Zinns Burgers and Pizza - Case Study Example

Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza Identify any problem(s) at the Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza from the case study thatrelates to study session 4 Business Cultures. Business related problems at Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza in the UK are quite a few. Out of them the following can be identified as the most pressing right now. Firstly it’s a medium size restaurant with just regional concentration. This poses a risk to the chain because bigger rivals could at any time choke it out if demand for cheaper alternatives falls. Old equipment and utensils are in a very bad shape needing immediate replacement. Being badly under-staffed the restaurant management needs to focus on hiring competent managers to handle important aspects of the business. Health food is in vogue among people now. Further the restaurant has to face problems arising from people’s ever increasing concerns over environment. These problems have to be rectified with some good corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Skills shortages have affected the restaurant so badly. 2. Describe the concepts from this study session that you think are most relevant to understanding the problems you identified in Question 1. Explain why you think they are useful and support your explanation with examples from the case study. Organizational or business culture is defined as the whole set of values, personalities, norms, assumptions, behaviors, beliefs, ideas and tangible and intangible signs of the organization in its internal and external environments of business conduct. Such tangible and intangible artifacts include organizational goals such as mission and vision. Culture is a tool for the manager to inculcate a set of values, beliefs and ideas in the employee whose vision is then transformed into that that of the organization’s vision. Thus it’s clear that at the Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza the restaurant chain is faced with a number of organizational culture related problems. All beliefs, behaviors, values, vision, mission, personalities and so on have become outmoded. In fact it requires an overhauling sooner. According to Edgar Schein organizational culture is “A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems" (Schein, 2004). Schein has provided one of the most thought provoking definitions to organizational culture and goes onto claim that of all the attributes of the organization, culture is perhaps the most difficult to transform. He identifies three attributes in the organization culture. Thus the restaurant needs to revamp its organizational culture related practices and initiatives. Next Geert Hofstede identified five dimensions as the basis for organizational culture (2005). A number of other scholars such as Deal and Kennedy (2000) and Handy produced their theories on organizational culture and have had considerable influence on the subsequent writings and developments on the subject. These theoretical perspectives apart there is a considerable amount of empirical evidence to suggest the significance of various elements of the evolutionary process of organizational culture and their impact on the current thinking albeit these outcomes have very little relevance for this paper here. Therefore these latest developments with extreme theoretical and conceptual implications wouldn’t be considered here. Leadership style and organizational culture are inextricably connected with each other and as such require a deep examination of their interlinks at the Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza. For instance leadership styles might vary from autocratic to democratic; from transformational to transactional; and from entrepreneurial to paternalistic. Irrespective of the leadership style organizational culture plays such a pivotal role in almost every aspect of the management, marketing, Human Resource Management (HRM) and operations spheres. There are many different leadership styles in the modern business world and almost every one of them has a particular reason or reasons for its existence. It must be noted at the beginning that in a comparative analysis like the present one, a rigorously norm-predicated comparison/contrast study would be more feasible than a prescriptive analysis. Burns (1978) invariably identifies a set of norms for each leadership style, i.e. transformational and transactional. His theoretical conceptual framework of analysis has a universal tone of agreement among scholars though the learning outcomes of research efforts have greatly focused on the contingency model building capacity rather than independent overarching framework creation. In this context the organizational culture plays a very important role in determining the organizational outcomes. Management style is based on meeting contingency demand and not intended to achieve pre-defined long term organizational goals such as profitability, market share and better share price. Thus organizational culture has an inevitable impact on the organization’s communication strategy. In other words horizontal and more hierarchical organizational structure doesn’t allow the management to reach out to lower level employees. Motivation apart these lower level employees need encouragement to perform better. Such encouragement should come from the organizational culture itself. This is essential for the responsibilities to be evenly entrusted to employees and above all to bring about the desired quality management perspectives at the organizational level in the long term. Successful adoption of effective organizational culture that readily accommodates variances within the organization would have a desirable impact on HRM practices and communication. Management style is equally important when it comes to employee motivation. Human Resource Management (HRM) practices adopted within the organization must be in conformance with the organization’s strategic HRM goals. This is in fact the case with big organizations because they need to have a well motivated staff to perform on the lines of international norms in creating brand related values to the customer. The customer’s positive perception of brand equity is perhaps the best barometer of organizational success in a highly competitive industry like fast food. Next employee relations in general and motivation in particular at the organizational level have to be examined with reference to the organizational culture. For example at the Ottershaw branch of Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza a very liberal employee relations policy of encouraging employees to be independent with a degree of freedom given to ensure operational independence can be associated with what Hofstede calls “power distance”. According to Hofstede there are five dimensions – power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity and short term vs long term – that illustrate how national influences would impact on organizational culture to bring about changes. Though his illustration hasn’t received much approval due to its limitations in a particular organizational setting of multicultural diversity, the theoretical postures have some relevance to the study of organizational culture even at Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza. In fact his analysis is based on some cognitive perceptions of individuals about the organizational outcomes and therefore there is more or less a cognitive heuristics or biases approach to an otherwise intricate problem of relations. 3. Suggest how Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza could address these problems for the future. Strategic long term goals such as market share, profitability, an increase in the share price, quality improvements, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty have to be achieved by adopting such strategies as good internal and external communication practices, employee relations, good motivation strategies and HRM practices, sound financial management including positive cash flows and better overall performance metrics have to be adopted by the management at Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza. In a culturally less diverse organizational setting these weaknesses are further exacerbated by still lower levels of motivation and mounting friction between the management and the labor force. Cultural diversity occupies a very important place in the organization and its cultural setting. As much as leadership plays a very important role by setting normative standards to be followed by subordinates, cultural diversity plays a very significant role by allowing the workforce to integrate into the culture of the organization without acrimony. Assuming that such a smooth process of acculturation doesn’t occur then there is a doubt about the credibility of the leadership style and the type of organizational culture. In other words the restaurant management must consider some diversity practices seriously. Next community outreach is considered to be one of the most important aspects related to the organizational culture. For instance, in the modern context there is a stronger belief in the organization’s ability to incorporate sustainability programs into its mission and vision. Many organizations have their own public relations departments though very few of them happen to function effectively. Public relations are part and parcel of the organizational culture and therefore in well planned community outreach programs at the macro level. Public relations at Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza must be handled by an expert on the subject. The flagging staff morale is also attributable to this failure. Organizational culture has acquired such a significant place in the modern context that now its impact on the whole work environment of the organization tends to create some ripple effects elsewhere as well. From Schein to Deal and Kennedy, the theoretical constructs and its conceptual orientations have produced some far reaching outcomes in the empirical sphere too. Organizational culture is a concept with many connotations and denotations that can be seen in organizational leadership/management styles, cultural diversity programs, communication strategy, employee motivation and employee relations programs, organizational orientation programs, sustainability, community outreach and public relations. CSR programs and initiatives also have to be adopted by the management at Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza in order to overcome the negative consequences arising from environmental concerns of people and Green Organizations. CSR strategies involving community outreach programs and policies could be centered on Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza’s current regional concentration approach though in the long run this attitude has to be reversed. The complex nature of the problems at Zinn’s Burgers and Pizza requires the right directional thrust of organizational goals associated with culture as the only broadly set parameter of integration at all levels of the organization. When organizational culture is set against the backdrop of leadership and goals its significance is highlighted by the very nature of interconnectedness between these variables that (interconnectedness) otherwise has no meaning. REFERENCES 1. Deal, T. & Kennedy, A. (2000).Corporate Cultures. New York: Basic Books. 2. Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. (2nd ed). Ohio: McGraw-Hill Professional. 3. Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership). (3rd ed). California: Jossey-Bass. Read More