Case Study On Rock Hill Restaurant

Introduction

Management is required to be agents of change to ensure the workplace is dynamic and resilient for workers to hire, develop, and retain talent. Orientation training programs are vital to assimilating new team members into the food service organization's values and beliefs. They also provide a clear understanding of what team members' jobs are and the level and standards of quality performance expected.

Orientation training is an integral part of the process, as is socialization. It is the process of corporate culture, philosophy, mission, customer focus, concepts of individual empowerment, and expected team members' attitudes.

Case Study Rock Hill Restaurant

Kim was happy she had been hired as an apprentice at the prestigious Rock Hill Inn. She felt that her successful completion of the three-year apprenticeship would lead to opportunities in the most excellent restaurants around the country. Kim had wanted to be a chef ever since she began to help her mother in the kitchen. Kim, since her childhood, one recalls her most excellent treat was preparing food for her family and friends. She was eager to learn the "right way" to prepare food.

On her first day, Kim reported to the food service manager Chef Lang at 8 am and Chef Lang immediately sent her to the Human Resources office to complete the necessary paperwork. One of the human resource administrators quickly reviewed the benefits package. She was given an employee handbook and instructed to read it carefully so she would be familiar with the various company policies and procedures of her assigned department. Kim had mentioned her English comprehension skills were not as good as she hoped since recently graduating from her college program as an international student. After signing a form acknowledging that she had received a copy of the handbook, Kim was told to report to Chef Lang. It was now 9:30 am.
Chef Lang explained to Kim that as a new employee, she would be rotated through various areas of the kitchen department and would receive training from virtually all the cooks and bakers in the department. He gave her a training manual although not complete it did contain a training journal, without any written instructions on how to complete it. Chef Lang instructed Kim to read the manual and ask her supervisor to show her how to keep a record of her training in the journal. He said that he reviewed each new employee's journal weekly. Chef Lang explained that Kim's first assignment would be the banquet kitchen because it was an excellent place to learn and refine her baking skills. He said she could expect to be in the banquet kitchen for six to eight weeks. He also told Kim that generally, on Mondays, he gathered all the new employees together to discuss how their orientation training was progressing and any concerns they might have.

Chef Lang was busy and told Kim to find her way to the banquet kitchen by asking the other team members how to find the elevator and go upstairs to the banquet kitchen. Kim at first lost her way but eventually found the banquet kitchen after asking other employees. She introduced herself to the banquet chef, Seoyoung. It was 10:15 am. Seoyoung told Kim that she was swamped and would meet with her later. Kim was introduced to two other new employees recently hired Jim and Gale, who were prepping desserts for that evening's banquet. Seoyoung told them to give Kim some work and told her she would speak to her when things slowed down. Kim noticed that Jim and Gale gave each other a "Yeah right!" look as Seoyoung hurried away.

Gale told Kim that she could start by rolling out some puff pastry sheets using the sheeter. She showed Kim where the mechanical sheeter was and where to work. Walking away, she told Kim, Welcome to the grunt squad." Later, when Kim was about half-finished the puff pastry, Jim said to her that the puff pastry needed to be rolled thinner rather than thick as Kim had completed and that she had to reroll the sheets again later in the day.

Jim told Kim to put the puff pastry on sheets and label it and place it in the walk-in cooler because it would be used later in the day. It was now 11:30 am. He also told her that before she started rolling more dough again, they would get some lunch in the employee dining room. During lunch, Gale and Jim told Kim about being an employee or, as they called it, a "grunt" at the Rock Hill Restaurant. She asked how long they had been at the company, and they each said, "four months." She wondered why they were still in the banquet kitchen since Chef Lang had told her she would be there only 4 to 8 weeks. Jim and Gale said that the manual's training schedule was rarely followed, and Chef Lang had never reviewed their training journals. Neither Gale nor Jim knew how to complete the manuals as no one ever showed them how to complete one. Kim asked whether the schedule and journals were discussed in the Monday meetings. They both said there had not been a Monday meeting in three months. Jim and Gale made it clear to Kim that they were both looking to leave the restaurant as soon as they could get another position because they did not feel they were learning anything. They said that all they ever did was make the dough and portion pastries prepared by other team members. They often were left to sweep and clean up after the other team members because others had seniority in the team.

After lunch, Kim started to reroll the puff pastry sheets. It was 12:15 pm. Kim finished rolling the pastry and then cleaned the area where she had been working. Jim then told her to sweep out the storerooms and walk-in cooler associated with the pastry banquet area. At 5:30 pm, Seoyoung came by and told Kim she could leave for the day and that she would meet with her at 7:30 am tomorrow. She would give her a work schedule and discuss her duties with her. She asked her what she thought of being part of the team at the Rock Hill Restaurant, and she said, "it's okay, I guess. Seoyoung told Kim that she had better get a more enthusiastic and positive attitude, or she would not last long at the restaurant.

Based on what you have learned about management and how managers need to be agents of change to attract, lead and retain employees answer the following questions:

Please answer only three of the following questions:

1. What is the overall reason for the challenges occurring at the Rock Hill Restaurant that has caused Kim to feel the way she does? Please provide three valid points with examples from the case study. One point is awarded for each correct point with an example.
2. What didn't the foodservice manager Chef Lang of the Rock Hill Restaurant do as a leader for his team? What could Chef Lang do to assist the Banquet Manager Seoyoung and the other employees to support employee orientation and first-day experience? Please provide three valid points that address the question with examples. Each point is worth the done mark.
3. What specific steps could have been taken to avoid the current situation occurring in the orientation process by Chef Lang, banquet manager Seoyoung, and the human resource manager? Please provide three steps that Chef Lang could do to improve the work environment. Each point is worth one mark.
4. What precisely can be done to improve the orientation training process? Generate an action plan with steps to create a better working environment for staff and management at the Rock Hill Restaurant as it relates to the orientation process. Please provide 3 points that address the question. Each point is worth one mark
5. What are the reasons or causes for demotivation by the staff and management, resulting in a poor working environment now occurring at Rock Hill Restaurant? Please provide the specific causes of the demotivation of the team and management, the work environment, and harmful elements. Please provide three valid points with examples from the case study which address the question. Each point is worth one mark.