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Esther Goldstein

English 101-3C1

October 2, 2019

Essay #1

“Quality and Quantity in ‘The One Minute Manager’”

“The One Minute Manager,” by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, is about proper

ways of training and managing employees. The authors have three basic messages for managers

to obtain the best results from employees. The best results are defined early in the book as being

excellence in quantity and excellence in quality.

The first message for managers is to set goals. This requires the manager to spend time

with his workers, who may themselves be lower level managers, to establish goals. Once the

worker understands the goals and knows what the goals are and how to achieve them, he writes

down the goals on a single sheet of paper that is looked at daily to ensure that the goals are being

met. In addition, when goals are not being met, the worker (or lower level manager) is to figure

out what a solution would be, focusing on the behaviors of the workers that are not in accordance

with the goal. After that the manager will focus on behaving in a way that meets the goals that

have been set, using multiple ideas to achieve the goals. When goals are not being met, it is time

to re-analyze the behavior, so that the goals are being met again.

The second message for managers is to praise workers for work done well. This involves,

"Catching workers doing something right." (Blanchard & Spencer 15) When a worker does

something well, the manager will go over to the worker as soon as he is aware of the good

behavior, and look the worker in the eye and tell him exactly what he did right, and how good

that makes the manager feel. Encourage the worker to continue to do more of the same.
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The third message for managers is to reprimand appropriately when the worker makes a

significant mistake. The manager needs to go to the worker as soon as he is aware of the error,

confirm it with the worker, look the worker in the eye and tell the worker exactly what he did

wrong. This also makes the worker aware that the manager is aware of the worker's product and

that sloppiness will not be accepted. Then the manager will tell the worker how the error makes

the manager feel, whether he is angry, annoyed, frustrated, or some other emotion. Then the

manager gives the worker time for the reprimand to sink in, and then he tells the worker how

much better he knows the worker can be, and to make sure not to make the same mistake again.

The final step is to make sure that once the reprimand is over, it's over and not to keep bringing

the matter up in the future.

An important addendum for managers to be aware of is to be consistent. This means that

even if other aspects of work are not going well, the manager must still praise or chastise the

worker, as appropriate. And by being consistent, and praising or chastising when appropriate, the

worker knows that the manager is aware of his work and his achievements. Then the manager

can comment less frequently, as the worker learns to assess his own work accurately, and the

manager then needs to spend time with the worker when there is a new project or responsibility,

at which time the cycle will begin again.

Much of this information is consistent with Chapters 9 and 10 of the textbook,

“Foundations of Business,” by William M. Pride, Robert J. Hughes and Jack R. Kapoor. In

Chapter 9, section 8, the authors talk about performance appraisal. Although “The One Minute

Manager” makes reference to performance appraisals, it is actually in the sense of making fun of

them, because these appraisals only come once or twice a year, whereas the actual performance

issues occur much more frequently than that. However, formal performance appraisals are still
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important, because they provide a way for organizations to provide pay raises and promotions.

This is especially important in larger organizations, where allegations of favoritism or

preferential treatment can lead to legal issues for the organization.

In Chapter 10, the authors of “Foundations of Business” talk about motivation. In many

ways most of “The One Minute Manager” is about motivation. The authors are unwittingly

utilizing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to motivate employees. On the assumption that their

physiological and safety needs are being met (by having a salary sufficient to provide for food

and shelter), the next set of needs are social needs. By providing one-minute praises and one-

minute reprimands, delivered in person by someone who is trying to show how much they care

for the worker, they are providing a sense of belonging. And by showing the worker how to

ensure that the work is done correctly and how to self-motivate themselves with one-minute

praises the worker gives themselves, they are meeting Maslow's esteem needs.

Another way that “The One Minute Manager” follows the same theory as the authors of

“Foundations of Business” is in Herzberg's Motivation - Hygiene Theory. Although it begins in

hygiene mode, as the worker becomes more proficient, less supervision is used, which is a

hygiene factor, and more motivation factors are entered into the managing of workers, as

achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth become the motivating factors

for the worker.

“The One Minute Manager” is an interesting and relatively easy method to try to

motivate employees. Frequently the hardest part will be training yourself into these good habits,

like praising good work and giving reprimands quickly, even though the manager may not want

to seem like "the bad guy" giving the reprimand. Setting goals and writing them down in a way

that will allow the manager to review they multiple times a day is a way to help the manager stay
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focused, and thereby keep the workers focused. But many people will find it hard to motivate

themselves to do it consistently. However, if done regularly it is beneficial to both the manager

and the organization, helping the work to run smoothly and preparing both the workers and the

managers for the next step within the organization and their careers.

Works Cited

Blanchard, Kenneth H., and Spencer Johnson. The One Minute Manager. New York, N.Y.

HarperCollins, 1994. P. 15

Pride, et. al. Foundations of Business. Boston, Massachusetts. Cengage Learning, 2017.