ten for dedication because she feels that she is giving the most she can without

further training. She rated herself even lower on self-motivation at an eight. She spoke of how

she needs to take initiative more often and I agree, I think and so does Emily, that she has a lot of

potential within the company, but she needs to apply herself more and speak her mind in order to

get there.

Sarkis, I asked the questions to rather than have him write his answers. His English is

good but he does not always understand so I wanted to make sure he understood what each

question was asking. From his answers there was not much to allude to what he thinks the

organizational challenge/issue is. However, him and I talk about the business on many separate

occasions and as he says in one of his answers, he finds some of the employees challenging and

he does not think they are the best fit for the company. If it was up to him certain people

wouldnt be in their current positions if they were even there at all. I think that he would agree

with my point about the difference in level of dedication, but I do not think he falls into the less

dedicated category. He works very hard for the company and even says he thinks of the store as

his own, this may be due to the amount of time that he has been a part of the company and the

relationship him and my Father have.

His point about his own self-motivation is one I want to highlight. He is a very hardworking

man, he has three children and another business which he helps in running. He is able to balance

him time while also giving 110% to the company at all times. I think this is more of a personality

than a skill. If you are someone who is passionate and dedicated it will reflect in all that you do,
and it if that is not in you, it is not something that can easily be obtained. The desire to work hard

is not in everyone and makes a big difference in what work means.

Paul is my Father, and also the owner, and based on my problem that I identified I

expected his answers to be different from everyone elses. They were slightly different in how he

rated both dedication and self-motivation on a scale of one to ten at an eleven. I think that this is

accurate for his level of dedication and self-motivation; without all that he does the business

would not be where it is today. I also talked to him about the problem that I identified and what

he said regarding it was interesting. He said that it may not be a problem regarding their level of

dedication but just that it is not in them to work hard. He said that it is just how people are today

and it is not just our employees. Overall he agrees with my point about there being a different

level of dedication to the company but he does not think it is because they are doing it on

purpose, it is just how they have worked their entire lives. This relates back to everyones

answers about dedication, specifically Sarkis, he also rated himself an eleven because it is in him

to give his all to his work.

Overall these answers surprised me and did not differ as much from my Fathers answers

as I thought they were going to. I think if I went back and asked them all specifically about the

issue of dedication throughout the company, it would be an even split of yes and no. The girls

would say there is not a problem and Sarkis and my Dad would because in their minds it is never

enough and there is always something more to be done.

Analysis

The semi-formal interviews overall were very surprising to me; in fact, it was the

opposite of what I thought it would be. I also think that I may have misanalysed the problem in

the organization. From the answers I received it seems that everyone is dedicated and motivated
and looking to do more within the company. The issue may be that we are setting the

expectations for the employees to high. I want to make a point to say that everyone does an

excellent job at the store, and we have found employees that respect the business and work hard

in it. However, my Father is a unique kind of person and I think his expectations of what people

are capable of may be unrealistic. There is one employee that came up in conversation regarding

this topic, and how she cannot multi-task. She has to focus on one thing at a time and once that is

done then she can move on. For my Father and I that is frustrating because we are doing a

million things a minuet, but that is just not the way she operates.

I think from this experience I have gained a new perspective on the problem. We cannot

expect the employees to be us. We have a special connection to the store that they may never

feel, because as close as we all are, they are not part owners in the company. However, they see

this business as a huge part of their lives, which Kalynn mentions in her answers. Emily wants to

grow and do more, and Sarkis has dedicated ten years in counting to the company. That does not

sound like a group of undedicated individuals. We need to shift our expectations to better fit the

capabilities of each person.

I was also very humbled by these interviews. I have been away from the store while at

school, and really only hear the complaints from my father about the things that are not going

well. With so much invested in the business it is only natural that he sees the things that need

improving rather than what is going well. However, from these interviews it is clear we have a

great group of people working with us. They see us as family, which makes me think the

problem I identified may not be a substantial problem, but rather natural frustrations within the

business. I recently spent a day at work and saw how everyone is willing to go the extra mile for

each other and the level of respect that exists within the company is amazing. It is clear that they
recognize the amount of time and effort our family puts into the company. I think they all have a

desire to do more, to do better, and that they are dedicated to the company.

My perspective on the problem has significantly changed. The issue lies more in the

expectations for employees rather than the dedication the employees offer. Recognizing this, I

think there are many ways to alter those expectations and give employees more recognition for

the work they are doing, which may in turn boost their motivation to do more in the company,

resolving the separation between levels of effort.

Appendix 1
Interview Questions and Answers

Interview Questions
8. What is your role in the company?
9. Do you feel that-that is an accurate description of what you do?
10. How do you perceive your potential for making a difference in the organization?
11. On a scale of 1 to 10 where would rate your level of dedication to the company?
12. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself on self-motivation?
13. If this was your store, owned by you, what is one thing you would change?
14. Overall, how would you describe the value of the company at large?

Kalynns Answers

1. I am a sales associate. My role here at Baxter's is to create comfortable, trusting relationships

with all customers and of course to create desire to purchase our merchandise. I take care of day
to day organizational tasks like keeping the desks tidy and the glass clean. I also maintain the
special orders we generate daily.

2. I think that being called a sales person is accurate. I do way more than just my job description.
I think everyone here at Baxter's does.

3. I think I am a valued member of a family oriented team. Working for a small business feels
more gratifying in a selfish way because all the hard work I put in, that we all put in, can be
measured and seen at the showroom level.

4. 10! I try my best while I am at work, I try to help others so we can all be productive and I am
always thinking and absorbing ideas from my day to day tasks outside of Baxter's to try to bring
back the information to work. I even send myself reminder emails at 1am when my mind is still
racing about the days "to-do lists".

5. 10! I pick 10 because I prefer to be a "do-er" instead of someone that has to be told what to do.
I'd rather be praised for a job well done before anyone has to ask me to do it in the first place.

6. I would change the location or the color of the tint on the glass of my office so no one could
see if I was working or not so I could get more done in the day without any interruptions and feel
like I got a lot done each day.

7. I am honestly not sure exactly what this question means. But my answer is: This company is
valuable to me because it is all I have in my life right now. Ex. My work is my everything,
without it I am nothing. I don't have kids, I don't own a home, I am not married. I focus all my
time and effort on Baxter's and its growth.

The other way I see this question being answered is: This company is very valuable to the
community because we make quality products at fair prices, LOCALLY. Who wants something
from China when you can come to Baxter's and make a friend and get an even better product.
Emilys Answers

1. Sales Associate/Support: Assist customers, other staff members and superiors in any area
needed. Provide a comfortable, trusting relationship to clients.

2. Yes, I will do whatever is needed to help the business grow.

3. I think with more product knowledge training as well as operational training, there is huge
potential for helping the business grow. I feel like I have the potential in making a difference and
need to voice my opinions more often.

4. I believe I give the most dedication I can being that the training and growth opportunities are
still there. I would say 9 out of a 10 for scale basis.

5. On a scale of 1 to 10 my self-motivation is an overall 8. I know I have more potential to offer

the business I just need to implement and take initiative more often.

6. I would cross train with different roles and areas in the store. This would help alleviate the
workload depending on where it was needed.

7. Comfortable, trusting relationships is the motto at Baxters and I truly believe we implement
this everyday whether its with our clients or each other. Here at Baxters we go above and
beyond to ensure we have lifetime clients. Also, it amazes me every day the amount of
knowledge and dedication Paul and his family have. It inspires me to be motivated and makes
my job enjoyable.

Sarkiss Answers

1.Master Jeweler

2. No it is not. I do many things for the business some of which include opening and closing the
building, helping on the sales floor, networking with clients and overseeing staff and helping
with company growth.

3. I think I have a great potential to make a difference in the company; and I am doing it. I work
hard and make sure that the reputation of Baxters is not changed due to the work I am doing on
peoples jewelry.

4. 11, I have been here for 8 years and I think of this store as my own.

5. 10, it is seen in my work, the long hours and the extra effort I put in are an example of myself
motivation.

6. Nothing, I feel like it is my own well maybe some of the employees.

7. Everything is valuable in the store and it all connects which makes the overall store valuable.

Pauls Answers

1. President, CEO, head of the house, buck stops here.. I get to pick whatever 80 hours a week I
want to work. Manage department heads, control corporate money, make decisions on future
growth and direction of company for the future.

2. Yes, but as an owner you wear whatever hat is needed for the moment. From garbage to
buying diamonds.

3. Through insight, personality, commitment to quality and a passion for what I do, this guides to
company on a path that employees will follow.

4. 11

5. 11, To be successful you must have motivation.

6. Cant answer this because I do own it.

7. I think Baxters brings value to this industry because no one else in our area cares for
customers the way we do. From the skill of the people waiting on customers and the skill from
the jewelers and CAD designers we have on staff, no other company has this much international
experience and dedication to this business, in our area, then we do. Each department has a
passion for what they do and customers can feel it and feel comfortable when leaving their
family treasures with us.