Introduction
Employee motivation is by far the hardest task. The realization of this fact compels every manager to look for ways and means of motivating the workforce. This is because efforts and individual motivations play an important role in the success of an organization (Adeniyi 201). At grapevine, each level has key personnel in it.
These include, the General manager in the top management level, Chef who is the supervisor in the kitchen department, and a supervisor who oversees the frontline affairs and is in charge of the waiters, hostess, and the table cleaners.
Characteristics for each position – Figure A. : The Organizational structure
For the top management, a person willing to fill the position of the General manager must have a college degree preferable in the field of food processing. He/she must also possess a managerial course certification. He must also be intrinsically motivated since he will be required to be the vision bearer of the organization. The general manager must also possess personal skills such as conflict resolution ability and optimistic attitude.
The Chef must have strong leadership skills, open to criticism, and have attention to detail. The chef is expected to be the leader in the backline operations and also act as an advisor to the manager and so he also needs to have prior experience as a chef. The waiter, and the hostess must be friendly, fast and accurate, responsible have knowledge of the restaurants products, and be able to work under pressure.
Recruitment – Figure B. : Recruitment sources
While looking to recruit for positions, there are several places where advertisement will be posted. These include the newspaper, in the internet specifically at Craig-list and career builder, and campus flyers where noticed will be posted.
Motivation of the recruited staff
Motivation has been a major challenge in any organization. There are several attestations from the different school of thoughts that indicate the reasons as to why people behave the way they do. They therefore, provide an insight on what ought to be done in order to influence the behavior of the employees and thus, have an effect on their motivation.
One best way of motivating the employees is through financial rewards (Lusser 78). As such, the compensation scheme of the restaurant will be equitable. There will also be monetary rewards on bonus schemes for the periods where the restaurant’s sales exceed the targets. In so doing the employees will be compelled to give out the best in their productivity so that in the end, higher profits will be realized.
The general manager will be required to have a personal stake in the business. This will bridge the agency-principal conflict that arises between the shareholders and the management. It will also help the general manager to carry out his duties and run the restaurant as if it were his. This is a strong motivational point to the top management since it will inspire the general manager to work extra hard.
The chef will be allowed the freedom to interact with the customers. This will create a sense of responsibility on him. Besides, he will be able to get first hand feedback from the customers and thus take it as a personal challenge to have a continuous improvement approach to his work.
A collective tipping system will also be incorporated where all the waiters will be required to equally share the tips. This will enhance teamwork and create a cooperative environment during work. The restaurant plans to engage in social orientation activities such as free dietary advises to the community around. The staff will also engage in streets cleaning exercises on regular basis.
Motivation challenges
There are several challenges that arise from the motivation strategies for the restaurant. The employees may be sold out to earning more and in effect, forget other activities that may not necessarily earn them an extra buck. This can cause the operations of the restaurant to cripple if everyone sticks to their job description.
This may also create an enmity among the employees if a case of inequality in appraisal arises. To avoid these challenges, the management will come up with a balanced scorecard that will be used as an objective appraisal tool. In doing so, the employees will view the appraisal as objective and therefore, eradicate any possibility of subjective appraisal methods.
There are several equity theories of motivation that seek to explain the behaviors of individuals. One such theory is the hertzberg hygiene theory (Adeniyi 118). This theory states that there are two factors that determine the employees’ motivation. These are the hygiene factors and the motivators. An organization ought to make sure that the working conditions have less hygiene and more motivator factors. This theory will be applied by the Grapevine restaurant to motivate the employees.
The management will ensure that all negative factors that act as hygiene factors are eliminated and motivator factors promoted. This is a sure way of having a highly motivated workforce. The restaurant will also have an equitable approach to work motivation such that the employees and predict the consequences of their actions with a high degree of accuracy. In so doing, the employees will be able to make the most preferred decisions so that they cannot only avoid punishment, but also work towards positive appraisal.
Works Cited
Adeniyi, M. A. Effective leadership management: An intergration of styles, skills & character for today’s CEOs. Bloomington: AuthorHouse, 2007. Print.
Lusser, R. N. Leasership: Theory, application, and skill dvelopment. Sydney: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.