Case Study: Peppercorn Dining
Introduction
Organizations are not static. They should change in accordance with the changes in trends and needs of customers and the industry environment. As such, organizational development is vital in the continued success of any organization. Lack of organizational development ultimately results in the stagnation or failure of an organization. These are some of the major problems that Peppercorn Dining faces in its quest to improve employee morale, productivity, and efficiency. It sought the help of Square One Consulting, whose one of its consultants, Erica, worked as a student manager in the dining unit when she was in college. This paper will analyze the activities that the consultants undertook in to determine the problems that Peppercorn Dining faces.
Entering and Contracting
Entering and contracting are the initial activities in an organization development process. They determine the parameters of the phases of plan change or organization development. The phases include planning, implementing, evaluating, and institutionalizing the changes. Organizational entry refers to the clarification of the organizational entry and determining the relevant client. The entry process of Square One was initiated by the fact that Drew Randall, Peppercorn’s manager knew Erica. The manager did not initially intend to seek the services of the consultants. The opportunity arose while they were discussing the problems facing the dining unit. The contracting process constitutes the setting up of mutual expectations, time and resources required to work together, and the development of ground rules. Square One created a detailed contract that showed the time it would take to complete various activities involved in analyzing the operations of Peppercorn Dining (Cummings & Worley, 2008). This helped in improving the efficiency of the consultant’s activities.
Data Collection Process
Square One Consulting gathered data through observation and interviewing various relevant parties. Use of observation enabled them to have good knowledge of the dining unit’s operations. Interviews enabled the consultants to determine various aspects of the dining unit’s operations that could not be established through observation. It helped in corroborating information obtained through observation. The consultants observed the behavior of the employees of the organization while working. They also strived to determine the type of interactions that existing among different types of employees. They determined that there was tension between different types of employees. There was also lack of efficient communication within dining unit (Cummings & Worley, 2008). This increased the inefficiencies of the dining unit’s operations.
Data Analysis
Content analysis would the most suitable method of analyzing data since data was primarily collected through observation and interviews. Content analysis would summarize the data into meaningful categories. It would help in reducing the data into a few themes that can be easily analyzed (Bryman & Bell, 2015).
Analysis of Peppercorn
Drew, Peppercorn’s manager, should have introduced the consultants to the employees and provided an explanation of the reasons for their presence. This would have eliminated the need for the staff to keep asking them the reasons for their visit. Peppercorn has three tiers of management. The three tiers of the management increase the dining unit’s inefficiencies since some employees report to different people.
Despite the fact that it seems as if Peppercorn’s employees are loyal since they have worked in the dining unit for a long time, there are several conflicts that should be solved. Continued stay of the employees would reduce their morale if the issues are not solved.
The consultants have goal clarity. They are tasked with the duty of improving productivity and morale among workers. Goal clarity helps in improving the efficiency of the group. The consultants seem to have a sense of personal responsibility to ensure the success of the initiative. After analysis of the Peppercorn’s operations, the consultants determined that there are personal conflicts between different categories of employees. This is one of the major factors that reduces morale and productivity of the employees.
Feedback
The content of the feedback session would include:
- Lack of communication is one of the major problems facing Peppercorn.
- The order and inventory system increases the inefficiencies of the company.
- There are conflicts between the three major groups that work in the dining unit.
- Shortage of equipment reduces the productivity and morale of employees. The dishwashing machine is incapable of meeting the washing needs of the dining unit.
- The issues facing the cashier would also be included in the feedback.
- The inaccessibility of the manager makes the workers feel that he does not care about them.
Conclusion
Peppercorn can solve the problem is faces by soliciting the services of Square One and implementing its recommendations. It is a fact that some of the recommendations may require the company to take radical measures. However, failure to fully implement the recommendations of the consultant would make the company fail to improve the morale and productivity of employees. Therefore, it would have wasted valuable time and money.
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