Entry 2: Be a Manager

Media Event: Sentosa PLAYcation

a) What is the objective of this event? Give a brief background to this event.

The objective of this event is for families to come together this holiday season to bond and play with Playmobil themed activities. Families will also be entertained by their fun and wacky hosts and the interactive games provided.

The event is called "Sentosa PLAYcation" and it was located at Sentosa's Palawan Beach from 24th November 2012 to 30th December 2012. Admission to the event is free for all.

There are a couple of activities for the families to participate such as:

1) Playmobil Santa's Sleigh @ Merlion Plaza

2) Come PLAY with PLAYMOBIL @ Palawan Beach

3) Playmobil Bazaar

4) Port of Lost Wonder (POLW)

5) Sentosa PLAYcation - PLAYful Moments

- Little Hands & Minds

- Playmobil play pit

- Meet & Greet Playmobil Mascot

- Boogie with Captain Palawan

- Storytelling Comes Alive

- Rhythm & Senses

- The Puppet Master Musical

- The Playmobil Challenge

- Games & quiz

b) Who is the target audience?

I would say that Sentosa PLAYcation is an event that is catered to families with children of below twelve years old as most of the activities are more suitable for young children. It is a good opportunity for parents to bring their children to the event and bond happily together as a family as they play the games and activities together.

Families with children turned up for the event

c) How is the event publicized? (In other words, how does the target audience get to know about the event?)

Sentosa PLAYcation is publicized using various methods and media platforms. 

The event is publicized on banners and posters around Sentosa especially at the Palawan Beach. I saw a couple of posters regarding the event on the monorail as well. 

This poster was seen around Palawan Beach



















This poster was seen on the monorails of Sentosa


The event is publicized on online media platforms such as the official Sentosa website, twitter and Facebook accounts. The target audience also get to know the event through feedbacks or reviews that others posted online regarding the Sentosa PLAYcation. The feedbacks and reviews of the event can be found online on websites belonging to parents such as "cheekymonkie", "thewackyduo" and "simplymommie". Besides, it can also be found on events website such as "events.insing" and "sg.everydayonsales" and "sg.offerstation".

The event is publicized on The Straits Times newspaper under the Life! section on the 28th December 2012.

There is also a photograph of the poster of Sentosa PLAYcation on TODAY newspaper on the 14th December 2012.

d) Is the event reported in the media? If yes, how widely is it reported? (Do a quick analysis of the reports, in terms of the angles that the media take, the importance of the coverage, and your opinion of the impact of the coverage). If no, why do you think the media did not cover the event? What do you think could be done to attract media coverage? 

Yes, the event is reported on The Straits Times under the Life! section. The media took an angle which covers the various activities that Sentosa PLAYcation offers to attract readers to the event. 

These excerpts were taken from the official The Straits Times website


The coverage is important to publicize the event as the article includes all the important details to the event that people would like to know such as the date, time, venue, contact details and activities involved. 

However, I do not think that the coverage by The Straits Times created a big impact to publicize the event as it only appeared on the 28th December 2012 for a day on the Life! section. Sentosa PLAYcation ends on the 30th December 2012 and the article is posted way too late to attract people to the event.

The event is also reported on TODAY newspaper on the 14th December 2012. It only includes a photograph of the poster of Sentosa PLAYcation. 




Poster which appeared on TODAY newspaper on the 14th December 2012




A screenshot of where I got the above photograph of the poster of Sentosa PLAYcation which appeared on TODAY newspaper on the 14th December 2012.


The coverage is important as it provides the photograph of the poster which consists of all the detailed information of the event such as what activities are in stored for the audiences, how long the event would last and etc. 

I feel that the coverage by TODAY newspaper to put up a photograph of the poster of Sentosa PLAYcation should create a greater impact because it is a big photograph and it would definitely grab the eyeballs of readers. Besides, it is reported on the 14th December 2012, so there is still time for people to check the event out. 

Under the lecture "Understanding Markets and Audience - Part 2: Audience", it is said that audience research in print media is by readership and circulation. I certainly do not think that the coverage by The Straits Times created a big impact because the article appeared just two days before the event ended and the number of people reading the publication might be low and circulation of copies might not be fast enough to immediately attract people to the event. However, the coverage by TODAY newspaper should create a bigger impact because the article appeared a couple of days before the event ended, therefore, there is enough time for the readers to check the event out. 

Besides, Sentosa PLAYcation is also reported on social media platforms by parents who are bloggers such as "cheekymonkie", "thewackyduo" and "simplymommie". These parents received invitations by Sentosa to attend the event and to write about it on their blogs based on their experiences, thoughts and feedback about the event.

It is important for Sentosa to give out invitations to these parent bloggers because many other parents read their blogs and when the other parents read these blogs and find out about Sentosa PLAYcation, they would then be interested to check the event out.

I feel that the blog reviews of parent bloggers about the Sentosa PLAYcation would create a big impact because there are a lot of other parents in Singapore who read these parenting blogs and when they chanced upon the events reviewed by the parent bloggers, they might be interested to bring their family there as well.

In order to attract more media coverages, I think Sentosa should advertise the Sentosa PLAYcation on a larger scale on various media platforms such as newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television and such. In that way, a great number of people would turn up for the event and the media would then be interested to cover the event due to large number of people involved in it. 

Besides, Sentosa can also invite celebrities who are parents themselves to the event to have some fun. The media are always interested in the lives of the celebrities, that is why when the celebrities attend such events, the media might most probably be there to cover it. Also, when celebrities go to such events, its fans or the public might be interested to catch a glimpse of them and more people would turn up for the event. When there is a great turnout for the event, the media would then again, be interested to cover the event due to the large number of people involved in it.

e) Assume you are the manager overseeing the project. Evaluate the success/failure of this event. How would you do it differently for greater success?

On the whole, I feel that this project "Sentosa PLAYcation" is a success. I went to the event on a Sunday and the turnout was quite good as many parents brought their children there to have fun. I saw smiles on many faces and I guess everybody had a good time.

On that particular Sunday, 30th December 2012, I went to check out the Sentosa PLAYcation PLAYful Moments which includes Little Hands & Minds, Boogie with Captain Palawan, Games & Quiz, The Puppet Master Musical and lastly, Meet & Greet Playmobil Mascot. 

Sentosa carried out the activities successfully and here are the things I felt that they did rather well. 

For Little Hands & Minds, I think it is good that they put notices on what the activity is about and how much the activity cost. It is also good that the crafts corner is decorated very beautiful with vibrant colours to attract people to it. 

Notices found around the crafts corner at Little Hands & Minds 














Vibrant colours at the crafts corner














Crafts corner was decorated beautifully to attract the crowd


For Boogie with Captain Palawan and Games & Quiz, I think it is good that the host and mascot put in a lot of effort to interact with the crowd and to constantly entertain them. I like it that they give each and every children a little gift despite not getting the answers right to the quiz. 

Children having fun with the mascot and host

For The Puppet Master Musical, I think it is good that the puppeteers were engaging and tried their best to involve everyone in the show by shaking hands with the crowd and sprinkling the shiny dusts on the children's heads. 

Puppeteers in action


For Meet & Greet Playmobil Mascot, I think it is good that the mascot had a lot of patience to bend down and take pictures with the young children. The host was also very humorous and tickled many. 

Now, as a manager overseeing the project, I would do things differently to achieve greater success. 

For Little Hands & Minds, I would ask the staffs at the crafts corner to be more out-spoken as well as to lure the customers to participate in the activities instead of just sitting behind the counters. 

Staff should promote the stall instead of sitting behind the counter


For Boogie with Captain Palawan and Games & Quiz, I would give the host a better working microphone. The host was trying to raise his voice throughout the show because the microphone was not working very well and the environment was rather noisy. Besides, I would also hold these two activities in a sheltered area instead of an outdoor area because it was drizzling that day and some parents were quite worried that their children might catch a cold. 

For The Puppet Master Musical, I would hold it in a sheltered area in case of rain. Besides, the trees are bearing fruits around that area and when the wind blowed, the trees swayed and the fruits actually dropped on peoples' heads. This situation can be quite dangerous, so I would definitely hold this activity in a sheltered area. On the same note, I would use bigger sitting mats for the audiences to sit on. The mats that they provide previously were really too small and many audiences resorted to sitting on the floor or on grasses.

They should provide bigger mats enough for the crowd


For Meet & Greet Playmobil Mascot, I would give the host a better working microphone and to lengthen the time of the activity so that more children can interact and take pictures with the mascot. 

Analysis for question (e)

Basically, for Sentosa PLAYcation to be successful, the managers must do a good job in the management process which includes planning, organizing, leading and controlling. 

Planning is important as a manager needs to define goals of what Sentosa wants to achieve in Sentosa PLAYcation, establish strategies for the employees to reach their goals and develop plans to coordinate the activities for the event to flow smoothly. In short, a manager has to know what Sentosa wants to achieve at the end of Sentosa PLAYcation and craft out strategies for the employees to reach their goals so that the event can be a successful one. A manager also has to plan to coordinate the activities such as picking out a venue for the event, employ the suitable staffs and performers for the various activities, ensure that the activities go according to the plan.

Organizing is important as it determines what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and what decisions are to be made. It is important for a manager to have good organizational skills so as to oversee the Sentosa PLAYcation event accordingly. A manager has to oversee the entire schedule of the day such as which staffs should be in-charged of which booths, what activities are the performers going to take part in, ensure that the schedule of the activities are carried out on time. 

Leading is important to motivate the employees to perform to the best of their abilities, direct the activities of Sentosa PLAYcation, ensure effective communication amongst the employees to prevent any misunderstandings and resolving any possible conflicts. Strong organizations normally have strong and effective leaders. 

Controlling is important to monitor the performance of  Sentosa PLAYcation, whether the event has attracted their target audiences or not. It is important for the manager to monitor the performance of the event to see if the event is doing well or not.

When a manager covers the above four duties well, I am sure Sentosa PLAYcation would be a successful one.

Besides the management process, a manager also have to be responsible of the financial management of Sentosa to make sure Sentosa PLAYcation flows smoothly. 

Financial management involves planning, monitoring and controlling. For planning, a manager have to develop a budget for the event. In this case, the manager of Sentosa PLAYcation has to set a budget for all the activities and ensure that the expenses does not exceed the budget. It is important to do expenses projections as well to estimate how much money should be set aside for future use. For monitoring, the manager has to review statements and reports to measure the efficiency of Sentosa as an organization. It is important to have efficiency in an organization to minimize resource costs. For controlling, the manager have to review policies of the organization to ensure that everything is in order for Sentosa PLAYcation to succeed. 

If a manager covers all these aspects in his/her role, I am sure that Sentosa PLAYcation would be a successful oneu

Entry 1: The Manager

INTERVIEWEE PROFILE:

NAME: JEFFREY LOH YOON KIN

AGE: 54

DESIGNATION: PRODUCTION, PLANNING & CONTROL MANAGER

COMPANY: CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD.

INTERVIEW

Five questions were posted to the interviewee based on his experience as a manager.

a) Briefly describe your job responsibilities as a manager.

As stated in the name “Manager”, I have to manage a group of packing operators of about 100 people in two shifts, the morning and night. I have to ensure that my workers do not face any problems and conflicts during work and that they are happy working for Creative Technology. In short, I have to make sure that the welfare of my workers is well taken of. Besides, I have to explain my expectations of my workers to them and to create goals for them to achieve so that my workers are encouraged to improve in their work performance. Speaking of encouragement, I have to constantly encourage my workers to do their best and to stand by them at all times. 

Other than managing my workers, I am in-charged of the shipping and packing schedules of products and materials in Creative Technology. 

For shipping schedules, I have to make sure the material planning is able to meet production schedule. It is important for the suppliers to ship the materials to the company so that we can produce the products on time for sale. Besides, I have to also do warehouse planning so that when products and materials come in, I have enough warehouse space to store them properly before the production dates. In order for the material planning to meet production schedule, I have to work together with my workers to ensure we are on task. 

In terms of packing of products, I have to ensure that my workers are constantly working and improving so that we can minimize any product defects when packing. 

b) What is your management style?

Personally, I believe my management style is a mixture of being approachable and strict to my workers. It really depends on the situation that I am facing for me to use the various management styles. 

For example, if I have to manage workers who are vulgar, quarrelsome, lazy, and with bad working attitude, I would definitely have to be strict. These employees would need a harsher treatment to knock some sense into them so that they can work better for the company. For instance, I had a female worker who always quarrels with others because of her bad temper. To deal with her case, I threatened to sack her if she continues with her nasty attitude. Fortunately, she changed for the better and is no longer as quarrelsome. 

Of course, I would also need to possess an approachable disposition because I would need to manage my workers in a way that they are comfortable working with me and to approach me so that needs and welfares are well taken care of. As a manager, it is important for me to take care of their needs and welfares so that they would feel that they are well taken care of and would then work well for the company to generate more profits. Employee’s participation is also important so that an organization can grow. We need to encourage and ensure our employees have good working attitude to bring the best to the company so that the company can flourish. I also understand the importance of interpersonal relations between workers and managers because the workers have to listen and obey instructions from the managers, as managers would always have a higher authority over them. 

Besides, as managers, we have to ensure that the relationship between us and our workers are good so that we can work well together to incur higher profits for the company. For example, to have good working relationships amongst workers and managers, the managers can listen attentively to the workers’ ideas and suggestions to improve on the work productivity in a team. We can sit down over a cup of coffee to discuss about it. When the workers ideas and suggestions are taken into consideration, they will feel valued and participated in the company and will work hard to achieve the best for the company.

c) What are some difficulties you face as a manager?

There are a few difficulties that I face as a manager. The most difficult has got to be retrenchment. A couple of years ago, when Creative Technology was performing badly, I was forced to retrench people. I had a really tough time deciding who to go because let us say if you have to pick those workers with bad performances to go, but what if all workers are of good performances? Once, I retrenched a 40-year-old man who is a handicap and walks with a limp. The man performed well in work but I was forced to retrench him because the production line he was working for had to relocate to China. 

Next, it is also difficult to manage rebellious workers. Definitely, I have workers who are really quarrelsome and vulgar. Once, a male worker was yelling at a female worker with vulgar language to the extent that she cried. It is a really challenging situation to handle, as you have to talk to both parties to understand the situation properly. Not to forget, I also have to handle workers who are lazy or skip work altogether by just producing their medical certificates. 

d) How do you overcome these difficulties?

For retrenchment, I have to pacify the workers and explain to them the reasons for retrenching them. I have to tell them that it is difficult for me to make the decision as well because I certainly do not wish to see any of my workers go, but I am forced to do so. I have to tell them that I am forced to retrench them because the company is doing badly and would like to reduce cost by retrenching employees and not because I do not like them. For example, I explained to the 40-year-old man that I retrench him was not because of his work performance but due to the relocation of his production line. After all, it is a decision made by the senior management to retrench the employees, so as a manager, I just have to perform my expected duties. I would also encourage those workers to look for another job and make sure the company compensates them accordingly.

For rebellious workers, I would always talk to them face-to-face and explain to them what they did wrong. For example, I explained to the vulgar male worker that he should not use vulgarities during work as it might easily cause tension amongst the other workers and would eventually lead to unhappiness. Unfortunately, the vulgar male worker used vulgarities again and so, I issued him a warning letter. 

For workers who are lazy, I will ask them to if they are sick and would like to go home to rest or to wash their faces to feel more awake. If they continue to behave like a lazy bag of bones, I would then issue them a warning letter as well. 

For workers who are absent all the time, I would speak to them personally to find out the reasons. If it has got to do with personal problems, I would give the workers a few days leave for them to settle their problems first and then come back to work. If it has got to do with constant absence without valid reasons, I would first give them a stern warning but if they still continue to do so, I would have to give them the sack. 

Although there are quite a few difficulties being a manager, I have to always find ways and means to overcome them so that the company can still continue to flourish. As the saying goes, "To err is human, to forgive divine". So, I would have to be fair and reasonable to my workers such that if they make a pardonable mistake, I should be gracious and forgiving to give them a second chance. 

e) In your opinion, what makes a good manager?

A good manager must be able to react to different situations and manage them tactfully. We must know when to use the different types of management skills on different types of situation and people. 

For instance, we must be strict when it comes to managing quarrelsome people by threatening to sack them so that they would know what they are doing is wrong and would change for the better. 

On the other hand, we can be approachable and understanding when workers want to make a suggestion or an idea to improve on the productivity of the company. As managers, we can listen to our workers and analyze their views and see if it is applicable to the business. We must always encourage our workers to participate in the company for the company to grow. We must also practice good working relationship amongst our workers and guide them well as their managers, so as to work together as a team. 

Besides, a good manager has to know the company business well so as to earn profit for the company. As managers, we have to support the company’s business and interest. For example, in terms of packing of Creative Technology’s products, I have to find ways and means to pack more efficiently to meet our customers’ demands. By doing so, it would help to bring in more sales to the company. 

Next, a good manager should also be able to manage their resources wisely. Resources include manpower and machine capacity. We have to make sure there are enough manpower and not too much or too little. For example, we have to utilize manpower, like this job only needs three people but you assigned ten, the rest of the seven people would be idling away and that would incur losses to the company. 

A good manager should also be able to discipline, train and reward their workers appropriately. As for machine capacity, a good manager should be able to know how many machines are needed to meet production output and whether the machines need preventive maintenances or any repairs. 

ANALYSIS

I can safely say that Mr Jeffrey Loh Yoon Kin is a manager who uses Theory X and Y and Theory Z under the Human Relations School of Management to manage his workers. Mr Loh uses Theory X when he has to deal with workers who are rebellious and tough to handle. Mr Loh mentioned that it is important to be strict with workers when they are rebellious and even threaten to sack them, so that they would change for the better. It is important to control the workers to ensure high productivity of work.

Mr Loh also practices Theory Y because he feels that it is important to take care of the workers’ needs and welfare in the organization. In this way, the workers will be happy working for the company and would continue to bring in more profits for the company.

As for Theory Z, Mr Loh did mention that it is important to be approachable and understanding when workers have suggestions or ideas for the company to improve in terms of productivity. Managers can always listen to their workers and analyze their views and see if it is applicable to the business. Besides, Mr Loh mentioned that managers should always encourage our workers to participate in the company for the company to grow. It is important to also practice good working relationship amongst the workers and guide them well as their managers, so as to work together as a team.

Personally, I feel that Mr Loh is an admirable manager because firstly, he ensures that his workers’ needs and welfares are well taken care of. Secondly, he does not give up when met with an obstacle but instead he finds ways and means to solve it. Thirdly, Mr Loh is a manager who is approachable and understanding and is open to suggestions and ideas from his workers to improve on their work productivity as a team.