Cafe Co Analysis - Case Study Example

Case study on Cafe Co Part 1. Storey (1989) in his treatise marked two ways of treating human resources within an organisation. The two ways are depicted in the form of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ model of treating human resources. In the ‘hard’ model the human resources or staffs are taken to be the key pivots which would help the organisation in gaining significant competitive advantage over its competitors. Thus this model requires the managers to effectively recruit, train and develop such individuals to help the company meet its desired objective. However, the ‘soft’ model of human resource management takes into consideration the human factor related to such. The model prescribes that people must not be only seen as factors which would help a company in earning competitive advantage. Rather care must be taken in rendering their own developments by steadily incorporating their views in business decision making. This fact would improve the leadership traits within such individuals and thereby would improve loyalty to the concern (Armstrong, 2008, p.8). In regards to the case study it is observed that the previous human resource policy in the concern focused more on developing the performances and productivity of the employees. However the reviewed human resources policy after the joining of Kim Patel started focusing more on developing communication with the people by widely engaging them into various decision making activities. Thus the human resources policy structure in Cafe Co earned a shift from hard to soft after joining of Kim Patel and thus worked in developing loyalty of the employees. 2. In several organisations nowadays it is found that the line managers are being entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting, developing and training the human resources that would be working under them. This fact has some salient advantages in that it helps the human resource management of the company in delegating the organisational tasks and thus causes effective distribution of labour. The line managers in such action are required to operate in close cooperation with the human resource professionals for helping in accomplishment of business objectives (Armstrong, 2006, p.93-96). In this case it is also found that Kim Patel worked closely in delegating the human resource functions to the line managers. She observed that such practice would help in developing relationships with the line managers in that they would become more responsible and loyal to the company. Thus this process was carried out in a continual fashion in the company. 3. Ulrich suggests basically four roles for human resource managers while dealing with the employees of the company. In the first case an expert professional needs to execute strategic actions through the line managers existing in the concern. In regards to the case study it is found that Kim Patel also widely focused in engaging the views of the line managers in recruiting and developing employees for the concern. The change of focus of human resource management in widely incorporating the line managers greatly helped in motivating the first line managers and thereby enhancing the loyalty factor of the people. Further Ulrich also mentioned that obtaining an expert touch on the subject of organisation and effective execution of the said task would help improve the total efficiency and productivity of the concern. This would be possible for exchange of expert opinion would mean transformation of explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge. The expert opinion would thus help in paving productivity and profitability for the concern. In the case it is found that separate human resource systems were introduced in the organisation like performance appraisal systems which in turn worked in enhancing the productivity and skill sets of the employees. The performance appraisal of the employees was conducted on a 360 degree basis which helped the people understand their position in regards to the holistic organisational framework. Productivity and performance systems in the concerns were started to be widely linked to the incentive framework. Such performance linked incentive structure in the organisation would help in enhancing the productivity of the organisational people and thereby help in enhancing the organisational performance. Ulrich also embarked on the third thought where the change manager would help in highlighting the views and ethos of the people in the concern. The change manager would need to act as the representative of the employees in the concern (Wilton, 2010, p.17). In the case study it is found that Kim acted as the representative of the employees of the concern. Kim endeavoured in understanding the needs of the people in the concern and thus worked in engaging the people to work in shaping organisational decisions. Finally Kim Patel in such actions closely worked in transforming the organisational culture of Cafe Co which serves as the fourth point as projected by Ulrich. Such transformational leadership would help in forming new organisational cultures in which the line managers start acting as decisive players in the concern. 4. (a) Kim identified several reasons which were responsible for making Cafe Co earn a backseat in regards to recruitment and sustaining functions of the right labour force. It is found that the company only focused on recruiting skilled labour forces that would have required qualifications and knowledge about the work. However the company worked little to enhance the communication mechanism with the recruited workforce. The lack of proper communication and training mechanism happened to create a problem for the company in sustaining the right workforce in the concern. On the contrary the human resource managers employed in Cafe Co took to threatening the employees that failed to satisfy the work standards. The human resource managers took every step in making their life uncomfortable in existing in the company. Moreover the human resource management in the company was found quite distinct from the board for which the human resource policies were kept only on a verbal note and not put on paper. Furthermore the company also suffered from other constraints and backlogs for which the company failed to render adequate wages to the staffs and also catered less for their development opportunities. The employee recruitment policy in the company was also based on contracts that mainly took hold of international and cross border employees. These people would serve mainly on contractual basis reflecting high amount of attrition rates for the company. Coupled with the human resource problem the company was also found to suffer from loss of market share that made the condition far more miserable. The employees working in the company greatly suffered from lack of proper motivation that again happened to disrupt the human resources potential in the concern. Management team at Cafe Co contributed largely for the faulty recruitment process in the concern. The managers endeavoured largely for not putting into application the human resource principles which were put into pen and paper. Though the recruitment policies in pen and paper focused more on recruiting the right workforce which would be flexible enough and also rendered stress on teamwork the practice of the same reflected large discrepancies. In practice the human resource managers only focused on recruiting qualified workforce that would help enhance the productivity of the concern and thereby greatly drifted from the policies underlined in paper. The above points greatly reflect the reasons for which the recruitment and selection practices in Cafe Co encountered a large amount of problems. (b) The recruitment and selection function in Cafe Co and other baristas must keenly focus on certain specifications as in identifying the right role or function of the people in the concern. Thereby focusing on the role or function identified the manager is required to rightly and effectively recruit the right and suitable person for the right position in the concern. Devising on the criteria identified the human resource manager is thereby required to formulate specific interview questions that would help in properly identifying and selecting the right labour force in the company. Job roles within Barista The job roles in a barista are constituted by three categories. The ground category is comprised of workers that would serve the company as coffee tenders. These people are required to produce quality coffee for the customers and effectively serve the same. The coffee tenders are required to effectively connect with the consumer groups visiting the barista through a welcome note and in visiting the different tables in order to get a note of different tastes and needs. These people are also required to project different samples of the coffee products in order to attract the consumers to get a feel of the same. The ground level staffs in the company are also entrusted with the responsibility of managing the cleanliness of the store side-by-side focusing on enhancing the revenues and sales of the company. These people being in the front line are responsible for enhancing the brand name of the company through effective customer servicing functions. Above the ground role in barista comprised of coffee tenders is the role of shift managers. The shift managers acting as the first line managers in the company are responsible in managing the ground level people in generation of sales and revenues for the company. These people manage the operational framework of the company based on certain standardised guidelines and policies pertaining to health and quality issues. These managers are also responsible for maintenance and rotation of the inventory levels of the raw and processes cafe beans and products in the concern. Right from the opening to the closing of the store the shift managers focus on properly serving the consumers and thus work in enhancing the brand image and value of the company. The line managers or the shift managers in this account are also required to work in the development of partnerships regarding the effective procurement of raw materials and the right and effective manpower. The highest position in a Barista is that of the store manager. The role of the store managers centres around management of the entire operations of the store in regards to creating an attractive ambience for welcoming large number of consumers. Moreover the store manager is responsible for maintenance and effective disbursement of reports pertaining to sales and inventory, revenue reports and other reports belonging to the category of housekeeping and other functions. The store manager is also responsible for maintaining and sustaining effective relationships with the partners supplying both inventory and human resources to the concern (Holt and Cameron, 2010, 2010, p.108). Selecting the Right Person For the role of coffee tenders the company can focus on recruiting graduates that are keen to work in a competitive environment and interested in taking care of the needs of the consumers. These people can be effectively trained to help in changing desires of the consumers. Experience is not mandatory in this account however 1-2 years would be preferred. However for the role of shift and store managers a degree of management should be stressed. Further relevant work experience in regards to the said function of around 3-5 years would certainly help in dealing with the needs of Cafe Co. 5. The recruitment and selection process reviewed on the above account would surely help in enhancing the effectiveness and competency of the concern. Firstly the identification of the separate organisational and operational roles in the concern would help in rightly recruiting effective manpower. Secondly the description of such roles would help the management in devising effective training modules and communication pattern with the workforce. The modules would help the people in enhancing the tacit knowledge while working in the concern and thereby would help develop their productivity and skills. Thirdly the identification of the roles in the concern would help avoid clash of interests and ideas of the different people working in the concern. Different set of questions and treatment can be rendered in the interviews for interviewing the different groups of people in regards to the different roles. These set of questions prepared would focus on the traits and personality of the individuals to help understand their suitability to the roles and sections created in the company. It is held that such practice would certainly help in enhancing the human resources productivity in Cafe Co (Moorhead and Griffin, 2008, p.225). Part 2 6. (a) Overall Aim and Specific Learning Objectives for the Induction Program The aims and objectives of the induction training program which is held for two days can be enumerated as follows. In the first day the training program focuses to give introduction about the origin of the company. The employees must be well versed with the vision and mission of the company that mainly focuses on meeting the enhanced needs of the consumers and growing its brand image. The second day of the training module is more specialised in nature and thereby tends to give a brief description of the different roles in the company. Herein the delegation of the duties of the staff pertaining to different levels is conducted (Wallace, 1996, p.19). (b) The first day module of the training program would help in enhancing the loyalty of the people towards the concern in that they would better understand the organisational philosophy. The training module would motivate the people in moving towards the fulfilment of organisational objectives. Again the second day module focuses on the aspects describing the job roles of the individuals in the concern. Thus it help demarcates the different roles of the people and in that motivates the people in shouldering of responsibilities. Entrusting responsibilities upon the different individuals provides them an opportunity to grow in that it designs the career path for them in the organisation (Fleming, 2004, p.143). (c) The first day training module would be for a period of two and half hours and would be of an introductory pattern. This module must use resources like projector and a board for helping in preparing a PowerPoint presentation and then describing such on a board through the use of markers. It must also involve a question hour session that can last for an hour in which the different queries of the participants would be effectively addressed. -Introduction about the History of the Company: The contents should be designed in helping the participants have the feel about the process in which the resources have been gained in designing Cafe Co amidst other competitors operating in the same area. -Rendering Knowledge on the Philosophy and Vision of the Company: In this knowledge would be disseminated to the participants about the vision based on which the company operates. The participants must have a clear understanding of the importance of consumers in the company’s operation. -The operating rules of the company: The first day induction module should provide knowledge to the employees about the rules based on which the company operates. The employees must be given proper directions about the operating schedules and processes in the company. This process helps in defining and making clear the operating framework in which the employees are required to function and thus helps in implementing the disciplinary framework in the company. The second day module must range for a period of four hours that would help in acquainting the employees with the different job roles in the concern. In that also PowerPoint presentations need to be prepared to render visual clarity to the employees. Again a question answer session can be incorporated in this module to help answer the different queries of the participants in the training process. -Description of Work and Responsibility: The second day module focuses on describing the different roles of the employees in the company. In that the module first creates a general impression in the minds of the participants about the different types of duties performed from the ground to the managerial level. Further the module divides the participants into two groups coffee tenders and managers. In that the module briefs the participants based in two groups of the entire set of duties that they would be required to be performed in their course of work in the concern. -Resources and Line of Action Defined: The module works further in defining the different types of resources both machineries and knowledge resources that would be availed by the people while tending to work in the concern. The coffee operators would be better trained in regards to the use of coffee machines and the different raw materials that would be required for the preparation of the recipes. The management team needs to be preached on the process in which reports would be generated to the head office in regards to the inventory, sales and revenue parameters. The managers are required to understand the inventory rotation mechanisms based on which they can help enhance the productivity of the concern. -Customer Care Process: The second day module also focuses on the process in which the ground people and the managers need to be effectively trained to help meet the needs and desires of the consumers. The human resources operating in the company need to be effectively trained in meeting the standards pertaining to company that would help in enhancing the brand loyalty of Cafe Co (Nankveris, Compton and Morrissey, 2009, p.184). (d) For the first module providing information to the participants about the history, philosophy, mission and vision of the company the same can be rendered through the designing of PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint slides would help the recipients in getting a concise understanding of the company they would be working for and in enhancing their potential and reforming their mindset. Further handling of manuals would also help in providing a detailed understanding of the same and would serve the people as a directory in their tenure in the company. In the same manner the operational guidelines and procedures can be presented to the participants in the form of PowerPoint slides and also in the form of manuals. The participants need to be briefed accordingly by the trainers while rendering such presentations in a manner that the participants understand the seriousness of such rules. Thus both verbal and written media along with electronic slides would be incorporated in this case that would help in successful transmission of ideas from the trainer to the recipient. Both print and visual media incorporated in this case would help in enhancing the quality of the training imparted to the participants in the organisation. PowerPoint slides would also help the trainer in communicating successfully with a large number of participants in a simultaneous fashion. The flow of communication enhanced would also help in inviting proper and effective queries from the participants and thus would help in enhancing their skills, productivity and interest in working in the concern. Apart from such techniques the use of compact discs can also be made by the concern in rendering large volumes of data to the participants. These compact discs would serve as data repositories for the different participants in the future and thereby would help in meeting future knowledge needs. The media usage can also be extended to video conversations wherein the company head can effectively communicate with the newcomers in the induction program. This extension of the media function would help in further motivating the people to engage them in such induction programs in a much productive manner. Use of such media not only enhances the quality of the induction programs but also increases the motivation and productivity of the people in the concern (Fang, Choudhury and Hinze, 2006, p.454). For the second module again the use of PowerPoint slides can be effectively incorporated while helping the participants understand the different roles and responsibilities present in the concern. In the PowerPoint slides the different roles can be briefed with the job requirements to render an initial knowledge to the participants. Such use of slides would help the people in getting a brief knowledge about the roles that they are required to play while working in the different departments in the concern. The use of manuals would also be rendered in this case that would help the participants in getting a total understanding of the different machineries and processes and how to go about with it. In this case also the manuals would serve as directories to the people and also would successfully render a host of product knowledge to the participants. The people working in the ground level through such manuals would better understand the different processes in which the coffee preparations are required to be made to attract the consumers. Similarly the people working in the managerial roles in the concern would get a broader understanding of the effectiveness in preparation and issue of different sales, revenue and inventory reports through such media. In this case a third media other than the print and PowerPoint slides can also be largely incorporated. This media is generally related to the audio-visual mode and incorporates the use of video. Through the use of video the participants’ attraction can be effectively drawn in rendering practical insights through the projection of different role plays. Video techniques help the people in getting the practical insight about the several issues related to the production techniques and also in relation to the manner in serving the consumers effectively. The videos can be so produced as to create a visual impact of the different cases that come into front while dealing with the consumers that tend to visit the outlets of Cafe Co. Through the visual imaging rendered by such videos the people can easily come to understand the different issues that crop up while dealing with the consumers. The videos can also help the participants in understanding the process of effectively tackling such issues and thereby in helping to sustain consumer loyalty to the concern. Incorporation of audio-visual media together with PowerPoint slides and print media helps in enhancing the potential of understanding of the people in the concern. In videos different persons are portrayed that act in different roles and thereby help in enhancing the understand ability of the participants as to the functions or operations required to be conducted by them. On skill training of the participants is also emphasized in this module wherein the participants are engaged in for a week or two in different outlets. The participants are put into on hands training in the several departments where they gain productivity and skills through the performance of the different functions. The creation of three dimensional frameworks in computers acts as very good communicating medium that would help in depicting effective visuals for explaining the departmental activities to the people. Use of these mediums can now be easily conceptualised which in the earlier periods was restricted to print media and PowerPoint presentations (Noonan, 1997, p.157; Nagel, 2000, p.56). (e) Evaluation of the induction course can be done at two levels. In the first level the course proceeds to engage the employees to gain knowledge about the company’s origin, its functions, corporate philosophy, mission, vision and values. This fact helps in enhancing the nature of acquaintance of the people with the concern and thereby focuses on augmenting the loyalty of the people. In the second case the course reflects the various positions and roles in the company and the different duties that are required to be performed by the people in such frameworks. This strategy helps in the effective delegation and dissemination of responsibilities within the corporate structure. Further the second module also helps the personnel recruited in earning adequate knowledge of the products and services that would be produced and sold to the consumers at large. The personnel in this category would also be trained in dealing with the queries and needs of the consumers and acting on such basis to enhance the brand image of the company in the market. Further evaluation can be rendered on the different media usages for the two modules. In the first case the use of print media through the production of manuals and rendering PowerPoint slides helps in elucidating on the historical, procedural and visionary aspects of the company to the participants. Again in the second case the use of media reflects enhanced use of both print media and PowerPoint slides that would help in briefing the participants about the job roles that they ought to play in the concern. Further this module also strategizes on the use of video presentations to help the participants understand the process of providing effective customer care. This strategy is taken to help in the enhancement of the brand image of the concern (Grobler and Warnich, 2005, p.215; Gelbukh, 2011, p.258). Section D 1. In the process of completing the assignment learning is developed on the recruitment and selection process of the baristas. Further knowledge is developed about the nature of transformations that ought to be brought in the barista, Cafe Co to help develop the potential of the human resources. Effective communication and human resource strategies needs to be developed in order to motivate the people to work productively and thereby in enhancing employee loyalty. Similarly knowledge is also gained on the process and methodology of rendering effective induction training to the new employees in the concern. The knowledge helps in effectively absorbing the people to blend with the company’s philosophy and mission objectives. 2. The conduct of the project earned dynamism through the help obtained from consulting a large number of secondary sources. The large number of secondary sources consulted is in the form of books, journals and articles that help the researcher in gaining in depth knowledge of the recruiting and development process. However the research suffers from a limitation in which a primary survey needs to be conducted in regards to interviewing the personnel. Such survey would have helped the project in getting hold of practical knowledge of the employees’ status in the concern and the strategies needed to be incorporated to help develop on such. 3. In regards to Part 1 it is observed that the write up submitted for the recruitment and selection process could be better rendered through the incorporation of a practical survey of the existing process in the company. Such process would have helped in understanding of the changes that needs to be rendered in the existing process to make it more competitive in relation to the external environment. Again in relation to Part 2 it is observed that the induction program framed for the company, Cafe Co should have been bettered up through the reflection of the induction program in operation in any company or industry. The reflection of an induction program in regards to a company would better help in formulating a more practical induction program for Cafe Co. 4. In regards to the next time when conducting such project effective work must be taken in designing of questionnaire and taking help of case studies. This practice would certainly help in enhancing the quality of the research activity as it would reflect enhanced practicality while dealing with the subjects or issue in question. 5. Separate actions plans can be taken in regards to the study of the situation both in relation to the recruitment and selection process and also in regards to the induction training method. The recruitment and selection process can be further modified to not only focus on taking quality aspirants for the job but rather on the interests of the interviewee in doing the job and as well as on the teamwork capacity of the individuals. Again while focusing on the second aspect clarity must be rendered in diving the induction program between the two teams-the coffee tenders and the managerial team. Such clarity would help in enhancing the quality of the induction programs formulated for the same. References Armstrong, M. (2009). Armstrongs Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Armstrong, M. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Publishers. [Pdf]. Available At: http://hornbill.dcschool.net/gsdl/collect/600techn/index/assoc/HASH404c.dir/doc.pdf. [Accessed on December 22, 2011]. Wilton, N. (2010). An Introduction to Human Resource Management. SAGE Publications Ltd. Holt, D., and Cameron, D. (2010). Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands. Oxford University Press. Moorhead, G., and Griffin, R. (2008). Organizational Behavior Managing People And Organizations, 2009 Ed. Dreamtech Press. Grobler, P., and Warnich, S. (2005). 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