Leadership and Management Case Study: Chefs

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP and management in hospitality organisations

BTEC Unit 2

UNIT 1

1.0 Understand the difference between leading and managing teams

A leader needs to envision what the business is to become. A leader can cultivate their imagination to inform their vision. It helps them to “see” what can be.  A manager must have the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve the goals set forth by the leader and to understand that vision and drive their teams to do the specific work necessary to accomplish what has been expressed.

1.1 Explain the difference between “leadership” and “management”

The hospitality and catering industry is made up of people with craft skills. The craft person is involved with food production, the catering assistant in Greenshaw High School kitchen is the supervisor, supervising a section or sections of the food production system. They are leader in they area of responsibility. Kitchen supervisors will have worked their way up through the section or sections before reaching supervisory responsibility. The supervisor need to be able “to do “ as well as knowing “what to do” and “ how to do it”. It is very important and necessary to be able impart some of these skills to his/her team, to have initiative and to motivate the team.

Effective management starts with how one sees oneself, how superiors see you and how those you are responsible for see you. Key skills for management include:

• Self management
• Time management
• Decision making
• Communication
• Resource management

When working in a team it is essential to plan, to use the ideas of the team members so that you can be effective.

1.2Compare the behaviours that are associated with effective leadership

The team leader has a strong influence on his/her team, and is expected to set examples that have to be followed particularly when under pressure, dealing with conflict, personality clash, change and stress.

People’s behaviour is affected by many factors, e.g.:

• Individual characteristics, cultural attributes and social skills.

The leader must lead rather than drive and encourage the team to practise reasonable and supportive behaviour so that any problems are dealt with in an objective way and the team’s personal skills are harnessed to achieve their full potential.

1.3 Explain how leadership and management styles can be adapted to respond to particular work situation.

Every team have to deal with:

• The egos and the weakness and strengths of the individuals
• Relationships/circumstances constantly changing

The head is able to manage the team successfully by pulling back from the task in hand. He must to examine the processes that create efficient teamwork, finding out what it is that makes them greater than the sum of its parts. To assist this process the following is necessary:

• Have a consistent approach to solving problems
• Take into account people’s characters as well as their technical skills
• Encourage supportive behaviour in the team
• Create an open, healthy climate
• Make time for the team to appraise its progress

E.g.:

It is important to reflect and analyse the nature of conflict and individual attitudes to it.

In the school kitchen several members of the team complained of one of the senior supervisors. The complaint consists in the fact that it raises the voice and tries to force itself. I called him into the office and tried to find out more of his professional background. After a period of discussion I found out the reason for his behaviour: he is a former soldier! From that moment I tried to explain to him that he is now working in civilian life and team members are ordinary people and that respect is gained by the power of the example and not by the power that his position gives him in the kitchen. It’s been almost two years since then, and changes in his attitude have been observed.

An understanding of what motivates staff is crucial to the creation of productivity and the realisation of profits. People’s needs and wants are complex and often difficult to define. Money and status are important but they cannot be relied upon exclusively. Behavioural scientists have provided useful ways of thinking about people’s needs and wants.

Maslow concentrated on human needs, which are defined as five-fold:

• PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

The need for food and shelter

• SAFETY NEEDS

The security of home and work

• SOCIAL NEEDS

The need for a supportive environment

• ESTEEM NEEDS

Gaining the respect of others

• SELF-FULFILMENT

The need to realise one’s potential

Thus, at different stages of career development, each individual has different values depending on their progress through the “hierarchy of needs”. Unless these factors go towards fulfilling the orgasitional needs and the expectations of team members, if pay and prospects within the establishment are bad, the system should be improved and performance should be recognised. Therefore, the leader should attempt to intercede on behalf of his staff. This, in turn, will help to increase their motivation and their commitment to the team.

For the leader to manage his staff effectively, it is important to get to know them well, understand their needs and aspirations, and help them achieve their personal aims.

Maslow and McGregor were colleagues and friends. They embraced psychology and united their reflections on updating, personal development and further on to leadership and management, the opinions recorded half a century ago being extremely current.

McGregor uses Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs and the five types of essential needs to propose a new style in working with employees. And he calls it “Theory Y” in opposition to “Theory X”.

We have to understand that in the absence of a verbal internal communication, of real communication, it is impossible to think of management through the Y theory and, most likely, the X theory will not work satisfactorily.  Maslow does not pronounce firmly on one of the variants and recognizes how McGregor’s entire theoretical scaffold is based on his research – “But if I do not know how fragile that base is, as a definitive foundation, then clearly no one knows it! “(1) – but it is certain that no matter how unsustainable is Y theory, theory X stands even less so because it is based on the Pygmalion effect(2). We leave the premise that people do not want to work, take responsibility, they are lazy and they lack the initiative, we “communicate” (including non-verbal) the associated label and we will find, not long ago, that I was right. We are “brilliant” and very pleased with ourselves. Management through X theory was born out of fear of failure, while to accept management through Y theory, the manager / supervisor must defeat his fear of fear.

E.g.:

In a Canadian aluminium factory there were two melting lines whose performance was no different in spite of the (theoretically) identical working conditions(3). Only a melting line was led by a supervisor who guided the X theory (employees are lazy, incapable and must be told all they have to do) and the second by a permissive supervisor. It was based on the premise that workers are intelligent enough to know what to do without constant monitoring and permanent apostrophes. What were the results of these diametrically opposite types of management? The first supervisor was exhausted all the time, stirring the workers’ disapproval. The atmosphere of the working class was better in the second situation. The second line produced more aluminium. Aluminium quality was superior to the second melting line. The second line fails less and requires 10% fewer spare parts than the first line of melting. Second-line workers had less sick leave days and were slower on schedule.

(1)www.greatschool.org/gk/articles/cash-for-grades/p.480

(2) The Pygmalyon effect is the phenomenon in which the higher the expectations for a person it is, the higher the performance is.

(3) www.greatschool.org/gk/articles/cash-for-grades/p.129-131

2.2 Explain how attitudes and assumptions can influence managerial behaviour.

Trust and support with one’s immediate manager will simply not appear in an ad hoc fashion. For me, as a Head Chef at Greenshaw High School, my line manager is the business manager. I have to paid attention to develop a communication channel with him in order to encourage an effective relationship which will help to achieve the departmental goals. Its important to consult him on a regular basis to genuinely seek his views, ideas and feelings which may improve the quality of decisions. Conflict with your line manager can be very damaging. Head chef may often feel dissatisfied with his line manager perhaps over pay, working conditions and do not understand what profit can bring to the business if he is supporting.

For a good relationship you have to understand his point of view and he have to support your changes because, on the end, he will take a certain amount of credit for what you doing well!

3.0 Understand how management style can influence managerial behaviour

In practice, there is no absolute delimitation between managerial styles, and they do not exist. In many cases, they combine, as a particular style is not effective in any time and place, but only in certain concrete situations, depending on the degree of decision-making of the decision-makers. Managers are constantly confronted with circumstances, events, situations, problems and human behaviors that require differentiated approaches to management practice. Contextual management implies, obviously, a contextual managerial style appropriate to the situation. Situational variables can serve to choose the appropriate style, which will lead to the efficient achievement of the common goals of the group and the organization as a whole. The maturity of the subordinates express their ability to participate in the decision-making process, as well as their professional and working experience in the organizational environment, as well as the willingness to put the interests of the group and the organization ahead of personal interests.

4.0 Analyse models that illustrate different management styles

The simplest classification of leadership styles has three components: authoritarian leadership style, democratic leadership style, and permissive driving style.

1. Authoritarian style is one in which employees are hardly ever consulted when making decisions, and if they are given a task they are not asked who they want to work with;
2. Democratic style is where employees are consulted in making decisions, and if they are given a task, they are allowed to choose their collaborators;
3. The permissive style is the one in which the routine predominates, the employees are not consulted, but no important decisions are taken, and the activities “go on their own”;

A sociological experiment carried out an assessment of the three types of styles.

• In the short term, leaders who have a democratic or authoritarian leadership have achieved good productivity from employees, while permissive leaders have achieved poor productivity.

• Employee satisfaction is higher in the case of democratic style, with employees being more friendly and group oriented;

• In the case of authoritarian leadership style, there are conflicts in the working team and a more pronounced stress (hidden aggression);

• Authoritarian style effectiveness is only maintained if it is supplemented with severe control; when the authoritative leader leaves the job, the thing stops, which has not happened with the experimental groups led democratically or laissez-faire.

3.2   Explain measures of managerial effectiveness

Effectiveness of management – the ability of a managerial action to end up with that report.         Assessing the effectiveness of company management can be addressed through the perspective of two options:       

1) In a narrow sense – approaching management efficiency according to the efforts directly involved in the functioning and improvement of the management system and the direct effects obtained at this level       

 2) in a broad sense – it involves managing the management according to the efforts and the results of the operation of the company as a whole. This approach is based on the premise that management is not an end in itself, but only a means of enterprise functionality and profitability.        

From the point of view of the mode of expression and commensuration there are 2 forms of efficiency:        

1. Quantifiable Efficiency – Takes into account quantitative expression and quantification, in the form of the company’s inputs and outputs.       
2.  Non-quantifiable efficiency – refers to the qualitative functional aspects, usually on the human factor, its behaviours and needs, which indirectly influence the economic performance of the firm.

We could have a mathematical formula for efficiency:

Efficiency = Effectiveness / Costs

However, it will be very difficult to get a mathematical result, because some things cannot be quantified mathematically (staff happiness, kitchen cleaning, etc.).

3.3 Explain links between management style and managerial effectiveness and efficiency

Management styles do not have a single category of effects, some styles only positive effects and other styles only negative effects. In support of this idea, it must be said that the authoritative leadership style presented in a negative way, causes the decline of group cohesion, negatively influences attitudes towards work and job satisfaction, but ensures high intellectual and operational productivity, shortens decision making, develops the spirit of discipline, ensures the efficient and timely achievement of tasks.

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The democratic management style ensures an increased participation of the workers in the leadership, a high motivational level, work satisfaction, a pleasant working climate, highlights the capacities and competencies of the subordinates, but can in some cases generate unwanted or negative consequences, or poor productivity.

3.3   Explain how managerial effectiveness can be readily maximised in hospitality contexts

Marketing is one of the most important components in developing managerial effectiveness. Marketing is not just about selling; it is the whole complex of business behaviour which identifies these customer needs and trends in buying behavior and carefully monitors and interprets the business environment the establishment or organization is operating in. Political factors such as the likelihood of the introduction of a minimum wage, and other legislation such as the impact of the Food Safety Act are part of marketing. It is important for any manager to know the market, and this is done by carring out detailed market research. Our school has an annual survey for student, parents and staff. This research will assist the school in knowing the potential and current customers, and bring the school and manager closer to knowing its own product, strengths, weaknesses and specific characteristics helping the manager to have a good action plan.

4.0 Understand how to apply managerial styles in hospitality contexts

A good hospitality manager must be passionate about the profession. It is virtually impossible to perform without compatibility with the industry’s values. The hospitality manager needs to know how to lead a team. Technical details are being learned, but in order to work with people, some innate, or at least educational, skills are needed. A hospitality manager must know first of all to smile. A hospitality manager ideal, in my opinion, is the one who start working from lower position, going through several stages, on both plans: in the part of experience – career – work, but also on the education side (high school – college – post university). It is a service-based industry, working with the customer.

The manager needs to have an overview of the operations, to know and to understand the issues in each specific department without having to get involved in the details. Coming from a certain field, it is normal for him to be tempted to give greater importance to that department, but the temptation must be overcome. The business, larger or smaller, has departments that apparently have nothing in common with each other, such as sales techniques, or house-keeping kitchens.

4.1 Identify how the customer interface in hospitality businesses can directly impact on management styles and behaviour

Good communication within the organisation assists in the development of customer care and has an impact on management styles and behaviour. All staff must have a sense of “ownership” or responsibility, sine well motivated staff are good for the organisation and they will help in the progressive development of the business, helping to avoid the “It’s not my job attitude”. Staff must treat each other with respect, co-operating and supporting each other. A good team spirit will ultimately affect the customer. We do not to forget: behaviour begets behaviour so, if one member of staff treats another badly, they in turn may treat the customer badly. On the end behaviour is a choice; you should select the behaviour which is appropriate for you type of customer.

LEGEND

• www.stiucum.com
• www.revistadeturism.ro
• WWW.accelera.ro/resurse
• http://htf.org.uk
• http://www.hcima.org.uk