1. Introduction
As the new District Manager at new Dunkin Donuts stores, many factors need to be identified and evaluated for the successful opening and operation of stores. As the district manager, there are several responsibilities that need to be executed effectively to achieve the operational goals of Dunkin Donuts. Operation of new stores would require identification of trends, innovative ideas, and achieving target turnovers. There are several important decisions that need to be taken for the successful opening and operation of new stores such as preparing the job design and organizational design, recruitment and selection process, and training and development of the employees. Success as the new district manager will depend on strategic choices and effective implementation of all chosen decisions at new Dunkin Donuts stores.
2. Job Design
There are several approaches that can be helpful in completing job design as the new district manager at new Dunkin Donuts stores. One of the approaches is job simplification where, jobs can be broken down into small parts and employees can operate on an assembly line (Daft & Marcic, 2010, p. 419). It means one employee does similar work repeatedly, helping to increase proficiency and productivity of that employee. This process allows an organization to recruit low-skilled employees and train them to perform mundane tasks efficiently. By reducing the complexity levels from the job, workers get the opportunity to focus on concentrate on doing repetitive tasks. For example: Cashiers will be hired who will be responsible for taking orders from customers, tracking orders, and collecting payment from customers. Repetition of this process will help to develop better understanding of their work and improve communication with the others in the kitchen.
After 4-6 weeks of opening, employees at each store would be considered trained in their assigned tasks as cashiers, baristas, delivery, grill, and food makers, etc. After their initial training is completed, another approach to job design called Job rotation will be implemented. It means employees will be rotated from their planned roles in the stores to other tasks to impart them with basic knowledge and skills for other jobs performed in the store (Daft & Marcic, 2010, p. 419). For example: After completing of training as a Barista, an employee would be expected to learn about making standard meal and other beverages prepared at the store, and a few weeks later they will be moved to cashier desks and later on to delivery. This process would mean that each employee would know the basic jobs at the store and would be able to fill-in when the footfall at a store rises or when new employee would be trained they can help in sharing their knowledge.
3. Organizational Design
The organizational design of each new store would be based on work specialization. This means that employees that perform similar tasks would be part of a department in the store. In terms of work specialization, a store manager would be employed as the head of the store (Cichocki & Irwin, 2011, p. 11-16). The store manager will lead a group of employees that will perform specialized tasks such as cashier, delivery, food and beverages, and coffee making. There is only one department in each store and their task is functional that starts from taking orders & payment and involves providing/delivering food to customers and taking feedback for improving the quality of food and services. Each role in the store such as cashier, food and beverages, delivery and coffee making would report directly to the store manager and will be reviewed by the store manager.
Each store would follow the functional structure where interrelated occupational duties can be grouped with each other (Cichocki & Irwin, 2011, p. 17-18). This means that the employees working in the store and performing daily tasks of taking orders, preparing the food and coffee, and delivering food to customers would be grouped together. Therefore, the roles of cashiers, delivery team, food and beverage team, and baristas would be linked with each other and will be under the leadership of the store manager. The functional structure would help the each store to outline tasks to be performed and divide responsibility of running an efficient operation at the store. In addition, due to the functional structure, there are well defined line of control and responsibility among employees working in each store. Overall, the functional structure is expected to help in effective operation and develop patterns of communication within the structure.
4. Recruiting and Selection
Recruitment is one of the most important functions of effective management of new stores opened by Dunkin Donuts. The effective recruiting process would help in developing a pool of talent that can be used for the selection process. Recruiting will be done through online job websites, prevalent in the district and recruitment agencies. Recruitment agencies have a large pool of talent with experience in food services that are needed for the new stores. Agencies can also help in identifying the most suitable candidates that can be enticed by an offer of a better pay package. Agencies can be used for recruiting employees for cashier, food and beverage, barista, and delivery jobs. Online job websites would be useful in identifying and recruiting the most talented individuals for the position of store manager. Agencies can also come in handy from a list of candidates for store manager positions.
Once recruitment process is completed, the next task is to start with selection by calling candidates for interview (Dale, 2003, p. 164-180). Selection is the final step in hiring of employees for new Dunkin Donuts stores. The selection process will start with the arrival of applications that will be screened for telephonic interview. After the telephonic interviews are completed, the final candidates can be called for an interview to evaluate their knowledge and skills. From the group of most suitable candidates, a final group of employee can be given offer letters and joining date. Some of the candidates can be kept on a list of future references. Selected employees will be background checked and medical checks will be performed by the company doctors to ensure employees are suitable to work for Dunkin Donuts.
5. Training and Performance Appraisals
Once the selected employees are brought to the stores, the most important function is to train them to work effectively at Dunkin Donuts. Employees will be given practical training by taking an order, preparing the food, beverages, etc., and delivering the food within a specified period of time to the table and homes. This training will be performed in the first two days to ensure employees in each store are aware of the basic tasks and responsibilities at the store. Training will also help in understanding the roles suitable for each employee as they will be given specific tasks to perform for the first 4-6 weeks and then they will be rotated to another job in the kitchen. This process of training will be repeated every quarter and new information and methods will be shared in that period.
Once employees are trained and the stores are operational, Dunkin Donuts will perform monthly performance appraisals of employees and will evaluate the performance standards delivered in each new store. The employees that fall short of expected standards will be asked to go through the training procedure all over again. Annual performance reviews will also be an important aspect of working at Dunkin Donuts. Employees will be judged on the basis of their work hours put into the job, superior feedback and subordinate reviews. These factors would help to understand the level of salary raise or promotion deserved by each candidate. Each employee with lower than expected performance standards will be given a warning to improve their work standards or lose their job. This process will be repeated monthly and yearly for ensuring the performance standards at the new Dunkin Donuts stores are maximized.
6. Conclusion
The new stores of Dunkin Donuts will use job simplification as an approach for job design for the first 4-6 weeks, after which job rotation will start to improve awareness and understanding among all employees. In terms of organizational design, work specialization will be employed to ensure the functional structure of each store is effective. Recruitment will be done through local agencies and online websites. The selection process will be done internally, which will include resume screening, telephonic interview, face-to-face interview, medical and background check. Once employees are selected they will be trained in the first two days and they will need to perform all tasks associated at a store. Finally, performance appraisals will be performed monthly for the purpose of managing employee job standards and yearly to provide salary raises and promotions.
References
Cichocki, P., & Irwin, C. (2011). Organization design: A guide to building effective organizations. London: Kogan Page.
Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2010). Understanding management. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.
Dale., M. (2003). A manager's guide to recruitment & selection. London, UK: Kogan Page.
