INTERNAL Holmesglen: SH_BHM 8-Feb-2017 J:\Higher Education\BACHELOR OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT\BHM\Teaching materials\Stage 4\BHM207 Organisational Behaviour\BHM207 Assessments\Sem 1 2017\Case Studies\BHM207_case study 4.docx
BHM207: Organisational Behaviour
CASE STUDY 4: Alison’s challenge
Alison was excited to take up a new job as Manager of a long-established inner city restaurant. It had an excellent reputation. It was well known as a high-quality fine dining restaurant that had a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Alison had known the restaurant since she was young, she had never dined there herself but she read all of the online reviews before she went for her interview and she felt that she had a really good idea of what it was like.
Alison’s first week was full of surprises. Firstly, she was introduced to all of the staff during a staff dinner. The restaurant was closed between lunch and dinner service. Each day the floor staff would eat a meal with the kitchen staff. There was a lot of discussion about the food and how it had been prepared. Alison received a very warm welcome from the staff. She felt immediately at ease and comfortable with the team, she could see that they enjoyed each other’s company. There was a lot of laughter and joking during dinner. That atmosphere continued into the service period. As soon as Marcus the head waiter walked into the kitchen, all of the kitchen staff started whistling a tune that Marcus was well known for. It was one of many long-running jokes that staff shared.
Alison also discovered that the restaurant was not as profitable as it had once been. The chefs tried to get the owners to invest in more up-to-date equipment. They argued it would cost some money to buy, but it would be cheaper to run. The ordering system was also outdated and food was often being thrown out because too much had been ordered, or they ran out and had to pay more to purchase supplies at local shops. The owners did not feel comfortable with technology so they did not want to work with online booking agents or pay money to update the website regularly.
Alison accepted these challenges and assured the owners she would find ways to save money. It was obvious to Alison that the first thing she needed to do was stop the staff dinner. It was unnecessary to spend money feeding staff. They could eat at home before getting to work. By Alison’s second week, she had thrown herself into the job and made some key changes. Uniforms were no longer cleaned with the restaurant linen, staff were responsible for their own uniforms. Very importantly, she looked at staff employment arrangements and made the difficult decision to let some permanent staff go and hire more casual staff. She asked Marcus to roster them so they didn’t require any breaks. It was important not to pay for staff while they were just sitting around.
Two months after Alison started, Marcus let her know that he was leaving. He was sad to go because he had been there for close to 10 years. He explained that he had always been happy to work long hours and weekends because the restaurant felt like a second home to him, but it didn’t feel like that anymore. Within six months, almost all of the original staff had either left or were working fewer shifts. Alison set up an arrangement with a casual staff hire company because staff often rang in sick at the last minute. That didn’t matter because it was cheaper to operate through the hire company. Alison was proud of the fact that she had succeeded in saving the owners money.
(583 words)