Fried chicken and coffee have proven to be winning products for Prestige Holdings Ltd (PHL) even as the company's finances take a significant hit in 2020 because of an economic fallout during the COVID-19 pandemic. The owner of several popular fast-food chains Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Subway as well as local operators of Starbucks and TGI Fridays recorded an overall loss of $17,748,682. In the chairman's report for 2020, Christian Mouttet acknowledged that the pandemic "caused significant disruptions to the economic activities in T&T and the effects of this were particularly acute in the restaurant industry." Mouttet in particular noted the impact of "measures taken by the Government to slow the spread of the virus, while prudent and necessary, resulted in our restaurants being completely closed for 34 days, followed by restrictions which prohibit the sale of alcohol in our bars, limit in-restaurant dining and have reduced operating hours, all of which have weighed heavily on our sales. We have however made considerable progress in developing our delivery and curb-side channels and expect these to remain valuable contributors when conditions normalise," said Mouttet. He also reported to Shareholders, Employees, Customers and Partners that it was impossible to overstate the impact that staff shortages had on their operations, which resulted in long hours of work by their existing employees, which then contributed to high absenteeism in the system, poor customer service and low job satisfaction. Moutett lamented. "The very difficult labour environment in T&T continues to impede our ability to attract and retain the required numbers of employees, despite a 30% increase in wage rates implemented. The poor attraction of candidates who did not meet the Company's basic entry criteria further compounded the problem. He remarked about the poor attitudes of some of the workers and their lack of organisational commitment which had affected productivity. The Company hired several Venezuelan migrants to ease the situation. They proved to be hard workers as they manage to 1 handle problems with ease and smiles on their faces and are often in a good mood which is passed on to their customers who are often seen walking out of the restaurants smiling. Mouttet praised the teams who continued to show up daily "with pride in their voices and smiles on their faces" ready to serve customers despite the challenges of under-staffing. "I would like to recognise and thank them for their dedication, loyalty and hard work. Customers appreciate this." He remarked. Mouttet also thanked customers for their patience and loyalty despite their having to face long-lines and delayed deliveries. Our vision remains, "To be in the hearts and minds of our customers for every eating experience." personal characteristics- friendliness, reliability, cooperativeness, be broad-minded, a employees must have several skills and commitment to providing customer service and an ability to work in a fast-paced environment. To reinforce their goal on focusing on people capability, The Company's recruitment and selection activity was enhanced by introducing a revised Orientation and On-boarding process. Training stores were established, each with an assigned In-Store Trainer. This initiative ensured that new hires were properly oriented into their roles and tasks which, proved effective for focused learning and an easier transition into the work environment. During orientation, team members learn how to recognize and respond to customer needs appropriately in keeping with the restaurants' desired responses and behaviours; and the Company's vision and core values are communicated clearly. For example, team members serving customers are supposed to be friendly and cheerful always. They know how they will be evaluated. One component of their training deals with active listening and showing empathy. PHL's philosophy is that people who know their emotions and can read emotional cues are likely to be most effective. Even though customer service training is carried out quarterly, poor customer service still plagues some of the restaurants. At a KFC outlet, a CSR complained that the work was too hard and stressful since the staff shortages, despite the Venezuelans; and despite her telling her Supervisor that the frontline needed help, nothing had changed. After being yelled at by a customer about the length of time the customer had to wait for her order, the CSR became angry, and had to take a short break to calm down. The time pressures were too excessive because of the staff shortages and not all CSRs were pulling their weight. The CSR intends to quit her job because she is "fed up and dissatisfied." Also, the CSRs do not like their new Supervisor, but they conceal their feelings well and interact with her in a polite and professional manner. Their Supervisor is moody and unable to generate much enthusiasm or interest in her team. She often provides conflicting directions and instructions and does not try to smile when she is in a bad mood. She does not understand why employees get upset with her and often overreacts to problems and chooses the most inappropriate responses to emotional situations. She is unaware of how her behaviour affects her team. As an effective retention strategy for supervisors and managers, communication of career growth and learning was reinforced at orientation and at the store level via the defined Career Advancement Programme (CAP) structure. The importance of leadership is ingrained in the management team and PHL ensures that this is an understood value throughout the restaurants. Consequently, turnover amongst high potential employees significantly decreased 2 and brought management stability to a system beleaguered by labour challenges. While change will take time, the commitment to strategies and programmes, which sought to shape and transform the restaurants' culture, would continue systematically in 2020 and beyond. Adapted from: Prestige Holdings Annual reports (PHL) 2014-2020 Question One 21 Marks a. Explain Affective Events Theory (AET) and its impact on emotional reactions, using the case as an example. (9 marks) Answer: b. Discuss whether employees' job satisfaction can be related to positive customer outcomes at the restaurants. In your answer, refer to emotional labour, emotional dissonance, and emotional contagion. Provide One (1) example from the case for each to support your answer. (12 marks) Answer: Question Two 22 Marks a. Using the big Five Personality Framework, describe the personality types that PHL is looking for in candidates and provide One (1) example from the case for each trait. Explain their relationship with Team Effectiveness (16 marks) Answer: b. One of the outcomes of the completion of the three-stage entry socialization process is that new hires internalize and accept the norms of the organization. List Two (2) other outcomes that are evident at PHL and provide One (1) example for each. (6 marks) Answer: 3 Question Three 17 Marks a. Critically evaluate the Supervisor's Emotional Intelligence using the Three (3) components of EI and provide One (1) example from the case for each component. (9 marks) Answer: b. The CSR after being yelled at by a customer about the length of time the customer had to wait for her order, the CSR became angry, and had to take a short break to calm down. Explain if her anger is a mood or an emotion. (8 Marks)