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Skill Builder

Operations in a Diverse Workforce

After completing a degree in Business Management and a one-year hotel internship in the Northeastern part of the United States, you decide to pursue your dream: opening a small restaurant that highlights locally sourced ingredients with international flavors. You hire a team of 10 employees, most of whom belong to cultural minority groups.

You are eager to apply the four classic management functions — planning, organizing, directing, and controlling — to ensure the restaurant’s success. You know that careful preparation, clear leadership, and strong performance monitoring will be essential as you prepare for your grand opening.
 
  • Planning: You design a step-by-step opening plan, including menu development, supplier contracts, marketing strategies, and budgeting. You assign your assistant manager to oversee staff scheduling and training, aiming to complete preparations within six weeks.
  • ​Organizing: You create a structure by assigning roles — kitchen staff, servers, host, and a shift supervisor. You schedule training sessions for staff, set up supply deliveries, and arrange kitchen equipment installation two weeks before opening.
  • Directing: You lead your team by providing clear communication, motivating them with your vision of cultural hospitality, and supervising practice shifts. You give feedback during role-playing exercises, so staff feel confident in customer interactions.
  • Controlling: You establish performance standards such as service time goals, food quality checks, and customer satisfaction surveys. You monitor performance during soft openings, review results with staff, and adjust procedures (e.g., retraining service speed or revising prep workflows) as needed.
This comprehensive approach helps you to manage not only operations but also a diverse workforce in a competitive market.   

To successfully complete this activity, answer all of the questions below until you have correctly answered each one. Take your time to reflect on each of the "think about it" questions.  


#1
You plan to launch your restaurant in six weeks. You’ve outlined goals, created a budget, and developed a marketing strategy. However, halfway through, your supplier cancels a major contract. Which management function must you revisit first to keep the project on track?


#2
During training, your diverse staff bring up cultural differences in communication styles. Some are very direct, while others avoid eye contact out of respect. To balance cultural sensitivity and customer service expectations, which management function best allows you to set clear guidelines while respecting differences?


#3
You set a standard that customers should be greeted within 30 seconds of entering. After two soft opening days, feedback shows the average wait is 90 seconds. What is the best management function to use in this situation?


#4
As the restaurant grows, you consider promoting one of your culturally diverse staff members to shift supervisor. Which combination of management functions would be MOST critical in ensuring a smooth transition for them?


#5
Your assistant manager suggests cutting staff training time in half to speed up the opening. Which management approach would best help you decide whether to agree or disagree?


Done!