Human Resource Management Problem at Cafe Deluxe - Case Study Example

Name ------------------------------ Due date ------------------------------ Academic institution ------------------------------ City ------------------------------ State ------------------------------ Name of the course ------------------------------ Human resource management problem at Café Deluxe Contents Name 1 ------------------------------ 1 Due date ------------------------------ 1 Academic institution 1 City 1 ------------------------------ 1 State 1 Name of the course 1 ------------------------------ 1 Human resource management problem at Café Deluxe 2 Contents 2 3 Abstract 4 Introduction: Human resource management 5 Step 1: strategic integration aiding organizational growth 6 Recruitments 7 Training 8 Training objectives 9 Training: Road map for Café Deluxe 11 Conclusion: 13 Abstract Café Deluxe is a small café in the heart of London that provides services from 8 in the morning to 10 at night. The clientele ranges from students, tourists and to locals looking for some quiet time along with quality coffee and a novel environment. The café employs 15 people who work in shifts. Of the 15, 10 are waiters, against whom there have been frequent complaints about them being rude and ostentatiously hostile. The service has been slow and more often than not there is a problem of high attrition. The management conducted a study and found that the crux of the problem lay in the fact that there is a lack of formal training where most of the staff was concerned, which translated automatically to a situation where the customers were largely dissatisfied with the nature of the service and the staff perceives the job as being dead end with no scope for growth and professional betterment. The problem also emanates partly from the basic absence of clear training, where many are completely ignorant of the basics of hospitality management. In the context of this case the following assessment will analyze the nature of training, and its character along with a studied plan for its implementation in the given context. The assessment will also deal with the larger issue of human resource management and the manner in which the situation could be summarily dealt with. Introduction: Human resource management The Human Resources Management functions are inclusive of a large number of variables that are required in order to build and run a successful commercial venture. In fact it has been said by some that a business cannot find success in the absence of a carefully devised and implemented plan that assures a high quality where HR maintenance is concerned (Mitchell, 2001). HRM is made up of a large number of variables and the fields that are linked to the same are complex and overlapping with the management strategies that govern the overall venture-these include the staffing needs of the company, the recruitment and training of the best employees, ensuring they are high performances, value for money and low rates of attrition. The HRM functions also deal with performance issues, and ensuring that the personnel and management practices conform to various regulations (McNamara, 2001). Further an effective HR strategy consists of the management of the approach that is to be taken by the company for employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations.    Step 1: strategic integration aiding organizational growth Ideally, a strategic approach to the management of human resources would mean an integration of HR strategies and goals with the overall goals and results that the company hopes to achieve in the future (Schuller and Jackson, 2007). This would in turn help employees identify their purpose in the organization, help in the better understanding of individual roles and purposes that contribute to the overall health of the organization. The basic precepts of strategic human resource management have a natural affinity with the ‘resource based view’ of the competitive advantage in the strategy field (Barney, 1991). The idea is that sustained competitive advantage can arise from a firm’s resource base. This also means that decision making cannot be done in isolation but needs to be in line with the overall working culture of an organization. The system of feedback needs to be perfect.   There should be an effort made on part o the organization to make decisions regarding organization and performances within the organization keeping mind global, national and local environments and related factors (Das and Waqar, 2007). A basic review of an idea human resource management system in a given organization would mean three basic things: 1. Use of in service training methods and tools with a healthy system of promotion that ensures employee job satisfaction and growth within the working environment. 2. The recruitment process needs to be carefully devised and should be based on merit and suitability to the post 3. Management and motivation of employees by using the basic principles of strategic human resource management. In this context the first significant role of the manager in the human resource context would be to allow for correct recruitment. Recruitments Among others, the first thing to keep in min while recruiting would be to ensure that the business has to be run in a way so as to add value to customers and society, second, it has to contribute to the development and the well being of team members and third, it has to contribute to the overall growth of the chain. The principles underlying the selection of candidates therefore can be listed as being: Philosophy and values Partnership Job Competency and eligible human resources The recruitment strategy has to be implemented in a manner so as to meet the long term talent and man power needs while managing the periodic demands. With regard to the interview questions for waiters, it has to be remembered that the levels of qualifications and experience that are sought will differ for the three categories of waiter/waitresses. Te three categories would then include the head waiter, the permanent staff and the part timers. It also has to be remembered during the short listing process that the maturity levels in answering the same questions for all three will be somewhat if not vastly different from each other.   Training Training is an essential element of the success or the failure of modern organization, in terms of the fact that modern organizations often have to compete with each other on the basis of their capabilities. (Bohlander and Snell, 2009) state that the core sets of knowledge and expertise that give them an edge over their competitors, training is crucial in this respect because of the fact that it plays a central role in nurturing and strengthening the competencies of a firm and in this way has become part of the backbone of strategic management. In addition to this, there are rapidly changing technological advancements that companies would have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, which would require employees to continuously hone their knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) through the process of continuous learning.  Lawson (1997) defines training as a structured process that is conducted at the employee’s work area to provide the employee with the knowledge and skills to perform tasks. It has been found that in the absence of structured training programmes, employees consulted their coworkers and procedure to learn what they needed to do. Without a planned approach, instructions and procedures are not standardized, and trainees often pick up bad practices from the seniors. This haphazard approach often results in a greater number of errors, lower productivity and increased employee frustration. Training objectives The lesson about the importance of training can be taken from the Starbucks experience which is America’s largest take-out venture and the world’s fastest growing chain. The chain spends more money on restaurant training than it does on advertising. A training workshop therefore needs to be held for all of the newly hired staff. The training workshop would look at not just training the staff for the job but also the chain as a whole, its goals and purposes and the role that each individual is expected to play in this regard. The basic topics to be covered in the training workshop are as follows: Safety Fire Drill and First Aid: This aspect of the workshop is tailored to induct the employee on the nuances of fire safety management, getting the customers out in time and basically overall handling themselves in times of an emergency. Menu Induction and knowledge: This is necessary so that the different workers are all ware of the specialty of the restaurant, the specials, how they are to be made and announced. Importance of team work and cohesiveness: The workshop has to seek to address the issues of teamwork, of helping out a coworker. It is in fact here the management strategy of treating the staff as not as subordinates but as coworkers need to be expressly demonstrated. Personal dressing and maintenance of uniforms: There has to be an appearance of a restaurant that is well turned out, where the hosts and waiters are well groomed and dress as a cohesive unit so as to be identifiable at first glance. Both the male and the female staff in this regard need to be shown how to do their hair, how to dress the appropriate length and cut for uniforms. Cultivation of leadership qualities and the culture of taking initiatives: Leadership skills as they exist in various new recruits need to be identified and cultivated further so as to create a talent pool that can be utilized as the flagship restaurant is developed further and other outlets of the chain are opened. Technical skills: There are certain language and job proficiency skills that need to be updated for even the most consummate of professionals from time o time. This shall also be involved as part of the workshop. Practical experience and a definition of each one’s role: This is an absolute must so as provide the hired staff with an opportunity to interact and get used to exactly what it is that each one is expected to do.  Training: Road map for Café Deluxe The philosophy of training in the context of this case would be centered on not just the improve skills for the current job but also to prepare the employee for future responsibilities. Job rotation and participation in cross functional or cross divisional tasks can get rid of the feeling of stagnation and boredom that seems to have set in (Charvatova and Veer, 2006). The idea is to give the employee a new challenge, continuously helping him evolve thereby adding greater value to the organization’s resources with the same amounts of inputs. There is also a certain amount of stress that needs to be laid on promotion from within the organization itself, thereby help remove the feeling of alienation and disillusionment from the staff.   The performance evaluation criteria and processes need to be related to broad contributions. In addition to individual evaluation, performance appraisal by peers and based on team performance should be made a more common feature. The broad based contributions can be captured in what is known as the 360-Degree feedback mechanism. Finally, the key to using compensations and benefits in building a mutual investment oriented employee relations process is not focused merely on increasing the absolute pay or benefits but communicating preferred behavior and accentuating long term investment in employees. Family friendly benefits are one way of doing this.   The approach of the manager deciding everything needs to be replaced with what is known as the mutual investment approach. From the very outset, there has to be a communication of the value of long term loyalty and commitment to not just the task but to the job (Losey et. Al., 2005). Every recruit needs to be made aware of the inducements that are on offer. This can be achieved by following a process initiated by peer recruitment and team based interviews. The idea is to ensure that the new comers fit into the organization and its culture and are not taken just in order to fill a vacant position. This in fact is the sum of the Demming principle.   On-the-job training and off-the-job training Training can be classified into two essential formats: On the job training and off the job training. On the job training is a structured process conducted at the employee’s work area to provide the employee with the knowledge and skills aimed at the performance of job tasks, It is an ongoing process that is designed mostly to help the employee in gaining greater competence and overcome barriers to the improvement of performances. On the job training experiences would include coaching understudy programs and assignments job rotation, lateral transfer, project and committee assignments and staff meetings. Training means increasing the temporary and necessary skills of the new employees. it is two types on the job and off the job. Bohlander and Snell (2009) identify off the job training as training in which employees learn his work by attending seminar, meeting, conference or by viewing. he is not allow to work on floor till he become expert in all the necessary field. These would include methods such as conference or discussion methods, classroom training, programmed instructions, computer based training simulation, closed circuit TV, tele-training and interactive e-learning. Off the job experiences include analysis of case studies, management games, role-playing and behavior modeling.   The final thread to the programme would be the implementation of the skill perfection session, in essence an extension of the repetition or the discussion session. The idea is the improvement of the overall skill set. The idea here is to help the workers gain practicable knowledge of the skill that has been acquired, through implementation in practice that which has been taught in theory. This session, as all of the skills training sessions, should be modified and made culturally appropriate by working with language and cross-cultural trainers. As language skills permit, Trainees should be encouraged to record and describe their observations in the host language. The practice sections can take place throughout training; all of the practice should not directly follow the instruction. As skills permit, revisit parts of the session, teaching the structures of technology implementation and doing practical effort. Conclusion: In conclusion, one could state that while training is the essence of success in human resource management in any given organization, it is essential that the approach to HRM that is adopted in the context of different organizations is tailor made and customized to suit the needs of the particular organization. This would mean therefore that while in theory there are certain key steps to be taken, the actual implementation of the plan programmes would have to work in accordance with the kind of people that are to managed and the kind of environment within which this management needs to take place. The process of better human resource management backed by correct training and growth would not just a greater interaction on the part of the management and the top rung of the management hierarchy but within the overall ranks of the employees. There also needs to be affected some kind of change in the culture of the organization making it more interactive and inviting, work should not be just a task that the employee performs, it should be something that they would voluntarily want to do. References: Lawson, K., (1997). Improving on-the-job training and coaching. ASTD Publications. p3  Bohlander, G., W., and Snell S., (2009). Managing human resources. Cengage Brain. P336  McNamara C, 2001, Human Resource Management. Retrieved December 26, 2010, Mitchell, D. J. B., (2001). ‘IR journal and conference literature from the 1960s to the 1990s: What can HR learn from it? Where is it headed?’.  Human Resource Management. 11(4). 375-393  Charvatova, D., and Veer, C., G., (2006). Communication and Human Resource Management and its Compliance with Culture. International Journal of Social Science. 1(1).  pp14-18  Das, H. and Wagar, T., (2007). Canadian Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach (8th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Ryerson: Toronto, pp31-48  Jackson, S., E., Schuller, R., S., and Werner, S, (2008). Managing Human Resources. Cengage Brain, p276  Read More