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The purpose of this research is to show new members of a particular workplace the things

needed in order to become effective in that workplace. The workplace here is Western Playland
and a specific department within. This department being the concession department, where new
members have to be able to acquire knowledge and pick up on things quite fast. New members or
in this case new employees will need to know about the community values Western Playland has
as well as the values that the concessions department has. They also have to know the roles and
what is needed to be able to have authority within this department. Specialized language in
concessions is not common however some employees need to be familiar with some words that
need some form of action, and they need to familiarize themselves with the tools and technology
used. Lastly new employees need to know the different genres used in Western Playland as well
as the ones used in concessions, genres that will contribute to gaining membership in this
workplace.
Community Goals and/or Values
The goals and values found in the concessions department generate from the
overall values of Western Playland. The Western Playland employee hand book states,
committed to providing service that goes beyond customer expectations by stressing quality
throughout our organization (Employee Hand book, p. 3). This handbook also states that the
success of Western Playland is reflected through the people that provide the service in this case,
the employees. Employees are given the handbook that list the things that are required from
them. For example, employees should develop courteous attitude while attending customers.
Each letter from courtesy representing something. C for Character, O for Optimism, U for
Understanding, R for Respect, T for Teamwork, E for Enthusiasm, S for Safety and Y for You are
Western Playland. They value courteous employees and promote them to have them in order to
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achieve great customer service. The values or goals of the concessions department falls under the
same thing. While interviewing Melissa Mendoza, the head supervisor of this department, she
was asked about the goals of this department. She responded, The goals for this department is
for everyone to work together as a team and give efficient service (Mendoza, Interview, April 9,
2016). In this department teamwork is a must, because without it the concession would not run
smoothly and customer service would be bad. As seen the goals of teamwork and great customer
service are brought up by the values of Western Playland.
Roles
When it comes to new employees, old employees, and supervisors the roles they each
play can be alike but at the same time very different. New employees and old employees both
have to attend customers and get their orders ready for them while maintaining great customer
service. From the observation conducted on April 2, 2016, I was able to see just how employees
work together on a busy day in order to get the lines going and have happy customers. One
employee is taking the customers orders and charging them, this employee is usually the new
employee, while the other employee, in this case the old employee is preparing what the
customer ordered. In order for this to work the new employee at cash register has to
communicate with the old employee and let them know the things that will be needed. From this
observation, I also saw how sometimes miscommunication happens. When the new employee at
the cash register does not communicate with the old employee, orders are delayed and customers
start to get impatient. Communication between employees is a must within this department.
Other things that employees are required to do is to clean right and fast at the end of the day. The
supervisor assign the employees the tasks that they must do, they do so by writing it on white
board, since the supervisor has other things to do at the end of the day.
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While supervisors have other tasks to do at the end of the day, during the day supervisors
in charge help employees with the line, they do so by charging the customer or by getting their
orders ready. Apart from this, the supervisor in charge has to make sure that everything is
running smoothly and that customer complaints are handled correctly. They also have to make
sure that they are stocked up so they wont run out of things, such as hot nacho cheese, cups,
popcorn, and hot dogs. From the observation conducted on April 2, 2016, I saw just how the
supervisor puts cheese in the warmer in order for it to be ready in case they run out. At the end of
the day the supervisor is required to clear a void or cashback that the employee might have
gotten throughout the day. They also have to take inventory of almost every supply that was left
over. This inventory is taken at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day and it is given
to management. Things such as doing inventory and clearing voids and cashbacks are things that
supervisors do that the employees do not.
Authority
One cannot simply come into a workplace and expect to have authority. Just like in many
places, Western Playland does not simply give someone authority, they have to earn it. New
employees in concessions start off just like every other employee and then build up on it and
become an effective worker. In order to see just what is needed for an employee to be effective in
this department, I went ahead and asked the most qualified person that handles employees on a
regular basis- the head supervisor of concessions, Melissa Mendoza, she was asked, from your
experience, what qualities do successful employees in this department possess. She responded by
saying, The qualities that a successful employee possesses in this department is the willingness
to learn, learn from his/her mistakes, and open to try new things (Mendoza, Interview, April 9,
2016). New employees should view this a as way of becoming part of this department, the head
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supervisor wants employees that show initiative and are willing to step forward without being
told to do so. In order to see if employees actually did these things, I conducted an observation
on April 9, 2016 from what I saw I could tell that old employees were more willing than the new
employees and I also saw how, when the supervisors are not there, old employees were put in
charge of the stand. These employees have shown initiative and are able to have authority over
the other employees.
A supervisor is and employee that showed initiative and was able to get a promotion
within the department. The willingness to learn, that successful employees possess are already
incorporated in the supervisor, the question here is, what is need to become a supervisor? To
answer this question, Melissa Mendoza was interview and her response was, To become a
supervisor in this department it is required to show leadership and confidence in what you are
doing, as well as being knowledgeable in what the department is based on (Mendoza, Interview,
April 9, 2016). While the employee started working there without experience, the supervisors
had to have experience, but apart from having those characteristics, what else is needed? In the
interview with Melissa Mendoza, she was asked, what is needed to become a successful
supervisor in this department. She responded, To become a successful supervisor what is
required is to be able to multitask and keep calm in a chaotic environment while being capable of
managing a group of employees (Mendoza, Interview, April 9, 2016). The thing that
differentiates the employees from supervisors is that supervisors have to do so many things in
order to show that they know what they are doing. They have to show all those characteristics in
order to become a supervisor and keep the supervisor position. They earned their authority when
they showed those characteristics.
Specialized Language
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Employees working at Western Playland should not really worry about complicated
language thrown at them. This workplace uses plain language that anyone can understand,
however, some words that employees should look out for are voids and cashbacks. A void could
happen when the wrong order is sent through and the customer catches the mistake when they
check their receipt. The employee should then fill out a blue slip that will inform the supervisor
that they have to take the order out of the system or else the employee would be short in money.
The same things goes for cashbacks, cashbacks are given when the customer asks for money
back, the employee should do the same thing as the void and fill out a blue slip. Other language
that old employees, more than new employees should be familiar with, is the codes used in the
radio. The reason that old employees should be familiar with is because when they are put in
charge of the stand other supervisors or even management might try to contact them. Codes such
as what is your 20, 10-4 10-9, and signal 21 should be known. What is your 20 stands
for, location, this means that someone might ask where the other is located and if they do not
know what it means communication might not be effective. 10-4 stands for, ok or got it,
10-9 stands for can you repeat that, and signal 21 for throw up. Other than those words
nothing else is hard to comprehend in this department.
Tools and/or Technologies
The most common tool and technology used in this department is the cash register, this
allows the employees to give the customer the amount due and the change back, as well as giving
them their receipt that shows how much they spent and how much money they were supposed to
get back. From the observation conducted on April 2, 2016, I saw how employees were familiar
with this tool, however, not all employees were familiar with it. Some employees would still
have trouble finding the button for a specific product, this caused them to take more time finding
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it and made the lines go slower and not all receipt were given to the customer after their
purchase. This creates a problem because if customers have a complaint about something, they
no longer have proof of purchase. Other technologies used in this departments are the cell
phones, while cell phones are not used in operational times, cell phones are used to communicate
with the head supervisor. From the same observation conducted on April 2, 2016, I saw just how
much cell phones help the supervisor communicate with her employees. She sends informal
messages to the employees stating the time that they should be at work as well as the
consequences of not being there on time. Employees are asked to respond to this text with a
simple emoji or ok, this is just for reassurance that they received the message. Employees can
also use their cell phones to text the supervisor or possible tardiness due to traffic or other
circumstances.
Genres
Genres common in this department include, inventory sheets, the white board,
evaluations, write ups, termination papers, two weeks-notice, handbook, and receipts. The
inventory sheets are given to supervisors in order to take note of the supplies in hand at the
beginning and end of the day. These sheets are given to management in order to see if sales
match the difference between supplies in hand and the beginning and end. The white board is
also something used by supervisors, with the white board, supervisors are able to communicate
with the employees. They write down the tasks that each one has to do and at what time to
perform them. Evaluations are giving by the head supervisor of this department, they rank from 1
to 5 in different categories such as personal appearance and leadership skill. Employees are
required to pass with a 60 or higher in order to be considered for employment for the following
season, if the score is lower than a 60 employees may be terminated. Terminations papers are
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also a genre used in this community. These paper state the reason for termination and require the
signature of employee and supervisor that is filing termination. Another thing that employees
may receive before termination can be write ups. These write ups are given to employees by the
supervisor, they state the reason for the write up, and these could be because of tardiness, short
or over on cash register, and misconduct in the workplace. Other genres include two weeks
notice, these are letter stating the purpose for quitting, and they can either be formal or informal,
as long as they state the reason for leaving. The employee handbook is also another genre used in
this workplace, this is the guide as to what is expected from employees and what they should not
be doing. Employees are required to read it and take a quiz to show that they read and
understood everything in the handbook. The final form of genre used is the receipts. Receipts are
printed out and given to the customer in order for them to have proof of purchase just in case
they have a complaint later on.

All these categories are important when trying to understand this workplace and department.
Knowing the values about how they want employees to be courteous can help a new employee
practice being courteous to others and also can practice teamwork since it is a must in
concessions. The roles can help identify the things that they will be expected to do, such as
helping customers and communicating with other employees in order to have satisfied
customers. They can also see the qualities that successful employees possess, thus helping them
improve in those and they can also start working on the characteristics needed to be a supervisor,
just in case they plan on becoming one later on. Other things that new member should familiarize
themselves with are codes used for the radio and the technology used in the department as well
as what each and every single genre used in Western Playland. After reading this paper, new
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employees should be able to become effective workers, but not just by reading it, but by
practicing and learning.

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