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BUS217 -Final Paper 1) Select a company to use for this paper. This might be a company that you currently work for, a company you have worked for in the past, or a company you are familiar with through a friend or family member. If necessary, you can use ACC as an example. 2) Select one or more managers within your chosen company to interview. For each of the terms below, create an open ended interview question that will help you gain a better understanding of the term itself as well as how the term relates to the company you have chosen. If you are unfamiliar with the terms, type them into Google and ask for examples and definitions. 3) You will have a total of 10 multi-part interview questions when you are finished. You should ensure that your questions multi layered. (Example: From the management perspective, what are some of the ways you motivate/incent your employees to work efficiently as a part of a team when they are working from home? Describe a time that the team you managed was successful and what made that team successful. Tell me about a time the team was not successful…what happened? How did you handle it? What would you do differently next time?) 4) Utilize the information you have learned from your interview to write your final paper. Your paper should be 4-6 pages in length. Please ensure your interview questions allow your interviewee to give you examples of experiences, personal thoughts, situations they have encountered, etc. 5) Submit a copy of the questions you created at the end of your paper for me to reference. 6) Be sure to write your paper in essay format…not question and answer. Label each section of your paper so I know which term you are referencing. (See the sample below for formatting). · Team · Stereotypes · Brainstorming · Organizational Culture · Soft Skills · Slander · Direct/Indirect Strategy for Communication · Pros and Cons of Instant Messaging and Texting · Social Networking Sites · Adjustment Messages 7) Please ensure you have a conclusion paragraph describing what you learned from this paper. 8) What is special about our Batman? Interview Questions Ideas · Tell me about a time when…. · Describe a situation… · Help me understand… · Explain a situation in which… · What happened? · How did you handle it? · What would you do differently next time? · What are your recommendations…? · What are your thoughts regarding…? · If you were CEO what would be your suggestions regarding __________________? Sample Final Paper (Different terms used…just take note of the formatting). Founded in 1997, East Moon Asian Bistro is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and has been recognized for its outstanding Sushi. The restaurant offers a wide variety of delicious Asian cuisine available for dine-in, take out, and delivery. Using only high-quality fresh ingredients, East Moon is a go-to restaurant for families. The first East Moon opened its door for the public in Longmont, Colorado. Now the family-owned restaurant has 4 fully operational outlets with the three additional branches located in Centennial, Fort Collins, and Broomfield. This interview was made possible with the help of East Moon Asian Bistro in Centennial’s owner, Jeane Yang. Jeane has been managing her restaurant for almost 10 years, along with her partner Steven Chen. She completed her education at the University of Colorado (Denver), graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business management and accounting. During her time working as a part-time server at East Moon’s first outlet, she fell in love with the dynamic of a restaurant. Jeane worked her way up and opened her own restaurant branch in 2010. I chose to give my presentation and paper on East Moon because it connects to my current major, business transfer. Through this interview, I wanted to get an insight into the challenges of utilizing a bachelor’s degree in management and accounting in the real world. I hope to finally get a firm decision regarding which business major to take when I transfer to a 4-year university, that will help me build a successful career. Jeane Yang is the perfect interviewee to help me reach this goal. I have been working as a hostess at East Moon for almost 2 years. With the time spent working with Jeane as her employee/co-worker, I wish to get some career advice that suits my personality and work habit. Team The owner of East Moon Asian Bistro, Jeane, describes the importance of working together as a team within the company. Restaurants are built from a lot of different parts including dine-in area, take out and delivery station, packing station, inventories, customer service, and many more. Therefore, working alone is an impossible task. The restaurant needs a perfect balance of working individually and as a team. East Moon is the busiest during rush hours where all customers come in at the same time, usually at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and 7 p.m. on Fridays. This is the time when good teamwork is crucial. For example, if all eight of the restaurant servers are busy working on the packing station, the dine-in customers will be abandoned. Every employee needs to know their position and responsibilities. Seat sectioning is also important so that all servers get a fair amount of work. As an owner, Jeane’s goal is to provide all customers with the best quality of food and the best customer service. To build a sense of teamwork within the restaurant, she needs to start with her employees. East Moon makes sure its employees are treated with respect by building a close relationship. Jeane states that she wants her employees to feel like she is their partner and encourages them to ask for her help whenever they feel stuck or overwhelmed. Jeane also mentions her struggles in building a successful team. She needs to be able to cover multiple positions when employees do not show up to work or call in at the last minute to inform her about their absence. A good old strategy East Moon uses is to avoid hiring couples because it is hard to miss two people at the same time. Stereotypes In order to avoid the stereotypes of a cramped chain restaurant, East Moon has been implementing two different strategies. The first one is to establish a clean and spacious atmosphere. Customers will feel more comfortable to dine-in with their families on a Sunday afternoon or special occasions. East Moon has hosted three bachelor parties and countless birthdays. These events help build more trust between the restaurant and the customers. Second, Jeane as the restaurant owner tries to socialize with the customers as often as possible. The goal is to pay attention to customers’ details so that they feel valued and cared for. This includes their eating habits such as favorites or special instructions on the dishes. In addition to this, East Moon encourages its employees to treat customers as their friend or family relative and the restaurant assures every customer that the service is bias-free. Because most of the employees receive a monthly salary without tips from customers, tipping does not influence the service either. Jeane describes a situation where she received a complaint from a regular customer stating he was not treated well and felt like he was being racially profiled. When Jeane asked the employee involved, she figured out that this incident happened simply because the customer had not given a decent amount of tips in the past transactions. Starting that month, Jeane revised the restaurant’s policy. All customer’s tips collected by servers now belong to the restaurant and the servers get higher salaries to compensate. This policy is taken in the hope of providing fair service to all customers. Brainstorming Good teamwork consists of productive brainstorming, especially in a fast-paced environment. When in doubt, employees at East Moon work together as a team and ask each other for any advice or recommendation despite the cultural/age differences. Younger employees are often asked to teach their older coworkers how to use the order tablets efficiently or taking a credit card payment. They get wise advice on handling grumpy customers from the older employees in return. The restaurant owner, Jeane describes the custom routine at East Moon. When the restaurant has new products, it will hold a sample testing for all of the employees. Their opinions on the dishes will be taken into consideration. Employees are expected to be able to describe the taste and/or texture of the food to customers after the sample. Jeane emphasizes that as a manager, the most important thing to do to promote brainstorming is to respect everyone. “Share your ideas with them and ask for their ideas,” she said, referring to the employees. It is crucial to work together, gathering different ideas and concepts, and putting all of the possible solutions in a list. From here, she just needs to account for the advantages and disadvantages of each plan to find the best solution. Organizational Culture Employees working at East Moon have different cultures, educational backgrounds, and religions. To make sure every opinion and concerns are being heard, the restaurant holds a group meeting once every week. In these meetings, employees are encouraged to share any thoughts regarding the workplace whether it is positive or negative. They are also able to contribute into planning and decorating all of the upcoming events such as Christmas or the football season. The restaurant owner, Jeane takes this opportunity to discuss negative feedback from customers with the employees as well. The goal is to study customer’s habits and improve the restaurant’s performance so future mistakes can be prevented. Jeane states that in order to strengthen the bond between employees even more, the restaurant holds social outings at least once every month. For example, all employees are invited to eat out on the second Tuesdays of every month. On more special occasions such as Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year, the event will be held in the restaurant after it is closed. Soft Skills Even though hard skills are essential in the foodservice industry, soft skills are just as important. Customers must feel welcomed and comfortable for the restaurant to compete strongly. East Moon is a family-friendly restaurant featured with a minibar available for the parents to get alcoholic drinks. Employees should be able to work with mischievous kids as well as adults that are trying to watch football while drinking some cold beers. Aside from kids and adults, East Moon has a number of loyal elder customers. That being said, employees need to be patient and gentle when it comes to serving older people. They also should be able to communicate clearly as the restaurant is very diverse with people from various backgrounds. Word choices and body gestures must be carefully thought-out in order to not offend anyone. The owner/manager of East Moon, Jeane states that a neatly organized environment helps promote employees’ soft skills development. Therefore, she sets up a daily worksheet to check all the inventories and all the things that are needed to be done for the day. She also tries to do the bookkeeping at least once every two weeks. This includes payroll, scanning all hardcopy documents to a computer, and clearing the files that are no longer needed. Slander Slander happens in and around our daily lives no matter how hard we try to avoid it. In the business world, this could lead to a more serious matter with legal consequences involving law enforcement. East Moon has never been a suspect to slander in its 10 years of operation. The strategy is to resolve any complaints or dissatisfaction immediately. Online negative reviews that are defamatory will be replied within 24 hours by MainStreetHub’s team. From here, the owner and the upset customer can work together to find a middle ground but only if the customer is willing to cooperate. Yet, slander still happens in the workplace. Unfair customer seating and tip sharing are the main cause of slander among employees. As an owner, Jeane has also experienced slander firsthand. In the interview, Jeane explains an incident where she was accused of favoritism towards one specific employee. She held a group meeting to discuss this problem with the entire restaurant staff openly, as it was affecting the employee’s performance. Jeane states that calm and thoughtful conversations help clarify a situation like this. Direct/Indirect Strategy for Communication With tight competition among the foodservice industry, strategies used for communication vary and are dependent on the situation. An indirect approach is preferable when the restaurant is trying to win the customer’s heart. All employees must understand how to handle a dissatisfied customer professionally. This includes figuring out the most convenient solution for both the customer and the restaurant. East Moon assures that every feedback is valued by encouraging its employees to sympathize with the customer while resolving their complaints. On the other side, a direct strategy for communication is commonly used within the restaurant. As an owner/manager, Jeane gives her employees constructive feedback blatantly but politely. Employees are also able to correct their coworker’s minor mistakes directly, which builds that sense of teamwork. Major mistakes such as dishonesty exclude from this list as it might start a gossip war in the workplace. Jeane takes care of the bigger problems herself and tries to involve as few people as possible. She usually analyzes how serious the situation is before determining which strategy of communication is best to use. In a more severe case, she asks the employee involved to leave directly. Pros and Cons of Instant Messaging and Texting Communication is crucial in a diverse restaurant, especially one that is verbally expressed. Instant messaging is not utilized as most employees at East Moon prefer a face-to-face conversation to avoid any misunderstanding. In a situation where a language barrier prevents this from happening, texting is acceptable and highly recommended as long as it is executed appropriately. This usually takes place in the packing station or kitchen area. During the interview, Jeane mentions that some of the employees who are working in their second language feel more comfortable to communicate through writing. With the help of Google translate or other translate apps, cross-cultural miscommunication can be prevented. However, non-work-related texting is not allowed and employees cannot use their phones while talking to customers. Using text messages or cell phones for personal use for a suspiciously long period of time is also not acceptable. Social Networking Sites Advertising plays an important role in the growth of a business. It can be done online or the traditional way. Besides coupons and newspapers, East Moon is partnering with GoDaddy to set up a professional web page as a way to advertise the restaurant. Customers are able to view the restaurant’s menu, place a delivery or take our orders, and make reservations through this web page. East Moon is also active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp. These social networks are managed by MainStreetHub’s team. They reply to positive and negative reviews on behalf of the restaurant and post contents every other day to engage with the customers. When it comes to employees, East Moon does not strictly control or monitor their social media. Employees are free to express themselves as long as it is not work-related. This includes keeping customer’s information private. Adjustment Messages Almost everything in a restaurant goes in and out quickly, even in the lounge area. Customers are expecting the dishes to be served within 15 minutes after placing the order whether it is for dine-in or take out. The restaurant owner, Jeane, emphasizes that this is the standard East Moon holds to maintain its professionalism. Every employee knows their station and their responsibilities. On the weekends however, a lot of things are happening at the same time. East Moon is usually fully booked especially on Fridays with the rush hours between 5 to 7 in the evening. Flooded with orders, mistakes are often inevitable. Jeane mentions that most complaints are resolved instantly without any adjustment messages needed. Whenever there is a phone call from dissatisfied customers, the employee will confirm the order and resolve the issue. For example, if the order is not complete, the restaurant will send any missing items to the customer’s place. If the customer did not recognize the food, the employees will explain what the food looks like and the container that carries the food. In a more serious situation where the customer refuses to have the missing food delivered, the option to receive a store credit and/or a refund is always available. Conclusion After this interview, I am able to look at entrepreneurship from the bigger picture. Talking to Jeane was a lot of fun, she made 30 questions felt short. I finally understand the joy that people get from working in the service industry. Besides financial security, a lot of restaurant owners enjoy the feeling of hosting people after a long day at work or just being there to celebrate birthdays. This obviously comes with passion and hard work. Even though owning a restaurant seems profitable, I would not choose that as a career because I want to travel and see the world. This assignment gave me the opportunity to talk heart-to-heart with Jeane. One advice I found helpful is to major in both financial and accounting if I am planning to expertise in business. I also had the chance to get Jeane’s perspective as an owner and this will help me to be a better employee not only at East Moon, but also in my future jobs.
