Problem
After dealing with imports, the board asks you to visit the kitchen in one of their factories. The kitchen is where all of the organic ingredients are incorporated into various recipes to make the final product - soups, pasta mixes, sauces, and other related products. Here you meet with the head chef, Gianna. Gianna is distressed and desperate for your help. In fact, one of the reasons the board called on you was because Gianna suggested the need for a consultant. You meet with Gianna, and she describes two problems she is facing.
Question I
First, Gianna explains that she has been facing staffing issues. During the pandemic, many of her employees were asked to stay home, and eventually, she had to lay off 6 of her 24 cooks. Though the remaining 18 cooks were relieved to keep their job, seeing their friends and colleagues be laid off was emotionally difficult, and they started to wonder how secure their own positions are, and whether they themselves may lose their jobs. Now that most restrictions have been lifted, the workload is increasing, and many cooks are expected to work more efficiently than before. Gianna has noticed, however, that although her cooks are at work, they seem disengaged from completing their actual work. They tend to be on their phones chatting with friends and looking at social media. Gianna even noticed one employee updating their LinkedIn profile, and applying for jobs, while he was supposed to be cooking. Finally, one of Gianna's most reliable employees, Erica, seems emotionally down, and though she is at work, she seems mentally out of it, exhausted, and maybe even ill; she is unable to concentrate on her tasks and has been making several errors in the kitchen.
i. What behaviours are her employees exhibiting? Explain using terms and theory from course materials and justify your answer with examples.
ii. Using evidence and theory from your OB course, provide Gianna with two managerial recommendations of how she can get her employees more committed and engaged in their roles. Be specific and provide examples of how Gianna could put these ideas into action.
Question II
Second, Gianna mentions one employee, David, who has been particularly challenging to manage. In many ways, David is a good individual worker: he has excellent knife skills that contribute to his prep work, he is skilled in the kitchen, and he makes great final products that are always delivered on time. However, David does not contribute to a very good team atmosphere, and he often ignores and disregards the other cooks' opinions. David also loses his temper and has been known to break kitchen equipment when a co-worker makes a mistake. Working as a team is essential to working in the kitchen, and a key part of every cook's job - when the cooks work together, more gets accomplished. Gianna does not want to lose David as a cook, but she doesn't know how to address these issues.
i. How would you evaluate David's performance (be specific, where are his strengths, where are his weaknesses; justify your response).
ii. What recommendations would you make to Gianna, in order to manage David's performance? Be specific and provide examples.