Introduction

This report is going to explore the major business issues, the organizational structure, the organizational culture and the leadership and management styles adopted in the management of the restaurant La Belle Helene by its two partners, Peter and Helen. The report will give solutions to the problems faced by the restaurant and on the best management practices that Helen and Peter can adopt to ensure that the reputation of the restaurant is safeguarded.  Sound management practices call for inclusive in the place of work. Managing should entail bringing the best out of employees and not overwhelming them (Avery & Bergsteiner, 2011). In this regard, the report examines major issues in La Belle Helene and the advice accordingly on the best management practices Helen and Peter should adopt and change the status quo of the restaurant.

Problems

The problems in this restaurant are based on structure, culture and service delivery. One of the problems with the restaurant according to the reporter is that it is not able to offer high standard food. Its foods fail to meet the taste and quality that customers would regard as exemplary. In addition, the restaurant fails in providing timely and excellent customer services. The reporter books for a table but on arrival, everything seemed to be in disarray, which means that the hotel has ineffective organizational culture. In the midst of these controversies, customers are inconvenienced by having their demands not being met. For instance, the reporter did not sit in the table earlier booked for and was made to sit in another table. Additionally, the employees of the restaurant have insufficient knowledge of what is on offer, and this makes them take a considerable amount of time before they could respond to the customers’ requests. Furthermore, the relationship between the employees and the partners of the hotel is sour particularly with Peter who seems not to listen to them as narrated by Ralph Maureen.

Nature of Change

La Belle Helene needs to change the present practices for the purpose of growth and survival. The key drivers to change are to counter the competition threats from other restaurants and to meet customer needs.  Change is necessary for any organization as a way of solving organizational problems (Cummings, Bridgman & Brown, 2016). Peter and Helen as the managers of this hotel must embrace change for the purpose of putting this vision into action.  This case should occur in an incremental process. In the first stage or the Alpha stage, the management should embark on a campaign where they should set the vision of the restaurant, train its waitress and lay down some of the changes that would propel the restaurant to a better position. The second stage or the Beta stage should involve consulting with the employees of the hotel, communicating the purpose of these changes and laying out comprehensive plans on how to implement these changes. The third stage or the Gama stage should involve implementing the changes set out.

Nature of the Change Approach

The case of La Belle Helene Restaurant requires planned change approach so that it can change the status quo. To accomplish the objectives of the restaurant, managers of the restaurant must create a logical step by step approach. It is imperative that Peter and Helen develop the goals and objectives of change by evaluating the opportunities and problems of the restaurant. The next step is to select the agent of change or the person who is supposed to oversee the implementation of change (Costas & Kärreman, 2013). Next would be to diagnose the current situation by preparing waitresses for the change. Peter and Helene should then select the best method of planning by selecting that method that will absorb pressures that go with the change in an organization.  The next step is to develop a plan which should capture the main activities and the timeline for those activities. After this has been achieved, next is to implement these changes and then follow this plan and evaluate it to see whether all is going on as planned.

Stakeholder’s Reaction

Given the fact that La Belle Hellene is likely to face collapse in the near future if an action is not taken immediately, the best scope and pace of the change must be reconstruction. Reconstruction is the change which is undertaken so that how an organization operates can be realigned (Zhang & Bartol, 2010). It is done in a more dramatic way than adaptation. Often it is reactive and forced due to the changing competitive context. In this regard, the management of La Belle Helene should invoke a more forceful change that will set things to roll in accordance with the plans. The reaction of the stakeholders who in this case include the waitresses is likely to be of resistance. Employees are also likely not to give material and moral support. In this regard, partnership context would pray a major role in ensuring that such behaviors do not occur. It must motivate the change, create a clear vision, manage a transition in additional to sustaining the momentum during the process of change.

Evaluation

At this point, it behooves the management of the organization to assess the viability of the plan. Peter and Helen should evaluate whether any of the changes of the plan will make any real results that will change the organization culture of the restaurant. It requires the management to scan the horizon by capturing awareness and trends while creating a culture of openness that reward creativity and learning.  On evaluation, Peter should weigh on the dysfunctional routine and how changes will effectively solve the problem.

Ideas on How to Improve this Situation

To have a change in the way things are run in La Belle Helene, there is the need for Peter and Helen to focus on certain areas such as service delivery, management of employees and the brand of the restaurant. As the managers of the restaurant, Peter and Helen have an opportunity to lead, mentor, supervise and motivate the employees. Therefore, here are the suggestions on management practices that would bring overall success to La Belle Helene.

Improving on Emotional and Intelligence during Management

It is essential that Peter and Helen be in a position to work on their emotional intelligence. This entails handling and understanding one’s relationships as a necessary set of competencies that will distinguish successful leaders and managers (Avery & Bergsteiner, 2011).The fact that Elsie one of the restaurant’s servers emerges from the kitchen to serve a customer with a blotchy face suggests some decisions from Peter might have hurt her. Management calls for empathy where the manager can put him/herself in the position of workers and see things as they see them.

Improving on Service Delivery Skills of Waitress through Training

Service delivery in a restaurant involves handling multiple customers at the same time or one after another. The case of La Belle Helene is that the provision of services is poor as the servers are not able to serve their customers timely and efficiently. Waiters in this restaurant should be trained to respond to all customers with the same quality of service. Employees should be in a position to work under pressure while they remain patient in every form of interaction (Costas & Kärreman, 2013).

Implementing a Hierarchical Structure

Any business requires a sound organizational structure and culture. Designing an organizational structure enables the management to identify the talent needs that can be added to the company. La Belle Hellene organizational structure is not comprehensive, and means of communications are poor. The structure of an organization should be designed to ensure that employees could communicate and report to those that are accountable for the actions (Zhang & Bartol, 2010). La Belle Hellene must build a strong organizational structure by having effective communication and reporting structures.

Establishing a Control and Reward System

It is important that the management establishes a control system that would help the organization to capture all activities within the restaurant. This would end conflict within the restaurant. A reward system would be important so that it can motivate waitresses who seem demoralized. Rewarding should be based on performance.

Leadership Styles to Adopt

The best leadership style that the management of the hotel should embrace is the transformational leadership. This leadership approach causes change is the social systems and in individuals. Through transformational leadership, Peter and Helen should develop an attractive and challenging vision together with the employees that would steer the restaurant into high reputation and performance. The vision of the restaurant should be tied to a strategy that would achieve its goals. The vision should be translated into actions, which should be embraced by all the employees in the restaurant. This leadership style helps in expressing decisiveness, optimism, and confidence about the implementation of the vision of an organization (Lai & Ong, 2010). For the management to gain a great success in the running La Belle Helene, they should realize the vision of the hotel through small success and small planned steps in its full implementation path

Consultancy Model-Consult

Kurt Levin’s Ice Cube Model

To facilitate this change, Kurt Lewin’s Ice Cube Model would be of much help to the management of change in the restaurant. The first step in managing change is through unfreezing which would involve preparing the organization to embrace change (Cummings, Bridgman & Brown, 2016). Similarly, it entails breaking the current situation and embrace a new method of operation. Therefore, the management of Le Belle Helene should embrace this step towards achieving a meaningful change. Another stage is the change stage where employees are made to have new ways of operations. The transition from unfreezing to change stage does not happen abruptly rather it takes time. So that the employees of the restaurant accept change it is important that Peter and Helen make known to them the benefits that would accrue from the change process. The other stage is to refreeze (Cummings, Bridgman & Brown, 2016). During the time when the process of change is taking place and the employees of the restaurant have embraced the change, the management should refreeze. This entails making sure that they use changes all the time and incorporate into day-to-day operations of the restaurant.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths: La Belle has a strong marketing plan which puts it on a better trajectory. One of the marketing plans that will make it brand be known is the plan to advertise it through market platforms such as the social network. The hotel also has the plan to engage in joint marketing plan which might yield better results in future as it increases synergy.

Weaknesses: La Belle Helene has a major problem with its employees. Waitresses are ill-trained and cannot offer best services to customers. There is also the lack of comprehensive hierarchical structure. Additionally, the restaurant does not offer quality food which tends to put off employees.

Opportunities: If the restaurant implement fully the marketing plan as stipulated and change on its management styles, it is likely to pick the grounds and improve its performance. In retrospect, if the restaurant creates a brand name, it will soar into heights of great performance.

Threats: La Belle Helene faces a threat of collapsing if it does not change its practices. The fact that it has poor services, collision of waitresses with the management especially with Peter their manager put the restaurant on the verge of collapsing.  In addition, to this the restaurant fails to provide tasteful food as other restaurants like Montmartre in Paris does. These practices pose a threat to its collapse

Implementation Process for a Change

The first step in implementation should involve communicating the rationale for a change to the employees. The reason for change need to be communicated to the parties affected and adequate opportunity should be given to people to communicate their concerns and contribute their views, opinions, and thoughts (Lai & Ong, 2010). Failing in this step will lead to failure in the change process. The second step that La Belle Helene should follow is implementing change in phases. Change is well received if it is received in bites while these changes are being reviewed. Collaboration between the employees of the restaurant and management would be core to achieving this. The final step of implementation is to evaluate the change and report it. Careful monitoring of the change process is necessary to evaluate its success. In this regard, it is important that employees of the restaurant be kept informed of the change process especially on whether it has met the set objectives.

Conclusion

The report has examined some of the challenges that La Belle Helene faces. These problems are mostly centered around the management of the restaurant and on service delivery to customers. The services of the hotel have been poor while the management of the employees is flawed. As such, the report has provided several ways that may bring change to the status quo of the restaurant upon the management of the restaurant to ensure that all are included in ensuring that comprehensive reform is achieved. This is so by making employees of the hotel part of the management and implementation process.

References

Avery, G. C., & Bergsteiner, H. (2011). Sustainable leadership practices for enhancing business resilience and performance. Strategy & Leadership, 39(3), 5-15.

Costas, J., & Kärreman, D. (2013). Conscience as control–managing employees through CSR. Organization, 20(3), 394-415.

Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human relations, 69(1), 33-60.

Gong, Y., Huang, J. C., & Farh, J. L. (2009). Employee learning orientation, transformational leadership, and employee creativity: The mediating role of employee creative self-efficacy. Academy of management Journal, 52(4), 765-778.

Lai, J. Y., & Ong, C. S. (2010). Assessing and managing employees for embracing change: A multiple-item scale to measure employee readiness for e-business. Technovation, 30(1), 76-85.

Trkman, P. (2010). The critical success factors of business process management. International journal of information management, 30(2), 125-134.

Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of management journal, 53(1), 107-128.

 
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