Ch. 14 Case Study: Too Much, Too Fast

Joanne is manager of an in-plant, self-service cafeteria for an insurance company headquarters with 1,000 employees, most of whom eat breakfast and lunch there. In addition to managing the cafeteria, she is responsible for stocking sandwich and dessert vending machines. She has been supervising all her employees directly but has decided that it would be better if she delegated the major food-preparation responsibilities to her three best employees in order to devote more time to customer relations.

After lunch on Wednesday, she calls the three employees together and explains her plan. "I am going to delegate to each of you responsibility for preparing the food in your department and keeping the counters and steam table stocked during the serving period. Jasmine, you will be in charge of salad and sandwich preparation. Michelle, you will do the desserts and baked goods. You two will also prepare the food for vending. Robert, you will be responsible for all the hot food: soups, entrees, vegetables, and so on.

"Your co-employeesyou each have twowill become your assistants, and you will direct their work. I will be on hand at all times, but I will be talking with guests and supervising the rest of the staff: the breakfast cooks, cashiers, cleanup crew, dishwashers, and so on. I will also continue to do the ordering, receiving, staffing, and so forth.

"Now, you all have seen me in action in your departments, and you know what my methods and standards are. Make the usual menu in the usual quantities. Just do everything as I would do it, and come to me with questions. We will start tomorrow."

The first day of the new regime is a near-disaster. No one makes the beverages and no one stocks the vending machines, although the food is prepared for them as usual. Both Michelle and Jasmine prepare the cantaloupe and the fruit/cheese plates. One of Robert's assistants does not show up, and instead of asking Joanne to get a substitute cook, he and his other assistant try to keep up with the demand. The result is a large and growing crowd of complaining guests waiting for the hot food. Jasmine's two assistants refuse to take orders from her and go to Joanne saying, "Hey, she's not our boss. Who does she think she is, telling us what to do?" One of Michelle's assistants resigns in a huff in the middle of lunch because she thinks she should have had the job instead of Michelle, and Michelle is snapping at her. The other complains to Joanne about Michelle after the serving period is over.

Joanne spends the entire day putting out fires (some of them are still burning), dealing with complaining guests, and trying to find a replacement for the worker who resigned. She ends the day harassed and embarrassed. She is pretty sure that all her employees except those who are mad are laughing at her, and she will probably have trouble with everyone for several days, including the guests. She hopes that her boss at the catering company she works for does not hear about this.

Case Study Questions

(number each answer)

1.What basic mistakes did Joanne make?

2.Why do you think she did not foresee what happened?

3.How could she have avoided the reaction of Jasmine's and Michelle's assistants? How could she have avoided the reaction of Robert, who tried to work shorthanded?

4.What should she do now? Should she withdraw the delegation or try to make it work? If the latter, then make a detailed plan for her to carry out.

5.How will she handle all her other workers tomorrow to keep their respect?

6.What should she do about pacifying customers?

7. Should her boss at the catering company headquarters be involved in any way? Does her boss share the responsibility for what happened?