BHM207 Organizational Behavior and Hospitality Management

The fundamental issues present in the case study

According to the case scenario, Sally faced many challenges which had worked at a fast food restaurant called Burger Barn. In addition, the challenges faced by Sally in a new working environment can be called as fundamental issues of the case scenario. One of the main issues is the behaviour of the new store manager and new co-workers of the fast food restaurant. Besides that, Sally was one of the experienced and qualified of the restaurant, but she had lost her job satisfaction after the recruitment of new store manager (Burgin, 2010). Besides that, Sally continuously approached the store manager about her availability, but the newly appointed store manager refused her proposal and built roster according to personal choice. In other words, the previous job shift of Sally was given to a new male sift supervisor and Sally need to work with many unfamiliar faces which were completely different to what she was used to with. Moreover, Sally also noticed that the new employees were not trained properly and the level of the customer satisfaction is reduced due to poor quality service. Along with that, Sally additionally recognised some unsafe task equipment and management neglect to repair the servicing equipment (Dickie, & Soldan, 2008). In other words, lack of interest of the management of Burger Bern is one of the significant issue of the case scenario. Apart from that, Sally also informed the store manager about uncertainty and risk factors, but he replied that she had no reason to worry rather she should focus on the job. In addition, after third shift and by fourth shift, Sally was feeling disconnected and demotivated to her most lovable job. Besides another significant and fundamental issue of this case scenario is the sincerity of the new store manager towards working culture. On the other hand, another fundamental issue is that Burger Bren lost team workforce and customer service quality due to leadership style and employee motivation. Moreover, Sally decided to quit the job, and she was searching for a new

What are key theories demonstrated?

There are various types of leadership styles model, and employee motivation theories are explained and demonstrated in the case scenario. Along with that, the previous store manager had a healthy relationship with her followers, but after getting the promotion, she was shifted to the high position of the Burger Bern restaurant (Guffey, & Loewy, 2010). According to democratic leadership styles, the old store manager focused on teamwork and provided an opportunity to her employees to propose and suggest reviews for the growth and improvement of the organization. Besides that, according to Maslow’s hierarchy need theory, the old store manager focus on the basic needs of the employees for the development of employee’s performance. In addition, the old store manager was creating motivation by four segments such as job simplification, job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. With the help of these factors, the employees of Burger Bern was become more responsible, recognised and developed (Scott, & Byrd, 2012).     

On the other hand, after the implementing change in the work environment, the level of productivity was reduced. Along with that, the newly appointed followed laissez-faire leadership style which is an opposite version of the automatic leadership. Besides that, the leaders who follow this types of leadership style are mainly depended on other’s work execution. Moreover, this types of leadership style are only appropriate where the employees are well trained, and team work is present (Sears, 2003). On the other hand, according to the case scenario, the newly appointed store manager asked Sally to adjust with a new roster which was not possible to continue by Sally due to lack viability. Aside from that, the staffs are also not properly trained of that particular shift which was supersizing by Sally. In other sense, the newly appointed store manager demotivated person and did not any response on Sally’s report which was about organizational safety as well as for employee safety also. In addition, McGregor (1960) stated that the mangers should take watch the employee’s activity and give them clear instructions if he/she noticed anything goes wrong but the new manager did not follow this leadership style(Glanz, 2002).      

What are the specific communication issues? Explain concerning relevant theories

Communication is one of the significant issues which can reduce the organizational performance. Besides that, Maslow’s Hierarchy needs theory critically justified the role of communication to motivate the employees in theory. Apart from that, the employees of Burger Bern are working under different rosters and shifts which include individual working culture(Petri, & Govern, 2013). Besides that, the communication system which Sally used to with was suddenly changed due to store manager replacement. Along with that, the newly appointed store manager had low communication skills to analyse the requirements of the employees like Sally. In addition, Sally firstly approached to the new store manager for changing shift of her because she had no availability on those shifts of the roster made by a new store manager. In addition, after listing sally’s proposal, the store manager rudely rejected the proposal and advised her to focus on current shifts. Besides that, the situation was getting worse when Sally reported about unsafe work equipment and training needs of the employees. Along with that, Sally was feeling discoursed and demotivated by a poor cooperation of new co-staffs of the restaurant. Also, she also noticed that there is no team work and group conversation for job satisfaction. After listing, Sally did not get any positive reaction from the store manager, and she decided to quit the job(Petri, & Govern, 2013).   

According to Maslow’s hierarchy need theory, the newly appointed store manager should determine and fulfil the physiological needs of the employees. In addition, the pyramid of the Maslow’s Hierarchy needs theory model includes five levels such as physiological needs, safety and security, love and belongings, self-esteem and self-actualization. Moreover, two levels from a bottom of Hierarchy need pyramid are not performed by the new store manager of Burger Bern (Gawel, 2003).    

How might this situation have been different? 

The situation of the Burger Bern could be different by taking some essential steps. First of all, the management of the restaurant should provide effective training programs to the employees in order to improve the productivity of the employees. Besides that, Sally also reported that the serving equipment is not safe which can occur accident in the workplace (Gawel, 2003). Along with that, the management of Burger Bern should provide a proper working environment to their employees who are part of employee motivation. Besides that, Maslow’s hierarchy need model justified that, the management and store manager requested to meet the physiological needs of their employee such as breathing, shelter, clothing, water and food.

In order to enhance change, the management of Burger Bern should replace the store manager and appoint a well dedicated and cooperative store to manage who can fulfil employee’s job satisfaction. Besides that, according to the case scenario, Sally did not get any help from her new co-workers, and she also noticed that other co-staffs had no proper training. As a result, the management needs to provide effective training sessions to the employees for improved customer service. By applying above mentioned suggestions, the current situation of the restaurant can be changed and developed(Nehemia Naong, 2012).           

Make recommendations to ensure the organisation learns from this situation

According to the case scenario, the management and the store manager of Burger Bern both are responsible for poor organizational culture. Along with that, the management of the hospitality industry should carefully review the suggestion of Sally in order to improve the working environment of the restaurant(Nehemia Naong, 2012). On the other hand, Sally clearly started the points which should be obtained by Burger Bern for improving employee’s productivity. Along with that, the management of Burger Bern should appoint a skilled and cooperative manager as an old store manager who will carefully observe the activities of the employees. Apart from that, the management of Burger Bern should provide effective training programs to the employees in order to improve the productivity of the employees. In addition, with the help of training programs, the interpersonal skills and abilities of the employees can be developed. Besides that, Sally also reported that the serving equipment is not safe which can occur accident in the workplace. In other words, the management should provide a healthy working environment to their employees to ensure the health and safety issue(Sommerville, 2007). Along with that, the management of Burger Bern should provide a proper working environment to their employees who are part of employee motivation which includes no risk assessments. Besides that, the store manager should actively participate in the job and clear the doubts of the employees to meet customer satisfaction. Moreover, with the help of effective customer satisfaction, the profit level of the restaurant would be improved which is only possible through employee motivation. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy Need theory, the store manager of Burger Bern should motivate the employees by recognising and fulfilling the needs of the employees. In other words, job satisfaction is also influenced by the employee motivation. 

References

Burgin, M. (2010). Theory of information (1st ed.). Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific Pub Co Inc.

Dickie, C., & Soldan, Z. (2008). Diversity management (1st ed.). Prahran, Vic.: Tilde University Press.

Gawel, J. (2003). Herzberg's theory of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs (1st ed.). [Washington, DC]: [ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation].

Glanz, J. (2002). Finding your leadership style (1st ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2010). Essentials of business communication (1st ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Nehemia Naong, M. (2012). The impact of management indecisiveness on employee motivation and performance. African Journal Of Business Management, 6(9). https://dx.doi.org/10.5897/ajbm11.2539

Petri, H., & Govern, J. (2013). Motivation (1st ed.). S.l: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Scott, C., & Byrd, M. (2012). Handbook of research on workforce diversity in a global society (1st ed.). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Sears, D. (2003). Successful talent strategies (1st ed.). New York: AMACOM.

Sommerville, K. (2007). Hospitality employee management and supervision (1st ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley.