1. The hospitality industry is one of the most important parts of the global service industry. The performance of the restaurant industry is directly associated with employees including waiters, chefs, and managers. The Brass Rail is a large restaurant chain that serves many customers. Many problems raised in the company that were mostly related to the management of operations and employees. It is explained in the case study that employees affected the restaurant operations. The management was not stable in the restaurant branch located in Wanden. Due to lack of proper management, the branch faced different issues related to employees. The employees’ demotivation increased that led to different issues and the organization faced high employee turnover.
The company failed to hire an effective manager for the branch. It is noted that two ineffective managers were hired for the branch that created various issues and employees lost their trust in the management. The top management failed to recruit highly skilled and qualified managers, and managers left their job within six months. Employee turnover is a serious problem, and it can affect services rendered to customers and other operational activities of the organization (Parker, 2012). The restaurant managers were not proficient and capable of performing their duties efficiently and manage the staff in all areas. The organization has hired another manager, Brian Marsden, to manage the operations of the branch. He is highly skilled and competent, performed various tasks in the industry and had more than seven years of experience. It was observed that employees were not satisfied with the manager and found him very harsh. The staff was not comfortable to work with the manager, and many employees refused to work under his supervision. It created a negative impact on the organization and increased employee turnover. The employees became unresponsive to the manager, and it generated poor behavior among all employees. Although it was identified that Brian Marsden is a stickler for the rules and regulations and manages the operations like dictators. It has decreased the job satisfactions among all employees. Employee turnover has increased under the leadership of Brian Marsden. The actions of the manager play an important role in reducing employee turnover and increasing their retention. The employees’ issues have increased with the manager, and that is the main reason for increasing turnover.
It was noticed that employees found that they were working in a difficult and complex environment and desired to switch jobs. It decreased communication between employees and the manager and decreased the employees’ productivity. It was mentioned that employee grievances were increased in the organization due to strict management rules. Different issues have increased, and negative employees’ attitude was observed. Tracey, who was a dedicated employee, presented the formal grievances report to the area manager highlighting reasons why she demoted from waiter to runner. Brian Marsden has formulated very difficult rules for all employees, and it affected the key employees of the organization.
The management failed to provide valuable services to the customers, and the customers’ complaints increased. The staff was not focused on customer satisfaction. Therefore, different issues were raised related to the level of service. The company has not focused on training and development, and employees are not properly trained about the level of services and achieving higher customer satisfaction. It is a core business activity in every organization and employees are the major source that plays an important role in service improvements. Brian is only focused on increasing sales instead of motivating employees. It has increased the job pressure and frustration among all employees of the organization. It was observed in the organization that people show their extra performances only in the presence of Brian Marsden. The management has not provided flexible working hours for employees, and they had to working for lengthy schedule. It was reported that Tracey worked continuously since the previous day that affected her performance. Irregular work schedule has affected employee productivity, and different mistakes happen during work. The issues emerged due to employees’ shortage that increased work stress and job pressure on employees. The lengthy working schedule may generate different health and weal being issues related to employees (Linos & Wilhelm, 2007). The major problems were identified in the organizations are ineffective leadership, employee turnover, strict rules and regulation, employees’ grievances, long working hours, mistakes in customer services, job pressure, and others.
2. The organization needs to choose different solutions to overcome the problems and increase its performance. The most appropriate solution is to review the grievances of Tracey and consider other possible alternatives instead of demotion. The top management should consider Brian’s decision and make some possible changes. The management needs to focus on other employees’ grievances and solve their issues in the workplace. The management needs to review all material and complaints against any employee. It should be ensured that grievance management is properly carried out, and employees are satisfied with their job.
The top management needs to focus on all possible alternatives before taking any serious action against the key employees. If the employee is not satisfied with the decision, then management needs to review it again. The decision should be favorable for the employee and the company and ensured that it will not affect the productivity and performance of that employee. The employee needs to share the issues with the concerned manager and follow the company’s procedure. Employees’ grievances can affect the company reputation and increase dissatisfactions among employees.
The Brass Rail needs to focus on Tracey’s matter and address her grievances immediately. It will increase employees’ loyalty and dedication to the organization. The company needs to encourage friendly employee-manager relationship and create different policies for both the management and employees. The managers need to manage legal issues of employees according to the company policy. It should be ensured that all employees have read and understand the company rules and regulations properly. The employees need to focus on the company policies and perform their duties accordingly. The rules should be same for all employees from waiters to managers. The employees need to follow the rules that are designed for their wellbeing. The company should follow equal employment rule and focus on the rights of workers.
The company needs to develop different techniques to increase employees’ performance and develop solution of problems. The management needs to take sound recruitment decision and hire most suitable managers that will add value to the organization. The managers play an important role in managing the staff in the right decision to achieve the company’s goal. Employee retention should be focused during the recruitment and selection process. The company needs to consider those candidates who have good previous records and expected to stay with the organization for a long time. The management should possess strong employee engagement knowledge and find the right person for the specific job. It should be ensured that the company has hired the best individual who has management skills and capable of organizing employees of The Brass Rail. The organization needs to implement succession planning and employees development model. Employee management is an important task for the organization, and effective managers are capable of performing this task efficiently.
The Brass Rail should evaluate past recruitment efforts and develop new techniques to create successful recruitment process. Employee turnover is also associated with poor recruitment and selection method. The management needs to focus on different techniques to reduce employee turnover. Employee turnover is a very serious issue in the hospitality industry, and it may affect its operations. The good managers are always focused on minimizing employee turnover and increasing the company’s performance. The company needs to hire the right people and encourage them to perform effectively. It should be a good relation among managers and employees. Employees’ suggestions and opinions are highly considered in decision-making it will create the sense of commitment. The company needs to organize different training and development sessions to increase the employees’ skills and capabilities. Educate employees about the customers’ satisfactions and service improvement.
The managers need to increase employee engagement and creates a positive work environment. The company creates a fair work environment for managers and other staff and enhances their satisfactions to reduce turnover (Chon & Maier, 2009). The company should make a strategic plan to face different situations. The company needs to plan different alternatives to face the shortage of the employees. It should be flexible working environment and working hours for all employees. It is very difficult for employees to work continuously more than ordinary work hours and it can decrease their efficiency. The company needs to hire the alternate staff to face the shortage of employees.
The third solution is to review the performance of Brian and provides different training and development sessions to develop his capabilities. The top management should evaluate the performance of Brian and provide suggestions for improvement. The leadership plays an important role in the success of any organization. It should be ensured that the manager has created a friendly environment, and employees like to work under his supervision. The managers should have a positive attitude towards work, and he should direct employees in the right direction. The managers need to create a favorable working environment and motivate employees to work together and achieve the company’s goal. The management should arrange different development sessions for the manager to improve his moral character. Brian should understand that managers play an important role in managing, planning, organizing, motivating, and directing the staff and without effective management it is not possible to achieve specific goals in the given time. Bad managers can create confusion among the staff and increase the cost of the organization.
The last solution is to promote Tracey to the same position again. The solution is not in favor of the company policies. Therefore, it will create a bad impact on other employees. It should be rejected, and the management has to review the company’s material and make a decision according to the rules and regulations. If it is found that Brian took unfair decision in the case of Tracey, then the top management can overturn his decision in favor of the other decision according to the policies. However, the decision is not appropriate and can create a negative image of the company and its management.
List of References
Chon, K. S. & Maier, T.A., 2009. Welcome to Hospitality: An Introduction. Cengage Learning.
Linos, A. & Wilhelm, K., 2007. Promoting Health for Working Women. Springer Science & Business Media.
Nankervis, A., Yuki, M., Ruth, T. & Milton-Smith, J., 2005. Managing Services. Singapore: Cambridge University.
Parker, D., 2012. Service Operations Management: The Total Experience. Edward Elgar Publishing.
