FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

PHASE 1 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND PROJECT PLAN

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Major in Instructional Systems

Meizhen Chen, Kathryn Coombs, Gwynn Grandy, Roderick Prescod, Hyoung Seok Shin EME 6691 Performance System Analysis Dr. James Klein, Professor Spring 2013 March 1, 2013

Problem Identification and Program Plan

CONTENTS
Organization .................................................................................................................................... 1 Initial Problem Statement ............................................................................................................... 2 Anticipated Goal ............................................................................................................................. 3 Key Players ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Director of the Hospitality Institute ............................................................................................. 3 Operations Manager .................................................................................................................... 3 Food and Beverage Manager ....................................................................................................... 3 Instructors .................................................................................................................................... 3 General Workers .......................................................................................................................... 3 Initial Project Plan........................................................................................................................... 4 Team Description ............................................................................................................................ 5 Team Leader: Gwynn Grandy ..................................................................................................... 5 Client Liaison: Rodrick Prescod ................................................................................................. 5 Data Collection and Analysis: Meizhen Chen and Hyoung Seok .............................................. 5 Technical Writer: Kathryn Coombs ........................................................................................... 5 References ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Problem Identification and Program Plan

ORGANIZATION
The Barbados Community College (BCC) is the premier public university on the island of Barbados granting certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and bachelor degrees in a wide range of program areas to students of Barbados and other Caribbean islands (http://www.bcc.edu.bb/About/). The Hospitality Institute was established in 1980 after the Barbados Hotel School was transferred to BCC. The Hospitality Institute is focused on the delivery of educational programs and training in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and is seen as a leader in the field in Barbados and the Caribbean region. Figure 1 displays the divisions of the Hospitality Institute at Barbados Community College. Within the Hospitality Institute, the Academic Tutor (or division) is responsible for the instruction of the students. The Operations Tutor (or division) is responsible for the physical daily operations of the Institutes facilities.

Principal Barbados Community College

Director Hospitality Institute

Tutor 1 Academic

Tutor 1 Operations

Tutor 11 Food & Beverage

Tutor 11 Rooms Division

Chef Instructors

Restaurant Instructors

General Workers

Stewards

General Workers

Figure 1 Hospitality Institute Organization Chart

Problem Identification and Program Plan

Among the several programs offered, the Culinary Arts (associate degree) program is seen as the main program where industry partners recognize excellence. Training for students in the Culinary Arts program consists of classroom and lab instruction. Students then gain real world experience in one the two restaurants at the Institutes PomMarine Hotel. The Chef Instructors assisted by the General Workers and Stewards conduct training for up to twenty students each in the restaurant kitchens. The Chef Instructor performs duties of a chef in addition to supervising the General Workers and students. The General Workers prepare food items for the working restaurant while overseeing and teaching the students. Many General Workers are graduates of the Hospitality Institute although some are hired from outside of the college. Highly motivated General Workers use jobs at the PomMarine as a springboard to supervisory positions at other restaurants. Others use the experience they gain to open their own establishments. The Stewards are responsible for cleaning. In the dining room, the Restaurant Instructor and General Workers conduct training for students hosting and waiting tables. Restaurant Instructors supervise the General Workers and students hosting and waiting tables. Like General Workers in the kitchen, General Workers in the dining room are expected to perform host or wait duties in addition to teaching students. In the kitchens and dining rooms, the instructors, general workers and stewards train the students to PomMarine standards.

INITIAL PROBLEM STATEMENT

In the conference with the Director of the Hospitality Institute, the team identified two possible performance problems with the General Workers. One performance problem involved the lack of support of the instructors by the General Works. The second problem involved a lack of upward mobility for the General Workers. While the two problems identified may be related, due to the limited time available for this project, the team decided to focus on only one of the problems. After a member check with the Director of the Hospitality Institute, the team and client agreed that the problem to be studied is that the General Workers are unsure of their function in the institutional environment, leading to suboptimal engagement with students, complaints by the General Workers when they do engage with students and generally insufficient support for the instructors. Anecdotally, the Director noted that some General Workers complained that they were overly engaged with teaching the students rather than supporting the instructors1.

The team needs clarification about the definition of supporting the instructors. Does this mean assisting with instruction or preparing/serving meals to the customers while the instructors teach and supervise the students. 2

Problem Identification and Program Plan

The Director perceives this as a problem because it is affecting the instructors abilities to supervise the training of the students in the dining room and kitchen of the full service commercial restaurants. Instead, the instructors are overworked trying to teach restaurant operations to up to twenty students at a time while also working as a chef (in the kitchen) or wait staff (in the dining room). This is a disservice to the students because they are losing valuable experience for their future careers in restaurants throughout the region.

ANTICIPATED GOAL
The Director of the Hospitality Institute wants to develop strategies to improve the integration of the General Workers into the workforce, so they provide increased support for the instructors and students, which would ideally lead to better student outcomes and smoother restaurant operations.

KEY PLAYERS
DIRECTOR OF THE HOSPITALITY INSTITUTE
Mrs. Bernice Critchlow-Earle is the director of Hospitality Institute and is responsible for ensuring the aims and goals of the Hospitality Institute and the PomMarine Hotel are met.

OPERATIONS MANAGER
Ms. Juliann Young Lovell is responsible for the operations of the Hospitality Institute.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER

Mr. Basil Jemmott is in charge of all General Workers.

INSTRUCTORS
The Restaurant Instructors and Chef Instructors supervise the General Workers and students in one of the two hotel restaurants.

GENERAL WORKERS
The PomMarine hotel employs approximately 16 general workers. They assist the Chef Instructors and Restaurant Instructors with operating the two full-service restaurants at the hotel. They also assist the Chef and Restaurant Instructors with overseeing the students working in the restaurants.

Problem Identification and Program Plan

INITIAL PROJECT PLAN

Table 1 is the tentative timeline for the project. The team held a project kick-off meeting with the Director of the Hospitality Institute over Skype on February 12, 2013, to discuss the problem to be studied and the goals of the project. The team then performed member checking by writing out two specific problem statements and accompanying goals that had emerged from the discussion, emailing them to the Director, and asking her to verify these were the issues she was concerned with, as well as asking her to identify which one is her top priority. The one that she identified as her top priority then became the initial problem statement of the project. Table 1 Project Timeline Event Kick off meeting with Hospitality Institute Director Phase 1 Program Plan Report Job Descriptions from Barbados Community College Interviews with Key Players Survey for General Workers development Survey for General Workers piloted Phase 2 Performance and Cause Analysis Surveys forwarded to General Workers Surveys due from General Workers Data Analysis due Phase 3 Client Report Brief to Client Due Date February 12, 2013 March 1, 2013 March 8, 2013 March 22, 2013 March 22, 2013 March 29, 2013 March 29, 2013 April 1, 2013 April 15, 2013 April 19, 2013 April 26, 2013 May 7, 2013

To fully analyze the problems and recommend solutions, the team will gather data from several sources. First, as suggested by OLeary (2005) as a way to collect data about the functions the General Workers actually perform, the team will use the unobtrusive method of review position descriptions, operating procedures and other documents provided by the college. Next, to collect in-depth qualitative data about managements vision of the function of the General Workers, the team will conduct individual interviews with the Director, the Operations Manager and the Food and Beverage Manager (OLeary, 2005). To quickly and efficiently gather data from the primary instructors in the PomMarine restaurants, the team will also conduct two independent focus groups: one with three Chef Instructors and one with three Restaurant Instructors (Piskurich, 2006). Finally, to gather quantifiable, comparable data directly from the General Workers, the team will administer an online survey to all the General Workers (OLeary, 2005). Since the cost of travel to Barbados makes direct observation impractical although observations are an excellent way to see what is actually going on (OLeary, 2005), the Hospitality Institute 4

Problem Identification and Program Plan

will film operations in the kitchens and dining rooms at the PomMarine hotel focusing on the interactions between the Chef/Restaurant Instructors, General Workers and students. Because of the fact students, instructors, and general workers are accustomed to being filmed for promotional and other purposes, the disruption and alteration to normal behavior should be minimal, allowing the project team to review interactions with minimal Hawthorne effect.

TEAM DESCRIPTION
TEAM LEADER: GWYNN GRANDY
The team leader is responsible for oversight of the project including scheduling meetings, ensuring work products are completed on time and assignment deadlines are met. The team leader will also assist facilitating one of the focus groups.

CLIENT LIAISON: RODERICK PRESCOD

The client liaison will communicate with the key players to arrange meeting/interview times and modes of communication. The client liaison will also assist with conducting the interviews with the Food and Beverage manager and Operations Manager.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: MEIZHEN CHEN AND HYOUNG SEOK

The data collection and analysis team will develop the tools for data collection, administer the tools and analyze the data collected.

TECHNICAL WRITER: KATHRYN COOMBS

The technical writer will draft all project reports, seek input from team members and submit the final report by the due date. The technical writer will also assist with facilitating one of the focus groups.

Problem Identification and Program Plan

REFERENCES
About the Barbados Community College (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bcc.edu.bb/About. OLeary, Z. (2005). Researching real-world problems: Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. A guide to methods of inquiry.

Piskurich, G. M. (2006). Rapid instructional design: Learning ID fast and right. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.