Inheriting the Future
Observations on the evolving role of middle management within the Australian gaming industry; a paper co-authored by Michael Ferris and Andrew MacDonald.
By Andrew MacDonald, Senior Executive Casino Operations
and Michael Ferris
Adelaide Casino, 1995
Introduction and Terminology | Pit Boss – Caretaker or Policeman | Mental Models | “If It Isn’t Broken – Don’t Fix It” | Pioneers Versus Settlers | The Challenge of Change | Bridging the Gulf between the Theoretical and the Practical | From Personal Realm to Professional Sphere | Means of Selection for Promotion | The Formation of Particular Management Structures | The Impact of Promotion upon Candidates Themselves | The Criteria for Selection | Unified Professional Ethic | Pit Boss Job Description | Code Of Ethics (Noblesse Oblige) | The Company Mission Statement | Empowerment of Staff | Implementing Change | The Human Consequences of Change | Walking Backwards into the Future | Bibliography |
The Adelaide Casino Code of Ethics with regards to management of professional staff may be stated as follows:
Management should seek to conduct all technical and organisational duties to the utmost of their abilities and with total integrity – ensuring that stringent game security, optimal efficiency and high customer service levels are permanently maintained and protected from compromise or neglect. They should ensure that the interests and needs of the organisation are never jeopardised or knowingly misrepresented. They must strive to become acquainted with the fundamental principles which underpin their duties in order to better equip themselves for the task of monitoring or improving the gaming products on offer. Management must avail themselves of the procedural material provided so that they may represent a reliable source of information and adjudication.
Management must raise themselves above subjective considerations in their dealings with others. They must accept the responsibility of establishing a regime of mutual respect amongst all those in their custody. They must seek to generate an atmosphere of anonymous justice where everybody receives fair and equitable treatment.
As managers, we should seek to free ourselves from personal bias and prejudice as far as possible in our dealings with others. We must acknowledge that discrimination is the enemy of all, with staff morale and commitment being a shared resource upon which we all must draw. We must be flexible enough to entertain the notion of a professional amnesty or a statute of limitations on past poor performers. We must be prepared to embrace any current initiative on their part in a positive manner and thereby offer them a way back into our sphere of influence.
As management, we must base our actions and decisions upon reflective detachment, standing back from a situation and employing a dispassionate review of the circumstances and a practised clarity of thought with the aim of arriving at a positive (win-win) outcome wherever possible. We must be aware that every action or decision we make will be assessed within the spirit of objective accountability. We will address problems with a direct ruthless compassion and with a positive outcome in mind.
Management must set aside all self-serving motives and devote themselves wholeheartedly towards the physical and mental welfare and personal growth of all those placed within the scope of our stewardship.
As management, we must be aware that our own worth and achievements is directly reflected in the positive performance and development of all those placed in our care. We must be aware of the dangers of negative managerial attitudes and ideas flowing on to staff. We must maintain a positive upstream source of ideas and inspiration. As managers, we must take an active and lively interest in coaching initiatives in order to make a conscious effort to remove or reduce any identifiable de-motivating forces within the workplace, and to introduce or increase motivating forces.
Management must present a consistent leadership model which is faithful to the core principles of the organisation and beyond moral reproach. This model is designed to inspire a willing Followership amongst all those placed in our keeping. We must monitor the extent to which others seem inclined to follow this irresistible example, and must be willing to refine or modify our leadership techniques accordingly.
Managers must maintain an ongoing process of self reflection and enquiry, instituting in effect a constant self-management programme. This process of self-regulation must be assisted by a policy of a genuine, open dialogue which is free from fear of criticism or recrimination and which is between all levels of staff.
As managers, we must pursue positive policies designed to broaden and deepen the organisation’s customer base. We must be willing to assume the responsibilities of a Host, and we must place ourselves at the customer’s disposal and seek to make each patron feel special. We must avoid any situation in which a customer might feel as though they were incidental to our operations, and we must seek to remove any such misconceptions amongst those under our influence. As such, we must seek to encourage a corresponding degree of understanding and tolerance towards the customer. We must make the customer’s experience a positive event.
We have the right to expect these same principles will be applied to our own case by those into whose charge we have been placed. Finally, we must manifest these goals of the greater good and our obligation to others through every aspect of our personal conduct.
