Case Studies

HRM 5 Prof. Czarina P. Lozano Presented by: Urbaa , Jojo P. BHR603

Short Staffed in the Kitchen

Sally is the general manager of one of the best restaurants in town, known as the Pub. As usual, at 6:00 P.M. on a Friday night, there is a 45-minute wait. The kitchen is overloaded and they are running behind in check times, the time that elapses between the kitchen getting the order and the guest receiving his or her meal. This is critical, especially if a complaint is received because a guest has waited too long for a meal to be served. Sally is waiting for her two head line cooks to come in for the closing shift. It is now 6:15 P.M. and she receives phone calls from both of them. Unfortunately, they are both sick with the flu and are not able to come to work. As she gets off the phone, the hostess tells Sally that a party of fifty is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 P.M. Sally is concerned, knowing that they are currently running a six-person line with only four cooks. The productivity is very high, but they are running extremely long check times. How can Sally handle the situation?

Discussion Questions
1. How would you handle the short-staffing issue? 2. What measures would you take to get the appropriate cooks in to work as soon as possible? 3. What would you do to ensure a smooth, successful transition for the party of fifty? 4. How would you manipulate your floor plan to provide great service for the party of fifty? 5. How would you immediately make an impact on the long check times? 6. What should you do to ensure that all the guests in the restaurant are happy?

1. I will handle the situation by monitoring the duties of the others ensure everyone is doing their job properly. 2. The line cook is made up of kitchen stations dedicated to different preparation techniques, like the grill, saut, fryer, and so on. 3. Their day will be filled with a variety of items ranging from planning the menu at one point to overseeing employees at another point in time. 4. A good kitchen team can make your break your business, as they say, in short order.

Hiring Bar Personnel

As bar manager of a popular local night club, it is your responsibility to interview and hire all bar personnel. One of your friends asks you for a job as a bartender. Since he has experience, you decide to help him out and give him a regular shift. During the next few weeks, you notice that the overall sales for his shifts are down slightly from previous weeks with other bartenders. You suspect he may be stealing from you.

Discussion Questions
1.What are your alternatives for determining whether your friend is, in fact stealing? 2.If you determine that he has been stealing, how do you handle it?

1. Essentially, employee relations is concerned with preventing, and resolving problems involving individuals which arise out of or affect work situations. 2. We will give him/her a chance to proved to his/herself that he/she will never do it again and give him/her an advice that help to his/her job.

Java Coffee House

Michele Wong is a manager of the Java Coffee House at a busy location on Union Street in San Francisco. Michele says that there are several challenges in operating a busy coffeehouse, such as training staff to handle unusual circumstances. For example, one guest consumed a cup of coffee and ate two-thirds of a piece of cake and then said he didn t like the cake. Another problem is suppliers who quote good prices to get her business and then, two weeks later, raise the price of some of the items. Michelle says that the young employees she has at the Java Coffee House are her greatest challenge of all. According to Michelle, there are four kinds of employees lazy; good, but not responsible; those who steal; and great ones who are not trouble.

Discussion Questions
1. What are some suggestions for training staff to handle unusual circumstances? 2. How do you ensure the suppliers are delivering the product at the price quoted? 3. What do you do with lazy employees? 4. What do you do with irresponsible employees? 5. How do you deal with employees who steal?

1. Advice is provided to supervisors on how to correct poor performance and employee misconduct. 2. If the suppliers continue to raise the price of some of the items, neglect the supplier and find another better suppliers. 3. Encourage the employee to prioritize tasks and to maintain and organized work area. 4. Sometimes an employee is just overwhelmed with what needs to be done and they end up looking lazy and irresponsible employee. 5. They need to understand that they risk losing their job if their performance does not start to meet your expectations.