HFT 2220

Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)

use of examples of critical incidents to evaluate an employee's job performance behaviors directly

Career Anchors

A career anchor describes the values that a person holds as important and will not be given up when making a job change. Figure 12.2 includes the eight career anchors and the characteristics that drive career decisions for individuals.

5 Bases of Power

A manager has legitimate power because of the manager's position in an organization. The organization chart and its hierarchy outline the flow of legitimate power from the top down through an organization. Reward power is based on the ability of Person A to provide incentives to Person B. The rewards must be viewed as valuable to Person B if they are to get him or her to perform a task or act in a prescribed way. A manager with reward power can provide incentives to employees to perform the tasks that need to be accomplished by the work group. Incentives or rewards must be tailored to each employee's wants and needs for this type of power to be effective. coercive power is the opposite of reward power. Coercive power involves punishing Person B for not performing the task or not acting as required by Person A. As with rewards, the punishment must be viewed as a punishment or deterrent for coercive power to be effective. Each employee will have differing views about actions that are punishments. expert power involves having knowledge, information, or experience that is viewed as valuable by Person B. The manager who has experienced the jobs employees are expected to perform is often viewed as more powerful than managers who have not experienced those jobs. Employees will follow managers who have valuable information or experience. Referent power is also called charisma. This type of power allows Person A to have power over Person B because of A's charismatic personality. Person B wants to follow Person A because Person A has the feeling of belonging or identity with Person B. Managers who have charisma have a personality that is attractive to employees, which often combines expert and reward power.

Piecework wage system

A per-piece rate system that pays employees based on the number of pieces produced. The best example is the hotel room attendants who are paid by the number of rooms cleaned. The advantage can be in the number of rooms cleaned, as a more skilled employee may be capable of cleaning more rooms, thus earning higher wages. The disadvantage is the possible lack of quality work, and not really getting the rooms cleaned satisfactorily. Another disadvantage is the employee does not have control over the occupancy percentage, the seasonality of the hotel, the total number of room attendants employed by the hotel, or the scheduling of room attendants. It is important that HR managers understand federal, state, and local provisions for compensation payments. An employer must comply with the standard that is most beneficial to the salaried employee. .

Sources of Deficiencies

A well-designed performance appraisal system will provide an accurate picture of an employee's daily performance. It will emphasize the good and the bad. It must be job related, be specific, set standards, and use dependable measures. The performance appraisal is job related when it addresses critical behaviors that make for employees' successful job performance (i.e., an appraisal of the dishwasher does not emphasize a "big" personality, rather an attention to detail). The performance appraisal should provide specific details on observable acts. The performance appraisal should arise from the clear performance expectations that have been written in the employee's job description. There must be a written record of standards. Both managers andemployees should develop these standards. Employers should be apprised of these standards before the evaluation occurs. The standards set must be attainable in the normal performance of the job. Finally, a performance measure should use a dependable method easily understood by the manager and the employee. A too complicated system causes confusion and resentment, and ultimately does not achieve its goals. A performance appraisal system that has dependable measures is one that allows all evaluators to arrive at the same conclusion. This demands that rating criteria are objective and verifiable by more than the administering manager or agent.

Progressive vs. Preventative Discipline

An example of progressive discipline would be when an employee arrives to work late. The first occurrencewould warrant an oral warning, the second a written warning, the third a suspension, and the fourth would result in termination. Most progressive disciplinary approaches include these four steps. 1. An oral warning is informal, but does include documentation. 2. A written warning is a formal warning that is documented and placed in the employee's personnel file. 3. A suspension is where an employee is given a period of no work, usually without pay. 4. A discharge is determined when the company no longer wants the services of the employee. Preventative discipline approach puts the emphasis on the positive qualities to be found in each employee. Here the focus is on the cause rather than on the symptoms involved in the unsatisfactory behavior. Figure 7.8 includes some guidance for managers when using preventative discipline. Stages in this disciplinary system include the following: • Oral reminders • Written reminders • Paid decision-making leave • Discharge

Listening Skills

Carefully sending a message is an important component of the communication model; however, an equally important component is receiving the message, which is often accomplished by listening. The receiver of the message must make sure that there are few distractions that would interfere with receiving a clear message and might distort the message or meaning. Multitasking while listening requires the receiver to divide his or her attention, which leads to misinterpreted messages. The receiver should practice active listening or using ears, eyes, and minds to receive a message. Active listening includes concentrating on the sender's words and actions and interpreting them from the sender's point of view without judgment. An active listener summarizes and asks questions to make sure he or she understands the message. Nonverbal feedback through the use of eye contact and head movements is also a component of active listening.

Emotional Labor

Customer service positions in our industry require emotional labor to be successful. Emotional labor is the act of expressing socially desirable emotions through feelings and behavior during service transactions. There are two responses that employees can use when an emotional event occurs. These responses are deep acting or surface acting. In deep acting, an employee modifies feelings by pulling those feelings up from within themselves. Using deep acting requires an employee to feel the hurt and inconvenience in negative situations, or feel the happiness in positive situations, and demonstrate those feelings to the customer. An example of deep acting would be hiding feelings of concern while singing happy birthday and acting happy. surface acting allows an employee to display expressions that reflect an appropriate feeling. An example is showing a smile on the outside while feeling anger inside. Management positions may require a lot of deep acting, which will lead to burnout and dissatisfaction with a job.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)provides for mandatory leave of absence to employees with a qualifying family or health care need. The usual extent of a mandatory leave is 60 days, and the employee must be returned to the same type of position with equivalent pay levels. Many companies offer variations on this mandatory benefit, but these companies must comply with the minimal level established by the legislation.

Problems in Teambuilding

Not all teams are effective. One of the problems that a team may face is lack of resources and support needed to complete the task that has been assigned. The team leader will need to make sure that resources are available for the team and make them available when and where they are needed. Another problem is that team members may not have the skills that are needed to accomplish the work that needs to be done. The team leader will need to assess the skills of team members and provide education and training to develop the skills that are needed. There may be a power struggle among the team members that will consume the time and resources that should be applied to achieving the team goals. In this type of situation, the team leader should try to focus the efforts of the team members on the task and control the efforts of members to complete the task. Groupthink is another problem that a team may face. This occurs when team members agree reluctantly to decisions made by the team. There are many reasons groupthink occurs in a team, such as agreeing to a solution to keep those in power happy or agreeing to a solution to avoid conflict. The team leader will need to encourage the sharing of ideas, allow time for the open discussion of alternatives, and give each member the opportunity to speak about the issue before a decision is made by the team to avoid groupthink.

High-Performance Organizations

Organizations that establish and sustain vast economic, operational, and market performance. When working to change the culture, hospitality managers should incorporate the principles of high-performance organizations. 7 These principles are specific actions that are based on the generic hospitality organizational culture that was just described. Highperformance managers selectively hire new employees to ensure that there is a match between employee skills and the jobs that need to be performed. Empowering employees and decision making at the source of the problem are other principles that are used. Being a pay leader and rewards based on performance are also incorporated into the culture of high-performance organizations. Extensive training of employees and employee development are needed for high performance of employees. Job security will allow employees to focus on doing their best work rather than on whether their job will exist in the near future. High-performance organizations have fewer status distinctions such as different uniforms for managers and employees and reserved parking for managers. The final characteristic is the extensive sharing of information throughout the organization.

Myers-Briggs Scales

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicatoris a personality system based on fourscales. The scales are similar to four of the Big 5 factors. The four scales are (a) extroversion (E) to introversion (I), (b) sensing (S) to intuition (N), (c) feeling (F) to thinking (T), and (d) judging (J) to perceiving (P). 2 Definitions of the scales are in Figure 9.2. The results are 16 combinations of letters that describe different personality types. Most hospitality jobs require extensive interactions with customers, which would indicate that high scores on extroversion (E) and feeling (F) are needed to be successful. Hospitality jobs have been classified using Myers-Briggs scales. 3 Restaurant workers often have ESFP or ENFP personality types.

Laying the Foundation for a Discipline System

The primary focus for managers is establishing rules of conduct and setting boundaries for their work environment. These rules and boundaries should then be clearly communicated to the employees. This can be done in writing, orally to the individual, collectively at a management/ staff meeting, within training sessions, or in employee manuals. The important thing is not the method of communicating as the clarity and thoroughness of the process. The following examples of disciplinary problems show that the need for clear communication of rules and expectations cannot be overemphasized. • The employee did not know what to do. • The employee did not know how to do what he or she was supposed to do. • The expectations were not realistic. • The employee was not suitable for the task he or she was being asked to perform. • The employee was not motivated to do a good job. This short list shows that the lack of clear communication on the part of management is the root cause for poor performance and for the lack of enthusiasm on the part of their employees. Understanding the purpose of discipline should be an essential prerequisite for every manager with the responsibility of the disciplinary process. Therefore it is essential for managers to do the following: A. Establish reasonable rules B. Make sure the rules are understood by their employees C. Enforce the rules firmly and impartially D. Clearly and immediately document behavior that warrants discipline

Six "thinking hats"

The six thinking hats method is used to look at a problem from six different perspectives. Each hat is a different color and represents a different style of thinking. White hat thinking requires that you evaluate the data that are available and identify additional data that are required to make a decision. A manager who is concerned about labor cost would gather data about employee hours, productivity, and sales before making a decision about methods to reduce costs. Red hat thinking looks at a problem using intuition and emotion. A concern for the emotions of others may also influence a decision when thinking from the red hat perspective. Using this type of thinking may focus on the emotions involved with cutting employee work hours or the effect on customer satisfaction if staffing were to be reduced. Black hat thinking requires a manager to look at the negative aspects of a decision. This will highlight the weak points of a plan before a decision is made. For example, focusing on costs alone may not give a true picture of the impact of downsizing of the workforce. Managers should look at all of the negative outcomes of a plan before implementing the plan. Yellow hat thinking is the opposite of black hat thinking. Yellow hat thinking takes an optimistic viewpoint and looks at the best outcomes for a plan. Benefits of a plan are highlighted and valued using this type of thinking. For many managers, this is the only perspective that is evaluated when developing a plan because it is the easiest to identify. Green hat thinking involves creativity. Many solutions to a problem are generated without evaluating the solutions by looking at the positive and negative outcomes. A manager may begin with this type of thinking when working on a problem and then move to the evaluation phase and use the previous thinking styles to evaluate the solutions. Blue hat thinking involves process control. This type of thinking is used when chairing a meeting and when a change in thinking is needed. Blue hat thinking directs the decision process by identifying when other types of thinking would be used. A manager may use this type of thinking when working through a problem. Weber, Melvin R.; Dennison, Dori Finley. Strategic Hospitality Human Resources Management (Page 145). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

ineffective Team Members

The team may also include one of the three types of team members who interfere with team effectiveness. 1. Absentee member—A team member who is distracted by problems or conflicts and does not accomplish team assignments. 2. social loafer—A team member who does not volunteer or contribute to the work of the team. Another team member usually steps in and assumes added responsibilities because of this type of member, thus allowing the member to be a social loafer. 3. Procrastinator—The team member who waits until the last minute to complete assignments.

Implement Career Development Plan

There are a variety of methods to achieve the education, experience, and skills needed. A mentor, coach, or sponsor is often used to help guide the process. A mentor acts as a counselor and is typically in a management position above you in the organization. Your mentor will give advice on development opportunities and placements in the organization that will contribute to you reaching your goal. There are two types of mentors. One is a skill mentor who will help you develop expertise in a functional area. A career mentor is someone who is in your career goal position. This mentor will help you develop the skills needed to be in your goal position. A coach is more like a tutor who observes your work and gives feedback on your performance. Based on this feedback, your coach will teach you skills that are needed for success. A successful manager who develops his or her employees needs the same skills as a coach. A sponsor is a senior manager in an organization who gives you exposure to other executives who will help your career. Your sponsor will protect you from negative situations and will make sure you are considered for promotions. As you move higher in an organization, you may need to identify a sponsor to assist you in your development. Networking as discussed in Chapter 11 is another tool that can assist with career development. To apply social and professional networking to career development, one must understand the informal networks in an organization. The three informal networks in an organization include the advice network, the trust network, and the communication network. The advice network consists of the people who are looked to for technical information and for solving problems. People in this network are considered to be experts in the field and as such are good sources of technical information. The trust network includes people who share delicate information The communication network includes employees who talk about work-related issues on a regular basis. People in this network will be good sources for information about issues that might impact promotions and changes in the organization. Recognizing each of these networks in an organization and building relationships that tap into each of these networks is an important way to grow in an organization.

Criteria for administrative status

To qualify for administrative status, an employee must meet the following criteria: • The employee must be paid a minimum salary of $455 per week. • The employee's primary duty must be the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to the management of the general business operations of the employer. • The employee's primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with significant matters of the operation.

Discharge Interview

a meeting between an employee and employer in which the purpose is to terminate the employee's employment obliged to prove that they did not discharge an employee for the purpose of not paying benefits. The final task in the discharge process is the discharge interview, which is similar to an exit interview (the next section), but is usually an unpleasant task. Discharge is the ultimate penalty, and should only be taken after all other avenues have been explored. The purposes of the discharge interview are as follows: 1. Relate the history of events that has led to this discussion 2. Give an explanation why this severe action must be taken 3. Complete the process of disciplinary action

Gap Analysis

a type of analysis that compares the differences between the consumer's expectations about and experiences with a service based on dimensions of service quality A gap analysis should be conducted to determine the difference between the education you need and the education you have. The result is the type and amount of education that you will need to complete to achieve your goal.

Individual incentive programs

are most helpful when the work involved is not overly interdependent, or when individual improvement will help the company the most. Some potential disadvantages to these programs are the cost of administration. In some cases, this cost outweighs the improvement in productivity. Another potential disadvantage is the timing of the reward. If the reward lags too far past the performance, the employee's motivation to succeed will diminish. Finally, the incentive program must be perceived as being fair for all employees. If the program is not deemed as being fair for all, the employees will quit trying to increase their performance.

Retirement benefits

benefits—Retirement plans typically cost organizations about 3 to 5 percent of payroll. They are usually offered as a pension plan or a 401(k) plan.

Great Place to Work Model

developed by the Great Place to Work Institute. 8 Organizations are self-nominated for this recognition. In an application process, these organizations demonstrate that they have met the criteria in the Great Place to Work model. Four hospitality corporations were listed on the top 100 companies in 2013 in the United States by this organization. The basis for the Great Place to Work model is trust, which is made up of credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. The model is included in Figure 11.5.A trust index and culture audit are used to measure the effectiveness of the organization in meeting the requirements of a Great Place to Work. Qualifying as a Great Place to Work recognizes a commitment to developing a highly effective work culture.

Phases of team development

forming, storming, norming, performing Forming is the first phase of team development. During this phase, members are beginning to see themselves as part of the team. The team comes together and everyone is very polite, reserved, and anxious. If a leader has been appointed for the team, now is the time to identify the purpose and goals for the team, acceptable team behaviors, and how the team will resolve conflicts. An informal leader may arise to lead the group to establish these three ground rules. This initial phase sets the climate and focus for the team. storming is the next phase of team development. During this phase of team development, factions form and personalities clash. This is a time of testing others and resistance to the opinions of others. Leadership of the team may be challenged and informal leaders may emerge. In some cases, there may be a movement to replace the appointed team leader. If the methods for handling conflict have been developed during the forming stage, then the amount of time the team spends in the storming stage can be minimized. The goal for this stage of development is to work through differences and move quickly to the next stage. norming is the phase of development when in-fighting diminishes and working together is recognized as the way to reach the team's goals. A formal or informal leader emerges to guide the group and a plan for completing tasks is developed. During the process of developing a plan of action, each group member is allowed to contribute and the opinions of others are respected. Respecting the opinions of others and developing a plan of action are outcomes achieved during this stage of development. Performing is the goal of any team. This phase is when the group supports the plan of action and works toward achieving its goals. The performance of the group should be greater than the sum of the individual team member achievements. This is the reason for using a team rather than staff members with individual expertise. The goal for a leader during this stage of development is to keep team members motivated to achieve and to keep the team on target to reach goals.

Hard and Soft Skills

hard skills are skills you have to learn, like in school. soft skills are skills you already know- like common scene Hard skills are routine technical types of skills required to do the job. Examples of these skills are labor scheduling, recipe costing, determining the amount to order, checking customers in, and checking customers out. Many organizations have developed extensive training programs for the technical or hard skills needed for their jobs. Previous chapters have covered all of the technical information and skills you will need to handle human resource issues at work. Soft skills are those human relations skills that we use when interacting with others, making decisions, and thinking creatively.

4 Basic Zones of Territorial Space

intimate space includes distances up to 1½ feet around a person. Crowding into a person's intimate space indicates dominance or force in most cultures. Personal space extends to 2½ feet around a person. This space is typically used when communicating among friends or close associates. social space is about 4 to 7 feet around a person. This space is commonly used for interpersonal communications in social gatherings and offices. Public space is usually 10 feet or more around a person. This space is used with strangers or those people with whom you do not want interaction.

Self-management

is the ability to keep your impulsive feelings and emotions under control and direct your behaviors to reach goals. It is being able to restrain negative actions when provoked, when faced with opposition or hostility from others, or when working under pressure. You should be able to deal calmly with stress, display impulse control and restraint, and stay poised and positive, even in trying moments.

Networking

networking and positioning are required to be successful at the game of politics. Both professional networking and social networking are required to build coalitions within the organization and outside the organization. Linkages in networks or the ties between people can be strong (us-versus-them attitude) or weak (acquaintances). In addition, there are those people in a network who are connectors or those who link with many other people. Professional networking includes developing coalitions within the organization. These relationships should be developed upward with those higher in the organizational structure, laterally with peers, and downward with subordinates. Networking outside the organization can occur in professional or social settings with the strongest networks developed by combining professional and social alliances. Developing a network of influential people occurred in face-to-face meetings in the past. Now, through social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, global networks can be developed for both social and professional purposes. Over half of the current workforce uses social networking sites, and that number is expected to increase in the future. These sites are easy-to-use ways of keeping social networks up to date and viable. However, social networking sites should be used with caution. A majority of human resources recruiters are using these sites to determine the professionalism of applicants for positions. In some cases, applicants have not been invited for an interview or offered a position because of the unprofessional postings on their social networking site. In other cases, employees have been fired or not considered for promotions because their supervisors have found postings on their social networking site that were not what they would want for their employees to be sharing with the public. Personal networks provide a variety of benefits to a manager. Six benefits that can be gained from a network are as follows: 1. Information 2. Political support and influence 3. Personal development 4. Personal support and energy 5. Sense of purpose or worth 6. Work-life balance

Career Stages

trial stage. Individuals enter the workforce and try many careers/jobs before they decide on an occupation or a career. This stage is characterized by job hopping and changing jobs between many organizations. The second stage is the establishment/advancement stage. A career choice has been made, and this stage is one of achievement, performance, and advancement. Individuals are motivated to succeed and accept challenges as a form of growth. During this stage, individuals are working for financial gain and are not concerned about how much time they spend on the job. This stage occurs during the ages of 25 and 44 and continues until a mid-career crisis stage or the maintenance stage is reached. Not everyone goes through a mid-career crisis stage. During this stage, people make a major reassessment of their choice of career and the progress they are making. Choosing a different career or pursuing a different educational program may be the outcome The mid-career or maintenance stage is also considered a plateau. The goal of this stage is to maintain the current position and avoid stagnation and decline. Updating skills and knowledge in the field will assist the person in this stage to avoid decline in productivity. The final stage is the late-career stage. During this stage, the individual plans for retirement and develops a life outside of work. Time outside of work becomes more important than increasing the amount of money that is earned. Using employees in this stage as mentors for newer employees may be a way to pass on their knowledge and skills without losing those resources.