Your Career Questions Answered by Jolito Ortizo Padilla -Letters sent by the Quality Manager of Toshiba and Ads and Promo Coordinator of Almarai -KSA

A letter sent by the Quality Manager of Toshiba- China

I'm a Quality Manager and one of my team members has a bad attitude. What can I do?

An employee's bad attitude fall into several categories. This can include an employee who:
- Stirs up discontent for his or her own enjoyment.
- Constantly spots flaws in new initiatives rather than focusing on what has gone well
- Is resistant to change
- Is lazy and refuses to be motivated

This problem can be hard to solve because an employee may well be performing his or her duties adequately. There may be no tangible bad effects resulting from his or her outlook, but the negative feelings can spread throughout a team extremely quickly. This problem cannot be ignored , especially if ignoring it would be the easy option.

The first thing to note is that as a manager you should never criticise an employee's personality. Calling someone lazy or criticising their mood fails to provide necessary information needed to change the behavior of that person, especially if it emerges that the problem stems from something in the wider business environment.

You will need to take time to observe the person, making notes of the instances where his or her behavior has caused a problem. Having specifics will mean that when you confront employee, it will be hard for him or her to disagree with your comments. It would be beneficial to gain help from your organization or management for backup. If an employee gets defensive when you call a meeting, having another manager who can testify to observing similar occurences will help your case.

Once you've gathered your evidence , call a one- to- one meeting with the employee. Start by saying something positive rather than launching straight into how his or her behavior is bringing down the rest of the team.When you do reach the subject , start by asking how the employee feels and go from there. It may be that he or she will bring up the problem and give a cause -for example , feeling unsupported or having too much things to do.

Next, bring up the problem giving examples and be specific about the impact of the employee's behavior. How is this damaging the organizational vision? How is it making the rest of the team feel? Gently remind the employee that this could affect future rewards and bonuses.

Finally, don't make the negative employee more negative by leaving the meeting on a bad note. This could do more damage and add fuel to the fire. Say something positive an make sure you both leave the meeting clear about future plans.

A Letter Sender from Almarai-KSA)

My company (Al marai -KSA ) is not using social media advertisement. Should we be and what are the possibilities?

Social media refers to web-based channels of communication such as blogs, Twitter and online networking groups.These differs from traditional broadcast media like print and television in that they are easily accessible by anyone online and are typically interactive.

This means that companies can have conversations directly and publicly with customers. Many companies are taking social media seriously. IBM, for example, actively encourages its employees to blog and maintains a directory of their output on its website. Kodak, which has senior positions of chief blogger and chief listening officer, used Twitter to engage the public and help name its new PlaySport video camera.

Your company should look very seriously at using social media at some appropriate level if not simply because your competition may already be talking to your customers.

Some of the major risks of using social media arise from interacting openly with customers. Nestle, for example , was embarrassed recently when some of its Facebook followers took well-publicized offense at what they saw as an inept reaction to their complaints about the company's international operations.

Misuse of social media by employees is also at risk. But they should be given a certain amount of freedom targets and training can ensure they use it responsibly. When it comes to talking with your customers , your staff are your greatest asset and if conversation is more likely to place online , then that's precisely where you should be.

The learning? Be sure to back up venture into social media with policies and processes that serves your customers' interest as well as those of your company.