MANAGERS ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING CHANGE Case of the Coachmans Inn Restaurant in Dublin, Ireland

Student name: Anamaria Petrea Student number: 131886 Course title: Change Management & Communication Date: 13th of June 2014

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ABSTRACT

The industry of restaurants is an integral part of the hospitality sector, which generally speaking is highly sensitive to most of the environmental changes. In order to maintain competitiveness and not lose customers, restaurants must show flexibility and the ability to quickly react and adapt to any external changes that may occur. Due to close relationships between staff and managers, there can be direct effects on a restaurants overall performance and success when changes occur. This report focuses on the case of Coachmans Inn Restaurant, very popular in Dublin, Ireland, for its proximity to Dublin Airport where most of tourists, together with the locals come to experience the traditional Irish food and atmosphere. The report analyzes the reasons behind employee resistance and the role of the managers of the establishment when deciding to initiate and implement change in order to minimize as much as possible resistance to change from the employees, which will consequently lead to effective change management.

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Table of Content 1. Introduction...............................................4 1.1. Methodology............................................4 2. Effective Communication...............................................5 3. Employees Attitude, Motivation and Continuous Improvement..................................................8 3.1. Application of theory..................................9 4. Cultural Differences....................................11 5. Managerial Actions.....................................13 6. Conclusion..................................................14

Resources

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1. Introduction Coachmans Inn Restaurant is part of the hospitality industry, an industry highly sensitive to both internal and external factors. Recently, the management of the establishment concluded that the reason why sales are falling are related on one hand to the financial crisis experienced worldwide (external factors), but also to the overall activity of the staff within the restaurant (internal factors). Since the external factors cannot be overcame in such circumstances, the establishment management decided to approach the internal factors in order to implement change and turnaround the restaurant. Based on an external audit of the level and performance of all service staff, the following main issues affecting the overall performance within the restaurant were identified:

Staffs attitude at the workplace was regarded as negative, not enthusiastic, disrespectful and uncooperative

Because the staff is a multinational one (Irish, Lithuanians, Polish, Romanians) the use of one single language (English) during work hours was ignored, fact that made both co-workers and customers uncomfortable

Lack of organization in terms of weekly rosters and roles and responsibilities

1.1. Methodology Problem formulation How can the manager implement changes within the organization in order to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive results from employees? Research Questions 1. How to announce change and the need for change? 2. How is the managers perspective on change different from that

of employees? 3. How are the employees feelings and opinions towards the

change addressed? 4. How can the cultural difference in the workplace be addressed? 5. What measures/actions can managers take to be effective and

efficient in the change process?

Models and tools Interpersonal Communication tools Lewins change model Hofstedes cultural dimensions model

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2. Effective Communication In order to create a professional framework to help in successfully accomplishing meaningful change within Coachmans Inn Restaurant, a first step is to correctly address and announce the need for change to all those involved in the process. Effective communications plays a significant role in ensuring a business successful operation and positive personal relationships. This in turn has an impact on employee productivity, which is sought by Coachmans Inn Restaurant. To effectively communicate change, the management of the restaurant should be aware of the importance and effects of verbal messages, considering that face-to-face meetings will be held between superiors and employees in order to announce change and the need for change, and also memos or letters will be sent. Verbal messages are based on many principles, depending on variables such as context, situation, culture, personality etc. The management of Coachmans Inn Restaurant should take an in depth look at some specific principles, tightly linked to the situation they are in. Firstly messages can criticize and praise. In the current situation it is of crucial importance to understand how to criticize specific behaviors, such as lack of commitment and negativity at the workplace, rather than the staff or one specific employee as a whole. In this case the manager in charge should own his feelings and thoughts, so instead of saying Your behavior during work hours is unacceptable and disrespectful, he should try to address the issue differently, for instance We seem to experience some difficulties in reaching to our customers. At the same time, the manager should avoid mind reading and instead of making remarks such as Dont you people care about the impression you make to our customers?, he should approach the situation differently such as I think we should be more interested about what our customers expectations are. This attitude will not offend the staff and will pinpoint the issue and give the staff the opportunity to think about the situation. Also, the manager must be clear and not try to phrase his criticism in such a way that the main message will become confusing and ambiguous, thinking that this will hurt less, because although this

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may appear more polite and soft, it will also appear as less honest and competent, which consequently could result in a failure to reach the staff. Another important issue regarding verbal messages and criticism is to avoid ordering and directing when introducing change to the staff because this might be seen as an attack. The best solution is to identify possible alternative and instead of telling them Dont speak rude to the customer or Things are going to change regardless of your opinion, the manager should consider saying I think customers would appreciate more a friendly and helpful attitude or In order to solve these issues we must consider a new approach, all of us, as a team. Also, while doing this is generally recommended not to bring in the conversation sarcasm or gestures implying lack of interest or disregards towards the staff. Secondly messages vary in assertiveness. In this situation the manager must operate with an I win, you win philosophy, because in order for the needed change to occur all parties should see they gain something from this interaction. In order for the manager to communicate assertively, some steps must be considered. The problem must be described to the staff without evaluating or judging it or the employees involved. It is extremely important to avoid messages that accuse or blame the staff for the challenges the establishment is experiencing or else it will be difficult to truly reach them and make them to cooperate. Also, its important to state how this problem affects the organization, consequently the entire staff. For instance, a beneficial approach would be to say Our jobs depend on the success of this restaurant/establishment, and in order for it to continue to exist, we each have to act in accordance to our roles and responsibilities. Further on, solutions must be proposed, but only viable solutions that allow employees to a chance of correcting themselves and not be blamed or punished. Finally, understanding of the problem must be confirmed by all parties in a phrase that denotes clarity such as It should be clear by now for everybody that we have to work together towards the main goal. Before, during and after implementing change, managers should also be aware of another essential tool within effective communication, which is listening, mostly to employees opinion and understand their points of view and feelings on the imposed changes.

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Listening is one of the most important of all interpersonal communication skills. Professionally speaking, being able as a manager to effectively listen is a crucial skill that helps to establish and communicate power mainly. The manager of Coachmans Inn Restaurant should analyze the 5-Stage Model of Listening in order to be able to effectively listen to the staff once the idea of change will be communicated. This model together with an active listening approach will give the manager the opportunity to understand the reasons behind the staffs attitude, whats going wrong from their point of view and to learn how the employees would address the problem.

Figure 1. 5-Stage Model of Listening

Active listening is of crucial importance in this situation because it gives access to the manager to express understanding of the staffs feelings and ask questions in order to create a meaningful image of the message sent. By managing to do so, the manager of the restaurant will be able to have a wider understanding of the issues creating the identified problems and maybe to address the change differently and realize that it is actually not only the staffs attitude that affects the efficiency of the establishment, but also the motives behind their attitude. Finally, being effective in communicating to the staff, the manager must be prepared to run effective meetings related to the subject. Primarily, his main objectives should be to allow all attendees to participate in the meeting and discussions and design the meeting as an open debate strictly related to the change, which will be the main purpose of the meeting. Also, follow up actions must be assigned to employees by the end of the meeting(s) in order to give them a sense of what is happening or what will happen in the future. A straight to the point meeting, offering overview, solutions and a chance for the staff to speak its mind and take responsibility, together with the use of effective communication will be essential in persuading the employees, if not to accept change, at least to consider it.

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3. Employees Attitude, Motivation and Continuous Improvement In order to make change successful in the restaurant industry managers should be alert at all times to employees reaction to change. If employees do not cooperate with managers and do not collaborate with workmates, customer service delivery will deteriorate, which is exactly the case of Coachmans Inn Restaurant. Furthermore, when employees resist change, conflict may occur amongst workmates and managers. As a result, employees may under perform affecting the restaurants reputation, thing that may further result in the resignation of staff. Managers must understand employees acceptance and willingness to apply and support change in order to prevent both poor customer service and the resignation of employees. It is believed that managers should provide encouragement and stimulation for their staff to maintain and enhance customer service performance. Taking these into consideration its fair to assume that the current poor customer service experienced by the restaurant is a reflection of the staffs dissatisfaction related to the work environment. It is of common understanding that a pleasant workplace keeps employees happy, which in turn will contribute to higher level of motivation and greater restaurant performance. High-spirited, enthusiastic employees are definitely more able to establish and maintain harmonious and beneficial working relationships with workmates and contribute to keeping high morale. Also managers trying to continually maintain a pleasant work environment for employees will keep them motivated, as opposite to a stressful environment that will have a negative impact on the restaurant. An interesting approach in this case would be to make use of the Lewins model based on three stages (unfreezing, moving and refreezing), which seems to be adequate in both effective communication and in employees attitude and perception of managerial actions and continuous improvement of working environment and motivation. In Lewins first unfreezing stage, an understanding of the difficulties related to the identified problem are sought and strategies are developed to strengthen the driving forces and weaken or reduce the restraining forces. Unfreezing involves identifying key players that will be affected by the change and

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gathering them together to communicate ideas and create lists of all driving forces that will affect the project. The second moving stage is where the actual change in practice takes place, thereby allowing the driving forces to support the change. In this stage, implementation of the project produces the change desired, so it is important to continue to keep communication with the staff open. Finally, once the desired change has occurred, the refreezing stage can be used to evaluate the stability of the change and the overall effectiveness in practice.

Figure 2. Lewins Change Model

3.1. Application of theory Unfreezing Stage The first step of Lewins model involves identifying the change focus, more specifically, delivering better customer service by improving the behavior of the staff. Key components of this step are communicating with all stakeholders including managers and all staff (head chef, baristas, waiters etc.). It is important that lines of communication remain open and honest in order to create a sense of security and trust in all those involved with the proposed change. The inclusion of the staff in key decision-making processes it is crucial, since it involves them directly, but it also promotes a feeling of empowerment that helps to overcome their resistance to the change and enables them to understand the importance of the project and how it will beneficially affect customer service, sale and their working environment. During the unfreezing stage, constant discussions with the purpose of clarifying the driving and restraining forces will help identify

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barriers that may need to be overcome. In this restaurant situation some restraining forces might be: staff resistance to change attitude, lack of proper working environment (stressful, not rewarding, unbalanced) and lack of trust in the organization. Driving forces would be the forces that will help move the project to completion such as: effective communication, support from upper level management, improvements related to the working environment such as better organizational skills, flexible and fair rosters, better time management. The important point here is that this exercise actively engages all parties to work towards accentuating the positive driving forces and diminishing or completely get rid of the restraining forces. Moving Stage The moving stage represents the period of actual change including the planning and implementation stages of the project. Reaching better customer service through addressing employee behavior will require sustained effort from both the management part both parties in different ways, so planning an effective roll out with the assistance and inclusion of all stakeholders is imperative. It is recommended to actively involve the staff and not to simply make rules that will oblige the employees to act a certain way, in order to create a feeling of ownership of the success of the change. Some areas to consider are mostly organizational culture and leadership, since these seem to be the main sources of the problems the Coachmans Inn Restaurant is facing. Challenges in this stage may include discovering language limitations and lack of skills that can be resolved through further education and cultural differences. Refreezing Stage In this final stage of Lewins model, the process of refreezing the changed practice occurs and leads to a time of stability and evaluation. Ongoing support of the staff and all stakeholders should continue until the change is complete and all employees are comfortable with the new environment created through change. Once completed, an evaluation and summary of problems encountered, successes realized, and challenges encountered throughout the project should be done, for future reference. By using Lewins model, the upper management can help reduce staff resistance and fear of change through the development of a structured plan that will address their needs and feelings, hence motivating the employees, and active participation in the change process.

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4. Cultural Differences The diverse workforce has become a reality nowadays. Diversity refers to the co-existence of people from various social and cultural backgrounds within an organization. In this case, Coachmans Inn Restaurant employs various nationalities such as Irish, Lithuanian, Polish and Romanian. While diversity has benefits in terms of wider pool of knowledge and enhanced flexibility, the restaurant in question seems to experience the disadvantages too. Firstly there is the language barrier, which makes communication more difficult, since the staff seems to fail to understand each other or even worse, the staff deliberately chooses to speak its own language, instead of adopting the spoken language imposed by both the country they work in and the establishment, which is English. Although this is somehow natural, the staff must be aware that once in contact with customers or in a multi-national environment, this is seen as disrespectful and unnecessary since it can lead to misunderstandings and alienation, which consequently alters the working environment. Secondly there is the issue of stereotyping. Cultural stereotypes limit managements ability to make better use of its employees skills and help them, yet it causes a reason for people to be offended and feel disrespected at the workplace. Cultural stereotypes will subsequently affect their morale, motivation and productivity, leading to dissatisfied customers, hence reduced profits. While the restaurant has no direct power to influence its customers from this point of view, the management does have the power to overcome this issue in order to improve staffs confidence and work environment. Thirdly, there is the Hofstedes cultural dimension model, which basically shows the differences between countries/cultures in terms of five main dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism and indulgence. In the case of Coachmans Inn Restaurant, a comparison between Ireland and Romania, one of the Eastern European countries, will be addressed in order to have a better understanding of the differences that may cause undesirable behaviors from the standpoint of the management.

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Figure 3. Hofstedes model: Ireland vs. Romania

Although the difference between the two is striking on all dimensions, the main dimensions addressed will be individualism and indulgence. Individualism refers to the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. At a score of 70 Ireland is an individualistic culture. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of work, hiring and promotion decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do. Romania on the other side with a score of 30 is considered a collectivistic society, fostering strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame and loss of face, employer-employee relationships are perceived in moral terms, hence Romanian employees are more inclined to be offended when their work and behavior in a group is questioned or criticized, facts that will demotivate them. Despite this, Romanian employees will be more open to change if a superior initiates it. Indulgence is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses. With a very low score of 20, Romanian culture is one of restraint. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism, which will be hard to overcome in the process of change. Also, in contrast to indulgent societies, such as Ireland (score of 65), restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the

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gratification of their desires, which may make them more dedicated workers, interested in the wellbeing of the organization. 5. Managerial Actions So far the report revealed suggestions for managers of the restaurant in order to smoothly implement change. When a decision to apply organizational change such as this occurs in the restaurant, managers should pay attention to their communication approach with employees, their attitude, cultural differences and employees motivation and continuous improvement of the working environment. In relation to the above-mentioned issues the management of Coachmans Inn Restaurant should consider a set of actions. 1. The value of effective employees cooperation and collaboration, motivation in the workplace must be addressed. Before implementing a change in the restaurant, managers should understand that different individuals have different opinions with regards to change. Also, not all employees are outspoken and willing to be honest with their managers from different reasons, either personal or cultural. Therefore, managers should have the initiative to interact with employees and keep them informed about any organizational change because by maintaining communication and listening to employees, managers can understand their unfulfilled needs, feeling and resistance to change. 2. Managers should be able to understand employees attitudes, but also they should guide and direct the staff along the organizational change process, being aware of the employees motivation to proceed with change, and be receptive to new ideas that come from employees. Listening and explaining to the staff is a necessary process to convince them about the potential benefits that are expected from the introduced change. 3. As the change is implemented, managers should continue to communicate with employees about the change implemented. This will promote an open exchange of ideas and information among all parties. By being attentive, managers can discover to what extent change affects employees and take corrective actions immediately to support them.

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6. Conclusion To conclude with it is of crucial importance that before the change occurs managers have to undergo a thorough analysis of the implementation of organizational change in order to determine to what extent the change is beneficial to both restaurant performance and employees. Since the restaurant industry requires a high labour input, managers should pay attention to different kinds of factors affecting the employees. They should, particularly speaking, to keep in mind the staffs motivation and create an environment that encourages employees to accept change and sustain the Coachmans Inn Restaurant competitiveness.

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Resources Joseph A. Devito (2012). The Interpersonal Communication Book. Hunter College of the City University of New York: Pearson. 20-270. Svend Hollensten (2011). Global Marketing - A decision-oriented approach. 5th ed. England: Pearson. 245-260. Bert Spector (2013). Implementing Organizational Change Theory into Practice . 3rd ed. England: Pearson. 34-118 Jorgen Laegaard (2006). Organizational Theory. Denmark: Bookboon. 17-140. Subhash C. Kundu. (2001). MANAGING CROSS-CULTURAL DIVERSITY.Delhi Business Review . 2 (2), 1-7. Bashar Hussein Sarayreh. (2013). Comparative Study: The Kurt Lewin of Change Management. International Journal of Computer and Information Technology. 2 (4), 527-528. The Hofstede Centre. (). Ireland-Geert Hofstede. Available: http://geert-hofstede.com/ireland.html. Last accessed 6th May 2014. The Hofstede Centre. (). Romania-Geert Hofstede. Available: http://geert-hofstede.com/romania.html. Last accessed 6th May 2014.