Staffing Organizations Part 1
Sandra Cox
Business 335
Staffing Organizations
Robin K. Harvey
May 1, 2014

I plan to open a gourmet coffee shop called Jeleco’s coffee shop next to a campus in Washington DC. The coffee shop will be open from 6 am to 10 pm Mondays – Fridays and 7 am to 3 pm on weekends. I will have 3 store managers and 10 coffee servers. The bank has preapproved my loan based on the forecast profit and loss statement and collateral. Before the bank will finalize the approval of the loan they have asked me to provide two documents that are each 4 to 5 pages long that explain who I plan to staff and manage the business for the next three years. In the first document I will be going over several points and they are the following. 1. Identify the type of employment relationship you would establish between the coffee shop and employees from a legal perspective. Explain your reasoning on this. 2. Suggest ways that you could avoid claims of disparate treatment. 3. Identify the type of external influences that could hinder staffing and how you would address them. 4. Create a plan that you can use to deal with employee shortages and surpluses. 5. Conduct job requirements job analysis for the store manages and coffee servers in order to identify tasks, KSAOs, and contest for those positions.
Identify the type of employment relationship you would establish between the coffee shop and employees from a legal perspective:
The type of employment relationship that I would establish for my coffee shop would be employer-employee. I will have an employee contract drawn up which will have job description, code of conduct of the company, and pay wage bracket of what each position has. I will praise employee’s work when work is excellent, and give comments on their work process in private good and bad, and always acknowledge their work and treat them with respect. I will be accommodating to everyone because the employees have other things going on in their life beside just work. I will make sure all the employees are well trained in their job positions, that they know the laws and regulations, and the company policies and procedures. I will also make sure the employees have monthly reviews and that they can give their perspectives also. I will plan a team building events and ask all the employees to attend including management. Getting everyone together as a team and allow them to undergo various team building and trust creating activities. This makes it a two way street, I learn just as much from them as they do from me. (Heneman/Judge/Kammeyer-Meuller, 2012 p. 48-49, 51)
Suggest ways that you could avoid claims of disparate treatment: I will be going to follow four principles that should avoid claims of disparate treatment. First, train management about legal obligations under anti-discrimination laws regarding hiring, training, and overall treatment of employees. Second I will create and enforce policies that pertain to how all my employees this is including the managers will conduct themselves to prevent discrimination. Third, the coffee shop will perform yearly audits on employment records and promotion policies and procedures to ensure disparate treatment is not being committed. Lastly, make sure that all job postings and promotions are listed in a central location that all employees can access. (Heneman/Judge/Kammeyer-Meuller, 2012 p. 58)
Identify the type of external influences that could hinder staffing and how you would address them:
There are four external influence that could affect my business 1. Economic conditions: (Heneman et al., 2012) “Numerous forces operate to determine the overall economic climate in which the organizations functions. These include product and labor market competitions, inflations, interest rates, currency exchange rates and government fiscal and monetary policy. Resulting from such forces the degree of overall economic expansions or contractions.”
2. Labor Markets: (Heneman et al., 2012) “In and through labor markets, organizations express specific labor preferences and requirements (labor demand) and person express their own job preferences and requirement (labor supply). Ultimately, person job matches occur from the interaction of the demand and supply forces. Both labor demand and supply contain quantity and quality components. Labor shortages and surpluses (when labor demand exceeds labor supply for a given pay rate is said to be tight it is a shortage when the labor market is loose meaning there are labor surpluses relative to labor demand, and employment arrangements full time, part time flexible scheduling and shift work.”
3. Technology: (Heneman et al., 2012) “Changes in technology can influence the staffing planning process significantly by eliminating jobs, creations of jobs, and/or changes in skill requirements”
4. Labor Unions: “they are legally protected entities that organize employees and bargain with management to establish terms and conditions of employment via a labor contract. You have negotiations, labor contracts, staffing levels, staffing quality, internal movement and grievance systems.”
I have found out that even with the economy in a recession the coffee business has made a profit. In a recession, we are more likely to cut back on expensive purchases like Cars. A takeaway coffee may be one of the luxuries we still allow ourselves to boost morale. By being by a campus I will have a good market. This factor will determine how much profit my company can make. Other factors, like consumer demand, tax rates and interest rates, can affect my business by determining how much people are willing to pay for their coffee and how much of the resultant revenue must be given to the government. I plan to be completive with other companies in this market. I will do a SWAT analyst of my company. Strength 1. The premium quality coffee bean we use is our biggest strength. 2. Bring money into the economy of the town 3. Supporting local community work 4. Wide range of target market 5. Will obtain a strong brand name. | Weakness 1. Competition from other coffee shops that have already a good base there 2. Finding qualified employees | Opportunities 1. Marketing a product that appeals to people 2. Expanding a business into other campus in the country 3. Helping the economy | Threats 1. Other coffee shops Starbucks 2. Economy itself (recession) 3. Labor costs 4. New coffee machines that make specialize coffees in peoples own home |

Then doing a TOWS matrix I can devise a plan for the company to go forward with to establish my company. TOWS is analyzing the external environment (threats and opportunities), and your internal environment (weaknesses and strengths), you can use these techniques to think about the strategy of your whole organization, a department or a team. You can also use them to think about a process, a marketing campaign, or even your own skills and experience. This helps you identify strategic alternatives that address the following additional questions:
Create a plan that you can use to deal with employee shortages and surpluses:
My plan for shortages include: recruiting new permanent employees, hire retirees and students part-time, redesigning job so that managers will have to temporarily fill-in, and working current staff overtime until I can find part time or permanent employees. My plan for surpluses is, not replacing those who leave, reduce work hours, layoffs, and pay freezes. I will let my employees know that when things get better I will give undo pay freezes and if able give them raises. I would also tell them that they are part of a family here and that I will help them as much as possible if they need to leave I will understand and when able to hire I will let them know first if they wish to come back.
Conduct job requirements job analysis for the store manages and coffee servers in order to identify tasks, KSAOs, and contest for those positions:
Jeleco’s coffee shop managers oversees and directs the activities of the Jeleco’s coffee shop. The manager direct the entire coffee shop operation, which includes supervising all employees, ensuring the Jeleco’s meets quality and food service regulatory requirements, and making sure customers are provided with exceptional service. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Responsible for Superior Service goals of the Department, Supervise Department staff to include scheduling, training and assigning duties, Implement Jeleco’s coffee shop merchandising programs, Ensure standards of Department presentation and operations are met; including cleanliness and sanitation, inventory control, rotation, quality, ordering, variety standards, signing and seasonal schematics, Ensure paperwork, as set by the Division, is followed, Perform all other related duties, as assigned by management, Ensure product quality is up to the standard of Jeleco’s coffee shop.
A high school diploma or GED. A continuing education to receive an associate degree in hospitality, restaurant management or business administration. Work experience Minimum of one year of food and beverage service background or with at least one-year restaurant or experience required. Hourly wage $10.00 to $14.00
Coffee servers at Jeleco’s coffee shop the one of the main responsibilities is to make sure they have satisfied customers every time they are on duty. They must be able to welcome and connect with every customer that comes in the store and know what the customer needs in order for him or her to be able to suggest products right away. Employees are expected to know every piece of brewing equipment so they can perform a demonstration should the customer ask them to. The employee must also provide quality beverages at all times to all the customers. Beverages must be prepared according to the standards of Jeleco and they also must maintain and follow the store policies and operational procedures at every station. Must be 18 years old no job experience necessary but is a plus. Hourly wage is $8.50 per hour.
The Responsibilities are: Actively support a culture of safety which includes, but is not limited to, food safety, Team Member safety and customer safety. Servicing customers by filling customer's requests in a prompt and courteous manner. Actively demonstrate appropriate suggestive selling techniques .Provide active sampling opportunities, when appropriate. Conduct business, at all times, with a clear understanding that customer service is a significant point for Jeleco. Every interaction, whether with an internal or external customer must be conducted with the highest degree of integrity. Actively participate in and promote an environment which embraces diversity, inclusion, and respect for Team Members, Customers, Vendors, and the Community. Maintain cleanliness of equipment, tables, utensils, floor (to ensure safety), and sanitation regulations are met within department and cafés. Dishwashing is also required. Set up and maintain gourmet display case with fresh gourmet items. Use product and food knowledge to help customers make gourmet food choices. Operate cash register. Follow proper procedures to ensure store meets out-of-stock percentage goals.
Physical requirements are: Bending, Carrying and lifting Up to 50 pounds, Pulling ,Sorting, Standing, Grasping, Pushing, Reading, Reaching, Repetitive Motion, Telephone Usage, Communication (verbal), Walking, Writing, Climbing, Twisting, and Unloading
Equipment Used: Dolly, Fountain Machines, Ice Coffee Machine, Ice Machine, Bag in box machine, Microwave, Registers, Vacuum, Detergent Dispenser, Creamer Machine, Auto Wrapper, Cardboard Baler, Trash Compactor, Crisping Sink, Label Gun, and Price Gun. (Kroger job requirements and duties for coffee shop and Deli, 2014)

References

Heneman/Judge/Kammeyer-Meuller, (2012) Staffing Organizations p. 48-49, 51, 58, 88-94 http://www.thekrogerco.com/ http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Pride/Ferrell, (2013) Foundations of Marketing p.31-32