Create a report that covers each of the following topics. The reports may be complied into a single document, or submitted individually per each topic. Each topic correlates to one or two of the chapters in the textbook, so the assignment may be done over the course of the semester.
Consider the author’s “SEF” formula for success: Schedule, Empower, and Follow-up. Use these suggestions to help craft your response for each point for the project.
- Create a foodservice concept – this may be a restaurant, club, catering operation, or any other concept that will require multiple levels of leadership. For the concept, create a Mission Statement that gives a direct, detailed synopsis of the guiding goals, principles, values, and ideals of the organization. A Mission Statement should be concise – generally 40 words or less, so condense the necessary information into very direct terms that clearly communicates the message to anyone who receives it.
- Based on the Mission statement for the foodservice concept, create a list of the most important guiding principles and goals that will breed an environment of success for the business and the most important asset – the employees. How and why did you choose each principle and goal?
- Thoughtful, proper delegation is one of the keys to being a successful leader. Part of being a great leader is teaching others to lead, as a cohesive team is always more powerful than any individual. Based on the needs of your concept, create a hierarchy of employees and list their job responsibilities. Responsibility and Accountability are two concepts that give employees a meaningful association between their job duties and the impact said duties will have upon the organization and their personal progress.
- Design a “Framework for Success” for your concept. Sound communication among all levels of your hierarchy are an absolute necessity for the success of the operation. How will you Schedule, Empower, and Follow-up (SEF) your communication process. Within your framework, how will you empower employees to fully invest themselves in your concept and mission? Will there be mandated and/or optional training programs to help employees advance themselves? How do you plan to keep employees motivated to continue improving themselves and the operation as a whole?
- A football team’s offense is only as good as its players. The players are led by the quarterback. The quarterback is only as good as the coach has trained them to be. The coach can only be empowered by the GM. The GM is an extension of the owner. The owner has a responsibility to his/her customers – the fans.
Team building must happen on many levels for an entire operation to be successful. What is one team building exercise you could utilize to help each employee understand and embrace their duties and the importance of their role as a team player for the overall betterment of themselves and the operation.
- Create an employee review form with a focus on crucial work ethics traits. How often will you schedule reviews? How will you use the reviews to empower employees to better themselves? What will be the follow-up to the reviews? Would it be beneficial for the operation to offer incentive programs for employees for milestones they reach? ie. If your daytime salad prep cook has learned to set-up, run service, and clean their station before the next review, you may offer them a $250 bonus or 25 cents raise.
- Create one “Action Plan” for any area of your proposed concept. Detail how you will Schedule, Empower, and Follow-up on the plan, and what improvements it may make for the operation.
