Organizational Culture in the Workplace

Recommendation Report
Davis Grant Dye 2-13-2014

MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: CEO, CAF ZUPAS DAVIS GRANT DYE PROPOSAL FOR FIXING FOOD COST & INCREASING REVENUE FEBRUARY 6, 2014

As requested, I have come up with a written proposal to address the problems we are facing in our restaurant. Among them are portioning, waste, ordering and cleanliness. The issue has come up time-andtime again but nothing is being done about it. The purpose of this proposal is to inform the company about some issues that are specifically related to the organizational culture, how these issues affect the companys productivity and give recommendations on how to create a more efficient and well-organized corporate culture that will work within the four-walls of our restaurant. The following issues will be addressed in the report: Ways we can increase revenue by enhancing the customers experience at my location Provide a way that our employees can have a greater sense of urgency Give our employees a clean and organized work environment through the use of checklists and daily and weekly cleaning assignments Reducing our food cost through proper portioning, waste management, perfect prep sheets and produce orders, along with day-to-day coaching and training of line servers

I am excited about the solutions and game plan that we have formed in collaboration with our management team that includes our general manager, hospitality manager, culinary manager (myself), assistant general manager, and shift leads. We have a terrific team here at Caf Zupas and are happier than ever to tackle this issue. I believe that it is important for any company to have a healthy and motivating atmosphere in the workplace, and I hope that the company will consider these issues. This proposal should be reviewed and may be distributed to district managers, sales representatives, and other general managers as needed. I look forward to getting your feedback about this proposal. I welcome any suggestions for improvement that you might have. You can contact me at moscow514@hotmail.com or (801)-597-5052. Thank you for all the support and trust you show in our team!

Organizational Culture in the Workplace

Recommendation Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Research Plan Results of Study Discussion of Results Recommendations Works Cited

3 3 4 7 7 8

ABSTRACT The purpose of this report is to inform the company about food cost issues and decreased revenue problems currently present in the organizational culture of our restaurant and offer insight into these problems through the enhancement of the customers experience This report uses different sources of information such as employee training handbooks, the companys review of the restaurant, analysis of the goals and vision of the company, and the overall experience of the customers and their opinions. Besides major problems, this report will explain what causes these problems and provide valuable information that not only Caf Zupas can use, but other restaurants as well. In addition, this report will present solutions for the problems and will also describe in detail the importance of the strong beliefs, values and practices that are unique to this company.

DID YOU KNOW?

If you are a prep cook working at one of our Caf Zupas locations, and you have worked there for a year or more, within that one year will have dipped over 250,000 chocolate dipped strawberries. That is equivalent to one twentyfive acre farm dedcated to growing strawberries. 2

Organizational Culture in the Workplace

Recommendation Report
INTRODUCTION When Caf Zupas was started back in 2004 the vision was to create a restaurant that was so much more than a soup, salad, and sandwich shop. Their vision was to be the premier fast-casual restaurant company known for its fresh ingredients and superior tastes, where every single bowl of soup that was served was something that they could be proud of. Because we put so much time and effort into each individual ingredient that goes into our menu items we want to do our very best to make sure that each customer that comes through our door gets that same care and attention. We are a culture driven to create food that is alive with flavor and excitement, prepared from scratch using authentic ingredients. When you look into one of our kitchens you are not going to see microwaves or fryers. What you are going to see are fresh tomatoes and cauliflower and our fresh chocolate dipped strawberries and zucchini and peppers and all of those ingredients being chopped by hand. Currently I am the Culinary Manager and am in-charge of inventory, all day-to-day operations regarding the kitchen and its staff, and maintaining a clean and hospitable atmosphere for all those who enter. The values of communication, customer service, and hospitality are key in this job. Every day I can observe portioning, waste, and the overall cleanliness of the store. The employees continually check off checklists and work hard to find ways they can enhance our customer's experiences such as having a sense of urgency and a smile on their face. At Cafe Zupas we believe that depending on how well we are daily prepared that is how well we will do in sales for that day. Depending on how well we did that day in sales it directly affects our 33.5% food cost goal. The more we stay focused and on-top of our jobs at work the easier in the long run it will be to fix major problems that present themselves.

RESEARCH PLAN The major parts of my research about the organizational cultures problems are the following: Analyzing and comparing checklists with training manuals Reviewing the companies vision and goals Reading independent reviews of the restaurant

Checklists & Training Manuals Cafe Zupas is well grounded in their training programs--from the line server to the CEO of the company. Checklists and line time sheets are used daily and everything has a specific place. Each person training is provided with the necessary uniform they need to wear every day along with a training workbook. This workbook contains the needed information for each employee to become an elite line server and future leader

in the company. I gathered one of each of the checklists we have at our location and have been comparing and contrasting those with the workbook to see how productive we are actually being in providing the best possible customer service for all who enter. This has given me a better look at how we can focus our attention on the smaller issues and quickly resolve them before they become larger. Vision & Goals Researching and reading the visions and goals of the company helped me to understand the difference we can make as we cooperatively create great food so we can serve our customers in a very special way. The information regarding the visions can be found on the companys website, where it is presented in an interactive format, or by coming in and applying at any of our locations. We have an awesome job for you! What are you waiting for? Independent Reviews Whether it is the news or our customers or the employees themselves, their reviews can directly affect not only our revenue, but the overall experience someone else might have when they come to our restaurant. This information helped me determine how well we are achieving the vision and goals of our company by providing the perfect customer experience and serving the freshest house-made food every day.

RESULTS OF STUDY The results of the study show that most of the problems are related to the organizational culture of our restaurant. This can be seen through internal, external, and first-hand evaluations. Checklists & Training Manuals One of the easiest things that can be overlooked during training is portioning. If it is not caught and fixed right in the beginning its implications can become very destructive. When presented with this situation we must ask three very specific questions:

What is food cost exactly? Food cost is defined as the cost of raw material (food) used to prepare a dish or food. There are nine different ways food cost can be controlled: 1. Purchasing - The right quality of food at a competitive price and right quantity of raw material. 2. Receiving & Storing of Raw Material - Received material must be inspected for the quality and quantity desired. 3. Issuing - First In First Out (FIFO); the goods received first are issued first 4. Wastage - At all levels, i.e., portioning, cooking, storing, etc. 5. Proper Storing of Cooked Food - Food stored at a proper temperature so that it can be used the following day; food that does not go into the danger zone (40-140) 6. Spoilage - The cooks all need to ensure that no food is expired. 7. Ensure No Food is Served Without Bill - If food is bought without being paid for. 8. Portion Control - All food must be served to the portioning size by the standards held by the reastaurant. A large portion will increase the food cost and a small portion will dissatisfy the guest. 9. Standard Recipe - The Culinary Manager or Chef must always ensure that the recipe book is being followed. The objectives and advantages of Food Cost Control are to satisfy the guest and make reasonably good profits at all times. When we are teaching portioning in the work place we visually train through examples of a heaping spoonfull versus the correct portion. Our BBQ Chicken Salad is a great example of this. When we hold up the bowl full of lettuce, before we mix the dressing, we should see it completely even with the bowl. If it is not a little bit needs to be added or taken off. We then add enough dressing so that the salad tastes perfect. We then put a level spoodle (a metal spoon characterized by holes in the bottom of it shaped like an ice cream scoop) full of chicken and glaze with the BBQ sauce. Here is the tricky part for most of our line serversremembering what goes on the salad and shaking the spoon so we put the perfect blend of veggies on the salad. After that is completed a small tong-full of tortilla strips are spread on the top. A perfect salad, and one more salad that employee can say he made. If this salad was over portioned or incorrectly made it would lead to waste, which also directly affects our food cost and revenue. We are able to monitor this on the line and in the kitchen through waste bins. We offer incentives that if there is no waste at the end of a busy lunch or dinner rush; all employees working that shift can have free lunch. If there is a lot of waste it is a direct result of communication issues. As I have said above, the value of communication is key in this job. Without it we would ultimately fail. Another way portioning directly affects us is if an item on our menu is made incorrectly. If a sandwich or salad is made wrong and has to be made again that customer has to wait for his food and might ultimately be disappointed and not want to eat at our restaurant again. This can also make the amount of time the customers spend in our line increase. This creates a bottleneck making our customers wait once again for their food. We believe at Caf Zupas that the time it takes our customers to get through the line directly affects our revenue, which in turn affect our food cost. The fewer mistakes we have and the more time we take to effectively communicate to our customers there overall experience will increase and they will be more inclined to come to our restaurant.

Independent Reviews Different sources such as online blogs and destination reviews on apps such as Yelp or Google Earth helped me to collect and compare information from customers who have visited our particular location. This example demonstrates the atmosphere in the workplace: Yane Y., GA I thought this was going to be some fancy upscale sandwich shop, but it was clean and nice but proved to be awesome because of the deal. Ill come again and I wish you would come to mein Georgia. Go and visit! Other reviews look quite similar: Cormin U., UT I have always heard about Caf Zupas but never thought I would become such a fan! One of my co-interns and I were deciding on a place to eat for lunch one day and we had agreed on In-N-Out. On our way over there, she went crazy once she saw that we were in close proximity of a Caf Zupas. She said to me, You HAVE to try it. Feeling disappointed since I was already craving Animal Style fries, I caved in and gave my friend a chance to convert me into a Zupas fan. Sure enough, Im obsessed now! Belange H., UT Their combination of fresh ingredients, delicious combinations, and mouth-watering presentation was what got me. I love how they lay most of their food items out in a deli style area and theyre willing to give you samples of each type of soup they have. Every time Ive gone there, their employees have been SUPER nice and helpful. The best part is that I feel much healthier eating here than at surrounding fast food joints. And how can you go wrong with free bread and a chocolate strawberry with each meal? Zupas is so satisfying that my boyfriend ALWAYS gets the fruit salad when were there and he NEVER eats salad. But you know what I dont understand? The employees are not allowed to accept tips! This is where corporate is making me raise eyebrows. Well, whatever theyre doing to keep their employees on point, its working. Bravo, Zupas! Caf Zupas Management Salads are all about energy. Fresh ingredients measured and tossed about with abstract certainty. Our secret is balance, a splendid harmony among greens, fruits, nuts, meats, veggies and cheese. The dressing must be a perfect flavor blend to compliment and highlight the rest of the salad. A salad properly prepared and dressed is a work of art. Youll appreciate the difference. Based on these posts, portioning is slowly getting better as we communicate with our employees how making the perfect salad for our customers can be so rewarding in the long run. What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand. (Confucius) The results of this study show that the problem in the companys culture is not as serious as it looks.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Based on the research I have performed the causes of present problems are not as serious as they might look. When our employees are first hired they are given what we call a Salads With a Smile Oath. It reads:
"I promise to memorize my salads before my first shift. I understand that I will be quizzed when I walk through the door. I also promise to bring my full uniform, positive attitude and a never-ending smile every day. I promise to give 100% in my training and to always strive to improve."

If you do not pass that first time taking that salad quiz we sit down and discuss with you how important this job is to you. The challenge should be exciting though. After working here for a year and a half I have found great reward and determination from this small yet simple oath. If we train our employees right the first time, communicating effectively on every station and coaching in the moment there will never be a reason to be in fear of high food cost or decreased revenue. Customers will regularly come back wanting more great food, wondering when the next new soup, salad, or sandwich will take them on a delicious adventure.
S I P P I N G O U R G O U R M E T S O U P S W I L L S P R I N G A N A R R A Y O F M E M O R I E S . Y OU R G R A N D M O T H E R S K I T C H E N A S C L A M C H OW D E R B U B B L E S G E N T L Y ON H E R A N T I Q U E S T O V E . P E R H A P S Y O U R E T U R N T O A S P R I N G T I M E C A F I N P A R I S , OR A N E V E N I N G O U T D O O R S I N G R E E N W I C H , V I L L A G E . W H E R E W I L L Y OU G O T H I S T I M E ?

RECOMMENDATIONS Business cannot be successful without an investment and employees are one of those investments. By creating a teachable and open atmosphere, the company will have a strong base for not only their future growth and success, but how they can more effectively serve first-time and returning guests. I have no doubt that the employees and company knows how important it is to create a strong organizational culture even though the companys main goal is to reduce food cost and increase revenue. Effective leadership in diligently managing the training of our employees we receive save the company a great amount of money on labor which could be used for new products and reward programs. Conducting role plays and mini meetings in the mornings and before shifts can be a great help in improving communication skills and create strong leadership among supervisors and managers. Another thing that could be done is bringing more understanding of how the food is made by letting them work in the kitchen with our trained staff of chefs. Some restaurants practice this technique before they allow line servers to move up and become managers permanently. It is always easier for managers to train proper portioning if they know how to make what they are portioning. Every companys prosperity is based on a strong organizational culture, and I hope that Caf Zupas will consider these issues and take some action. Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions regarding this report, you can contact me at moscow514@hotmail.com or (801)-597-5052.

WORKS CITED

Cafe Zupas Line Server Training Workbook

Cafe Zupas Policies & Procedures Manual

Cafe Zupas Secret Shopper Evaluation Reports

www.cafezupas.com

Merriam-Websters Dictionaries

www.yelp.com