Read case study: “Food for Managerial Thought” Identify and answer 3 Case Questions of your choice.

 

Food for Managerial Thought (Third Course) "We're always hiring. And we're always firing." -SCOTT LAWTON, COO OF BARCELONA RESTAURANT GROUP Throughout the video for this case, Scott Lawton, COO of Barcelona Restaurant Group,* talks about the com- pany's approach to human resources (HR), which is, he says, "the biggest thing we do." At the very end of the video, the interviewer asks him if he would hire himself for a managerial position at Barcelona. "That's a good question. I think I would," he replies, but after a moment's hesitation, he reconsiders his initial response. "Well, I don't know," he says. "I don't know if I would have the floor presence that I demand out of my man- agers. I'm not sure that I'd be a great floor manager for Barcelona." What does a floor manager do? Typically, the floor manager in a restaurant is a jack of all trades. He or she must train and schedule employees and ensure opera- tional efficiency by managing employees and controlling inventories and cash. Above all, however, a floor manager is responsible for customer service-making sure that cus- tomers come first and that every employee understands that dictum. And that's why, according to Lawton, HR- particularly, the approach to hiring people-is critical at Barcelona: "For any company that's involved in customer service," he says, "hav[ing] the right people in front of your customers is the most important thing you can do." So, why would Lawton-at least in his own opinion- not be the right person to hire as a floor manager at one of his own restaurants? Perhaps it's something in his per- ception of his personality. Training people to do certain jobs is always a major task in HR management, but Lawton is skeptical about training as an effective method of developing exactly the right people for Barcelona. "We percent. There's always somebody better out there than our worst servers." He himself conducts hiring inter- views every day and advises his managers to do the same: "That's how you get better. You hire your way out of your problems" In the last stage of his own hiring process, explains Lawton, he asks prospective employees to "pretend that you've worked for us for six months I want to see who you are. I want to see you commanding the floor, making friends with the guests, talking to the staff, I want to see who you'd be for me." CASE QUESTIONS 1. Would you be enthusiastic, nice, and fun if you worked for Barcelona? Why or why not? 2. Focusing on the issue that's central to this video-HR strategies and processes-explain why conflict is liable to arise at Barcelona. Judging from the video, what types of reactions to conflict-avoidance, accommoda- tion, competition, collaboration, or compromise-are most likely to be evident, whether at individual outlets or within the managerial ranks? 3. Consider your answer to question 2. Does top manage- ment at Barcelona tend to depend more on stirnulating conflict or on conflict resolution? Do you approve of the preference, or do you think that the other approach- or some combination of the two-would be more effective? In other words, how would you go about achieving the optimal level of conflict summarized in Figure 15.1? 4. For what reasons might intergroup conflict develop at Barcelona? [Hint: Recall the managers' meeting excerpted in Video Case 5.] Be as specific as you can in describing the nature of this potential conflict. 5. Here's an excerpt from the kind of advertising that Scott Lawton talks about in the video: Extremely Busy Restaurants in Connecticut's Fairfield County are Looking for a General Manager can train people all day," he explains, "but we can't find happy people with good attitudes. We can't train that into people. Either they are or they aren't.... You can't train people to be enthusiastic, nice, fun, great people. "You have to hire that," he argues, and the Barcelona approach to finding the right people to deliver the required level of customer service seems to be hiring new employees until the person-job fit clicks. And, of course, firing employees who don't fit. "We're always hir- ing," says Lawton. "And we're always firing." Very few managers, he reports, actually quit Barcelona, but he notes that, in his three years with the company, "we've turned over 60-70 percent of management.... And that is because we're not afraid to let people go. We demand a certain level of quality, and we're continually raising the bar on what our expectations are." And not only does the bar go up, but employee agil- ity often goes down. "This is a high-burnout business," explains Lawton. "... Somebody who is great a year ago may not be great this year." Take DJ, whom we never meet but whose name comes up in a managers' meet- ing. After reminding managers that they're "famous for friendly service," lawton alludes to some reports that he's received about DJ's performance: "I'm getting some signs," he says, that customers "did not feel wel- come by DJ. They love Barcelona, but they said [DJ's attitude] just didn't feel like Barcelona." DJ's manager agrees that customer perceptions were probably accu- rate at the time but hastens to add that, on other occa- sions, "I saw him hustling and doing a good job." "Well, let's put it another away." interjects cofounder and CEO Andy Pforzheimer. "DJ can be good. Right now, he's not. So have somebody else there or make him real good real fast." In any case, when it comes to upgrading the work. force through firing and hiring, there's always the fall- back position of paring away the bottom 20 percent. "We're always hiring, Lawton tells his managers, because we're always culling out the bottom 201 Job Responsibilities Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: . Oversee management and operations at your locations. Execute company-wide strategic plans & implement processes to achieve them. . Ensure our high standards of guest service are upheld. Develop, coach, mentor and evaluate performance of the management staff. Execute operating procedures to ensure uniform performance throughout the company. . Drive Sales, Profitability and Guest Satisfaction results in the market. Given what you know about Barcelona's HR policies, do you think that you have the right personality for a job like this one? Do you have, or would you be inter- ested in developing, the skills for such a job? What reservations might you have about the job? (Note: The starting salary for a General Manager at Barcelona. is "$100,000 +++.") ADDITIONAL SOURCES Valerie Schroth, Success Stories: Barcelona Finds the Formula, Connectici Magazine, January 2012, www.connecticutmag.com on June 27, 2012; Barcelona Restaurant Group, "About Us" (2012), www. barcelona winehar.com on June 27, 2012: James Cooper, "Chef Inter- view: Andrew Pforzheimer of the Barcelona Restaurant Group, Examiner.com, January 27, 2010, www.examiner.asm on June 27, 2012 *Barcelona is also the subject of Video Case 5, which introduces us to the company's top managers and their philosophy for managing employees ("We attempt to hire grownups"), and Video Case 6 which discusses their strategies for motivating employees and gath- ering information about the level of customer service at Barcelona outlets. General Manager/Director of Food & Beverage." career builder.com. September 4, 2012, www.careerbuilder.com on September 29, 2012.